Place:Wheathill, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameWheathill
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates51.075°N 2.598°W
Located inSomerset, England     ( - 1933)
See alsoWhitley Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Wincanton Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1933
Lovington, Somerset, Englandparish into which it was absorbed in 1933
South Somerset District, Somerset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Wheathill (#36 on map) from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"WHEATHILL, a parish in Wincanton [registration] district, Somerset; 3½ miles WSW of Castle-Cary [railway] station. Post town: Somerton, under Taunton. Acres: 314. Real property, returned with Lovington. Population: 38. Houses: 7. The property belongs to Mrs. Mills. A priory-cell to Glastonbury abbey was here, and is now a farmhouse. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells. Value: £110. Patron: Mrs. Mills. The church was restored in 1858."

The church in Wheathill is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

In 1933 the civil parish of Wheathill was abolished and absorbed into the neighbouring parish of Lovington (#17). Both parishes were part of the Wincanton Rural District and since 1974 the joint parish has been covered by the non-metropolitan district of South Somerset.

Image:Wincanton Rural 1900 small.png

Research Tips

  • GENUKI page on Wheathill
  • An article on Wheathill from the Victoria History of the Counties of EnglandHistory of the County of Somerset, produced by The Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
  • 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