Somerton, Somerset Family History Guide

Somerton is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Somerset.

Other places in the parish include: Somerton Earl, Somerton Door, Somerton Borough, Mildney, Midney, Hurcott, Highbrooks, and Catsgore.

Parish church: St. Michael

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1697
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1599

Nonconformists include: Bible Christian Methodist, Independent/Congregational, Society of Friends/Quaker, and Wesleyan Methodist.

Adjacent Parishes

Historical Descriptions

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

SOMERTON, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred, in Somerset. The town stands on an eminence adjacent to the river Cary, 5 miles ENE of Langport r. station; was a residence of the West Saxon kings, and gave name to Somersetshire; suffered devastation by the Danes in 877; had anciently a castle, in which King John of France was confined; is now a seat of petty-sessions; and has a post-office under Taunton, a banking office, two chief inns, a town hall, an ancient market cross, a recent police station, a decorated English church, three dissenting chapels, an endowed school with £30 a year, a national school, alms houses with £50 a year, charities £59, a weekly market on Tuesday, and nine annual fairs. The parish includes the tythings of S.-Borough, S.-Earl, and Hurcott, and the hamlets of S.-Door, Catsgore, Highbrooks, and Midney. Acres, 6,925. Real property, £11,973. Pop., 2,206. Houses, 480. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bath and Wells. Value, £279. Patron, the Earl of Ilchester. The sub-district contains nine parishes, and is in Langport district. Acres, 20,744. Pop., 5,797. Houses, 1,266. The hundred comprises 24,917 acres. Pop., 5,929. Houses, 1,271.

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

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

SOMERTON (St. Michael), a market-town and parish, in the union of Langport, hundred of Somerton, W. division of Somerset, 5 miles (N. N. W.) from Ilchester, and 123 (W. S. W.) from London; containing 1981 inhabitants. This was anciently the chief town in the county, and during the Saxon era a castle was erected here, which became a royal residence. The castle was subsequently converted into a state prison, and was the place of custody of many distinguished persons, among whom was John, King of France, removed hither from Hertford Castle by Edward III. Its site was afterwards occupied by a gaol, in the erection of which the materials of the ancient edifice were used, and which now forms part of the premises of the White Hart inn. The town is situated near the river Cary, over which is a stone bridge, and consists of several narrow streets. Glove-making is carried on to a considerable extent in connexion with the Yeovil trade. The market is on Tuesday: fairs take place on the Tuesday in Passion-week, and the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth Tuesdays following, for cattle; and on September 30th and November 8th, for cattle, sheep, hogs, and pedlery. Somerton is governed by a bailiff and constables, annually chosen by the inhabitants. The county magistrates formerly presided at petty-sessions in the town-hall, which stands in the centre of the market-place; they now meet at the Red Lion inn. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £16. 0. 7½., and in the gift of the Earl of Ilchester: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £259, with a glebe of 40 acres; and those belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Bristol, for £687, with 197 acres of glebe. The church is an ancient structure, having an octagonal embattled tower on the south side; the roof is a very curious specimen of carving in wood. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans; also a free school founded in the 27th of Charles II., by Thomas Glover, who endowed it with an estate producing £10. 10. per annum, in addition to which it has a rent-charge of £5, given by Alice Yates. On the eastern side of the hill above the village of Hurcot, are considerable quantities of fine white alabaster. Roman pavements have been discovered in the immediate vicinity.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

Maps

Vision of Britain historical maps

Administration

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