Rockhampton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire, situated in the unitary district of South Gloucestershire. It is located 2.8 miles (4.5 km) northeast of Thornbury, 18.6 miles (30 km) north of Bristol and is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the River Severn. It had a population of 166 people according to the 2011 census. The south end of the village is more properly called Newton, and is in the Thornbury postal area. Population The population of Rockhampton has only increased by six since the census started in 1801. However, there have been wide variations in population since 1801 until now. The first big variation was an increase of 61 people from 1821 to 1831 where the population reached 220. The population reached its highest point in 1951 when it reached 235. The next big variation was a decrease of 71 people from 1881 to 1891 where the population fell to 149. This fall in population was due to Rockhampton civil parish losing the village of Shepperdine to the Thornbury civil parish. Since then until 1961 there was not a lot of variation in population. However, from 1961 there was a big increase of 52 people up to 2001 when the population reached 176. In 2011, 63% of the population in Rockhampton was between 16 and 64 which means most of the population is working age, 85% of this age group was aged between 30 and 64. On the other hand, 23% of the population was 65 and over which means there is a small retired community in Rockhampton. History The Church of St Oswald was mostly built during the 14th century, but some parts were built as early as the 13th century. There are still traces of medieval paintings inside the church. In 1860–61 parts of the church were rebuilt by Kempson of Hereford and in 1960 it was listed as a grade II* English heritage building. In the 1870s, Rockhampton was described as: A parish, with a village, in Thornbury district, Gloucester; 2 miles N N E of Thornbury, and 4¾ W by N of Charfield r. station. During 1881 there was a clear occupational structure for the male population of Rockhampton, with more than 80% of males working in agriculture. However it was very different for females as 60% were unemployed, but the area where the most females were employed