Puncknowle

including Bexington

Church of St Mary Courtesy of Valerie Pettifer © 2002	Puncknowle is a coastal parish about 6 miles south-east of Bridport. Puncknowle Knoll is a steep rocky hill on the coast which has for centuries served as a landmark for mariners. The church of St Mary is a small stone structure of Early English style. With the exception of the north wall and the short tower this structure has been largely rebuilt at different times during the 19th century. The font and the tower are probably Norman. There are monuments in the church dating from the 17th century. The register dates from the year 1630.
A Parochial School was built in 1851 for 130 children. There was also a Wesleyan chapel in the parish and there used to be a coastguard station at Bexington. The soil is clay and the chief crops are wheat, oats and barley. The parish covers an area of 2040 acres of land and 120 acres of water and foreshore. The population in 1891 was 427 persons. More photographs below	The Crown Inn, Puncknowle. ©Judy Hodges
The Online Parish Clerk (OPC) for Puncknowle is Judy Hodges Transcriptions are gradually being added to the site. Other records I have available are listed. All transcriptions and indexes used to answer queries have been made by me. The list below represents the main transcriptions I have, there may well be other smaller items not listed, so it is always worth contacting me.
Census	I have transcriptions of the following census:- 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 & 1891 1871 Census online [John Ridout]
Parish Registers	Baptisms 1633-1800, 1801-1836, 1837-1880 Marriages 1632-1836 Burials 1631-1942
Postal & Street Directories	Pigot's 1865 & Kelly's 1903
Church	I have a history of the church St Mary's Monumental Inscriptions index [Jan Hibberd] Old Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions index [Jan Hibberd] New Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions index [Jan Hibberd]
Militia Records	I have some militia records available for the parish
Maps	The 1891 Ordnance Survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'Puncknowle' under place search. For modern location maps & aerial views visit:- www.multimap.com
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Records held at the Dorset History Centre [PE-PUN]	Registers Christenings 1630-1658, 1665-1685/6, 1697/8-1981 Marriages 1632/3-1644, 1666-1692, 1700-1926 Burials 1631-1942. Banns 1754-1920
Registration District (for the purpose of civil registration births, marriages, deaths & civil partnerships)	1 Jul 1837-31 Mar 1997: Bridport 1 Apr 1997-30 Sep 2001: West Dorset 1 Oct 2001-17 Oct 2005: South & West Dorset
The graveyard	Cottages by the Church © Valerie Petifer 2002

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