Bradford Abbas

including Clifton Maybank

Bradford Abbas is a village and a parish on the Somerset border and to the west of the parish and market town of Sherborne. The parish of Over Compton lies to the north and Clifton Maybank to the south. The church of St Mary is an ancient structure in the Perpendicular style with a chancel, nave of four bays, aisles and south porch. The embattled west tower has pinnacles and a peal of 6 bells. The entire roof of the church was renewed in 1890. In 1906 the tower and floor of the church were restored and in 1913 the north chantry was added. 

The church registers date from 1579. In the 19th century there used to be two foundation schools which were built in 1856. Wyke is a small village in the parish 1 mile east. The land area of the parish is 1216 acres and the chief crops were oats, wheat and barley. The population in 1861 was 585, 1871 -  578, 1891 -  523 and in 1931 the population was 308 in the civil parish and 534 in the ecclesiastical parish, having absorbed Clifton Maybank at the end of the 19th century.

Clifton Maybank (sometimes named Clifton Maubank or Clifton House) is recorded in the Domesday Book as Clistone, held by William Malbank, a tenant of Hugh, Earl of Chester in 1086, and it is from Malbank that the 'Maybank' suffix derives. Clifton Maybank is also mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 1001. Writing in 1811, Samuel Lewis stated that the village had 60 inhabitants and that the church at Clifton Maybank had "been in ruins for a century".

The post of Online Parish Clerk (OPC) is currently vacant
If you would like to volunteer for the role, please contact the OPC Project Co-ordinator
Contributions of additional resource materials for the site are always welcome

Sadly on 5th July 2015 Caryl Parsons, formerly the OPC for Bradford Abbas passed away. Much of the material on this page has been donated to the OPC Project by Caryl, and we are deeply indebted to her for her support and contributions.