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Ex libris Michaelis Franch Mall
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WORCESTERSHIRE-
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C71

THE
H I S T O RY
AND
A N T I Q U I T I E S
OF THE
COUNTY
Ο F
SOM ERS E T,
COLLECTED FROM
A U T HENTICK
RECORDS,
AND
AN
ACTUAL SURVEY MADE BY THE LATE MR. EDMUND RACK.
A DORNED
WITH
OF
Τ Η Ε
A MAP
COUNTY,
And ENGRAVINGS of Roman and other RELIQUES, Town-Seals, Baths,
Churches, and GENTLEMEN's Seats.
BY
THE
REVEREND JOHN COLLINSON, F. A. S.
Vicar of LONG-Ashton, Curate of Filton alias WHITCHURCH, in the County of Somerſet;
and Vicar of CLANFIELD, in the County of Oxford.
Exutæ variant faciem per fecula gentes.
Manilius.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL.
II.
BATH: PRINTED BY R. CRUTTWELL;
AND SOLD BY
C. DILLY, POULTRY; G. G. J. and J. ROBINSON, and T. LONGMAN, PATER-NOSTER-ROW;
and T. PAYNE, MEWS-GATE, LONDON;
J. FLETCHER, OXFORD; and the BOOKSELLERS of BATH, BRISTOL, &c.
MDCCXCI.

Sfoaulding
Bitchman
6-14-39
19713
be
THE HISTORY
OF
S O M E R S E T SHIRE.
THE
HUNDRED
Ο F
CARHA M
Ρ Τ Ο Ν.
T
HIS hundred is ſituated in the northweſt part of the county, and is
bounded on the north and northweſt by the ſea, from the eaſt to the
ſouthweſt by the hundred of Williton Freemanors, and on the weſt by
the borders of Devonſhire.
This mountainous tract may with great propriety be called the Alps of Somerſetſhire;
the whole country being a pictureſque aſſemblage of lofty hills ſucceeding each other,
with deep romantick vallies winding between them, in which moſt of the towns and
villages are ſituated. The hills are principally ſheep-walks; but in the weſtern part
many of them are ſo covered with heath, fern, and moſs, as to afford little paſturage.
The ſteep ſides of moſt of them are either entirely veſted or patched with beautiful
hanging woods, intermixed with projecting rugged rocks. The vallies are fruitful, and
generally watered by ſmall ſtreams, running over rough rocky channels, and often in-
terrupted by ſtony fragments fallen from the mountains.
This hundred contains two market towns, and in all fifteen pariſhes, in which are one
thouſand and thirty houſes, and nearly fix thouſand inhabitants. It gives name to the
firſt pariſh we ſhall treat of, viz.
VOL. II.
B
CARHAMPTON.

[ 2 ]
(Carhampton
C
A R Η Α
M Μ Ρ Τ Ο
N.
SITUA
C
SITUATED at the northweſt point of the hundred, and ſo denominated (as it is
fuppoſed) from Carantacus, a Britiſh ſaint, the ſon of Keredic, prince of the pro-
vince of Cardigan. The Monkiſh legends“ inform us, that this Keredick had many
children, of whom the above-named Carantacus, or Carantac, betimes diſcovered an
uncommon diſpoſition to piety and goodneſs. That when his father, harraſſed with
troubles, and worn out with years, and no longer able to ſuſtain the weight of govern-
ment, propoſed to reſign to him the regency of the province, he declined the honour,
and preferred a pilgrim's ſtaff to a prince's ſceptre. That led by Providence, he
migrated from his native land to this diſtant place, where repoſing, he built an oratory,
and ſpent his time in prayer and praiſe to God.
That ſuch a perſon might have retired hither, and erected a ſmall oratory, is not alto-
gether improbable; but what Leland ſays, viz. that in his time there exiſted a chapel
of that faint, which ſometime was the pariſh church, cannot ſo eaſily be reconciled.
The Norman record however, which was compiled upwards of ſeven hundred years
ago, gives us notice of a church in this place:
« In the church of CARENTONE lies one hide and a half. There is in demeſne one
« carucate and a half, with a prieſt, and one villane, and eight cottagers. There are
forty acres of paſture, and fifteen acres of wood. It is worth thirty ſhillings.
At the time this ſurvey was compoſed the manor was in William the Conqueror's
hands, indiſtinctly with thoſe of Williton and Cannington. He ſoon after gave it to
William de Mohun, one of the retinue that attended him into England, and of whom
notice will be taken in Dunſter, which was the head of his barony. It was however,
together with the hundred we are deſcribing, the honour of Dunſter, and divers
other poſſeſſions, alienated from this family in the time of Edward III. to the family
of Luttrell, in whom it has invariably continued to the preſent time, John Fownes
Luttrell, eſq; being now lord thereof.
The manor of Eaſtbury in Carhampton was for many ſucceſſive centuries the eſtate
of the very ancient family of Percival, and was not ſevered from that houſe till about
the beginning of the preſent century.
There is within this pariſh an ancient hamlet of the name of Rodebuiſh, ſtanding two
miles ſoutheaſtward from the church, and containing twenty houſes, and a ſmall chapel,
which ſeems to have been of ancient foundation, the name being compoſed of the Saxon
Rod, ſignifying a rood or croſs, and the Belgic word Duys, a dwelling. It is called
in Dom fday-Book Radebewis, and has this deſcription:
“ Hugo holds of Alured RADEHEWIS. Aluric held it in the time of king Edward,
" and gelded for one virgate of land. The arable is one carucate, which is in demeſne,
“ with one cottager, and one acre of meadow, and twelve acres of paſture. When he
« received it, it was worth two ſhillings, now ſix ſhillings.'
3 Vide Jo. Tinmouth, ap. Capgrav. in Carantaco. b Lel. Itin. ii. 101. © Lib. Domeſday.
d Ibid.
sd و

Carhampton.]
3
C Α R Η Α Μ Ρ Τ Ο Ν.
patronage of
The church of Carhampton, valued in 1292 at four marks and a half,' was appro-
priated to the priory of Bath. It is a vicarage in the deanery of Dunſter, and in the
Sanford, eſq; of George-Hampton in the county of Devon. The
Rev. Mr. Abraham is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptiſt, and conſiſts of a nave, ſouth aile,
and chancel. At the weſt end there is a low ſtone tower, topped with wood, containing
a clock and four bells.
There is a monument in the ſouth aile to the memory of Sarah Trevelyan of Knole,
relict of Thomas, eldeſt ſon of Hugh Trevelyan, of Yarnſcombe in the county of Devon,
eſq; who died Nov. 26, 1667, aged 37.
This pariſh contains ſeventy houſes, and nearly two hundred inhabitants.
e Taxat. Spiritual.
f Mon. Angl. i. 477)
& " Ther lyith one Elizabeth, wife to one of the Luterelles afore the high altare under a playne ſtone."
Lel. Itin. ii. 101.
CU L B O N E, alias KI T N O R.
A
Very ſmall pariſh on the ſea coaſt, nine miles weſt from the town of Minehead,
containing only nine houſes and fifty inhabitants. The lands conſiſt of eighty
acres of arable, and two hundred acres of paſture and furze-brake, the reſt is wood.
The ancient appellation of this pariſh is KYTENORE or KITNOR; that of Culbone
having obtained in later times, from the ſaint to whom its church is dedicated. The
Norman ſurvey calls it Chetenore, and thus deſcribes it:
“ Drogo holds of the biſhop [of Coutance] CHETENORE. In the time of king
“ Edward it gelded for one hide, and one virgate. The arable is two carucates. There
are two villanes, and one cottager, and one ſervant, with one plough, and fifty acres of
paſture, and one hundred acres of wood. It is worth fifteen ſhillings. Theſe two
“ manors (viz. Winemereſham, now Winſham, which immediately precedes this article,
" and Chetenore] Oſmund held in the time of king Edward."
Which Oſmund, being diſpoſſeſſed of it at the Norman revolution, king William the
Conqueror conferred it on Geffrey biſhop of Coutance, with divers other manors in this
county. In latter ages it had owners of its
had owners of its name, of whom William de Kytenore held
it in the time of Edward I. after whom it paſſed into the family of Bratton. 16 Ric. II.
Peter Bratton is certified to hold it of John de Raleghe as of his manor of Alryngton,
by military ſervice, and was ſucceeded in it by Thomas his ſon and heir.' Which
Thomas was anceſtor to John Bratton, who was lord of this vill in the time of Edw. IV.
h Lib. Domeſday.
i Eſc. 16 Ric. II.
B 2
and
4
[Carhampton
CU L B O N E.

and was father of ſeveral children, of whom John the eldeſt had Kitenore. To him
ſucceeded John, Simon, and John, all of them poffeffors of this place. But by the
inquiſition, 6 Henry VI. Walter Pauncefote (the heir of Henry Sidenham) and
William Bachell are certified to hold ſeparately half a knight's fee here, which Maurice
de Kytenore formerly held." The preſent poſſeſſor is Lord King, who is alſo patron
of the living, which is a rectory, in the deanery of Dunſter. The Rev. William Clare
is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall Gothick building, thirty-four feet long, and twelve feet wide,
conſiſting of a ſingle aile, chancel, and porch, covered with Corniſh tiles. The ſituation
of this church is fingularly romantick; it ſtands in a little narrow cove, about four
hundred feet above the level of the water. On each ſide this cove the hills riſe almoſt
perpendicularly more than twelve hundred feet high. That on the weſt ſide is.conical, and
conſiderably higher. The back of the cove is a noble amphitheatre of ſteep hills and
rocks, which riſe near fix hundred feet above the church, and are covered with coppice
woods to the tops. The trees which compoſe theſe vaſt plantations, ſet by the hand of
nature, are oaks, beech, mountain aſh, poplars, pines, and firs, mingled together in
the moſt wanton variety. At the back ground of this cove, through a ſteep narrow
winding glen, a fine rivulet ruſhes down a narrow rocky channel overhung with wood,
and paſſing by the church, forms a ſucceſſion of caſcades in its deſcent down the rocks
into the ſea.
This ſpot is as truly romantick as any perhaps which the kingdom can exhibit.
The magnitude, height, and grandeur of the hills, rocks, and woods, at the back and
on each ſide of the cove; the ſolemnity of the ſurrounding fcene; the ſound of the
rivulet roaring down its craggy channel; the ſteep impaſſable deſcent from the church
down to the beach; the daſhing of the waves on a rough and ftony ſhore at an awful
diſtance below; the extent of the channel, and finely varied coaſt and mountains of
Wales beyond it; form a ſcene peculiarly adapted to ſtrike the mind with pleaſure and
aſtoniſhment.
This pariſh cannot be approached on horſeback without great difficulty, and even
danger; the road from Porlock being only a path about two feet wide, winding in a
zigzag direction along the ſlope of the hills, and often interrupted by large looſe ſtones
and roots of trees. The woods abound with whortleberries, and a variety of fine poly-
podies, lichen, and other moſſes; among which is ſome of the yellow rein-deer mofs,
very bright and ſcarce. There are alſo fome rare plants; and many wild deer, foxes,
badgers, and martin cats, inhabit theſe woods.
During the three winter months the ſun is never ſeen here; being entirely hid by the
height of the ſurrounding hills.
k Lib. feod. ms.
CUTCOMBE

Carhampton.]
[ 5 ]
CU T C O M B E
I
S an extenſive pariſh, lying eight miles ſouth from Minehead, and twenty-ſeven
northweſt from Taunton. The church and moſt of the houſes are ſituated in a
fruitful vale, called Watercombe, bounded by very lofty eminences to the north and
fouth. On the weſtern ſide is Dunkery, a very large and high mountain, ſtanding in the
ſeveral pariſhes of Cutcombe, Luccombe, Wotton-Courtney, Stoke-Pero, and Exford.
From the church at Wotton-Courtney the aſcent to its fummit is three miles, and
very ſteep. Its baſe is about twelve miles in circumference. The higheſt part of it is
the ſouth ſouthweſt, and by an accurate meaſurement one thouſand ſeven hundred
and ſeventy feet above the ſea at high-water mark. To this height it riſes in naked
ſublimity, and is ſeen at a vaſt diſtance both by ſea and land; but frequently the
top is obſcured in clouds. No part is cultivated; but in many places it is covered with
whortleberry plants, divers ſpecies of erica, and ſome rare bog and other moſſes, with
a little graſs intermixed.
On the top of this hill is a vaſt collection of rough looſe ſtones, from one to two hun-
dred pounds in weight each; and among them the ruins of three large fire-hearths,
about eight feet ſquare, and built of rough unwrought ftones. Theſe fire-places form
an equilateral triangle, and in the center is another hearth conſiderably larger than the
reſt. At the diſtance of near a mile, and more than two hundred feet lower, the veſtiges
of two other hearths are viſible, with vaſt quantities of rough looſe disjointed ſtones
ſcattered round them. Theſe are the remains of thoſe beacons which were formerly
erected on this elevated ſpot, in order to alarm the country in times of civil diſcord or
foreign invaſion. Hence the hill to this day retains the name of Dunkery Beacon.
As this is the higheſt mountain in the weſt of England, it affords ſo extenſive and noble
a proſpect, as to merit particular deſcription. In a clear day the view extends from
the high lands near Plymouth, on the ſouthweſt, to the Malvern-Hills in Worceſterſhire
on the north, which are more than two hundred miles diſtant from each other. On the
weſt and northweſt the Britiſh Channel, for near one hundred and thirty miles in length,
lies under the eye, with the greater part of South-Wales, from Monmouthſhire down to
Pembrokeſhire, riſing in a fine amphitheatre beyond it. To the eaſt and fouth, the
greater part of Somerſetſhire, Dorſet, and Devon, with ſome parts of Hants and Wilts,
appear to view. When the air is clear and ſerene the line which bounds the horizon
cannot be leſs than five hundred miles in circumference, and takes in fifteen counties.
The name of this pariſh is written in the Norman ſurvey Udecome, which is derived
from the Saxon Puda, wood, and Lomb, a deep valley or hollow beſet with moun-
tains. It is thus ſurveyed:
« William himſelf holds Ubecome. Ælmer held it in the time of king Edward, and
gelded for three hides. The arable is fifteen carucates. In demeſne are four caru-
cates, and fix ſervants, and eighteen villanes, and five cottagers, with five ploughs.
"There are ſix ſwineherds, who pay thirty-one pigs; and a mill of five ſhillings rent,
« and

6
[Carhampton.
CU T C O M B E.
now
ارو
ss and fix acres of meadow. Paſture two miles in length, and one mile in breadth.
“ A wood one mile long, and half a mile broad. It was formerly worth three pounds,
fix pounds.
" Of the land of this manor three ſoldiers hold of William one hide and half a vir-
gate of land, and they have there two ploughs, and four villanes, and fix cottagers, with
« one plough. There are two acres of meadow, and fourteen acres of wood; paſture
“ half a mile in length, and five furlongs in breadth. It was and is worth thirty-five
ſhillings and fixpence.”
This was another of the manors which the Conqueror gave to Sir William de
Mohun, from whom it aſſumed the name of Cutcombe-Mohun, and in whoſe deſcend-
ants it continued till the latter end of the reign of Edward III. when John Lord
Mohun dying without iſſue male, ſuch eſtates as remained unalienated by his widow,"
were divided betwixt three daughters, coheireſſes, of whom Philippa the wife of Edward
Duke of York had this manor, and died ſeized thereof 10 Henry VI. leaving Richard
Lord le Strange of Knocking, her couſin and next heir." Which Richard, 24 Henry
VI. is found to have releaſed all his right to this manor of Cutcombe-Mohun to
Alexander Hody and others.
But there was another manor in Cutcombe, called the manor of Cutcombe-Raleigh,
from its poſſeſſors of that name, to diſtinguiſh it from the other. This manor de-
ſcended through many generations of the Raleighs to the family of Dodiſham; and
thence by the marriage of Eleanor, daughter and heireſs of William Dodiſham, to John
Gilbert, of Wollavington, eſq; whoſe daughter and heir Joan brought it by marriage to
Roger Pym of Brymore, from whoſe deſcendants it paſſed in like manner by the mar-
riage of an heireſs to Sir Thomas Hales, bart. and now both the manors of Cutcombe-
Mohun, and Cutcombe-Raleigh, are in the poſſeſſion of Sir Philip Hales, bart.
There are two hamlets in this pariſh of the names of Ludwell-Bridge, and Codſend.
The former is two miles ſouthweſt from Cutcombe, and contains twelve houſes. A fair
is held here about Michaelmas for ſheep and black cattle. The other hamlet is three
miles weſt, and contains only five houſes. In Codſend moor a ſmall ſtream riſes called
Weſter River, which runs through Ladwell, and has over it two ſmall ſtone bridges.
A ſecond river, called Stowey Water, riſes in Harecliff, one mile eaſtward from the
church; and a third riſes in Dunkery. All theſe rivers contain trout and eels, and run
to Dunſter, where they diſcharge themſelves into the ſea.
Betwixt Cutcombe and Timberſcombe there is a depopulated place, called Oaktrow,
which having been parcel of the manor of Cutcombe-Mohun, we ſhall here briefly
notice. Its ancient name was Wochetrev, as we find it in Domeſday-book:
“Durand holds of William [de Mohun] WOCHETREV. Manno held it in the time
" of king Edward, and gelded for half a virgate of land. The arable is one carucate.
“There are two villanes, with half a plough, and four acres of wood. It was worth
“ four ſhillings, now ſix ſhillings.”!
I Lib. Domeſday.
m See the account of Dunſter.
n Eſc. 10 Hen. VI.
• Rot. clauf. 24 Hen. VI. ,
P Lib. Domeſday.
The

Carhampton.]
7
CU T C O M B E.
The church of Cutcombe was anciently appropriated to the priory of Brewton, and
together with Luxborough was valued in 1292 at ten marks. The prior of Dunſter
received out of the rectory an annual penſion of forty ſhillings and three-pence.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter, and in the gift of the crown.
The Rev. Mr. Wilkins is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Laurence,' and is an ancient ſtructure, conſiſting of
a nave, chancel, and north aile tiled; a tower at the weſt end contains five bells.
There is no monument nor inſcription worthy of notice.
A charity-ſchool was founded in this pariſh about the year 1720, by Richard
Elſworth, of Timberſcombe, eſq; for teaching poor children to read and write. The
endowment was ten pounds per annum, and the ſchool is ſtill kept up.
The number of houſes in this pariſh is about eighty-ſix, and of inhabitants upwards
of five hundred. The average number of chriſtenings fifteen; the burials eight,
9 Taxat. Spiritual.
I Econ ſays St. John.
D U
N S T E R
I
S a town ſituated about twenty-five miles from Bridgwater, on the margin of a rich
but bounded on all other ſides by ſteep and lofty hills, riſing one behind another in
grand ſucceſſion.
In the time of the Saxon Heptarchy this was a place of great note, and was a
fortreſs of the Weſt-Saxon kings. At this early period, and indeed for ſome centuries
after, it was called Torre, a fortified tower; but in after days Duneſtorre, and by con-
traction Dunſter; the additional Dun or Dune implying a ridge of mountains ſtretching
out lengthwiſe upon the ſea coaſt.
At the time of the Norman Conqueſt it conſtituted the head of a large barony, and
was given by William the Conqueror to Sir William de Moion or Mohun. The
ſurvey ſays:
« William himſelf holds Torre, and there is his caſtle. Aluric held it in the time of
“ king Edward, and gelded for half a hide. The arable is one carucate. There are two
“mills of ten ſhillings rent, and fifteen cottagers, and five acres of meadow, and thirty
acres of paſture. It was formerly worth five ſhillings, now fifteen ſhillings."
This Sir William de Mohun, who was of a very ancient and eminent family in
Normandy, when the Norman duke had announced his intention of viſiting England
3
a Lib. Domeſday.
in

8
[Carhampton.
D
N S S T E R.
U
in arms, was one of the firſt of thoſe gentry who engaged in the expedition, and brought
over with him fifty-ſeven knights of his retinue, all of them perſons of diſtinction, both
as to parentage and military enterprize. Having thus relinquiſhed his native ſoil,
he feated himſelf among thoſe territories which he had acquired from his victorious
ſovereign, and not only rebuilt the caſtle, but added largely to the buildings of the
town; and on the northweſt ſide of his manſion erected a priory of Benedictine
monks, which he dedicated to the honour of St. George, and in the church whereof he
is ſaid to have been buried.d
To this William de Mohun ſucceeded another William, who was alſo a knight, and
is reported to have been a perſon of great valour. He improved the buildings of his
predeceſſor at Dunſter, and was a great benefactor to the priory there, as well as to
that of Taunton, founded by William Giffard, biſhop of Wincheſter. He was alſo
buried at Dunſter. By Agnes his wife he left iſſue another Sir William de Mohun, the
third of that name;
Which William was one of thoſe barons who eſpouſed the cauſe of Maud the em-
preſs, and, beſides other aſſiſtance, fortified his caſtle here in her behalf, and made many
ſucceſsful incurſions into the neighbouring country: for theſe important ſervices he had
the honour of being created Earl of Somerſet and Dorſet, a title he enjoyed till his
death, which happened about A. D. 1160, when he was buried in the priory of Brewton,
of his own foundation.
His ſon and heir William, furnamed Meſchyn, fucceeded him. This William, 12
Henry II. upon levying the aid for marrying the king's daughter, certified his knight's
fees in this county to be in number, of the old feoffment, forty, and thoſe of the new,
four. He confirmed his father's benefactions to the priory of Brewton, and was buried
in the conventual church of Dunſter.
To him ſucceeded Reginald de Mohun, his ſon and heir, who 6 John had livery of
his lands. He married- Alice, one of the fifters and coheireſſes of William Bruer, of
Torre in the county of Devon, afterwards called Torre-Mohun from this family, its
future poſſeſſors. This Alice Bruer is ſet down among the benefactors to the new
cathedral church of Saliſbury, having contributed thereto all the marble neceſſary for
the building thereof for twelve years. She ſurvived the ſaid Reginald de Mohun her
huſband, and was afterwards married to Williain Paganel. Her iſſue by the former was
Reginald, John, (who was ſeated at Ham-Mohun in the county of Dorſet, where his
deſcendants long continued) and William.
Reginald de Mohun, the eldeſt ſon, ſucceeded to the honour and caſtle of Dunſter.
Which Reginald 26 Henry III. was conſtituted chief juſtice of all the foreſts ſouth of
Trent, and 37 Henry III. was appointed governor of Sauvey caſtle in Leiceſterſhire.
41 Henry III. he had ſummons to attend the king at Briſtol with horſe and arms,
f
* Vid. Lel. Collectan. vol. 1, pp. 202, 203, where their names are recited. Dugdale ſays only forty-ſeven,
cLel. Itin. vol. ii. p. 101.
d Lel. Collectan. vol. i. p. 203.
• Lib. nig. vol. i. p. 91, 92.
f Lel. Collectan, ubi fupra.
% Lel. Itin. iii. 95.
thence

Carhampton.]
9
DU
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N
thence to march againſt the Welſh. He died that ſame year, and was ſucceeded by
John de Mohun his eldeſt ſon and heir:
Which John married Joan the daughter of Sir Reginald Fitzpiers, by whom he had a
ſon of his own name, who inherited the eſtate. He died in Gaſcony 7 Edward I. being
then ſeized of the manors of Dunſter, Carhampton, Cutcombe, Minehead, Iſle-Brewer,
and Kilton in this county, beſides divers other manors in the county of Devon."
John de Mohun, the ſecond of the name, was 22 Edward I. in the expedition then
made into Gaſcony. 26 and 27 Edw. I. he was in the Scottiſh wars, and 28 Edw. I. was
ſummoned amongſt the barons to parliament. He died 4 Edw. III. leaving John his
grandſon, (viz. ſon of John his eldeſt ſon, who died in his life-time) his next heir.
This laſt John Lord Mohun doing his homage 15 Edward III. had livery of his
lands, and in the ſame year confirmed all the donations which his predeceſſors had made
to the priory of Dunſter.' 16 Edward III. he ſerved in the expedition then made into
France, in the retinue of Bartholomew de Bergherſh, with whom, during his minority,
he had been in ward, and whoſe daughter Joan he afterwards married. This John Lord
Mohun was one of the firſt knights of the moſt noble order of the garter, and
47 Edw. III. had his laſt ſummons to parliament. He died about 48 Edw. III.
leaving three daughters his coheireſſes, viz. Philippa, married to Edward Duke of York,
Elizabeth, to William de Montacute Earl of Saliſbury, and Maud, to John Lord
Strange of Knocking.
Which three daughters ſhould have jointly inherited the patrimonial eſtates; but it
feems that a deed and fine had been levied and made by the ſaid John Lord Mohun
their father fometime before his death, of the barony, honour, and manor of Dunſter,
together with the manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of Carhampton,
which he thereby veſted in the archbiſhop of Canterbury, and other truſtees, for ſuch
uſes as his wife ſhould, in caſe ſhe ſurvived him, declare. In purſuance of which deed
the ſaid Lady Mohun 50 Edward III. ſold the reverſion of the ſaid premiſes to Lady
Elizabeth Luttrell, relict of Sir Andrew Luttrell, of Chilton in the county of Devon,
and daughter of Hugh Courtnai, Earl of Devonſhire. This ſale being abſolute, great
ſuits at law aroſe between the Duke of York and Lord Strange of Knocking, who, as
it has been before obſerved, married Sir John Mohun's two daughters; and they ſet
forth another deed, whereby the faid Sir John had entailed the ſame lands on the heirs
of his body; and for that and other reaſons diſputed the power he had of making a
different diſpoſal.
i Mon. Angl. i. 477.
& Of this John it is recorded, that upon a petition of the inhabitants of Dunfter for certain lands adjoining
to the town, whereon to depaſture their cattle freely and in common, he allowed his lady Joan Mohun, who
fupplicated in the townſmen's behalf, as much foil as ſhe could go round in one day barefoot for the purpoſe
abovementioned. Although this ſeems to reft merely on tradition, yet certain it is, that a great number of
privileges flowed from the houſe of Mohun to this and other townſhips that were held under it. This John de
Mohun bore for his arms, Or, a croſs engrailed ſable; though the more ancient coat ſeems to have been,
Gules, a dexter arm, habited with a maunch ermine, the hand holding a fleur-de-lis or. Both theſe coats
were uſed by the priory of Brewton, founded by this family.
VOL. II.
с
The
h Eſc.

DU
[Cathampton
N S R.
TE T
The circumſtances of this fuit having puzzled the judges in point of law, the par-
liament interfered,' and firſt petitioned the King, that he would give a peremptory order
to the judges to give their opinion; and by a ſecond petition 1 Henry IV. deſired that
he would order the diſpute to a reference; it being their opinion, that the parties
contending were unequal in condition to diſpute the title in law, conſidering the poor
eſtate of Sir Hugh Luttrell, ſon of the lady Elizabeth Luttrell, who had made the
purchaſe, and the great power and riches of the Duke of York. On this laſt petition
certain lords, biſhops, and judges, were ſworn in parliament, to conſider the whole matter, ,
and were ordered to make an award by a certain day. But it is probable that in the
mean time fome agreement was made with the heirs of Lord Mohun, for it does not
appear that any report was ever entered; and it is certain that Sir Hugh Luttrell, from
this time, continued in quiet poſſeſſion of the ſaid manors.
Of the progenitors of this Sir Hugh Luttrell, I ſhall here make no mention, inal-
much as their prior reſidence was at Eaſt Quantockſhead, an ancient manor in this
county, where I purpoſe to deduce their deſcent to the time of their removal to Dunſter,
which was immediately after the death of Lady Mohun.
Sir Hugh Luttrell abovementioned was the firſt of the family who reſided here. In
fome publick records this Sir Hugh is ſtiled kinſman to the King, and under that title
15 Richard II. had the grant of an annuity of forty pounds iſſuing out of the lands
belonging to the alien priory of Wenge in the county of Bucks. 2 Hen. IV. he was
appointed ſteward of the Queen's houſhold, and ſoon after conſtable of the caſtle of
Briſtol, and warden of the foreſt of Kingſwood. 3 Hen. IV. he was lieutenant of
Calais, and 6 Hen. IV. was a commiſſioner to array men within this county, on an
expectation that the French would aſſiſt the Welch rebels. 3 Hen. V. he attended the
King at the taking of Harfleur, upon the ſurrender of which he was appointed counſel
to the lieutenant, and ſoon after ſucceeded him. 4 Hen. V. in conſideration of two
hundred and eighty-ſix pounds, he agreed to ſerve the King in the French wars in
perſon for one year, together with twenty men at arms, whereof one was to be a knight,
and the reſt eſquires, and ſixty archers; all to be ready at Southampton by the fourth
of May: and the year following he was appointed to treat with, and take the ſurrender
of the town of Monſterville. He was ſeveral times choſen knight of the ſhire for the
county of Devon; and on the coronation of Henry V's Queen, he was appointed ſteward
of her houſhold. In his old age he lived always at Dunſter, where he rebuilt a conſi-
derable part of the caſtle, and kept great hoſpitality. That he had great intereſt at
court, appears by a letter from Henry VI. to the king of Scotland, demanding ſatisfac-
tion, on the complaint of Sir Hugh Luttrell, for harbouring a Spaniſh ſhip, that had
taken one of his fiſhing boats, and abuſed his tenants at Minehead. He died about
10 Henry VI. leaving iſſue by Catherine his wife, daughter of Sir John Beaumont, of
Shirwell in the county of Devon, and widow of John Strecche, Sir John Luttrell his
ſucceſſor, and three daughters.
Which John, only ſon of Sir Hugh, was with his father in France, and there knighted.
He died one year after him, having married two wives; iſt, Joan, daughter of Sir John

--> Rot. Parl. 1, 2, 4 Hen. IV.
Malet

Carhampton.]
1)
D UN S S T E R.
Malet of Enmore, by whom he had no children; and 2d, Margaret, daughter of John
Lord Audley, by whom he had James his only ſon.
Which James Luttrell was in ward to Sir Philip Courtenai, and married Elizabeth,
daughter and heir of Sir William, eldeſt brother to Sir Edward Courtenai of Haccombe,
who i Henry VII. became earl of Devonſhire. This James was always a faithful
adherent to the intereſts of the houſe of Lancaſter, and was at the battle of Wakefield,
where the Duke of York was killed, and where he was knighted in the field; but foon
after, at the ſecond battle of St. Alban's, fighting manfully for Henry VI. he received
ſeveral grievous wounds, of which he died the next day; and 1 Edw. IV. was, together
with five hundred lords, knights, and eſquires, attainted in Parliament. On this
attainder his whole eſtate in Somerſet, Devon, and Suffolk, was declared to be forfeited,
and was accordingly ſeized into the King's hands, notwithſtanding it had been veſted in
the duke of Buckingham, the biſhop of London, and others, to preſerve an inheritance
to his children:-An inſtance, among many others, that in times of violence and
inteſtine commotion, ſettlements are but a feeble ſecurity to a family, be they drawn
ever ſo carefully! All theſe poſſeſſions were granted to Sir William Herbert, and to
the heirs male of his body; who was foon after created Baron of Dunſter and Earl
of Pembroke.
The children of this Sir James Luttrell were, Alexander, who died ſoon after his
father, and Hugh, as alſo ſeveral daughters, all young at the time of his death. They
were ſubſiſted on a rent charge of fifty pounds per annum, which foon after his marriage
he had made in truſt to James Lots and other truſtees for the uſe of his younger chil-
dren. But 1 Hen. VII. Hugh Luttrell, the only ſurviving ſon of Sir James, having in
a petition ſet forth to the King in parliament, that what his father did and ſuffered for,
was the truth and loyalty to his ſovereign King Henry VI. praying that he might be
reſtored to the lands of his anceſtors, the attainder was reverſed in parliament.
This Sir Hugh Luttrell was one of the Knights of the Bath at the coronation of Hen.
VII's Queen. He married two wives, iſt, Margaret, daughter of Robert Hill, fiſter by
the mother to Lord Daubeney, chainberlain to King Henry VII.; and 2d, Walthera,
widow of Thomas Dreloc, and afterwards of Walter Yorke, merchant of the Stannaries,
By his firſt wife he had Andrew his ſon and heir, and ſeveral other children. 13 Hen,
VII. this Sir Hugh attended the king into the weſt in the expedition againſt Perkin
Warbeck. He ſeems to have been a very devout perfon; for 2 Henry VIII. he was,
together with his wife Walthera, admitted into the fraternity of the abbey of Athelney,
and the ſame year into that of the abbey of Walſingham in Norfolk, becoming thereby
entitled to the benefit of all the maſſes, prayers, alms, &c. belonging to the ſaid convents.
Andrew Luttrell ſucceeded him 2 Hen. VIII. and was knighted the 21ſt of that
reign, in which year he was ſheriff for the counties of Somerſet and Dorſet. He was
likewiſe one of thoſe who were appointed to collect the firſt-fruits and tenths, which had
been declared by parliament to be in the King. This Sir Andrew reſided chiefly at
Quantockſhead, where he died 30 Henry VIII. leaving iſſue by Margaret, daughter of
m This Sir James Luttrell bore on his ſeal a Bend between fix Martlets,
Sir

N S - T E R.
[Carhampton.
Sir Thomas Wyndham, of Felbridge in the county of Norfolk, Sir John Luttrell of
Dunſter, Thomas, Richard, (anceſtor to the Luttrells of Harland, Honibere, Sandon-
Court, and Chelſea) Andrew, and Hugh, and ſeveral daughters.
John, eldeſt ſon of Sir Andrew, was 36 Henry VIII. with the Earl of Hertford in
Scotland, and preſent at the taking of Edinburgh and Leith, when he was knighted.
38 Henry VIII. he was with the ſaid Earl of Hertford at Boulogne, and had the com-
mand of one hundred men. In the time of King Edward VI, he was in the wars of
Scotland, and commanded three hundred men at the battle of Muſsleborough, where,
it is ſaid, he behaved with ſuch proweſs, wiſdom, and conduct, as gained him the
character of a compleat captain; having before, that of a compleat and worthy courtier.
Indeed, it generally appears, that he was a perſon of great valour, zealous for the ſervice
of his prince, and extremely deſirous of glory; to obtain which he ſpared no expence, and
by that means greatly waſted the fair patrimony which deſcended to him from his anceſ-
tors; ſelling great part of his demelnes at Dunſter, Kilton, and elſewhere; and at laſt
mortgaging the plate and furniture belonging to Dunſter-Caſtle, and his other houſes.
There is an ancient picture in the caſtle, done by a tolerable hand, of a man ſwim-
ming in the ſea, and looking up to certain figures in the clouds; to which is added, by a
later and very indifferent painter, the figure of a lady floating by his ſide. This is tradi-
tionally ſaid to have been the picture of Sir John Luttrell, and refers to his having ſaved
a certain lady from drowning, whoin he was then in love with, and afterwards married.
His wife's name was Mary Griffith, a lady of North-Wales, who ſoon after his death
was married to James Godolphin of the county of Cornwall. He had iſſue by the ſaid
Mary three daughters, heirs to a third part of his eſtate, the other parts being by two
entails, and, by the will of this Sir John, given to Thomas Luttrell his brother.
Which Thomas, in order to preſerve the remainder clear from his nieces' portions
and his brother's debts, fold all the lands in Devonſhire and Suffolk, which lands were
fully replaced in this county, by his marriage with Margaret, fole daughter and heir of
Chriſtopher Hadley of Withycombe, great grandaughter of Philippa, daughter of
Sir Humphry Audley, by Elizabeth widow of Sir James Luttrell. On occaſion of this
conſanguinity, a ſpecial bull was obtained 5 Philip and Mary from Pope Paul V. This
Thomas died 13 Eliz. Margaret his wife, ſurviving him, was afterwards married to
John Strode of Parnham, and thirdly, to Richard Hill, efq.
George Luttrell, his eldeſt ſon, inherited his father's and mother's lands, and was
ſheriff of Somerſetſhire 36 Eliz. He added greatly to the buildings of the caſtle, and
was much noted for his hoſpitality, and the general love and reſpect of his neighbours.
He lived to a great age, dying in 1630, having married two wives, ift, Joan, daughter
of Hugh Stewkley of Marſh in this pariſh; and 2d, Silveſtra Capper, afterwards mar-
ried to Sir Edmund Story, and next to Gyles Penny.
Thomas, eldeſt ſon of the ſaid George Luttrell, by Joan his wife, married in his
father's life-time Jane the daughter of Sir Francis Popham of Littlecot, knt. and died
in 1647, leaving by her ſeveral fons, of whom George, Francis, and Thomas, were
ſucceſſively

ve
Dawn & Engraved by I. Bonnon
DUNS TER
CASTLE
CR
The seat of John Fommes Luttrell Esp to whom this Plate is inscribed by his Obliged Servant
J.COZZINS ON.
published by I. Collinson Uprit :"791..

Carhampton.]
13
D U N S
E R.
T
ſucceſſively lords of Dunſter-Caſtle. Thomas, the third ſon, married Lucy, daughter
of Thomas Simonds, of Cambridgeſhire, elq; and was father of two ſons, Francis
and Alexander.
Francis Luttrell, the eldeſt, married Jane, fole heir of John Tregonwell, of Milton-
abbey in the county of Dorſet, eſq; and died at Plymouth in 1690, being then colonel of
a regiment in the ſervice of King William; leaving by the ſaid Jane one ſon, Tregonwell
Luttrell, who died without iſſue in 1706, and two daughters, Mary, the wife of Sir
George Rooke, vice-admiral of England; and Frances, wife firſt of Edward Hervey,
eſq; and afterwards of Edward Aſhe, of Heyteſbury in the county of Wilts, efq.
On the death of Tregonwell Luttrell in 1706, Alexander his uncle ſucceeded in the
eſtate of Dunſter. He ſerved in all the war in Flanders during the reign of King
William; and in Queen Anne's time was colonel of the royal regiment of marines. He
was alſo during the greateſt part of thoſe reigns member of parliament for the borough
of Minehead. He died in 1714, leaving by Dorothy his wife, daughter of Edward
Yard of Churſton in the county of Devon, two ſons, Alexander, lord of Dunfter-Caſtle
and Quantockſhead, and member of parliament for Minehead; and Francis.
Alexander Luttrell married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Trevelyan, of Nettle-
combe, bart. but by her having no iſſue male, he left his eſtates to deſcend to one fole
daughter and heireſs, Margaret, married to Henry Fownes, of Nethaway in the county
of Devon, efq; who thereupon aſſumed the name of Luttrell, and was father of John
Fownes Luttrell, the preſent poffeſſor of Dunſter-Caſtle, and member of parliament for
the borough of Minehead.
The caſtle is to this day the reſidence of the Luttrell family. It is a large ſtately
edifice, ſituated on a ſteep hill at the ſouth extremity of the principal ſtreet, and com-
mands a fine view of the town, the ſea, and the mountains of South-Wales. Like
other fortreſſes, it has been the ſcene of various military confuſion; and was for ſome
time the durance of the famous William Prynn."
The extent of territory and feudal power which formerly appended to this caſtle, may
be gathered from the following records :
King William the Conqueror gave to Sir William de Mohun, together with the ſcite
and demeſnes of the caſtle, no leſs than fifty-ſix manors or vills in this county, all of
them fubſervient and doing ſervice thereto."
In the time of Henry II. the following fees appertained to Sir William de Mohun,
the fourth of that name, and were thus held :)
William, the ſon of Durant, holds five knight's Alexander de Badialton, three,
fees and a half.
Hugh de Gundeville, two.
William de Elleworthe, four.
Talebot de Hathfelde, two.
Roger Arundel, three.
Reiner Tornach, one fee and a half.
a See vol. i. Wood's Athenæ Oxon. ii. 437; Biographical Dictionary; &c.
• Lib. Domeſday, Symerſete,
P Lib, nig. Scac. i. 91.
William

14
[Carhampton
DU E R.
N N
S T
William de St. Leger, one
Matthew de Combe and Nicol. one fee
Gefferey de Ver, one
Simon Bret, half a fee
Gefferey Huſſey, one
Ralph Dacres, half a fee
Ralph Huſſey, one
William de Punchardun, two fees
John Croc, one
Robert de Bratton, one
Thomas de Campo fiorido, one
Richard de Langeham, one
Walter de Lege, one
Gerebert de Perce, one
Robert Walſh, one
Roger de Newborough, one
Robert Fitz-Gefferey, one fee and a half William de Curci, one.
Robert Dumaz, half a fee
Theſe knights fees were of the old feoffment, that is, ſuch as conſtituted the barony of the
Mohuns in the reign of King Henry I.
The fees of the new feoffment, that is, thoſe with which they were inveſted ſince the
beginning of the reign of King Henry II. were as follows:
William de Curci holds one knight's fee
Robert Bohun, one
Luke de Campo florido, one
Hugh de Punchardun, half a fee
Richard de London, half a fee.
Knights' fees in the county of Somerſet, belonging to John de Mohun, 4 Edw. III.
Whedon holds fix oxgangs of land in Whedon, William de Thorne holds Thorne-fagon, by the
by the ſervice of half a knight's fee.
ſervice of two parts of one knight's fee.
John-le Bret holds of the ſame John de Mohun Thomas de Arundel holds the manor of Clot-
the manor of Torveſtone, by the ſervice of worthy, by the ſervice of one knight's fee.
one knight's fee.
John Durburgh holds the manor of Hethfeld-
William de Pavely holds Weſt Cantokſhed, by Talebot, by the ſervice of one knight's fee.
the ſervice of one knight's fee.
William de Pouleſhull, and Hilary de Badialton,
Walter de Furneaux holds the hamlet of Hole hold the hamlet of Badialton, by the ſervice
ford, by the ſervice of one knight's fee.
of one knight's fee.
John de Bures holds the manor of Ayly, by the James D’Audele holds the manor of Stanton,
ſervice of half a knight's fee.
by one knight's fee.
Margaret de Boteraux holds the manor of John de Ralegh holds the manor of Ailludeford,
Sherentone, by the ſervice of one knight's fee. by one knight's fee.
The prior of Taunton holds the manor of Philip de Columbers holds the manor of Heth-
Thurlokſton, by the ſervice of one knight's fee. feld-Columbers, by the - ſervice of half a
Henry Champflour holds the manor of Wyke, by knight's fee.
the ſervice of one knight's fee.
Gefferey de Avele holds one carucate of land in
Walter de Wilton holds the hamlet of Tokebere, Avele, by the ſervice of half a fee.
by the fervice of three parts of a knight's fee. William Everard holds the hamlets of Owle-
Nicholas de Barton holds two carucates of land Knolle, Lynch, and Lamham, by the ſervice
in Morbache, by the ſervice of one knight's fee. of the fourth part of a knight's fee.
William Cheny holds the manor of Pontindon, Robert de Biccombe holds four oxgangs of land
by the ſervice of one knight's fee.
in Biccombe, by the ſervice of the third part
Thomas Weſt holds the hamlet of Houndeſtone, of a knight's fee.
by the ſervice of one knight's fee.
9 Ing. poft mort. Johannis de Mohun, 4 Ed. III.
John

Carhampton.]
Τ Ε R.
D UN N S
John de Durburgh holds four oxgangs of land in Waketrowe, Alwerecote, by the ſervice of the
Bilcombe, by the ſervice of the third
part
of fourth part of one knight's fee.
a knight's fee.
The abbot of Clive holds Lollokſborough
John de Bratton holds two carucates of land Pickett, by the ſervice of half a knight's fee.
in Bratton, by the ſervice of half a knight's Walter de Wedon holds five oxgangs of land in
fee.
Wedon, by the ſervice of the fourth part of
Walter Meriet held Bilcombe, Elleſworth, Willet one knight's fee.
and Maplereton-Bret, [Co. Dorſet] by the Roger Attewalle, and William de Pavely, held
ſervice of four knight's fees.
Weſt-Cantokethed, by the ſervice of one
The ſame Walter held Lullikeſberghe-Everard,
knight's fee.
The town of Dunſter itſelf is inconſiderable, conſiſting chiefly of two ſtreets; the one
running in a north and ſouth direction; the other branching weſtward from the church.
The former, which is the principal ſtreet, is cloſe built, paved, and of a tolerable breadth,
but blocked up in the middle by an old market-croſs, and a long range of old ruinous
ſhambles. Many of the houſes are good, being built with wrought ſtone; but the
greater part are low, rough ſtone, thatched buildings, with old pent-houſes over the
doors and windows. The market is on Friday; and a chartered fair is held here on
Whit-Monday.
It formerly ſent members to parliament; but we retain only two of the names of its
repreſentatives, viz. Walter Morice, and Tho. Cartere, who were returned 34 Edw. III.
36 Edw. III. it was found not to the King's damage to grant licenſe to William le
Tailleur of Dunſter, and Thomas de Rivers, for them to enfeoff the commonalty of
the town of Dunſter, with one meſfuage and twenty-four acres of land, &c. in Car-
hampton, to hold to them, and their fucceffors burgeſſes of the ſaid town, for ever."
The pariſh of Dunſter comprehends the vills of Avill, STANTON, Alcombe, and
Marsh. The firſt of theſe is ſituated one mile to the ſouthweſt, and contains ten
houſes. It is written in the Norman record Avena, and is thus ſurveyed:
“ Ralph holds of William [de Moion] Avena. Aluric held it in the time of king
“ Edward, and gelded for half a hide. The arable is two carucates. In demeſne is
one carucate, and one villane, and five cottagers, with half a plough. There is a
“mill of twenty pence rent, and four acres of meadow, and two acres of wood, and
" fifty acres of paſture. It was and is worth ten ſhillings.
This place gave name to a family who reſided here; but the lands were always held
under the Caſtle of Dunſter.
Stanton, the next vill, is ſurveyed immediately after Avill, as follows:
“ William himſelf holds STANTUNE. Walle held it in the time of king Edward,
"and gelded for three virgates of land. The arable is two carucates.
There are two
“ villanes, and two ſervants, and two cottagers, with one plough, and five acres of mea-
“ dow, and forty acres of paſture. It is worth fifteen ſhillings. To this manor is
" added one virgate of land, which a thane held in the time of King Edw. for a manor.
Ing. ad quod damnum 36 Ed. III.
s Lib. Domeſday.
+ See the Inquiſitions.
" The

