Stourton, Somerset Genealogy

England   Somerset

Parish History
The ancient parish of Stourton is partly in the county of Somerset and partly in the county of Wiltshire.

STOURTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Mere, partly in the hundred of Norton-Ferris, E. division of Somerset, but chiefly in the hundred of Mere, Hindon and S. divisions of Wiltshire, 2½ miles (W. N. W.) from Mere; containing, with the tything of Gaspar, 645 inhabitants, of whom 357 are in Stourton township. This place was the scene of some memorable events during the earlier periods of English history. In 656, Cenwalh, King of the West Saxons, here encountered an army of Britons, which he defeated with great slaughter, and compelled to retreat to Petherton, on the river Parret. In 879, Alfred the Great, issuing from his retreat in the Isle of Athelney, erected his standard on an eminence in this parish, since called Kingsettle Hill; and then proceeded towards Edington, where he obtained a signal victory over the Danes. In 1001, an obstinate and sanguinary battle was fought near Kingsettle Hill, between the Danes and Saxons under the command of Cola and Edsigus, in which the latter were defeated; and in 1016, another engagement took place between the Danes under Canute, and Edmund Ironside, when the latter was victorious. A castle was anciently built here by John de Stourton, on the site of which a spacious and elegant mansion has been erected, in the Italian style, by the Hoare family. The parish comprises 3545a. 34p., whereof 212 acres are common or waste land. At the south-western extremity, in the county of Somerset, is a wide boggy tract, containing many curious excavations called Pen Pits. Stone is quarried for building. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17, and in the gift of Sir H. R. Hoare, Bart.: there is a glebe-house; the glebe contains 91 acres, and the tithes have been commuted for £500. The church is partly Grecian, and partly in the early English style, and contains monuments to the families of Stourton and Hoare. Some bequests have been made to the poor of the parish. Stourton gives the title of Baron to the family of that name. A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 229-234. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51310 Date accessed: 15 August 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Somerset Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.