Forest of Dean FHT Forum -

Plump Hill sheep arches and King smallholding in 1930s (reply)

amaska — Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:40:12 +0000

Hi again Smiler

Here is some of my research about the cottage. Unfortunately the map I refer to, from the Lloyd George survey in 1910 -11, and the photos, don't copy into this message box. Let me know if you would like me to email them to you.

Aunt Vera was my great Aunt.

"Aunt Vera was recorded in the 1911 census as a granddaughter and a scholar, with grandparents Henry and Lucy, and Uncles Sidney, Roger and Evan.

We now know that the place where they were living was one half of the cottage now called "the Tilt". Here is a map showing the important plot 131. It is linked with a pink brace to an unnumbered plot which was actually plot 132. This is the cottage - shown hatched and divided into two dwellings, with only a very small amount of land immediately in front of it. Robert Bennett owned both plots 131 and 132 but Henry King was recorded as the occupier for plot 131. In the census return of 1911 Robert Bennett and his family are listed consecutively with the Kings, which adds further weight to the evidence that they lived next door to each other.

Robert Bennett was a collier. He bought the cottages in 1902. He died in 1937 at which point the cottages passed to his widow Maggie Annie Bennett. She was quite a lot younger than her husband (she was his second wife) and didn’t die until 1957. She sold one of the cottages to her son Ivor in 1954 and after her death the remaining cottage was sold by another son Ernest to Ivor so Ivor then owned both. I am only mentioning this because it suggests that throughout the time that Mummy stayed in the Plump the cottage that had been occupied by her Aunt Vera in 1911 was still owned by people called Bennett and that they continued to live next door.

There are the remains of what is thought to have been an explosives store for the quarry downhill of the Tilt. This is stone-arched and set into the incline of the hill. This is how the owner describes it

"There are stone steps leading down into it and at the top is a very clear grove along the top step where a door or gate used to sit and a drilled hole where the door or gate was pivoted." "

Pair of cottages on Plump Hill - mother born in one in 1915 (reply)

amaska — Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:15:47 +0000

If this is the same pair of cottages then the King family were living in one cottage in 1911.

Admin from

admin2 — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:19:51 +0000

Content

SERVER UPGRADE (reply)

croome — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 18:51:54 +0000

an adin post

SERVER UPGRADE (reply)

croome — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 18:50:29 +0000

testing

Recent Downtime and Site Updates

admin2 — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 22:00:40 +0000

Hi all

Many of you will have seen that the Forum and the main FODFHT website has been blocked for a few days (since 22 October). This enabled ua to check with our hosting service that all the key software elements were up to date.

However this has been a spur to make the changes that have been in preparation for some considerable time. In particular we needed to retire the software used for the main site as it was out of date. The searches also need updating.

There proved to be an odd stubborn problem in the Forum that would have prevented regular users from posting. That has been solved and if you are seeing this (!) the Forum is active and can be used as normal. You will need to login to post.

The access to the searches on our data has been removed from the menu at the top of the Forum page. These will in future be available directly in the main site but are not yet reinstalled.

The main site has been live for a few days but is still in development I hope to reintroduce the searches shortly.

If you see any problems please reply to this thread.

Kind Regards

Paul

any advice welcome re Kitty Nicholasi (reply)

Indogopink — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 19:37:40 +0000

Hi Grahamdavison

Thank you so much for going into all this and confirming the Ancestry information.

- I will try to locate a death certificate which might help with the birth date although mum , her daughter, believes it to be earlier that 1908.

- I will also follow up on the Myrthr Tidfil Catherine Nicholas.

I am still just confused where she spent her life before marriage, I know she was in regular contact with Lily and Thomas Stephens when she was married with her own children.

My mum confirms that Lily’s oldest son, also Thomas , and his children were also called Nicholson but he is referred to as Thomas Stephen’s in the documents I have seen!
I’m guessing this sort of confusion/ contradiction is normal when trying to research family trees.

Many Thanks
Indogopink

any advice welcome re Kitty Nicholas (reply)

grahamdavison — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:03:05 +0000

The 1939 Register gives her birthdate as 6 June 1908 which is just 9 days before the marriage of her mother Lily Blanch Nicholas to Thomas Abraham Stephens. It would be nice to confirm her birth date from the death register but I been unable to find any record of her death. I found her mother in the 1921 census, but she was not living with the family. She married Harold Clifford Dorrington at Tidenham, Glos on 1 Feb 1930 and on the marriage certificate she says her father is Thomas Stephens, but one has to be a bit suspicious as she was in the Workhouse in the 1911 Census and still not with the family in the 1921 Census.Harold Clifford Dorrington was born on 8 Mar 1908 and died in 1988 in the Newport, Monmothshire Registration District. There is a birth of a Catherine Stephens in the third quarter of 1908 in the Merthyr Tydfil Registration District which is a possibility.

