Search billions of records on Ancestry.com
   

 

SOMERSET

ENGLAND,

United Kingdom

To Top of Page

 

 

INTRODUCTION

SURNAMES

ANCESTRAL GENSITE(S)

LIST OF LOCALITIES

WEBSITE RESOURCES

IMAGE GALLERY

 

Somerset, England, UK

 

Introduction

Somerset County Council

  

  Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. The county town is Taunton, situated at 51°00′49″N, 3°06′23″W(grid reference ST227247). Somerset borders the Ceremonial counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north east, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west; the county is bounded to the north by the coast of the Bristol Channel.

Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills and downland, the large flat Somerset Levels, and Exmoor National Park which straddles the border with Devon. The town of Glastonbury is famous in mythology. The north of the county is administratively independent and includes the city of Bath, a World Heritage Site famous for its Roman history and Georgian architecture. The sea-side resort Weston-super-Mare lies on the Bristol Channel coast.

The name is pronounced as though spelled 'Summerset'. The name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte, which is short for Sumortūnsǣte = "the people living at or dependent upon Sumortūn.[1] Sumortūn is modern Somerton and means "summer settlement", a farmstead tended during the summer but not occupied in winter.[2] The name continues in the motto of the county, 'Sumorsaete ealle', meaning 'all the people of Somerset' in Old English.

The Somerset Levels, and specifically the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by mesolithic hunters.[3] The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during

 

the neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, some of which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle. Somerset, like Dorset to the south, held the Saxon invasion back for over a century, remaining a frontier between the Saxons and the Romano-British and Celts. The first known use of the name Somersæte was in 845 after the region fell to the Saxons. After the Norman Conquest the county was divided into 700 fiefs, and large areas were owned by the crown.

In the English Civil War Somerset was largely Royalist, unlike neighbouring Wiltshire. In 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset. The rebels landed at Lyme Regis and traveled north hoping to capture Bristol and Bath, but were defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor.

The traditional northern boundary of the county was the River Avon, but this has crept southwards, with the creation and expansion of the City of Bristol. In 1974 a large part of northern Somerset was removed to form the southern half of the County of Avon. Avon has now been abolished, and North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset have reverted to Somerset for ceremonial purposes, but are administratively independent for local government purposes.

Somerset contains England's oldest prison still in use, in the small town of Shepton Mallet, and the world's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track.

 

Somerset, England, U.K.

Surnames

The following are surnames of persons, found within our data bases,

who were either born, married or died in this location.

 

McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied families

Beard,   Edney,   Bennett,  Tomson

Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart and allied families

 

Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families

 

To find out more about each family listed here click on this link

 FAMILY SURNAMES - (General Index)  or the appropriate LINK(s above.

Somerset, England, U.K.

Ancestral GenSite(s)

 

Milverton (village)

Wiveliscombe (town)

Wiveliscombe Parish Church (St Andrew's)

Milverton (village)

A view of Milverton from St. Michael’s Church

LOCATION: Taunton Deane District, Somerset Co., England, U.K.

COORDINATES:  51° 1′ 19.56″ N, 3° 14′ 56.04″ W

DIRECTIONS (MapQuest):  From London to Milverton: Total Est. Time:  2 hours, 51 minutes; Total Est. Distance: 175.14 miles, (see map in “Image Gallery”).

WEBLINKS:  Parish Registers from Milverton;  Milverton; 

Milverton Genealogy;  Milverton Somerset;  Milverton archaeological survey

ANCESTOR(s):  Thomas Bennett, Sr, and Anstie Tomson were married here on 11 August 1599.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

     Milverton is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated five miles west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 1,385 [2]. 

     Milverton is one of the largest villages in Somerset and it noted for its many fine Georgian buildings. It retains its medieval street pattern around the church which is on a central prominence. Its name was perhaps taken from the old Town Mill to the north of the village. Although the present building dates from the 18th century (and was still used for grinding corn well into the 20th century), there has been a mill on the site since Saxon times. The Domesday survey of 1086 shows that Milverton was then a substantial place with one of only seven

 

recorded markets in the whole of Somerset. The village seems to have gone into some decline after this period. The woollen industry became, for centuries, the mainstay of the population. It was a cottage industry, with many spinning wheels and looms being worked throughout the village. The weavers of Milverton came to be renowned for their serges, druggets and baizes. As there were no textile mills in Milverton the products of the cottagers were sent to the mills of the Were (later Fox) family at Wellington for finishing and distribution. These were prosperous times again, and the resulting houses now grace the streets of the village, the best of which is North Street.

 

 

Wiveliscombe (town)

Street Map of Wiveliscombe

LOCATION: Taunton Deane District, Somerset Co., England, U.K.

COORDINATES: 51°2′35.02″N   3°18′49.28″W

DIRECTIONS MapQuest:  From London to Wiveliscombe: Total Est. Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes; Total Est. Distance:177.89 miles. (see map in “Image Gallery”)

WEB LINK(s): http://www.wiveliscombe.com/home;  Wiveliscombe photographs, maps, books & memories;  Wiveliscombe Somerset Genealogy;  Wiveliscombe archaeological survey

ANCESTOR(s):  Seven generations of the BENNETT family line traced back to William who was born here in 1465 through to John Bennett who left her for America in the late 1650’s.  Women from Wiveliscombe who married into this line were Elizabeth EDNEY, born 1537, Anstie TOMSON, born 1579, and Agnes BEARD.

BACKGROUND / HISTORY:

     Wiveliscombe (Wivey) is a town and parish in Somerset, England, situated eleven miles north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The town has a population of 2,670[1].

