Matson, Gloucestershire

Description
Matson, a parish in Gloucestershire, 2 miles S of Gloucester. Post town, Gloucester. Acreage, 655; population of the civil parish, 120; of the ecclesiastical, including part of Upton St Leonard, 345. Before the dissolution there-were two manors, one belonging to Gloucester Abbey and the other to Llanthony. The former was given to the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester, and was purchased by the first Lord Sydney about 1799. The latter was granted to th& mayor and corporation of Gloucester, and was bought by Jasper Selwyn about 1596. Both manors are now vested in Mr Marsham-Townshend as heir of Lord Sydney and of Albinia Selwyn, who married the Hon. Thomas Townshend in 1730. Matson House, the residence of the Selwyns for 200 years, was built or largely added to in the time of Queen Elizabeth, was occupied by Charles I. during the siege of Gloucester in 1643, and was visited by George III., Queen Augusta, and the Princesses in 1788. Eobinswood Hill, formerly called Mattesdon, which has for many centuries given to Gloucester its water supply, is in this parish. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; net value, £140 with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The first church existed in the 12th century, was taken down in 1739, and rebuilt in the Georgian or Churchwarden style. It has been most beautifully restored to what is believed to be its original character. It contains monuments to the Selwyns and the Robinses.