Preston Parish Records, Dorset Sutton Poyntz

Preston is a village and parish on the coast of Weymouth Bay on the road from Melcombe Regis to Wareham. As you proceed north round the bay from Weymouth, you pass through Radipole, Preston and then Osmington. The ancient parish church is dedicated to St Andrew and contains a very old font. The registers date from 1693. There was also a Wesleyan Chapel. In the meadow by the stream below the church are the remains of a Roman Villa with some notable mosaics.
	Sutton Poyntz, half a mile north was a liberty or free manor of the Poyntzes, an ancient family in the Western part. In the 19th century the parish had its own Post Office, National School and Coastguard. The parish comprises 2609 acres of land and in 1891 the population was 678 persons. Due to its proximity to Weymouth the population in the 21st century is considerably higher. Photo above is St Andrews Church Preston and left is the Mill Pond at Sutton Points, all photographs © Beryl Fooks, August 2003.
The OPC for Preston is Beryl Fooks. If you have a query or would be able to donate some data, please contact her at the link above. Please put 'OPC Preston' in the subject line of e-mail enquiries

Census	Census are available for 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. They will be transcribed.
Parish Registers	Registers date from 1693 Transcription of Marriages 1695-1837 from Phillimore From Bishop's Transcripts Baptisms 1672-1750, 1751-1799, 1800-1837, 1838-1843 Marriages 1672-1799 , 1800-1837, Burials 1672-1799, 1800-1837, 1838-1843
Directories	Directory entries for 1849, 1855 & 1867 and 1875, 1880 & 1898 are on site. Also entries for 1844 & 1851 added
Photographs	For nine photographs showing the parish from 1900 onwards visit the Photo Gallery.
Maps	The 1891 Ordnance Survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'Preston, Dorset' under place search.
	For modern location maps visit:- www.multimap.com Beware that many searches will throw up the town of Preston in Lancashire. For a 1920s map click on the thumbnail on the left.

OPC PAGE

Preston with Sutton Poyntz