Place:Mells, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameMells
Alt namesVobstersource: village in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.233°N 2.383°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoFrome Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Mells and Leigh Hundred, Somerset, Englandsecond hundred in which it was located
Frome Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1974
Mendip District, Somerset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Mells (#17 on map) is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, near the town of Frome. It had a population of 638 in the UK census of 2011.

The parish includes the village of Vobster which had a coal mine of the same name on the Somerset coalfield and a quarry, both of which are now disused. During the 19th and early 20th centuries Mells and surrounding villages had several coal mines, much of which may have supplied the iron works of iron magnate James Fussell (1748–1832).

Mells and the adjacent parish of Leigh upon Mendip made up the Mells and Leigh Hundred as well as both being part of Frome Hundred. Mells was also part of Frome Rural District until 1974 when the Mendip non-metrolpolitan district was established as the intermediate form of government between civil parish and county.

The stories behind the nursery rhymes "Little Jack Horner sat in a corner" and "The house that Jack built" are both purported to be about Jack Horner, a native of Mells. See the article, The Horner House at Mells.

Image:Frome Rural 1900 small A.png

Historic Descriptions

1822 - Somersetshire delineated by Christopher & John Greenwood

A parish in the liberty of Mells and Leigh, 3½ miles W. from Frome, containing 231 inhabited houses, and 260 families, 50 of whom are employed in agriculture, 126 in trade, manufacture, or handicraft, and 84 not comprised in either class. A considerable proportion of the population is employed in the coal and iron works. Here are two fairs annually; one on the Monday after Trinity week, and the other on Michaelmas-day. Mells-Park, delightfully situated at a short distance W. S.W. of the village, is the seat of T. S. Horner, Esq. The church is a handsome structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and two side aisles, with a tower at the west end, containing a clock and six bells. The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Frome; Rev. John Bishop, D. D. incumbent; instituted 1783. Population, 1801, 1113 — 1811, 1061 — 1821, 1147.

1929 - Somerset by George Woosung Wade & Joseph Henry Wade

Mells, a large village 3 m. W.N.W. from Frome (nearest stat. Mells Road). Mells possesses a fine church, several old houses, and a well-merited reputation for picturesqueness. The church is a rich example of 15th-cent. Somerset Perp., with the usual low chancel and an elaborately panelled and pinnacled W. tower (cp. Leigh). Note (1) fine groined porch (cp. Doulting); (2) octagonal vestry on S. with chamber above; (3) mural tablet with emblem of peacock, on N. wall of tower, designed by Burne-Jones; (4) Norm. font. There are some modern brasses to former incumbents, and in N. chapel a tablet to Sir J. Homer (1659). Immediately adjoining the church on W. is a fine gabled Elizabethan manor house. Mells Park (J.F. Horner) is a plain freestone mansion, standing in some well-timbered grounds at the farther end of the village. The founder of the family is popularly reputed to be the "little Jack Horner" of nursery fame. In the neighbourhood of Mells are three camps, Newbury and Wadbury, on the road to Elm, and Tedbury, on the way to Frome. The last mentioned is triangular, occupying a point of land between two ravines (cp. Ruborough).

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

Articles

Other Resources

Picture Galllery

St. Andrew's Church
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St. Andrew's Church
New Street
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New Street
Selwood Street
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Selwood Street
War Memorial
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War Memorial
Thatched Cottages
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Thatched Cottages
Mells Manor
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Mells Manor
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Mells, Somerset. 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.