By the way I found all this information on Ancestry.

any advice welcome re Kitty Nicholas

Indogopink — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:17:05 +0000

Hello
Newbie here. I am trying to find out about the early life of my grandma. I have searched Ancestry but the only references to her are in her married name of Dorrington. I think she was born 1907/08.
Her name is Kitty/ Catherine Nicholson . I think she was born before her parents marriage in 1908.I can see her parents marriage cert, and her siblings names, but she doesn’t appear on any documents, or in that household, I can see there is a Kate Nicholas in the Union Workhouse( age4) in the 1911 census which I guess might be her but no other documents.
Any advice about where I may be able to
find further information would be gratefully received.
Many Thanks

Hartpury (reply)

mike.payne1 — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 14:14:50 +0000

A very belated reply as I have only just noted your query.
There has only ever been one Church of England church in Hartpury -that of St Mary which still stands today. There was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Old Road which was built in 1828 but demolished in 1887 to enable a larger building to be constructed on an adjacent site. Methodists worshiped there until quite recently and the building is now used as a creche.
Hartpury National School was opened in 1870 in purpose-built premises on Gloucester Road on the southern outskirts of the village. The school moved to new premises in Old Road in 2000 and the old premises are now used as a Special Educational Needs school.
Mike

Mary Walker MUNDAY 1840 - 1872 (reply)

Chris Lyon — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:56:29 +0000

Many thanks from this "Ancestry Virgin"!! We're starting off on the long voyage of trying to trace my wife's family. We had a very pleasant visit to the area a couple of weeks ago and although enjoying our short break, we decided that t'internet might be a better way to start.
Thanks again.

Chris & Joan Lyon
PS. By coincidence, we found out today that one of her ancestors lived/worked in the village where we stayed - Aylburton

Mary Walker MUNDAY 1840 - 1872 (reply)

slowhands — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:34:04 +0000

Deaths Jun 1872 (>99%)
SIMMONDS Mary 31 Wolverhampton 6b 365

1871 Wood Mill Aylburton
William Monday Head - Male 66 1805 Gardiner Devizes, Somerset, England
Sarah Monday Wife - Female 55 1816 Gardiner Carlron, Monmouthshire, Wales

1861 Aylburton
William Munday Head Married Male 51 1810 Agricultural labourer Devizes, Wiltshire, England
Sarah Munday Wife Married Female 36 1825 - Caerleon, Monmouthshire, Wales
Mary Munday Daughter Unmarried Female 21 1840 Dressmaker Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
George Munday Son Unmarried Male 19 1842 Forgeman Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Munday Daughter - Female 14 1847 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Fanny Munday Daughter - Female 8 1853 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England

1851 Lydney Basin
William Monday Head Married Male 43 1808 Wharfinger Wiltshire, England
Sally Monday Wife Married Female 42 1809 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Charles Monday Son Unmarried Male 18 1833 Butcher Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Mary Monday Daughter Unmarried Female 12 1839 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
George Monday Son - Male 10 1841 Scholar Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Hannah Monday Daughter - Female 7 1844 Scholar Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Ann Monday Daughter - Female 5 1846 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Monday Daughter - Female 4 1847 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England

1841 Broad Holes Lydney
William Mundy Male 36 1805 Gloucestershire, England Ag Lab
Sarah Mundy Female 30 1811 Gloucestershire, England
Charles Mundy Male 7 1834 Gloucestershire, England
Mary Mundy Female 1 1840 Gloucestershire, England

Year: 1840
Month: Jan
Day: 4
Parents_Surname: MUNDAY
Child_Forenames: Mary Walker
Fathers_Forenames: William
Mothers_Forenames: Sally
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Lydney
Occupation: Labourer
Officiating_Minister: Charles Taylor Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: PFC 209 IN 1/3
Page_Number: 179
Parish_Chapel: Lydney

Year: 1834
Month: Apr
Day: 7
Grooms_Surname: MUNDEY
Grooms_Forenames: William
Grooms_Age:
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation:
Grooms_Residence: Hundred of St Briavels
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: WALKER
Brides_Forenames: Sarah
Brides_Age:
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Hundred of St Briavels
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: Edward Henson
Witness_2: Mary Walker
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Yate Fosbroke Curate
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/11
Page_Number: 2
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels

