Mells Somerset Family History Guide

Mells is an Ancient Parish in the county of Somerset. Leigh-upon-Mendip is a chapelry of Mells.

Other places in the parish include: Vobster.

Alternative names:

Parish church:

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1565
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1594

Nonconformists include: Primitive Methodist and Wesleyan Methodist.

Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

MELLS, a village and a parish in Frome district, Somerset. The village stands in a valley 3½ miles WNW of Frome r. station; is a large place; and has a post-office under Frome, and fairs on the second Monday after Whit-Monday and on 29 Sept. The parish contains also the hamlet of Vobster. Acres, 3,611. Real property, £7,184; of which £960 are in mines, and £120 in iron-works. Pop. in 1851, 1,186; in 1861, 972. Houses, 222. The decrease of pop. was caused by a regulation which does not allow more than one family to occupy a cottage. The property is divided among a few. The manor, Mells Park, and much of the land belong to the Rev. J. S. H. Horner. The rocks include coal, pipe-clay, fuller’s-earth, lead ore, and manganese. Coal is worked; brick-making and lime-burning are carried on; and the manufacture of agricultural edge tools, long famous for their superior quality, is conducted in two factories. There are remains of several ancient camps. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells. Value, £630. Patron, the Rev. J. S. H. Horner. The church is later English; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with pinnacled tower; and has very fine painted windows. The vicarage of Vobster, with Leigh-upon-Mendip, is a separate benefice. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a Church school, and parish lands £75.

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

Parish Records

FamilySearch

England, Somerset, Mells – Census ( 1 )
Census returns for Mells, 1851-1891
Author: Great Britain. Census Office

England, Somerset, Mells – Church records ( 4 )
Bishop’s transcripts for Mells, 1594-1842
Author: Church of England. Parish Church of Mells (Somersetshire)

England, Somerset, Chantry, parish registers, 1846-1997
Author: Somerset Record Office

Parish registers for Mells, 1565-1901
Author: Church of England. Parish Church of Mells (Somersetshire)

Parish registers for Vobster, 1848-1903
Author: Church of England. Chapelry of Vobster (Somersetshire)

England, Somerset, Mells – History ( 1 )
The King’s peace : the justice’s notebooks of Thomas Horner, of Mells, 1770-1777
Author: Horner, Thomas, fl. 1770-1777; McGarvie, Michael; Morris, Michael; Morris, Sheila

England, Somerset, Mells – Land and property ( 1 )
Land tax assessments for Mells, 1766-1831
Author: Great Britain. Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Somersetshire)

England, Somerset, Mells – Poorhouses, poor law, etc. ( 2 )
Churchwardens’ accounts and vestry minutes, 1660-1835
Author: Church of England. Parish Church of Mells (Somersetshire)

Poor law records, 1677-1885
Author: Mells (Somerset)

England, Somerset, Mells – Schools ( 1 )
Admission registers of Mells School, 1880-1915
Author: Mells School (Somerset)

England, Somerset, Mells – Taxation ( 1 )
Land tax assessments for Mells, 1766-1831
Author: Great Britain. Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace (Somersetshire)

Maps

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

Administration

  • County: Somerset
  • Civil Registration District: Frome
  • Probate Court: Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Archdeaconry of Wells
  • Diocese: Bath and Wells
  • Rural Deanery: Frome
  • Poor Law Union: Frome
  • Hundred: Frome
  • Province: Canterbury