Place:Beckington, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameBeckington
Alt namesRudgesource: hamlet in parish
Standerwicksource: hamlet in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.266°N 2.287°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoFrome Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Frome Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district 1889-1974
Mendip District, Somerset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Beckington (#2 on map) is a village and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, about three miles north of Frome and across the River Frome from Lullington. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 983.

The parish contains the hamlets of Rudge and Standerwick. Standerwick (#24) was a civil parish until 1885, but was then absorbed into Beckington.

The parish was originally part of the hundred of Frome and of the Frome Rural District from 1894 until 1974.

Image:Frome Rural 1900 small A.png


Historic Descriptions

1822 - Somersetshire delineated by Christopher & John Greenwood

A parish in the hundred of Frome, situated on the turnpike road between Bath and Frome, being 1O miles S. S. E. from the former, and 3 miles N.N. E. from the latter; containing 246 inhabited houses, and 254 families, 78 of whom are employed in agriculture, and 131 in trade and manufacture. It was formerly a town of considerable importance, and carried on a large manufacture of woollen cloths, some of which are still made. It is bounded on the west by the river Frome, and extends westward to the borders of Wiltshire. The church is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Gregory[1], and consists of a nave, chancel, two side aisles, a vestry room, and two porches, with an embattled tower at the west end, containing a clock and six bells. The living is rectorial, united with Standerwick, in the deanery of Frome; Rev. H. Sainsbury, incumbent; instituted 1792. Population, 1801, 1469 — 1811, 1551 — 1821, 1645.

1831 - A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis

A parish in the hundred of FROME, county of SOMERSET, 3 miles (N. E.) from Frome, containing 16-15 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with that of Standerwick annexed, in the archdeaconry of Wells, and diocese of Bath and Wells, rated in the king's books at £19.11.0d, and in the patronage of the Rev. Henry Sainsbury. The church, dedicated to St. George[1], contains the remains of Samuel Daniel, poet-laureat and historian, who died here in 1619; and William Huish, rector of this parish, and one of the editors of the Polyglott Bible, who died in 1688. There are places of worship for Particular Baptists and Wesleyan Methodists. The manufacture of cloth was formerly extensively carried on in this parish, and still exists to a limited degree. Thomas Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and a distinguished statesman, was born here, in 1645.

1868 - The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland

A parish in the hundred of Frome, in the county of Somerset, 3 miles to the N.E. of Frome. Bath is its post town. It lies on the confines of Wiltshire, on the banks of the river Frome, and includes the hamlet of Rudge. This place was formerly the seat of a considerable cloth manufacture, and woollens are still made to a small extent. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells, of the value, with the rectory of Standerwick, which is annexed to it, of £540, in the patronage of the Rev. S. L. Sainsbury. The church is dedicated to St. Gregory[1]. It contains a monumental brass of the year 1475, an ancient font, and the monument to Samuel Daniel, poet and historian, who succeeded Spenser as poet-laureate in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and died in this village in 1619. Here also are interred the remains of Alexander Huish, one of the editors of the Polyglot Bible, who held the rectory of Beckington, and died in 1688. This was the birthplace of Thomas Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who died in 1645. The Wesleyans and Baptists have chapels in the village, and there are National and Sunday schools. The parochial charities amount to £23 a year.

