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- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Until 1933 Foxcote (#9 on map) was a civil parish with a with a very small village of the same name in Somerset, England. In 1933 it was abolished as a parish and absorbed into the neighbouring parish of Hemington (#11). The village is 2 miles (3 Km) south of Wellow, about 8 miles (13 km) miles southwest from Bath, and 6 miles (10 km) miles northwest of Frome.
From 1894 until 1933 Foxcote was in the Frome Rural District and in ancient times part of the Wellow Hundred.
Foxcote was on the route of the Somerset and Dorset Railway and just off the route of the "Colliers Way", which is named for the Somerset coalfield which included a colliery at Foxcote from 1853 to 1931. In 1896 they were owned by Writhlington, Huish and Foxcote Colliery Co., and by 1908 this had been changed to Writhlington Collieries Co. Ltd. The Upper and Lower Writhlington, Huish & Foxcote were later all merged into one colliery.
Historic Descriptions
1822 - Somersetshire Delineated by Christopher and John Greenwood
FORSCOTT — a parish in the hundred of Wellow, 8 miles N.W. from Frome; containing 10 inhabited houses, and as many families, the whole of whom are employed in agriculture. A small rivulet runs through this parish, under a stone bridge, and pursues its course to the river Avon, by Wellow, turning several mills in its way. The church is a small neat edifice, dedicated to St. James, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a tower at the west end im which are two bells. The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Frome 5 Rev. Israel Lewis, incumbent; instituted 1806. Population, 1801: 100; 1811: 129; 1821: 115.
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1875 - Somersetshire edited by Edward Robert Kelly
FOXCOTE (or FORSCOTE) is a parish and small village, 7 miles south-west from Bath, 7 north-west from Frome, and 2 north-east from Radstock railway stations, in the Eastern division of the county, western division of Wellow hundred, union and county court district of Frome, rural deanery of Frome, archdeaconry of Wells, and diocese of Bath and Wells, situated on a stream which divides the parish from Wellow. The church of St. James has a small ancient tower with four pinnacles and the rest of the building modern, and consists of a chancel and nave. The register dates from the year 1696. The living is a rectory, £105 tithe rent-charge, with residence and 40 acres of glebe land, in the gift of Sir J. Henry Greville Smyth, hart., and held by the Rev. Alfred Odell Elwell, M.A., of Worcester College, Oxford. Sir John Henry Greville Smyth, bart., is lord of the manor and the principal landowner. A corn mill stands on the small stream that runs through the village. There is an abundance of coal here, which is worked by a company. The soil is a yellow clay, lying on the inferior oolite, under which is bastard freestone. The crops are the usual cereals. The area is 580 acres; rateable value, £842; and the population in 1871 was 64.
1929 - Somerset by George Woosung Wade & Joseph Henry Wade
Foxcote (or Forscote) is a small hamlet 2 m. E.N.E. of Radstock. The church is modern, with the exception of the tower.
Research Tips
- The Somerset Heritage Centre (incorporating what was formerly the Somerset Record Office and the Somerset Local Studies Library) can be found at its new location at Langford Mead in Taunton. It has an online search facility leading to pages of interest, including maps from the First and Second Ordnance Survey (select "Maps and Postcards" from the list at the left, then enter the parish in the search box).
The Heritage Centre has an email address: archives@somerset.gov.uk.
- Three maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrate the changes in political boundaries over the period 1830-1945. All have expanding scales and on the second and third this facility is sufficient that individual parishes can be inspected.
- Somerset Hundreds as drawn in 1832. This map was prepared before The Great Reform Act of that year. Note the polling places and representation of the various parts of the county.
- Somerset in 1900, an Ordnance Survey map showing rural districts, the boundaries of the larger towns, the smaller civil parishes of the time, and some hamlets and villages in each parish
- Somerset in 1943, an Ordnance Survey map showing the rural districts after the changes to their structure in the 1930s
- Maps provided by the National Library of Scotland are also very useful. This map is currently set to an area now in the Sedgmoor District as it existed in the late 19th century, but can be moved to anywhere in the county using a variety of background maps. There is a very good search facility.
- A Vision of Britain through Time has a group of pages of statistical facts for almost every parish in the county
- GENUKI gives pointers to other archive sources as well as providing some details on each parish. The emphasis here is on ecclesiastical parishes (useful before 1837)
- A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 and tables of the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. The compiler has gone to a lot of work to provide this material. Respect his copyright.
- The FamilySearch Wiki for Somerset provides a similar but not identical series of webpages to that provided by GENUKI
- English Jurisdictions, a supplementary website to FamilySearch outlining local parish boundaries in the middle on the 19th century. The information provided is especially useful for establishing the relationship of the ecclesiastical parishes in large towns and cathedral cities.
- The Victoria History of the Counties of England – History of the County of Somerset, produced by The Institute of Historical Research at the University of London is a scholarly website with articles tracing the history of individual parishes which are sorted into their hundreds, the early subdivisions of the county. It traces the ownership of estates and manors, describes the local church in detail, and usually provides a map of each parish. The volumes for Somerset are much more recent than those for other counties. It appears to be a work in progress, only covering about half the county so far. A map of the places covered in the series is given in Volume 6, but 3 more volumes have been published since then. If a parish is included there will be a note in its Research Tips.
- The Somerset and Dorset Family History Society
- The Weston super Mare Family History Society
- The Bristol and Avon Family History Society
- A list of all Somerset parishes with online transcripts of parish registers The size of Somerset makes this a huge project. If it does not yield what you are looking for, try getting in touch with the organizer with patience and politeness.
- Somerset Online Parish Clerk project home page
- A collection of West Somerset Parish Register Transcriptions are online courtesy of Martin Southwood
Picture Gallery
 St. James the Less, Foxcote |
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