Orchardleigh, Somerset
Historical Description
Orchardleigh, a parish in Somerset, on the river Frome, 2 miles N of Frome station on the G.W.R. Post town, Frome. Acreage, 730; population of the civil parish, 47; of the ecclesiastical, 166. The property belonged formerly to the Champneys, and belongs now to the Duckworth family. Orchardleigh Park is a seat of the Duckworths, and has grounds to the extent of nearly 800 acres, all nobly wooded and highly ornamental. The old mansion of the Champneys formerly stood in a hollow, and the existing mansion is a new edifice. The living is a rectory, united in 1867 with Lullington, in the diocese of Bath and Wells; net value, £220 with residence. The church is Early English, and consists of nave, transept, and chancel, with porch and small turret. It contains four windows of very beautiful 15th-century glass, and a pair of elaborately carved figures for holding hooks from which the lenten veil was formerly suspended, besides many other interesting features. It has been restored.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Somersetshire | |
Hundred | Frome | |
Poor Law union | Frome |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Somerset Archives & Local Studies, have images of the Parish Registers for Somerset online.
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 Orchardleigh from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Orchardleigh)
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.