KENN - information extracted from Kelly’s 1914 Directory of Somerset
KENN is a village and parish on a low plain, 2 miles south of Clevedon terminal station of a branch of the Great Western Railway, 2 miles north from Yatton and 13 miles west-south-west from Bristol.
The parish possesses a lasting interest, from its connection with the family of the great and good Bishop Ken, who, though not a native of the diocese which he afterwards adorned was a descendant of a very ancient Somerset family, seated at Ken Court, from the reign of Edward 11, until the 17th Century, when the estate passed, by the marriage of Elizabeth, second daughter and co-heiress of Christopher Ken, to John, first Baron Poulett. Margaret, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Christopher Ken married William Guise Esq., of Elmore at Kenn Church January 2, 1503.
Capt. P.A.D.A. Lovell of Colepark, Malmesbury, who is lord of the manor, and Charles Lund Fry Edwards Esq., of The Court, Axbridge, are the principal landowners
The soil is loamy, chiefly grass, and the sub soil is clay and bog. The chief crops are wheat, beans and pasture land. The area is 1,018 acres ; rateable value £2,557; By Local Government Board Order on March 24th 1884, Wilcox Ley was transferred to Nailsea from Kenn; Kenn Pier was moved from Yatton to Kenn and Decoy Pool Farm from Kenn to Yatton. Population in 1911 was 255 in the civil parish and 208 in the ecclesiastical parish.
KENN is part of the
· Northern division of the County [Somerset],
· Hundred of Winterstoke,
· Bedminster Petty Sessional Division, [previously Bedminster]
· Long Ashton Union, [previously Bedminster]
· County Court District of Bristol,
· Rural deanery of Portishead,
· Archdeaconry of Bath,
· Diocese of Bath & Wells.
THE CHURCH
The Church of St John the Evangelist is a small building of stone in the Early English style, rebuilt (except for the tower) in 1861, at a cost of £1,000 consisting of chancel, nave, vestry, south aisle, south porch, and a western tower containing one bell.
In the Church is a monument to Christopher Ken of Ken Court, in this parish, died 1593, and others of ancient date. The date of the communion cup and the cover is 1547. There are sittings for 150 persons. The register dates from the year 1540 and is in a good state of preservation.
The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £169, including 9 acres of glebe with residence, in the gift of the vicar of Yatton, and has been held since 1897 by the Rev Walter Perks M.A. of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Non-Conformist
There is a Congregational Chapel built in 1861-2
THE School
Public Elementary Schools (mixed) erected in 1842, enlarged in 1904 for 60 children - average attendance, 31.
- School Mistress – Mrs A.M. Hicks .
Post
Letters from Bristol via Yatton are delivered at 8.30am & 7.00pm; dispatched at 8.45am and 7.15pm. The Triangle, Clevedon is the nearest Telegraph & Money Order Office.
- Sub-postmaster – William H Dyer
Private Residents
Fry, Tom Henry, Portbury house
Perks, Rev. Walter M.A. (vicar) Vicarage
Russell, Mrs., Briarside
Commercial
Arthur, Cornelius Maker, beer retailer
Bacon, Arth. Cab proprietor, Clifton Cottage
Baker, Lucy, (Miss), farmer, Yew Tree Farm
Corp, Edward Allan, farmer, Stoneham Farm
Denmead, Albert , farmer,
Dyer, Samuel, farmer, Kenn Court Farm
Dyer, Tom, farmer, Kenn Pier Farm
Dyer, William H, grocer & Post office
James, John, carpenter
Pike, Edward James, farmer, Moorside
Staple, Charles, farmer, Orchard House
Staple, Edward, farmer, Mill Farm
Staple, William J, carriage builder
Stuckey, Joseph James Wallace, farmer
Williams, John A., tailor
Withy, William, farmer |