Somerset, England Genealogy

Somerset, or Somersetshire, is a maritime county located in the south western part of 'England'.

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“SOMERSET, or Somersetshire, a maritime county; bounded on the NW, by the Bristol channel; on the N, by Gloucestershire; on the E, by Wilts; on the SE, by Dorset; on the S, by Dorset and Devon; on the W, by Devon... Its greatest length is 71 miles; its greatest breadth is 40 miles.. and its area is 1,047,220 acres.

“The county contains 466 parishes, parts of 2 others, and 6 extra-parochial tracts; is divided into 42 hundreds or liberties, and 6 boroughs; has 27 market-towns, 13 towns with each upwards of 2,000 inhabitants, and about 1,385 smaller towns, villages, and hamlets; and was cut, till 1867, into the two divisions E and W for parliamentary representation, but is now cut into three divisions, E, Mid, and W. The act of 1844, for consolidating detached parts of counties, transferred Holwell parish to Dorset... The county is governed by a lord lieutenant, a high sheriff, about 65 deputy lientenants, and about 280 magistrates... and, with exclusion of Bedminster parish, constitutes the diocese of Bath and Wells. The assizes and the quarter sessions are held at Taunton, Bridgewater, and Wells...

“Marriages in 1863 were 3,207, -of which 730 were not according to the rites of the Established church; births, 14,528, -of which 852 were illegitimate; deaths, 9,799, -of which 3,503 were at ages under 5 years, and 358 at ages above 85. The places of worship, within the electoral county, in 1851, were 553 of the Church of England, 110 of Independents, 89 of Baptists, 15 of Quakers, 8 of Unitarians, 1 of Moravians, 202 of Wesleyans, 33 of Primitive Methodists, 44 of Bible Christians, 4 of the Wesleyan Association, 26 of Wesleyan Reformers, 4 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, 2 of the New Church, 12 of Brethren, 9 of isolated congregations, 2 of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, 6 of Latter Day Saints, 8 of Roman Catholics, and 1 of Jews...

“Population in 1801 was 273,577; in 1821, 355,789; in 1841, 435,599; in 1861, 444,873...”

The above extract is taken from: John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72). For the full version, go online to Vision of Britain.

Parishes
See the parishes of Somersetshire.