Nether Cerne, Dorset
Historical Description
Cerne-Nether, a parish in Dorsetshire, on the river Cerne, 3 miles NE from Grimston railway station, and 5½ N by W of Dorchester, under which it has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 850; population, 87. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; value, £60. The church is small but neat, was restored in 1876, and has an ivy-clad tower.
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 | Cerne Totcombe Modbury | |
| Poor Law union | Cerne | 1835 - |
| Registration district | Dorchester | |
| Registration sub-district | Cerne |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1685. 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 Nether Cerne, 1716-1812 is online
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The parish church (name unknown) is a small building of stone in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, north transept, south porch and a tower with pinnacles containing 3 bells: the church was restored and reseated in 1876, and has 100 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Nether Cerne 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 Nether Cerne from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Cerne, Nether)
- 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 Nether Cerne 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.