Place:Midsomer Norton, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameMidsomer Norton
Alt namesDownsidesource: tything in parish
Midsomer-Nortonsource: Family History Library Catalog
Weltonsource: Family History Library Catalog
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish, Urban district
Coordinates51.3°N 2.467°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoChewton Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Norton Radstock, Somerset, Englandurban district with varying names in which Midsomer Norton situated 1933-2011
Wansdyke District, Avon, Englanddistrict in which Midsomer Norton located 1974-1996
Bath and North East Somerset District, Somerset, Englandunitary authority which took over from Avon on its abolition in 1996
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath & North East Somerset unitary authority, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Bath, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Wells, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Frome, and 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Bristol. In the UK census of 2011 it had a population of 10,997.

Midsomer Norton is characterised by the River Somer which runs the length of the town centre. The town has a long history which can be seen through a number of early churches which remain, but it really started to grow and become a transport hub with the development of the Somerset coalfield. For many years the coalmines provided employment for local men. They ceased operations in the 1960s, around the same time that the town's two railway stations also closed. Afterwards, good employment opportunities still remained for the town with elements of the print industry, and although some of these plants have also now begun to close, overall employment levels in the area remain very high.

Governance

The parish, including the tything of Downside, was part of the hundred of Chewton. With the Local Government Act 1894 it became an urban district. In 1933, along with Radstock and Westfield, it became part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, which lasted until 1974.

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, all urban and rural districts across England were abolished and counties were reorganized into metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts. In addition, this area of Somerset with the city of Bristol and part of Gloucestershire were declared a new county named Avon. Like other counties, it had non-metropolitan districts covering the more non-urban areas. The area directly south of Bristol and east to the border with Wiltshire was placed in the Wansdyke District, while the section west to the Bristol Channel was placed in the Woodspring District. The county of Avon only lasted until 1996. When it was abolished a slight restructuring of non-metropolitan districts occurred to allow those parts of Avon to return to Somerset and Gloucestershire. Midsomer Norton is now in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. It has its own town council.

Research Tips

  • [https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/MidsomerNorton GENUKI page on Midsomer Norton.
  • 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 Midsomer Norton. 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.