16
(Carhampton.
DU
.
N S TE
Z
“ The arable is one carucate. There is one cottager, and three acres of meadow, and
fifty acres of paſture. It is worth three ſhillings.
This manor was fome time held of the Caſtle of Dunſter by the family of Audley."
ALCOMBE is called in the ſame record Aucome, and was reſerved demeſne by
William de Mohun, like Stanton above-mentioned.
« William himſelf holds Aucome. Algar held it in the time of King Edward, and
“ gelded for one hide. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
“ and four ſervants, and three villanes, and four cottagers, with two ploughs. There
are eight acres of meadow, and three furlongs of paſture. It was and is worth twenty
« ſhillings.”
Sir William de Mohun gave this manor to his priory at Dunſter. There are eighteen
houſes in Stanton and Alcombe tithings, which are ſituated about one mile weſt from
Dunfter.
The manor of MARSH, or MARSHWOOD, was alſo an appendage to the Caſtle of
Dunſter, and “ lyeth (as Leland faith) betwixt our lady of Clyve and Duneſter. "
The whole number of the houſes within the pariſh is one hundred and ninety, and
of inhabitants about eight hundred and fifty, many houſes being void. But at the
beginning of the preſent century there were nearly four hundred houſes, and a large
manufacture of kerſey cloths, which is now almoſt wholly removed to other places.
The lands of this pariſh are generally paſture and meadow, and in goodneſs equal to
moſt in the kingdom; particularly the vale eaſt of the caſtle, and the rich common,
containing five hundred acres, lying by the ſea ſide. [The ſpot alluded to in the fore-
going part of this account.]* This common is overflowed by the high ſpring tides, and
is thereby rendered uncommonly fertile.
A ſmall but rapid ſtream riſing on Dunkery-Hill, and fed by ſeveral little rivulets,
runs through a deep vale on the ſouth ſide of the town and caſtle; and after pafling
under a ſtone bridge of three arches, and turning fix griſt mills, one oil, and two fulling
mills, empties itſelf into the ſea.
The coaſt in this pariſh is flat, and there are but few ſhells or ſea weeds upon it. The
beach is fand mixed with pebbles, and often muddy; but near Minehead it becomes
fine and firm.
The priory at Dunſter was annexed as a cell to the abbey of St. Peter at Bath, and
was endowed by the Mohuns with the following lands and poffeffions, viz. the church of
St. George at Dunſter, and all the tithes of that vill; the whole vill of Alcombe with its
appertenances, containing one hide; half the tithes of the demeſnes of Minehead; the
entire tithes of Broadwood, Carhampton, and Newton; half the tithes of Brunfield; and
the entire tithes of Stockland and Kilton. Two fiſheries; the one belonging to Dunſter,
Lib. Domeſday.
x Eſc.
z Lel. Itin. ii. 100,
y Lib. Domeſday
. See note, p.9.
the

Tarhampton.]
17
D U
R.
N E
$ S
T
the other to Carhampton; and all the tithes of the mares at More, and the tenth pig
at Dunſter, Carhampton, and Kilton. A paſture called Fogheleriſmerſh. The land of
Frekeford, and one furlong of land in Chaldevelle within the manor of Cutcombe; and one
furlong of land lying between la Stenteville and the mill of Cogbrigge. And alſo all the
burgages in Dunſter, together with the releaſe of the ſuit of the hundred of Minehead.
The church likewiſe of Kilton, with all its appertenances and tithes; and the tithes of
the demeſnes of Screveton, Combe, and Codisford; and all the land of Kynevordiſham, and
the tithes of Exford. The land alſo of Hanelham, which William de Mohun gave for
the good of the ſoul of Ralph de Mohun, with three furlongs of land at Nordecom, free
and quit from all ſervice, in pure and perpetual alms.
Peter de Bracton gave lands in Sparkſhay to this cell, 18 Ric. II.
The prior received from the rectory of Cutcombe a yearly penſion of forty ſhillings
and fourpence, and from the parſonage of Stogumber a penſion of ſeven ſhillings.
This cell conſiſted of only four or five monks beſides the prior, who was generally
fent hither from St. Peter's at Bath.
Robert de Sutton was made prior Oct. 24, 1332.
William Briſtow was prior 1411, and there were four monks with him.
John Henton, monk of Bath, was collated by Biſhop Stafford, July 28, 1425, the
priory of Bath being then void.
Thomas Brown was prior 1499.
The revenues of this priory were valued in 1444 at 30l. 13s. 4d. and in 1534 at
371. 45. 9 d.
The ſcite of the houſe, whereof ſome ruins ſtill remain on the ſoutheaſt ſide of the
church-yard, was granted 34 Henry VIII. to Humphrey Colles.
The church is in the deanery of Dunſter, to which it gives name. It was formerly
vicarial; but is now a perpetual curacy in the gift of Lord Stawel. The Rev. George
Henry Leigh is the preſent incumbent. In 1292 it was valued at twelve marks."
There was an ordination of this vicarage made by biſhop Oliver King; but this being
by ſome means or other cancelled, a freſh one was inſtituted in 1512 by biſhop Hadrian
de Caftello; appointing that the vicar and his ſucceſſors ſhould have their commons
and repafts, and a fire in winter time, with the prior of the cell of Dunſter, and with the
monks at their table, ſitting next to the ſaid monks, but never getting higher; at the
ſole charge and expence of the ſaid cell. That he ſhould likewiſe receive an annual
ſtipend of four pounds from the prior's hands, and ſhould have a chamber adjoining to
the church-yard of the pariſh church of Dunſter, together with a certain meadow, and a
rent of two ſhillings for the uſe of certain vats belonging to the fulling buſineſs, as alſo
the rent of two ſhillings for a certain houſe of ancient time belonging and appertaining
to the vicars. And that he ſhould likewiſe have all the contingent contributions of the
b Mon. Angl. i. 477
a Taxat. Spiritual.
c Pat. 18 Ric. II.
* Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.
D
VOL. II.
pariſhioners

18
[Carhampton.
D U N
T E R.
S
pariſhioners for the rehearſing and publiſhing the bead-roll,' after the ſervice of high
maſs in the church of Dunfter every Lord's day.
The church, which was built by king Henry the feventh, is a large Gothick pile, one
hundred and fixty-eight feet long, and fifty-five feet wide, being divided into two parts
by the tower, which ſtands on four pillars in the centre. The part eaſtward of the
tower was the original church of the priory, having been cloſed up from the pariſh
church in the year 1499, in conſequence of a diſpute between the monks and the
pariſhioners; when the matter being referred to the abbot of Glaſtonbury, Thomas
Tremayle, and Doctor Thomas Gilbert, as arbitrators, it was agreed upon that the vicar
and his ſucceſſors ſhould have their quire ſeparate from the prior and monks, to be
made, erected, and repaired, and if it ſhould ſo need, to be rebuilt at the coſt and ex-
pence of the pariſhioners, viz. in the nave of the church at the altar of St. James the
apoſtle, which is ſituated on the ſouth ſide of the door leading from the quire of the
monks into the nave of the church. This part of the church is now ſtript of all its
furniture, and totally neglected; although it contains many fine monumental tombs
and eſcutcheons of the Mohun and Luttrell families, now periſhing with their owners in
the duſt, and exhibiting a ſtrong rebuke to the vanity of human greatneſs.
The
part
weſtward of the tower is that now uſed for divine ſervice, and conſiſts of a
nave, chancel, and north and fouth ailes. The tower is ninety feet high, embattled at
the top, with low broken pinnacles at the corners, and contains a clock, chimes, and
eight bells.
This part of the church contains no monument; but in the floor of the middle
paſſage, on two braſs plates, are inſcriptions to the memories of divers of the families
of Blackford and Sealy. And on a braſs plate, beneath the effigies or portraitures of a
man and woman, there is a memento to John and Agnes Wyther, A. D. 1497.
In the old part of the church above-mentioned, in a ſmall chantry chapel adjoining
to the chancel, is an ancient tomb, on which lie the mutilated remains of two effigies of
the Mohuns. Theſe were once of fine white alabaſter, plenty of which is found on the
neighbouring coaſt.
On the ſouth fide of the chancel there is a ſtately mural monument of various kinds
of marble, whereon lie recumbent the effigies of one man in armour, and two women;
another man in a kneeling attitude and in a religious veſt. Theſe are the memorials
of the Luttrell family. Under an arch below lies the figure of a domeſtick of the
family in ſtone.
On the ſouth wall ſtands' a handſome monument of white and grey marble, inſcribed
with the name and character of Anne the wife of Francis Luttrell, and daughter and
heir of Charles Stucley, of Plymouth, eſq; who died Oct. 30, 1780, ætat. 21.
* A liſt of thoſe perſons, whether grandees, benefactors, or brethren, whoſe names were to be mentioned in
the publick prayers of the church. This liſt or roll was read over to prepare the audience for ſuch a com-
memoration.
8 Excerpt, e Regiſt. Wellen.
h See their deſcent, p. 10.
In

Carhampton.]
19
DU N S T
E R.
In the chancel is a large vault belonging to the ſame family, in which are nineteen
coffins, moſt of them charged with inſcriptions.
Between two arches in the church-yard lies an effigy of one of the Everards, a family
ſet up by the Mohuns, of whom they held lands in Carhampton and Dunſter, by the
ſervice of defending a certain part of the caſtle.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are on an average twenty-one; the burials twenty-two.
E
X F Ο
FOR
R D.
T
"HE river Ex, riſing in the wilds weſtward, ere it reaches the ancient city of
Exeter, which owes its appellation thereto, gives name to divers places of infe-
rior note within the limits of this county. Among theſe is Exford, ſituated about four
miles diſtant from its ſource, twelve miles ſouth from Dunſter, and twenty-five ſouth-
weſt from Taunton, in a fertile vale, ſurrounded by bleak and dreary moors. The
environs for many miles were formerly a foreſt called Exmoor, now a wild waſte,
interſected by deep winding vallies and romantick hollows.
26 Edw. I. a commiſſion was iſſued by the king to Malcoline de Harleigh and John
de Wroteſleigh, to make a perambulation of this foreſt, who choſe Sir Baldric de
Nonynton, and Sir Hugh de Popham, knights, in the preſence of Peter de Hamme,
deputy of Sabina Peche, keeper of the foreſt, Gilbert de la Putte, verdurer, and others,
to aſſiſt in making the ſurvey, which was as follows: From a certain place called
Corneſyete along a certain road between the king's demeſne and the fee of William de
Kytenore, to the ſtones called Fiſtones; and ſo going down by a certain duct called
Lilleſcumbe to Ore water; and thence going down on the further ſide of the heath
ground, to a mountain called Blakebergh; thence to Oſmundebergh hill; and thence to a
place called Spracombeſheved; and thence by a certain duct to Ex water; and ſo going
up by an old ditch to a ſtone called Radſton; and thence between the fee of John
Mohun and the fee of the abbot of Neth, to a ford which is called Reddeford; and ſo
aſcending by the heath directly to a place called Schepecumbeheved, as far as a ſtone
known by the name of Dereſmarke; and thence going along beyond the heath, between
the King's demeſne and the fee of the abbot of Neth, to a place called Stonchifte; and
ſo going down to a place in the water of Berghel, where the water of Schureburn runs
into the water of Berghel, which place is called Schureburneſſete; and thence on the other
ſide the heath directly to a ſtone called Hockleſton; and ſo going down to a ford called
Wylleneford, in the water of Dumokeſproke, on the confines of the counties of Somerſet
and Devon, to Corneſyete, the place where the ſurvey was begun."
Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.
The

E
[Carhampton
X F. o
R D.
The bailiwick of this foreſt was uſually held by people of diſtinction. In the time
of Hen. III, it was held by William de Placetis, by the ſervice of paying to the King
four heifers, and a young bull, or for each of them ten pence."
The office of foreſter continued for many years afterwards in the family of Peche,
and is now held of the crown by Sir Thomas Acland, bart.
As the only produce of this wild tract is paſturage, it is principally ſtocked with
ſheep, and a ſmall breed of horſes and cattle from the adjoining pariſhes. There are
a few wild deer; but theſe are more numerous on the adjacent commons, and the
neighbouring woods contain a great many of this ſort of animal. Many curious plants
and flowers flouriſh here, and in the neighbouring country; particularly the erica and
the hawkweed; the digitalis, blue fcabius, and yellow tormentilla, intermixed with
ſome ſcarce lichens and polypodies, which with their blended tints enliven the ſcene,
and delight the traveller.
But here, upon this defolate ſpot, which perhaps never experienced the labours of
the induſtrious huſbandman; but has remained the ſame for a long ſucceſſion of many
thouſand years; the eye of reflection ſees ſtand uninterrupted a number of ſimple
fepulchres of departed fouls, whether of warriors, prieſts, or kings, it matters not; their
names have long been buried with their perſons in the duſt of oblivion; and their
memories have periſhed with their mouldering urns. A morſel of earth now damps
ſilence the eclat of noiſy warriors; and the green turf ferves as a ſufficient ſhroud
for kings!
In this neighbourhood alſo are many of thoſe circular intrenchments, which in our
maps are called caſtles; but from the inconſiderable ſize of fome, and the ſituation of
of others, a doubt may be admitted whether they were ever intended for military
purpoſes. They are affuredly veſtiges of antiquity; and perhaps they might have been
thrown up in the early ages of Druidiſm, for the celebration of religious rites and cere-
monies; or in later days, for feats of activity or athletick exhibitions. Cow-Caſtle,
indeed, ſituated on the river Barle, northweſt from Withypool, is an exception to the
foregoing obſervations.
This is the fartheſt extremity of the county weſtward towards Devonſhire. There
is a farm in the foreſt called Symonſbath, remote from any other habitation, where runs
a ſmall river riſing northweſt, which hereabout joins the Ex, and has over it a wooden
bridge. The weſtern extremity of this foreſt is a point at right angles, called Sadler's
Stone, near the head of the rivers Ex and Barle.
With regard to the property of this place in early times, it may be ſaid, that it was,
with moſt other contiguous territories, annexed to the great honour of Dunſter.
William de Moion had it.
« William himſelf holds AisserORDE. Domno held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for one furlong. The arable is two bovates. There is one villane, and
** fifteen acres of paſture. It was and is worth fifteen pence.”
Efc. 35 Hen. III. < See the account of Neroche Foreſt, vol. i. p. 17.
3 An oxgang of land; as much as one ox can till.
« William

Carhampton.]
0 R D.
E X X F F
je
“ William himſelf holds ArsseFORDE. Sarpo held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for one furlong and a half. The arable is half a carucate; but now it is
“ laid down to paſture, and pays a rent of twelve pence.'
How the family of Mohun parted with it does not appear; but it is evident that the
principal eſtate in Exford belonged in very early times to the Ciſtertian abbey of Neth
in Glamorganſhire, founded about A. D. 1147 by Richard and Conſtantia de Grainville,
The prior of that convent received out of this manor a yearly penſion of fifty-five
ſhillings. The manor is ſtill called Monkham, from the circumſtance of its quondam
monaſtick propriety, and now belongs to Hugh Vaſſey, eſq; as does
ALMSWORTHY, of which manor the family of Durborough of Hethfield were lords
for many generations. In the time of Eliz. it belonged to Nicholas Bluet.
There are two hamlets in this pariſh, viz. 1. Edgecut, ſituated half a mile weſt,
and containing ſeven houſes. 2. LOWER-Mill, one mile weſtward, containing fix
houſes. The whole number of houſes in the pariſh is fixty-three; inhabitants, three
hundred and fifteen.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter; and in 1292 was valued at ten
marks. The Rev. Mr. Cox is the preſent incumbent. The patronage was anciently
appertenant to the manor of Eaſtbury, and veſted in the family of Perceval, whoſe arms,
viz, on a chief indented three croſſes formeé, were carved on the church porch here.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, and has lately in great part
been rebuilt, ſtands on a little eminence, and is a good Gothick ſtructure, conſiſting of
a nave, chancel, and ſouth aile, all covered with tile. At the weſt end is a ſtrong
embattled tower, ſeventy feet high, containing four bells.
There are two inſcriptions in the church; one to the memory of Mr. Robert Baker,
who died April 25, 1730, aged 68; and another to William Gundry, who died the 12th
of January 1703; and by his laſt will gave ten pounds to the poor of this pariſh, to
remain for ever; the profits thereof to be diſtributed yearly unto ſuch poor inhabitants
as have no monthly relief.
A charity ſchool was founded here by Mr. Cox, and Mrs. Muſgrove, for teaching ten
poor
children to read, for each of whom the maſter was allowed two ſhillings a quarter.
About a mile and a half eaſtward of the church are the veſtiges of ſome ancient
iron works, in which tradition ſays much of the wood of Exmoor was conſumed. Many
of the old pits where the ore was dug ſtill remain, and great quantities of the ſcoria are
found about them.
The births in this pariſh are on an average nine; the burials five.
e Lib. Domeſday. f Taxat. Temporal.
Eſc.
5 Terrar, Sydenham, MS.
i Taxat. Spiritual.
LUCKHAM.

[ 22 ]
L U
C KH
А
M.
T
HIS vill is pleaſantly ſituated in a woody vale, three miles ſouthweſt from
Minehead, and two eaſt from Porlock. The pariſh contains about eighty-two
houſes, and nearly five hundred inhabitants. Thirty-eight of the houſes form a ſtrag-
gling ſtreet by the church; the reſt are in three hamlets, viz.
1. WEST-LUCKHAM, one mile and a half weſt, containing twelve houſes.
2. Horner, a romantick ſpot, ſituated in a deep hollow between lofty hills, eight
houſes. And,
3. Dover-Hay, adjoining to the town of Porlock, twenty-four houſes.
The lands are almoſt equally divided between tillage and grazing, and (except on
the hills) are very good. The ſtone here, of which there is great plenty, contains ſome
iron, and is veined with ſpar. Conſiderable quantities of pyrites are found here, and
ſome lava; but few, if any foſſils. Several ſprings riſing on Dunkery-Hill, and in the
foreſt of Exmoor, form a rivulet, which, paſſing through this pariſh under two ſtone
bridges, empties itſelf into the fea at Boffington Point. Another ſtream has its ſource
about a mile ſoutheaſtward from the church. The inhabitants have a right of common
on Dunkery-Hill. A narrow ſlip of land belonging to this pariſh extends quite down
to the ſea, dividing the pariſh of Porlock into two parts.
At the time of the Conqueſt, Luckham was divided into two diſtinct parcels; the
one belonging to Ralph de Limeſi, the other to Odo the ſon of Gamelin. The former
is thus deſcribed:
Ralph himſelf holds LOCUMBE. Queen Eddida held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for two hides. The arable is eight carucates. In demeſne are
es three carucates, and two ſervants, and eighteen villanes, and fix cottagers with four
ploughs. There are five acres of meadow, and fifty acres of wood. Paſture one mile
« in length, and half a mile in breadth. It was worth three pounds, now four pounds.”
The other parcel has the following deſcription:
« Odo the ſon of Gamelin holds of the king LOCUMBE. Vitalis of him. Fitel held
“ it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is ſix carucates.
“ In demeſne is one carucate, and two ſervants, and eight villanes, and one cottager,
<< with two ploughs and a half. There are two acres of meadow, and twelve acres of
“wood, and fifty acres of paſture. It was formerly and is now worth forty ſhillings."k
In the time of Edward I. theſe parcels of land, being united, belonged to Sir Baldric
de Nonington, a perſon very eminent in his days, and one who was entruſted with many
important publick offices. He was likewiſe poſſeſſed of the manor of Lilliſdon, and
many other eſtates in this county; and died 3 Edw. II. leaving Margery, the wife of
Robert de Pudele, his daughter and heir. The ſucceſſors of this Robert de Pudele
aſſumed the name of Luccombe from this place of their habitation. 13 Edw. II. John
k Lib. Domeſday.
de

Cathampton.)
23
L Ú CK
CK M.
H H
A
de Luccombe died ſeized of this manor, and in the inquiſition taken after his deceaſe
is certified to have held it of the king in capite by the ſervice of three knight's fees.
To him fucceeded Hugh de Luccombe his ſon and heir; but he held not this manor
long, being dead 16 Edw. II." and leaving one fon John of the age of one year to
ſucceed him in the eſtates. To which John ſucceeded another Hugh, and to him John
de Luccombe: which John is found to hold this manor of the King, as of the honour
of Pinkney, by the ſervice of four knight's fees. He died 8 Edw. III. leaving no iſſue,
whereupon his ſiſter Elizabeth, the wife of Oliver de St. John, became heir to his pof-
ſeſſions. This Oliver was ſucceeded by Henry St. John, who died ſeized of Luccombe
8 Henry IV. leaving Edward his ſon and heir. After this family, the manor was
poſſeſſed by that of Arundel. 22 Edw. IV. Joan the relict of Nicholas Arundel, of
Treryſe, died ſeized thereof, together with the advowſon of the church, and the
manor and advowſon of Selworthy, leaving Robert Arundel her couſin and heir of the
age of fifteen years. The family of Arundel continued in poſſeſſion of this manor, and
many other contiguous eſtates, for many generations; but it is now the property of
Frederick Thomas Wentworth, eſq.
The manors of Weſt-Luckham, Wichanger, and Dover-Hay, paſſed nearly in the ſame
manner as that above deſcribed. The laſt-mentioned hamlet is thus ſurveyed in
Domeſday Book:
“ Alric holds of Roger [de Curcelle] Douri. Eddeve held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for one virgate of land. The arable is one carucate.
There are
“two villanes, with one cottager. It is worth eight ſhillings.'
The church of Luckham is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter, and is appendant to
the manor. The Rev. Mr. Gould is the preſent incumbent. In the taxation of 1292
it is valued at twelve marks. The church of Dovery is likewiſe included in the ſame
taxation, being rated at twelve marks and a half.?
The church is dedicated to St. Mary. It is a handſome Gothick ſtructure, conſiſting
of a nave, chancel, and ſouth aile, covered with tile. At the weſt end is an embattled
tower, eighty-two feet high, with a clock and five bells.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is a ſtone monument with this inſcription:
“Non procul hinc ſub marmore congenito, fepultum jacet corpus Henrici Byam,
ex antiquiſſimâ Byamorum familiâ oriundi; ſacro-ſanctæ Theologiæ Doctoris inſignif-
fimi, hujus Eccleſiæ et proximæ Selworthianæ Rectoris, Paftoriſque vigilantiſſimi;
Ecclefiæ Cathedralis Exonienſis Canonici, Eccleſiæque Wellenſis Prebendarii; Sere-
niſſimæ Majeſtatis Caroli fecundi Regis capellani et concionatoris ordinarii, necnon
ejuſdem, (ſæviente illâ tyrannide, et femper execrandâ fanaticorum rebellione) terra
marique comitis, exulifque fimul. Ex meliore luto ejus conſtructum corpus poft
annos tandem octoginta et novem, anno falutis milleſimo ſexcenteſimo ſexageſimo
nono, morti non triumphanti quam invitanti placide ceſſit. Sed extat adhuc viri hujus
optimi celebrius multo hoc, et ornatiùs monumentum, non marmore perituro, ſed
typis exaratum perpetuis, fcripta ; ſcilicet ejus plane divina; ubi animi vires, et fummum
27
1 Eſc.
m Ibid.
Lib. Domeſday.
• Taxat, Spiritual.
P Ibid.
ejus

24
[Carhampton
C-K HA
M.
ejus ingenii acumen, intueberis fimul et miraberis. Lugubrem hunc lapidem honoris
et reverentiæ indicem pofuit filius ejus obfequentiffimus Franciſcus Byam: Inſtauratum
a Mariâ et Ceciliâ Wood, Anno Dom. 1713."
Arms; Argent, three boars' heads eraſed vert.
This Henry Byam was the ſon of Laurence Byam of this pariſh, and born here
Aug. 31, 1580. He was ſent to the univerſity of Oxford in 1597, and in 1612, com-
mencing batchelor of divinity, returned to Somerſetſhire, and ſucceeded his father in
this living, and William Fleet in that of Selworthy. In 1636 he became prebendary
of Exeter. During the time of the Oliverian perturbations, he was a faithful adherent
to the royal cauſe, raiſing both men and horſe for Charles II. and engaging his five fons
(four of whom were captains) in the ſervice of his Majeſty. For this cauſe he was ſeverely
pointed at by the oppoſite party, who impriſoned and otherwiſe perfecuted him and his
family, of whom his wife and daughter periſhed at ſea in their attempt to avoid the
cruelties of the enemy by flight into Wales. After the reſtoration he was made canon
of Exeter, and prebendary of Wells, and was univerſally eſteemed for his fanctity of
life, his knowledge of literature, his loyalty to his ſovereign, and his charity to his fellow-
creatures. His fermons were publiſhed by Hamnet Ward, M. D. vicar of Sturmifter-
Newton Caſtle in Dorſetſhire, who alſo compoſed the inſcription on his tomb.
On the ſame wall is a marble monument to the memory of the Rev. Thomas Stawell,
rector of this pariſh forty-three years. He died Dec. 22, 1782, aged 84. Elizabeth
his wife died Aug. 3, 1781, aged 73.
In the ſouth aile there is a mural monument of ſtone to the memory of Richard
Wroth, gent. who died Aug. 17, 1637. To Mary his wife, and Richard their ſon.
There is likewiſe in this aile an ancient ſtone tomb, but without any legible inſcription.
An old croſs ſtands in the church-yard, with a ſhaft remaining, and three rows of ſteps.
LUX BOROUGH
S a ſmall pariſh four miles ſouth from Dunſter, and about nineteen northweſt from
mean mud-walled cottages, covered with thatch. Of theſe houſes twelve form a hamlet
called PoolTown, one mile weſtward from the church; the reſt are diſperſed in the vil-
lage of Luxborough. The farms are ſmall, and the lands about equally divided between
tillage and paſture. A rivulet riſing near Treborough, joined by ſeveral others ſpring-
ing on the hills towards the weſt, turn a griſt-mill at Pooltown, and two more in this
pariſh. Theſe little rivers contain trout and eels; and one of them empties itſelf into
the Dunſter river; the other into the ſea at Watchet.
This

Carhampton.) L U XBORO U G H.
This place is called in the Conqueror's ſurvey Lolocheſberie, and belonged to William
de Mohun:
« Rannulf holds LOLOCHESBERIE. Two thanes held it in the time of King Edward,
and gelded for one hide. The arable is four carucates.
In demeſne is one carucate,
se and three ſervants, and ſix villanes, and three cottagers, with three ploughs. There are
“ one hundred acres of paſture, and thirty acres of wood. It is worth twenty ſhillings."
" Nigel holds of William Lolocheſberie. Briſmar held it in the time of King
* Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is three carucates. There are two
“ acres of meadow, and one hundred acres of paſture, and thirty acres of wood. It
was and is worth fifteen ſhillings."!
In the time of Henry II. William Fitz-Everard held a knight's fee in Luxborough
of Reginald de Mohun, lord of Dunſter-Caſtle, to which caſtle and honour this manor,
and a great many others in this neighbourhood, were always ſubſervient. The family
of Everard flouriſhed here for many ages, and gave name to the manor. The laſt of
them in the reign of Charles I. ſold it to Sir John Wyndham, knight, from whom it
has deſcended to the Earl of Egremont the preſent poffeſfor.
In the inquiſition taken after the deceaſe of John de Mohun, 14 Edward I. reciting
the knights fees bolden by him in this county, the abbot of Clive and Maurice de
Luxborough are certified to hold of the ſaid John one knight's fee in Lukſborough-
Pyket; and Gilbert de la Putte the ſame in Lukſborough-Kyne;' both of them being
manors within this pariſh ſo denominated from their ancient owners.
Contiguous hereto is a manor called LANGHAM, which is thus noticed in the old
Norman record:
“ Three ſoldiers hold of William [de Mohun] LANGHAM. Three thanes held it in
ec the time of King Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is ſix carucates,
« In demeſne are three carucates, with one ſervant, and five villanes, and eight cottagers,
66 with three ploughs and a half. There is a mill of three ſhillings rent, and four acres
« of meadow, and fixty acres of paſture, and thirty-ſix acres of wood. It was and is
« worth thirty ſhillings."
It afterwards was held by the families of Tort and Botville, from whom it derived
the appellation of Langham-Tort, and Langham-Botville. 31 Henry VI. Thomas
Whaleſborough, couſin and heir of Simon Raleigh of Nettlecombe, is found to releaſe
to William Gaſcoigne and others, all his right in Pole, Langham-Tort, and Langham-
Botville in this pariſh, and in Bardeſlegh in the pariſh of Carhampton. But the
manor in the ſame reign was in the poſſeſſion of the family of Dodiſham, and after-
wards in that of Pym, and is now the property of Sir Philip Hales, bart, The Rev,
Chancellor Nutcombe has alſo a manor in Luxborough.
4
9 Lib. Domeſday.
r Lib, Feod.
• Leland tells us the Everards were ſet up by the Mohuns, Itin. fi. 101.
Inq. poſt mort. 14 Edw. I,
u Lib. Domeſday,
* Rot. Clauſ. 31 Hen. VI.
VOL. II.
E
The

26
[Carhampton.
LU X BOROUGH.
The living of Luxborough (which is a vicarage) has always been annexed to that of
Cutcombe, and is rated with it in Pope Nicholas's taxation at ten marks. Theſe
livings were appropriated to the priory of Brewton. The Rev. Mr. Wilkins is the
preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and conſiſts of one aile and chancel, having a
tower at the weſt end, with four bells.
This church has no monument; but on the floor are the following inſcriptions:
“Here lyeth the body of Ann the wife of Robert Siderfin, of Croydon, eſq; and
daughter of Sir John Wittewronge, of Rothamſted in the county of Hertford, bart.
who died May 5, 1708. In fpe beatæ reſurrectionis.” Arms: three cups, Siderfin ;
impaling Bendy of fix, on a chief a bar indented, Wittewronge.
" Here lyeth the body of Thomas Darch, of this pariſh, gent. who died Auguſt 12,
1734, aged 68. Sarah relict of the ſaid Thomas ſurvived her huſband nearly twenty-
eight years: She was a father to the poor, and eminent for the practice of virtue and
true religion. She died May 24, 1762, aged 74. The memory of the juſt is bleſſed."
John How, anceſtor to the Lords Chedworth, by his will bearing date March 26,
1529, bequeathed to the churchwardens of this pariſh the ſum of eighteen-pence a year
for ever, to maintain a taper of wax to burn within this church during all manner of
divine ſervice. Likewiſe the ſum of fix ſhillings and eight-pence to the church, to be
expended at the diſcretion of the pariſh officers,
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are on an average nine, the burials ſix.

>
z
y Taxat. Spiritual.
2 Ex Regift. Thower. in Cur. prærog. Cantuar.
M I N
NE H E A
D
(Anciently written MANHEVE, MUNHEVED, and MINEHEVED)
S a fea-port and borough town, ſituated on the Briſtol Channel, twenty-five miles
from Bridgwater, and ſixty-five from the city of Bath. The town is divided
into three parts, which form a triangle of about two thirds of a mile on each ſide.
1. The Upper Town, compoſed of very irregular ſtreets and mean buildings, ſtands
on the eaſtern ſlope of a vaſt hill, called Greenaleigh, or Minehead Point.
2. The Lower, or Middle Town, half a mile ſoutheaſt from the beach. And,
3. Quay Town by the water's edge, under the brow of the point or headland, which
is about ſeven hundred feet high, and finely cultivated on the land ſide to the very top;
but next the ſea it is a ſteep rugged cliff, intermixed with ſhrubs and buſhes; the rocks
hanging a prodigious height above the tops of the houſes. To the weſt of the point
the ſhore is elevated to an immenſe height; the next hill being eight hundred and fix,
and

Cathampton.
27
M I N E H E A D.
1
and the next (called Bratton-Hill) eight hundred and ſixty-four feet high, according to
an accurate meaſurement which has been lately taken.
Fram turn for
inhabitants within this town, it appears that a great auclanfion has taken place.
sroare 1705 and 1783, of the number of houſes and
1705.
1783.
Houſes. Inhabitants
Houſes. Inhabitants,
Higher town 124
638
98
382
Lower town 130
710
41 520
Quay town 64 452
45 226
318
284
972
1 800
1128
Decreaſe of houſes 34, and of inhabitants 672; many of the houſes ſtill remaining being
now uninhabited, and falling faſt to ruin.
It was given by King William the Conqueror to William de Mohun, and as his
property, is thus accounted for in the general ſurvey:
“ William himſelf holds Mancheve. Algar held it in the time of King Edward, and
“ gelded for five hides. The arable is twelve carucates.
In demeſne are three caru-
cates, and twelve ſervants, and twenty-ſeven villanes, and twenty-two cottagers, with
“ ten ploughs. There is a mill of three ſhillings rent, and twelve acres of meadow, and
“ twenty-four acres of wood. Paſture four miles in length, and two miles in breadth.
“ When he received it, it was worth one hundred ſhillings, now ſix pounds."
From this time the manor of Minehead paſſed in the ſame way as that of Dunſter,
from the Mohuns to the Luttrells; and is now the poſſeſſion of John Fownes Luttrell,
eſq; of Dunſter Caſtle.
This town was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, and endowed with great privileges,
It was formerly governed by a portreeve; but now by two conſtables, choſen annually
at the court-leet of the lord of the manor. The quay however being neglected, and
the trade of the port declining, this place was ſinking very rapidly into decay, when the
Luttreils obtained of King William III. a ſtatute for recovering the port, and keeping
it in proper repair, by which they were to have the profits thereof for thirty-ſix years ;
which profits were eſtimated at about two hundred pounds per annum. In conſequence
of a fubſequent act, confirming the former, a new head was built to the quay, and the
pier put into repair. By which means the harbour was rendered ſafe for ſhips to enter
and ride in.
About the beginning of the preſent century upwards of forty veſſels were employed
to Ireland. Many others were engaged in the Weſt-India, Virginia, and the Straits
trade; and four thouſand barrels of herrings were at that time ſhipped here annually for
the Mediterranean. But all this is now nearly at an end; the trade is loft; the herrings
have left the coaſt; and there are at preſent only five or ſix veſſels belonging to the port.
a Lib. Domeſday.
b On a braſs plate fixed up at the end of the old quay is this inſcription :-" This Key was firſt founded
and built by Geo. Luttrell, eſq; in the year 1616, and hath been kept in repair at the coſt and charges of that
family; and alſo this new work is done by the command and cost of the Honble Colonel Francis Luttrell, lord
of the manor of Minehead, Anno Domini 1682."
But
b

28
M I N E H E A A D. (Carbampton.
LIIV
IITIS
Stone.
In 1718
But notwithſtanding the preſent low ſtate of commerce in this town, the following
account of its former trade will evince it to have been very conſiderable.
In the time of Charles II. and --- 12111t, reveral rates and iuunuits un
portation of bay and worden yarn were made payable here, amounting in the whole to
nine ſhillings and 11x-pence per hundred weight; which continued till the year 1740;
at which time, complaints having been made that large quantities of wool had been
run from Ireland to France, as a means to prevent thoſe meaſures in future, all the ſaid
duty was taken off.
But notwithſtanding this great encouragement to Iriſh induſtry,
there was a few years after ſo conſiderable a ſurplus of raw wool in Ireland, that by
taking a period of eight years (from 1745 to 1754) there was imported here 179,459
ftones of wool, which left a local profit to this town of 4790l. viz.
£.
Freight
29907
Hauledge from ſhips 150 4790£. which with fundry other contingent advantages
Quay duties
400 may on an average be fairly computed at 625£. per
Packers and porters
450
annum benefit to this town.
Agency and commiſſion 800]
The imports of wool from Ireland to this period are as under:
Stone.
31269 In 1734
40522
:
1721
33388 1736
12795
1722
64344
1740
6689
1733
15992!
The following is a juſt account of the other imports here for two periods of four
years each, with a calculation of the value of the ſeveral commodities:
Firſt period, from 1758 to 1763.
1759. 1760. 1761. 1762.
£.
fa s. d. £.
£ s. d.
656 00
537 34
106
9
6 IO O
Linen cloth
5409 13 6 9661 17 6 7656 1612654 13 6
Lamb ſkins
32 II O
Slink ditto
97
Kid ſkins
12 7.6 47 50
Sheep and goat ſkins
Ox and cow hides
637 10 O
927
Calf ſkins
883 10 O 660
329 50
Butter
35
58 89
Tallow -
59 IO O
Hogs lard
187 4 0 33 30
Pork
13 17 O
21 I 2 6
Bacon
20 14 0
Briſtles dreſſed and undreſſed
Oo
&
1
5
$
s. d.
888 50
8
5
Bay yarn
Woollen yarn
$
175 II 6
I7 96
1
1
2 6
45 I 6
288 15 O
170 180
оо
оо
16 5 6
w
IO2

Carbampton.]
29
M I N E H E A D.
S. d.
S. d.
Bay yarn
Woollen yarn
II453
оо
9 12 6
Second period, from 1774 to 1779.
*1775.
1776.
1777.
1778
£ s. d. 1 ts.
ts
£.
1331730113879 10 O 17534 12 O 1018 ΙΟ
43 40
Linen cloth
06
4421 - 1
ac 2138 10 64409 17 0
Lamb ſkins
177 18 O 280
Slink ditto
251
205 76
254 19 6
7.6
Kid ſkins
207 76
Sheep and goat ſkins
Ox and cow hides
3278 00 6087 80 1735
Calf ſkins
164 ILO 72
50 оо
108 IO O
Butter
158 Oo 264 14 6 270
274 130
Tallow -
Hog's lard -
96
Pork
I 2
4 70
Bacon
8 OO
77 оо
Briſtles dreſſed and undreffed
207
87 10 9
O O
1862 100
оо
I O
107
6 O
II
1
2
8 O
The exports for the ſame periods are not conſiderable here, as the veſſels on the Iriſh
trade moſtly load coals to carry out; the moſt conſiderable article of export has been
oak-bark, valued at 20261. Ios. The other articles of export in the ſame periods have
been chiefly grain, amounting to 17431. 155.
The bringing over live cattle from Ireland was once a conſiderable trade here, before
an act paſſed in the time of Charles II. to prohibit it, by which act the cattle became
forfeited, one half to the informer, the other to the pariſh poor.
But ſo little were the wants of the poor, or ſo conſiderable were the forfeitures, that
in the year 1675 an accumulated ſurplus ſum of about five hundred pounds was in
hand, and then laid out in the purchaſe of a freehold eſtate in the pariſh of Ottery St.
Mary;whic h eft ate ſtill retains the name of the Cow-Lands.
At the entrance of the quay is a convenient cuſtom-houſe, with a regular eſtabliſh-
ment of officers.
The coaſt is compoſed of ſand and round pebbles ; in ſome parts a little muddy, and
abounding with the common Bladder-fucus, which is burnt into kelp for the Briſtol
market. The tide ebbs near a mile from the high-water mark; and great quantities
of layer (fea-liverwort) is gathered from the rocks, and ſent to Bath, Briſtol, Exeter,
and London.
On the rocks at low water is a ſpecies of limpet, which contains a liquor very curious
for marking fine linen; the proceſs is as follows: Lay the limpet with its inouth down-
ward on ſome folid body, and break it with a ſmart ſtroke of a hammer, but not ſo as
to bruiſe the fiſh. When the ſhell is picked off, there will appear a white vein lying
tranſverſely in a little furrow next the head of the fiſh, which may be taken out by a
bodkin

30
[Carhampton
M I N E H E A D.
*****
bodkin or any other pointed inſtrument. The letters or figures made with this liquor
on linen will preſently appear of a light green colour, and if placed in the ſun will
change into the following colours: if in winter about noon, if in ſummer, an hour or
two after ſun-riſing, and ſo much before ſetting; for in the heat of the day
it will come on ſo faſt, that the ſucceſſion of each colour will icarcely be diſtinguiſhed.
Next to the firſt light green, it will annan ve a deep green, and in a few minutes
wnich, in a few minutco more, it will alter to a blue;
change to a full ſea-grean
then to a purruti red: after which, lying an hour or two, (if the ſun ſhines ) it will be
of a dop purple red, beyond which the ſun does no more. But this laſt beautiful
colour, after waſhing in ſcalding water and ſoap, will, on being laid out to dry, be a
fair bright crimſon, which will abide all future waſhing. This ſpecies of limpets are,
fonic red, others white, black, yellow, brown, and ſand-colour; and ſome are ſtriped
with white and brown parallel lines.
On the ſhore is found a ſtony maſs variegated with dark brown, and a gloſſy talk.
Between the town and Dunſter, on the beach, ſeveral hundred yards below high-water-
mark, the roots of many large trees are ſeen, four or five inches above the ſurface of
the fand. They are become very ſoft, crumble eaſily with the fingers, and are almoſt
black; but the texture of the wood is very perfect; and the interior parts retain their
colour. But, what is very ſingular, this old wood, when broken parallel to the grain,
contains a number of ſhells and oak-leaves within its very ſubſtance. The ſhells are of
the dottle kind, and in a ſemi-foffil ſtate; but no recent ſhells of this kind are now found
on this part of the coaſt.
The fiſh common to this coaſt are, ſhrimps, prawns, crabs, muſcles, ſoles, flounders,
ſkait, cuttle and dog-fiſh, ray, ſtar-fiſh, porpuſes, and ſometimes ſharks. The ſhells
found here are, common patellæ [limpets] trochi, nerites, common whelks, and bucci-
nums, with ſome ſmall venus and tellini. The pebbles are moſtly large, and waſhed
up by ſtrong tides from the Welſh coaſt; great quantities of them are burned into
lime, which is the principal manure uſed by the farmers in this neighbourhood.
A market is held here on Wedneſdays, and a chartered fair for pedlary, &c. on the
Wedneſday in Whitſun-week. A ſmall woollen manufacture is ſtill carried on here.
The arms of the town were a ſhip under fail, and a wool-pack, emblematical of its
priſtine trade.
The country on the land ſide of this town is very pictureſque and beautiful, being a
continued ſucceſſion of lofty hills and rich vales, finely contraſted. A ſtream riſing on
Bratton-hill runs through the lower town, and turns one fulling, and two griſt mills.
This ſtream contains fine trout. The landholders have a right of commonage on the
hills, which abound with a very hard liver-coloured ſtone, with red and white veins, and
ſtrongly impregnated with iron. The climate is mild, and by the ſea-breezes the air
is rendered fo falubrious, that vegetation is earlier by near a month than in the inland
parts of the county. Myrtles thrive, though expoſed all winter in the open air.
Fronting the old market-place is an alms-houſe, containing eleven dwellings, built
by Robert Quirck. On a braſs plate over the door is this inſcription:
" Robert


Cathampton.]
31
Μ Ι Ν Ε Η Ε Α D.
65
Providence
Robert Quirck, ſonne of James Quirck, built this houſe Anno 1630, and doth give
it to the uſe of the poore of this pariſh for ever. And for better maintenance I do
give my two inner cellers at the inner end of the key; and curfed be that man that ſhall
convert it to any other uſe than to the uſe of the poore, 1630.” Below is a ſhip en-
graved, and underneath,
« God's Providence
“ Is my Inheritance. R. Q."
The following is an extract from Robert Quirck's will, dated July 4, 1648:
« And whereas it hath pleaſed God that I have built an alms-houſe in the town of
“ Minehead aforeſaid, containing ſeveral dwelling-houſes, I do give the ſaid houſes
unto the poor
poor of the town of Minehead for ever; but the ordering of the ſaid houſes
" I leave to my ſon Robert Quirck, and to the name of the Quirckes for ever; and
“ for want of the name of the Quirckes, then to the overſeers of the poor of the pariſh
6 of Minehead for ever.
« Item, I give unto my ſaid alms-houſes two hundred pounds, to be beſtowed in
“ land for the better relief and reparation of them.
“ Item, I do give unto my ſaid alms-houſes my two inner cellars at the key of
« Minehead aforeſaid, to be let out for rent to him that will give moſt for them; and
“ the cellars and alms-houſes being repaired, my will is, that the money which remaineth
« ſhall be equally divided among the poor people dwelling in the ſaid alms-houſes
« twice a year.”
The Hon. Col. Alexander Luttrell, who died Sept. 22, 1711, gave to the poor of
this pariſh fifty pounds; the intereſt thereof to be diſtributed yearly to poor perſons
not receiving alms of the pariſh.
Joan the wife of the Rev. Mr. Moggridge, vicar of this church, gave to eight poor
widows, who receive no alms, the yearly intereſt of 20l. to be diſtributed at Chriſtmaſs.
Mr. George Sullivan, of Minehead, maltſter, who died Nov. 3, 1755, gave one
hundred pounds, the intereſt thereof to be paid to Joan Oxmead and Sarah Leigh,
widows, during their lives, and after their deaths, to fixteen aged weak people of this
pariſh, not receiving alms, on the firſt of January in every year for ever.
There are three hamlets in this pariſh of the names of BRATTON, PERITON, and
HINDON. The firſt of theſe is thus deſcribed in the book called Domeſday-book:
" Roger holds of William [de Mohun] Bratone. Aluric held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for three virgates of land. The arable is four carucates.
" In demeſne are two carucates, with one ſervant, and two villanes, and four cottagers,
“ with two ploughs. There are two acres of meadow, and one hundred acres of
paſture. It was formerly worth five ſhillings; now thirty ſhillings.
This place gave name to a family ſo early as the reign of Henry II. when Robert de
Brattone held one knight's fee here of William de Mohun,' and bore on his ſeal a chief
Lib. nig. Scas. i. 92.
indented

