Somersall Herbert, Derbyshire

Historical Description

Somersall Herbert, a parish in the rural district of Sudbury in Derbyshire, 3 miles ENE of Uttoxeter railway station. It has a post and money order office under Derby; telegraph office, Sudbury. Acreage, 672; population, 85. The manor belongs to Lord Vernon, who is principal landowner. The Hall is an interesting and picturesque half-timbered house of probably the early part of the 15th century, and has been the property and seat of the Fitzherbert family from the beginning of the 13th century. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Southwell; gross value, £196 with residence. The church consists of a nave and chancel, with a bell-turret, and contains a fine Norman font. Originally a chapel, it became a parish church when the rectory was ordained about 1400. It was twice rebuilt in the 19th century, and little of the ancient fabric remains beyond a portion of the walls and a window of the Decorated period. In the churchyard is a cross of about 1420 date in an exceptionally good state of preservation, though the head and two side arms are gone.

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

Ancestry.co.uk, in conjunction with the Derbyshire Record Office, have the Church of England Baptisms (1538-1916), Marriages and Banns (1538-1932), and Burials (1538-1991) online.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Somersall Herbert from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Somersall-Herbert (St. Peter))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Derbyshire is online.

Newspapers and Periodicals

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

• Derby Daily Telegraph
• Derby Mercury
• Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald
• Derbyshire Courier