SYMONDSBURY, a parish in the hundred of
WHITCHURCH-CANONICORUM, Bridport division of the
county of DORSET, 1 mile (W. N. W.) from Bridport,
containing 1076 inhabitants. The living is a rectory,
in the archdeaconry of Dorset, and diocese of Bristol,
rated in the king's books at £36. 3. 4., and in the
patronage of the Rev. G. Raymond. The church, dedicated
to St. John the Baptist, is a large cruciform
structure, partly in the early, and partly in the later,
style of English architecture, with a tower rising from
the intersection. The small river Simene has its source
in this parish, and falls into the Birt at Bridport. There
are several springs in the neighbourhood, slightly impregnated
with iron.