Cann, Dorset
Historical Description
Cann, or Shaston-St-Rumbold, a parish in Dorsetshire, on the verge of the county, adjoining Shaftesbury, and 4½ miles SSE of Semley railway station. Post town, Shaftesbury, which is the money order and telegraph office. Acreage, 987; population, 501. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; value, £200. Patron, the Earl of Shaftesbury. There are two Primitive Methodist chapels.
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 - |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Cann St. Rumbold | |
| Hundred | Sixpenny Handley | |
| Poor Law union | Shaftesbury | 1836 - |
| Registration district | Shaftesbury | |
| Registration sub-district | Shaftesbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register of baptisms, marriages and burials begins in 1563. 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. Rumbold (parish church)
The parish church of St. Rumbold, rebuilt upon the old site in 1840, is a building of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave and an embattled western tower containing 4 bells: the stained east window was given by the late Edwin Thomas, formerly of this parish: there is a monument to the Rev. William Rigden B.A. a former rector, d. 26 May, 1870, and his son, William Gregson Rigden, and other memorials to the Bowles family, of the 18th century: in the chancel is a stained window to the memory of Mark Butt; the font dates from the 12th century: a carved oak lectern was presented in 1907 by the parishioners and friends at a cost of £25, in memory of the Rev. William Darby, rector of this parish 1878-1906: the church was renovated in 1910 at a cost of about £1,000: there are sittings for 230 persons.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Cann was in Shaftesbury Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Sturminster Registration District from 1937 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Cann from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Cann (St. Rumbold))
- Hunt & Co.'s Directory of Dorsetshire, Hampshire, & Wiltshire 1851
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Cann 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.