Flax Bourton, Somerset Genealogy

Somerset

Parish History
BOURTON, FLAX, a parish, in the union of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of Somerset, 5½ miles (W. by S.) from Bristol; containing 232 inhabitants. This place derives the adjunct by which it is distinguished from other places of the same name, from the manor having anciently belonged to the abbot of Flaxley, in the county of Gloucester. The parish is situated at the base of a chain of hills forming the commencement of the Mendip range, and, from the higher grounds, commands a fine view of the Bristol Channel, with the distant sea; it comprises an area of 621a. 2r. 3p. of fertile land. The village is pleasantly situated on the road to Weston-super-Mare, at the extremity of the parish; and the Bristol and Exeter railroad passes in the immediate vicinity. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Nailsea: the tithes have been commuted for £95. The church is a small edifice, chiefly in the Norman style, with a low embattled tower; the entrance is under a beautiful arch of Norman character: in the churchyard are the remains of a very ancient cross.From: 'Bourton - Bowes', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 317-320. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50816 Date accessed: 08 March 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 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

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.