George SIMMONDS 1840 Walford/Lydbrook Area(?) - 1900 (?) (reply)

slowhands — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:29:07 +0000

1871 Lydney
George Simonds Head - Male 31 1840 Labourer Lydbrook, Gloucestershire, England
Mary W Simonds Wife - Female 30 1841 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Charles W Simonds Son - Male 0 1871 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England

Births Sep 1870 (>99%)
Simmonds Charles William Westbury S. 6a 222 ( good for Blakeney birth)

Marriages Dec 1869 (>99%)
Munday Mary Walker Chepstow 11a 13
SIMMONDS George Chepstow 11a 13

Year: 1869
Month: Dec
Day: 30
Grooms_Surname: SIMMONDS
Grooms_Forenames: George
Grooms_Age: Of full age
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: Lydney
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: SIMMONDS
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: George
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Brides_Surname: MUNDY
Brides_Forenames: Mary Walker
Brides_Age: Of full age
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation: [not stated]
Brides_Residence: Lydney
Brides_Fathers_Surname: MUNDY
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: William
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns: [not stated]
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: James Wilkins
Witness_2: Sarah Ann Jones
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Henry Morgan
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P209 IN 1/15
Page_Number: 236
Parish_Chapel: Lydney

1851 Joys Green
George Simmonds Head Married Male 38 1813 Labourer Herefordshire, England
Eliza Simmonds Wife Married Female 36 1815 Wife Gloucestershire, England
Mary Ann Wood Daughter Unmarried Female 15 1836 At home -
Eliza Simmonds Daughter Unmarried Female 13 1838 At home -
George Simmonds Son Unmarried Male 11 1840 At home -
William Simmonds Son Unmarried Male 2 1849 At home

1841 Ruardean ( Morse Drybrook area)
George Simmons Male 26 1815 Gloucestershire, England
George Simmons Male 1 1840 Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Simmons Female 25 1816 Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Simmons Female 2 1839 Gloucestershire, England

then maybe moved to the Black Country

Marriages Dec 1872 (>99%)
Dyke Sarah Wolverhampton 6b 805
SIMMONDS George Wolverhampton 6b 805

1881 Smiths Bldgs, 5, Bilston Street, Bilston, Wolverhampton
George Symmonds Head Married Male 41 1840 Tin plate worker Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Symmonds Wife Married Female 44 1837 - Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Mary Dyke Step daughter Single Female 24 1857 Domestic servant unemployed Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Jonathan Dyke Step son Single Male 20 1861 Boat steerer on canal Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Sarah J Dyke Step daughter Single Female 12 1869 Scholar Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Charles W Symmonds Son Single Male 10 1871 Scholar Gloucestershire, England
Phoebe A Symmonds Daughter Single Female 5 1876 Scholar Bilston, Staffordshire, England

1891 Bilston Wolverhampton
George Symmonds Head Married Male 51 1840 Iron worker doubler Walford, Herefordshire, England
Sarah Symmonds Wife Married Female 55 1836 - Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Charles Symmonds Son Single Male 20 1871 Iron catcher Blakeney, Gloucestershire, England
Phoebe Symmonds Daughter Single Female 16 1875 Iron worker Bilston, Staffordshire, England

Deaths Sep 1900 (>99%)
Simmonds George 60 Wolverhampton 6b 412

1901 Bilston
Sarah Simmonds Wife Widow Female 64 1837 - Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Phoebe Bennett Daughter Married Female 25 1876 Holloway on mather (brusher) Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Maud Shoobridge Grand daughter Single Female 17 1884 Holloway on mather (swiller) London, Middlesex, England

Tracing George Simmonds.

Chris Lyon — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 15:13:41 +0000

Help requested in tracing George Simmonds. Born 1840. Married to Mary Simmonds nee Munday.

Subject: Tracing WORGAN of St Briavels / Whitepool / Worgan' (reply)

Robin worgan — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:06:38 +0000

Hi, Nick

Thank you so much for contacting me,
It would be amazing if you can help with my serch.
My email address rworgan@hotmail.co.uk

Best, Robin

Subject: Tracing WORGAN of St Briavels / Whitepool / Worgan' (reply)

Nick Dub — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:35:40 +0000

Hi Robin, my mother's maiden name was Worgan, and I did a fair bit of research on the family connectios a few years ago. In addition to the normal b.m.d records I also looked at a number of wills and other legal docs from the Forest area, some dating back over 500 years.

Truth to tell my memory of my findings is rather hazy now, but I did document a lot of the info and cross-reference it in an Excel spreadsheet. You're more than welcome to a copy of this. Just drop me a message on here with your email address.

