Hawkchurch, Dorset

Historical Description

Hawkchurch, a village and a parish in Dorsetshire. The village stands near the boundary with Devonshire and the river Axe, 4 miles from Chard Road station on the L. & S.W.R., and has a post office under Axminster; money order and telegraph office, Axminster. The parish comprises the tithings of Wyldecourt and Phillyholme. Acreage, 4088; population, 571. The manor belonged to Cerne Abbey, and was given at the dissolution to John Leigh. Lambert's Castle Hill rises to an altitude of about 990 feet, and has traces of a Roman camp. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; gross value, £560 with residence. Patrons, Keble College, Oxford. The church was rebuilt in 1862, on the site and after the model of a previous one; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with vestry, porch, and tower, and shows different styles in good amalgamation - the nave being Norman, the aisles and chancel Decorated English, and the tower Perpendicular English. There is likewise a Congregational chapel.

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 Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Hawkchurch, 1664-1812 is online.

Civil Registration

Hawkchurch 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 Hawkchurch from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Hawkchurch (St. John the Baptist))
• Kelly's Directory of Dorset, 1889
• 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 Hawkchurch 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.

Parochial History

Hawkchurch was officially transferred to Devon by the Local Government Board Provisional Order Confirmation (No. 3) Act, 1896

Visitations Heraldic

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