Pensford, Somerset

Historical Description

Pensford, a village and a district in Somerset. The village stands on the river Chew, and has a station on the G.W.R. 124 miles from London, and 5½ SSE of Bristol. It was once a market-town and a seat of cloth manufacture, has copper works and paper mills, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Bristol. The district is called St Thomas-in-Pensford, and was incorporated with the parish of Stanton Drew for civil purposes in 1884. Population of Stanton Drew, with Pensford, 690. Hill House is a chief residence. A railway viaduct of sixteen arches and upwards of 112 feet high here crosses the Chew river, on which there is some picturesque scenery. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Stanton Drew, in the diocese of Bath and Wells; net value, £200 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Bath. The church was of 14th century date, with an embattled tower; contained an old carved oak pulpit, and a curious old stone font; and, excepting the tower, was rebuilt in 1869. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

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

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Somerset Archives & Local Studies, have images of the Parish Registers for Somerset online.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Pensford from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Pensford St. Thomas (St. Thomas à Becket))

Maps

Online maps of Pensford 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.