Place:Chilton Polden, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameChilton Polden
Alt namesChilton upon Poldensource: another name
Chilton-upon-Poldensource: hyphenated
Chilton-Burtlesource: hamlet in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.153°N 2.896°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoWhitley Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Bridgwater Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district 1894-1974
Sedgemoor District, Somerset, Englandnon-metropolitan district covering the area since 1974

Chilton Polden (#11 on map) (sometimes Chilton upon Polden) is a a civil parish and a rural village in Somerset, England. situated close to Edington (#16) on the Somerset Levels to the north of the Polden Hills in the Sedgemoor District. The parish had a population of 698 in the UK census of 2011.

The Polden estate was given to Glastonbury Abbey by Æthelheard of Wessex in 729.

The Anglican parish church of St Edward has 15th-century origins and was rebuilt in 1889 by Henry Edwards. The Parish Room in the churchyard dates from the 14th century.

Chilton Priory (also known as Stradling's Folly) was originally built as a folly, and subsequently enlarged to become a country house.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Chilton Polden.

Image:Bridgwater Rural small.png

Governance

Chilton Polden was an ancient parish in the Whitley Hundred, one of the hundreds or early subdivisions of the county of Somerset. From 1894 until 1974 it was part of the Bridgwater Rural District.

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. Chilton Polden joined the non-metropolitan Sedgemoor District which covered the north-central section of Somerset.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI page on Chilton Polden.
  • An article on Chilton Polden from the Victoria History of the Counties of EnglandHistory 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 Chilton Polden. 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.