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Leigh, Dorset

Historical Description

Leigh, a parish, formerly a chapelry of Yetminster, in Dorsetshire, but separated in 1842 and constituted a parish in 1866. It is 3 miles SE of Yetminster station on the G.W.R., and 6 SSW of Sherborne. There is a post and money order office under Sherborne; telegraph office, Chetnole. Area of the parish, 2025 acres; population, 395. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; net value, £196 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church is good, and was thoroughly restored in 1889. There is a Wesleyan chapel. Totnell is a hamlet in the parish.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyDorsetshire 
DioceseBristol1542 - 1836
DioceseSalisbury1836 -
HundredYetminster 
Poor Law unionSherborne1835 -
Registration districtSherborne 
Registration sub-districtYetminster 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

The register dates from the year 1847. The original register books are now deposited with the Dorset Archives Service, but have been digitised by Ancestry.co.uk and made available on their site (subscription required).


Churches

Church of England

St. Andrew (parish church)

The parish church of St. Andrew is an edifice of stone, in the Late Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, north aisle, south porch and an embattled western tower with pinnacles, containing 5 bells: there is a memorial window to the Rev. Newton Henry Smart, a former vicar, d. 1854, and also one to Thomas Ffooks, d. 1910: the church was restored in 1854, and again in 1890, and affords 130 sittings.

St. Andrew, Leigh
St. Andrew, Leigh
St. Andrew, Leigh
St. Andrew, Leigh


Civil Registration

Leigh was in Sherborne Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Sturminster Registration District from 1937 to 1974


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Leigh from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.


Maps

Online maps of Leigh are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the Dorset County Chronicle and the Sherborne Mercury online.


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.

DistrictEast Dorset
CountyDorset
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Postal districtBH21
Post TownWimborne

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