Abbots Leigh, Somerset Family History Guide

Abbots Leigh is a chapelry of Bedminster St John the Baptist Ancient Parish in Somerset.

Parish church: Holy Trinity

Parish registers begin: 1656

Nonconformists include:

Schools: National school (mixed).

Adjacent Parishes

• Long Ashton
• Wraxall
• Easton-in-Gordano
• Portbury

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

ABBOTS-LEIGH, a parish in Bedminster district, Somerset; on the left bank of the Avon, near Rownham ferry, 3½ miles WNW of Bristol. It has a post office under Bristol. Acres, 2,228. Real property, £3,822. Pop., 366. Houses, 66. Limestone is quarried. Leigh Court, the seat of Sir William Miles, Bart., is an elegant structure, with Ionic porticoes, commanding a fine view across the Bristol channel; and contains a splendid collection of pictures. An ancient manor-house, near the site of this mansion, belonging to the ancient family of Norton, and gave concealment to Charles II. after the battle of Worcester. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £77. Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The church was mostly burnt down about 1848, and afterwards partly restored, partly rebuilt. Charities, £33.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

LEIGH, ABBOT’S (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of Somerset, 3¼ miles (W. N. W.) from Bristol; containing 366 inhabitants. This place belonged to the abbot of St. Augustine’s in Bristol, from which circumstance it derived its name. After the battle of Worcester, Charles II. was concealed in the old manorhouse, which has since been replaced by an elegant mansion called Leigh Court, commanding fine views of the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and the Welsh hills. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Bedminster: the great tithes, which belong to St. Mary’s College, Winchester, have been commuted for £75, and the small tithes for a like sum.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840

ABBOTS-LEIGH, a parish in the hund. of Portbury, union of Bedminster, Somersetshire. Living, a curacy not in charge, annexed to the vicarage of Bedminster, in the archd. of Bath and dio. of Bath and Wells; gross income £78. Patrons, the dean and chapter of Sarum. Pop., in 1801, 292; in 1831, 360. Houses 44. Acres 2,150. A. P. £4,170. Poor rates, in 1837, £115 In the church-yard are the remains of an ancient stone-cross. The prefix to the name is derived from the circumstance of the manor having formerly been the property of the abbot of St Augustine in Bristol. The manor-house gave shelter to Charles II. after the battle of Worcester. On the same site has been erected Leigh-house, an elegant structure, commanding beautiful views, and containing a superb collection of paintings.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.

A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom 1808

Abbottsleigh, a hamlet to Bedminster, in the hundred of Portbury, Somerset, 121 miles from London; contains 44 houses and 292 inhabitants

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.

Complete Pocket Gazetteer of England and Wales 1807

Abbots Leigh (Somers.) a village about 3 miles distant from Ilminster, and 4 from Bristol. This parish contains a venerable mansion, which afforded an asylum to Charles II. after the unfortunate battle of Worcester in 1651

Source: Complete Pocket Gazetteer of England and Wales; Crosby Rev. J. Malham; 1807

Parish Records

FamilySearch

Maps

Old maps of Britain and Europe from A Vision of Britain Through Time

Administration

• County: Somerset
• Civil Registration District: Bedminster
• Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Bristol in the Deanery of Bristol (Episcopal Consistory)
• Diocese: Pre-1845 – Bath and Wells, Post-1844 – Gloucester and Bristol
• Rural Deanery: Pre-1845 – Redcliffe and Bedminster, Post-1844 – Bristol
• Poor Law Union: Bedminster
• Hundred: Portbury
• Province: Canterbury