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Henstridge, Somerset

Historical Description

Henstridge, a village and a parish in Somerset. The village stands near the boundary with Dorsetshire, 6½ miles S of Wincanton, and has a station on the Somerset and Dorset railway, 115 from London., and a post, money order, and telegraph office. under Blandford. The parish contains also the hamlets of Yenston, Whitchurch, and Bowden. Acreage, 4255; population, 1263. An alien priory, a cell to St Sever in Normandy, was founded here in the 11th century, by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bath and Wells; value, £310 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The church contains an altar-tomb of Sir William Carent and his lady; the building was restored in 1873. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels. Inwood is the chief residence.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

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

Ancient CountySomersetshire 
Ecclesiastical parishHenstridge St. Nicholas 
HundredHorethorne 
Poor Law unionWincanton 

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


Census Transcript

We have transcribed the 1901 census for Henstridge.


Church Records

The parish register dates from the year 1653.

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


Churches

Church of England

St. Nicholas (parish church)

The church of St. Nicholas was rebuilt, with the exception of the ivy-covered tower and a portion of the north and west walls of the north aisle, in 1873 at a cost of £3,235, the material used being local forest marble, with Doulting stone dressings, a Decorated south aisle and porch being added: the church now consists of chancel with north aisle, organ chamber on the south side, serving also as a vestry, nave of five bays, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower, with pinnacles and containing a clock and 6 bells, three of which were recast and the sixth added in 1900: the Perpendicular chancel aisle retains a fine canopied altar tomb, with two mutilated recumbent effigies representing William Carent, of Toomer and Margaret (Stourton), his wife; it is dated 1463, and is richly carved, illuminated and adorned with shields bearing the arms of Carent and Stourton; in the north-west corner is a raised tabernacle of blue lias stone with sculptured canopy; the moulded chancel arch is of lofty proportions and springs from corbels of Devonshire marble and Bath stone, richly carved: the ancient Perpendicular font has been restored; two windows in the chancel are stained: in 1900 the tower was rebuilt, and in 1908 a clock was placed in the tower as a memorial to the late Rev. Prebendary Arthur Giro Dowell M.A., vicar here 1883-1904: there are sittings for 440 persons.

St. Nicholas, HenstridgeNave of St. Nicholas, Henstridge

Congregational

Congregational Chapel

The Congregational chapel, founded in 1792, affords 230 sittings.


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 Henstridge from the following:


Maps

Online maps of Henstridge are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

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


Visitations Heraldic

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

DistrictSouth Somerset
CountySomerset
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Postal districtBA8
Post TownTemplecombe

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