Nunney, Somerset
Historical Description
Nunney, a village and a parish in Somerset. The village stands 3½ miles SW by W of Frome station on the G.W.R., and has a post and money order office under Frome; telegraph office, Mells. The parish contains also the hamlet of Trudox Hill, and comprises 2505 acres; population, 914. Nunney Castle was erected in the time of Edward III. or in that of Richard II. by Sir Elias De la Mere; was an oblong moated structure with a tower at each angle; rose, in its central part, to the height of four storeys; passed to the family of Paulet, ancestors of the Dukes of Bolton; was sold in the time of Elizabeth by the first Marquis of Winchester; passed through several families to the Theobalds; was garrisoned for the king in the Civil Wars of Charles I.; sustained a stiff siege by the troops of Cromwell; surrendered on condition that the garrison should go to their own homes; was-afterwards dismantled; is now a massive, mouldering, ivy-clad, picturesque ruin; and retains, in its SE tower, a very fine specimen of an ancient domestic chapel. Remains of a Roman camp are near the village, and remains of a Roman tessellated pavement, in good preservation, were discovered some years ago on the property of Mr Shore. A pretty dell, called Holwell Valley, watered by an affluent of the Frome river, is about half a mile from the village. Limestone abounds, and is calcined in several kilns, and the manufacture of edge-tools is carried on. A cattle fair is held annually on 11 Nov. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and Wells; gross value, £430 with residence. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is Early English, consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with porch and tower, and contains a fine old oak screen and five ancient tombs with recumbent effigies; the building was enlarged and restored in 1874. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Somersetshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Nunney St. Peter | |
Hundred | Frome | |
Poor Law union | Frome |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Somerset Archives & Local Studies, have images of the Parish Registers for Somerset online.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Nunney from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Nunney (St. Peter))
Maps
Online maps of Nunney 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 following Somerset papers online:
- Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette
- Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser
- Western Gazette
- Wells Journal
- Somerset County Gazette
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Somersetshire, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.