Maiden Newton, Dorset
Historical Description
Maiden Newton, a village and a parish in Dorsetshire. The village stands on the river Frome, and has a station on the G.W.R., 7½ miles NW of Dorchester, and 145 from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office, was once a market-town, and has fairs on 9 March and 4 May. A cattle sale is held on alternate Mondays. Acreage of parish, 2893; population, 694. Ironfounding and brewing are carried on.Some Roman tessellated pavement was found on the S border near the end of the 18th century. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; value, £390 with residence. The thurch is Norman; consists of chancel, nave, S aisle, and transept, with a central embattled tower; and is in good condition. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Dorsetshire | |
Diocese | Bristol | 1542 - 1836 |
Diocese | Salisbury | 1836 - |
Ecclesiastical parish | Maiden-Newton St. Mary | |
Hundred | Tollerford | |
Poor Law union | Dorchester | 1836 - |
Registration district | Dorchester | |
Registration sub-district | Maiden Newton |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1545. 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).
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Maiden Newton, 1556-1812 is online.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The parish church of St. Mary, situated at the extreme end of the parish, is an ancient edifice of stone, chiefly in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, transept, south porch, and a central embattled Norman tower containing 6 bells : there are 400 sittings.
St. Mary, Maiden Newton
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Maiden Newton was in Dorchester Registration District from 1837 to 1949 and Weymouth Registration District from 1949 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Maiden Newton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Maiden-Newton (St. Mary))
- Kelly's Directory of Dorset, 1889
- Hunt & Co.'s Directory of Dorsetshire, Hampshire, & Wiltshire 1851
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Maiden Newton 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 Dorset County Chronicle and the Sherborne Mercury online.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
CruxtonNotton
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.