Oldland is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...

, England. The parish includes the villages of

Cadbury Heath Cadbury Heath is a residential area in South Gloucestershire, England, located east of Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial count ...

and

Longwell Green Longwell Green is a suburb just outside the east fringe of Bristol. Longwell Green takes its name from the medieval well which used to be situated on the site of the Church. It is located within the traditional county of Gloucestershire and t ...

, and part of

Willsbridge Willsbridge is a village in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, England, located on the outskirts of Bristol. Willsbridge Castle, situated on a prominent hillside site, was built around 1730, with crenellations added in the nineteen ...

. It does not include

Oldland Common Oldland Common is a village in the far south region of South Gloucestershire, England, on the outskirts of Bristol. It is in the civil parish of Bitton, approximately 8 miles between the centres of cities Bristol and Bath. Oldland Common is ...

, which is in the parish of

Bitton Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in England, to the east of the Greater Bristol area on the River Boyd. It is in South Gloucestershire. The parish of Bitton has a population of 9,307, and apart from the village ...

History

Oldland was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as Aldeland, the Saxon name for "old tract of land". Before the

Norman Invasion of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquer ...

, the overlord of Oldland was King

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...

, who had appointed Alwy as Lord of the area. After the conquest,

King William I of England William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

confiscated the land of Oldland and gave it to the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

as tenant-in-chief. Oldland consisted of six houses with two plough teams. Oldland went through several variations of its name throughout history. Some of the names were Holande, Wholdland, Wooland during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, Ouldland after the Restoration of the Monarchy and Eland.

Church

Oldland had a chapel constructed in 1280. The chapel served the village as a part of the parish of

with clergymen alternating services fortnightly between Oldland chapel and Hanham after performing services in the morning at Bitton's parish church. The churchyard contained a large yew tree which had been growing since the Tudor period. It remained standing until 2020 when it was blown down by a storm. In 1827, the medieval chapel was demolished following Oldland being made its own parish. The newly constructed St Annes Church was consecrated by the

Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Mi ...

and the

Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire. The see's centre of governan ...

. In 1981, it was granted grade II listed building status by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The church's vicarage and gateway were each granted separate grade II listings.

References

External links

Parish Council websiteSt Anne's Parish Church, Oldland

External links

* {{South Gloucestershire Villages in South Gloucestershire District Civil parishes in Gloucestershire