Place:High Ham, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameHigh Ham
Alt namesHamsource: alternate name
Low Hamsource: chapelry in parish
Nether Hamsource: alternate name for Low Ham
Beer (in High Ham)source: tything in parish
Henleysource: hamlet in parish
Paradisesource: hamlet in parish
Picts Hillsource: hamlet in parish
Waggsource: hamlet in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.076°N 2.82°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoWilliton and Freemanors Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was part located
Whitley Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was part located
Langport Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1974
South Somerset District, Somerset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

High Ham (#14 on map) (also known as Ham) is a civil parish and a village in Somerset, England. Within the parish of High Ham are the villages of High Ham and Low Ham and the hamlets of Henley, Paradise and Picts Hill. According to the UK census of 2011, the parish had a population of 909.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of High Ham from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HAM, or HIGH HAM, a village and a parish, in Langport [registration] district, Somerset. The village stands 3½ miles N of Langport [railway] station; and has a post office, of the name of High Ham, under Langport. The parish includes also the chapelry of Low Ham or Nether Ham, the tything of Beer, the hamlet of Henley, the Langport workhouse, and part of the hamlets of Wagg and Paradise. Acres: 4,229. Real property: £7,171. Population: 283. Houses: 243. The property is subdivided. The manor of Low Ham belongs to the Mildmays. High Ham living is a rectory, and Nether Ham a [perpetual] curacy, in the diocese of Bath and Wells. Value of [High Ham]: £533; of [Nether Ham]: £40. Patron of the former: Worcester College, Oxford; of the latter: H. G. ST. J. Mildmay, Esq. The parish church is perpendicular English; and consists of nave, transept, and chancel, with porch and tower. There are Independent chapels, and a parochial school."

[It is noted that the population quoted does not balance with the number of houses. The population could be 1,283 with the first number being missed in the scanning.]

Image:Langport Rural 1900 small.png

Governance

The parish was part of the hundred of Williton and Freemanors Hundred and also part of the Whitley Hundred, two of the hundreds or early subdivisions of the county of Somerset. From 1894 until 1974 it was one of the parishes in the Langport Rural District.

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. High Ham has been in the non-metropolitan South Somerset District since 1974.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI page on High Ham.
  • An article on High Ham from the Victoria History of the Counties of EnglandHistory of the County of Somerset, produced by The Institute of Historical Research.
  • 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 High Ham. 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.