North Poorton, Dorset
Historical Description
Poorton, North, a parish in Dorsetshire, 2 miles N by W of Poorstock station on the G.W.R., and 4 SE of Beaminster. It contains part of Loscombe hamlet, and its post town is Melplash. Acreage, 684; population, 63. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; net value, £60. The church was rebuilt in 1862. The Earl of Sandwich is lord of the manor.
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 | North Poorton St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Beaminster Forum and Redborne | |
| Poor Law union | Beaminster | 1836 - |
| Registration district | Beaminster | |
| Registration sub-district | Beaminster |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1695. 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 North Poorton, 1698-1812 is online.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary Magdalene (parish church)
The church of St. Mary Magdalene, erected in 1862 in place of an ancient church, of which the remains can still be seen, is a building of stone in the Early English style, and consists of chancel, nave, north porch, and a small north tower with spire containing one bell: there are 132 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
North Poorton 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 North Poorton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Poorton, North (St. Mary))
- Kelly's Directory of Dorset, 1889
- 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 North Poorton 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.