Melplash, Dorset

Historical Description

Melplash, an ecclesiastical parish in Dorsetshire. It lies 2½ miles SSE of Beaminster, and 2¼ from Bridport station on the G.W.R. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office at Bridport. Population, 412. Melplash Court, which was once a manor, is now a farmhouse, and was the birthplace of Sir Thomas More, who suffered in the time of Henry VIII. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; net value, £270 with residence. The church, consecrated in 1846, replaced an ancient one built about the 14th century, which was long standing in ruins.

Administration

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

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

Church Records

The register dates from the year 1846.

Churches

Church of England

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Melplash from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Melplash)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Melplash 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.

Visitations Heraldic

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