Hilton, Dorset
Historical Description
Hilton, a parish in Dorsetshire, under Bulbarrow Camp, 7½ miles WSW of Blandford town and station on the Somerset and Dorset railway. It contains the hamlets of Aller, Ansty, and Hartfoot Lane, and has a post office under Blandford; money order and telegraph office, Melcombe Bingham. Acreage, 3044; population, 567. Orchards and gardens occupy considerable space. Slate, coal, and bog-iron abound, and some gold has been found. There are many mineral springs. Druidical remains, Roman urns and coins, Early English coins, and other ancient relics have been found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; net value, £250 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church is old, of Perpendicular date, with evidence of being on the site of a Norman church. It contains several points of interest, among them being twelve ancient paintings on wood representing the twelve apostles, and brought here from Milton Abbey. On the groined roof of the S porch the arms of the abbeys of Milton and Abbotsbury are carved. The church has recently been carefully restored and has a tower. There is a reading-room at Ansty.
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 | Hilton All Saints | |
| Hundred | Whiteway | |
| Poor Law union | Blandford | 1835 - |
| Registration district | Blandford | |
| Registration sub-district | Milton Abbas |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Census Records
We have transcribed the 1901 census for Hilton.
Church Records
The parish register of baptisms, marriages and burials begins in 1603. 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
All Saints, Village Road (parish church)
The parish church of All Saints is a handsome edifice of flint and stone in the Decorated style, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, aisles, south porch, vestry and an embattled western tower of three stages containing 6 bells: the church was thoroughly restored in 1891-2, under the direction of Mr. W. J. Fletcher F.R.I.B.A. of Wimborne, at a total cost of £1,763. and the chancel at the same time by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, at a cost of £400: there are 300 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Hilton was in Blandford Registration District from 1837 to 1956 and Poole Registration District from 1956 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Hilton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Hilton (All Saints))
- 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 Hilton 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
AllerAnsty
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.