1875 - Somersetshire edited by Edward Robert Kelly

A parish and village, 118 miles from London, 3 north-east from Frome railway station, and 10 south-west from Bath, in the Eastern division of the county, Frome hundred, union and county court district, rural deanery of Frome, Wells archdeaconry, diocese of Bath and Wells, situated on the high road from Frome to Bath. The church of St. Gregory[1] is an ancient stone building, in the Transition style : it has nave, aisles, chancel, and a side chapel, formerly belonging to the Sheppard and Kelson families, in which is a fine organ: and serves as a vestry; a tower (partly Norman) with 6 bells and clock, 2 porches, and a fine old Norman font; the church was restored in 1873; it was re-seated with open benches, and will seat 300 people; on the north side of the chancel, in canopied recesses, are three recumbent figures; there are also brasses and monuments to John St. Maur and his wife (A.D. 1485), the ancestors of the Seymours, Dukes of Somerset, and some brasses to the Compton family: in the north aisle is an inscribed slab, with bust, to Samuel Danyell, the poet laureate and historian, who was interred here in 1619 : Alexander Huish, one of the editors of Walton's Polyglot Bible, who died in 1668, was rector of the parish before and after the Commonwealth; the registry books of that time are curious, as indicative of the minuteness and beautiful style of his entries. The register dates from the year 1559; and contains an entry to the effect that Charles II passed through here after the battle of Worcester. The living is a manorial rectory, united with that of Standerwick, gross yearly value about £500, with residence, in the gift of, and held by, the Rev. Sainsbury Langford Sainsbury, M.A., of Trinity College, Oxford, whose family has been for centuries residents in this parish. The Rev. William Sainsbury was rector in 1710. There are National, British, and Sunday schools, and a chapel for Baptists and Wesleyans; likewise a reading room on a small scale, having about 40 members. In former times this place was celebrated for its manufacture of cloth; it was the birthplace of Thomas a Beckington, who died Bishop of Bath and Wells. The many old mansions attest its former importance, the old Castle House and the Manor House heing monuments, it is said, of its prosperity, an early as the time of William the Conqueror. The charities amount to £30 yearly. The Rev. Henry Sheppard is lord of the manor and chief landowner. The soil is various, and the subsoil clay and ruckley stone. The land is in pasture for dairy purposes. The acreage is 1,830 ; rateable value, £4,648; the population in 1871 was 1,005.

RUDGE is a hamlet adjoining the county of Wilts, 2 miles east, where there is a Baptist and Wesleyan chapel.

1929 - Somerset by George Woosung Wade & Joseph Henry Wade

Beckington, a large village on the Bath road, 3 m. N.E. from Frome. It was once famous for its cloth, and the number of old houses which it possesses and its general appearance of spaciousness bear testimony to its former importance. The church stands back from the main street, and is well worth a visit. It is chiefly Perp., but has a Norm. W. tower with Perp. windows, and a richly groined vault. A fine octagonal E.E. font stands in the S. aisle. Note (1) squints, (2) piscinas in sanctuary and S. aisle. The monuments are—(1) in N. wall of chancel, the effigy of a knight in armour, supposed to be J. de Evleigh (1360-70) and wife; (2) a little higher up, effigy of lady, Mary de Evleigh (1380-1400); (3) brass on chancel floor to John St Maur and wife (1485), though the lady, who, after John St Maur's death, married Sir John Biconyll, lies elsewhere; (4) brass on S. pier of chancel arch bearing a merchant's mark (said to belong to John Compton, d. 1510); (5) in N. aisle, slab and bust to S. Daniell (1619), reputed to have been poet-laureate (but see p. 29). Bishop Beckington of Wells (1443-65) was born here. At the corner of the lane leading to the church is Beckington Castle, a fine old gabled house with mullioned windows. Standerwick Court, a Queen Anne mansion, is a mile away; and in the neighbourhood is Seymour Court, a farmhouse, once the abode of Protector Somerset.

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

Online Transcriptions

Other Resources

Picture Gallery

St. George's, Beckington
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St. George's, Beckington
Bath Road Beckington
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Bath Road Beckington
Mount Pleasant, Beckington
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Mount Pleasant, Beckington
The Warminster Road, Beckington
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The Warminster Road, Beckington

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Church was, and still is, dedicated to St George. There was a brief time that it was mistakenly called St. Gregory. According to "The Tree Family History" published in c.1904 - a statue of St. Gregory was found in the Church which gave rise to the belief that the Church was originally dedicated to St. Gregory. This proved to be incorrect and the Church was again called St. George, but certain documents and maps do assign the name St. Gregory.