Chardstock, Dorset
Historical Description
Chardstock, a village and a parish in Dorsetshire. The village stands on the river Kit, a tributary of the Axe, near the Yeovil and Exeter railway, between the Chard Road and Axminster stations, 3 miles SSW of Chard, under which it has a post office. Acreage, 5362; population, 1075. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; gross value, £346 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1864.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Dorsetshire | - 1896 |
| Ancient County | Devonshire | 1896 - |
| Diocese | Bristol | 1542 - 1836 |
| Diocese | Salisbury | 1836 - |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Chardstock St. Andrew | |
| Hundred | Beaminster Forum and Redborne |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register date from the year 1597, and are in excellent preservation.
Churches
Church of England
St. Andrew (parish church)
The church of St. Andrew, formerly only consisting of chancel and nave, was rebuilt and enlarged in 1864 by the addition of north aisle, south porch, organ chamber and vestry, a chapel and a western tower containing 7 bells and a clock, with Cambridge chimes; there are 6 bells in the peal, and an old bell, on which the clock strikes: the chancel, designed in the Early Decorated style, has a stained east window of three lancets, and a reredos of Caen stone: the north side is Early Decorated, and the south Perpendicular: there are sittings for 570 persons.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Chardstock was in Axminster Registration District from 1837 to 1896 when it was wholly transferred to the county of Devon
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Chardstock from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Chardstock (St. Andrew))
- 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 Chardstock 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.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
Chardstock All SaintsVisitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.