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Historic Descriptions
1822 - Somersetshire delineated by Christopher & John Greenwood
A parish in the hundred of Frome, 2½ miles N.E. from Frome, containing 94 inhabited houses, and 109 families, 6O of whom are employed in agriculture. This parish is situated on the borders of Wiltshire, and extends to the river Frome westward. The lands are mostly pasture, and the soil various. The Rev. J. M. Rogers resides at Berkley-house; and about a mile and a half north is Standermck-court, the residence of H. F. E. Edgell, Esq. The church is a neat modern building, dedicated to St. Mary, built in 1751. Its dimensions are forty-one feet square; over the centre is an octagonal dome, supported by four Ionic columns, and terminated by a skylight; and at the westward is a neat tower, with ballustrade railing. The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Frome; the Rev. J. M. Rogers is both patron and incumbent. Population, 1801, 598 — 1811, 577 — 1821, 550, exclusive of Standerwick.
In the census of 1811, Berkley and Standerwick. made a joint return, but they have lately been separated, in consequence of a new county-rate arrangement; therefore, in addition to the above return, in 1821, Standerwick. contains 14 houses, 15 families, and 86 inhabitants, making the total population of Berkley, 636.
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 E. of Frome, its post town. It is situated on the edge of Wiltshire, near the Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth section of the Great Western railway. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells, of the value of £410, in the patronage of Sir C. Mordaunt, Bart. The church, which was erected in 1751, is dedicated to St. Mary. Alexander Barclay, author of "The Ship of Fools," was a native of this village. He died in 1552. Berkeley House is the principal residence.
1929 - Somerset by George Woosung Wade & Joseph Henry Wade
Berkley, a small village, 2½ m. N.E. from Frome. It possesses a "classical" church—a very unusual thing for a country village—date 1751. It is an odd little building, with a balustraded W. tower and a small central dome, said to have been copied from St Stephen's, Walbrook. Within is a monumental slab tracing the descent of the Newboroughs, from the time of the Conquest till 1680. Berkley House dates from the time of William III.
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
- 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
Online Transcriptions
Other Resources
Picture Gallery
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