Melcombe Horsey, Dorset

Historical Description

Melcombe Horsey or Melcombe Bingham, a parish in Dorsetshire, 10 miles WSW of Blandford station on the L. & S.W.R., and 10 NE by N of Dorchester. It contains part of the hamlet of Hartsfoot Lane, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office of the name of Melcombe Bingham under Dorchester. Acreage, 2157; population, 182. Melcombe Bingham belonged to the Turbervilles, from whom it passed to the Binghams. Sir Richard Bingham, who was at the siege of St Quintin, was born here. Nettlecombe Tout, a hill in the W of the parish, which commands a fine and extensive view, was formerly a British encampment. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; gross value, £270 with residence. The church dates from the early part of the 13th century and has a low tower. Henry Chichele, archbishop of Canterbury, was one of the former rectors of the parish.

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 register dates from the year 1690. 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

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Melcombe Horsey was in Cerne Registration District from 1837 to 1838, Dorchester Registration District from 1838 to 1937, and Weymouth Registration District from 1949 to 1974

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Melcombe Horsey from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Melcombe-Horsey (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 Melcombe Horsey 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

Visitations Heraldic

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