Place:Sock Dennis, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameSock Dennis
Alt namesSock-Dennissource: hyphenated
TypeExtra parochial area, Ancient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates50.988°N 2.686°W
Located inSomerset, England     ( - 1957)
See alsoTintinhull Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Yeovil Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district 1894-1957
Tintinhull, Somerset, Englandparish which absorbed part of Sock Dennis in 1957
Ilchester, Somerset, Englandparish which absorbed part of Sock Dennis in 1957
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Sock Dennis (#29 on map) is now an historic manor in the parish of Ilchester in Somerset, England. It was a civil parish from 1858 until 1957.

In the Domesday Book of 1086 the manor of Sock Dennis was in the possession of Robert, Count of Mortain. From the mid-13th century it was described as a manor, but by the end of the 18th century it was "an obliterated place". The place name derives from "Sock", probably an area of marsh or streams, and the family name of the successors of William the Dane, a 12th-century owner. The family of Dennis was apparently of Danish origin, and was recorded in early Norman charters in French as le Deneys, meaning "The Dane", which was frequently Latinised by scribes as "Dacus", being the adjectival form of "Dacia", the mediaeval Latin for Denmark, thus "Danish".

There is an area of well-preserved ridge and furrow earthworks over three fields to the east of Sock Dennis.

There was a church in the village of Sock Dennis in 1286. It was a daughter church of Yeovil. In 1297 the church was worth £7 15s, but by 1575 the church had disappeared. A doorway, probably of the early 16th century, and perhaps forming part of the fabric of the church, is incorporated in one of the buildings of Sock Dennis farm, which is all that now remains of the village.

Image:Yeovil Rural 1900 small.png

In 1861 Sock Dennis's total population was 26. In 1901 it was 22. By 1951 the population was 23.

After the church in Sock Dennis was destroyed, and the place was almost depopulated, it lost its parochial rights. In 1884 it was reduced, in order to enlarge the parish of Tintinhull. In 1957 the parish was abolished and 401 acres (1.62 km2) with a population of 11 people transferred to Ilchester parish (#13) and 287 acres (1.16 km2) and 12 people transferred to Tintinhull parish (#34).

The area is now within the South Somerset District of Somerset.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI page on Sock Dennis.
  • An article on Sock Dennis from the Victoria History of the Counties of England – History 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 Sock Dennis. 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.