Birdlip

No individual entry found for Birdlip in the Domesday survey. The entry for the parish of Brimpfield in the Victoria County History (Gloucester, vol. 7, 1981) notes: "A church mentioned in Birdlip in 1287 has not been traced. [...] An iron mission church, dedicated to ST. MARY, opened there in 1897. The church, built by subscription on land next to the Black Horse provided by W. F. Hicks Beach, [...] was served by the rector of Great Witcombe or lay readers. [...] After the First World War the rector of Brimpsfield took the services [...] and in 1928 the church was included in Brimpsfield ecclesiastical parish. [...] The church was destroyed by fire in 1954, and in 1958 a new church of St. Mary opened by the Brimpsfield road. (fn. 336) That church, built of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, comprises chancel with north vestry, nave, and south porch." The one-piece octagonal font is modern, as is the church itself, from 1957, but the inspiration for the font design is back in Norman times. The earlier [Victorian?] church was destroyed in a fire [NB: we do not have any information on the earlier font].