West Compton, Dorset
Historical Description
Compton-Abbas, West, a parish in Dorsetshire, 3½ miles SW of Maiden Newton station on the G.W.R., and 7 ENE of Bridport. Post town, Dorchester; money order and telegraph office, Maiden Newton. Acreage, 857; population, 51. The manor belonged to Milton Abbey. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; value, £120 with residence.
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 - |
| Poor Law union | Dorchester | 1836 - |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1538. 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).
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The church of St. Michael is a small modern building of stone in the Early English style. and consists of chancel, nave, west porch and one bell, hung in the porch: the chancel was rebuilt in 1858 and the rest of the church in 1867, and opened Oct. 3. 1867; there are 102 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 West Compton from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of West Compton 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.