Place:Loxton, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameLoxton
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.295°N 2.896°W
Located inSomerset, England
Also located inAvon, England     (1974 - 1996)
See alsoWinterstoke Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Axbridge Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district 1894-1974
Woodspring District, Avon, Englanddistrict municipality 1974-1996
North Somerset District, Somerset, Englanddistrict municipality and unitary authority covering the area since 1996
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia.

Loxton (#25 on map) is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to the M5 motorway in the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the village of Christon (parish absorbed in 1933) and had a population of 192 in the UK census of 2011.

Loxton takes its name from the Lox Yeo River (once simply known as "the Lox") on which it is situated. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Lochestone". The parish was part of the ancient Winterstoke Hundred and, from 1894 until 1974, of the Axbridge Rural District.

The village has been populated since Norman times. Old mine-workings on the hills indicate that at one time mining was abundant, probably for calamine, lead, copper and more recently yellow ochre.

Governance

Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, Loxton was in the Woodspring District of the county of Avon. The Local Government Act 1972 recommended that this part of Somerset stretching north to Bristol (which was mostly in Gloucestershire) and east to Bath should be converted into a new county named Avon. Like other counties following 1974 Avon was made up of several district municipalities and the one covering Loxton was the Woodspring District. Avon lasted until 1996 when Gloucestershire and Somerset were given back their old borders with a few adjustments. Since 1996 Loxton has been in the North Somerset District which is a unitary authority.

Image:Axbridge Rural 1900 3.png

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
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Loxton, Somerset. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.