M I N E H E A D.
(Carhampton
indented three mullets pierced. His ſucceſſor was Henry de Bracton or Bratton, an
eminent lawyer and juſtice itinerant in the time of Hen. III. who lies buried in the pariſh
church here, between the chancel and north aile, under an arch embelliſhed with Gothick
ornaments, and his effigy veſted in long robes. His ſucceſſors were Thomas and Peter
de Bratton, which laſt died 16 Ric. II. then ſeized of the manor of Bratton, a third
part of the manor of Langridge; lands in Bratton, Yarnor, Ven, Periton, and Dunſter;
and was ſucceeded by Thomas de Bratton his ſon and heir, at the time of his father's
deceaſe of the age of fifteen years. At what time this Thomas died is not clear; but
a ſon of his own name is certified to have died 38 Henry VI. ſeized of the manor of
Biddleſcombe, and the manor of Bratton, which he held of James Luttrell, eſq; and
lands and tenements in Wichangre in the pariſh of Luccombe, and in Wydon, Allerford,
and Periton, in the pariſh of Minehead. To him ſucceeded John de Bratton, whoſe
ſon and heir was named Simon, and left iſſue John de Bratton, who died 6 Edw. IV.
leaving John his ſon and heir of the age of four years. After this the name became
extinct, and the manor paſſed through a variety of proprietors to Peter Lord King.
The living of Minehead is vicarial, lies in the deanery of Dunſter, and was rated in
1 292 at ten marks. The lord of the manor is patron; and the preſent incumbent the
Rev. Alexander Luttrell. It was appropriated to the priory of Brewton.
The church ſtands in the upper town, and is a large handſome ſtructure, one hun-
dred and ſixteen feet long, and forty-two feet wide, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, north
aile, and veſtry room. A well-built embattled tower at the weſt end, ninety feet in
height, contains a clock, chimes, and five bells.
Within an iron railing at the eaſt end of the north aile is an elegant ſtatue of Queen
Anne, in white alabaſter, on a pedeſtal four feet high, holding the globe and ſcepter,
Thereon is this inſcription:-“. This ſtatue was given by Sir Jacob Banks, and erected
in 1719. He repreſented this borough in parliament fixteen years, and during this time
was a benefactor to it on all occaſions."
On a black frame in the aile is the following memorial:
- Near this place lie the bodies of five children of the late Rev. Mr. William
Moggridge, who was vicar of Minehead fifty-three years, and rector of Porlock twenty-
nine years. He died March 5, 1763, in the eighty-ſecond year of his age, and was
buried in Porlock chancel."
On a flat ſtone in the chancel floor,
“ Here refteth the body of James Quircke, mariner, who deceaſed Feb. 20, 1613,
who purchaſed the fee farme of the moytee of this rectori.”
« Here reſteth the bodye of Robert Quirck, mariner, the ſone of James Quirck;
he dyed the 18th of March 1649."
“Here lyeth the body of Robert Quirck, ſon of John Quirck of Hindon, who
departed this life the iſt of April, 1712, aged 19 years.”
e Seals from old Deeds.
f Eſc.
g Ibid.
Taxat, fpiritual i Of him fee Hutchins's Dorfetſhire, vol. ii. p. 433.
« Here

Carhampton.]
33
M I N E H E A D.
On a brafs plate :----" Here lyeth the body of John Quirck, of Hindon, who de-
parted this life Aug, 10, 1697, aged 44. Alſo of John Quirck his ſon, who departed
this life Dec, 13, 1730, aged 32."
On another braſs plate:----"Here lyeth the body of James Quirck, of this pariſh,
mariner, who departed this life April 4, 1711, aged 53 years.-----Here alſo lyeth the
body of Izott his wife, who departed this life Nov. 7, 1724, aged 58.”
In the middle of the church-yard is an old ſtone croſs nearly entire, with four rows
of ſteps.
A
R
E,

CC
Pariſh ſituated at the fartheſt extremity of the county, weſtward, being twelve
miles weſt from Minehead, and two from the Briſtol Channel.
The country here is very wild and romantick, and the pariſh lies in a profound vale,
environed with lofty hills. The pariſh is ſmall, the whole being rated at only two
hundred pounds per annum. The lands are moſtly ſheep-walks; but in the vallies and
lower ſlopes there is a little arable, and ſome fine meads, the latter worth nearly forty
ſhillings an acre. Several ſprings riſing in the hills to the eaſt and ſouth form a ſmall
ſtream, which runs through the vale by the church, over a rocky channel, and diſ-
charges itſelf into the ſea at Moleſhead-bridge to the weſt of Foreland-Point.
At the time of the Conqueſt the manor of Oure, then called Are, belonged to Ralph
de Pomerai, and is thus ſurveyed:
Ralph himſelf holds ARE. Edric held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded
e for one hide. The arable is fix carucates. In demeſne are two carucates, and four
« ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and five cottagers, with four ploughs. There are two
“ acres of meadow, and fifteen acres of wood. Paſture two miles in length, and one in
“ breadth. It is worth thirty ſhillings. This manor pays by cuſtom twelve ſheep a
year to Carentone, a manor of the King. Ralph retains this cuſtom.
This Ralph de Pomerai was one of the Conqueror's attendants, and was rewarded
for his ſervices with many manors, particularly in the county of Devon, where his
poſterity were ſeated, at a place called from them Bury-Pomerai, and where they con-
tinued till the time of Edward VI. when Sir Thomas Pomerai, knt, fold it to Edward
Seymour Duke of Somerſet. They had parted with this manor long before, and it
ſeems to have been the inheritance of a family of its name. John de Auro (or Ore]
occurs witneſs to a charter of the date of 1256, and William de Aure to another deed
8 Edw. II." A feudary rent or acknowledgment is paid hence to Dunſter Caſtle.
ارد
1 Sir W. Pole's Survey of Devon, MS,
k Lib. Domeſday.
VOL. II.
m Cart. Antiq,
36 Henry
F

34
A
[Carhampton.
R
E.
36 Henry VIII. lands here were granted to Francis Byam." At preſent the manor is
divided between Mr. Nicholas Snow, and the repreſentatives of the late John Short, efq.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter, and in the gift of Mr. Nicholas
Snow aforeſaid. The Rev. Mr. Clare is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a finall building of one pace, having a tower with one bell.
On the north wall of the nave is a ſmall mural monument, inſcribed to the memory
of ſeveral of the family of Spurrier, who were formerly patrons of the benefice.
MS. Sydenham
P O R L L о с к
I
S a ſmall ſea-port town ſix miles weſt from Minehead, and thirty-three weſt from
Bridgwater; bounded on the north and north-weſt by the Channel, on the eaſt by
Selworthy and Luccombe, on the ſouth by Stoke-Pero, and on the weſt by Culbone.
A narrow ſip of the pariſh of Luccombe runs acroſs that of Porlock quite down to the
ſea, dividing it in two; ſo that the inhabitants of the eaſt part cannot go to their own
.church without croſſing the pariſh of Luccombe.
This whole pariſh, including hamlets, contains about one hundred and ten houſes,
and nearly fix hundred inhabitants. Moſt of the houſes form two mean ftraggling
ſtreets near the church, and are chiefly built of rough ſtone, or mud walls, two ſtories
high, and thatched, with the backs of the chimnies projecting from the fronts into
the ſtreets.
The ſituation of the town is finely romantick, being nearly ſurrounded on all ſides,
except toward the ſea, by ſteep and lofty hills, interſected by deep vales and hollow
glens. Some of the hills are beautifutly wooded, and contain numbers of wild deer.
The vallies between theſe hills are very deep and pictureſque; the ſides being ſteep,
ſcared with wild rocks, and patched with woods and foreſt ſhrubs. Some of the
vallies, however, are well cultivated, and ſtudded with villages, or ſingle farms and
cottages, although agriculture here is very imperfectly underſtood. Moſt of the roads
and fields are ſo ſteep, that no carriages of any kind can be uſed; all the crops are
therefore carried in with crooks on horſes, and the manure in wooden pots called doffels.
Many of the poor are employed in ſpinning yarn for the Dunſter manufactory.
A market by royal licence was formerly held here every Thurſday; but there are
now only three markets in a year; one at Michaelmas, which is the great market, and
two in the ſpring, all for cattle. In the ſtreet is an ancient inarket croſs.
At the weſt corner of the bay, which forms a concave of near three miles from point
to point, the quay is ſituated, and there is a ſmall pier; three or four veſſels belong to
the

Carhampton.]
35
P O R L 0 C K.
the harbour, and are uſually employed in fetching coals and lime from Wales. In the
centre of the bay is a decoy for catching wild fowl.*
The eaſtern corner preſents a grand ſcene of craggy and romantick rocks, called
Hardiſtone, Hartland, or Boſſington-Point. Part of theſe rocks are inſulated at high
water, and the reſt riſe in the boldeſt manner from one hundred to more than three
hundred feet high. In ſpring tides, when the wind ſets in ſtrong from the weſt, the
fury of the ſea, is here ſo violent, that it has waſhed vaſt caverns in the folid rock, fome
of which are eighty feet within the rock, fixty wide, and near one hundred high. On
the coming in of the tide in a ſtorm, the echoes, and the daſhing of the waves in theſe
caverns, are aſtoniſhingly tremendous. At low water the ſhore exhibits a ſtriking ſcene
of rocky fragments, which have from time to time been waſhed from the cliffs above,
and lie widely ſcattered, or piled on each other, in wild magnificence. The cliffs on
the eaſt ſide of this point hang over the beach with awful fublimity and grandeur.
Theſe rocks are interſperſed with metallic veins, ſpar, cryſtals like the Corniſh, cop-
peras, and a ſmall quantity of ſilver ore.
In many of the roads through this pariſh, pyrites are frequently found in large
lumps; the rocks are impregnated with iron ore; and there is alſo ſome copper,
but not in a ſufficient quantity for working.
The channel is here about nine leagues over, and the greater part of South-Wales
forms a beautiful riſing landſcape beyond it.
The Saxons gave this place the expreſſive title of Port-Locan, which ſignifies an
incloſed bay or ſtation for ſhips; and under this name it twice occurs in the annals of
that warlike people.
In the year 918, thoſe turbulent viſitors of England, the Danes, having, under the
command of the Earls Ontor and Rhoald, entered the Severn, and ſpread ruin and de-
vaftation along the oppoſite coaſts of Wales, directed their courſe to Somerſetſhire, and
landed privately in the night at Porlock, for the ſake of plunder; but the inhabitants,
being timely alarmed, gave them ſo warm a reception, that the greater part were cut
to pieces; and thoſe few who eſcaped alive, were obliged to retire with great precipi-
tation to their ſhips.
About this time Porlock had an extenſive chace, and a palace of one of the Saxon
kings. The latter, in all probability, was deſtroyed with the town not many years
after, on the following memorable occaſion:-Harold, the ſon of the baniſhed Earl of
Kent, partaking of his father's loſſes and diſgrace, had repaired to Ireland (which it
* Leland calls Porlogh-Bay a meatly good rode for ſhippes. Itin. vol. ii. p. 102.
b Chron. Sax. An. DCCCCXVIII.
• In the Regiſter of Biſhop Oliver King, in the archives at Wells, there is a curious entry of a commiſſion
iſſued to enquire into facts, and to examine witneſſes, concerning a matter of one John Strange, a pariſhioner
of Porlock, who being employed in hewing wood here Aug. 23, 1499, upon cutting a piece of bread for his
uſual meal, obſerved blood to flow out of the incifion. Reg. King, fol. 156.The memorial does not ſay
that he cut his little finger,
d See the Engliſh hiſtorians.
ſeems
F 2

36
[Carhampton.
POR LOCK,

ſeems had long been the receptacle of fugitives) in order to ſtrengthen his party, and
to raiſe troops, with a view of making a piratical deſcent upon the Engliſh coaſts.
Accordingly, about Midſummer 1052, ſetting fail from that country with nine ſtrong
hips, replete with men and arms ſuitable to his enterprize, he croſſed the channel, and
entered the bay of Porlock.". The place, it is to be ſuppoſed, had, ſince the attempt
of the Danes, been greatly ſtrengthened both with regard to buildings and population;
and the natives, being likewiſe apprized of the approach of an enemy, were on this
juncture aſſembled in vaſt multitudes upon the coaſt, reſolved to defend it. Harold,
however, ſecured his landing, and marched his men up into the country, where he
ſeized every thing that was valuable, and after ſlaughtering numbers of the natives,
and ſetting fire to the town, returned to his ſhips with immenſe booty."
A ſmall unfiniſhed encampment of an oval form, in a wood one mile and a half
ſouth-weſt from the church, is ſuppofed to have been thrown up on this occaſion. The
entrance to it is on the ſouth ſide, and the upper trenches are very deep. Swords, and
other inſtruments of war, have been found within its area.
The inhabitants preſerve the memory of the above occurrences to this day; and no
longer ago than the beginning of this century, they could point out the burnt foundation
ſtones of ſome of the ancient houſes, and the veſtiges of what had once been, in the
vulgar opinion, an extenſive and magnificent city.
At this time, the whole manor of Porlock, with many of the adjacent lands, was in
the poſſeſſion of Algar," the eldeſt ſon of Leofric Earl of Mercia, who was very inftru-
mental in oppoſing and thwarting the ambitious deſigns of Godwin the father of
Harold. But at the acceſſion of William Duke of Normandy to the throne of Eng-
land, by the deciſive battle of Haſtings, in which Harold was Nain, this manor was
veſted in Baldwin de Execeſtre, one of the Conqueror's faithful adherents and attendants.
William's own ſurvey gives us the following deſcription of the place, and its poffeſſors:
“The ſame (that is, Drogo or Drew) holds of Baldwin Portloc. Algar held it
" in the time of King Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable is twelve
« carucates. There are ſix bondmen, three cottagers, and fix ſervants. There are
“ three hundred acres of wood, and five hundred acres of paſture. It was worth four
« pounds when he received it, now only twenty-five ſhillings.”
This Baldwin's name was Redvers; but in regard to his reſidence in the city of
Exeter, wherein he was poſſeſſed of nineteen dwellings, and the cuſtody of the caſtle,
he was ſometimes called Baldwinus de Execeſtre.
His fucceffors the Earls of Devon enjoyed this eſtate; but in proceſs of time enfeoffed
the manork on the farnily of Roges or Fitz-Roges, of which name were many in this
county and that of Devon. In the time of Henry II. Anthony de Porloc, a name
aſſumed from this place, held half a knight's fee in Porlock of Robert Fitz-Roges.'

e Chron. Sax, An. MLII.
f Sim. Dunelm. A.D. MLII,
& Diſcourſe of Antiquities near Conqueſt, at the end of Peter Langtoft's Chronicle, p. 466.
Lib. Domeſday
i Ibid.
k Cart. Antiq.
| Lib. Nig. 120
In
Carbampton.]
37
P
LOCK,
0 R

In which family of Roges the manor and advowſon of the church continued for many
generations, till the beginning of the reign of Edward III." I Ric. I. Simon Fitz.
Roges, lord of this manor, paid a fine of one hundred ſhillings for impleading his
right of half a knight's fee in Porlock againſt Richard de Raleigh." This half knight's
fee was ever after held of the caſtle of Oakhampton, the barony of the Earls of Devon.
A. D. 1310, 13 cal. Jan. George Roges was preſented to the church of Porlock by
Henry Roges his kinſman.' Simon Roges de Porlock was dead before 1317, for
in that year Richard de Birlaunde was collated to the church here by the preſentation
of Herbert de Mariſco, who had married Iſabel the relict of Simon Roges, lord
of this manor. After which it paſſed to Stokkey, and after ſome deſcents to Sir
Nigele or Neale de Loring, knight of the garter,' who left it with his other lands to
his two daughters, Iſabel the wife of Robert Lord Harington, and Margery, firſt mar-
ried to Thomas Peyner, and ſecondly to Thomas Poynings, knt. This manor came
to Robert Lord Harington, and thence to William Bonville Lord Harington, and by
Cecily his daughter to Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk; by whoſe attainder it came to
the crown, and was granted to the family of Rogers of Cannington. Edward Rogers
died ſeized of it in 1627. Sir Francis Rogers died 15 Charles I. and was ſucceeded by
Hugh Rogers his ſon and heir, whoſe marriage and wardſhip were granted to Sir John
Hele, and Thomas Smith, eſq. It afterwards came to the Blathwaites, and is now
poſſeſſed by William Blathwaite, of Dirham in the county of Gloceſter, eſq.
The manor houſe hath the name of Worthy, and is at preſent inhabited by a farmer,
It ſtands near the wier, about two miles from Porlock; and at a little diſtance from it
is a ſmall cottage called the Oratory, which tradition ſays was formerly a cell to
Barlinch priory in this county,
The manor of SPARKS-Hay, which formerly was a member of the great manor of
Porlock, belongs to Lord King, baron of Ockham in the county of Surry.
Within this pariſh are four hamlets, viz,
1. Bossington, which ſtands one mile north-eaſt from Porlock, and contains
twenty-four houſes.
2. West-PorLock, one mile weſt, containing fourteen houſes.
3. PORLOCK-WIER, or QUAY, near two miles weſt, which has twenty houſes.
4. YARNOR, on the hills, two miles ſouth-weſt from Porlock, which contains
four houſes.
The firſt of theſe hamlets, viz. Bollington, was, before the Conqueſt, part of the
poffeffions of Athelney-abbey, which was founded in the year 888 by Alfred the pious
king of England. We read the following account of it in Domeſday:
“ Radulfus de Limeſi holds BosintvNE. The church of Adelingi held it in the
« time of King Edward the Confeffor, and gelded for one hide. It was appropriated
m Sir Wm. Pole.
9 Jbid.
* Rot. Pip. Devon • Ex Autog. MSS. P Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen,
From ancient evidences,
Sir Wm. Pole.
* Ex Autog
sto

38
POR LOCK.
[Carhampton
ارد
" to the table of the monks. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is one
« carucate, with one ſervant; and there are five villanes, and two cottagers, with one
plough. Paſture one mile in length, and half a mile in breadth. It was, and is
now, worth twenty ſhillings. When the King gave his land to Radulphus, the
« church was ſeized of this manor.
This manor was held of the abbey of Athelney above-mentioned by the ſervice of a
whole knight's fee, and a rent of thirty ſhillings. In the time of Henry II. Talbot de
Hethfield agreed under his ſeal to hold the ſame of Benedict the abbot and his ſuccef-
fors; and, beſides the above acknowledgment, to aſſiſt the abbots againſt their enemies,
under pain of excommunication. His deſcendants took the name of Talbot.
In the time of Edw. I. this manor was held by Henry de Glaften,' and in that of
Edw. III. John Whyton poſſeſſed it, and died the latter end of that reign, leaving two
daughters by Joanna his wife, viz. Elizabeth the eldeſt, who married Walter Paunsfort,
and was mother of Walter, who did his homage for half the manor to John Bigge,
abbot of Athelney, 3 Henry VI. and fold his right to John Sydenham, ſon of Henry,
who married Margaret the other daughter; and 30 Henry VI. on an award made by
arbitration of Alexander Hody, then ſteward to the abbey, John Sydenham acknow-
ledges the rent and ſervices above recited for the whole manor, whereof he was pof-
feſſed of half by purchaſe from Walter Paunsfort. Sir Thomas Acland, bart. is the
preſent owner.
The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Dunſter, and in the gift of the crown,
worth 1401. a year. The Rev. George Pollen is the preſent incumbent,
The church, which is dedicated to St. Dubritius, is an ancient Gothick ſtructure,
ninety-ſix feet in length, and thirty-four in breadth, conſiſting of a nave, fouth aile,
chancel, veſtry-room, and porch, all covered with ſlate. At the weſt end is a low
tower, with the remains of a ſpire ſhingled, the upper part having been blown down in
a ſtorm the end of the laſt century. The tower, with the ſpire, is ſeventy-feet high,
and contains a clock and five bells.
In the chancel, on a large tomb under a grand arched canopy ſupported by four
ſtone columns, lie the effigies of a Knight Templar and his lady. He is in compleat
armour, with a military belt and ſword; ſhe is in a cloſe bodice, with a looſe robe over
it, and a kind of mitred head-dreſs: at his feet is a lion, and another under his head;
at her feet, ſome other animal much mutilated.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is another very ancient tomb; but there is
no inſcription or arms on either. They, however, moſt probably belonged to ſome of
the Rogers family.
On the ſouth wall of the chancel is a pompous mural monument of ſtone and black
marble, much ornamented with painting, gilding, carved foliage, and ſcrolls. In the
front, two ſmall detached columns of black marble, with Corinthian capitals gilt,
» Lib. Domeſday.
* Regiſt. Abbat. de Athelney, MS.
y Eſc.
7 Regitt, ut ſupra.
fupport

Carhampton.]
0 C
POR R L
ſupport a cornice, at each corner of which is a flaming urn. On the center of this
cornice riſes an arched pediment, on which recline two cherubs with wings expanded
and gilt. Their left hands ſupport a civick crown, and their right the arins ; Jable, fix
martlets argent.------On the tablet is the following inſcription:
« Subtus inhumatur Nathaniel Arundel, s. T. B. parochiæ de Exford rector, et verè
paftor; cujus erga Deum ſincera pietas, erga eccleſiam intrepidus zelus, erga uxorem
amor vix imitabilis, erga pauperes fine oftentatione liberalitas, erga univerſos fine
adulatione urbanitas :-heu quando ullum invenient parem! Plura vetat magnarum
virtutum comes verecundia. Hoc igitur omnia breve claudat encomium; vivus ainicos
habuit homines, moriens conſcientiam, mortuus Deum. Ob. 6 id. Feb. falutis hu-
manæ 1705, ætatis ſuæ 70. Jana defuncti relicta chariſfima, necnon reverendi viri
Gulielmi Mitchell, hujus eccleſiæ rectoris, filia natu maxima, hoc fupremum pofuit
devinctiſſimi amoris monumentum."
Underneath is this coat; fable, five martlets argent, impaling gules, a chevron, between
three fwans proper: for Mitchell,
On the ſame ſide of the chancel is a plain mural monument of white marble, thus
inſcribed:
~ Near this place lies interred the Rev. Mr. William Moggridge, who was rector of
this place 29 years, and vicar of Minehead 53; who died March 5, 1763, aged 82.
“ Alſo Frances his wife, who died Feb. 6, 1765, aged 69. And alſo Joan their
daughter, who died July 7, 1737, aged 6 years.”
Under an arch in the ſouth wall of the aile, is the mutilated effigy of a knight, having
a ſhield on his left arm, a ſword on his left ſide in a military belt, and his right hand on
the handle, in the act of drawing it.
Againſt one of the pillars in the nave, is the following table of benefactions. On the
top are the arms of Rogers, viz, argent, a chevron, between three bucks trippant fable.
“ Henry Rogers, of Cannington, eſq; ſome time lord of this manor, by his laſt will
gave the ſum of 2350l. for the purchaſing of lands, the clear rents and profits thereof,
« to be employed towards the maintenance of twenty poor people; eight of the ſaid
“ poor to live within the manor of Porlock, and to have their proportions; which lands
“ have been ſince purchaſed in the names of Sir Edward Windham, bart. Sir Francis
« Warre, bart, and others, to the number of twelve truſtees; and when any five of them
« ſhall die, the ſurvivors are, within ſix months after, to elect ſo many more fit and
“able perſons to manage the truſt. The vicar of Cannington for the time being is
“ appointed to be one, according to a deed of truſt, one copy whereof remains in our
veftry.
WILLIAM RUSCOMB, Steward.”
There is alſo another charity of 251. a year, being the rent of an eſtate in Winsford
pariſh, formerly left by Mrs. Rogers.
In the year 1426, Sir William Harington, knt. founded a chantry in the parıſh
church, for one prieſt to celebrate divine ſervice daily, for the health of his own ſoul,
and the ſouls of his anceſtors, which chantry he endowed with lands in Ugborough in
Devonſhire;
CS
40
[Cathampton.
P O R L
K,
ос

Devonſhire; as alſo with divers meſfuages in the town of Porlock.” The houſe wherein
the prieſt reſided is ſtanding near the church, and is ſtill called the chantry-houſe.
John Bridgwater, or de Bridgwater, deſcended from an ancient family of the fame
name in this county, was rector of Porlock in 1565. He held divers other preferments
this neighbourhood, as well as the rectory of Lincoln-college in Oxford, to which he
was appointed in 1563, but reſigned it in 1574. He left Oxford the ſame year; and
having viſited ſeveral foreign countries, ſettled at Triers in Germany, where he wrote
many books, and was held in general eſtimation as a ſenſible eccleſiaſtick. Among
other things he publiſhed, “ Concertatio Ecclefiæ Catholice in Anglia adverſus Colvino-
Papiftas & Puritanos, fub Elizabetha Regina, quorundam hominum dotrinâ et ſanktitate
“ illuſtrium renovata & recognita.” Aug. Trev. 1594. 8vo.
On a view of the pariſh regiſter, the annual average number of births is found to be
eighteen, and of burials fourteen.
a Pat.
5
Hen. VI.
S E L W
ORTH
Y.

WES
W
CC
גול
ESTWARD from Minehead, and ſituated on the ſouthern ſlope of lofty hills
adjoining to the ſea coaſt, ftands Selworthy, a ſmall pariſh, which in the
Conqueror's time belonged to Ralph de Limeſi, who was alſo poſſeſſed of Luccombe
and other manors in this county: the record ſays,
Ralph himſelf holds SELEURDE. Queen Eddida held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are
two carucates, and two ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and five cottagers, with three
“ ploughs. There is a mill of twenty pence rent, and five acres of meadow, and fixty
acres of paſture, and forty acres of wood. It was worth twenty ſhillings, now twenty-
“ five ſhillings.
This Ralph de Limeſi was ſucceeded by Alan his ſon and heir, after whom came
Gerard, John, and Hugh, all of them principally feated in the county of Warwick.
But this manor was afterwards poſſeſſed by the houſe of Luccombe, and paſſed nearly
in the ſame manner as the eſtate from which they derived their name, having gone
through the families of Luccombe, St. John, and Arundel, and is now the poſſeſſion of
Frederick Thomas Wentworth, eſq.
The vills in this pariſh are,
1. HOLNicot, which in the Conqueror's time belonged to Roger de Curcelle, and
to two Nuns, as we are informed in the record of that reign:
a Lib. Domeſday.
« William
Carhampton.]
S E L W OR TH Y.

C
“ William holds of Roger HUNECOTE. Aluric and Brictuin held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for half a hide, and half a virgate of land. The arable is
« two carucates and a half. There are four villanes, with one cottager, having two
ploughs. There are ſixteen acres of paſture. It is worth twenty-two ſhillings.
« Two Nuns hold of the King in alms two virgates and a half of land in Honecote,
466 The arable is two carucates. There is one plough and five acres of meadow. It is
" worth five ſhillings.”
William de Holne held this vill in the time of Edw. I. and in that ſame reign Walter
Barun is certified to hold certain lands and tenements herein, conſiſting of one meſſuage,
ten acres of arable, and two acres of meadow, of the King in capite, by the ſervice of
hanging on a certain forked piece of wood the red deer that died of the murrain in the
foreſt of Exmoor, and alſo of lodging and entertaining ſuch poor decrepit perſons as
came to him, at his own expence, for the ſouls of the anceſtors of King Edw. I.
This village is ſituated in the road leading from Minehead to Porlock, ſouthward
from the church, and conſiſts of twelye houſes. The noble old manſion of Sir Thomas
Acland here was accidentally deſtroyed by fire in the year 1779. Sir Thomas Dyke
Acland, bart. is the preſent lord of Holnicot.
2. ALLERFORD, one mile weſtward, containing fifteen houſes. This place was the
land of Ralph de Limeſi above-mentioned, and is thus ſurveyed:
Ralph himſelf holds ALRESFORD. Edric held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for one hide. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are two carucates,
o and two ſervants, and ſix villanes, and two cottagers, with one plough. There is a
“mill of fifteen-pence rent, and ſix acres of meadow, and twenty acres of paſture, and
6 one acre of wood. It was worth fifteen ſhillings, now twenty ſhillings.
“ This manor pays a cuſtomary rent of twelve ſheep per annum to Carentone the
King's manor. Ralph ſtill keeps up this cuſtom.“
This manor was afterwards held of the lords of Dunſter. 4 Edw. III. John de Raleigh
held it of John de Mohun. i Eliz. lands were held here by John Arundel of Trerice.
3. Tivington, or BLACKFORD, one mile eaſt, having nine houſes. This manor
was the property of the late Charles Whitworth.
4. Knoll, adjoining to Wotton-Courtney, near two miles eaſtward, in which aro
four houſes.
5. WEST-Lynch, near Boflington, four houſes.
6. BRANDY-STREET, betwixt Holnicot and Allerford, five houſes.
The reſt of the houſes ſtand near the church, the whole number being ſeventy, and of
inhabitants about three hundred and ſixty.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter, valued in 1292 at ſix marks and a
half. The abbot of Athelney had a penſion out of it of three marks, given to the
CO)

+ Ibid.
d
b Lib. Domeſday.
VOL. II.
• Lib. Domeſday.
Eſc. 35 Edw. I.
G
f Lib. Feod.
abbey

42
[Carhampton.
S E L
W O R T H Y.
abbey by Richard de Luckham, out of his demeſne lands in this pariſh, about A. D.
1200. Frederick Thomas Wentworth, eſq; is the patron; and the Rev.Mr. Williams
the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to All-Saints, is ſituated very pleaſantly on riſing
ground open to the ſouth; and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, north and ſouth ailes, tiled.
An embattled tower, 45 feet high at the weſt end, contains a clock and fix bells.
In the ſouth aile is an elegant mural monument of white and grey marble, the in-
fcription whereof is now quite effaced, but which bears the following arms, viz. Gules,
a chevron argent, between three etoiles or: an ineſcutcheon of pretence, on a chevron
between three horſes paſſant argent, three orles ſable.
Againſt the ſame wall is another monument of white and grey marble, with this in-
ſcription:-“ Sacred to the memory of Charles Staynings, efq; of Holnicot in this
parish, the laſt of that ancient family, and of Suſannah his wife, daughter to Sir Nicholas
Martyn, late of Oxton in the county of Devon, knt. She departed this life the 8th of
May 1685; he Dec. 4, 1700, aged 78.” Arms, argent, a bat diſplayed ſable, Staynings:
impaling, argent, two bars gules, Martyn.
On a braſs plate in the chancel floor is a long epitaph in Latin and Engliſh verſe to
the memory of William Fleet, paſtor of this pariſh 48 years, who died Jan. 5, 1617.
Another braſs plate to Robert Siderfin, gent. who died Jan. 20, 1714, aged 25; and
to Walter Siderfin, gent, who died March 21, 1731, aged 40.
On two braſs plates on the floor of the ſouth aile:-“ Heere lyeth the body of
Anthony Steynings, the fonne of Charles Steynings, of Holnecot, eſq; who died May
19, 1635.—Here lyeth the body of Cecill Staynings, ſome tyme the wife of Charles
Staynings, of Holnecot, eſq; by whom he had ſeven ſonnes and fixe daughters. She
died June 21, 1646, aged 47.”
In the church-yard is an old ſtone crofs.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are twelve; the burials ten,
& Taxat. Spiritual.

S T O K E. PERO.
TH
HIS pariſh, ſo denominated from its ancient lords, is ſituated four miles fouth from
Porlock, and eight ſouthweſt from Minehead, in one of thoſe deep vallies which
wind between the hills. The number of houſes is eighteen, and of inhabitants about
one hundred. Fourteen of the houſes, which are moſtly mean thatched cottages, ſtand
in the valley near the church; the other four compoſe a hamlet called WILMOTSHAM.
A part

Carhampton.) 43
ST S
TO KE . P E RO.
2
A part of Dunkery-hill is within the confines of this pariſh, and to the weſt and
ſouth is the long wild tract of Exmoor. The lands, except a few meads in the valley,
and fields of arable on the ſides of the hills, are chiefly waſte or woods. On each ſide
the vale wherein ſtands the village, the ſlopes of the hills are very ſteep, woody, and
rocky. Through one of them the road lies to Luckham, and is extremely pictureſque,
but impaffable for any carriage, being ſo ſteep, narrow, and encumbered with large
looſe ſtones, that it is dangerous even for horſes. Theſe woods abound with whortle-
berries; and on the rocks and trees are many curious moſſes.
We find but little in hiſtory concerning this pariſh, which was anciently written Stoche,
implying ſimply a place, perhaps by way of eminence. It belonged to William de
Mohun among his other eſtates in this neighbourhood:
“ Roger holds of William STOCHE. Eddida held it in the time of King Edward,
«e and gelded for two hides. The arable is two carucates, which are in demeſne, with
“ eight cottagers. There are eight acres of meadow, and four acres of coppice wood.
" It was and is worth thirty ſhillings.'
In the time of Edward I. this manor was the property of Gilbert Piro, a name which
afterwards degenerated into Pero and Perrow.
12 Hen. IV. John ſon of Henry Forſter held half a knight's fee in Stoke-Pero and
Bagley of Ralph Durborough, as of the manor of Almeſworthy,
It came afterwards into the families of Dodiſham and Pym, and is now the property
of the Rev. Chancellor Nutcombe.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter, and in the gift of the crown.
The Rev. Mr. Williams is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which ſtands on a riſing ground on the ſouthweſt ſide of the valley, is a
ſmall ſtructure fifty-four feet long, and ſixteen wide, and at the weſt end is a tower,
thirty feet high, with one bell. There is no monument, nor inſcription.
* Lib. Domeſday.
Τ Ι Μ Β Ε R S C Ο Μ Β Ε.
THIS
THIS pariſh being ſituated in a lowly valley encompaſſed with hills of wood, un-
doubtedly had its name from that circumſtance; Timber being the Saxon term
for wood, and Lombe that for a valley. In like manner many Combes in this neigh-
bourhood were denominated from the particular kind of wood that grew about them, as
Withycombe from Piðiſ a withy or willow, and Lombe a valley; Thorncombe from
Đorn a thorn, and Lombe; Aſhcombe from Ærc an aſh, and Lombe; and Bickham in
this pariſh, called in Domeſday Bichecome, from Bece a beech tree, and Combe the ſame
G
appellation
44
[Carhampton.
Τ Ι Μ Β Ε R SC Ο Μ Β Ε.

appellation for a glen or valley. Nay even ſome of theſe ſpots, thus deeply ſituated,
were denominated from very inferior products of nature, of which we have a notable
inſtance in the name of Nettlecombe, which comes from Netele, a nettle, of which herb
in all probability great plenty grew in that pariſh. And ſome had their derivatives
from ſome particularity of ſituation, as Luccombe, or Luckham, called in Domeſday
Locumbe, which is derived from the Saxon Loc and Lombe, fignifying an incloſed
valley; and Widcombe from Pid and Lombe, a wide or extenſive valley.
Timberfcombe is a ſmall pariſh four miles from Minehead, and in the road to
Dulverton, conſiſting of about fourſcore houſes, which principally form an irregular
ſtreet by the church. The country round is very pictureſque and romantick. Two
ſmall rivers riſing under Dunkery-hill unite in this pariſh, and turn two griſt mills,
running under a ſtone bridge of one arch (built by the pariſh) in its way to Dunſter.
King William the Conqueror gave the manor of Timbercombe to Roger Arundel:
Drogo holds of Roger TIMBRECUMBE. Aluerd held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for one hide and a half. The arable is eight carucates. In
demeſne is one carucate, and two ſervants, and three villanes, and eight cottagers,
« with one plough. There are eleven acres of meadow, and one hundred and fifty
“ acres of paſture, and ſixty-one acres of wood. It was worth when he received it one
" hundred ſhillings, now forty ſhillings.
"To this manor is added one furlong. Algar held it in the time of King Edward.
" The arable is one carucate. There is half a plough, with two cottagers, and eight
acres of paſture, and four acres of wood. It is worth five ſhillings.'
We find by the inquiſitions 8 Edward IV. that John Sydenham died ſeized of
Timbercombe that year, which he held of Sir William Herbert, knt. as of his barony
of Dunſter, by fealty and the rent of two ſhillings; leaving Walter Sydenham his ſon
and þeir. 7 Henry VI. Simon Ralegh, Robert Bykcombe, Walter Pauncefot,
William Cloutſham, and Thomas Bratton, held ſeparately half a knight's fee in
Timbercombe, which John de Tort, and the heirs of Edon de Dammeſton, formerly
held there. The manor now belongs to Sir Thomas Dyke Acland. The prior of
Dunſter received out of it a yearly penſion of ten ſhillings.
About half a mile weſtward from the church is Bickham, now the ſeat of William
Withycombe, eſq; but which formerly gave name to a family who were owners thereof.
It is ſurveyed in Domeſday-book under the title of Bichecome:
“ Richard holds of William BichECOME. Two Thanes held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for one virgate of land. The arable is two carucates. In
" demeſne is one carucate, and three villanes, and ſix cottagers, with half a plough.
“ There are three acres of meadow, and forty acres of paſture. It was formerly worth
“ fix ſhillings, now fifteen ſhillings.”
This was another of thoſe manors which were anciently held of the Caſtle of Dunſter.
14 Edw. I. Robert de Bykkombe held one knight's fee in Bykkombe of John de
طور

b Lib. Domeſday.
€ Eſc.
d Lib. Feod.
e Taxat. Temporal.
* Lib. Domeſday.
Mohun

Cathampton.) T I M B E R S C O M B E.
45
Mohun lord of Dunſter, which fee ſeems to have continued in the ſame family for
ſeveral generations. The Biccombes were lords alſo of Crocombe in this county, as
alſo of Broomfield, and had divers lands and poſſeſſions in other pariſhes, which de-
ſcended to the families of Carew of Camerton, and Smith of Long-Aſhton.
Timberſcombe conſtitutes a prebend in the cathedral church of Wells, which prebend
was in 1292 valued at eight marks." The living is a vicarage in the deanery of
Dunſter: The Rev. George Knyphton is the preſent incumbent. A. D. 1471, John
Nesfeld, eſq; recovered the preſentation to the prebend of Timberſcombe againſt the
Biſhop of Bath and Wells, and by virtue of the King's writ Robert Wilſon, L.L.B.
was inſtituted to the ſaid prebend.
The-church is a neat Gothick edifice, dedicated to St. Michael, and conſiſts of a
nave, chancel, ſouth aile, and a north porch; and has at the weſt end an embattled
tower crowned with a low ſpire, a clock, and four bells.
The altar-piece, which is very neat, was given by Richard Elſworth of Bickham, eſq;
who died Aug. 5,1714, aged 22 years, and lies buried in this church. His arms are,
Per pale indented, gules and argent, four lions rampant counter-changed. This Richard
Elſworth founded a charity-ſchool in this pariſh about the year 1710, for teaching poor
children to read and write, and endowed the ſame with ten pounds per annum.
In the church-yard ſtand the remains of a ſtone croſs.
The chriſtenings on an average are eleven, the burials eight.
& Lib, Feod.
h Taxat. Spiritual.
· Excerpt. e Regiſt. Weller,
T
R E B
B O
R
O
U
G H
(Anciently written TREBERGE and TRABERGE)

A
Small pariſh, lying in a hollow on high ground, ſurrounded by ſtill higher hills;
finely cultivated, and cut into large and beautiful incloſures, unincumbered
with wood, fix miles ſouth from Dunſter, and fourteen weſt from Taunton, The lands
are in general very rich, being a ſandy loam, and moſtly arable. It conſiſts of about
twenty houſes, the greater part of which are farms.
The manor of this place is ſet down in the Norman record among the poſſeſſions of
Ralph de Limeſi:
"Ralph himſelf holds TrabeRGE. Edric held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for half a hide. The arable is five carucates.
In demeſne is one carucate,
“ There is one villane, and thirty acres of wood. Paſture one mile long, and as much
“ broad. It is worth ſeven ſhillings, for it lies waſte."
After
* Lib. Domeſday
a

46
[Cathampton.
T REBOROUGH.
After the Conqueſt, Treborough came to the poſſeſſion of the family of Baſings, lords
of Kentsford in the pariſh of St. Decumans in this county; of whom were, William ſon
of Hamo de Baſings temp. Edw. I. John de Baſings 8 Edw. II. father of another John,
whoſe fon Gilbert Baſings 7 Henry V. was ſucceeded by another Gilbert then under age.
This Gilbert Baſings died 16 Henry VI. leaving Simon his ſon and heir, who dying
foon after without iſſue, Alianor his ſiſter, married to John Hamme, became poſſeſſed
of Treborough and Kentsford; and in conjunction with her ſaid huſband, 20 Henry VI.
paſſed over all her right in theſe manors to Sir William Bonville and others in truſt
for Richard Luttrell; and 24 Henry VI. being then the wife of John Williams, levied
a fine to the ſaid truſtees.
This Richard Luttrell, who was an illegitimate ſon of Sir John Luttrell, was
22 Henry VI. appointed conſtable of Dunſter Caſtle for life; and the following year
coroner for the county of Somerſet. 29 Henry VI. he was, with Sir William Bonville,
appointed by the Duke of York keeper of the King's park at North-Petherton, and
the ſame year ſteward of all the lands belonging to the Duke of York in this county,
and keeper of his caſtle at Bridgwater. 33 Henry VI. he accounted for timber cut
down in the King's manor of North-Petherton, and ſoon after died without iſſue,
whereupon the eſtates reverted to Sir James Luttrell of Dunſter caſtle. On his attainder
this manor, with that of Kentsford, and the other lands, was granted to the earl of
Pembroke; but on its being reverſed 12 Henry VII. it reſorted to Sir Hugh Luttrell,
in whoſe deſcendants it continued, till in the time of Edw. VI. Sir John Luttrell,
grandſon to Sir Hugh, ſold it to Sir John Wyndham, who gave it to Edward his
ſecond fon, progenitor of the Wyndhams of Kentsford, Trent, Pilleſdon, and Tale.
The manor was afterwards conveyed into other hands, and is now the property of Sir
John Trevelyan, bart.
Within the pariſh of Treborough is Brown, which is thus noticed in the old record:
“ Durand holds of William [de Mohun] BRUNE. Edwold held it in the time of
“ King Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is ſix carucates. In demeſne
« are two carucates and a half, and two ſervants, and thirteen villanes, and three
“ cottagers, with four ploughs. There is one acre of meadow, and four and twenty
« acres of paſture, and twelve acres of wood. It was formerly worth twenty ſhillings,
now forty ſhillings.”
It afterwards was held of the caſtle of Dunſter by the Martins, progenitors of thoſe of
Athelampíton in Dorſetſhire."
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter; the patronage is annexed to the
ananor, and the Rev. Mr. Bennet is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall building, dedicated to St. Peter, conſiſting of one pace fifty-
four feet long, and fifteen wide. There is a tower on the ſouth ſide, and a porch at
the weſt end. The tower contains three bells.
b
>>
6 MS. Palmer..See Kentsford in St, Decumans, Williton hundred.
Lib. Domeſday.
d Eſc.
WITHYCOMBE.

