Place:Buckland Dinham, Somerset, England

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia.

Buckland Dinham is a small village near Frome in Somerset, England. The village has a population of 400 (As of 2002 estimate). The village's main industry is farming (arable and dairy), but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities Bath and Bristol.

Historic Descriptions

1822 - Somersetshire delineated by Christopher & John Greenwood

A parish in the hundred of Kilmersdon, 2½ miles N. W. from Frome; containing 93 inhabited houses, and 96 families, 9 of whom are employed in agriculture, and 83 in trade, manufacture, or handicraft. The turnpike-road from Bristol to Frome runs through the village, which consists of a long street of indifferent houses. It formerly was a large and very considerable place, having a market on Tuesdays, a fair which continued three days, and a large manufacture of woollen cloth; likewise a market cross, and town-hall wherein the assizes were frequently held. It received its designation from the Denhams, its ancient lords, who resided here in a large mansion long since destroyed. The principal part of the population is employed in the cultivation of teasles, which are used in the woollen manufactory. The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and consists of a nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a tower at the west end containing five bells. The living is a vicarage and a peculiar, in the deanery of Frome, belonging to the prebendary; Rev. R. A. Burney, incumbent; instituted 1817. Population, 1801, 429 — 1811, 403 — 1821, 440.

1929 - Somerset by George Woosung Wade & Joseph Henry Wade

Buckland Denham, a village prominently perched on a hillside 3 m. N.W. from Frome. It was once a busy little town with a flourishing cloth trade. The church has a W. tower with an unusual arrangement of windows (cp. Hemington). The Norm. S. doorway and the device by which the upper part of the porch has been converted into a parvise should be noticed. Three chapels are attached to the church. The one at the N., originally the chantry of Sir J. Denham, has on the floor the figures of a knight and his lady in relief. In two of the chapels are piscinas, and there is a large one in the chancel. Some ancient glass, with emblems of the Evangelists, will be found in one of the chapels. The Norm. font, with different mouldings on opposite sides, deserves attention.

Research Tips

Old Maps

• Ordnance Survey 1:10560 County Series 1st edition (c.1884-87) Sheet 30 Subsheet 08
• Ordnance Survey 1:10560 County Series 2nd edition (c.1900) Sheet 30 Subsheet 08

Family History Library

• Land tax assessments for Buckland-Denham, 1766-1831
• Overseers' accounts, 1763-1836
• Churchwardens' accounts and vestry minutes, 1743-1890
• Census returns for Buckland-Denham, 1841-1891
• Bishop's transcripts, 1603-1630
• Bishop's transcripts, 1601-1854
• Parish registers, 1540-1973
• Admission registers of Buckland national school, 1893-1969

Other Resources

• Family and Local History in Frome
• Frome Yahoo Group
• Somerset Record Office
• Somerset Archives holdings for Parish of 'Buckland Dinham'
• Frome Registration District Research Guide

source: Family History Library Catalog

Picture Gallery

St. Michael and All Angels

Buckland Dinham village hall