Goathurst, Somerset
Historical Description
Goathurst, a parish in Somerset, 3½ miles SW by W of Bridgwater town, with stations on the G.W.R. and S. &D.R. It has a post office under Bridgwater; money order and telegraph officeyNorth Petherton. Acreage, 1673; population of the civil parish, 253; of the ecclesiastical, 238. The manor belonged to the Gatherests, the Powletts, and the Halswella, and passed to the Tyntes. Halswell House is a handsome structure of 1689, built by Sir Halswell Tynte on the site of a previous mansion, and stands amid splendid grounds, with grottoes, temples, cascades, and distant prospects over land and sea. The parish is famous for the size and beauty of its trees. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells; value, £300 with residence. The church is ancient but good, consists of nave, chancel, and transepts, with a tower, and contains monuments of the Tyntes.
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 | Goathurst St. Edward | |
Hundred | Andersfield | |
Poor Law union | Bridgwater |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Goathurst 1539-1812, Somerset is available to browse online.
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 Goathurst from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Goathurst (St. Edward))
Maps
Online maps of Goathurst 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.