All the best Nick D

James WORGAN and Eleanor GWYNNE ? (reply)

slowhands — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:57:49 +0000

probable

1851
James Worgan Head Married Male 64 1787 Waterman St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Nelly Worgan Wife - Female 65 1786 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Eleanor Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 40 1811 At home St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 30 1821 Dress maker St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
John Worgan Son - Male 13 1838 At home St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England

Year: 1806
Month: Apr
Day: 29
Grooms_Surname: WORGAN
Grooms_Forenames: James
Grooms_Age:
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation:
Grooms_Residence: Parish of St Briavels
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: GWYNNE
Brides_Forenames: Eleanor
Brides_Age:
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Parish of St Briavels
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both mark
Witness_1: William Hulin, Clark
Witness_2: The mark of Sarah Worgan
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Thomas Thomas, Curate
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/9
Page_Number: 53
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels

James WORGAN circa 1818 of Brockweir (reply)

slowhands — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:41:37 +0000

Possible

Year: 1818
Month: Jan
Day: 11
Parents_Surname: WORGAN
Child_Forenames: James
Fathers_Forenames: James
Mothers_Forenames: Eleanor
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Brockwear
Occupation: Waterman
Officiating_Minister: Tho[mas] Thomas
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P175 IN 1/4
Page_Number: 13
Parish_Chapel: Hewelsfield

Richard WORGAN 1848 of St Briavels (reply)

slowhands — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:20:32 +0000

Year: 1871
Month: Dec
Day: 23
Grooms_Surname: WORGAN
Grooms_Forenames: Richard
Grooms_Age: 23
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Labourer
Grooms_Residence: S[t] Briavels Common
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: Worgan
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: James
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Waterman
Brides_Surname: HUGHES
Brides_Forenames: Sarah Jane
Brides_Age: 24
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: S[t] Briavels Common
Brides_Fathers_Surname: Hughes
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: William
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: He marks she signs
Witness_1: Mark of William Scriven
Witness_2: Sarah Jane Worgan
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: W[illia]m Taprell Allen Vicar
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/12
Page_Number: 195
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels

1861 St Briavels
James Worgan Head Married Male 43 1818 Mariner St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Jane Worgan Wife Married Female 43 1818 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Margaret Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 17 1844 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Richard Worgan Son Unmarried Male 13 1848 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Mary Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 10 1851 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
James Worgan Son - Male 4 1857 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England

1851 St Briavels,
James Worgan Head Married Male 32 1819 Waterman St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Jane Worgan Wife Married Female 32 1819 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Charlotte Worgan Daughter - Female 10 1841 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Margaret Worgan Daughter - Female 8 1843 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Jane Worgan Daughter - Female 5 1846 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Richard Worgan Son - Male 3 1848 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Mary Worgan Daughter - Female 0 1851 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England

William James WORGAN 1876 of St Briavels (reply)

slowhands — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:59:13 +0000

this feels like your G Grandfather

1939 No 3 Council Houses, Saint Briavels, Coldharbour,
William J Worgan 01 Apr 1876 Male Colliery On Setter Heavy Worker Married 78 1
Edith G Worgan 07 Dec 1879 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 78 2
Dulcie M Worgan 29 Aug 1908 Female Daily Domestic Single 78 3
Mabel Worgan 20 Apr 1913 Female Daily Domestic Single 78 4
The record for this person is officially closed

1921 Cold Harbourne St. Briavels, St. Briavel's, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Wales
Head William J. Worgan Circa 1877 Collier at Princes Royal Colliery Company Bream
Wife Edith Worgan Circa 1880
Son Stanley Worgan Circa 1903
Daughter Dulcie Worgan Circa 1909
Son Cyril Worgan Circa 1911
Daughter Mabel Worgan Circa 1913

1911 Cold Harbour Street, Briavels
Head William Worgan 33
Wife Edith Worgan 30
Son Stanley Worgan 8
Daughter Dulcie Worgan 2

1901 St Briavels Common, St Briavels,
Head Richard Worgan 53
Wife Sarah Jane Worgan 53
Son William James Worgan 24
Daughter Sarah Jane Worgan 20
Daughter Annie Margret Worgan 17
Son Richard John Worgan 14

1881 Common, St Briavels
Head Richard Worgan 33
Wife Sarah Jane Worgan 33
Daughter Mary Jane Worgan 8
Daughter Edith Rose Worgan 6
Son William J Worgan 4
Daughter Sarah Jane Worgan 6 months\

Year: 1877
Month: Apr
Day: 29
Parents_Surname: WORGAN
Child_Forenames: William James
Fathers_Forenames: Richard
Mothers_Forenames: Sarah Jane
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: S Briavels Common
Occupation: Labourer
Officiating_Minister: W[illia]m Taprell Allen Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda: son of
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/7
Page_Number: 52
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels