Iwerne Courtney, Dorset
Historical Description
Iwerne Courtnay or Shroton, a village and a parish in Dorsetshire. The village stands on the Iwerne rivulet, under Hambleton Hill, 2½ miles ENE of Shillingstone station on the Somerset and Dorset railway, and 4¼ NW of Blandford Forum, and has a post office under Blandford; money order and telegraph office, Iwerne Minster. The parish includes also Farringdon chapelry and Ranston tithing. Acreage, 1968; population, 560. The manor belonged formerly to the Courtenays, and belongs now to the Riverses. Ranston House is a chief residence. Hambleton Hill is crowned by an extensive ancient camp, either Roman or Danish, with two ramparts and ditches, and with outworks. The living is a rectory, united with the perpetual curacy of Farringdon, in the diocese of Salisbury; value,, £290 with residence. The church was rebuilt in 1610, and has an ancient tower. In 1874 the building was well restored. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel. A fair is held on 25 and 26 Sept. for horses, cattle, and cheese.
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 - |
Hundred | Redlane | |
Poor Law union | Blandford | 1835 - |
Registration district | Blandford | |
Registration sub-district | Blandford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register of baptisms, marriages and burials begins in 1562. 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. Mary (parish church)
The parish church of St. Mary is an edifice of stone of debased Perpendicular character, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, aisles, south porch and a Decorated western tower, surmounted by battlements and pinnacles and containing 5 bells, one of which was added in 1887: the church was restored in 1874, and has 350 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Iwerne Courtney 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 Iwerne Courtney from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Iwerne Courtney 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.