Place:Greinton, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameGreinton
Alt namesGrentonsource: Family History Library Catalog
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
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
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Greinton (#20 on map) is a civil parish and a village in Somerset, England, situated on the Somerset Levels and Moors at the foot of the Polden Hills, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west-southwest of Glastonbury and 7 miles (11 km) east of Bridgwater in the Sedgemoor District. It had a population of 193 in the UK census of 2011.

Archeological evidence points to Roman occupation, including a burial site, but most of Greinton's older houses date to the 19th century. A housing estate of semi-detached homes and barn conversions has been built in the 20th and 21st centuries. Greinton Manor may have been part of the Pouelt estate granted to Glastonbury Abbey in 729. Records trace the Manor's tenants, transfers, sales and inheritance through the 11th century up to its subdivision and sales in the 1950s.

Parts of Greinton's St Michael and All Angels Church date to the 12th century, with evidence that it may have been built on a pre-Christian site. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

Image:Bridgwater Rural small.png

Governance

Greinton was originally a parish in the Cannington 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. Greinton joined the non-metropolitan Sedgemoor District which covered the north-central section of Somerset.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI page on Greinton.
  • An article on Greinton 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 Greinton. 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.