Place:Weare, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameWeare
Alt namesLower Wearesource: village in parish
Nether Wearesource: old alternate for Lower Weare
Upper Wearesource: village in parish
Alston Suttonsource: hamlet in parish
Brinscombesource: hamlet in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.269°N 2.84°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoBempstone Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Axbridge 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

Weare (#33 on map) and Lower Weare are small villages in Somerset, England, on the River Axe, south of the Mendip Hills. The parish comprises the villages of Upper and Lower Weare, and the hamlets of Alston Sutton, Brinscombe and Stone Allerton (the latter, being on the border between parishes, has been redirected to Chapel Allerton). In the UK census of 2011 it had a population of 658.

The first local governing body for Weare was the ancient hundred of Winterstoke and, from 1894 until 1974, the Axbridge Rural District.

History

After the Norman conquest the manor was granted to Walter of Douai and then passed to the Gaunt, Gourney and Brythemore families. The Gourneys established a borough original called Nether Weare and later Lower Weare, and were granted the right to hold fairs and even sent members to the Parliament of England. This new borough declined after 1316; however a borough court was still being held in Lower Weare in 1603.

Alston Sutton was a separate manor at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. The name means "Aethelnoth's settlement" and was held in 1286 by Walter de Sutton. The village declined by 1548 and was largely demolished soon afterwards.

Image:Axbridge Rural 1900 3.png

St. Gregory's Church dates from the 11th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. In the churchyard is a 15th-century cross, and a 19th-century church room. In 1257 the church was granted to St. Augustine's Abbey in Bristol and after the dissolution of the monasteries (circa 1536-1540) given to the dean and chapter of Bristol Cathedral.

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
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Weare, 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.