wardship and marriage of his 12-year-old heir Maurice, whom he had married off to his da. Katherine. Katherine appears to have died very soon after giving birth to Walter. Katherine's mother was Joan Beaufort, the illegitimate da. of Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, a son of John of Gaunt, by Alice FitzAlan, da. of 11th. Earl of Arundel. Beaufort became a member of the regency government on the accession of his infant nephew as Henry VI in 1422. Stradling, probably through the influence of Beaufort, had obtained the licence to marry off his young nephew John Kemeys of Began, Monmouth, to Sir Gilbert Denys's widow, Margaret Russell. It was this latter marriage which forced the Denys family from Siston to reside at Olveston Court until Kemeys's death in 1477. The will of Sir Gilbert Denys appointed Henry Beaufort as an overseer, perhaps suggesting a connection from Gilbert's early military service under John of Gaunt. In his will Denys had requested his widow to take a vow of chastity, which clearly was made impossible by Sir Edward Stradling who had married her off to John Kemeys within 7 months of Gilbert's death. Non-conformist chapels St. Mary's church parish register also includes details of births and burials of Quakers, who had a Meeting House in the village for nearly 200 years. Methodist chapels were built in Olveston (1820), Tockington (1840), Awkley (1856) and Old Down (1933). Colonial settlements named after Olveston Montserrat, West Indies Joseph Sturge (1793–1859), born in nearby Elberton, was a member of the Quaker Meeting. He purchased a plantation in Montserrat to demonstrate that slavery was unnecessary, and named it Olveston, now a village on the island. New Zealand An historic, early 20th century, house in the inner suburbs of Dunedin, New Zealand is named Olveston, after the place owner David Theomin had enjoyed his childhood holidays. Population and industry The census of 1851 shows about 50 farms, and that the parish was mainly agricultural up to the time of the Second World War. The associated trades of blacksmith, saddler and carpenter etc. were supplemented by stonemasons and lime burners, there being good quality limestone in the parish. After the mechanisation of farming, and the growth of the aircraft industry at nearby Patchway and Filton, the parish gradually became a home for commuters. The area contains an ancient woodland, Wildacre, owned and operated by the Woodland Trust. Notable