Place:Orchardleigh, Somerset, England

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia Orchardleigh (also spelled Orchardlea) (#20 on map) is a country estate in Somerset, approximately two miles north of Frome, and on the southern edge of the village of Lullington (#15). The privately held estate comprises a Victorian country house, the Orchardleigh Lake with its island church, and an 18-hole golf course. Orchardleigh was a separate civil parish until 1933 when it was absorbed into Lullington. The area was part of the hundred of Frome and the Frome Rural District (1894-1974). 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. Lullington became part of the non-metropolitan Orchardleigh District in 1974. [edit] Historic Descriptions [edit] 1822 - Somersetshire delineated by Christopher & John Greenwood A small parish in the hundred of Frome, 2½ miles N. from Frome; containing 9 inhabited houses, and as many families, 6 of whom are employed in agriculture. Orchardleigh-Park, the seat of Sir T. S. Champneys, Bart. comprises nearly the whole of the parish. The church is a small structure, consisting of a nave only. The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Frome; Rev. Joseph Algar, incumbent; instituted 1818. Population, 1801: 32; 1811: 32; 1821: 27.

1875 - Somersetshire edited by Edward Robert Kelly

Orchardleigh is a parish, 117 miles from London, and 2 north from Frome railway station, in the Eastern division of the county, Frome hundred, union, county court district and rural deanery, Wells archdeaconry, and diocese of Bath and Wells, partly bounded by the Frome river. The church (name unknown) is a small Gothic stone edifice, built about the reign of Edward I. having a chancel, nave, transept, small tower with 1 bell, and porch: it stands in the park, and contains some monuments to the Champneys family, the former owners of Orchardleigh. The register dates from 1670. The living is a rectory, annexed to the vicarage of Lullington, endowed with £600 royal bounty, computed at £310 yearly, in the gift of William Duckworth, esq., J.P. and D.L., and held by the Rev. Arthur Drummond Wilkins, late Fellow of New College, Oxford. There is a Sunday school held at the church: the children attend the day school in the adjoining parish of Lullington. Orchardleigh, the seat of William Duckworth, esq., J.P. and D.L., lord of the manor and sole landowner, occupies an elevated position in the centre of an undulating park of about 800 acres, and comprises nearly the whole of Orchardleigh parish; this beautiful demesne was once the property of the Champneys family, who were in possession for about three centuries, when it became the property of the present proprietor, who erected the mansion: it is of the mixed English, French, and Scotch styles of the Elizabethan period, and of an imposing appearance, commanding fine views of the surrounding country, including Clay Hill, the Wiltshire downs, and the surrounding woodland scenery: the park is adorned with numerous groups of stately elms and forest trees: it contains a lake of 24 acres and two ponds, and the carriage drive through the grounds, from one lodge gate to the other, is 2½ miles in length. The soil is loam and mar), and the subsoil is marl. The land is chiefly in pasturage. The acreage is 715; rateable value, £1,435; the population in 1871 was 38, and is now (1875) 58.

1929 - Somerset by George Woosung Wade & Joseph Henry Wade

Orchardleigh, a modern mansion, 2 m. N. from Frome, built to replace the ancient seat of the Champneys. In the park is a knoll crowned by three huge stones, which were once a cromlech, and are supposed to mark a place of sepulture. Upon an island in a lake is a small church, quite a little gem in its way. It contains a carved cup-shaped font, a beautiful Dec. priest's doorway, and an elaborately sculptured aumbry and piscina. The unique features of the building, however, are the small projecting figures on the N. and S. walls of the sanctuary; the hand of the one on the S. will be seen still grasping the staple on which was once suspended the Lenten veil (cp. Leigh-on-Mendip).

Research Tips

General Somerset 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

Other Resources

• Family and Local History in Frome
• Frome Yahoo Group
• Somerset Record Office
• Somerset Archives holdings for Parish of 'Orchardleigh'
• Beckington Village Website
• Frome Registration District Research Guide