FoD Register Office locations (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 15:42 (4178 days ago) @ tonyjenkins

Hi Tony,
I stand to be corrected but as I understand it in the 1800s or so two Register Offices served the Forest of Dean area, Monmouth to the west and Westbury On Severn to the east. These towns had been important centres of local government etc when the Forest was still a largely unpopulated area, before the coal & iron industries really took-off and generated a huge influx of workers. The "Early Map Of The Parishes" from this page may help illustrate
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/joomla/the-forest-of-dean/maps-of-the-forest

In this instance being a St Briavels marriage I would very much suspect nearby Monmouth.
The full GlosBMD database Marriage record appears to confirm this, see below;

Interestingly I searched the Marriage using just the surnames, no dates, they may not all be related of course but the GlosBMD lists a few R.O Marriages. In case it's of interest/help to you I've included all their results.

Number of entries matching criteria entered: 5

Groom Surname Groom Forename Bride Surname Bride Forename District Parish Building Year Register Entry
WATKINS Ephraim HOWELLS Mary Ann Forest of Dean Monmouth Register Office 1860 4 100

WATKINS John HOWELLS Hannah Forest of Dean Monmouth Register Office 1894 16 171
(WATKINS John WATKINS Hannah Forest of Dean Monmouth Register Office 1894 16 171)

WATKINS William HOWELLS Leah Forest of Dean Monmouth Register Office 1896 18 122

WATKINS Roy HOWELLS Emily Elsie Forest of Dean Ruardean St John the Baptist 1921 1 325

WATKINS Richard John HOWELLS Pamela Violet Forest of Dean Coleford Baptist Chapel 1950 5 47

see http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/bmd/MarriageSearch.aspx

In more modern times and presumably due to the great increase of population within the Forest there is now a Registry Office in Cinderford, so midway twixt Monmouth & Westbury.
Reference to the latest "1920 Map", again from this page, will hopefully help illustrate
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/joomla/the-forest-of-dean/maps-of-the-forest

I hope this helps, and that I've got it correct.