Alton-Pancras (St. Pancratius)
ALTON-PANCRAS (St. Pancratius), a parish and liberty, in the union of Cerne, Cerne division of Dorset, 8¼ miles (N.) from Dorchester; containing 248 inhabitants. The two manors, or parcels of demesne land, called Alton Borealis and Alton Australis, till lately constituted the endowment of two prebends in the cathedral of Salisbury. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9; net income, £120; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury, who are also appropriators. The church is dedicated to St. Pancratius, a nobleman of Phrygia, who suffered martyrdom under Diocletian at Rome in the third century.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.