Bathford, Somerset
Historical Description
Bathford, a village and a parish in Somerset. The village stands adjacent to the river Avon and to the G.W.K., 1 mile E by N of Bathampton station on the G.W.R., and 3½ miles ENE of Bath, and it has a post office under Bath; money order and telegraph office, Batheaston. The parish includes also the hamlets of Shockerwick and Warley. Acreage, 1819; population, 886. An old ford on the Avon at the village gave rise to the name Bathford, and an elegant viaduct, of one flat arch, takes across the railway a little below. Hampton Cliffs, in the vicinity, arc picturesque, and command remarkably fine views. Some interesting Roman remains have been found in the parish. Bathford House is a chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bath and Wells; gross value, £275 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The church is very good. The tower was rebuilt in 1879, with a figure of St Swithin on it in the act of benediction. There is a Baptist chapel, and a paper mill and quarries of Bath stone.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Somersetshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Bath-Ford St. Swithin | |
Hundred | Bath-Forum | |
Poor Law union | Bath |
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 Bathford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bath-Ford (St. Swithin))
Maps
Online maps of Bathford 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.