Cazhampton.]
( 47 ]
W Ι Τ Η Υ
сом
B E.
HIS pariſh, which had its name (as we have before obſerved) from the Saxon
Pidig a withy or willow tree, and Lombe a valley, lies four miles eaſt from
Minehead, and twenty northweſt from Taunton. It is delightfully ſituated in a fertile
vale, encompaſſed on three ſides with lofty and finely cultivated hills; the north ſide
opens to the ſea at about two miles diſtance, affording a pleaſing view of the broken
coaſt of Somerſet on the right, and in front, beyond the channel, the Welch coaſt
and mountains.
The pariſh contains forty-three houſes, and two hundred and twenty inhabitants.
The village conſiſts of one ſtraggling ſtreet, through which runs a ſmall ſtream, which
iſſues from a ſpring at a place called Redgirts, under Rodehuiſh hill, and empties
itſelf into the ſea between Dunſter and Watchet.
Half a mile eaſtward from the church is a noble wood of fine oak, containing more
than twenty acres, and covering the crown of a round hill. It is called Court-Wood,
and belongs to John Fownes Luttrell, eſq. On the hills to the fouth, the black game
are plentiful, and the woods abound with whortleberries and wild raſpberries.
The manerial province of this place, called Withycombe-Hadley, and Withycombe-
Week, is veſted in John Fownes Luttrell, eſq; in whoſe family it has been for ſeveral
generations. At the time of the Conqueſt the whole vill belonged to the Biſhop of
Coutance, to whom it was given by William the Conqueror:
“Edmer holds of the Biſhop WIDICUMBE. Alnod held it, and gelded for three
« hides, in the time of King Edward. The arable is ten carucates.
In demeſne are
“ two carucates, and fix ſervants, and fourteen villanes, and ſeven cottagers, with eight
“ploughs. There are ten acres of meadow, and five hundred and fifty acres of paſture,
“ and one hundred acres of wood wanting four. It was worth four pounds, now
“ fix pounds.
The family of Fitz-Urſe poſſeſſed this manor in very early times after the Norman
Conqueſt. Of which family there is traced a deſcent of ſeven generations from the
time of Henry II, to the latter end of the reign of Edw. III. when the two daughters of
Sir Ralph Fitzurfe being married, the one to Fulford, of Fulford in Devonſhire, the
other to Sir Hugh Durborough, of Heathfield-Durborough in this county, the manor
became aliened from the name; and in the partition of the marriage ſettlements between
the two daughters above-mentioned, was aſſigned to Maud the wife of Durborough,
Their iſſue was James Durborough of Heathfield, and Ralph Durborough the eldeſt,
who inherited Withycombe. He married Joan the daughter of John St. Barb, by
whom he had two daughters, Joan the wife of John Courtenai, who died without iſſue,
and Alice the wife of Alexander Hadley. Which Alexander, in right of his wife,
became poſſeſſed of Withycombe, and tranſmitted it to his ſon John Hadley; who,
* Lib. Domeſday.
having
on

48
(Carhampton
WITH Y CO M B E.
having married Joan the daughter of Richard Stawel, was father of Richard Hadley.
He married Philippa the daughter of Sir Humphry Audley, knt. and had iſſue one
fon, James, and two daughters, Anne and Jane. James married two wives, firſt
Frideſwide, the daughter of Charles Matthew, of the county of Glamorgan; his ſecond
wife's name was Elizabeth. By his firſt wife he was father of ſeveral children, viz. four
ſons, Chriſtopher, John, James, and Thomas, and two daughters, Anne and Rachel.
Chriſtopher Hadley, his ſon and heir, was twenty-two years of age, 31 Henry VIII.
and being married, left iſſue Arthur Hadley, and Margaret. Arthur died without iſſue
in the time of Philip and Mary; and his ſiſter Margaret, who was married to James
Luttrell, eſq; ſucceeded to the eſtate; which thus paſſing into the family of Luttrell of
Dunſter Caſtle, has lineally deſcended to the preſent poffeffor.
The living of Withycombe is a rectory in the deanery of Dunſter. The Rev.
George Inman of Burrington is the preſent incumbent.
z oo
The church, which is dedicated to St. Nicholas, is a ſmall building, conſiſting of a
nave and chancel tiled. On the ſouth ſide ſtands a ſquare embattled tower thirty-fix
feet high, and containing four bells.
On a braſs plate in the chancel: Here lyeth the bodie of Joane Carne of
Sandel, who was thrice married; firſt unto John Newton of Sandell, gent. next unto
Charles Windham, eſquire; and laſt of all unto Thomas Carne of Eweny in the countye
of Glamorgan, eſq. Shee dyed on the nine and twentieth daye of October 1612.”
On a ſtone: Here lyeth the body of Samuel Rogers, M. A. rector of this
pariſh; and under the next ſtone, on the right hand, lies the body of his dear ſiſter
Elizabeth. He died Jan. 26, 1767, aged 79. She died Sept. 2, 1749.”
On a tablet againſt the north wall of the nave:-"Underneath lyeth the body of
Elianor Sully, daughter of Richard Sully and Margaret his wife, who was wife of Henry
Cheſter, and Giles Dawberie, who died Aug. 27, 1730, aged 88."
What is more
miſerable than a living man without divine aſliſtance?”
WO Τ Τ Ο Ν - CO U R Τ Ν Ε Υ

S a ſmall pariſh three miles ſouthweſt from Minehead, and twenty-two northweſt
I com la contoh
, pleaca mely selected to the face outline
opce of lofty einde van hullos crawled
Grabbiſt, which divides this pariſh from thoſe of Minehead and Dunſter. Two miles
to the ſouth is Dunkery-Hill, the foot of which reaches to the fine vale at the bottom
of the village.
The whole number of houſes in this pariſh is about fifty-four, and of inhabitants
about two hundred and ſixty. Thirty houſes form a neat though irregular ſtreet near
the church; the refidue are diſtributed in the following hamlets, viz.
I, RANSCOMBE,

Carhampton.] WOTTON-COURTNE Y.
49
1. RANSCOMBE, one mile eaſt, containing eight houſes.
2. Wotton-FORD, under Dunkery-hill, three houſes.
3. HUNTSGATE-MILL, one mile weſt on the road to Luckham, eight houſes,
4. BROCKWELL, under Dunkery, two houſes.
5. BURROW, one mile ſouth, three houſes.
A fair for cattle and ſheep is held here on the 19th of September, and the inhabitants
have a common right on Dunkery-hill.
William de Faleiſe, a Norman, had the manor of Wotton, (then called Otone) given
him by William Duke of Normandy; his poſſeſſions here are thus accounted for in
the general ſurvey:
« William himſelf holds OTONE. Algar held it in the time of King Edward, and
e gelded for three hides. The arable is ten carucates.
In demefne are three carucates,
" and ſix ſervants, and ten villanes, and eight cottagers, with three ploughs. There is
"a mill of ten pence rent, and four acres of meadow. Paſture one mile in length,
« and half a mile in breadth, and the ſame of wood. It was and is worth one hundred
• ſhillings.
In the time of Edw. I. this manor came into the family of the Courtneys, barons
of Oakhampton, and afterwards earls of Devonſhire; and from them the place derived
its additional denomination. In this name and family it continued for many gene-
rations; till in the time of Edw. III. Sir Hugh Courtney dying without iſſue, his
eſtates became divided between his ſiſter Margaret, afterwards married to Sir Thomas
Peverell, and John Dinham, ſon and heir of Muriel his younger ſiſter. In an
inquiſition taken i Henry VI. it was found that Margaret Peverell held this manor at
her deceaſe; and that her heirs were Catherine the wife of Sir Walter Hungerford, and
Eleanor the wife of Sir William Talbot, both daughters of the ſaid Margaret Peverell.”
On the partition Sir Walter Hungerford' had this manor, and from him and his deſcen-
dants of that name it paſſed to the family of Haſtings and Huntingdon. After
which it was poſſeſſed by that of Hilſborough, and now by Lord Stawel.
The living of Wotton-Courtney is rectorial, in the deanery of Dunſter, and in
1 292 was valued at ſeven marks three ſhillings and fourpence. It was appropriated
to the priory of Stoke-Courcy, and as parcel of its revenues was granted by King
Henry VI. to Eton college, the provoſt and fellows whereof are now the patrons. The
Rev. Mr. Bryant is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to All-Saints, ſtands on an eminence, and conſiſts of
a nave, chancel, and north aile, all covered with tiles. At the weſt end is an embattled
tower, containing a clock and five bells. The aile is divided from the nave · by three
arches, thirteen feet wide and ſeventeen feet high. The pillars, which are cluſtered,
are ſix feet in circumference, and ten feet high to the ſpring of the arches. On the
tops of theſe pillars are ſtatues in niches, embelliſhed with Gothick ornaments,
• Lib. Domeſday,
9 Taxat. Spiritual.
p Inq. poft inort.
H
VOL. II.
That

50
W OTTON-COURT NE Y. Carhampton.
That next to the chancel repreſents Saint Chriſtopher carrying our Saviour, the middle
one is ſuppoſed to be intended for the Virgin Mary, and the other for Saint Lawrence
with his gridiron. On each ſide of the eaſt window, on the ſouth ſide of the nave, are
angels, with the names St. Gabriel and St. Michael on their breaſts. There is likewiſe
an ancient font.
The following inſcriptions are on the chancel floor:
« Hic jacent ſepulti Thomas Morley, 16 Mar. 1624, Ricardus Morley, 4 Mar.
1627. Filii Johannis Morley, rectoris hujus eccleſiæ.”
« The Rev. Ralph Coombes, rector of the pariſh of Wotton-Courtney, departed
this life the 29th of May, and was buried June 4, 1720; aged 60.”
“ The Rev. Mr. Charles Snape, rector of the pariſh of Wotton-Courtney, died
Sept. 12, 1726, aged 40. Charles his ſon, and Penelope his daughter, died 15 March
1723. Alſo Penelope his ſecond daughter, April 1726."
There are the fragments of an old ſtone croſs in the church-yard, and a fine yew
tree with a beautiful ſpread of branches.
The average number of chriſtenings is ſeven, the burials five.
THE

[51]
THE HUNDRED OF
C
A TA
S
H Η
T
THIS hundred, which is bounded by that of Brewton on the eaſt, Somerton on
the weſt, by Whitſtone and Glaſton-Hides on the north, and on the ſouth by
Horethorne, takes its name from an aſh tree in the road between Caſtle-Cary
and Yeovil, where the court for the hundred has uſually been held.
This hundred was anciently in the crown; but granted out at different periods to
different perſons. 14 Henry II. the ſheriff of Somerſet and Dorſet accounted for five
marks for a murder committed in this hundred. 8 Edward II. it was held by Richard
de Cumpton, who was alſo poffefſed of a moiety of the manor of Kenton-Mandeville."
King Richard II. in the fixteenth year of his reign granted the hundreds of Stone and
Cataſh to John Holland Earl of Huntingdon, whoſe ſon John, created Duke of Exeter
by King Henry VI. died ſeized of them in 1447,9 1 Ric. III. the hundred of Cataſh
was granted by the crown to Burghe and his heirs male. It is at preſent held by Mre
Jonas Blandford of Sparkford.
2
Mag. Rot. 10. b.
b Eſc.
e Pat. 16 Ric. II. m. 35.
d Eſc.
e MS. Sydenham.
CASTLE - CAR Y (anciently C A R I)
IS
S a market town, ſituated three miles weſt from Brewton, twelve ſoutheaſt from
Wells, and thirteen north from Yeovil. It ſeems to have had a fortreſs in the
Saxon times, from Caer its primitive appellation.
At the time of the Conqueror's ſurvey it was the property of Walter de Dowai:
" Walter holds CARI. Elfi held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for
« fifteen hides. The arable is twenty carucates. Thereof in demeſne are eight hides,
" and there are fix carucates, and fix ſervants, and thirty-three villanes, and twenty
cottagers, with ſeventeen ploughs. There are three mills of thirty-four ſhillings rent,
s and one hundred acres of meadow. Wood one mile in length, and half a mile in
“ breadth. And one burgeſs in Givelceſtre, [Ilcheſter] and another in Brewton, pay
5616d. When he received it, it was worth ſixteen pounds, now fifteen pounds."
' Lib. Domeſday
In

52
[Catali.
CA S T L ECA RY.
In a ſhort time after the Conqueſt we find this place in the poſſeſſion of the family of
Perceval, lords of Yvery in Normandy, from which country they came over hither with
William the Norman Duke.
The firſt of the name that we meet with in England was Robert, Lord of Breherval,
Yvery, Montinney, and Vaſſe, in Normandy, who was one of thoſe that embarked in
the Conqueror's expedition; but ſoon after the battle of Haſtings returned to his own
country, and devoted himſelf to a religious life in the abbey of Bec. He left behind
him three ſons, Aſcelin, (ſurnamed Gouel and Gouel de Percheval) Gouel, and William.
Aſcelin the eldeſt was likewiſe an adventurer in the Conqueror's army, and being of a
ferocious diſpoſition, acquired among his fellow-foldiers the title of Lupus or the Wolf.
He died in 1120, leaving ſeveral fons, of whom John the youngeſt was portioned in the
manor of Harptree, and in conſequence affumed that name; but afterwards changed
it to that of Gournay; and from him deſcended the barons of Harptree-Gournay.
Robert, the eldeſt ſon, died in 1121, without iſſue, on which
William Gouel de Percheval, his next brother, ſucceeded him in the Norman and
Engliſh eſtates. He likewiſe was of a haughty and turbulent temper; and as his father
had been complimented with the appellation of Lupus, ſo the ſon, for a ſimilar reaſon,
was diminutively termed Lupellus, which in proceſs of time became ſoftened into Lovel,
and that name was ever after uſed by his poſterity, When the barons of England,
diſguſted with King Stephen for having violated the engagements he had made to
them on his advancement to the throne, levied forces againſt that prince, under the
command of Robert Earl of Glouceſter, in favour of Maud the Emprefs, mother to
King Henry the ſecond, this William de Percheval adhered to the confederate party,
and erected ſtrong fortifications at Cary, which was the head of his barony. William
de Mohun did the ſame at Dunſter, William de Harptree at Harptree, and other barons
in different parts of the kingdom. This was done in 1138, and at a time when the King
was greatly embarraſſed in the ſiege of the city of Briſtol, an occaſion which William de
Percheval availed himſelf of in order to diſtreſs his ſovereign, ravaging from his caſtle
at Cary the adjacent country, and carrying away with him all proviſions neceſſary for
the fupport of the King's army. Upon this, Stephen, finding Briſtol impregnable, and
conceiving that it would be altogether unſafe for him to continue before it any longer,
raiſed the fiege, and turned all his attention to the Caſtle of Cary, from which he had
received ſo great an annoyance. Here his arms were crowned with better fuccefs; for
he battered the fortreſs with his engines ſo violently and for ſo long a time, that the gar-
riſon, being reduced to the utmoſt extremity, and receiving no reinforcement nor ſupplies
from the Earl of Anjou, or their allies in Briſtol, ſurrendered at length - upon terms of
peace and allegiance. Notwithſtanding this, we find this William de Percheval again
in arms againſt his Prince, and in the ſame cauſe, in 1153, when he defended this caſtle
againſt Henry de Tracey, a firm adherent to the royal cauſe, who cloſely beſieged him
here, and threw up ſtrong works above the caſtle; but he was ſhortly relieved by the
Earl of Glouceſter, who with ſome difficulty diſmantled Tracey's fortifications. It is

& See the Engliſh Chronicles.
probable

Catal.]
53
CA S T L E . C A RY.
probable that from this time the caſtle fell to ruin and decay; for little more is heard of
it in the ſucceeding reigns, and at preſent the ſpot whereon it ſtood is hardly known to
the inhabitants of the town; being marked only by an intrenched area of about two
acres, called the Camp, in which implements of war and bolts of iron have frequently
been dug up.
This William Gouel de Percheval was ſucceeded in the barony of Cary by Ralph
Lupellus, or Lovel, his ſon and heir, who dying A. D. 1159 without iſſue, Cary came
to the poffeffion of Henry Lovel his brother.
Which Henry, 12 Henry II, upon the aid levied for marrying the King's daughter;
certified his knight's fees to be eighteen of the old feoffment, and one of the new." His
wife's name was Alice, by whom he was father of two children, Ralph and Henry.
Ralph ſucceeded his father in the inheritance, and i John gave ſixty-ſix pounds for
livery of his barony of Cary, but dying without iſſue 9 John,
His brother Henry became next heir to the eſtates, and 9 Joh. gave three hundred
marks and ſeven palfries for the livery of his lands,k being certified to hold Cary of
the King by the ſervice of finding four knights, viz. two for the honour of Moreton,
and two for that of Cary.'
To him fucceeded Richard Lovel his ſon and heir, who 15 Henry III. procured a
charter of free warren in all the lands belonging to his honour." 26 Henry III, he
paid a fine of fifteen marks to be excuſed attending the King in his expedition into
Gaſcony, and 38.5 of the ſame reign, upon collection of the aid for making the King's
eldeſt ſon a knight, anſwered for eleven knights fees and a half of the fees of Morton."
He died the ſame year, leaving iſſue
Henry Lovel his heir, who paid one hundred pounds for his relief, and had livery of
his lands. He died 47 Henry III. being then ſeized of the manor of Caſtle-Cary,
which he held of the King in chief for a whole barony, by the ſervice of finding two
ſoldiers in the King's army at his own coſt for forty days."
Richard, eldeſt ſon of Henry, ſucceeded in the manor of Caſtle-Cary; but he did not
long ſurvive his father, and died without iſſue, whereupon
Henry Lovel his brother came to the inheritance of this great lordſhip, and died
ſeized thereof before 1 280. His children were, Hugh Lord Lovel, and a daughter
named Olivia, married to John Lord Gournay, ſon of Anſelm de Gournay.
Which Hugh Lord Lovel was poſſeſſed of Cary 8 Edw. I. and died 19 Edw. I.
ſeized of the ſame and other lands in this county, leaving iſſue, by Eleanor his wife,
Richard Lovel, the third of that name, Baron of Cary. This Richard 9 Edw. III.
obtained the cuſtody of the caſtles of Corf and Purbeck. He was afterwards ſummoned
" Lib. Nig. i. 100. i Rot. Pip. ; Joh.
k Rot. Pip. 9 Joh.
1 Teft. de Nevil. m Clauſ. 15 Hen. III.
* Rot. Pip. 38 Hen. III. • Eſc. 47 Hen. III. p Ele. 9 Rot. Fin. 9 Edw. III.

54
Catalh.
CASTLE C A RY.
to parliament as a baron of the realm in the 22d, 23d, and 24th of the fame reign,' and
died the year following ſeized of this manor. He married Muriel daughter of William
the firſt Earl of Douglas, by whom he had James Lovel his heir, and two daughters,
Joan and Eleanor.
James Lovel, only ſon of Richard, died in his father's life-time. By his wife Iſabel
he had iſſue a ſon, Richard, and a daughter of the name of Muriel.
Which Richard died very young, his grandfather being yet living. He was the laſt
male heir of this houſe; for deceaſing without iſſue, his ſiſter Muriel became ſole heir
to the eſtate and barony of Cary, after the death of her grandfather Richard Lovel,
the third of that name, and laſt baron thereof. This Muriel was at that time, viz.
25 Edw. III. nineteen years of age, and then the wife of Nicholas Lord St. Maur,
whoſe poſterity long enjoyed this honour and eſtate. The arms of Lovel were, Or,
ſemeé of croſs croſslets, a lion rampant azure.
This Nicholas Lord St. Maur, or Seymour, was deſcended from a family quite
diftinct from that of the Duke of Somerſet, though the ſame name was common to
both, and both branches Aouriſhed with great honour and proſperity in this county
for
many generations. But their arms were always different, viz. the ancient arms of the
Seymours Dukes of Somerſet were, A pair of wings conjoined, the tips downward;
but the arms of St. Maur of Caſtle-Cary were, Argent, two chevrons gules, a label of
three points vert.
The firſt ſettlement of the St. Maurs of Caſtle-Cary was at Road in this county,
where we find by authentick records Laurence de Sto Mauro had his reſidence in the
time of King Edw. I. This Laurence died in the 25th of that reign, and was ſuc-
ceeded by
Nicholas de Sto Mauro his ſon and heir, thirty years of age at the time of his father's
deceaſe. He married to his firſt wife Eva the daughter and ſole heir of John de
Meyſey, Lord of Meyſey-Hampton in the county of Glouceſter, by whom he had that
manor, and others in different counties. To his ſecond wife he married Helen, eldeſt
daughter and coheir of Lord Alan-Zouche of Aſhby in Leiceſterſhire. 9
Edw. I.
this Nicholas St. Maur had a grant from the King of the manor of Poulton in Wilt-
fhire, and 4 Edw. II. obtained a licence to fortify his manor-houſe at Eton-Meyſey in
the county of Wilts, where he himſelf and John de Meyſey before him had ſometime
reſided. He was ſummoned to Parliament 8 Edw. II. but died two years after, leaving
Thomas his ſon and heir, who about 21 Edw. III. founded, at his manor of Poulton
abovementioned, a Gilbertine priory to the honour of the Virgin Mary, and annexed
it as a cell to that of Sempringham in Lincolnſhire. In this priory the founder and
many of his family were interred, and their monuments were depoſited under arches in
the walls of the preſbytery."
Nicholas the ſon and heir of Thomas St. Maur abovementioned, and heir by Muriel
his wife to the barons of Caſtle-Cary, was 21 Edw. III. in the wars of France of the
Clauſ, 22, 23, 24 Edw. III.
s Pat. 4. Edw. II.
• Lel. Itin. ii. 49.
retinue

Catalh.)
55
C A S T L E C A RY.
retinue with Maurice de Berkley; and again 33 Edw. III. of the retinue with Thomas
de Holand. He was ſummoned to parliament from 25 to 34 Edw. III. and died 35
Edward III. leaving iſſue two ſons, Nicholas and Richard.
Nicholas the eldeſt died in his minority, and Richard his brother became heir to the
eſtates. Which Richard, 10 Ric. II, was in the French wars, and in the retinue of
Richard Earl of Arundel, admiral of England. He was ſummoned to parliament from
4 Ric. II. to 2 Hen. IV. when he died. He married Ela the daughter and coheir of
Sir John St. Lo, by whom he had three fons, Richard, John, and Nicholas.
Richard the eldeſt was alſo among the parliamentary barons, and engaged, as his
progenitors had been, in the wars of France: he died 10 Hen. IV. By Mary daughter
and heir of Thomas Peyner he had iſſue one only daughter and heir, Alice, who was
married to William Lord Zouche of Harringworth, whereby the ſaid Lord Zouche
became lord of this manor of Caſtle-Cary, and of moſt of the other great manors which
belonged to the St. Maurs. But John, a younger brother of this Richard Lord St.
Maur, kept up the family name for ſome generations.
This William Lord Zouche was deſcended from Alan Lord Zouche of Aſhby in
Leiceſterſhire; but William the firſt of that name, having feated himſelf at Harring-
worth in Northamptonſhire, one of thoſe manors which came into the family by his
mother Millicent, one of the ſiſters and heirs of George Lord Cantilupe, baron of
Abergavenny, he afterwards aſſumed the title of Harringworth. This William, who
married the heireſs of St. Maur, was the fourth of that name, and died 3 Henry V.
ſeized of Caſtle-Cary and many other manors, leaving William his ſon and heir, John,
Margaret, and Elizabeth.
Which William, 2 Edw. IV. being then above thirty years of age, and bearing the
title of Lord Zouche and St. Maur, having performed many ſignal ſervices for the king,
had a ſpecial livery of the lands of his inheritance. He died 8 Edw. IV. leaving John
his ſon and heir, at that time eight years of age, as alſo William a younger ſon, and
two daughters, viz. Elizabeth and Margaret.
John his ſon and heir married two wives, 1. Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Capel,
knt. Lord-Mayor of London; 2. Joan, one of the ſiſters and heirs of John Lord
Dynham, by both of whom he left children to poſterity. But unluckily taking part
with King Richard III. and being found with him in arms at the battle of Boſworth,
he was attainted in parliament i Henry VII. and all his lands were confiſcated to the
The caſtle and manor of Cary were thereupon granted by that King to Robert
Willoughby Lord Broke; and the lands at Bridgwater, with North and South-Barrow,
to Giles Lord Daubeney, and then he was reſtored in blood. The Lords Zouche being
thus ſtript of Caſtle-Cary and other great manors, lived retired at Marſh near Brewton,
which Leland calls a goodly manor place, but ruinous in his time.
The manor of Caſtle-Cary, with other lands, were afterwards purchaſed by Edward
the firſt Duke of Somerſet. But about the year 1672, both the manor and eſtate being
in the family of Bruce, they were diſpoſed of in parcels to William Ettricke, eſq; and
Mr. Player; and one moiety thereof deſcended to Mrs. Ettricke of London, who left
crown.
it

56
[Catalh.
CA S T L E-CAR Y.
it by will to Mrs. Powell, who bequeathed it to the uſe of certain orphans, and of them
it was finally purchaſed by Richard Colt Hoare, eſq. The other moiety, purchaſed by
Player, deſcended to Mr. Bragg, who diſpoſed of it to the father of the late Lord
Holland, and he to Benjamin Collins, of Saliſbury, eſq. This part of the eſtate was
not long ſince fold to the tenants in poſſeſſion; but the manerial rights were purchaſed
by Richard Colt Hoare, eſq; (now Sir R. C. Hoare, bart.) who thus became poſſeſſed
of the whole manor, and is the preſent proprietor.
The manor-houſe ſtands on the eaſt ſide of the ſtreet, and was, as appears by ſeveral
fine old arches and other remains, a ſtately edifice; but great part of it has lately been
demoliſhed, and the apartments which remain are converted into ſtore-rooms. At the
time that King Charles fled from Worceſter to Lyme-Regis after his defeat, he ſtopt
at this houſe, which was then inhabited by a Mr. William Kirton, who met him on the
road, and conducted him hither in diſguiſe. To the weſt of the houſe, and within
twenty feet of the walls, was a large piece of water, of nearly two acres, now almoſt
choaked up with weeds and rubbi:h, but ſtill retaining the name of Park-Pond.
The town of Caſtle-Cary conſiſts principally of three ſtreets, one of which is near a
mile in length, but thinly and irregularly built, containing one hundred and forty-ſix
houſes. Beſides theſe there are three hamlets, viz.
I. DUMMER, one mile weſt, containing four houſes.
2. CLANvill, one mile northweſt, eight houſes.
3. COCKHILL, one mile ſouthweſt, four houſes.
And a ſingle houſe called Thorne. The whole number of houſes is one hundred and
fixty-three, and of inhabitants about nine hundred and fifty,
This town has a charter for holding a market on Tueſdays, but it has been long
diſcontinued, except that markets for corn, ſheep, and cattle, are occaſionally held from
Allhallow-tide to Eaſter. The old market-houſe (built in 1616) is now converted
into dwelling-houſes. There are three fairs; on the Tueſday ſe’nnight before Eaſter,
the firſt of May, and Whit-Tueſday, for cattle, ſheep, and pedlery ware. Many of the
poor are employed in knitting ſtockings for ſale.
The church of Caſtle-Cary was anciently appropriated to the priory of Bath, and in
I292 was valued at twenty marks."
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of its name, and in the patronage of the
biſhop of the dioceſe. The Rev. Jehn Taylor, A. M. is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to All-Saints, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and ſide ailes,
covered with lead. Its length is ninety-four feet, its breadth forty-two. There is an
embattled tower at the weſt end, fifty feet high, having thereon a ſpire thirty-ſix feet
high above the battlements, and containing a clock and ſix bells. This ſtructure ſtands
on a riſing ground, and makes a pretty appearance. It retains the marks of Cromwell's
fury, which entirely demoliſhed the organ, and defaced many of its ornaments.



a Taxat. Spiritual,
In

Catalh.]
57
CASTLE - CA RY.
In the ſouth aile, the tablet of a very elegant mural monument of different kinds of
marble contains the following inſcription:------" In memory of John Ruſs, gent. who
died Feb. 9, 1732, aged 26. Of Margaret his wife, who died July 30, 1758, aged 56.
And of Margaret their daughter, who died Feb. I, 1758, aged 25: whoſe mortal
remains are depoſited in the middle aile of this church. This monument was erected
by Agnes Cheeke widow, fiſter and executrix to the above-mentioned Margaret Ruſs,
A. D. 1760."-----Arms, Azure, a faltire or, between four croſs croflets fitché argent.
On the ſame wall there is a neat monument of white marble, inſcribed as follows:----
~ Near this place lie the remains of Daniel Collins, gent. who died the 13th of April
1753, in the both year of his age. Early in life he retired from buſineſs to this his native
air to obtain health, which neither his own experience, nor ſkill of the faculty, could
procure him in London. Here he paſſed the remainder of his days, inoffenſive,
friendly, honeſt, always ſeeking the peace of a juſt mind by an humble reſignation to the
Divine will, and conſtant integrity and benevolence to his neighbour. His diſconfolate
widow, Magdalen Collins, has placed this monument as a mark of her ſincere regard to
his memory, 'with whom ſhe had the happineſs to live upwards of forty years in the
greateſt concord and affection."
At the eaſt end of the north aile is a very neat mural monument of white and yellow
marble, terminated by an urn.----- In the centre of the iſles is depoſited all that was
mortal of Cary Creed, jun. eſq. He departed this life Jan. 10, in the year of Salvation
1775, aged 67.”
In the ſame aile, on a marble monument:----- Oppoſite hereto in the middle iſle
lies all that is mortal of Elizabeth, wife of Cary Creed, gent. who departed this life
June 16, A. D. 1737, in the 48th year of her age.”
On the floor:-----“ Underneath are depoſited the remains of John Creed, vicar of
this pariſh fifty years, interred 29 Dec. 1740. Of Ann his wife, 31 July 1740. Of
Elizabeth their daughter, aged 22. Of Elizabeth wife of Cary Creed, gent. 16 June
1737, aged 48. Of Cary Creed, eſq; their ſon, 18 Jan. 1775, aged 67. Alſo of the
ſaid Cary Creed, gent. 21 April 1775, aged 88.”
“ Here lyeth the body of James Napper, gent. who died Feb. 15th, A. D. 1658.”
“Here lyeth the body of Anthony Abarough, gent. who deceaſed the 21ſt day of
April, 1637." ---With ſeveral others of that family.
On a black frame at the eaſt end of the ſouth aile the following charities are recorded:
" Gifts to this church and pariſh.
“ John Francis, gent. gave the intereſt of two pounds to this church for ever; and
the intereſt of ten pounds to the poor at Eaſter for ever.
“David Lewellin, gent. gave the intereſt of ten pounds to the poor at Eaſter for ever.
" The aforeſaid principal ſums of ten pounds each were laid out in the purchaſe of
Gibſon's houſe, and the pariſh ſtock is charged with the payment of the ſaid intereſt.
" John Ruſs, gent, gave the intereſt of ten pounds to the poor in bread, on All-
Saints day for ever.
VOL, II
I

*
-

« John

58
[Catalh.
CASTLE - CAR Y.
John Lewis, gent. gave twelve ſhillings in bread to the poor on Good-Friday for
ever, and charged his houſes in Cary with the payment.
« Richard Cozens, gent. gave the intereſt of ten pounds to the poor on the 25th
of March for ever.
“ Edward Ruſs, gent. gave ten ſhillings yearly to the parſon, yicar, or curate of this
pariſh, to preach a charity ſermon the Sunday after the 6th of Auguſt for ever; and
20s. in bread to the poor for ever, to be diſtributed by the churchwardens the ſame day
after the ſaid ſermon; and left a ground called Guy's-Cloſe, in the pariſh of Almsford,
charged with the payments thereof.
“Mrs. Eleanor Boucher gave one large damaſk communion cloth and napkin.
“ William Swallow gave the gates of the church porch.
Cary Creed, gent. gave forty pounds a year for ever to the ſecond poor of this
pariſh, to be diſtributed by the churchwardens and overſeers on St. Thomas's-Day.
And left William Pew and John Tidcomb his manor of Lovington, and eſtates in
Caſtle-Cary and Almsford, chargeable with the payment thereof."

A - L
F
0
R
D.
A
Small pariſh lying two miles weſt from Caſtle-Cary, and in the turnpike-road
leading from that town to Ivelcheſter, in a low, flat, and woody ſituation. It
contains twenty houſes, ſeven of which are farms, the reſt cottages.
It is only memorable for a mineral ſpring, ſituated about three quarters of a mile
from the church, at a farm-houſe called Alford Well, and incloſed within a ſhed locked
up. It is now quite neglected, although formerly it had ſuch repute for its medicinal
virtues, being uſed with ſucceſs in caſes of the ſcurvy, jaundice, and obſtructions, that
it was fought after from very diſtant parts.
We meet with this place in Domeſday Book, under the title of Aldedeford, as the
property of Earl Morton:
Anfger holds of the earl ALDEDEFORD. Godric held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is one
carucate, and three ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and four bordars, and four cottagers,
is with two ploughs. There is a mill of ſeven ſhillings rent, and fifty acres of meadow,
" and from the villanes eight blomes of iron. It was worth one hundred ſhillings,
now four pounds.
The Fitzpaines had this manor in later days, and it now belongs to John Willes, eſq;
who is alſo patron of the living.
a Lib. Domeſday.

22
It

Catath.]
59
A L
D.
F
R
It is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, valued in 1292 at 1oos.The Rev. John
Phillips is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to All-Saints, conſiſts of a nave leaded, and chancel and
tower tiled, the latter containing three bells.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is a monument of ſtone:-----" In memory of
Mercy the wife of Walter Harvey of this pariſh, gent. who died Dec. 22, 1734,
ætat. 63.”-----Arms: On a bend argent, three trefoils Nipped, vert, impaling a chevron
ſable between three boars heads ..
There is a benefaction of ten pounds given by Mr. Francis to the ſecond
poor,
and
another of twenty pounds for the ſame uſe by Mr. Gregory.
• Taxat. Spiritual.

A L
M
S F
O
R D.
ALF a mile northward from Caſtle-Cary lies Almsford, corruptly called Ansford,
HA Emain
per no one for your cable caires et les predecoratiuni ce and des formale
church, and the reſt near the turnpike-road between Shepton-Mallet and Sherborne.
The ſituation is pleaſant, being in a very fruitful country, well wooded and finely di-
verſified with hill and valley. The proſpect weſtward is terminated by Blackdown and
the Quantock hills, at the diſtance of about thirty miles.
This manor was at the time of the Conqueſt, and ever after, (as far as we can learn)
held by the lords of Caſtle-Cary, with which at this day it compoſes one tithing. It is
called in Domeſday-Book, probably from ſome very ancient poſſeſſor before the
Conqueft, Almundesford:
“ Uluric holds of Walter [de Dowai] ALMUNDESFORD. Chetel held it in the time
“ of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is fix carucates. In demeſne
« are two carucates, and three ſervants, and five villanes, and four cottagers, with five
“ ploughs. There is a mill of ſeven ſhillings and fixpence rent, and twenty acres of
“ meadow, and twenty acres of paſture. A wood four furlongs long, and one and a
• half broad. When he received it, it was worth four pounds, now three pounds.
Almsford, Hadſpen, and Honeywick, have always been members of the manor of
Caſtle-Cary, and the ſame records which refer to the one are applicable to the others.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary. The Rev. Mr. Woodford is the
patron and incumbent. In the taxation of Pope Nicholas it is rated at fix marks.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a ſmall but very neat ſtructure of one pace,
with a tower and three bells.
a Lib. Domeſday.
b Taxat. Spiritual.
Againſt
wa
I 2
60
[Catath
A
S FOR D.
L M
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is a neat monument of white marble with this
inſcription:------“H. S. E. Samuel Woodforde, A. M. eccleſiæ de Caſtle-Cary
vicarius, hujus item parochiæ annos magis quinquaginta reEtor indefeſſus, et honora-
tiffimo comiti de Tankerville a ſacris domeſticus. Vir erat antiquis moribus, virtute,
fide, pauperibus erogator largus; pater prudens ac providus; amicus certus, cordatus,
fidus.Eodem tumulo quiefcunt cineres uxoris amatæ, æque ac amatiſſimæ, Janæ
Woodforde, quæ per quadraginta fere annos in domeſticis vitæ muneribus obeundis,
plurimis antecellere, nulli forfan ſecunda videbatur. Amabiles in vita, nec in morte
divifi funt, Illa prius obiit Feb. 8°, 1766,7
60°.
Ætatis anno
Ille fecutus Maii 16°, 1771,
76º.
Valete ſuaves animæ, fed non æternum!
Filii mærentes poſuerunt.”
In the ficor:-----“ Here lieth the body of Thomas Cary, gent. who died Dec. 4,
1704, aged 61. And William his ſon, gent. who died Jan. 4, 1705. And Elizabeth
his wife, who died May 7, 1712, aged 79."

6.}Ætatis
B A
В С
A
R
Y.
THE
HE river Cary, riſing at Caſtle-Cary, runs through, and gives its appellation to
this place, to Little-Cary, or Cary-Fitzpaine, a hamlet in the pariſh of Weſt-
Charlton, and to Lites-Cary, from whence it paſſes under Cary-Bridge near Somerton,
to Borough-bridge, and there falls into the Parret.
This pariſh lies about five miles to the eaſt of Ivelcheſter, and ſeven ſoutheaſt from
Somerton, the turnpike-road from Wincanton to that town paſſing through it. Weſt-
ward runs the Foſs in a ſtrait direction to the ancient Roman city of Ivelcheſter.
In the time of King William the Conqueror, we read that this place belonged to one
of the name of Hunfridus or Humphry:
“ Humphry holds BABECARI. Bruno held it freely in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for two hides and a half. The arable is three carucates; but in demeſne are
« two carucates, and two ſervants, and fix villanes, and three cottagers, with three
ploughs. There are fourteen acres of meadow, and eight acres of paſture. It
t was formerly worth forty ſhillings, now fifty ſhillings. This is added to the lands
« of Brietric."
This manor was very anciently held of the Barons Beauchamp of Hatch, by the
family of D'Erleigh, or de Erlega, lords of Durſton, Beckington, Michael's-church,
and North-Petherton. It paſſed from them to the Seymours, the Bampfyldes, and the
Stawels, and is now the property of Lord Stawel.




· Lib. Domeſday.
* See the account of thoſe manors.
There
Catalh.]
61
B
A B C A A RY.

re
There are two hamlets, Start, and FARRINGDON. The former contains three
houſes, the latter eleven. 34 Hen. VI. John Gilbert, merchant, held jointly with
Chriſtiana his wife the manor of Stert in the pariſh of Babcary in focage, leaving
William their ſon and heir. In the time of Henry VIII. it was held under the name
of Gilbert. The vill of Farringdon has been written different ways; but its moſt
ancient term is Fodindone, as we find it in the Norman ſurvey:
“ Hugh holds Fodindone. Alward held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded
« for two hides, and one virgate of land. The arable is three carucates, and in all
as there are two villanes, and one cottager, and ſix ſervants, and fourteen acres of
66 meadow. It was formerly worth thirty ſhillings, now forty ſhillings.”
Another parcel of land of this name, is thus ſurveyed:
“ Schelin holds FODINDONE. Bricftoward held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for one hide, and one virgate and a half of land. The arable is two carucates,
" and there are on it one ſervant, and one cottager. There are ſix acres of meadow.
“ It was and is now worth twenty ſhillings."
It afterwards was poſſeſſed by the ſucceſſive lords of Babcary. There were chapels
at both the hamlets of Stert and Babcary, which have long been in ruins.
The hoſpital of St. John at Wells had lands in Babcary ſo early as the reign of
Edw. I. The manor of Babcary was held of the abbey of Athelney."
This pariſh contains fifty-two houſes and about three hundred inhabitants.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, and in the patronage of Lord Stawel:
the Rev. Mr. Cheeſe is the preſent incumbent. In 1292, it was valued at twenty
marks, and the prior of Brewton received twenty ſhillings yearly out of it."
The church is dedicated to the Holy-Croſs, and conſiſts of one aile, and a ſtrong
embattled tower, containing five bells.
On a ſtone in the wall over the communion table is this inſcription:-----“ Under
“ lyeth Elizabeth the wife of Jonathan Colmer, rector, and daughter of A. Clare, of
“ Beamiſter in the county of Dorſet, M. A. who died July 6, 1685. Ætatis fuæ 42."
Ona mural monument of black ſtone:-----“ H.S.E. Bridget Colmer, uxor Revli
viri Jonathan Colmer hujus parochiæ rectoris; mulier ob vitæ integritatem honeſte
conſpicua, Chriſtianæ religionis cultrix fidelis, abundans charitatis fine dolo, pietatis
haud equidem perixigua fautrix, pudicitiæ amatrix vera; conjux chariſſima, pien-
tiffima mater; omnibus amabilis, omnibus flebilis. In cælum migravit tertio die
Maij, an. ætat. 58, Dom. 1724. Neſcis quâ horê--vigila.” Arms: three creſcents
between nine billets, impaling, a bar ermine between three roſes.


* Eſc. 34 Hen. VI.
f Ibid.
d Terrar. Sydenham MS. • Lib. Domeſday.
Plac, in Com. Somerf. 8 Ed. I. Allis, Rot.
45.
d. Regiſt. Abbat de Athelney.
i Taxat. Spiritual,
k Taxat. Temporal.
6 Near
62
[Catalh.
В А
Y.
B C
R
A.

~ Near this place lies the body of Edward Colmer, rector of Bridport, who died
March 12, 1766, aged 73. Memento mori.”
“ Near this place lies the body of Ann wife of the Rev. Mr. Edward Colmér, who
died June 24, 1770. Aged 80.”
In the ſouth wall of the chancel:----“In memory of the Rev. William Stone.
He died July 6, 1721; aged 26.”
On a table of benefactions :
£s. d.
" In 1669,
Cheek
*1710, Richard Cooper
“ 1728, Rev. John Colmer, rector
3
o charged on an
eſtate called Welfhe's. The intereſt to be given in bread to the ſecond poor.”
Amias Hext, B. D. rector of this place, was one of the ſufferers in the great rebel-
lion of the laſt century.
5 O
I
I
O
o
-


B A R RO W - NORTH.
A
Small pariſh ſituated on riſing ground, nine miles northeaſt from Ilcheſter, and
containing about twenty houſes, which form an irregular ſtreet near the church.
From the church-yard there is a fine view acroſs a rich woody vale to the hills about
South-Cadbury and Corton-Dinham, and to the north and northweſt along the ſouth-
eaſt declivity of Mendip-hills, and eaſtward to Creech-hill and the adjacent country.
The manors of North and South-Barrow are not diſtinctly noticed in the Norman
record, having been comprized within the great manor of Caſtle-Cary; by the ſucceſſive
lords of which, the Lovels, St. Maurs, and the Zouches, they were held 'till the
attainder of John Lord Zouche, 1 Henry VII. when they were granted to Giles Lord
Daubeny for life; the reverſion to the heirs of the ſaid Lord Zouche. In this name we
find theſe manors held fome years afterwards; for in a terrier of lands in this county, it
appears that 5 Edw. VI. Richard Zouche was poſſeſſed of North-Barrow, and the
advowſon of the church; and that he the ſame year levied a fine of lands in South-
Barrow. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth Charles Zouche had a moiety of the manor;
but it was afterwards alienated and became the property of the family of Portman,
and the preſent lord both of North and South-Barrow is Henry William Portman, of
Brianſtone in the county of Dorſet, eſq.
By an inquiſition taken at Ivelcheſter 29th Oct. 31 Henry VIII. it is ſet forth that
John Abarough died 28th Sept. 30 Hen. VIII. ſeized of a capital meſſuage in North-
a Terrier MS.
Barrow,


Catalh.]
63
B A R R O W - N O R T H.
Barrow, five hundred and twenty acres of arable land, forty acres of meadow, twelve
of paſture, and two of wood, which he held of the manor of Caſtle-Cary. This family
had their names from the place, and flouriſhed in theſe parts for many generations.
John Abarough, of North-Barrow, married Margery daughter of William Gregory,
and had iſſue John Abarough of Ditchet, who married Iſabel daughter of Ralph
Hannam, of Evercrich, eſq; by whom he was father of Anthony his heir, and Hercules
Abarough, and two daughters, Mary and Agnes. Their principal place was at
Ditchet; but they had many other eſtates in Somerſet and Dorſet. They bore for their
arms, Sable, two ſwords in ſaltire argent, between four fleurs de lis or; a bordure ermine.
Creſt, a ferret argent, collared or, lined azure.
The benefice of North-Barrow is rectorial in the deanery of Cary, and in the patro-
nage of the lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Butler is the preſent incumbent.
The church ſtands on an eminence, and is fifty-ſix feet in length, and fourteen in
breadth, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and porch tiled. A quadrangular tower at the
weſt end, fifty feet in height, contains four bells. It is dedicated to St. Nicholas. The
only inſcription is on a mural monument of black ſtone to the memory of Thomas
Wake, who died Feb. 26, 1770.
There was a chantry in the church of North-Barrow, the laſt incumbents of which
were Thomas Crybbe, and John Gent, the former of whom received in 1553 a penſion
of 31. 55. Id. the latter a penſion of il. 6s.
b Inq, poft mort. Johis. Abarough, 31 Hen. VIII. c Cook's Viſitation of Somerſetſhire.
d Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii. p. 202.
B A R R OW
SO U T H.
OUTHWARD from the laſt-inentioned pariſh, and ſo denominated from its
ſituation, is South-Barrow, a ſmall pariſh, containing about the ſame number of
houſes as the other Barrow. It lies in a woody country, not much diverſified with
ſurface, but has a pleaſing view of the hills near Cadbury and Corton, and a fine
opening towards the north and weſt. The lands are moſtly paſture, being cold and
heavy; the arable leſs adapted to ſummer corn, but produces good beans and wheat.
The manor, as nas been before obſerved, has gone conjointly with North-Barrow
and Caſtle-Cary.
The church is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, and in the ſame patronage with
North-Barrow; the Rev. Mr. Hughes is the preſent incumbent. No mention is made
of either of theſe benefices in Pope Nicholas's taxation.
The
64
[Catalh.
BARROW
SOUTH.

The church is a ſmall ſtructure of one pace, fixty feet long and fourteen wide, and
contains nothing remarkable, nor any memorial, except the following old acroſtick on
a braſs plate in the floor:
R eade and behowide my preſent tate, which ſhoweth ye fatall dome :
3 ttood as yow, and yow as 3 to Dutt ſhall ſhortly come.
T alt of therfore this wretched worlde, his pleaſant baites defie,
b is flowers are cutt and withered, in the twinklinge of an eie.
And when we die, molt certainly, with ioyes or endles paine
Rewarded of a dreadfull Judge, our fouis lhall ftill remaine.
D eath is the dongeon of our ſinnes, Jeruſalem above
E ale, comfort, glory, bath for thoſe, whom God doth derely love.
99 y fowle therfore in body weake, delired thee to embrace,
D Father dere, and now ihe lives before thy throne of grace.
Refuſe I did this worlde alive, and now in clodd of claye
J leave this precept to my frends, which yet in earth do taie;
C are for the ioyes celeſtiall, which cannot find their peeres
E ver faie in hart, this life thall laſe, alas, but twenty yeeres."

B A R T O N - DA VID,

S°
O called from the dedication of its church, is a ſmall pariſh five miles eaſt from
Somerton, and ſeven foutheaſt from Glaſtonbury. It is ſituated on the banks of
the river Brew, which divides it from Baltonſbury, in a low but fruitful country, well
wooded with fine large elm trees, and ſufficiently watered.
The number of houſes is about forty, many of them very neat dwellings, and of
inhabitants nearly two hundred and twenty.
This pariſh furniſhes few fubjects either in antiquity or in natural hiſtory, that merit
particular remark. At the time of the Conqueſt it belonged to Roger de Curcelle, of
whom it was held by one Norman:
“ Norman holds of Roger Bertone, Aleſtan held it in the time of King Edward,
<< and gelded for one hide and a half. The arable is two carucates. In demeſne is
« one carucate, and two villanes, and four cottagers, with one plough. There is a mill
“ of five ſhillings rent, and twenty-four acres of meadow, and as many of paſture. It
was worth forty ſhillings, now thirty ſhillings.”
a Lib. Domeſday.
This

Catalh.]
65
B A R T O N - DA VI D.
This manor was ſometime held of the abbey of Glaſtonbury by the family of Appul-
ton, many of whoſe eſtates deſcended by a coheireſs to that of Pyne. It now belongs
to the Rev. Mr. Wightwick in right of his wife, late Mrs. Keate of Somerton.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, and was valued in 1292 at ſixteen
marks. The Rev. Mr. Foſter is patron and incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. David, is a ſmall Gothick building fixty-three
feet in length, and ſeventeen in breadth, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and finall aile,
covered with tiles. At the weſt end there ſtands an octangular tower forty-five feet
high, containing four bells.
The north door-way is compoſed of a fine arch of Saxon workmanſhip.
In the church-yard is a tomb to the memory of the Buſh family, and an ancient
ſtone croſs.
b Taxat. Spiritual.
C A D B UR Y - N O R T H.

THIS
HIS is a conſiderable pariſh, five miles weſt from Wincanton, and eleven ſouth
from Shepton-Malet, ſituated on an eminence in a country well wooded and
watered, and in good cultivation. A ſtream riſing under Yarlington-hill runs through
this pariſh, under a ſtone bridge in the hamlet of Brook-Lavington, and another called
Weſt-Bridge, and turns a griſt mill in the hamlet of Galhampton. Another ſtream
riſing at Blackford joins the above river near South-Cadbury, after turning two mills,
and runs under a ſtone bridge of two arches in its way through Sparkford to the Ivel.
Beſides the above-mentioned hamlets, there are two others in this pariſh of the names
of North-Town and Woodſton.
In the time of William the Conqueror the manor of Cadbury, then written Cadeberie,
was held by Turſtin Fitz-Rolf, a Norman, who ſeems to have reſided here on his own
demeſne. The record ſays,
“ Turſtin himſelf holds CADEBERIE. Alwold held it in the time of king Edward,
" and gelded for twelve hides. The arable is twelve carucates. In demeſne are three
« carucates, and ſix ſervants, and ſixteen villanes, and twenty cottagers with eight
ploughs, and one ſwineherd pays twelve pigs per annum. There are two mills of
“twenty-two ſhillings rent, and fifty acres of meadow, and ſeventy acres of paſture.
“ A wood four furlongs long, and one furlong broad. It was worth twenty pounds,
now twelve pounds.'
A great ſink in value:--but it muſt be obſerved, that this part of the county was
much haraſſed by the incurſions of the Danes, and the lands greatly impoveriſhed by
2 Lib. Domeſday.
VOL. II.
K
the
wa

66
[Catalh.
C A D B U R Y . N O R T H.
the ravages of war. In a few years after the Conqueſt, this manor and that of Maperton
became part of the barony of the lords Newmarch, who came over into England amongſt
the other followers of William duke of Normandy. 1 2 Hen. II. Henry de Novo
Mercato accounted for the knight's fees which he held; and amongſt the tenants are
ſet down Geffery de Galehampton, and William de Cadeberi, both perſons of this
place, but now known only by their names. He was ſucceeded in this lordſhip by
James de Newmarch his brother and heir, who 6 Joh. gave two hundred marks for
livery of his lands. He died, 17 Joh. leaving iſſue two daughters, his heirs, viz. Iſabel
married to Ralph Ruſſell, and Hawife married firſt to John de Botreaux, and after-
wards to Nicholas de Molis or Moels.
This Nicholas de Moels was a great perſon in the court of Henry III. in whoſe
reign he ſerved the ſeveral offices of ambaſſador, ſheriff for divers counties, governor of
the iſlands of Guernſey, Jerſey, Sark, and Aureney, and governor of the caſtles of
Rocheſter, Canterbury, Shirborne, Corf, Carmarthen, and Cardigan.
To this Nicholas fucceeded Roger his fon and heir, who 5 Edw. I. ſerved in the
wars againſt the Welſh, and 6 Edw. I. was appointed to the government of the caſtle
of Llanbadarn-Vawr in the county of Cardigan. He married Alice, the daughter and
heir of William de Preux, and died 23 Edw. I. ſeized of this manor, and the manors
of Maperton and Halton, leaving John his fon and heir twenty-ſix years of age."
Which John de Moels married the daughter of Lord Grey of Ruthyn, and was one
of the barons that ſat in the parliaments of Edw. I. He died 3 Edw. II. and was ſuc-
ceeded in this manor by Nicholas de Moels his ſon and heir, twenty years of age.
This Nicholas de Moels, 4 Edw. II. was in the Scottiſh wars, and 5 and 9 Edw. II.
had his ſummons to parliament, but died the laſt-mentioned year. He married Mar-
garet daughter of Sir Hugh Courtney, knt. who after his death had for her dowry an
aſſignation of this manor. She died 23 Edw. III. leaving Muriel the wife of Thomas
Courtney, and Iſabel the wife of Sir William de Botreaux, her couſins and heirs.
The manor of Cadbury came in the partition to Iſabel the wife of Botreaux, who
23 Edw. III. had livery of the lands of her inheritance. This William de Botreaux
was a knight, and deſcended from a very ancient family in Hampſhire. 6 Steph.
Gefferey Boterell, brother to Alan Earl of Richmond, diſtinguiſhed himſelf for his
valour againſt the forces of Maud the Empreſs, then beſieging the caſtle of Wincheſter.
After him came Hamon, William, William the ſecond, Reginald, William the third,
and the abovenamed William, who married the heireſs of Moels. He died 33 Edw. III.
leaving another William his ſon and heir, who the ſame year had livery of the lands,
Which William de Botreaux, who was alſo a baron, 8 Ric. II. entailed this his
of North-Cadbury with other lands upon himſelf and Elizabeth his wife, the daughter
of Sir Ralph Daubeney, knt. with remainder to William his ſon, and the heirs male of
his body; and, for want of iſſue male, to Thomas, Ralph, and John, his younger fons,
fucceffively. He died 15 Ric. II. and William his eldeſt ſon, ſurviving him, inherited
manor
b Lib.nig, Scac, Gloucſcire, 169, 170.
c Efc.
this

Catalh.]
67
CADBURY - N O R T H.
this manor. Elizabeth the wife of the above-mentioned Lord William Botreaux,
and daughter of Sir Ralph Daubeney, rebuilt the pariſh church of North-Cadbury,
and in 1427 procured a licence from King Henry VI. to erect and transfer the ſaid
foundation into a collegiate church, and to eſtabliſh therein a perpetual college of ſeven
chaplains, one of them to preſide and have the government thereof, and to be
called the rector of the college of Saint Michael the archangel of North-Cadbury,
and four clerks to pray for the good eſtate of the King, as alſo for the good eſtate
of her the ſaid Elizabeth, and of Sir William Botreaux the younger, knt. She
died 11 Hen. VI. and the ſaid William, afterwards Lord Botreaux, ſucceeded to the
family eſtates.
Which William, by his deed bearing date 23 Sept. 37 Hen. VI. gave his manor of
Yeovilton to the prior and convent of Bath, to the end that they ſhould cauſe a maſs to
be celebrated daily in their church for the good eſtate of the King and Queen, and
Edward Prince of Wales, as alſo for him the ſaid William and Elizabeth then his wife;
directing alſo, that three days before Eaſter (when maſs ſhould not be ſaid) the ſum of
ſixpence ſhould be diſtributed to the poor of Bath in bread, in ſuch portions as that
each poor man might have the value of a farthing. He died 2 Edw. IV. having
ordered by his will his body to be buried in the church of North-Cadbury. This
William was the laſt Lord Botreaux, leaving by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John
Lord Beaumont, one only daughter and heir, Margaret the wife of Sir Robert Hun-
gerford, eldeſt ſon of Sir Walter Hungerford, knight,' deſcended from the barons
Hungerford, of Farley Caſtle, and of Heyteſbury. This Robert left iſſue by the
ſaid Margaret,
Thomas Lord Hungerford, who in the time of Edward IV. was beheaded for being
in arms to reſtore King Henry VI.; but the attainder being reverſed in parliament
1 Henry VII. Mary his ſole daughter and heireſs became entitled to the eſtates, which
being immenſe in this and other counties of England, ſhe carried together with the titles
by marriage to Edward Lord Haſtings, father of George the firſt Earl of Huntingdon
of that ſurname. He died March 24, 36 Hen. VIII. and was ſucceeded by his ſon
Francis, as ſecond Earl of Huntingdon, who bore the titles of Hungerford, Botreaux,
Moulins, and Moels; and dying June 23, 1561, was interred in the pariſh church of
Aſhby de la Zouch, in the county of Leiceſter. By Catherine his wife, eldeſt daughter
and coheir of Henry Pole Lord Montacute, he was father of ſeveral children, of whom
Sir Francis was of North-Cadbury, and knight in ſeveral parliaments for this county,
He was author of ſeveral pieces, and a benefactor to Emanuel college in Cambridge.
He married Magdalen, widow of Sir George Vernon, knt. and dying Sept. 26, 1610, was
buried in the pariſh church, as was alſo his lady who died ſome years before him. This
Sir Francis Haſtings, having no children, fold the eſtate of both Cadburys to Richard
Newman, eſq; who was high-ſteward of Weſtminſter, and was impriſoned by Oliver
Cromwell for his attachment to King Charles the firſt, whom he attended in his troubles
and ſupplied with large ſums of money; in conſideration of which ſervices, King Charles
the ſecond granted the family an augmentation of their arms, viz, Gules, a portcullis
* Excerpt, e Regiſt. Wellen.
Dugdale's Baronage, i. 630.
f Ibid.
K 2
crowned

68
[Catalh.
C A D B U RY. N O R T H.
crowned or. From this Richard deſcended Sir Richard and Sir Samuel Newman, of
Fifehide in Dorſetſhire, where many of his family lie buried. The lineal deſcendant
and preſent repreſentative of this ancient family is Francis Newman, eſq; who is lord
of both the manors of North and South-Cadbury.
The manor houſe ſtands near the church, and is a large handſome building, erected,
as appears by a date over one of the doors in the great hall, in 1581.
The rectory of North-Cadbury (valued in 1292 at twenty marks>) was given by
Henry the third Earl of Huntingdon to Emanuel college in Cambridge, in which it is
now veſted. It lies in the deanery of Cary, and the Rev. Mr. Aſkew is the preſent
incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, was built (as has been
before obſerved) by Elizabeth Lady Botreaux, about the year 1427, and is a large
ſtately pile, conſiſting of a nave, two ſide ailes, and a veſtry. At the weſt end is a
large handſome tower, ſeventy-two feet high, embattled, with pinnacles at the angles, a
clock, and fix bells.
At the two eaſt corners of the chancel are void niches, two feet and a half wide and
ten high, for images, with the pedeſtals below, and richly ornamented Gothick canopies
above, ſtill remaining; one of the latter is profuſely gilt. The pedeſtals are four-
teen inches high.
On the north ſide of the chancel are two ancient tombs, the ſides of which are covered
with Gothick ornaments, carving, and cherubs holding the arms, which are now
defaced. On one of them are the effigies in ſtone of Sir Francis Haſtings, knt. in
armour, and his Lady lying by his ſide. On the wall over the tomb is a braſs
plate with the following inſcription:
« The epitaph of that worthy religious lady the Ladye Magdalen Haſtings, wife to
Francis Haſtings, knight, who departed this vaine and tranſitory life the 14th of June
1596, and continued a conſtant profeſſor of God, his holye truth and goſpell, to her
lives end.
« This Ladies bed, that heare you ſee thus made,
,
Hath to itſelf received her ſweete gueſt,
Her life is ſpent, which doth like flower fade,
Freede from all ſtorms, and heere ſhe lies at reſt;
Till ſoul and body joined are in one,
Then farewell grave! from thence ſhe muſt be gone,
" This Lady was well borne and eke well bred,
Her virgins time ſhe ſpent with worthy praiſe;
When choiſe of friends brought her to marriage bed,
With juſt renowne ſhe paſſed thoſe her daies;
And though her youth were tyde to age farr ſpent,
Yet without ſpot the lived, and was content.
: Taxat. Spiritual.
«Her

Engravd for the History of Somersetshire.
TOYO
To SIR JOHN SMITH of Sydling, BARONET,
Tus CHURCH IS
inscribed by his Obliged Servants,
5.Collinson 3 ERack
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NORTH CADBURY,
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Published by Collinson SE Rack
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OR

Catalh.]
69
C A D B U R Y - N O R T H.
“ Her fecond match ſhee made by her own choice,
Pleaſing herſelfe who others pleaſed before;
Her ears ſhee ſtopt from all diſlwaders voice,
Who did her tender wealth and goods great ſtore;
With honour greate which both ſhe did refuſe,
And one of meaner ſtate herſelf did chuſe.
« With this her choice full twenty yeares and nine
She did remain, with joy and comfort greate,
He liveth not that ever went between
Theſe twoe, to move a peace, or to intreate;
God made the matche, and God the knot hee tyde,
Who in his feare did both their heartes ſtill guide.
" This feare of God was grafte in her by grace,
And her whole tyme ſhee ſpent in this true feare;
God's goſpell pure with harte ſhe did embrace,
The fruites whereof to all men did appeare;
To huſband true, to kinred ſhe was kinde,
And to all friends did beare a loving minde.
€ The preachers ſhe did uſe with great regarde,
Which ſhewed her love unto this goſpell pure;
Where want there was thee preſt was to rewarde,
And by her will no ſuch ſhould want endure;
Unto the truth ſuch was her zeal moſt
rare,
As to helpe ſuch ſhee from herſelfe would ſpare.
** The poore ſhe willing was ſtill to relieve
With hart and hand, not ſeeking worldlie praiſe,
For fewe or none ſhould know what ſhee did give,
This courſe to keep ſhee careful was alwaies;
Both rich and poore they taſted of her love,
More ready ſtill to helpe than they to move,
« If any one of theſe her helpe did neede,
By being ficke or ſore of any forte,
Let them but fend, they were moſt ſure to ſpeede
Of what ſhee had that might them yield comforte;
And yeare by yeare ſhe fought ſuch thinges to make,
To ſerve ſuch turns as might be fitt to take.
« In government of thoſe that did her ſerve
Moſt wiſe, moſt ſtout, moſt kind, ſhee ever was,
Moſt kind to ſuch as fought well to deſerve,
Moſt ftout to thoſe who did neglect their place;
She wiſely could correct the fault of theſe,
And thoſe incourage that would ſeek to pleaſe.
« Theſe guiftes of grace from God ſhee did receive,
And ſhee in theſe her life did wholly ſpende;
When fickneſs came, that did her health bereave,
On God's good will thee whollie did depende;
K 3
And
70
[Catalh,
CA D B U R Y . N O R T H.

And then his grace did worke in her with might,
For Him to pleaſe it was her whole delight.
6 She did not grudge, or murmur at her paine,
Though paines were greate, and laſted very long,
She reſted on her hope of future gaines,
Than heart could thinke or could be tould with tongue;
Comfortes ſhe ſought, becauſe her fleſh was fraile,
By preachers founde, which never did her faile.
€ When that her fickneſs did her ſoe reſtraine,
As that her houſe ſhee forced was to keepe,
Shee did intreate three preachers to take paine
Her to inſtructe and ſtay from dangers deepe.
And this they did by turns one weeke beſtowe,
In love moſt found till thee to weake did growe.
14* When pangs grew great, ſhe found but little reſt,
Yet faith was ſtrong in God her Father deare,
And from this faith ſhee found it alwaies beft
To praiſe her God, and praię to him in feare;
And to this end the preachers ſhee would call
To come to her, who failed her not at all.
* In all her dangers ſhee did never faile
From day to day to crave their helpe in this,
For them to ſeeke it did not much availe,
For them to call ſhee did but ſeldom miſs;
Thriſe many times, and moſt times twiſe a day,
That ſhe with them and they with her might pray.
66 Theſe weare the fruites of one that learned had
To ſerve her God, in ſickneſs, health, and all,
In health to feare, in ſickneſs to be gladd,
Though fleíh be fraile, and find itſelfe in thrall;
This fruite came not from father Adam's tree,
Our ſecond Adam taught her ſuch to bee.
€ This then ſhee was, and was unto the ende,
This did ſhee ſhew, many can witneſs this;
This to be true none neede doubt to defende,
Wee reſt in woe, and ſhe is gone to bliſs;
Where God this Ladye in his armes doth take,
And crowne with glorie for Chriſt Jeſus ſake.
“ VIVIT POST FUNERA VIRTUS."
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel is a tomb bearing the date 1611, and the following
arms cut in ſtone: Azure, a bar ſable between two feurs de lis or, impaling gules, three
arrows argent. Creſt, a duck argent riſing.
Againſt the north wall there is a Latin inſcription to the memory of the Rev. Tho.
Iliff, S. T., P. of Emanuel college, Cambridge, and rector of this church, who died
Feb.
Catalh.]
71
C A D B U R Y - N O R T H.
Feb. 28, A.D. 1711, aged 58.” Arms: Argent, on a chevron engrailed ſable, between
three etoiles gules, as many ſtags' heads caboſſed, of the ſecond, impaling, quarterly,
firſt and fourth, ſable, a croſs engrailed or; ſecond and third, a croſs moline argent.
On the back of one of the old feats is this date:
“ Anno Domini Milimº cccccº rrrviii.”
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are twenty-three; the burials ſeventeen.

C A D B U RY - SOUTH

S a ſmall pariſh, ſituated fouthward of that laſt deſcribed, in a very populous and
beautiful part of the county, the environs being pleaſingly pictureſque, and finely
varied with well-cultivated hills, and fruitful vallies.
That this tract has been the ſcene of military action in ancient times, is ſufficiently
evident from its very name, which ſignifies the Tower of War, were there no remains of
martial antiquity extant to evince it. But here on the eaſtern ſide of the parochial
church, at the northern extremity of a ridge of high hills, commanding an extenſive
proſpect over Mendip and the Blackdown ſummits in Devonſhire, ſtands one of the
nobleſt fortifications in this or perhaps any other county, called by old topographers
Camalet; but by the natives Cadbury Caſtle. Its form is neither entirely circular nor
ſquare; but ſomewhat between both, conforming to the ſhape of the hill. Part of it
ſeems to have been hewn out of the folid rock, and is defended by four ditches, and
within is a ſtill higher intrenchment, of a circular form, which was the citadel, or
Prætorium; but vulgarly called King Arthur's Palace. The rampart is compoſed of
ſtones, now overſpread with earth, and has only one entrance from the eaſt, which is
guarded by ſix or ſeven ditches. The area contains upwards of thirty acres, Within
it, and in the ditches, have been found at different periods many noble relicks of the
Roman empire; ſuch as pavements, hypocauſts, pateras, urns, fibulæ, and immenſe
quantities of coins, chiefly of Antoninus and Fauſtina. There have alſo been diſcovered
in its topmoſt area, remnants of arches, door-jambs, bolts, hand-grindſtones, and great
quantities of round pebble-ſtones, quite different from any in this county, and ſuppoſed
to have been brought hither from the ſea for the purpoſe of ſinging, or ſhooting from
the bow. Leland tells us, that a ſilver horſe-fhoe was found here within the memory
of people living in his time; and Selden, in his notes on Drayton's Polyolbion, ſays,
that it was full of ruins and old buildings.
a The name is compoſed of the Britiſh word Cath, fignifying war; and the Saxon Burg, a
camp, or fortified eminence, which laſt was originally derived from the Greek Tueyos a tower.
Stukely's Itin, cur, i. 150.
c Itin. i. 76.
& Polyolbion, p. 54.
Writers
d
72
[Catali,
C A D B U RY.S OU T H.
Writers have been much divided as to the name of this fortification, and the time of
its erection. The boldeſt aſſertion reaches to the days of King Arthur; and the anno-
tator of our hiſtorian Nennius places the eleventh battle of that King againſt the
Saxons in this ſpot. Undecimum fuit bellum in monte qui dicitur Agned-Cath-Regenion,
quem nos Cath-bregion appellamus.' Caer Celemon is likewiſe mentioned among the
Britiſh cities of the ſame author. Drayton, ſpeaking of the river Ivel, calls it
• The neareſt neighbouring flood to Arthur's ancient ſeat,
Which made the Britaines_name through all the world ſo great.
Like Camelot what place was ever yet renown’d?
Where, as at Carlion, oft he kept the table round,
Moſt famous for the ſports at Pentecoſt ſo long,
From whence all knightlie deeds, and brave atchievements ſprong."
The name of this mountain truly, as it is called by Leland, Camden, Stukely, and
others, CAMALET, favours ſomething of one of the Britiſh names aſſigned to it, viz. Caer-
Celemon, or Caer-Calemion; but the other, Cath, or Caer-Bregion, certainly comes nearer
its preſent appellation Cadbury-Caſtle, which is commonly uſed by all the inhabitants of the
vicinity, who know indeed no other. However, whether this were a work of the Britons
or of the Romans, no doubt can poſſibly be maintained of its having been occupied by
the latter people for a conſiderable ſpace of time; as they erected here not only fabricks
of temporary utility, but of great labour, and even magnificence. But what the Roman
name hereof
was, we muſt ſtill be ignorant of. Stukely judges it was the Coloneas of
Ravennas, which others have put in another part of the iſland, and we know of no fta-
tion nearer Cadbury than Iſchalis, our preſent Ivelcheſter.

• Leland ſpeaks in the following emphatical terms concerning this fortreſs : “ Fama publica Murotrigum,
radices Camaletici montis incolentium, prædicat, attollit, cantitat, nomen Arturii, incolæ aliquando caftri,
quod idem olim & magnificentiffimum, & munitiſſimum, atque in editiſſima fpecula, ubi mons conſurgit,
fitum eft. Dii boni, quantum hic profundiffimarum foffarum ? Quot hic egeftæ terræ valla: Quæ demum
præcipitia ? Atque, ut paucis finiam, videtur mihi quidem eſſe et artis et naturæ miraculum.” Affertio Ar-
turii, in vol. quinto Collectan. pp. 28, 29.
“ At feges eſt ubi Troja fuit, &c.
But now, where once the lofty towers upreard
Their heads to heav'n, low grovels the rank herb,
Upbraiding man's device: and where the noiſe
Of warrior ſhouted, now the bleat of ſheep
Is heard, full plaintive to the vale below.
A pleaſing contraft-That the din of war
Is funk in notes fo innocent!
Nennii Banchor. Hift. Brit. cap. 62, p. 138. Edit. Bertr. Havniæ.
8 Polyolbion, p. 48, 3d fong. There are many places here and in the neighbourhood called by the name
of King Arthur; as the Camp itſelf is denominated Arthur's Palace; Arthur's Round Table here mentioned;
Arthur's Kitchen; Arthur's Well, &c. and Stukely tells us of a road acroſs the fields under the caſtle, bear-
ing very rank corn, called King Arthur's Hunting Cauſeway. Itin. i. 150.
i Vide Anonymi Ravennatis Britanniæ Chorographiam, ap. Antonini Itin. per
Gale, vel ap. Horſlei Britan. Roman. p. 491.
The
h Itin. cur. i. 151.

Catalh.]
73
C A D B U RY - SOU T H.
pounds. All there
kدر
The Saxons ſimply called this place Sudcadeberie, nor is there ſuch a name as Camalet
in the Norman ſurvey. It belonged in King William the Conqueror's time to Turſtin
Fitz-Rolf, and included the two vills of Holton and Clapton,
“ Bernard holds of Turſtin, SUDCADEBERIE. Alwold held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for three virgates of land. There are added two hides, and one
virgate of land, which four thanes held freely in the time of King Edward. In all
" the arable is three carucates. Bernard has two hides; a Clerk half a hide; an
Engliſhman half a hide. It was and is worth three pounds. All theſe lands are
«c added to the lands of Alwold which Turſtin holds."
« There is alſo added one hide in ULTONE, which Alnod held freely in the time of
“ King Edward. The arable is one carucate. Leviet holds it of Turſtin, and has
“ there one ſervant, and three cottagers, and four acres of meadow, and three acres of
es coppice wood. It is worth ten ſhillings.”
“ There is further added ClopTONE. Alnod held it freely in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for two hides. The arable is three carucates. Ralph holds it of
Turſtin, and has there one plough, with one villane, and four bordars, and two fervants.
« There are ten acres of meadow, and four furlongs of wood in length, and two furlongs
« in breadth. When he received it, it was worth forty ſhillings, now twenty ſhillings.
This manor, as well as that of North-Cadbury, was poſſeſſed by the Lords Moels,
and deſcended by an heireſs of Sir John de Moels to Thomas Courtney, fourth ſon of
Hugh de Courtney ſenior, Earl of Devon. Which Thomas left iſſue Sir Hugh de
Courtney his heir, and two daughters, viz. Margaret the wife of Sir Thomas Peverell,
and Muriel the wife of Sir John Dinham. This manor was allotted to Margaret
Peverell, and ſo deſcended by a coheireſs to Sir Walter Hungerford, and afterwards
paſſed in the ſame manner as North-Cadbury, being now the poſſeſſion of Francis
Newman, eſq. The family de Boſco, or Boyſe, were for a long ſucceſſion tenants in this
manor under the Courtneys, and the Pauncefoots.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, and was valued in 1292 at ten marks."
The lord of the manor is the patron, and the Rev. Mr. Baily the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Thomas a Becket, ſtands on riſing ground,
and is a ſmall but very neat edifice, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, ſouth aile, and a porch
on the north ſide, all covered with tile. An embattled tower at the weſt end contains
five bells.--The chancel has an elegant altar-piece, on the tablet of which is a very
good painting of our Saviour on the croſs. Againſt the north wall of the chancel there
is a monument of white marble to the memory of the Rev. George Farewell, A. M.
rector of this church, who died April 6, 1717, aged 41.
There are three ſprings which break out from the ſides of Cadbury-Hill; one by the
principal entrance on the northeaſt ſide, called King Arthur's well: Another on the
north ſide, called Queen Anne's wiſhing well, incloſed in an elegant ſemicircular baſon.
The other ſpring is nameleſs.
* Lib. Domeſday.
m Taxat. Spiritual.
VOL. II.
L
CAMEL
? Efc. d'Ebay
[ 74 ]
[Catat.
CAMEL-QUEENS, otherwiſe EAST-CAMEL;
-;

A
Conſiderable pariſh, ſituated on a river of its name, nine miles weſt from Win-
canton, and five ſoutheaſt from Ivelcheſter, in a country rather flat and woody,
It compriſes a ſmall town, conſiſting chiefly of one ſtreet tolerably wide, but ill built;
the number of houſes about ninety-three, of inhabitants about five hundred and thirty,
including the hamlets of HAZLEGROVE and Wales, which contain about twelve -
houſes. About half a mile to the ſouth is a hill, from which is one of the moſt pleaſing
views in the county, the lands being very rich and well-timbered for many miles round,
and upwards of forty towns and villages are to be ſeen from it with the naked eye.
This place had its additional name from its having been formerly veſted in the
Queens of the realm. At the time of the Conqueſt it was the demeſne of the King.
“ The King holds Camel. Ghida held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded
“ for eight hides and a half: but there are fifteen hides. The arable is fifteen
In demeſne there are five hides, and four carucates, and ſix ſervants,
and twenty-eight villanes, and ten cottagers, with eleven ploughs. There are two
“ mills of twenty ſhillings rent, and one hundred acres of meadow, and one hundred
acres of paſture, and one hundred acres of wood. It yields twenty-three pounds of

o carucates.
as white money.
al)
Although granted out at ſeveral times to different favourites, this manor has gene-
rally been veſted in the crown, and held of it by knight's ſervice. The Earls of Kent
and Saliſbury were the chief tenants. But an inquiſition of 3 Edward I. fets forth
that this manor, which was ſometime ancient demeſne of the King, re-eſcheated to the
crown by the death of William de Romare without iſſue, and that the King of England
afterwards gave it to Lord Lumbart de Burgh, father of John Lord Burgh the elder..
14 Hen. III. Thomas de Cirenceſtre, ſheriff of this county and Dorſet, ſtocked this
manor of the King with cattle and feed-corn, as follows, viz. thirty-two oxen for four
ploughs, price eight ſhillings the ox; ſixteen heifers, at half a mark each; three hundred
ſheep, at twelve-pence; forty-two quarters of corn, at four ſhillings a quarter; ſeventy-
five quarters of oats, at three ſhillings a quarter; five quarters of beans, at two ſhillings
and eleven-pence; and alſo two cart-horſes, value fixteen ſhillings. In the time of
Philip and Mary this manor was exchanged for the manor of Great-Weldon in Suffolk,
belonging to Sir Walter Mildmay, knt. in which family it has been ever ſince, and is
now the property of Mrs. Ann Hervy Mildmay, (daughter and heireſs of the late Carew
a Lib. Domeſday. See the Inquiſitions and Crown Charters,
c Eſc.
3.
Edw. I.
Mag. Rot.
14
Hen. III.
• This Gentleman, who was the laſt ſurviving male of this reſpectable family, was buried in the chancel of
the pariſh church of Sherborne in Dorſetſhire, A. D. 1784; where a very handſome monument is erected to
his memory. On this monument there are the following memorials relative to the family :-
“ The family of Mildmay may by ancient deeds be traced back to the reign of King Stephen. In the reign
of King Henry VIII. lived Sir Thomas Mildmay of Chelmsford, who left four ſons, from whom this family
ſpread
Catalh.] C A M E L -QUE E N S.
75

Hervy Mildmay, eſq;) who has a handſome manſion, called Hazlegrove, ſituated about
one mile and a half northward of the church.
The church of Eaſt-Camel, valued in 1292' at twenty marks, was appropriated to
the abbey of Clyve in this county, which was a cell to that of Bec in Normandy. It
is a vicarage in the deanery of Marſton, and in the preſentation of Mrs. A. H. Mildmay,
The Rev. Thomas Horner Pearſon is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. Barnabas, conſiſts of a nave, chancel, north and ſouth
ailes, belfry, and porch; the whole leaded except the porch and chancel. At the weſt
end is a large tower ninety feet high, containing a clock and fix bells.
In the ſouth aile is an elegant mural monument, of black and grey marble, inſcribed,
“ Near this place lyeth the body of Humphrey Mildmay, eſq; lord of this manor.
fecond ſon of Sir Humphrey Mildmay, of Danbury in the county of Effex. He
ſuſtained ſeveral wounds in the wars for his loyalty to his prince King Charles the Firſt;
particularly at Newbury fight, where he ſerved as major under his uncle the Earl of
Cleveland, and was taken up among the Nain. His firſt wife was Sarah the daughter
of Thomas Freke, eſq; of Hinton St. Mary in Dorſetſhire. His ſecond wife was Sarah
the daughter of Edmund Parker, eſq; of Burrington in Devonſhire. He died on the
19th day of November 1690, aged 67, and, having no iſſue, left his eſtate to his kinſman
Carew Mildmay, eſq; of Marks in the county of Eſſex, who, in token of his gratitude,
erected this monument.” Arms, Argent, three lions rampant azure, two and one.
Near the above is a monument to Edith, wife of Carew Hervy Mildmay, and
daughter of Sir Edward Phelips, of Montacute. She died Oct. 12, 1772.
In the ſouth wall there is an arch, under which formerly lay the effigies of a knight.
The font is ancient, and has been curiouſly decked with ſculpture, but retains no arms.
In this pariſh, oppoſite to the hamlet of Wales, and within three feet of the river's
fide, riſes a very remarkable ſpring, very cold to the touch, and offenſive to the ſmell,
which is much like that of burnt gunpowder mixed with common water, It has been
uſed with much ſucceſs in ſcrophulous caſes
It has a charter for four fairs annually, and two markets weekly; and was a town
of ſome note before it was burnt, which happened about one hundred and ninety years
ſpread into ſeveral branches, principally in the county of Eſſex. From the eldeſt, Sir Thomas of Moulſham-
hall, deſcended the late Benjamin Earl of Fitzwalter; alfo Sir Walter, of Pifhobury in Hertfordſhire. From the
ſecond ſon, Sir William of Springfield-Barnes, deſcended the late Sir William, of Moulſham-hall, bart.; Sir
Henry, of Graces; Walter, of Potlands; Carew Hervy, of Marks, who was adopted heir of Sir Gawen Hervy;
Humphrey, of Shawford in Hampſhire; and George, whoſe only daughter married Henry Eaton, eſq; of
Raynham-Lodge. The third ſon of Sir Thomas was John Mildmay, of Tarling-Place. The fourth ſon was
Sir Walter, of Danbury-Place in Eſſex, and of Apthorpe in Northamptonſhire, (which laſt eſtate, by the
marriage of the only daughter of his eldeſt ſon Sir Anthony to Francis Earl of Weſtmoreland, paſſed into that
family.) This Sir Walter was chancellor of the exchequer, and a privy counſellor to Queen Elizabeth, and
was the founder of Emanuel college in Cambridge. From him alſo deſcended John, of Danbury-Place;
Humphrey, of Hazlegrove in Somerſetſhire; and Henry, of Wanitead in Eſſex, and of Shawford in Hants.
* Taxat. Spiritual. naslov
tou. Pri
L2
negoc
[ 76 ]
[Catali.

ago. It has now only two fairs annually; one on Trinity Thurſday, the other on
the 25th of October.
ng or the aim ono
The chriſtenings for the laſt twenty years have amounted to two hundred and ninety-
ſeven, and the burials to two hundred and forty-four.
tuotettono
COMPTON-PAUN CEFOR D.
THIS
THIS pariſh lies five miles ſouthweſt from Wincanton, and eight miles eaſt from
Ivelcheſter, under the eaſt and ſoutheaſt ridge of a high range of hills, on the
edge of a very fruitful vale, with the church and town of North-Cadbury on the
oppoſite ſide on elevated ground, and about a mile diſtant. The number of houſes is
thirty-ſeven, and of inhabitants about two hundred and twenty. Almoſt every houſe
has a fine orchard and little garden; they are moſtly decent dwellings, and ſtand near
the church. A ſtream runs through this pariſh, which riſes at a ſpot called Laver ſwell,
in the hamlet of Hatherleigh, in the pariſh of Maperton, and in its way down divides
the pariſhes of North and South Cadbury, paſſing on to Sparkford, Weſton-Bampfylde,
Queen-Camel, and Yeovilton, where it falls into the Ivel.
The manor belonged in the Conqueror's time to Turſtin Fitz-Rolf, lord of South-
Cadbury, Maperton, and other manors in this neighbourhood.
“ Goisfrid holds of Turſtin, CUNTONE. Alward held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for ſix hides. The arable is fix carucates.
In demeſne is half a carucate,
" and four ſervants, and nine villanes, and eleven cottagers, with five ploughs. There
" is a mill of eight ſhillings rent, and fifteen acres of meadow. A wood four furlongs
long, and one furlong broad. It is worth one hundred ſhillings.
Its lords after the Conqueſt were the family of Pauncefote, ſometimes ſtiled in records
de Cumtone, from whom the place derived the addition to its name. It is not eaſy to
trace the pedigree of this family to its fountain-head, and we muſt be content with a
few extracts froin ancient documents. In the time of Henry II. Walter de Pancefot
held lands in Maperton of Alexander de Alno. In the ſame reign Mabel Pancefot
appears upon record as fined in the ſum of fix pounds three ſhillings and four-pence,
for leave that a duel between her and Robert Pancefot her brother might be pre-
vented. 9 Edw. II. John de Pauncefot held one knight's fee in Compton-Pauncefot.
11 Edw. III. Margaret the late wife of Nicholas de Moels held in dower of the heir of
Muriella and Iſabella, daughter and heir of John de Moels deceaſed, one knight's fee
in Compton, by reaſon of the minority of Nicholas Pauncefot, ſon and heir of John
Pauncefot. In the beginning of the reign of Hen. VII. Walter Pauncefort held this
гуа
SES
a Lib. Domeſday.
d Lib. Feod.
b Cart. Antiq.
° Mag. Rot. ži Hen. II.
Inq. poft mort. Margarettæ de Moels, 11 Edw. III.
manors
Tatalh.]
77
COMPTON.P AUNCEFORD.

h
FL
manor, and from him it deſcended by Maud his daughter and coheir to John Brent, of
Coffington, eſq. To whom ſucceeded William and Richard, whoſe daughter Anne was
married to Thomas Lord Paulet, and was mother to Elizabeth wife of Giles Hoby, eſq;
whoſe family ſeems to have alienated it. It is now the property of John Hunt, eſq.
The church was valued in 1292 at ten marks. It is a rectory in the deanery of
Cary, and in the preſentation of the lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Hunt is the
preſent incumbent. A chantry was founded in this church by one of the family of
Pauncefoot, of which the laſt incumbent, whoſe name was Robert Bryce, received in
1553 a penſion of five pounds.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and is a ſmall Gothick ſtructure, conſiſting of
a nave, chancel, and ſouth aile, covered with tile. There is a tower and ſtone ſpire at
the weſt end, the whole fixty feet high, with three bells.
At the eaſt end of the aile are two very neat mural monuments of white, black, and
variegated marbles. On the tablet of one is this inſcription:
“ Here underneath lyeth the body of John Hunt, eſq; who departed this life the 3d
of April 1660, aged about 94 years.— And alſo the body of Elizabeth wife of Robert
Hunt, eſq; and daughter of John Brown, of Frampton in the county of Dorſet, eſq.
She was married the 24th of September 1635, and dyed the 24th of September 1675
aged 65 years and 5 months.--Here alſo lyeth the body of Robert Hunt, eſq; who,
after he had ſerved his generation many years, died Feb. 20, 1679, aged about 71.-
And alſo the body of Elizabeth wife of John Hunt, efq; daughter of Charles Roſcarrock,
of Roſcarrock in the county of Cornwall, eſq. She died 13th of January 1697.---This
monument was erected by John Hunt, eſq; in memory of his dear parents, and beloved
wife, A.D. 1698." Arms: Azure, two chevronels between 3 martlets argent, impaling
argent on a chevron ſable, between 3 cranes azure, as many eſcallop ſhells or.
Creſt,
an arm ſiniſter riſing from a murion.
The ſecond is a neat plain monument, inſcribed," In memory of William
Bragge, eſq; of Hatfield-Peverel in Eſſex, who died Oct. 24, 1778, aged 70.—And
alſo Elizabeth his wife, who died May 24, 1741, aged 30. She was daughter of John
Hunt, efq; of this place.” Arms, Or, a chevron between 3 bulls ſable, impaling Hunt.
Creſt, a bull's head fable, gorged or.
On a ſtone in the floor :-“ Here lieth the body of Grace Hunt, who died the 24th
day of July 1708. A virgin enriched with many virtues.”
Near the above :-“D. O. M. Here lyeth the body of John Hunt, eſq; who died
April 26, A. D. 1721, aged 82 years. A lover of God, his King, and his Country.”
-Arms: Hunt, impaling, parted quarterly, four ſtags ſtatant.
$ Taxat. Spiritual
& Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.
h Willis's Abbies, ii, 202.
KENTON-
( 78 )
[Cataly.
Κ Ε Ν Τ Ο Ν - Μ Α Ν D E VILL

'S a ſmall pariſh, ſituated four miles and a half eaſtward from Somerton, and in the
turnpike-road thence to London by Saliſbury. The ſituation is lofty and very
pleaſant; the number of houſes is thirty, forming a long ſtreet in the ſhape of an L.
Theſe houſes are very neat, being built of ſtone, neatly chipped, and dug in the pariſh.
As this is a very fine kind of ſlab ſtone, it demands particular obſervation. It is found
in an open arable field in the higheſt ground, from two to four feet below the ſurface,
(which is a yellowiſh clay inclining to brick earth) to a very great depth, lying in ſtrata
or layers nearly horizontal from northeaſt to ſouthweſt, the layers being from two and
a half to fix inches in thickneſs. Between each layer of ſtone is a ſtratum of earth
from three to fix inches in thickneſs, and of various kinds, increaſing in denſity as they
deſcend. At about eight or ten feet below the ſurface, the ſtratum of earth is a blue
ſtrong loam or marl; but does not much efferveſce in vinegar.
The ſtone is a very fine hard kind of blue lyas, or lime-ſtone, in which (the uppermoſt
layers eſpecially) are a few ſmall Cornua Ammonis, and many ſpecies of bivalve ſhells,
particularly a kind of Venus, depreſſed and ſtriated in ſo peculiar a manner, that it
appears to be a non-deſcript. Here are alſo many of the gryphites, and the ſmall long
flat oyſter, with ſome pectens. Some of the veins of this ſtone contain pyrites, but very
little ſpar; in others a metallic ſubſtance of a ruſty iron colour is found, which on
attrition has a ſtrong fulphureous ſmell. Great quantities of this ſtone are raiſed, and
ſent to conſiderable diſtances for paving rooms and walks, and for grave-ſtones. If
ſuffered to be thoroughly dry before they are put up, they ſtand the froſt without
ſcaling for many years. The layers of this ſtone are ſo ſmooth, that they require little
labour; but will not receive a good poliſh. They are commonly raiſed from ten to
thirty feet in length, and often twelve or fifteen wide. One was lately raiſed upwards
of forty feet in length, and ſo wide that it contained five hundred ſuperficial feet. The
fame kind of ſtone is found in the neighbouring pariſhes of Butleigh and King-Weſton.
Near the quarries a fine ſpring iſſues out of the rock, forming a brook, which empties
itſelf into the river Brew at Barton St. David, about two miles to the north. This
brook is remarkable for being higheſt in dry ſeaſons, and loweſt in wet. Here are three
large common fields, and the lands are moſtly in tillage.
The manor of KENTON was, as we learn from Domeſday-Book, in the time of
Edward the Confeffor, appendant to that of Barton, now called Barton St. David.
“In this manor (viz. BERTONE) lay CHINTONE in the time of King Edward. There
siis one hide. Earl Morton holds it.a»
“Malger holds of the Earl, CHINTUNE. Two thanes held it in the time of King
• Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are
so three carucates, and five ſervants, and two villanes, and four bordars, with one

a Lib. Domeſday,
cottager,
Catalh.]
79
KENTON. M A N DE VIL L.

“ cottager, having one carucate and a half. There are thirty acres of meadow. It is
o worth four pounds.
The Mandevilles, who were the ſubſequent lords of this manor, and from whom it
aſſumed its name, were deſcended from Geffrey de Magnaville, a famous foldier, who
came over into this country with Duke William the Norman, and having diſplayed
extraordinary valour in the battle of Haſtings, was by him rewarded with one hundred
and eighteen manors in different counties of England, and was alſo appointed conſtable
of the Tower of London, an office he held during the whole of his life."
William de Magnaville, his ſon and heir, ſuffered his name corruptly to be changed
into Mandeville, by which his deſcendants were ever after denominated. He married
Margaret the fole daughter and heir of Eudo, ſteward to King William, and was father
of Geffrey Mandeville, who ſucceeded to the eſtates, and had by deſcent from his
mother the high office of ſteward of Normandy. He was alſo conſtable of the Tower
of London; and, being in favour with King Stephen, was by that prince advanced to
the title and dignity of Earl of Eſſex, being the progenitor of four ſucceſſive Geffreys
Earls of Effex, the laſt of whom was created Earl of Glouceſter by King John, and
was in 1216 ſucceeded by his brother William Mandeville, who left no iſſue.
A branch of theſe Mandevilles, Earls of Effex, flouriſhed here for a conſiderable time
after. 11 Edw. I. it was found by an inquiſition then taken, that Geffrey Maundeville
had died ſeized of the manor of Kenton, then called Kington, and the jurors affirmed
that of all the land the ſaid Geffrey held in this place, before the prior of the hoſpital
of St. John at Wells had been enfeoffed with part thereof, only one fuit was due to
the King's hundred of Cataſh; and that the ſaid Geffrey and his heirs ought to acquit
the prior from that ſuit.
By another inquiſition it appeared that the lands and tenements held here by the
prior of St. John's conſiſted of eight meſfuages, one dove-houſe, eleven acres of arable,
and eleven acres and three roods of meadow ground.
At this preſent day the manerial rights, together with ſome eſtates, are annexed to
and held with the living of Longbridge-Deverell in the county of Wilts,
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, and in 1292 was valued at fix marks.
The Rev. Edmund Gapper is the preſent patron and incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, ſtands at the ſouthern extre-
mity of the village, and is an edifice of a ſingular conſtruction, fifty-four feet in length,
and eighteen in breadth, conſiſting of a nave and chancel covered with tile. From the
north ſide of the nave, an arched paffage, eight feet long and four wide, leads into the
tower, which is an octagon of eleven feet diameter, and forty feet high, terminated by a
conical roof tiled, and containing three ſmall bells.
On the left ſide of the communion-table there is a mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed
to the memory of ſeveral of the family of the Rev. Joſeph Dauncey.--Near it, another
Lib. Domeſday
c Mon. Ang. ii. 446.
| Eſc, 15 Edw. II,
Dugd. Bar. i. 200. e Eſc, 11 Edw. I.
& Taxat. Spiritual.
to
so
[Catalh.
K EN TON-M AND EVIL L.
to Rebecca his wife.-_And a third, to the Rev. William Clarke, rector of this pariſh,
who died Feb. 9, 1751, aged 49.
There is only one pauper in this pariſh, moſt of the poor finding employment in the
quarries and in huſbandry. The women ſpin, and knit hoſe for the Glaſtonbury
manufacture.
KING - W E S T O N.
TH
THIS place is very corruptly called; its ancient name being Chinwardeſtune and
Kinwardeſtone, which ſignifies the town or habitation of Kinward, a Saxon noble.
It is finely ſituated on high ground, twelve miles ſouth from Wells, and com-
manding a pleaſing proſpect of great part of Dorſetſhire. The village conſiſts of
twenty-one houſes, moſt of which are of fine blue ſtone, and in general very neat
handſome buildings, forming a ſtreet nearly half a mile in length, which is a very fine
road, incloſed with walls between the houſes, with rows of elms in the incloſureş.
Upon the whole, this is one of the neateſt and moſt pleaſing villages in the county.
The place is of great antiquity, having ſometime belonged to the Saxon kings.
Kinward, its owner, was a thane of royal extraction. In the time of King Edward the
Confeſſor, Ulveva, who in all probability was allied to Kinward, poſſeſſed it. But at
the coming in of the Normans the manor was ſeized on by King William, and,
together with ſeven others in this county, was given to Euſtace Earl of Bulloigne in
Picardy.” The Norman record gives us the following particulars of this place:
“ Ida Counteſs of Bolonia holds of the King, CHINWARDESTUNE. Ulveva held it
“ in the time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is eight caru-
cates. Thereof in demeſne are two hides, and three virgates; and there are two
carucates, and ſix ſervants, and eight villanes, and eight cottagers, with five ploughs.
“ There are twenty-five acres of meadow, and twenty-two acres of paſture. A wood
s three furlongs long, and one acre broad. It was and is worth ſix pounds.
By the above account it ſhould appear that Earl Euſtace had transferred his right
in this manor to his lady for her ſeparate uſe, or at leaſt that the King had reſerved it
for her private benefit; for although all the other tenants are ſaid to hold their lands of
the Earl, this Ida is certified to hold this manor de Rege, of the King. However, it
continued in the ſame line of poſſeſſion till the year of our Lord 1114, when Mary
Counteſs of Bulloigne, who was ſiſter to Queen Maud, the wife of Henry the Firſt,
conferred it with all its appertenances on the Cluniac abbey of Bermondſey, in the


« ,
(6
bدر

* This Earl Euſtace was father of the famous Godfrey of Bulloigne, who won Jeruſalem from the Saracens.
i Lib. Domeſday
• Mon. Angl. i. 640.
restend
county
.
Catalh.]
81
K I N G - W E S T O N.
county of Surry; and ſhortly after Earl Euſtace her huſband confirmed the grant. In
1 293 the poſſeſſions of that abbey in this place were rated at ten pounds, but in after
times it received from the manor an annual income of forty-eight marks.
On the diffolution of that monaſtery, King Henry VIII. by patent bearing date the
I 2th of June, in the 37th year of his reign, granted, amongſt other things, the manor
of King-Weſton with the advowſon of the rectory, to James Tutt and Nicholas
Hame, and their heirs. Which ſaid patentees, by deed dated 26th September the ſame
year, granted the ſame to Sir Thomas Moyle, knt. and his heirs. Sir Thomas left
two daughters coheireſſes, of whom Catherine was the wife of Sir Thomas Finch, and
Amy the wife of Thomas Kempe, efq; of Aſpley in Bedfordſhire. Sir Thomas
Moyle by his will left this manor and advowſon to Thomas Kempe, fon of Amy his
ſecond daughter, who 16 Eliz. fold the fame to Matthew Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, eſq.
To which Matthew Smyth ſucceeded herein Sir Hugh Smyth, knt. Thomas Smyth,
eſq; Sir Hugh, knight of the Bath and baronet, and Sir John Smyth, bart. who in
the year 1723 fold the ſame to Edmund Bower, of Somerton, gent. Becoming by an
heireſs of Bower the property of Mr. Swadling, it was finally ſold to Caleb Dickinſon,
of Briſtol, eſq; father of William Dickinſon, eſq; the preſent owner.
This place is memorable for a very ſignal defeat which the rebels of Devonſhire
and Cornwall experienced 3 Edw. VI. from the conduct of Sir Hugh Powlet, knt.
who purſued them hither after their diſcomfiture by the King's forces at Exeter, and
took their leader priſoner.
The church at King-Weſton, valued in 1292 at fix marks and twelve-pence, was
appropriated to the abbot and convent of Bermondſey above-mentioned. It is a
vicarage in the deanery of Cary; the Rev. Mr. Collinſon is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall but neat building, ſituated on the higheſt part of the pariſh,
and almoſt ſurrounded with lofty elms and cheſnut trees.
It conſiſts of a nave,
chancel, and ſmall ſquare aile or chapel, (belonging to the lord of the manor) with an
embattled tower containing a clock and three bells.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is an elegant monument of black and white
marble thus inſcribed: "M. S. Caleb Dickinſon hîc ſepulti, qui obiit 6° Aprilis
1783; et Saræ uxoris apud Briſtoliam ſepultæ, quæ obiit. I Julii 1766. Poſuit
Gulielmus filius anno 1783."-Arms: Or, a bend engrailed between two lions ram-
pant gules, Dickinſon. Over all on an eſcutcheon of pretence, argent, a pale fuſelly
gules, within a bordure azure, fitché or. Holloway.
On a flat ſtone in the chancel: Here reſteth the body of William Woodhouſe
Clark, M. A. late Prebendarie of Wormiſter, and Vicar of Butley, who died the
20th of Sept" 1642."
In the chancel is depoſited a chair formerly belonging to Glaſtonbury abbey. It
is of oak, the back divided into two compartments, embelliſhed with Gothick carvings
mo
{ Taxat. Spiritual.
d Taxat. Spiritual.
Vol. II.
• Archer's Account of Religious Houfes.
M
in
82
[Catalt.
K I N G - W E S T O N.

in relief; on one ſide a ſhield bearing a croſier with the initials R. W. (for Richard
Whiting, the laſt abbot of Glaſtonbury) and on the other ſide a ſhield charged with
a croſs botoné, between two leopards' heads in chief, and in baſe two cinquefoils.
This chair was purchaſed by the late Mr. Dickinſon of Mr. More of Greinton,
and depoſited here as a relick of monaſtical antiquity.
L 0 V
I N
G T
O
N
,
A
Small pariſh lying on the river Brew, ſeven miles eaſtward from Ilcheſter, in a
flat and woody country, abounding with fine elms and rich paſtures.
The turn-
pike road from Caſtle-Cary to Ivelcheſter runs through it, at the diſtance of about
a mile northward from the church. The number of houſes is twenty-three, and ten
of them farms.
In ancient times this place muſt have been much more conſiderable than at preſent,
for we learn from the Norman Survey that in the time of King Edward it compoſed
three diſtinct manors, held by as many Thanes or Saxon nobles, who were all aſſeſſed
at the rate of ſix hides, or between fix and ſeven hundred acres. King William the
Conqueror, wreſting it from its former poſſeſſors, gave the whole place to one
Serlo de Burci, a perſon of his train, who held it with ſome other places in this vici-
nity in demeſne. The Survey ſays,
“Serlo himſelf holds LOVINTUNE. Three Thanes held it in the time of King
« Edward for three manors, and gelded for ſix hides. The arable is eight carucates.
“ In demeſne are two carucates, and two ſervants, and eight villanes, and nine cotta-
gers, with fix ploughs. There is a mill of ten ſhillings rent, and forty acres of
" meadow. Wood four furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It was formerly
« worth ſix pounds, now one hundred ſhillings.
“Of this land Lanbert holds one hide, and has there one carucate with three
«« villanes. There are twelve acres of meadow. It is worth twenty ſhillings.”
This manor was afterwards poſſeſſed by the very ancient family of Fitz-Martin,
who were lords alfo of Weſt-Lydford and Blagdon. 10 Edw. I. Nicholas Fitz-
Martin held it. 19 Edw. II. William Fitz-Martin died ſeized of it. In the fame
reign William de Lovington held half a knight's fee here.d 19 Ric. II. William
Baniſter is found by the inquiſitions to have died ſeized of this manor. It afterwards
paſſed to the Rodney family, of whom Thomas Rodney held it 10 Edw. IV. of Anne
Ducheſs of Exeter, by knight's ſervice. To him ſucceeded Sir John Rodney, knt.
Walter, John, Maurice, and George;} which laſt married Anne daughter of Matthew
a
a Lib. Domeſday,
b Eſc.
c Ibid,
d Lib. Feod.
e Efc.
f Ibid.
8 Ex Stemmate.
Smyth,
Catat.]
83
L O V I N G T O N.
Smyth, eſq; and ſettled this manor among ſeveral others on the ſaid marriage. Not
many years ſince it was the property of Cary Creed, of Caſtle-Cary, eſq; who deviſed
it to William Pew, and John Tidcombe, gent. of Caſtle-Cary above-mentioned, who
are at this time the joint poffeffors of this manor.
The living is a perpetual curacy in the deanery of Cary, and in 1292 was rated at
ſeven marks and a half. The perpetuity is veſted in the Rev. James Leach.
The church, which according to Ecton is dedicated to St. Thomas Becket, is a
ſmall ſtructure, and contains nothing remarkable.
Over the ſouth door is the following memorandum:
“ Mr. John Whitehead, who died May the 24th 1715, gave a ground called
Brandiers, lying at Fodington in the pariſh of Babcary, for the ſchooling of poor
children for ever. Mr. James Clarke gave a houſe for a ſchool-houſe, and to be
connected with the ground given by Mr. Whitehead.
• Thomas Wallis gave twelve ſhillings to be paid to the ſecond poor labouring men
on Chriſtmas-Day for ever, and ſettled a ground called Hewiſh for the payment of
the ſame.”
h Taxat. Spiritual.

L Y D F O R D - W E S T.
T'
HIS place evidently obtained its name from its ſituation, there having been in
ancient times a broada ford here over the river Brew, which runs through the
pariſh, and has over it a good ſtone bridge near the church. It lies on the weſtern
ſide of the great foſs road which paſſes hence to Ivelcheſter, from which it is diſtant
ſeven miles towards the north. The country is low, flat, and woody, and the ſoil
being in general a cold wet blue clay, is not very fertile. The lands are chiefly paſ-
ture, worth from five to thirty ſhillings an acre. The number of houſes within the
pariſh is ſeventy-one, forty of which are farms, two griſt-mills, two publick-houſes, and
the reſt cottages. Moſt of the houſes are very neat, being built of the fine blue Kenton
ſtone, chipped very ſmooth, and tolerably well thatched, forming a decent ſtreet near
the church.
Here are two fairs, the one on Holy-Thurſday, the other on the twelfth day of
Auguſt. This laſt fair was obtained of King Henry III. in the forty-fourth year of
his reign, by William Martin, then lord of this place, who likewiſe procured under the
ſame charter a market to be held here on the Tueſday of every week; but this has
long ſince been diſcontinued.
* LLYDAN in the Britiſh language ſignifies broad.
$ Cart. 44. Hen. III,
M 2
The
84
[Catalh.
L Y DFORD. WE S T.
a
C
The Norman Survey thus deſcribes this place:
“ Aluric [a thane] holds LidEFORD. Brietric held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for nine hides. The arable is eight carucates. There are ſeven ploughs,
“ and ſix villanes, and nine bordars, and two cottagers, and eight ſervants. There is
mill of fifteen ſhillings rent, and fixty acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture,
" and one mile of wood in length and breadth, and a breeder of fwine renders ten hogs.
“ It was, and is now, worth eight pounds. '
After ſome length of time this place became the property of the Barons Martin,
deſcended from Martin de Tours, a Norman emigrant in the time of William the
Conqueror. Of this family (notice whereof will be elſewhere taken) were five ſucceſ-
five generations from the above-mentioned date to the time of Ric. II. when William
Martin dying without iſſue, left this and the other eſtates to be divided betwixt Eleanor
his ſiſter, then married to William Columbers, and James the ſon of Nicholas de
Audley, by Joane his other ſiſter.d
This manor came in the partition to James Lord Audley, who being attainted for
treaſon, it returned to the crown, and was granted to John Holland, Earl of Hun-
tingdon. He being likewiſe attainted, it was again ſeized by the King, who beſtowed
it on the abbey of St. Mary des Graces, near the tower of London, founded by King
Edward III. The abbey however afterwards loſt poſſeſſion of it, and Henry VII. in
the fourth year of his reign, granted it to Sir George Stanley, knt. Lord le Strange, in
which family it continued for ſome time, and then paſſed to the family of Hungerford.
In the time of Charles II. Sir Edward Hungerford ſold it, with other manors, to
Edward Colſton, eſq; of Briſtol, who deviſed it to his neice, Mrs. Mary Edwards, from
whom it deſcended to Sophia her daughter, who was married to Alexander Ready, eſq.
Which Alexander, by an act of parliament, aſſumed the name of Colſton, and who is
ſince dead, leaving his widow the preſent lady of the manor.
22 Edw. I. William Martin, lord of this manor, procured a charter of free warren
in all his lands in this place. He died 18 Edw. II.'
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, valued in 1292 at ten marks. Mrs.
Colíton is the patron, and the Rev. Mr. Chaloner Bale the preſent incumbent.
The church is a large ſtructure, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and north aile, with a
ſmall tower at the weſt end, containing five bells. The window over the north door
has fome remains of painted glaſs; the only whole figure is the Virgin Mary and Holy
Infant, with the ſcroll Sca maria.
In the middle paſſage is a vault belonging to the family of the Popes, who were
formerly reſident in this pariſh. On the ſtone which covers it there is a braſs plate
with the following inſcription: "Here lyes the body of Thomas Pope, who died
the ad of September 1731, aged 30 years and 3 months.”
< Lib. Domeſday,
& Eſc.
f Cart. 22 Edw. I.
e Cart. Antiq,
: Taxat. Spiritual.
This
Catalh.]
85
L Y D F O R D:W E S T.
This Thomas Pope left certain lands to the amount of about ſeven pounds a year
for the educating fix poor children; the ſurplus to be given to the ſecond poor at Eaſter.
The children to be ſchooled no longer than three years each.
Here are alſo the broken fragments of an old mural monument, containing the
effigies of a man in armour kneeling, with a ſcull in his hand, and behind him two fons
in a ſimilar poſture. Before him kneels his lady in a nun's habit with five daughters;
and behind them lie fix ſwathed infants. Beneath is this inſcription:
“ Here lieth the body of Oliver Lottiſham, eſquier, who married with Dorothy
daughter of John Tilburie, by whom he had thirteen children, and died the 28th of
March, 1616.”
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are ten, the burials nine on an average annually.
M
Α Ρ Ε R.
T
O
N
S a pariſh of large extent, although it contains only about fifty houſes. It is four
miles ſouth from Wincanton, delightfully ſituated in a winding combe between fine
ſwelling hills, well cultivated and patched with coppice woods. The river Can, riſing
above Wincanton, runs through a part of it.
At the time of the Conqueſt it belonged to Turftın Fitz-Rolf, of whom mention has
already been made, and was then called Malpertone:
“ Goisfrid holds of Turſtin MalperTONE. Alwold held in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is ſix carucates. In demeſne are
« two carucates, and ten ſervants, and three villanes, and nine cottagers, with three
ploughs. There are two mills rendering five ſhillings and five pence, and five acres
“ of meadow, and ten acres of paſture. Wood five furlongs long, and three furlongs
“ broad. It was formerly worth eight pounds, now ſix pounds."
In the time of Richard the firſt, the manor of Maperton conſtituted part of the barony
of the Lords Newmarch, and by the marriage of a coheireſs in the time of Henry III.
became the property of the Barons Moels, from whom alſo it deſcended in a ſimilar
way to the family of Courtney, and from them to the Earls of Huntingdon. The
Hungerfords were its fucceeding lords; and in the ſchedule of the great eſtates of
Lady Mary Hungerford, this manor, with thoſe of HATHERLEY and CLAPTON, now
two ſmall hamlets, both in this pariſh, was valued at 291. 198. 4d. It was henceforth
alienated, being poſſeſſed by different perſons, and not long ſince was the property of
Thomas Lockyer, eſq; who deviſed it to his daughter Mary, the wife of Samuel Smith,
eſq; the preſent poffeffor.
a
a Lib. Domeſday.
b See page 66, under North-Cadbury.
Dugd, Bar. iii. 212,
The
86
[Catalh.
M
N.
Α Ρ RT
E R
Ε The manor of Clapton above-mentioned, was at the Conqueſt a member of South-
Cadbury, but ever after paſſed with Maperton, as did alſo that of Hatherley.
CLAPTON is ſituated a mile weſtward from the church, and conſiſts of two farms
and one cottage, which are the property of Charles Penruddock, of Compton, near
Saliſbury, eſq.
HATHERLEY lies a mile and a half ſoutheaſt, and conſiſts of two farms, the one
belonging to Mr. Clare, the other to Mr. Longford of Milborne-Port.
There is alſo another hamlet in this pariſh, called SLATTERFORD, ſituated a mile and
a quarter ſoutheaſt, and containing ſix houſes.
The church of Maperton, with the chapel of Blakeford, now Blackford, in the
hundred of Whitney, was valued in 1292 at fifteen marks. It is a rectory in the
deanery of Cary, and is appendant to the manor. The Rev. Mr. Watſon is the
preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, ſtands on a conſiderable eminence,
conſiſting of a ſingle pace and chancel, with a tower containing three bells.
Againſt the ſouth wall there is a black ſtone inſcribed to the memory of the Rev.
Charles Michel, late rector of this pariſh, who died Oct. 6, 1766; as alſo to ſeveral
of his family.
In the floor of the chancel: "Underneath lie Philip Bennet, efq; and Jane his
wife. As he was univerſally eſteemed for his friendſhip, good-nature, and honeſty; ſhe
was no leſs remarkable for her beauty, virtue, good-ſenſe, and piety. He died March
15, 1722, aged 44. She died May 2; 1722, aged 50."-
She died May 2; 1722, aged 50.”—There are ſome other
memorials of the ſame family.
On another ſtone: -" Samuel Collins, once rector of this pariſh, was buried
Jan. 21, 1714,” with ſeveral children.
d See the Domeſday account of South-Cadbury.
e Taxat. Spiritual.

S
Ρ Α
R
K F
O RD,
A
Pariſh lying in the turnpike-road from Caſtle-Cary to Ivelcheſter, from which it
is diſtant northeaſt ſix miles. The adjoining country to the eaſt and ſouth is
very fine, being beautifully varied with hills and fruitful vallies, thickly interſperſed
with villages. To the weſt and north it is flat and woody for many miles, and admits
of few agreeable proſpects. The lands are principally paſture. The number of houſes
is forty-one, twenty-ſeven of which form a ſtraggling ſtreet, near which ſtands the
church; the reſt are built along the turnpike-road half a mile to the north. The
number of inhabitants is about two hundred and thirty.
It
Catath.]
87
S P A RK FOR D.
6 cates.
a
It is called in Domeſday-Book Spercheforde, and is thus ſurveyed under the title of
The land of Walter de Dowai:
“ Fulcuin holds of Walter SPERCHEFORDE. Eluuacre held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for five hides and one virgate of land. The arable is five caru-
In demeſne are two carucates and a half, and fix ſervants, and nine villanes,
“s and ſeven cottagers, with four ploughs. There is a mill of ſeven ſhillings and ſix-
pence rent, and forty acres of meadow, and one hundred acres of paſture, and
« one furlong of wood in length and breadth. It was worth four pounds, now one
“ hundred ſhillings.'
In very early times this compoſed part of the great barony of the Lovels, lords of
Caſtle-Cary. 12 Hen. II. Ralph de Sparkeford, fo denominated from the place, held
one knight's fee here of Henry Lovel, and his deſcendants long continued tenants under
the ſucceſſive poſſeſſors of this lordſhip. It was however ſometime held by the family
of Burnell, of whom was Robert Burnell, Biſhop of Bath and Wells in the time of
Edward I. After theſe came the Handlo's and the Rogers’s, ſucceſſive meſne lords of
this place; but the Lovels were lords paramount, and from them it deſcended in the
ſame manner as Caſtle-Cary to the Seymours, the Lords Zouche of Harringworth,
Willoughby Lord Broke, and was at length purchaſed by Richard Newman, efq;
whoſe deſcendant Francis Newman, of North-Cadbury, eſq; is the preſent poffeffor.
The living is rectorial, in the deanery of Cary, and in the patronage of Francis
Newman, eſq; above-mentioned. The Rev. Mr. Newman is the preſent incumbent,
In 1292 it was valued at roos.
The church is ſmall, having only one aile, with a ftrong quadrangular embattled
tower fixty feet high, and containing three bells.
On a braſs plate in the chancel is the following infcription:
www
“ Hic jacet Johēs Chyke filius et heres Stephi Chyke de Wareham quon-
Dam Re&or illius ecclie, qui obijt 26° die marcij 9° Dñi meo fi riij, cuius
aie ppicietur Deus. Amen."

a Lib. Domeſday.
• Lib. Nig. Scac. i. 100.
Taxat. Spiritual,
by
SUTTON-
[ 88
[Catalh.
]
S U T T O N - M O N T IS,
(Corruptly ſo called for MONTACUTE, an appellation formerly added to it by reaſon of
its having been poſſeſſed by that family)
I
S a ſmall pariſh ſix miles eaſt from Ivelcheſter, lying in a fruitful woody vale, under
the ſouthweſt brow of Camalet or Cadbury-Caſtle, with other high hills towards
the eaſt. This pariſh contains about thirty houſes, which compoſe a long ſtreet in the
turnpike-road from Ivelcheſter to Caſtle-Cary.
It was one of the many manors which William the Conqueror gave to Robert Ear!
of Morton, and is thus noticed in the Survey:
Drogo holds of the Earl SUTONE. Bundi held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates.
In demeſne are two caru-
cates, and two fervants, and three villanes, and nine cottagers, with two ploughs.
« There is a mill untaxed, and ſixteen acres of meadow, and eight acres of wood. It
“ was and is worth one hundred ſhillings.”a
This Drogo was that Drogo de Monteacuto or Montagu, who came over with the
Conqueror's army, and was rewarded for his ſervices with many conſiderable eſtates in
this county. The original caſtle or ſeat of this family was at Montacute, a neighbour-
ing eminence, either ſo denominated from its acute ſummit, or from Montagu the place
in Normandy from which they emigrated; but the ſeat of their barony was Shepton-
Montacute, a vill at no great diſtance from the place we are ſpeaking of. Drogo was
anceſtor of a long train of progeny, which I ſhall trace hereafter, all of them poffeſfors
of this manor, till in the time of Henry VIII. Thomas Montague leaving no iſſue male,
this eſtate was divided between three ſiſters, Emma the wife of Thomas Blundell,
Eleanor the wife of John Bevyn, and Joan the wife of John Molyns."
35 Eliz. the manor and advowſon of the church of Sutton-Montacute were in the
poffeffion of Thomas" Duport, efq; but now the whole manor is diſmembered, the
freehold of all the lands being in poffeſſion of the occupiers.
The lower part of the village of Sutton is diſtinguiſhed from the other by the addi-
tion of Crowthorne, by reaſon that this diviſion or parcel was in former times held in the
houſe of Montacute by the family of Crowthorne, who were people of eminence in their
days, and lords of Crowthorne, an adjoining vill, from which they derived their name.
Great quantities of Roman coins have been dug up in the fields of this pariſh, it
being ſituated near the Foſs, and the great ſtation of Ivelcheſter.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Cary, valued in 1292 at eight marks. The
patronage is in the family of Leach, and the Rev. Mr. Palmer the preſent incumbent.

2 Lib. Domeſday.
• Inq. poft Mort. capt. ap. Bridgwater, 25 Sept, 2 Hen. VIII.
& Taxat. Spiritual.
The
Catalb.]
89
SU T T O N - M O N T I S.
The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and conſiſts of one aile, having a
tower containing three bells.
In the chancel is an old braſs plate to the memory of James Duport, lord of this
manor, and Emma his wife, and Thomas their ſon, with a long train of funereal
ſentences in Latin verſe, from Job xix. 1 Cor. xv. 20. Pſal. xvi. 9. and Phil. iii. 20.
W E S T ON - BA M P F Y L DE
L
طور
IES northweſt from Sutton-Montis, to which pariſh it is contiguous. It conſiſts
of only fixteen houſes, twelve whereof ſtand near the church, and the reſt compoſe
the hamlet of LITTLE-Weston, half a mile to the eaſt. The lands are moſtly paſture
and meadow.
At the time that the Norman ſurvey was compoſed, this place was a member of the
great manor of North-Cadbury, as we learn from the following extract:
“ To this manor (viz. CADEBERIE] is added Westone. Alwi held it in the time of
• King Edward for a manor, and might go where he would. He gelded for two hides,
" and two virgates and a half of land. In demeſne is one carucate and a half, and two
ſervants, and fix cottagers, with one plough. There is half a mill paying forty-five
pence, and twenty-four acres of meadow; a wood two furlongs long, and one furlong
“ broad. It was and is worth forty ſhillings. Richard holds it of Turſtin [Fitz-Rolf.”b]
This territory in ſucceeding times chiefly compoſed the demeſnes of the manor of
Weſton; but there was a portion of land ſevered from the reſt, which was held, both
before and after the Conqueſt, by Alwine a Saxon.
" Alwine holds of Turſtin WESTONE. The ſame held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for half a hide. The arable is half a carucate: but there is one carucate
" with one villane. It is worth ten ſhillings.
This disjointed piece of land ſeems to have been what we now call Little-Weſton.
At a very early period the manor of Weſton began to be the property, and the place
the reſidence of the ancient family of Baumfilde, now written Bampfylde, from whom it
derived its additional name.
The firſt of this family that appears upon record is Richard Baumfilde, who married
a daughter of John Haſtings about the latter end of the reign of King John, or the
beginning of that of Henry III. John the ſon of this Richard Baumfilde married Joan
daughter of William Hoxham, of Hoxham near Poltimore in Devonſhire," and by her

C
a That is, he was a freeman, and could diſpoſe of his land wherever he went.
Lib. Domeſday.
< Ibid.
d Sir William Pole's MS. Survey of Devon.
VOL. II.
N
had
90
[Catath.
WE S T ON
BA MPF Y L D E.
had iſſue John Baumfilde, lord of Poltimore in the time of Edward I. To whom
lineally ſucceeded five other Johns, of whom the laſt dying without iſſue, his brother
Thomas inherited the eſtates.
This Thomas Baumfilde married Agnes daughter of Adam Copleſtone, and was
father of two ſons, and three daughters.
John the eldeſt ſon took to wife Agnes the daughter and heir of John de Pederton, of
Hardington in this county, by whom he had iſſue two fons, Sir William Baumfilde,
knt. and Peter, who was of Hardington; as alſo two daughters, Elizabeth married to
Henry Fraunceis of Combe-Flory, and Thomaſine.
Sir William Baumfilde, fon and heir of John above-mentioned, married Margaret,
daughter of Walter Paunceford, of Compton-Paunceford, and had iſſue
Walter Baumfilde his heir, who married, firſt, Grace daughter of Sir Ralph Pudſey,
knt. and ſecondly, Conſtance daughter of Edward Langford, eſq; who died childleſs.
This Walter died 19 Edw. IV. leaving by his firſt wife,
William Baumfilde, eſq; who married, firſt, Margaret daughter of John St. Maur,
and ſecondly, Margaret daughter of Nicholas Kirkham, and relict of John Cheyney of
Pinhoe in the county of Devon. By his firſt wife he was father of one ſon, Edward, and
two daughters Margaret and Elizabeth.
Edward Baumfilde, his only fon and heir, married Elizabeth daughter of Sir Nicholas
Wadham, of Merrifield, knt. by whom he had iſſue one ſon and five daughters.
Richard Baumfilde, his ſon and heir, married Elizabeth daughter of Sir John
Sydenham, knt, of Brimpton in this county, and was father of three fons, Sir Amias,
who fucceeded him, Giles, and Richard, and nine daughters. It is commonly reported
that this Richard Baumfilde was in his childhood kidnapped away by ſome great perſon
or other, who, concealing from him his quality, and eſtate, committed him to domeſtick
drudgery, and, when he grew up, made him his huntſman. But it ſo happened that
one of the gentleman's tenants (being the huſband of the woman who had nurſed
Richard when an infanr) found him out, and made him acquainted with the circum-
ſtances of his family and fortune, the truth of which he convinced him of by ſuggeſting
to his recollection a large mole which he had in his back; and brought him away
privately to Sir John Sydenham's at Brimpton, who helped to reſtore him to the
Poltimore eftate, and gave him his daughter in marriage.' He died May 29, 1594,
and was buried in the pariſh church of Poltimore,
Sir Amias Baumfilde, his eldeſt ſon and heir, married Elizabeth daughter of Sir
John Clifton, of Barrington in this county, by whom he had iffue fix fons, and four
daughters. Richard the eldeſt ſon died without iſſue, and John the ſecond ſon fuc-
ceeded to the eſtate.
e So the Baronetage; but Sir William Pole ſays Joan.
See the Engliſh Baronetage by Wotton, who had his information from one of this family,
Which
Catalh.]
WES TON. BA MP FY L D E.
Which John was member of Parliament for. Tiverton, 1 James I. and for the county
of Devon, 3 Car. I. He married Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Drake, eſq; and
by her had iſſue eight ſons and ſeven daughters. He was ſucceeded in the family eſtates
by John the third ſon, who fat in Parliament as Member for Penryn in Cornwall, and
17 Car. I. was advanced to the dignity of a baronet. He married Gertrude daughter
of Amias Copleſtone, eſq; and coheir to her brother John Copleſtone, of Copleſtone
and Warleigh in the county of Devon, eſq; by whom he was father of five ſons and
eight daughters.
Be
Sir Copleſtone Bampfylde, bart. the eldeſt ſon and ſucceſſor of Sir John Bampfylde,
received his education at Corpus Chriſti College in the univerſity of Oxford. During
the civil diſſentions in the time of Charles I. he ſhewed himſelf a loyal ſubject to the
King, by endeavouring to promote peace and unanimity among the diſaffected, par-
ticularly thoſe of Devonſhire, of which county after the reſtoration of Charles II.
he was high-ſheriff and knight for the ſhiſe. He died of the gout at Warleigh, A.D.
1691, and was buried at Poltimore, having been twice married, firſt to Margaret
daughter of Bulkeley, of Burgate in Hampſhire, eſq; by whom he had two ſons,
John Copleſtone Bulkeley, who died without iſſue; and Hugh, who died by a fall
from his horſe in his father's life-time; and one daughter, Margaret, who died an
infant. His ſecond wife was Jane, daughter of Sir Courtenay Pole, of Shute in the
county of Devon, bart. by whom he had no iſſue.
Hugh Bampfylde, eſq; who (as we before obſerved) died in the life-time of his
father, married Mary, daughter and heir of James Clifford, of Ware, eſq; by whom he
left two ſons, Sir Copleſtone Warwick, who ſucceeded to the title and eſtates; and
John, who was Member of Parliament for the county of Devon, and afterwards for the
city of Exeter, and married, firſt, Elizabeth the daughter of Baſſet, of Heanton-
Court in the county of Devon, efq; and ſecondly, Margaret daughter and fole heir of
Sir Francis Warre, of Heſtercombe, by whom he was father of the preſent Copleſtone
Warre Bampfylde, of Heſtercombe, eſq. The name of Hugh Bampfylde's daughter
was Margaret, who died in her infancy.
Sir Copleſtone Warwick Bampfylde, eldeſt ſon of the ſaid Hugh, fucceeded his
grandfather in his title and eſtate. He repreſented the city of Exeter in parliament
9 Anne, as he did alſo the county of Devon in the 12th year of the fame reign, and
in every ſucceeding parliament till his death, which was in 1927. By Gertrude his
wife, daughter of Sir John Carew, of Anthony in the county of Cornwall, bart. he left
iſſue Sir Richard Warwick, his ſucceſſor, and one daughter, Mary, who married Sir
Coventry Carew, bart.
Sir Richard Warwick Bampfylde was knight of the ſhire for the county of Devon.
He married Jane, daughter and fole heir of Col. John Codrington, of Wraxhall in this
county, by whom he had ſeveral ſons and daughters; dying in 1776, he was ſucceeded
in title and eſtate by
Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde, the preſent baronet, member of parliament for
Exeter, and poffeffor of the manor of Weſton.
Thc


N 2
92
[Catalh.
WEST ON. BA MPF Y L D E.
The church of Weſton in 1292 was valued at one hundred ſhillings. It is a rectory
in the deanery of Cary. The Rev. Mr. Goldſborough is the preſent incumbent.
It is a plain ſingle building, having only one aile, with a tower containing three bells.
On the north ſide of the chancel there is an old mural monument of white marble,
inſcribed" Grace, the daughter of Matthew and Ann Lydford of this pariſh, and
wife of Nathaniel Miſt of London, changed this life for a better, Sept. 17, 1726, in
Carter-lane, London; and was there buried; aged 36 years."
On a flat ſtone:-"Here lies the body of Ann, daughter of Nathaniel Wilkinſon,
ſometime rector of this place, and wife of Thomas Combeſtocke, rector of the fame,
who died May 8, 1711.-_Alſo the Rev. Mr. Thomas Combeſtocke aforeſaid, who
died July 1720."
& Taxat. Spiritual,

Juur
THE
[ 93 ]
THE HUNDRED OF
a
H
E
W.
HIS hundred lies in the northeaſt part of the county, and takes its name from
Chew, its chief town, as that alſo is denominated from the river Chew,
whereon it ſtands. This river riſes at Chewton under Mendip, and likewiſe
communicates its name to that place, and to Chewton-Keynſham, near which it joins
its waters with the Avon.
T
In the charter of King Edward the Confeffor to Biſhop Gyſo," whereby ſeveral
lands are confirmed to the church of Wells, the territory of Ciro [miſtakenly tranſ-
cribed for Lipo or Lipe] is ſaid to contain fifty manſions: and theſe were the villages
adjacent, Liteltune, Pærele, Dundreez, and the three Sudtunes: Littleton, Haſel,
Dundry, and the three Suttons. At this day it is divided into the following tithings:
Timbury
Biſhop's-Sutton
Clutton
Knighton-Sutton
Stowey
Knoll
Chew-Stoke
Norton-Hautville
Dundry
North-Elm, and
Norton-Malreward
Stone.
a See Dugdale's Monafticon Anglicanum.
• This is now a manor and farm near Compton-Martin, but in the pariſh of Chewton-Mendip.
CHEW-MAGNA,
[94]
[Chew
H
E
W - M
A
G
N
A.
T!
THIS is a large and populous pariſh, very pleaſantly ſituated at the diſtance of
fix miles ſouthweſt from Briſtol, and twelve northweſt from Wells; and extends
four miles from north to ſouth, and two miles from eaſt to weſt, containing within
its precincts one hundred and ſeventy houſes, and eight hundred and thirty inhabitants.
The town of Chew ſtands on the north ſide of the river of that name, over which
there is a ſtone bridge of two arches, called Tun-Bridge; and a little below the town this
river receives a rivulet, which comes from Winford; and running under Port-Bridge,
in the Port-Way from Briſtol to Wells, and Sprat's-Bridge, another county bridge of
two arches, make the town a ſort of peninſula.
In former days this was a borough, a market, and a large clothing town, neither
of which characteriſticsk belong to it now; as it retains no veſtiges of privilege as a
borough, nor any extent of commerce as a market, and its only manufacture are a few
edge-tools and ſtockings.
It is diſtinguiſhed by the name of Chew-Magno, on account of its being larger than
other places of a ſimilar name, and by that of Biſhop's-Chew, as having in very ancient
times belonged to the Biſhops of Wells, of whoſe revenues in this place at the time
of the Conqueſt we read the following detail in the great Norman Survey:
“The ſame Biſhop [i. e. Gyſo of Wells] holds CHỊWE. He held it in the time
c of King Edward, and gelded for thirty hides. The arable is fifty carucates. Thereof
16 in demeſne are four hides, and there are ſix carucates, and fourteen ſervants, and
thirty villanes, and nine cottagers, with twenty-four ploughs. There are three
“mills of twenty ſhillings rent, and one hundred acres of meadow, and fifty acres of
paſture. A wood two miles long, and half a mile broad. It is worth to the Biſhop
thirty pounds.
« Of the land of this manor Richard holds of the Biſhop five hides. Rohard fix
“ hides. Stefan five hides. Aluric ſeven virgates. Uluric two hides. In demeſne
“ there are ſeven carucates, and eight ſervants, and eighteen villanes, and twenty-ſeven
" cottagers, with ten ploughs. There are two mills of ten ſhillings rent. Among all
« it is worth thirteen pounds.
This Biſhop Gyſo was a Frenchman, a native of a ſmall village called Saint Trudo,
in the territory of Haivan, and in the province of Lorraine. He was in great favour
with Edward the Confeffor, after whoſe death, fearing the conſequences of Harold's
uſurpation, he fled into foreign parts, and there continued till he heard of the victo-

طر
a That is, the City or Town-way. See a curious note on this ſubject in Mr. Warton's excellent Hiſtory of
Kiddington, p. 56.
Lib. Domeſday
rious
Chew.]
95
CHE W - M A G N A.
rious Norman being feated on the throne. He then returned, and the Conqueror not
only reſtored him to the dignity he had abandoned, but reinſtated his church of Wells
in thoſe lands of which it had been diſpoſſeſſed, and of which the place in queſtion was
a part. Subſequent Monarchs enriched the burgh of Chew with many and great
privileges; and theſe poſſeſſions continued in the fee of Bath and Wells till the ſecond
year of the reign of Edward the Sixth, when, in purſuance of a licence from the King,
Biſhop William Barlow alienated the manor, the borough and hundred, with all
ſervices appertaining thereto, as alſo the vills of Stone and Sutton, to Edward Duke of
Somerſet the protector. But upon his attainder it reverted to the Crown, and was
granted to Lord Lumley, who 35 Eliz. fold the fame partly to Sir Francis Popham,
and partly to Edward Baber, eſq; ſerjeant at law, viz. the royalty, leet, and the overland,
or that little which paid tithe to the Biſhop, to Popham; but the Biſhop's houſe,
demeſnes, &c. to Baber. The manor itſelf continued in the family of Popham till, in
the year 1766, Edward Popham, eſq; knight of the ſhire for the county of Wilts, ſold
it with that of North-Elm to Richard Summers, eſq; who is the preſent poffeffor.
The demeſnes of this manor lay chiefly in the tithings of North-Elm and Knoll.
There are four tithings in this pariſh, viz.
1. NORTH-ELM,
above-mentioned.
2. KNOLL,
3. STONE,
4. Bishop's-SUTTON, fo called from its having formerly belonged to the Biſhops of
the dioceſe.
2. Koen, Fum}abe
Beſides which there are the following hamlets :
I. SUTTON-WICK,
2. NORTH-WICK,
3. Sutton-NORTH, otherwiſe called Knighton-Sutton and Sution-Militis, from its
having been anciently poſſeſſed by the knightly family of the St. Loes. This place
formerly gave name to a family. By an inquiſition taken 20 Edw. III. William de
Sutton is certified to hold half a knight's fee here, which Walter de Sutton formerly
held of the Biſhop of Bath. Whether it came to the St, Loes by deſcent or purchaſe,
is not certain; but 7 Hen. VI. John Saintelo is certified to hold this half fee. This
John Saintelo or St. Loe was a knight, and lord alſo of Walley, an adjoining manor.
He married Eleanor the daughter of Sir Thomas Arundel, knt. by Catherine daughter
and coheireſs of Sir John Chydiock, knt, and dying 2 iſt of Sept. 24 Hen. VII. left:
iſſue John St. Loe his ſon and heir aged fixteen years and a half."
When Leland, our celebrated topographical antiquarian, made his itinerary, this
feat of the St. Loes ſeems to have been one of his ſtations in ſurveying this county,
as appears by ſeveral excurſions he made from hence, when he tells us ſuch places are
ſo far diſtant from Southtoun, " where (faith he) Syr John Saincte Lo hath an olde
maner place.”
+ Lib. Feod,
de Ibid.
• Coles's Eſc, in the British Muſeum.
f Isin. vii. 104 .
The
96
[Chow.
CHE -M A G N A.
WW
The family of St. Loes were poffeffors of this manor, till Sir William St. Loe,
captain of the guards to Queen Elizabeth, and ſtiled chief butler of England, ſettled
it, with other poffeffions in this neighbourhood and in the county of Glouceſter, on his
lady, Elizabeth the daughter of Hardwick, of Hardwick in Derbyſhire. Which
lady had four huſbands, the firſt of whom was named Barloe, and died before they were
bedded, being both very young. Her ſecond huſband was Sir William Cavendiſh,
who had fix children by her. On his death, ſhe married this Sir William St. Loe, by
whom ſhe had no iſſue. Her fourth huſband was George Earl of Shrewſbury. But Sir
William St. Loe having ſettled all his great eſtate on her, ſhe gave the greateſt part of
it to her ſecond ſon Charles Cavendiſh, (brother to William the firſt Earl of Devonſhire)
whoſe fon William was afterwards created Lord Ogle, and 18 James I. Viſcount
Mansfield; and 3 Car. I. Baron Bolſover and Earl of Newcaſtle; and having fortified
that town for Charles the Firſt, in the 19th year of his reign he was created Duke of
Newcaſtle. Flying beyond ſea, his eſtate was confiſcated, and this manor, with Stoke
and ſome other lands hereabout, was ſold away. The manor-houſe, called Sutton-
Court, was purchaſed in truſt by Elizabeth the wife of Edward Baber (which Edward
had a leaſe on it for lives before) for the uſe of her fon by Samuel Jep, on whom ſhe
ſettled it in marriage. But the ſaid Samuel Jep dying without iſſue male, and the
remainder being veſted in her, ſhe ſettled it on John, the ſon of her ſecond huſband
William Strachey, in marriage with Jane, daughter and coheir of George Hodges, of
Wedmore, eſq; and their heirs; in which family it ſtill continues, being now the eſtate
of Henry Strachey, eſq; member of parliament for Biſhop's-Caſtle in Shropſhire.
The arms of St. Loe remain in the houſe, and were, in a large parlour built A. D.
1558 by the lady above-mentioned, quartered with Ragland, Irwood, Pointz, Acton,
Fitz-Payne, Ancel, Rivers, Malet, and Fitz-Nichols.
The pariſh of Chew produces a red bolus, called by the inhabitants ruddle, which
is much uſed for marking ſheep, and frequently uſed by the apothecaries as a ſubſtitute
for the Armenian bole.
Not far from the town are the veſtiges of an ancient Roman encampment, called
from its ſhape Bow-ditch, being of a circular form with triple ramparts, and command-
ing a fine proſpect of the Briſtol Channel.
Chew gave birth to Sir John Champneys, a merchant of London, and lord-mayor
of that city, A. D. 1535. He ſtands recorded for being the firſt perſon who ever built
a turret to a private houſe in London."
The living of Chew is a peculiar, and one preſentation with Dundry. The Rev.
Mr. Lindſey is patron, and the Rev. Mr. Hall the preſent incumbent. It is mother
church to Stoke, Stowey, and Norton. In 1292 it was valued at fifty marks.
Biſhop Ralph de Salopia appropriated this church menſe epifcopali, and reſerving the
tithes of the demeſne lands, endowed the vicar with the reſidue.
? Of this family ſee more under the article of Newton-St. Loe.
5 Fuller's Worthies, Stow's Survey, &c.
i Taxat. Spiritual.
The

Chew.]
89 97
CH EW - M A G N A.
The church is a large pile, conſiſting of a'nave and ſide ailes, one hundred and fix feet
in length, and ſixty in breadth. At the weſt end is a well-built tower, one hundred and
three feet high, with an open balluſtrade and turret at one corner, a clock and fix bells.
At the eaſt end of the north aile is a large old tomb of Sir John St. Loe and his
lady, who, Leland ſays, was grandfather to that Sir John St. Loe in his time living at
this place. On this tomb lies the effigies of Sir John in armour, of a gigantick ſize,
being ſeven feet four inches long, and two feet four inches acroſs the ſhoulders. His
head-piece is under his head, and he lies croſs-legged, to denote his having been at
Jeruſalem, with a lion at his feet, and a collar of SS about his neck. The female
figure is much defaced; her head-dreſs like that worn by Mary Queen of Scots, her
robe gathered round her neck, whereon is a gold chain reaching to the top of her ſtays.
On a grave-ſtone hard by is the following ſentence:--" hic jacet Alicia uroz
Joañis Saintelo, arm. que ob. 1443."
On the ſides of Sir John St. Loe's monument the family arms are cut in ſtone, viz,
On a bend three annulets, over all a label of three points. The ſame arms are alſo in
the roof of the aile (which is thought to have been built by Sir John) impaled with a
pair of wings conjoined, the arms of Fitz-Payne. In the fame roof are alſo the arms of
Biſhop Beckington; and in another eſcutcheon the five wounds of our Saviour. There
was formerly an inſcription round the roof in wood, but now effaced.
At the eaſt end of the ſouth aile, which belonged to the manor houſe, is a large
freeſtone monument, containing the effigies of Edward Baber, efq; and Catherine his
wife; and on ſeveral tablets the following memorials to that family:
“ Memoriæ et honori facrum V. Cl. Edwardi Baber, ſervientis ad legem; qui
pietate morum, gravitate, ſcientiaque juris municipal. confpicuus, et inter ornamenta
ſui ſeculi communi bonorum hominum fuffragio numeratus, obitu præveloci fuam
mortalitatem finivit 23° Septembris, A. D. MDLXXVIII. Vixit annos XLVII.”
« Memoriæ S. Franciſci Baber, de Chew-Magna, armigeri, qui officio Irenarchæ
com. Somerſet. fub Elizabetha Regina, Jacobo et Carolo Regibus, cum laude functus,
obijt 9° die Septembris, A.D. MDCXLIII. Vixit annos LXXVIII, dies XV.”
« M. S. Annæ filiæ Willielmi Whitmore, de Appleby in com. Salop. arm. nuper
uxoris prædicti Franciſci Baber, a quo ſuſceptos Franciſcum et Jacobum filios; Annam,
Mariam et Janam filias, fuperftites reliquit. Vixit annos lxxx. men. vii. obijt die
xxx Decem. A. D. MDCL. Cujus corpus in Eccleſia S. Petri Bathon. fepultum jacet.
Fran. Baber, arm. LL.D. matri fuæ B. M. hoc cenotaphium P.C."
« In memoriam Catharina Baber, uxoris Edw. Baber, ſer. ad leg. filiæ Thomæ Leygh,
de Stone-Leygh in comit" Warwicī Equitis aurati. obijt x° Martij, A. D. MDCI.”
« Eiufdem Franciſci Baber corpus in infra pofito conditorio (quod ipſe extruxit) in
fpe beatæ reſurrectionis ſepultum requieſcit." The arms of Baber, viz. Argent, on a
fefs gules, three hawks' heads eraſed, of the firſt, are impaled with Whitmore, vert, fretty
and with Leigh of Stonely, gules, a croſs engrailed argent.
VOL. II.
O
At

ری

98 99
CHE W
Chew.
M A G N A.
60
At the foot of this tomb there is an old ſtone in the floor, with the following broken
inſcription: Die genüs aii Anno Domini pcccclviii.
To the right of the communion-table is an ancient mural monument of ſtone, with a
braſs tablet bearing an inſcription in Latin to Gabriel Goodman, eſq; of the family of
Goodman in Northamptonſhire, and two of his fons. Arms: Per pale ſable and
ermine, an eagle diſplayed or; impaling two chevronels ſable, between three roſes gules.
To the left of the communion-table is an elegant mural monument of white and
Sienna marble, inſcribed to the memory of
« Elizabeth Smith, who died the 8th of May, 1745,
« Robert
the 13th of October, 1745,
John
the 29th of October 1745,
« The children of the Rev. William Smith, vicar of this pariſh thirty years;” who
died the 16th of March 1764, aged 62. Ann his wife died Feb. 4, 1764.
Arms: Parted per chevron embattled azure and argent, in chief three croſſes fitchés
or, in baſe a lion currant fable, crowned or.
On the north wall of the chancel is a handſome mural monument of white marble,
inſcribed: “ Near this place lyes the body of Richard Jones, late of Stowey in this
pariſh and county, efq. He was born May the iſt, 1605, and dyed May 15, 1692.
He was a man of univerſal knowledge and good fenſe, every way uſeful in his ſtation
whilſt living, and dying gave a noble inſtance of his good-will to his country and
mankind: leaving three thouſand pounds to be employed in public charities, at the
diſcretion of his executors; one thouſand pounds of which were given to the Merchants-
hall at Briſtol, for maintenance of ſeamen's widows; the reſt was employed in erecting
and endowing free-ſchools at Newton St. Loe, and Stanton-Wick in this county, and
at Wotton-Baſſet in the county of Wilts. He inarried Mrs. Joyce Woodward, by
whom he had fix ſons, Thomas, William, Samuel, two Richards, and John; and five
daughters, Sarah, Elizabeth, two Joyees, and Suſan. As his children were bleſt in
a careful father, ſo was he likewiſe happy in them, particularly in his fon William,
who had the honour of knighthood, and office of attorney-general, conferred on him by
King Charles the Second, his fignal eminence in his profeſſion juſtly claiming his
prince's favour.
“Near this place alſo lye buried Joyce his wife; three of their fons, Thomas, Richard,
and John; and four of their daughters, Sarah, two Joyces, and Suſan.”—--Arms; :
Party per pale, gules and azure, three lions rampant argent,
On the ſouth wall of the chancel is a handſome mural monument of white marble,
on the tablet of which is this inſcription:-“Near this place lies one of the beſt of
chriſtians, of mothers, and of women, Elizabeth the daughter of Richard Jones, of
Stowey in this pariſh, efq; who was firſt married to Henry Pinnel, eſq; of Naiſh-Houſe
in the county of Wilts, by whom ſhe had one ſon named Henry. And afterwards to
Sir Richard Hart, knt. of Hanham in the county of Glouceſter, by whom ſhe had alſo
one ſon named William. She was born the 17th of September 1636, and died the
Iįth of November 1714. To whoſe memory this ſmall monument of filial piety and
gratitude



Chew.]
CHE W. M AGN A.
91 99
gratitude is erected by her two ſons Henry Pinnel and William Hart.”---Arms: Sable,
a hart paſſant argent, impaling Jones.
On the north wall of the north aile is a fuperb mural monument with the fol-
lowing inſcription :-_"Hodges Strachey, eſq; eldeſt ſon of John Strachey, eſq; late
of Sutton-Court in this pariſh, died 2 Dec. 1746. His firſt wife was Margaret daughter
of Henry Henley, of Lee in the county of Somerſet, eſq. His ſecond wife, Ann
daughter of William Parkin, of Briſtol, merchant. His third wife Mary, (one of the
daughters and coheireſſes of Robert Smith, of Nailſworth in Glouceſterſhire) died
19th Dec. 1764. Whoſe nephew and executor Robert Hale (in purſuance of her will)
cauſed this monument to be erected to their memories.” Arms: Argent, a croſs
between four eagles diſplayed gules. Creſt, an eagle diſplayed of the ſecond.
On the floor : “ Here lyeth the body of Mary the wife of Edward Clarke, of
Chipley in the county of Somerſet, efq; by whom ſhe had a numerous iſſue. She was
the fole daughter and heireſſe of Samuell Jepp, eſq; late of Sutton-Court in this pariſh
of Chew-Magna, deceaſed. She died at Chipley upon the tenth day of January 1705,
and was here interred upon the eighth day of February following, and at her own re-
queſt buryed in a lead coffin, to the end her bones might not be diſturbed.
“ Conditur hoc tumulo-fua molliter offa quiefcant,
Semper et in fummo mens aurea vivat Olympo.”
Arms: Barry of four, in the dexter point in chief an eſcallop ſhell: over all an eſcut-
cheon of pretence quarterly, Firſt and fourth, a chevron between three falcons cloſe;
ſecond and third, three arrows, points downward, on a chief three moor's heads eraſed.
On the north fide of the nave is an old oval mural monument of ſtone furrounded
with very antique ornaments, which once were painted red. On a black tablet is the
following inſcription, much injured by time:-“Sarah the wife of William Lyde, of
this pariſh, gent. and daughter of Richard Jones, of Stowey, eſq; having had Chriſt her
life, found death her gaine, the 17th of September, in the year of our Lord 1662, and
of her age the 31ſt.”
« M. S. Elizabeth the wife of Benjamin Harington, of Corſton, eſq; and daughter of
William Lyde, of this pariſh, gent. Died 12th of December, anno Dom. 1693.”
On the ſouth ſide of the nave is a mural monument of white marble-To the
memory of Major Samuel Collins, whoſe merit gradually recommended him to ſeven
ſucceſſive commiſſions in one regiment of horſe; wherein he acquitted himſelf with
honour and courage, in Scotland, Ireland, the Low Countries, Portugal, and Spain.
To omit lefſer actions, he had his ſhare in the battles of Gillicranky, the Boyne, and
Agrim; in the fieges of Athlone, Galway, Limerick, Namur, Badajox; and at
Barcarotta firſt proclaimed Charles the Third in Spain. By his firſt wife Elizabeth,
he left iſſue Samuel, Eliza, and Mary; and after twenty-four years fatigue in
here in the year of peace, March 20th, 1775, aged 65. Quis generoſa putet niſi fortia?
This monument was erected by his two ſons Samuel and Emanuel.”. Arms; Gules,
on a bend or, three martlets azure. Motto; Colens Deum et Regem.
war, died
02
On

200 92
C H E E W - M A G N A.
[bei.
ever.
On the eaſt window in the ſouth aile lies the effigies of Sir John Hautvil, a warrior,
(of whom hereafter) cut in one ſolid piece of Iriſh oak. He lies reclining on his left
fide, reſting on his hip and left elbow, the left hand ſupporting his head. Between the
left elbow and hip lies his ſhield, which is two feet three inches long, and fourteen
inches broad in the wideſt part, being of an oblong ſhape. His right arm being
brought forward over his breaſt, the hand reſts on the edge of the ſhield. The under
or left leg is raiſed from the hip, and the foot placed againſt the ſide of a lion, whoſe
open mouth is turned towards him, as it were biting his ſpur. The right leg is fo drawn
up as for the knee joint to bend in a right angle, the toes reſting on a little piece of
wood. The whole figure is in armour, with a red looſe coat without neeves over it,
and bound round the waiſt with a leather girdle, faſtened by a gilt buckle; juſt below
the breaſt it is faſtened with a ſmaller belt. He has a helmet on, and ſpurs gilt.
“ Benefactions to the pariſh of Chew-Magna.
“ Mr. John Curtis and Agnes his wife, of Chew, gave 4os. for three ſermons on
Midlent Sunday, Sunday after Aſcenſion-Day, and Sunday before St. James's, yearly
for ever.
Alſo 2os. for ſchooling one poor boy of this pariſh for ever. A. D. 1607.
“ Mr. John Webb, of Chew, gave 10l. the uſe thereof to the poor of this pariſh for
1621.
« Mr. John Heale, fen'. of Sutton-Wick, gave two parcels of ground in that tithing;
and 20s. per annum to the poor of this pariſh for ſixty years. He alſo gave iol. the
profit thereof to the poor of this pariſh for ever. 1657
“Mr. John Tegg, of Stowey, gave all his lands in Morton, after two lives, for the
education of poor children of this pariſh; to be diſpoſed of by Mr. John Heale and
Mr. Thomas Sherborn, and their heirs for ever. 1684.
“ Richard Jones, of Stowey, eſq; gave joool. to charitable uſes, whereof 51. per
annum for ever is allotted for ſuch poor of this pariſh who do not receive alms. 1692.
“Madam Baber, widow, by will gave to the churchwardens of the pariſh of Chew-
Magna the ſum of 100l. the intereſt thereof to be employed in binding out poor chil-
dren apprentices. The eſtate purchaſed is ſituate in the pariſh of Compton-Martin.
James Selby, gent. of Briſtol, by will gave 100l. to the vicar and churchwardens of
this pariſh, the intereſt to be diſtributed yearly among the poor of Biſhop's-Sutton
tithing. 1772."
In the church-yard are the remains of a very old croſs.
The church-houſe ſeems to have been erected by the St. Loe's, whoſe arms, impaling
Fitzpaine two wings conjoined, are cut in ſtone over the door, and the date 1510.
Here is a charity-ſchool, founded by Mr. John Tegg of Stowey, in the year 1684,
who gave an eſtate at Morton for the purpoſe, amounting to 51. 1os. per annum. The
number of boys is eight,



CHEW
Chew.]
[ 93 ]
C Η Ε
W. S
TOK K E.
C
a
YONTIGUOUS to Chew-Magna is Chew-Stoke, which in the Conqueror's
time belonged to Gilbert Fitz-Turold, or Thorold, and is thus ſurveyed in the
old record:
“ Gilbert Fitz-Turold holds of the King CHIWESTOCH, and Ofbern of him. Edric
“held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for a hide and a half. The arable is
“ two carucates, which are held in demeſne, and two ſervants, and two cottagers, and
twenty acres of meadow, and ten acres of coppice-wood. It was formerly worth
twenty ſhillings, now thirty ſhillings.'
This Gilbert Fitz-Turold was one of thoſe nobles who conſpired, with Robert Duke
of Normandy, againſt King William Rufus, in which adventure he bore ſo great a
Thare, that all his lands in England were ſeized, and diſpoſed of to different perſons.
To whom this manor was given is not evident, but the moſt ancient poffeffors of it of
any account after the Conqueſt, were the Lords Beauchamp of Hatch, by whom it was
held under the Honour of Glouceſter. It came in proceſs of time to the St. Loe's,
who fold it, and it is now the property (by a late purchaſe) of John Savery, eſq.
Walley in this pariſh was alſo a manor of the St. Loe's, as was
St. Cross, where was anciently a cell for four nuns, the foundations whereof ſtill
remain, and near it is a well called St. Mary's Well, to whom probably the houſe was
dedicated. This cell was founded by Elizabeth de Sancta Cruce, a family who reſided
in and took their names from the place. They had likewiſe the adjoining manor of
Moreton, and lands in Nemnet and Compton-Martin. Moſt of theſe lands came to
the family of St. Loe; and by an inquiſition taken at Brewton 26th June, 26 Hen. VI.
it was found that Sir John St. Loe died ſeized in fee of Walley manor, and of two
meſſuages, two hundred acres of arable, forty acres of meadow, and thirty ſhillings
rent in the hamlet of St. Croſs.
This pariſh is ſituated in a very pleaſant woody vale, on the turnpike-road from
Briſtol to Wells, and contains about eighty houſes, and four hundred and forty inha-
bitants. Here are ſeveral quarries of lime-ſtone, and of another kind of granulated
ſtone, which works eaſily for building; but is of a reddiſh yellow colour. In theſe
quarries are ſome few foſſils and cornua ammonis.
The benefice is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter; the Rev. Mr.
Butler is the preſent patron and incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Andrew, and was built by one of the St. Loe's,
whoſe arms, impaling thoſe of Fitzjames, were formerly in the windows; and there ſtill
remain two coats of each family cut in ſtone on the outward fouth wall of the church.




с

a Lib. Domeſday,
• Inq. poft Mort,
c Inq. poft Mort. Johis St. Loe.
There
102
[Chew.
94
W - S T Τ Ο Κ Ε.
сан
Η Ε

O
2
There are inſcriptions on the floor to the memory of the families of Woodward,
Lukens, Pickering, Perry, and Webb; and the following liſt of benefactions:
“ Mr. John Luſh by will bequeathed, Anno Dom. 1567, to charitable uſes the ſum
of forty pounds.
"Mr. Edmund Laggatt by will, Anno Doin. 1693, bequeathed to the poor the fum
of twenty pounds.
“ Mr. John Brean by will bequeathed, 1723, to the poor the ſum of ſixteen pounds.
** John Perry, gent, by will bequeathed, Anno Dom. 1727, to the poor rool.
John Webb, gent. (fon of Mrs. Mary Budge) bequeathed by will, Anno Dom.
1765, to the poor the ſum of fifty pounds.
" To the charity ſchool in this pariſh 1718, Edward Colſton, efq; gave 5l. a year
during his life, and continued that annuity by will twelve years after his deceaſe.
“1732. Thomas Bilbie gave a bell 471b. weight, value 21. 7s.
“ 1743. John Norcot, gent. deceaſed, by will gave 2ol. for ever.
April 10, 1718. Then began to be erected by ſubſcription a charity-fcool within
the ſaid pariſh, for the maintenance of twenty free boys to read and write, by the fol-
lowing Gentlemen fubfcribers:
£. d.
£ s.
d.
Robert Paine, rector 150
W. Webb, jun'.
Edward Colſton, efq; 5
John Webb
Wm. Webb, fen'. 62
Samuel Fiſher
John Perry
30
William Kirton
Walter Webb
James Stallard
6
Thomas Dandoe
5
Edward Bilbie
George Perrot
John Griffin
Thomas Cox
Thomas Webb
John Brean
Richard Heale
Thomas Walker
Heſter Webb
Jof. Lane
Rev. Wm. Symes 3 3
Richard Leverſuch
William Coomb
George Sheppard
Michael Webb
13
Thomas Hill
William King 5
Thomas Goodſon
Suſan. Woodward
Samuel Biſhop
James Fear
5
Robert Paine, rector
5
“ William Webb, gent. of this pariſh deceaſed, and chief promoter of the charity-
ſchool here erected, beſides his fubfcription to the faid charity-ſchool, mentioned in the
table, and divers other charities to the poor, did, by his deed of uſes bearing date
the Inth day of December 1731, ſettle the ſum of 51. per annum for ever, payable
out of his eſtate called Summers's, for cloathing five poor boys, natives of the ſaid
pariſh, who ſhall conſtantly attend the ſaid ſchool,
The
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703
95
Obew.]
С
H E
E W - STOK
E.
The parſonage-houſe is a very old building, now converted into a pariſhworkho uſe.
On the front over the weſt window theſe arms are cut in ſtone:--On a bend three
annulets, over all a label of three points, St. Loe, impaling a croſs wavy.
St. Loe,
impaling Fitzpaine. St. Loe, impaling a faltire engrailed between leopards'
heads; Anfell. St. Loe, impaling two bars dauncetteé, Rivers.
Over the next window:-Three unicorns paſſant, Ragland. St. Loe, impaling three
eſcallop ſhells, Malet. Three moor's heads wreathed.
Over the door:-St. Loe. A moor's head in a chaplet wreathed. The roſe and
crown. Dexter hand in a chaplet. A feſſe between ſix billets. On each ſide Laus
Deo: and on a ſcroll, a Dño factü elt iftud quod barry in anno Dni soprrir.
The St. Loe's arms are alfo in other parts of the houſe.
C L U
T T
O
N
IS
S a pariſh ſituated on very high ground, ten miles ſouth from Briſtol, ten nerth
from Wells, and twelve weſt from Bath, to each of which cities there is a turnpike-
road from hence. This pariſh is one tithing, and contains one hundred and ſeventy-
five houſes, and nine hundred inhabitants. The country abounds with excellent coals,
the veins of which are generally covered with a ſtony ſtratum, which the miners call
Wark. It ſplits like fate, and abounds with impreſſions of fern and other plants. Over
this is another ſtratum called the Thorny Cliff, which is intermixed with arboreſcent
marcaſites. The coal is often tinged with ſulphur: fome years ſince one ſtratum
wrought here was ſo ſtrongly impregnated with it, that in all its joints it ſeemed to be
covered with leaf-gold. In another work near three hundred weight of good lead ore
was found growing to a vein of coal.
This place is noticed in the general ſurvey of this kingdom by the name of Clutone,
the derivation of which is uncertain. The Conqueror gave it to the Biſhop of Coutance:
“ William holds of the Biſhop, CLUTONE. Turchel held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for ten hides. The arable is eight carucates. In demeſne are
“ three carucates, with one ſervant, and ten villanes, and twelve cottagers, with fix
“ploughs. There is a mill of thirty pence rent, and one hundred and ſeven acres of
“ meadow. Paſture ten furlongs long, and four furlongs broad. A wood half a mile
long, and as much broad. It was worth three pounds, now fix pounds.”
The firſt notice that occurs concerning this manor in times ſubſequent to the
Conqueſt, is in an inquiſition taken after the deceaſe of Robert Gyene, wherein the ſaid
Robert is certified to have held this manor with the advowſon of the church for the
term of his life of John de Greyville, by the ſervice of paying to the ſaid John and
wa
a Lib. Domeſday.
his

coy 96
C L U Τ Τ ο Ν.
[Chew.
his heirs a roſe yearly for all ſervices; reverſionary to the ſaid John de Greyville, then a
minor and in ward to the Earl of Hertford, of whom the manor and advowfon are
certified to be held by the ſervice of one knight's fee and a half, and doing ſuit to his
court at Monkton-Farley. This Greyville or Grevile was progenitor of the Earls of
Warwick, and in this family (having paſſed through the names of Stafford, Willoughby,
Broke, &c.) the manor is veíted at the preſent day, being the property of George
Grevile, Earl Broke, and Earl of Warwick. His Lordſhip's arms are, Sable, on a croſs
within a bordure engrailed or, five pellets.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The Earl of
Warwick is patron, and the Rev. Dr. Morgan the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Auguſtine, is a handſome edifice, conſiſting
of a nave, chancel, and porch, all covered with lead. The tower at the weſt end was
rebuilt in the year 1728, and contains a clock and five bells.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel there is a plain neat monument of white
marble, inſcribed to the memory of John Newel
, gent. who died Aug. 6, 1771, aged
41 years; with divers other inſcriptions to the families of Burton; Rev. Mr. Thomas
Kent, rector of Clutton, who died May 6, 1715; Moore; and Poole.
The chriſtenings are twenty-ſix, the burials eighteen, on an annual average.
6 Eſc. 26 Edw. III.
DU
N
D
R
Y.
HE name of this village was derived from two Erſe words, Dun and Draegh,
ſignifying a hill of oaks, of which wood without doubt there was plenty in
ancient times in this neighbourhood; and indeed at preſent there are remains of ſome
oak groves in the common northward of the village, though they bear on their ſtinted
trunks the marks of that cold northern blaſt which impedes the progreſs of vegetation.
It is ſituated on a very lofty and bleak ſpot, fourteen miles weſt from Bath, and five
Touth from Briſtol, and commands one of the moſt extenſive and beautiful proſpects in
the weſt of England.
To the north and eaſt the cities of Bath and Briſtol are both in view; the hills about
Calne and Devizes, ſeen above the former, bound the proſpect. To the right of
Briſtol are ſeen the hills near Berkeley and Stroud in Glouceſterſhire, and the view
extends to the Malvern fummits. From north to weſt the Severn, with the Welſh
coaſt and mountains for nearly forty miles in length, and the Quantock hills near
Bridgwater, appear to view. To the ſouth the eye ranges over a rich and beautifully
varied country, and ſees Stourhead, Knoll-Hill, and Clay-Hill near Warminſter, with
the noble plantations of Lord Weymouth and the Duke of Somerſet, bounded by
the high lands in the vicinity of Shaftſbury.
The

mo
Engraved by T. Bonnor:
IA
rannby The Hon. Mily Clive,
SUTTON COURT.
The Seat of Henry Brackey Cung to whom this Plate is incribed by his Obliged Servant,
J. COLLINSON.
Fion

Chew.]
105
DU N DRY.
The pariſh is compoſed of forty-two houſes, and about two hundred inhabitants ;
and is divided into the tithings of Eaſt-Dundry, Weſt-Dundry, and Littleton; beſides
which there are two hamlets, called HIGH-Ridge and COLD-HARBOUR; the former
taining fourteen houſes, the latter five.
The lands are about an equal mixture of paſture and arable, and tolerably good, but
from their cold expoſure to the winds blowing from the Channel, the crops are more
backward than in moſt other parts of the county. The weſtern fummit of the hill is a
moſt bleak, dreary, and folitary ſituation, whereon nature has been very ſparing with
her gifts, and the hand of art never exerted itſelf but in hewing out immenſe quarries
in days of yore, and erecting one poor forſaken building for the purpoſe of a beacon-
houſe. This building is compoſed of two ftones put Nantwiſe for a covering, with an
arched door-way three feet high, and two and a half wide. The room within is five
feet and a half long, and five feet wide. The whole ſeems rather to have been a kind.
of watch-houſe to a bergier, or perhaps the keeper of a beacon, than a beacon itſelf, as
no marks of fire are diſtinguiſhable in any part of its compoſition.
The manor of Dundry is not mentioned in the Norman Survey, having anciently
been a member of the manor of Chew-Magna, and held by the Biſhops of Bath and
Wells till the time of Edw. VI. when it was alienated from the church, and given to
the Duke of Somerſet; upon whoſe attainder it reverted to the crown, and paſſed
through ſeveral hands, till by purchaſe it came to the poſſeſſion of the family of
Popham, who enjoyed it for a conſiderable time; but in the year 1766 it was conveyed
by Edward Popham, eſq; to Richard Summers, eſq; the preſent proprietor.
The hoſpital of St. John the Baptiſt in the city of Briſtol had divers lands and
tenements in Dundry," which 36 Hen. VIII. were granted to George Owen, eſq.-
15 Ric. II. Edmund Baſſet poffeffed lands in this place. There were alſo five
pieces of land in Dundry, given for the ſupport of a lamp in the church, which lands,
after the diſſolution of chantries, 7 Edward VI. were granted to Thomas Reeve and
George Cotton, and by them ſold to Hugh Tynte, clerk, and Cocks of Wraxall.
1 Mary, Tynte and Cocks fold the fame to Peyton and others, as feoffees for the
pariſh.
The living is annexeď to Chew-Magna, and is in the deanery of Redcliff and Bed:
minſter. It was always heretofore conſidered as a chapel to the above-named church.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, ſtands on the top of
a very high hill, and is ſeen at an immenſe diſtance both by ſea and land. It conſiſts
of a nave, north aile, and chancel. At the weſt end is a beautiful tower with cluſtered
open turreted pinnacles, fifteen feet high above the battlements, and containing a clock
and fix bells. Notwithſtanding the elevated ſituation of this church, it is very damp.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is a neat monument of white and mottled
marble, erected “ In memory of William Symes, gent, of this pariſh, who died.
* Pat. 16 Ed. II.
Rot. Parl.
· Taken from a Deed in the church cheft of Dundry, 23 Nov. 1786.
See vol. i. p. 76, note le
P
Nov.
VOL. II.

106
[Chef
D U N DRY.
Nov. 6, 1760, aged 77. Alſo of Benjamin Symes, gent, ſon of the above William
and Letitia Symes, who departed this life July 3, 1779, aged 49. Alſo of William
Symes, gent. fon of William Symes and Letitia his wife of this pariſh, gent. who de-
parted this life Sept. 10, 1741, in the 15th year of his age.” -Arms: Or, two lions
paſſant, langued, fable. On a quarter of the laſt three bezants: impaling, on a chevron
gules, between three creſcents or, as many ſtags' heads of the ſame, caboſſed.
There is alſo a ſmall mural monument to Benjamin Godwin, gent. who died April
22, 1743, aged 68. Alſo to Anne his wife, who died June 10, 1740, aged 70.
There are likewiſe memorials for the families of Tibbot, (arms: barry, gules and
argent, a feſs embattled ſable.) Haythorne, Hellier, Webb, Branch, and others; and on
a braſs plate the following infcription:-“In memory of William and Martha Jones,
of Biſhport. She died March 3, 1749, aged 67. He died May 16, 1753, aged 81.
He was a man of well-known integrity, and whoſe natural abilities were ſo great, that
by them only he clearly comprehended the powers of the human mind; and unaided
by academical education, was able to refute with uncommon fagacity the ſlaviſh ſyſtems
of uſurped authority over the rights, the conſciences, or the reaſon of mankind !!!!”
Near the church there ſtands an ancient houſe, built by the Biſhops of Bath and
Wells for the reſidence of an officiating miniſter, but which is now converted into a
poor-houſe. And in the church-yard is a handſome croſs.
Dundry gave birth to Henry Hellier, a learned divine, and fellow of Corpus-Chriſti
College in Oxford, A. D. 1687. Among other things he publiſhed a ſermon preached
before the Univerſity of Oxford, Dec. 4, 1687, concerning the obligation of oaths,
(Pſalm xv. 4.) which was thought to reflect on King James II. for breaking his oath
at his coronation.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are on an average twelve, the burials eight.
c. The lands of Tibbot in Dundry do now belong to John Blagrave, efq.
NORTON-HAUTVILLE, or HAW KFIELD.
(HIS vill, lying north from Chew, the hundred town, to which pariſh it is a
tithing, obtained from that circumſtance the original appellation of Norton or
North-Town. The other was added in conſequence of its having been poſſeſſed by the
family of Hauteville or de Alta Villa, who were deſcended from the ancient houſe of that
name in the dioceſe of Seiz in Normandy.
Of this name of Hautville lived many in the reigns of John, Henry the Third, and
Edward the Firſt and Second, in all whoſe wars they were engaged, and eſteemed
mighty warriors.
Sir

Chew.]
107
NORTON-H A U T VI L L E.
Sir John Hautville lived in the time of Henry the Third, and was engaged in all
the wars of that Prince, and 54th of that reign was ſigned with the croſs in order to his
going to the Holy Land with Prince Edward. In his old age he is faid to have
reſided at Norton, where he ſeems to have been ſomewhat of a terror to the inhabitants,
inaſmuch as they termed him a giant, and there ſtill remain in this neighbourhood,
between Chew and Pensford, two huge ſtones, called by the common people Hautville's
Coits, and vulgarly ſuppoſed to have been thrown there by this champion.
Sir Gefferey de Hautville was his ſucceſſor, and 25 Edw. I. was one of thoſe gentry
of this county who were ſummoned to be in London with horſe and arms, the Sunday
after the octave of the feaſt of St. John the Baptiſt, in order to attend the king into
foreign parts.
To him ſucceeded William, and to him Sir Gefferey de Hautville; but the name
feems to have ended about the commencement of the reign of Ed. II. or the beginning
of that of Edw. III. at leaſt we find no more of them in theſe parts. For in the laſt-
mentioned reign we learn, from indubitable records, that the manor of Norton, then
called Norton-Hautville, belonged to a family who aſſumed their name from Wick in
the pariſh of Yatton, where there ſtill remains an ancient manor-place known by the
name of Court de Wick.b
John De Wick is the firſt that I find poſſeſſed of Norton. He was a perſon emi-
nent in his days, and died 20 Edw. III. The inquiſition after his deceaſe ſays that
he held half a knight's fee here, which Gefferey de Hautville formerly held of the
Biſhop of Bath. His wife's name was Egelina, who after his death married to her
ſecond huſband Robert Cheyne, eſq; of the family of Cheyne in Lancaſhire, who in her
right became poſſeſſed of the manor and advowſon of the church of Norton, and left
them to a couſin of his own name.
It does not appear when Robert Cheyne the ſecond died, but his heir and ſucceſſor
was Sir William Cheyne, knight, who lived in the time of Henry V. and ſeems to
have been a perſon of conſiderable account and property in this county and Dorſetſhire.
At his death, 8 Hen. V. he is certified to have held this manor, with the advowſon of
the free chapel here appertaining to the manor, of the Biſhop of Bath and Wells..
Edmund Cheyne, his ſon and heir, ſucceeded to the manor.
After him came Edward Cheyney, whoſe name is mentioned 7 Hen. VI. as pol-
ſeſſing half a knight's fee here. But he ſeems to have alienated it, for in the very fame
reign Walter de Sutton is certified in the Book of Fees to hold that half knight's fee in
Norton-Hautville which the Wykes and Cheyneys formerly held of the Biſhops of
Bath and Wells.
To him ſucceeded William de Sutton, probably his ſon and heir. But I find no
more of the manor for ſeveral reigns, till in that of Edw. VI. both the manor and the
advowſon and right of patronage of the church were found to be in the poſſeſſion of
Thomas Huſſey, eſq; of Calthorp in Lincolnſhire. Which Thomas Huſſey 5 Ed. VI.
• Clauf. 25 Edw. I.
Inq. poft Mort.
c Elc.
d Ibid,
€ Lib. Feod.
P 2
fold

108
(Chew,
NORTON-HAUT VIL L E.
Yold theſe poſſeſſions to John Cutler, of Stanſted in Suſſex, eſq; and he the year following
diſpoſed of the ſame to James and John Biſs, of Stoke St. Michael in this county.
14. Jac. I. James Biſs and James his ſon fold the ſame to James Ford, of Norton-
Hawkfield, gent. William Ford, A. D. 1666, ſold the manor to the Rev. Nathaniel
Ingelo, D. D. fellow of Eton College in the county of Bucks."
In this tithing of Norton-Hautville there is an old camp or fortification, called
May's-Knoll, ſuppoſed to be Roman. It is encompaſſed with a ſingle ditch, the graff
whereof is higheſt on the weſt ſide, and includes upwards of twenty acres. The
entrance being narrow, is barred with a high rampart. The common people tell us
that this knoll was the reſidence of Hautville, (or Hakill, as they call him) the ſuppoſed
giant, whom we have before mentioned, and that it was from this place that he fung
his coit.
The church of Norton-Hautville has long ſince been deſtroyed, but the foundations
ſhew where it once ſtood. The advowſon was generally annexed to the manor, and
was ſome time held by the Babers of Regilbury, and lately by Sir Charles Kemeys
Tynte, bart.
In this church were interred the remains of Sir John Hautville, and his effigy cut in
wood placed over his monument; which, when the church was deſtroyed, was removed
to Chew church, where it now remains, and in the account of which we have deſcribed it.
There was a chantry in this church, founded by one of the Cheynes, the laſt incum-
bent of which was Thomas Ellys, who in 1553, when the chantry was diſſolved, was
allowed a penſion of il. 6s. 8d.
f From authentick evidences.
NORTON-MAL RE W A R D.
T may not be foreign to the purpoſe to notice (though it would be ridiculous to
controvert) the popular opinion which has prevailed from time immemorial con-
cerning the etymology of the name of this place. Sir John Hautville, of whom we
have juſt ſpoken, was a man of prodigious ſtrength, and withal a great favourite with
King Edward I. who frequented his houſe at the other Norton in this neighbour-
hood." The King, having one day expreſſed his deſire of knowing the extent of Sir
John's manhood, and ſeeing a ſpecimen of his abilities, the knight undertook to convey
three of the ſtouteſt men in his Majeſty's army up to the top of Norton tower. This
he effected by taking one under each arm, and the third in his teeth. Thoſe under his
arms made ſome reſiſtance, for which Sir John ſqueezed them to death ere he reached
the ſummit; but the other in his teeth was carried up unhurt. For this feat of ſtrength

See page 99.
the

2
Chem.]
NORTON-M ALRE W ARD,
109
f
the King gave Sir John Hautville all his eſtate lying in this pariſh of Norton, obſerving
at the fame time it was but a ſmall reward; from whence (ſay they) comes the ſurname
of this pariſh of Norton!
The family of Malreward, Maureward, in after days contracted into Marwood, who
actually impoſed their appellation on the place, were people of eminence and diſtinction
in this county, and in Dorſet, and Devon, and bore for their arms a chevron between
three goats' heads eraſed. Theſe Malrewards poſſeſſed three manors in the county of
Dorſet, viz. Winterborne, in Ruſhmere hundred, Shipton in Whitchurch, and Kingſton
in the hundred of St. George. In Devonſhire they had lands in Speccot' in the
hundred of Shebeare, in the time of Hen. III. of the grant of Nicholas Speccot; but
their principal ſeat was at this Norton, where they had free warren in their eſtate. In
a chartulary of Kington abbey in the county of Wilts, Sir William Malreward, knt. is
ſet down as one of the principal benefactors to that monaſtery, having given thereto the
church of Twiverton near Bath, and lands in Bromham, Raymore, and Keinton in
Wilts. Geffrey Malreward confirmed the grant.
This manor does not ſeem to be ſurveyed in the Domeſday record, nor does it ap-
pear when it came to the family before ſpoken of. The name indeed could have
exiſted here but a ſhort ſpace of time; for in the reign of Edward II. John Le Sore of
Backwell is certified to hold the manor of Northon-Maureward by the ſervice of
one knight's fee. 20 Ed. III. Hawiſia de Button held one knight's fee here, which
John de Button formerly held. 7 Hen. VI. Thomas Ruge is certified to hold the
ſame. 23 Hen. VI, Robert Greyndor, eſq; held at his death this manor, and the
advowſon of All Saints church here of the abbot of Keynſham.i 2 Ric. III. Joane
Barre, widow, died ſeized of this manor, with the manors of Charlcombe, Pury-
Furneaux, and Cheriton, leaving Robert Baſſet, eſq; Lucy the wife of Thomas Choke,
jun. Joane the wife of Thomas Choke, ſen'. Elizabeth the wife of John Choke, and
William Strode, her next heirs.k Baſſet, the firſt-mentioned, became poſſeſſed of
Norton, and for a term of years leaſed it to David Brooke, -eſq. In 1701 the exe-
cutors of Sir William Baſſet of Claverton, under the authority of a decree in chancery,
fold this and other manors to Richard Holder, efq; whoſe ſon, Robert Holder, in
1718 fold the ſame to Francis Freeman, and Samuel Prigg, eſqrs. and it now jointly
belongs to Sir George Oneſiphorus Paul, bart, and to Francis Adams, eſq; from their
mothers, the coheireſſes of Mr. Freeman.
Norton-Malreward is a ſmall pariſh, under the ſouth brow of Dundry hill, twelve
miles weſt from Bath, and fix fouth from Briſtol. It contains eighteen houſes, and
about one hundred inhabitants.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The Reve
Mr. Butler is both patron and incumbent,
* Hutchins's Dorſet. c Sir W. Pole's MSS.
: Mon. Angl. i. 888. & Lib. Feod.
Cart. 26 Edw. I. € Cartular. de Keinton MS.
Ibid. i Eſc.
ť Ibid.

The

IIO
[Chew.
NORTON-MAL REWARD.
The church conſiſts of a nave leaded, and a chancel and porch tiled. At the
weſt end is a ſquare embattled tower, forty feet high, containing two bells.
On the north wall of the chancel there is a ſmall ſtone inſcribed to the memory of
Robert Paine, formerly rector of this church, who died Dec. II, A. D. 1720, aged 91.
And on the floor another to Mary the wife of the ſaid Robert Paine, who died Jan. 29,
1714, aged 86.
Againſt the ſouth wall of the nave is an elegant monument of white and grey
marble, inſcribed-----“ To the memory of Shute Adams, eſq; who departed this life
on the 10th day of January 1766, aged 48; and of Frances his wife, who died the 26th
of January 1775, aged 55."-----Arms: Quarterly, firſt and fourth vert, a pale argent,
between two griffins ſegreant or. Second and third, three lozenges, argent.
S T
OW
E Y,
A
Small pariſh adjoining to Chew-Stoke eaſtward, conſiſting of about twenty
houſes, moſt of which are thatched, and ſo ſurrounded with lofty elms and other
wood as not to be ſeen at any diſtance. In a lane near the church a ſpring riſes, and
flows along the weſt ſide of the ſtreet in its way to the river at Pensford. The Anno-
tator on Camden mentioning this, obſerves it to be of a very petrifying quality, but at
preſent it retains no more of it than ſerves to forin Night incruſtations round ſticks and
other bodies, which it paſſes over. It is very remarkable, however, that no perſon
who drinks frequently of this water, was ever known to have the ſtone or gravel.
The manor of Stowey was held in the Conqueror's time by Dodo a Thane, as we
read in the ſurvey:
“ Dodo holds Stawe. Siwold held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for
" three virgates of land. The arable is three carucates.
In demeſne is one carucate,
"and three ſervants, and ſix villanes, and two cottagers, and a mill untaxed, and five
racres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture, and three acres of wood. It was for-
merly, and is now worth twenty ſhillings."
7 Hen. VI. it was found, by an inquiſition taken at Axbridge, that John Candell
held half a knight's fee in Stowey in the hundred of Chew, which Hamon Fitz-Richard
formerly held. The manor is now the property of Mrs. Jones, who reſides here.
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the patro-
nage of the Biſhop of Bath and Wells. The Rev. Mr. Sayle is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and is a ſmall ſtructure, conſiſting of one aile,
with a tower at the weſt end containing five ſmall bells. At the eaſt end of the nave is
22
Lib. Domeſday.
• Lib. Feod,
a very

Chew.]
Y.
T
E
O
W
a very elegant mural monument of white marble, on the tablet of which is this infcrip-
tion:-“ Sacred to the memories of William Jones of this pariſh, eſq; who died
Jan. 4, 1748, aged 69. He was a commiſſioner of the peace in the reigns of Queen
Anne, King George the Firſt, and of his preſent Majeſty; which truſt he diſcharged
with great candour and impartiality. He was ſecond ſon of Samuel Jones, of
Ramſbury in the county of Wilts, eſq. Likewiſe of Elizabeth his wife, who died
Dec. 26, 1743, aged 69. She was in every part of her life worthy of imitation for all
virtues and chriſtian graces. She was daughter of John Strachey, of Sutton-Court,
eſq; by Jane his wife, one of the daughters and coheireſſes of George Hodges, of
Wedmore in this county. And alſo of Richard Jones, ſon of the aboveſaid William
and Elizabeth Jones, who died March 14, 1724, aged 17."-----The arms of Jones
are, Per pale, azure and gules, three lions rampant, argent.
On a ſtone in the chancel floor:--_"Edwardus Barnard, hujus ecclefiæ vicarius,
obijt Februarij xiiº. An. Dom. 1658, ætat. ſuæ 72.”
On another ſtone:-“In memory of the Rev. Mr. A'Deane, vicar of this
pariſh, who departed the 11th of September 1773, aged 58.”
On the outſide walls of the church is found the velvet orange-coloured moſs, very
bright and lively.
In this pariſh was born Parſons, the Jeſuit, rector of the Engliſh college at Rome,
where he died, and was buried A. D. 1610.
TI
M
S BU
RY
a village pleaſantly ſituated about eight miles weſt from Bath, conſiſting of about
vated ground, with a fine vale on the ſouth, and commanding a rich and extenſive
proſpect. The lands are moſtly pafture, and well wooded with elm, and are worth
from fifteen to thirty ſhillings an acre. Here are ſeveral large coal-works, from which,
and thoſe at Clutton, the city of Bath is moſtly ſupplied. The price at the pit's
mouth is threepence per buſhel. Varieties of foſſils are found here, and ſome curious
lichens and polypodies. From the top of a lofty eminence called Timſbury Slade,
iſſues a fine ſpring of excellent ſoft water, which, forming a rivulet, paſſes through
the village. From this high land there is a beautiful proſpect to the ſouth and weſt.
The name of this place has been differently called, as Timſborough, Timeſbarowe, and
Temſbury, and in the Norman Record it paſſes through two appellations. It is thus
deſcribed in two ſeparate parcels, one as the Biſhop of Coutance's land, and the other
as that of Odo Flandrenſis :
6 William

112
[Chew.
T I M S B U RY.
a
« William holds of the Biſhop TEMESBARE. Ape held it in the time of King
" Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne
" is one carucate, and two ſervants, and two villanes, and one cottager with one plough.
“ There are two parts of a mill rendering three ſhillings, and twenty-ſix acres of mea-
« dow, and as many of paſture. It was worth twenty-ſix ſhillings, now fifty ſhillings.
“To this manor are added two hides, which Sibe held in the time of King Edward
“ for a manor, and gelded for as much. The arable is two carucates, and there are
“ with it one ſervant, and one villane, and three cottagers. There is a third part of a mill
rendering two ſhillings, and ſixteen acres of meadow, and as much of paſture. It
« was worth fourteen ſhillings, now thirty ſhillings.
“ Odo Flandrenſis (or of Flanders) holds TIMESBERIË. Gonuerd held it in the
t time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is four carucates.
* There are two ploughs, and five villanes, and three cottagers, and a mill of forty
"pence rent, and forty acres of meadow wanting one, and thirty-nine acres of paſture.
" It is worth three pounds.”
In the time of Henry III. theſe lands were the property of the family of Waddone,
of whom was Henry de Waddone, and in the ſucceeding reign of Edw. I. Humfrey
de Waddone, who is certified to hold at his death the manor and advowſon of
Tymmereſbarve of the King in chief by knight's ſervice. His heir was Michael de
Waddone.' 28 Hen. VI. William de Paulton died ſeized hereof, leaving for his heirs
Joane the wife of John Kelly, and Agnes the wife of Nicholas St. Loe.The St.
Loes had this manor ſome time, but alienated it, and it was afterwards poſſeſſed by the
Sambornes and the Pophams; it was lately purchaſed out of Chancery by Jacob
Mogg, eſq; of High-Littleton, Mr. Crang of this pariſh, Mr. Savage of Midſummer-
Norton, and the late Mr. Alexander Adams.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, valued in 1292 at
nine marks three ſhillings and fourpence, - out of which a portion of ten ſhillings was
paid to the monks of Farley.' It is in the patronage of Baliol College in Oxford, and
the Rev. Mr. Wood is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall edifice pleaſantly ſituated, and ſurrounded with fir trees; it
fixty feet in length, and thirty-two in breadth. It conſiſts of a náve, chancel, ſouth
aile, and porch, all leaded; at the weſt end is a ſquare embattled tower forty feet high,
in which are ſix bells.
On an old ſtone tomb in the chancel is the effigies of a man in armour, and over it is
a mural monument of ſtone, the cornice of which is ſupported by two ſmall Corinthian
columns at each end three feet high. Of the inſcription on the tablet nothing more
can be diſcovered than that the monument was erected to the memory of Sir Barnaby
Samborne, who all his life ſhewed his affection to his king and country.
On the left is a neat mural monument of white marble, inſcribed on the tablet,
Without this wall lyeth the body of Thomas Samborne, eſq; fon of Capt. Samborne.
* Lib. Domeſday. Ib. Mag, Rot. 32 Hen. III. Eſc, 14 Ed. I. ? Eſc. 28 Hen. VI. Tax. Spirit.
He

Chew.]
S B U RY.
T 1 M M
He died October 23, 1723, aged 36. Within the communion rails lieth the body of
Rebecca Samborne, daughter of the ſaid Captain Samborne. She died Jan. 20, 17472
aged 66.”
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel is a very neat mural monument of white marble,
inſcribed :
-Near this place lieth the body of Bartholomew Deeke, who was forty-
two years rector of this pariſh. He died Jan. 16, 1731, aged 69. Alſo the body of
Hannah, relict of the ſaid Bartholomew Deeke, who died Jan. 3, 1743, aged 80.
Alſo the body of Bartholomew, ſecond ſon of the ſaid Bartholomew and Hannah
Deeke, who died Feb. 17, 1721, aged 22. Alſo of Thomas their eldeſt ſon, who
died May 25, 1763, aged 68.”
In the ſouth aile is a mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed,
“ Within this aile lie part of the ancient family of the Sambornes.
Thomas, eldeſt ſon of Sir Barnaby, was Audry Samborne, March 4, 1700.
interred Jan. 30, 1636.
Thomas Samborne, eſq; Nov. 14, 1715.
Mary Samborne, June 14, 1658. Rebecca Samborne, his widow, Nov. 15.
Suſannah Samborne, April 3, 1663.
1726.
Philadelphia Samborne, Feb. 24, 1667. Elizabeth their daughter, Oct. 19, 1743.
Elizabeth Samborne, July 17, 1678. Mary their daughter, Feb. 3, 1746.
Mawdley Samborne, eſq; Feb. 24; 1678. Martha their daughter, Jan. 12, 1750."
Mary his daughter, Nov. 22, 1694.
In the porch floor is a ſtone inſcribed:
" Rev. James Crang, B. A. died July 30, 1779, aged 24."
Lands in this pariſh formerly belonged to St. Mary Magdalen's hoſpital in Bath.
The annual number of chriſtenings in this pariſh is on an average ſeventeen, the
burials ſixteen


UUR
VOL. II.
THE
d
[ 115 ]

THE HUNDRED OF
CHE W
T
Ο Ν
1
S divided into three ſeparate parts; the firſt, containing a great number of pariſhes,
is ſituated ſouthward from the hundred of Chew; the ſecond, containing only
one pariſh, lies betwixt the hundreds of Wrington, Redcliff and Bedminſter, and
Winterſtoke; and the laſt, containing alſo one pariſh, is almoſt environed by the hun-
dred of Winterſtoke, and ſituated on the Briſtol Channel. Its lords were thoſe of the
great barony of Chewton under Mendip. 17 Edw. III. it was found not to the King's
damage to grant licence to Henry Fitz-Roger to give the bailiwick of the bedelary of
the hundred of Chewton to Thomas de Panes, for the term of his life. And the ſaid
bailiwick is certified to be held of the King in capite by the ſervice of doing the King's
executions, and the mandates of the ſteward in the ſame hundred.a
Ing. ad quod damnum 17 Edw. III.
C HE W Τ Ο Ν - Μ Ε Ν DI P,
Or, The Town UPON THE CHEW,

'S additionally ſtiled Mendip, by reaſon of its ſituation under that mountain, and to
diſtinguiſh it from Chewton-Keynſham, ſo called from its vicinity to that town.
It lies in the great turnpike-load from Briſtol to Wells, being fourteen miles and a half
diſtant from the former, and from the latter five, and conſiſts of one ſtreet nearly a mile
in length. The pariſh itſelf is very large in its bounds, extending ſome ways four,
and others fix or ſeven miles. In that part of it which lies on Mendip hills there are
many pits, where lead ore and lapis calaminaris have formerly, been dug in large quan-
tities; but there are only two mines of the latter now wrought.
Q 2
This

116
[Chewton.
CHE W T O N-MENDI P.
This great manor was before the Conqueſt the poſſeſſion of Queen Editha, wife of
Edward the Confeſſor;" but it was ſoon brought into the Conqueror's hands, and held
by him when the Norman Record was compoſed.
“ The King holds CiwetuNE. There are twenty-nine hides. In the time of King
( Edward it gelded for fourteen hides. The arable is forty carucates. Thereof in
« demeſne are eighteen hides, and there are nine carucates, and twenty ſervants, and
« two coliberts, and eighteen villanes, and twenty-five cottagers, with nineteen ploughs.
“ There are five mills, rendering thirty ſhillings wanting five pence, and one hundred
acres of meadow. Paſture two'miles long, and one mile broad. A wood one mile in
length and breadth. In Bath four burgeffes pay forty pence. It yields fifty pounds
“ by tale. In the tiine of Queen Editha it yielded thirty pounds.
" The abbot of Jumieges holds the church of this manor with half a hide of land.
« There are two carucates and a half, and two ſervants, and two villanes, and eight
“ bordars, and eight cottagers. It was and is worth forty ſhillings.”35
In the time of Henry II, Chewton was the land of Geffrey Martel, a perſon of
eminence, being chief butler to the King, and of an ancient family chiefly ſeated in
Dorſetſhire from the time of the Conqueſt. To which Geffery ſucceeded John, Ivo,
William, and Roger Martel, whoſe daughter and coheireſs Joan brought it by marriage
to Reginald, younger ſon of Reginald Fitz-Peter, who died ſeized of it 14 Edw. I. having
held it of the King in chief by the ſervice of half a knight's fee.d. After this we find the
manor and hundred of Chewton in the poſſeſſion of John de Vivonia, who died 7 Edw. II.
and after him "Joan de Vivonia is certified to hold the hundred and manor of Chewton,
reverſionary to Reginald Fitz-Reginald and Peter Fitz-Reginald. Which Peter Fitz-
Reginald foon after came to the whole poſſeſſion of this manor, but died 16 Edw. II.
and was ſucceeded in his eſtates by Henry Fitz-Roger, who had married his relation."
23 Edw. III. this Henry Fitz-Roger obtained a licence from the King to refound at
his manor of Chewton under Mendip a certain oratory of the order of the Brethren of
St. Croſs, near the Tower at London, and to give four meſſuages and three acres of
land in Chewton to the prior and brethren of the ſaid order, for the celebration of divine
ſervice therein. This Henry Fitz-Roger died 26 Edw. III. In the ſucceeding reign
the manor and hundred of Chewton were held by Sir John Bonville, in right of Eliza-
beth his wife, of the King in chief by military ſervice. He died 20 Ric. II. leaving by
the ſaid Elizabeth, William his ſon and heir. Which William was alſo a knight, and
having been in the wars of France in the times of Henry V. and VI. had ſummons to
parliament in 1449 by the title of Lord Bonville of Chewton, a title which ended with
his life foon after the ſecond battle of St. Alban's between the forces of York and
Lancaſter, where he loſt his head. In his time great diſputes aroſe between the tenants
at Chewton and the prior of Greenoar cell upon Mendip within this pariſh," concerning
certain incroachments made by the miners, and ſome outrages committed by the
tenants. Theſe matters aroſe to fo great a height, that a formal complaint was pre-
e Ibid.
Lib. Domeſday.
• Ibid. c Cart. antiq.
d Eſc.
+ Cart. antiq.
% Ing. ad quod damnum,
* It was a cell to Glaſtonbury Abbey, now an extraparochial farm betwixt Chewton and Priddy.
ſented

Chewton.]
117
CHE W T ON-M E N D I P.
i
ſented by the prior to the King, who commanded Lord Chief Juſtice Choke to go
down into the county and compromiſe the difference. This was the origin of the
ſettling the laws of the miners of Mendip, which are ſtill obſerved; and at this day a
court is occaſionally held here, called the Minery Court, at which all diſputes between
the miners are tried and finally ſettled. Any miner who finds himſelf aggrieved, com-
plains to an officer called the Ledreeve, who is obliged by his office to attend to all
ſuch complaints, and to ſummon a jury of twenty-four miners, who meet and hold a
court, wherein all ſuch caſes are tried and adjudged by the laws of Mendip, from whence
there is no appeal. Baniſhment from the hill is the higheſt puniſhment this court has
power to inflict; they have ſmaller of various kinds.
This great barony of Chewton, coming into the hands of the crown, by the attainder
of Henry Duke of Suffolk, was granted by Queen Mary in the firſt year of her reign
to Sir Edward Waldegrave, knt. one of her Majeſty's privy council, and maſter of the
great wardrobe. In 1554 this Sir Edward was elected one of the knights for Somer-
ſetſhire, and having married Frances daughter of Sir Edward Nevil, knt. died Sept. 1,
1561, leaving iſſue Charles his ſon and heir, and Nicholas Waldegrave of Borely in
Eſſex, as alſo three daughters, Mary, Magdalen, and Catherine.
Charles Waldegrave, his ſon and heir, was of Staining-Hall in Norfolk, and of
Chewton. He married Jeronyma, daughter to Sir Henry Jerningham, of Coffee-Hall
in the county of Norfolk, knt. and by her had iffue Edward, who ſucceeded him, and
two daughters, Frances and Magdalen.
Edward Waldegrave received the honour of knighthood in 1607, and at the breaking
out of the civil war behaved ſo worthily in defence of the royal cauſe, that King
Charles I. conferred on him in 1643 the dignity of a baronet. He married Eleanor
daughter of Sir Thomas Lovel, of Harling in Norfolk, knt. and was father of Sir
Henry Waldegrave, bart.
Which Sir Henry was ſtiled of Staining-Hall, and married to his firſt wife Ann,
daughter of Edward Pafton, eſq; by whom he had ſeven fons and four daughters. To
his ſecond wife he married Catherine, daughter of Richard Bacon, eſq; by whom he
had fix ſons and fix daughters. He died Oct. 10, 1658.
Sir Charles Waldegrave, bart. his eldeſt ſon and heir, was by letters patent bearing
date Jan. 20, 1685-6, 1 Jac. II. created Baron Waldegrave, of Chewton in the county
of Somerſet; and in February the year following was appointed comptroller of the
King's houſhold. Upon the revolution he retired into France, where he died at Paris
in 1689. He married Henrietta, natural daughter of James II. by Mrs. Arabella
Churchill, and by her had two ſons, James and Henry, and a daughter whoſe name
was Arabella.
James, the eldeſt ſon and heir, being a perſon of great honour and abilities, ſerved
their Majeſties Geo. I. and II. in the capacity of ambaſſador to ſeveral foreign courts;
and whilſt he was abroad in the ſervice of his country, was, Sept. 13, 1729, created
Viſcount Chewton and Earl Waldegrave. His Lordſhip married Mary, daughter
! The laws of the miners were printed at London 1687, 12mo.
of
118
[Chewton,
CHE W T ON-M E N D I P.

of Sir John Webb, of Hatherop in Glouceſterſhire, bart, and was father of three
ſons, James the ſecond Earl Waldegrave, John who died in infancy, and John who
ſucceeded his brother as third Earl Waldegrave; as alſo one daughter of the name of
Henrietta. The above-mentioned James Earl Waldegrave died in 1741, at his ſeat
at Naveſtock in the county of Effex, in the church of which he lies interred.
James Earl Waldegrave, the ſecond of that name, fucceeded his father in titles and
eſtates; and having gone through divers important offices in the court of his late
Majeſty, died of the ſmall-pox, April 28, 1763, and was alſo buried at Naveſtock.
He married Maria, ſecond daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, knight of the Bath, and
by her had three daughters, Elizabeth-Laura, Charlotte-Maria, and Anna-Horatia.
Deceaſing without male iſſue, his Lordſhip was ſucceeded by his only ſurviving brother
John, third and preſent Earl Waldegrave' and Viſcount Chewton, who inherits this
manor, and poſſeſſes nearly the whole of the pariſh. His Lordſhip's arms are, Party
per pale argent and gules.
There are certain ſmall rents paid by ſome tenants of this manor, called Sacrafield
Rents, which probably originated from ſome religious inſtitution."
There is a large hamlet belonging to this pariſh, called North-WIDCOMB, lying
near Hinton-Blewet, about five miles northward from Chewton, and containing about
twenty houſes. The manor of this hamlet in early times belonged to the barons Beau-
champ of Hatch, into which family it came with many other manors in this county by
the marriage of John de Beauchamp with Cecilia one of the ſiſters and coheireſſes of
William de Fortibus. This John de Beauchamp died 12 Edw. I. By an inquiſi-
tion taken 48 Edw. III. it was found that Matthew-Gournay and Alice his wife held
this hamlet for the term of their lives, of the grant of Alice late wife of John Beau-
champ, who had it in dower." The Gournays had it for ſome time, and after them
the Tiptots. Sir John Tiptot Lord Powis died ſeized of it 2Ị Hen. VI. John his ſon
and heir aged eighteen years. 33 Hen. VI. Edmund Duke of Somerſet held it at his
death." Leland calls it Whitecombe, and tells us Gurney was lord of it, and of Riche-
monte caſtle by Mendepe.°
We learn from Domeſday-Book that there was a church at Chewton ſo early as the
Norman Conqueſt. This church, with the appendant lands, was held by the Abbot of
the famous Benedictine abbey of St. Peter at Jumieges, in the dioceſe of Rouen in
Normandy, founded A. D. 664 by St. Phillibert and King Clovis II. The abbot
and convent of that monaſtery for a long ſeries of years continued patrons of this rec-
tory, with the chapels of Eaſton-major and minor, Emborow, Farrington, and Paulton;
ard upon the reſignation of the rector, Feb. 17, 1241, they prevailed upon Joceline,
biſhop of Bath, to appropriate the rectory to them. When the alien priories were
diſſolved by act of parliament, 2 Hen. V. and all their eſtates veſted in the crown, the
King granted this appropriation to the Carthuſian priory of Jeſus de Bethleme de
Shene in the county of Surry, which he founded in the year 1413.
k See Cowel's Interpreter.
1 Eſc.
m Ibid.
P Account of the Alien Priories, i. 15.
* Ibid. • Lel. Itin. vii. 88,
9 Reg. Well, iii. 183.
In

Chewton.]
119
CHE W T O N-M E N DIP.
In 1292 this rectory was taxed at thirty-two marks and eightpence halfpenny, and
the vicarage at twelve marks. It paid a penſion of five marks to the priory of Haftyng
in Normandy, which was a cell to the abbey of Jumieges."
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Frome. The patron is Robert Kingſmill,
eſq; and the Rev. Dr. Arthur Henry Anneſley the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, ſtands on a conſiderable eminence
on the weſt ſide of the ſtreet, and makes a noble appearance, having one of the fineſt
Gothick towers in the county, one hundred and twenty-ſix feet high to the top of the
battlements, and ſurmounted with beautiful Gothick pinnacles at the angles fifteen feet
high above all.
This tower contains a clock and five large bells. The church conſiſts
of a nave, chancel, and fouth aile, covered with lead.
At the eaſt end of the aile is an old ſtone tomb eight feet long, and three and a half
high, whereon lie the effigies of William Lord Bonville in armour, and Elizabeth
Lady Bonville his wife.
On the north ſide of the chancel is an old ſtone mural monument with the following
inſcription:-/Reverendus et affiduus Jeſu Chriſti Miniſter D. Edmundus Quarles,
rector de Chewton, hic ſitus eſt. Item reverendus dominus Solomon Quarles, rector
de Lambourn in agro Berkerenſi, Edmundi filius, hic ſepultus eſt. Una cum Maria
Quarles, Edmundi nuper uxore, et Solomonis Matre. Deponuntur etiam hic mortali-
tatis exuviæ Gualteri Brice, armigeri, Rebekæ filiæ unicæ D. Edmundi Quarles mariti;
necnon dominæ Annæ Brice, Gualteri et Rebekæ uxoris filiæ. Et D. Annabellæ
Copleſton, Joannis Copleſton, equitis aurati, qui Rebekæ, Gualteri Brice armigeri,
relictæ, nupſit, filiæ: omnesque reſurrectionem felicem unà expectant.
Edmund Quarles died Oct. 31, 1687. Solomon Quarles, Nov. 1, 1671.
Mary Quarles, April 13, 1687.
Ann Brice, April 2, 1680.”
On a black ſtone in the chancel floor:" Hic fitus eft Nathaniel Till Adam,
cujus mens fincera, lingua docta, manus munda fuit: hunc unum, moribus gravem, et
pietate inſignem, hæc parochia per annos octo fidelem Dei miniſtrum habuit. Obijt
23 Oct. 1705, ætat. 33."
In the aile and nave are ſeveral inſcriptions to the family of York, as alſo to Palmer,
Adams, and Curtis.
Over the north door of the church is a fine Saxon arch of excellent workmanſhip.
In the church-yard there are two very old yew-trees in a decaying ſtate. The body
of one of them is nine feet in circumference.
A free ſchool for teaching ten poor children has been founded here by the inhabi-
tants of the place, who incloſed Chew-Down.; the rents of which, being 81. a year, are
appropriated to this ſchool, which, with forty ſhillings a year given by Lord Walde-
grave, is the whole endowment.

: Taxat. Spiritual,
A fair
120
Chewton:
CHE WTON-M E N D I P.
A fair is annually held here on Holy-Thurſday, formerly for cattle, now for toys, &c.
Richard Jenkins, efq; has a very neat ſeat in this pariſh, on an eminence near the
road, built in a very elegant Gothick ſtile of architecture.
B R
CK
L E Y.
THIS is a ſmall pariſh in the ſecond ſubdiviſion of the hundred, nine miles ſouth-
weſt from Briſtol, and three north from Wrington, in the turnpike-road front
Briſtol to Yaţton and Congerſbury. The ſituation is very pleaſant, and conſiſts of
great variety of ſurface; and from ſome parts the proſpects are very beautiful.
About a quarter of a mile eaſtward of the church is a very fine romantick glen,
called Brockley-Combe, about half a mile in length, and very narrow; each ſide being a
ſteep ſlope formed of rugged rocks mixed with timber-trees, yews, foreſt and other
ſhrubs, that grow out of the crevices of the ſtone. In the deepeſt part the trees are
very lofty, and the rocks almoſt inacceſſible to the height of near three hundred feet,
projecting in many places through, and towering above the tops of the branches, with
a rude and aſtoniſhing grandeur. The ſteep aſcent and rugged ſurface of the rocks
on each ſide are rendered very romantick by the fantaſtically twiſted forms of the
roots of many trees and ſhrubs which ſpring from the crevices, and ſpread their branches
in the moſt pictureſque manner. Along the bottom is a fine gravel walk, and nearly in
the center of the Combe is a neat cottage, where many reſort to drink tea in the ſummer
ſeaſon. If this ſpot had the advantage of water, it would be a ſecond Matlock on a
ſmaller ſcale, but not leſs romantick and beautiful. It belongs to John Pigot, eſq.
On the eaſt ſide of this pariſh ſome lead ore has been diſcovered; and great quan-
tities of a peculiar kind of ſtone, compoſed of a great number of columnar diviſions,
like the Giant's Cauſeway in Ireland.
In this pariſh there is a very ancient yew-tree, ſeventeen feet in circumference.
The manor of Brockley was never more conſiderable than at preſent; indeed for
ſeveral centuries it is hardly noticed as a manor. In the Conqueror's time a Saxon
thane held it, as we read in the Norman record:
“ Eldred holds BROCHELIE. The ſame held it in the time King Edward, and gelded
“ for four hides. The arable is four carucates, and ſo many there are, and ſix villanes,
" and ſeven cottagers, and fixteen acres of meadow. It is worth thirty ſhillings.
19 Edw. II. Peter de Sancta Cruce, or St. Croſs, held half a knight's fee in
Brockley, which was afterwards held by the family de Aſhton, who ſeem to have had

ma
. Lib, Domeſday.
the
Chewton.]
12I
BR 0 C K L E Y.

b
the manor. 41 Edw. III. Sir Robert de Aſhton died ſeized of certain lands within
this pariſh, which deſcended to the Berkleys.
By an inquiſition taken at Langport 17 Oct. 20 Hen. VIII. it appeared that Richard
the fon and heir of Humphry Harvey died Jan 4, 17 Hen. VIII. ſeized of one third of
the manor of Brockley, five meſſuages, one cottage, one windmill, one dove-houſe,
five gardens, twenty-three acres of arable, fifteen of meadow, eighty-eight acres of
wood, and tenpence rent in Brockley, together with the advowſon of the church.
Which premiſes were certified to be holden of the King as of his barony of Wigmore
by knight's ſervice. Nicholas Harvey, his ſon and heir, was then of the age of eleven
years. Sir James Perceval was truſtee of the family eſtates in Brockley, Backwell, and
Barrow, for the uſe of Richard Harvey above-mentioned. Of this family of Harvey
the manor of Brockley was at length purchaſed by Thomas Pigott, of the kingdom of
Ireland, efq; who married Florence, widow of Thomas Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, eſq;
and it is now the property of his deſcendant the preſent John Pigott, eſq; who has a
pleaſant ſeat near the church.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, the patronage is in
John Pigott, eſq; and the Rev. Wadham Pigott is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Nicholas, is a ſmall ſtructure, conſiſting of a
nave partly leaded, chancel, and two ſmall ailes, and a porch tiled. At the weſt end is
a plain embattled tower, containing one bell. The ſouth aile belongs to Brockley-
Court, and under it is a vault of the Pigott family.
In the chancel floor there is this memorial:" Here lieth the body of Judith,
younger daughter of Nicholas Harvey, eſq; of this pariſh, who died the 29th of De-
cember 1652, aged eighteen years.” -The arms of Harvey were, Sable, a feſſe or,
between three ſquirrels ſejant argent, cracking nuts or. Creſt, a ſquirrel ſejant argent,
tail or, cracking a nut of the laſt.
On a black ſtone in the middle paſſage there is a Latin inſcription to the memory of
William Stephens, A. M. rector of Weſton-ſuper-Mare, who died July 13, 1694, aged
43. Arms: Party per chevron, in chief two falcons volant.
Mr. Richard Durban gave to the pariſh of Brockley 251. the intereſt thereof to be
given in bread to the poor of the ſaid pariſh, the Sunday after Chriſtmas-day, and the
Sunday after New-Year's-day yearly for ever. 17.53
• Lib, Feod,
Coles's Eſch, in the Britiſh Muſeum,
Houſe of Yvery, i. 415.
VOL. II.
R
KINGSTON

[ 122 ]
[Chewton
K I N G S T O N-S E Y M OU R.
WES
7 ESTWARD from Brockley, but divided from it by the hundred of Win-
terſtoke, is Kingſton-Seymour, lying in the laſt ſubdiviſion of this hundred,
and contiguous to the Briſtol Channel. It is a ſmall ſtraggling place, conſiſting of
forty-two houſes and two hundred and fifty inhabitants. The lands are moſtly arable,
and very rich, being worth on an average thirty-five ſhillings an acre throughout the
pariſh. Two rivers here diſcharge themſelves into the ſea. From its ſituation, this
place has frequently been overflowed; and we learn from a tablet in the church, that
on Jan. 20, 1606, there was a terrible inundation in this and many other adjoining
pariſhes. The ſea-banks were broken down, many perſons drowned, and a great
number of cattle and goods carried away by the violence of the waves, and entirely
loft. The water in the church was five feet high,- and the greateſt part lay on the
ground for ten days. The lands here are ſeparated by ditches more than hedges;
there is but little wood, and elm the principal. There are many large orchards.
Of this place we read the following account in the Conqueror's ſurvey:
“ William holds of the Biſhop [of Coutance] CHINGESTONE. Eldred held it in the
« time of King Edward, and gelded for one hide. . The arable is ſeventeen carucates.
“ In demeſne are three carucates, with one ſervant, and eighteen villanes, and four
cottagers, with eleven ploughs. There are forty acres of paſture. It was and is
“ worth fix pounds. Of the land of this manor Fulcran holds of the Biſhop one caru-
“cate of arable, and has on it two cottagers. It is worth three ſhillings.
« The fame William holds CHINGESTONE of the Biſhop. Four Thanes held in the
“ time of King Edward, and gelded for four hides and a half. The arable is ſeven
There are nine villanes, and eight cottagers, with one ſervant, having
[amongſt them) fix ploughs and a half. It was and is worth fixty ſhillings. This
manor in the time of King Edward was aſſeſſed at only one hide.'
In the time of Hen. II. the manor of Kingſton was the poſſeſſion of the family of
Malherbe, who were lords alſo of Shipham, Rowborough, and many other adjacent
manors. But in the ninth year of Ric. I. Robert Malherbe, or de Malherbe, (as
he is ſometimes called) made a grant of this lordſhip to Milo de Sancto Mauro, or
Seymour, from whom the place was afterwards called. This Milo was a Baron, and
one of thoſe who conſpired in arms againſt King John. His ſon Peter de Sancto
Mauro lived in the time of Henry III. at Weſton in Gordano, in the hundred of
Portbury, which manor he held together with this of Kingſton. His ſeal was a port-
cullis quartered with two chevronels." He left iſſue one only daughter and heir, Maud
de Sancto Mauro, who was twice married; firſt to Walter de Wengham, who died
8 Edw. I. and ſecondly, to Simon de Ludgate. By her firſt huſband ſhe had four
daughters, Joan the wife of Richard de Ken; Alice the wife of John de Wyke, who


" carucates.
CC
a

b
a Lib. Domeſday. Cart, antiq.
c Ibid.
d Seals from ancient deeds.
e Houſe of Yvery, i. 356.
died

Chewton.]
123
KINGS TO N-SE Y MO U R.
died without iſſue; Maud, the wife of Philip de Wyke; and another Joan, the wife of
Sir John de Boudon. By her ſecond huſband, Simon de Ludgate, ſhe had one ſon,
Laurence, furnamed (according to the mode of thoſe times) from his mother, by
reaſon of her noble extraction, de Sancto Mauro. Which Laurence, notwithſtanding
divers claims and litigations, inherited little of the patrimony; and this manor, together
with the advowſon of the living, was allotted to the daughters of Walter de Wengham.
And ever after this the manor of Kingſton appears to have been divided But there
ſeems to have been another branch of the Seymours who poſſeſſed lands in this pariſh,
and were moſt probably deſcended from Laurence de Sancto Mauro above-mentioned.
For it appears from ancient evidences that Henry Seymour lived here in the time of
Edw. II.; and 26 Edw. III. John Seymour his ſon leaſed lands in this pariſh. By ant
inquiſition taken 20 Edw. III. it was found that Maurice, the ſon of Maurice de
Berkley, was ſeized of a third part of the manor of Kingſton-Seymour, Thomas de
Berkley his ſon and heir.
42 Edw. III. John the ſon of Sir John de Boudon, knt, remitted to Elias Spelly,
burgeſs of Briſtol, and Agnes his wife, and the heirs and aſſigns of the ſaid Elias, all
his right in the manor of Kingſton-Seymour, and in the advowſon of the church of the
ſaid manor. This was the ſon of that Sir John Boudon who married one of the co-
heireſſes of Wengham above-mentioned. II Ric. II. Catherine the wife of Sir John
Thorp, knt. died ſeized of another third part of this manor, which ſhe held of the King
in capite by knight's ſervice, together with the right of a third turn of preſenting to the
church of the faid manor. 6 Hen. IV. John de Kenn poſſeſſed either the whole or
part of this manor." A third of the manor was again in the Berkley family i Hen. VI.
when Sir Maurice Berkley died ſeized of it.' 28 Hen. VI. Thomas Norton held a
third part of the manor of Kingſton-Seymour, and was ſucceeded by his brother Walter
Norton in his eſtates. Another third was held about the ſame time, with the ad-
vowſon of the church, by Robert Kenn, eſq; whoſe fon and heir 31 Hen. VI. was
John Kenn, of the age of two years." By an inquiſition taken at Yeovil 24 April,
6 Hen. VIII. it was found that Thomas Norton died ſeized of one third of this manor
and the advowſon of the church;° which premiſes were inherited by Andrew Norton
his ſon and heir, who is certified to have held them 9 Hen. VIII. as of the dutchy of
Lancaſter, by the ſervice of the third part of a knight's fee.!
By another inquiſition it appeared that Robert Bulbeke died May 14, 16 Hen. VIII.
ſeized of fix meſſuages, four hundred acres of arable, meadow, and paſture, and five of
wood in Kingſton-Seymour, the half whereof was held of John Kenn, eſq; as of his
third of the manor of Kingſton, by the fourth part of one knight's fee. The other
half of the premiſes was held of Thomas Snygg, as of his third part of the manor of
Kingſton aforeſaid, by what ſervice it was not known. In the latter end of the reign
of Elizabeth the manor was held by Chriſtopher Kenn, eſq; of the King as of the
honour of Trowbridge, parcel of the dutchy of Lancaſter." Of late years it belonged
to Mr. Vaughan of Shirehampton, who left at his death a daughter, who joined with
f Cart, antiq.
m Ibid.
& Eſc.
n Ibid.
h Rot. clauf 42 Edw. III.
• Inq. poft mort. Tho. Norton,
R 2
i Eſc.
k Cart, antiq.
P Lib, Feod, 9 Eſc.
1 Eſc.
r Ib.
truſtees
I 24
[Chcwton.
KINGSTON-S E Y MOUR.
truſtees in ſelling the eſtate, which was bought by Meſſrs. Hale, Worral, and Proffer;
but now belongs two-thirds to John Pigott, eſq; and one-third to Mr. Jolin Filer.
The church of Kingſton-Seymour, which is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and
Bedminſter, was in 1292 valued at twenty marks.' The gift is in Lord Paulet, and
the Rev. Mr. Tudor is the preſent incumbent.
The church conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and aile on the ſouth ſide; at the weſt end
is a tower with a ſtone ſpire. The tower contains a clock and five bells.
On the north wall, in a frame, is
« A memorandum of a law ſuit happening in the year 1702, occaſioned by the af-
ſeſfors of Yatton taxing certain lands lying in this pariſh of Kingſtone-Seamore, called
Colefree Land; the occupiers of which refuſing to pay their rates, the other took
diſtreſs upon the ſaid lands, for which this pariſh brought an action againſt them the
15th and 16th of March 170ș. This cauſe was tried at Taunton, before Baron Price,
when this pariſh obtained a verdict againſt the pariſh of Yatton, and afterwards got
great coſts of fuit.Alſo, Nov. 27 enſuing, the inhabitants ſuſtained great lofs of
cattle, ſheep, and corn, with many mows both of corn and hay; the violent tempeſt
breaking down the ſea-banks, let in the ſalt water.”
« Benefaction. Mr. Edward Seſs of this pariſh gave twenty ſhillings yearly on
Twelfth-day, to be paid out of his land lying in this pariſh for ever, viz. ten ſhillings
før the preaching a ſermon, and the other ten ſhillings to be given in bread to the ſe-
cond poor having no relief.”
In the church-yard is an old tomb of one of the Bulbeck family.

s Taxat. Spiritual.
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A
M
E
Y.

TH
THIS pariſh lies in the large diviſion of the hundred, and is ſituated twelve miles
weſt from Bath, ten ſouth from Briſtol, and nine north from Wells, in a woody
but pleaſant country, agreeably varied with hills and vallies, well cultivated and wa-
tered. The number of houſes is forty-ſix, and of inhabitants about two hundred and
ſixty. Of the houſes thirty-four are in the hamlet called Temple-Cloud, the reſt are
fcattorců round the church. The ſoil is moſtly of the ſtone-ruſh kind, and a rich
gravelly fand, with a little coarſe marl. The lands are moſtly paſture. In this pa-
riſh are ſeveral quarries of excellent pennant ſtone, conſiderable quantities of which are
ſent to Bath for paving the footways in the ſtreets. This ſtone is found at about fix
feet deep below the ſurface; the ſtrata lie in a dipping poſition, and are more than
twenty feet in thickneſs. Here are two large woods, containing upwards of one hun-
dred and twenty acres, in which is a great quantity of large oak timber, and plenty
of
Chewton.
125
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a
of coppice wood. A little brook, called Broadmead, riſes in this pariſh, and, after
paſſing through Littleton, joins the Cam at Camerton, whence it goes through Dun-
kerton and Midford to the Avon.
The manor of Camely was given by William the Conqueror to the Biſhop of Cou-
tance, who, reſiding for ſome time in theſe parts, kept it in his own hands as demeſne:
« The Biſhop himſelf holds CAMELEI. Two Thanes held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for nine hides, and half a virgate of land. The arable is nine
carucates. In demeſne are three carucates, and thirteen ſervants, and nine villanes,
« and one bordar, and ſeven cottagers, with four ploughs. There is a mill of five
ſhillings rent, and one hundred and twenty acres of meadow, and thirty acres of
paſture, and fifty acres of coppice-wood. It was worth ſeven pounds, now ten pounds,
« Of the land of this manor Humphrey holds one hide, and has there one carucate,
" and three villanes, and one cottager, with one plough. There are forty acres of mea-
« dow. It is worth twenty ſhillings.
The next account that we meet with of this manor is a memorandum in the red book
of Bath, now in the poſſeſſion of Lord Weymouth, which ſays that Alexander de Alneto
gave the manor of Camely, in the year 1153, to the church of St. Peter at Bath.
This Alexander de Alneto, and Erneburga his wife, were buried in the ſaid church of
St. Peter, and the following inſcription is placed on the right hand of the entrance
to their memory:
“ Hic jacet Alerander de Aineto, et Erneburga uror ejus, et Eulius de
Aineto, filius eorum, et Lucia de Mariſcis, filia corum, et Jordanus de
Mariſcis, filius ejusdem Lucie, et Willelmus de Mariſcis, filius ejusdem
Jodani.”
It is not eaſy to reconcile this grant of the manor with the other accounts of it, which
for a length of time after the above date aſſign its poſſeſſion to the family de Mariſco,
who intermarried with the above-mentioned de Alnetos, Dannos, or Dandos, (as they
were afterwards written.) 12 Edw. I. William de Mariſco held this manor, and after
him Stephen de Mariſco, or Marreys. 4 Ric. II. James Boteler was found to be heir
to the eſtate. 7 Hen. V. James Boteler Earl of Ormond held it at his death,
James his ſon and heir being of the age of twelve years. This manor was held in the
time of Edw. III. and Ric. II. of the family of Burnell, as of their manor of Compton-
Dando. An inquiſition taken at Wells 22d July, 4 Edw. VI. after the death of
Richara Watkyn Vaughan, ſhews that the ſaid Vaughan died 20 April, 2 Edw. VI.
ſeized of the manors of Camely, Markſbury, Houndſtreet, and Brean, leaving Polydore
Watkyn Vaughan his ſon and heir, then of the age of eighteen years and a half.' A
manor in Camely likewiſe belonged to the monks of Glaſtonbury. 13 Eliz. the manor
of Camely, with divers lands and tenements were held by John Hippeſley," and it is
now the property of Henry Hippeſley Coxe, eſq.

* Lib. Domeſday. Codex ruber Bathon. MS. c Eſc. a Ibid. e Ibid. Ing. poft mort. W. Vaughan.
& Roll of Glaſtonbury Abbey, in Langtoft's Chronicle, ii. 362. • Ter. Sydenham, MS.
The
126
[Chewton.
CA
E L Y.
M

The church, valued in 1292 at nine marks,i was appropriated to the abbey of St.
Peter and Paul at Bath, and a yearly penſion of one mark was paid out of the parſonage
to that monaſtery. This penſion is now paid to the crown. It is a rectory in the
deanery of Frome, and in the patronage of the lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr.
Seccombe is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. James. It ſeems to have been built (or at leaſt re-
paired) by ſome of the family of St. Loe, whoſe arms, impaling a feſſe between fix
billets, are at the weſt ſide of the tower, which is a handſome building, ſeventy feet high,
and contains five bells. The church itſelf is a ſmall building of one pace, and contains
nothing remarkable. There is an infcription to the memory of Cadwallader Jones, eſq;
who died April 13, 1692.
! Taxat. Spiritual.
С
Η Ι L C Ο Μ Ρ Τ ο Ν.

CHUI
YHILCOMPTON is a ſmall pariſh, eleven miles weſt from Bath, on the great
turnpike road to Wells and Bridgwater.
The name is evidently derived from the Saxon Leald, cold, Lombe, a valley, and
ton, a town; which laft is ſuppoſed to come from tynan, another Saxon word figni-
fying to inclofe or fortify. It has been written different ways at different periods, but,
moſt anciently, ſimply Contitone, and Contone.
It is ſituated partly on the turnpike road, and partly in a rich woody vale, which
extends northward to Midſummer-Norton. The roads are good, the cottages very
decent, and an air of neatneſs runs through the whole village. At the head of the
valley, near ſome romantick ſhaggy rocks, ſeveral ſprings ariſe, and at a little diſtance
from their ſource form a rivulet, which, in its deſcent through the village, is inter-
cepted by many artificial falls, over which it paſſes along on the eaſt ſide of the ſtreet,
and has a pleaſing appearance. This rivulet abounds with trout and eels, and after
paſſing through Norton, Radſtock, and other places, empties itſelf into the river Frome,
near Bradford.
The foil is various, but conſiſts principally of two kinds, diſtinguiſhed by the names
red ground, and marl ground. Theſe are both loamy good land, but the marl ground is
much the beſt for paſture as well as corn. The marl graſs, (Trifolium Alpeſtre of
Linnæus and Hudſon) now ſo generally known, owes its origin to an inhabitant of this
pariſh, who, about fifty years ago, when the lands here were moſtly common fields,
collected the ſeeds from the Meres which divided the ſeveral properties, and increaſed
it from year to year, ſo as to fell large quantities; and as it was ſoon much approved,
its culture and circulation became general,
The

Chewton.]
127
C HIL CO Μ Ρ Τ Ο Ν.
The corn grate, and white lyas ſtone, lie over the marl; and a ſpecies of calcarious
ſtone, called the red rock, is found in the vale, (which is all red ground) and contains
calcarious ſpar, and ſmall quantities of iron ore. The ſpar is moſtly found in nodules,
or in the cavities and chinks of the red rock; but very little of it is tranſparent. A few
cornua ammonis are ſometimes found here, and ſome branches of coral embedded in the
ſtone, but ſcarcely any other foſſils.
Under a bed of fire-ſtone twenty yards thick, is coal, for raiſing which, works were
begun in 1779, and are now carrying on with ſucceſs. There is alſo another coal-
work in the ſouthern part of the pariſh, known by the name of Stock-hill.
The common fields were all incloſed about forty years ſince, by mutual conſent,
without act of parliament.
Part of the common called Old-Down is within the pariſh, on which the occupiers
of lands have a right to turn ſtock without reſtriction as to time, number, or ſort of
cattle.
This pariſh contains about fixty houſes, ſeveral of which are very good dwellings,
and nearly two hundred and fixty inhabitants; but there are only eight reſident free-
holders. Here are two woods, one rather large, belonging to Lord Weymouth.
This pariſh is not deſtitute either of antiquities or natural curiofities. Of thoſe cir-
cular cavities which run nearly in a line from Emborow to Mells, and are ſuppoſed to
have been iron pits, two are within its boundaries; viz. one in a field between Broadway
and Blacker's-Hill, the other under the rocks at the head of the valley. About a
mile ſouth of the principal group of houſes, is an ancient encampment ſituate on an
elevated ſpot, called Blacker's-Hill, near Stockhill coal-work, and one mile ſouth-eaſt
of Old-Down inn. It is formed by the meeting of two very deep and ſteep-ſided
vallies in a point facing the ſouth, and partly by a curvilinear double rampart and
foſs to the north and eaſt; of which the greater part is entire, and the whole in good
preſervation. Its figure, altogether, is that of an irregular quadrant, and the area
contains about fifteen acres. Of this encampment no account is to be found in any
author. It is however obſervable, that Camalet (that is, Cadbury Caſtle) commands
a view of Maſbury Caſtle on Mendip, and Maſbury of Chilcompton camp; hence it
be reaſonably inferred, that theſe three camps were probably formed either by the
ſame people, or at leaſt about the ſame time, they being all of a circular form.
Now that Cadbury camp is Roman (though thoſe of that people were uſually ſquare)
has been ſufficiently proved; and that Maſbury, and Blacker's-Hill, were works of the
ſame people may be fairly conjectured—not to mention a fine braſs coin of M. Aurel.
Antoninus, dug up at leſs than a mile diſtance.
It is certain that the Romans were particularly fond of placing their encampments
in the angle made by the confluence of two rivers, as by that means they ſaved the
trouble of other fortifications. The ſame reafon would induce them to pitch their
camp at the meeting of two deep vallies; eſpecially when forming a ſituation on high
ground. The vicinity alſo of the Roman way, called the Foſs, which paſſes through,
and
may
128
[Chewton.
CH I L COM P T O N.
w
and gives name to the adjoining pariſh of Stratton, furniſhes an additional proof that
this encampment was a work of the Romans.
On that part of Old Down which is neareſt this camp are ſeveral tumuli, or barrows;
and a few years ago ſome pieces of old ſwords were dug up on this ſpot. Within the
area of this encampment is a natural fiſſure in the rock, which lies under the ſurface of
the earth. It is vulgarly called the Fairy Slatts, being from ten to twenty-one feet in
depth, eighty-ſeven in length, and only two feet and a half in width, except in the
middle, where it widens to near ten feet, ſo that it affords an eaſy paſſage to a ſingle
perfon. The deſcent into it is gradual, and the prominent parts on one ſide are oppo-
fed by correſponding hollows on the other; which ſeem to indicate that it was formed
by ſome violent concuſſion of nature. The top is ſhaded with buſhes and ſmall trees,
whoſe branches meet over it; and the fiffures of the ſtone in the ſides abound with
moſles, polypody, aſpleniums, maidenhair, and ſmall ferns, ſome of which are curious.
In the time of William the Conqueror, this village was part of the revenue of the
Biſhop of Coutance in Normandy, the cathedral of which dioceſe was founded in 1047,
the Norman Duke himſelf aſſiſting at its dedication. The Biſhop, whoſe name was
Jeffery, was his particular favourite, and one of thoſe clergy who came over with him to
England to aſſiſt him in his expedition with their prayers. He was rewarded with this
manor; and we find it thus recorded in Domeſday:
“ The ſame Biſhop holds CONTONE. Edric held it in the reign of King Edward the
“ Confeffor, and gelded for ten hides. The arable is fourteen carucates; in demeſne is
“one carucate; and there are four ſervants, and fixteen villanes, and fix cottagers with
“ fix ploughs. There are two mills rented at twenty-five ſhillings, and fifteen acres of
“ meadow, and one hundred acres of paſture, and fifteen acres of wood. It was and is
“worth ten pounds."
By this record it appears that here was a mill of the yearly rent of twenty-five ſhil-
lings, a ſum very conſiderable in thoſe days. It is obſervable, that mills are of the
higheſt antiquity: the ancient laws were very ſevere againſt thoſe who did any injury
to ſuch ſtructures, obliging the delinquent to repair the damage within thirty days, and
beſides to pay thirty ſhillings for the treſpaſs.
Soon after the Conqueſt, the family of Percy became poſſeſſors of the manor of
Chilcompton, and held the ſame for many ſucceſſive reigns. In the time of Hen. V.
it was the property of Sir Thomas Broke, or Brook, knt. who held it of the Biſhop of
Saliſbury, and died ſeized of it 5 Hen. V. leaving Thomas Broke his ſon and heir, of
of twenty-ſix years. 15 Hen. VI. Joan the wife of Sir Thomas Broke, held it
in a ſimilar way, and Thomas Chedder was found to be her heir. 7 Edw. IV. Joan the
wife of Thomas Michelden was found ſeized of the yearly rent of thirty-one ſhillings and
two-pence, iſſuing out of the manors of Chilcompton, Hinton-Bluet, and Littleton.
In the reign of Philip and Mary, the manor was the property of the family of Seward:
and 34 Eliz. Richard Seward, eſq; is certified to hold the manor, and twenty-four
792
the age
a Lib. Domeſday.
Eſc.
Ć Ibid,
Ibid.
meſſuages,
Chewton.]
129
C HI L C Ο Μ Ρ Τ Ο Ν.

meſſuages, two' water mills, twenty-four gardens, three hundred acres of arable, two
hundred of meadow, forty of paſture, thirty of wood, forty of heath, and twenty fhil-
lings rent, with the appertenances. “The lands of Seward came afterwards to the pof-
feffion of the Stockers, and the manor is now the property of Lord Weymouth.
The manor-houſe, now converted into a farm, is ſituated near the church, and is a
ſpacious old building of ſtone in the form of an L. From a date at the eaſt end,
May 4, 1612, and the Stockers arms, with the initials I. S. and M. S. it appears to
have been in a great meaſure rebuilt by ſome of that ancient family. A ſmall park
belonged to the houſe, the boundaries of which may be eaſily aſcertained, a great part
of the wall ſtill remaining. It is now parcelled out into fields, one of which is
called Park-Field. In the valley the veſtiges. of ſome very large fiſh-ponds are ſtill
diſcernible.
There is in this pariſh another ancient houſe which formerly belonged to the family
of Werret, but is now held under Lord Weymouth. In the large centre window are
the remains of fome curious painted glaſs: Iſt. A creſt very perfect, and well drawn;
on a Marquis's coronet, an eagle diſplayed proper charged on the breaſt with a creſcent
or. 2d. Within a circle of foliage an eſcutcheon with helmet, mantling, and the creſt
as above, the whole much defaced and inverted; but the arms appear to be, Or, three
eagles diſplayed proper. 3d. Within a ſmaller circle, vine leaves and a hare courant.
4th. Foliage ſtained yellow. On the wainſcot is the date 1636.
In the year 1188, Gilbert de Percy, lord of this manor, made an oblation of the
grant of this church upon the altar of St. Andrew in the cathedral of Wells to found a
prebend therein, which was accordingly done; but in the ſame year the biſhop and
chapter exchanged it with the prior and convent of Bradenſtoke in Wiltſhire, for the
church of Chedder, of which the latter were patrons. The whole revenues of this
church were conſequently appropriated to the above-named monaſtery; and in 1292
the rectory was rated annually at ſeven marks, out of which the church of Wells re-
ceived a yearly penſion of two ſhillings.
The living is a perpetual curacy in the deanery of Frome, and is one of the ſeven
peculiars belonging to the Dean of Wells. It is worth about 6ol. per annum, and in the
patronage of James Tooker, of Norton-hall, eſq. The Rev. Nevill Walter, LL. B.
is the preſent incumbent.
The church is an ancient ſtructure, eighty-four feet long, and twenty-one feet wide,
and ſtands in the bottom of the valley at the northern extremity of the pariſh, within a
church-yard ſurrounded with larch trees. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptiſt, and
conſiſts of a nave, chancel, ſouth aile and porch, all covered with lead. At the weſt
end is a large embattled tower, ſixty feet high, with ſix bells.
In the ſouth aile (which formerly belonged to the Stocker family) is a vault and a
very handſome old monument, built in that ſtile of architecture (a mixture of the
Grecian and the Gothick) which prevailed from the reign of Henry VIII. to James I.
f

Ter. Sydenham, MS.
f Taxat. Spiritual..
VOL, II
S
incluſive
130
(Chewton.
Ο Η Ι Ι Ο Ο Μ Ρ Τ Ο Ν.

incluſive. Over a large flat ſtone which covers the tomb, is a flat canopy ſupported
by ſix columns with Grecian capitals, and terminated by a cornice, the frieze of which
is embelliſhed with foliage. Round the edge of the tomb-ſtone is this inſcription:
bere liethe the bodi of Richard Seward, eſquire, whole fowle God hath
pooned, who died the rrrth of Juli anno domini mdlrrri.
Arms: a chevron ermine between three eſcallops, the point charged with a creſcent.
In the wall over this monument are ſome irons, which ſeem to have fupported
funereal trophies; and a helmet of painted wood, with a wreath thereon, is ſtill pre-
ſerved; as is alſo an old wooden frame, on which is cut the following infcription
in capitals:---EX DONO JOHANNIS STOCKER, AR. 1658.
In the ſouth-eaſt corner of the aile is a ſmall mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed,
“Near this place lies interred the body of John Trethewy, of Treneage in Cornwall,
and Ditcheat in the county of Somerſet, eſq; who, during the reign of King Charles II.
having diſcharged ſeveral conſiderable employments with great integrity, died about
the year of our Lord 1671. And of Dorothy his ſiſter, widow and relict of the Rev.
James Tooker, of Bridiſton in the county of Devon, clerk; and of Margaret his wife,
daughter of Anthony Stocker, eſq; and Margaret Capel. To whoſe memory this
monument was erected at the charge of James Tooker, of Chilcompton, gent, in the
year 1736.”---Arms: Sable, a chevron engrailed between three goats ſtatant argent,
On a pillar in the aile is a ſmall mural monument, with the following infcription:
“ Here lieth the body of Mary the wife of Benjamin Harington, gent. being ſecond
daughter of Anthony Stocker, efq; and Margaret Capel his wife; the died December
1649."--Arms: Sable, a fret argent impaling three arrows barbed of the ſecond.
Creſt: on a torce, a talbot's head proper.
And on the floor below:-> Here reſts, in hope of a joyful reſurrection, the body
of Anthony Stocker, who died the 27th of Oct. 1757, aged 60 years; and alſo lix
of his children."
On the floor within the communion rails: " