Huish Episcopi, Somerset

Historical Description

Huish Episcopi, a parish in Somerset, at the confluence of the rivers Yeo and Parrot, 1 mile from Langport station on the G.W.R., enclosing the town of Langport on almost every side. It includes the hamlets of Coombe, Pibsbury, Newtown, and Wearne. Post town, Langport. Acreage, 2216; population, 637. The manor of Huish Episcopi belonged to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and now belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. The parish contains extensive and valuable beds of blue and white lias. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bath and Wells; value, £301. Patron, the Archdeacon of Wells. The church is of very various architecture, comprises nave, chancel, S transept and N Lady chapel, and has a lofty tower, one of the most beautiful in Somerset.

Administration

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

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

Church Records

The register dates from the year 1678.

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Somerset Archives & Local Studies, have images of the Parish Registers for Somerset online.

Churches

Church of England

St. Mary (parish church)

The church of St. Mary is an ancient building of stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts, south porch and an embattled western tower with crocketed pinnacles and containing 6 bells, dated respectively 1620, 1650, two 1822, 1839 and one 1902, given by the late Mrs. Michell, of Huish House: in 1903 the five bells were re-hung and the tower thoroughly restored at a cost of £535; the tower is remarkable for its fine proportions, great beauty, elegance of design and for the excellence of its construction and ornamental work: the doorway of the south porch is a fine example of Norman work: the oak pulpit bears the date 1625 with the initials C.B., T.H.: the stained east window was presented by the late vicar in memory of his children, and there are memorial windows to Sir John Michell K.C.B. Major-General John Edward Michell R.A., C.B. and to the late Mr. James Kelway and his first wife: the church was restored in 1873 at a cost of £1,450: in 1882 a brass lectern was presented by Mr. William Kelway as a memorial to his wife, and in 1884 an organ was purchased, and in 1892 placed in an organ chamber, built in that year on the north side of the chancel at the cost of the late Mr James Kelway: there are 450 sittings: in 1896 the churchyard was enlarged by half an acre; a lych gate, the gift of Mrs. Paul, in memory of her husband. Mr. William Bond Paul, of Wearne Wyche, was erected in 1897.

Methodist

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Huish Episcopi from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Huish-Episcopi (St. Mary))

Maps

Online maps of Huish Episcopi are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Somerset papers online:

• Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette
• Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser
• Western Gazette
• Wells Journal
• Somerset County Gazette

Visitations Heraldic

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