Porlock, Somerset Family History Guide
Porlock is an Ancient Parish in the county of Somerset.
Other places in the parish include: Yearnor, West Porlock, Porlock Weir, and Bossington.
Alternative names:
Parish church:
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1618
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1594
Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
PORLOCK, a village and a parish in Williton district, Somerset. The village stands on a rapid rivulet, about a mile from the shore of Porlock bay, and 6 miles W of Minehead r. station; is environed by a fertile vale, over-hung by an amphitheatre of the Exmoor hills; was known to the Saxons as Porteloca; was an important place, perhaps a seat of kings, in the Saxon times; was attacked by Danish pirates in 918, and burned by Harold in 1052; retains, to the S of its church, remains of a camp formed by Harold; is now a decayed market-town; presents, nevertheless, a picturesque appearance; and has a post-office under Taunton, an inn, and fairs on the Thursdays before 12 May, 9 Oct., and 12 Nov. The poet Southey made a sojourn here, and wrote asonnet containing the lines,
Porlock ! thy verdant vale, so fair to sight,
Thy lofty hills which fern and furze embrown,
Thy waters that roll musically down
Thy woody glens, the traveller with delight
Recalls to memory.
The parish contains also the hamlets of West Porlock, Porlock-Weir, Bossington, and Yearnor; extends some distance along the coast; and has a port or quay, with a little trade, 1½ mile from the village. Acres, 6,019; of which 355 are water. Real property, £4,090. Pop., 835. Houses, 176. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Col. Blathwayte. Ashley-Combe is a seat of the Earl of Lovelace. P. bay is a slight encurvature, 4½ miles wide; and is overhung by cliffs, in some parts 300 feet high. The parish gives name to a breed of small sheep. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells. Value, £339. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is ancient; has a wooden spire; was recently restored; and contains a grand old monument of a knight and his lady, and several other monuments. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a Church of England school, and charities £107.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parish Records
Somerset Archives & Family History Groups
Weston-super-Mare & District FHS
Somerset Online Parish Clerk Project
Newspaper Archives
Bath Chronicle Newspaper 1770-1800
Forums
Somerset
Roy Parkhouse’s indexed parish register transcriptions
Somerset Pages Parish Register Transcripts
West Somerset Parish Register Transcriptions
Prisoners for Trial at Assizes 1810-1905
Prisoners in Ilchester Gaol 1821-44
Somerset Quarter Sessions 1625-1639
Visitations of Somerset 1531 & 1573
Somerset Historical Directories
Somerset Workhouse Admissions and Discharges
Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills Vol.1
Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills Vol.2
Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills Vol.3
Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills Vol.4
Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills Vol.5
Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills Vol.6
Somerset Medieval Wills 1501-1530
Records for England
Births and Baptism Records
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Great Britain, Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977
England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
Marriage Records
Great Britain Marriages, 1797-1988
England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
Death Records
England Death Records, 1998-2015
England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991
Great Britain Deaths and Burials, 1778-1988
England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957
England and Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1640-1660
Non-Conformist Records
England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977
Census
England and Wales Census, 1841
England and Wales Census, 1851
England and Wales Census, 1861
England and Wales Census, 1871
England and Wales Census, 1881
England and Wales Census, 1891
England and Wales Census, 1901
England and Wales Census, 1911
Occupations
United Kingdom, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941
War and Conflict
Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935
United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners’ Service Records, 1760-1913
United Kingdom, Royal Hospital Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners 1760-1887 (WO 122)
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
United Kingdom, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915
United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920
United Kingdom, World War I Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920
Newspaper Archives
British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices
British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries
Maps
Old maps of Britain and Europe from A Vision of Britain Through Time
Administration
- County: Somerset
- Civil Registration District: Williton
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop (Consistory) of the Archdeaconry of Taunton
- Diocese: Bath and Wells
- Rural Deanery: Dunster
- Poor Law Union: Williton
- Hundred: Carhampton
- Province: Canterbury