Marshwood, Dorset
Historical Description
Marshwood, a village and a parish in Dorsetshire. The village stands on the river Char, 5 miles SW of Beaminster, and 5 from Chard Road station on the L. & S.W.R. Post town, Charmouth. Acreage of parish, 3530; population, 348. The Char's valley here bears the name of the Vale of Marshwood, and is a very rough country with cold stiff clay of the lias formation, but is noted for its large-sized oaks. There are two ancient camps. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Whitchurch Canonicorum, in the diocese of Salisbury. The church was rebuilt in 1884.
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 | Whitchurch Canonicorum | |
| Poor Law union | Beaminster | 1836 - |
| Registration district | Beaminster | |
| Registration sub-district | Netherbury |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1841. 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).
The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Marshwood, 1614-1673 is online
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The parish church of St. Mary is a plain building of stone in the Gothic style, erected in 1841 and rebuilt in 1884, and consisting of nave of four bays, south aisle and an embattled north-western tower containing one bell, and will seat 180.
Civil Registration
Marshwood was in Beaminster Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Bridport Registration District from 1937 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Marshwood from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Marshwood)
- 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 Marshwood 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.