     Wiveliscombe is a former borough, market and cloth making town to the west of Taunton and 5 miles from the Devon /Somerset border. It is situated at the foot of the Brendon Hills and acts as a gateway to Exmoor. While the population of this rural centre is only about 2,500 persons, its shops and services meet the needs of a much larger population, spread through the western fifth of Taunton Deane, in scattered farms and villages.

             Wiveliscombe is an active town, set amidst beautiful countryside with easy access to Exmoor, the Quantocks and the north and south coast resorts. It is a good place to live in and an excellent place to visit in order to explore the West Country.

     Its position has obviously been important for many centuries as remains of Pre-Roman, Roman and Saxon times have been traced, including fortifications. Traces of prehistoric man found in the area are now housed in the museum in Taunton and flint chippings have been found in the area around Croford. Castle Hill to the east of the town was the site of an Iron Age encampment and still gives commanding views of the neighbourhood. This was later occupied by the Romans. In 1711 coins were found, some dating from the time of the Emperor Trajan, (AD 98-117)and in 1946 a further hoard was found which contained coins from possibly as late as A.D. 338. This would seem to indicate that the Romans occupied Castle Hill for a lengthy period of time.

     From the time of the Saxon conquest up to the reign of Edward the Confessor, 1042-66, the manor of Wiveliscombe belonged to

 

the King. Edward, however, "for the good of his soul" granted the manor to the See of Bath and Wells and Bishop Giso became Lord of the Manor. When the town became the favoured home of several medieval bishops of Bath and Wells, the so called Bishop's Palace was much in. use. This was particularly true of Bishop Drockensfield (1309-29), but little or nothing remains. Of the original. It was approached by a gatehouse, the arch of which can still be seen from Church Street. Plain Pond is now a housing estate but in earlier times stews or ponds were maintained to provide a plentiful supply of fish for the palace and similar residences.

          The square represents the commercial hub of Wiveliscombe and with the High Street to the south also contains the majority of the important buildings of architectural and historic interest In High Street there is a house with the date 1804 over the door. This was the public dispensary founded by William Hancock and Henry Sully. Its purpose was to allow "servants, labourers and apprentices" to have free medical treatment and care.

       The woolen trade flourished around Wiveliscombe and a coarse blue cloth widely used for the slaves in the West Indies was manufactured in the area. When slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833 this proved the death knell of the industry in the town.

     There is no shortage of history on the doorstep of Wiveliscombe. Famous houses abound. The closest are Gaulden Manor and Combe Sydenham, the latter being the home of one Britain's most famous seafarers - Francis Drake.

 

Wiveliscombe Parish Church (St Andrew's)

LOCATION:

Taunton Deane District, Somerset Co., England, U.K.

COORDINATES:

51°2′35.02″N   3°18′49.28″W

DIRECTIONS:

Church Street. Wiveliscombe. Taunton. TA4 2LT, Tel: 01984 623309, (see map at “Image Gallery”)

WEB LINK(s):

Wiveliscombe Parish Register;   Wiveliscombe and the Hills parishes;   Family History & Church Records - Wiveliscombe and the Hills Parishes

ANCESTOR(s):

Records of this Parish church contain the Edney, and Tomson surnames as well as the names of our Bennett ancestral line.

BACKGROUND / HISTORY:

     The present church dates from 1829, the previous church having been taken down because it was thought to be unsafe. The most notable thing about it is the large vaulted undercroft which gives access to extensive catacombs. These housed many of the country's finest works of art rescued from potential bomb

damage during World War Two. A plaque listing the treasures stored here at the time can be seen inside the church.

      The registers of baptisms, marriages and burials date from 1558 and are kept in the County Records Office at Taunton [see website link].

 

 

SOMERSET,

England, U.K.

 

List of Localities

 

The list below will assist in your research regarding the matching of your ancestors birth, marriage, death dates and in what locality of this county these events may have occurred.

 Source:  Wikipedia

Regional map of Somerset (red star indicates Wiveliscombe)

 

This is a list of the main settlments in the county of Somerset, England.

Axbridge;   Bath;   Bishops Hull;   Bishops Lydeard;   Bridgwater;   Brympton;   Bruton;   Burnham-on-Sea;   Castle Cary;   Chard;   Cheddar;   Comeytrowe;   Crewkerne;   Frome;   Glastonbury;   Ilminster;   Martock;   Meare;   Minehead;   North Petherton;   Norton Radstock;   Shepton Mallet;   Somerton;   South Petherton;   Street;   Taunton;   Watchet;   Wellington;   Wells;   Weston-super-Mare;   Wincanton;   Yeovil

 

For the complete list of settlements see List of places in Somerset

 

SOMERSET, England, U.K.

Website Resources

The following are links to websites that will provide you with specific

 genealogical  information to assist with your research for this county. 

Use the following LINKS to find more information that may pertain to this location.

 

·        Website & Webpages We Like

·        Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

·        Free Genealogy Search Help For Google

·        Rootsweb.com - Localities

 

 

Somerset, England, UK

Image Gallery

 

During our research we have collected and images and photographs that are of general interest to a variety of localities.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives.

Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, England

 

If you have any photographs or other images relating to this ancestral

 location we would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

 

Use the following LINK to ascertain whether we have any images that pertain to this location. 

ANCESTRAL LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHS and IMAGES

 

Contact Information

Email

Pony Express:

Tom
27 Christopher Dr.
Burton, NB E2V3H4
Canada

Email

Snail mail:

Fred
889 Dante Ct.
Mantua, NJ 08051

USA

TOP OF PAGE