The Parish of Radipole

	Radipole is on the River Wey, about 1½ miles from Weymouth. The adjacent parishes are: Broadwey, Buckland Ripers, Chickerell, Wyke Regis, Melcombe Regis and Preston. The parish boundaries have changed quite considerably and the parish has become smaller, in particular, as Weymouth became increasingly large and important. To the south of the village is Radipole lake. Once, this was considerably larger than it is now, and was tidal until 1872, and today, the lake is an RSPB bird
sanctuary. For a short time there was a sulphur spa on the edge of the lake operated by the Gill family. The parish church of St Ann’s, which is said to be the oldest building in the Weymouth area, dates from around 1250. It is a pleasant building, and the churchyard is currently beautifully maintained, but, unfortunately, the interior was heavily restored in the 19^th century.
The Online Parish Clerk (OPC) for Radipole is Will Stevens. He will attempt to answer any queries, but, please be warned that in the majority of cases he will probably simply advise enquirers on where to look, since he does not have any huge amount of information in addition to what is already available on this Web site, or elsewhere on the Web. Will can be contacted on:- Please place the words 'OPC Radipole' as your subject for e-mails, if you do not the mail may be deleted
Census	These will be transcribed 1841 Census 1851 Census 1861 Census by Debby Rose 1871 Census by Debby Rose 1881 Census 1891 Census
Parish Registers	Some have been transcribed, and are available on this site, these are:- Baptisms: 1779-1840 Marriages: 1797 onwards Deaths: 1813 onwards. There is, however, some earlier information in the Bishop's Transcripts 1731-1756 1779-1812 Baps & Burials.See note below.
Postal Directories	Extracts from Directorys 1844, 1851, 1855, 1859, 1875, 1889, 1895 Extracts from Kelly's 1880, 1911 & 1915
Other Records	Militia List 1758, Hearth Tax 1662 - 64, Tudor Muster Rolls 1539, 1542 & 1569 & Rectors of Radipole , Index of wills, Land Tax Assesment 1798
Links	Debby Rose runs an excellent web site on the Weymouth area, and a sister site for Radipole. Also recommended is the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s web site. Other suggestions concerning relevant Radipole links will be gratefully received.
Maps	The 1891 ordinance survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'Radipole' under place search.
	For modern location maps visit:- www.multimap.com For a 1920's map of the area click on the thumbnail to the left

Top. Photographs of the Church with the Manor House behind and the School. Above the Manor House with church just visible. All photos © Mrs. W Stevens. Old postcard circa 1900. Note on Parish Registers. During certain periods, as a result of the same clergyman being responsible for both parishes, some Radipole entries have been recorded in the register for Melcombe Regis. Researchers are warned that, at these times, the recording tended to be haphazard, and it seems certain that numbers of Radipole entries are missing. The Dorset Record Office, of course, holds a lot of very useful information relating to Radipole, including everything which you would normally expect to find for a rural parish: parish registers, census returns, tithe maps and apportionments, transcripts of monumental inscriptions etc. In addition, and somewhat unusually, some of the Churchwardens’ Accounts have survived, and also a Vestry Minute Book. These are certainly worth examining by anyone with Radipole ancestors. (Personal note: much of the Vestry Minute Book was written up by the present OPC’s great grandfather.)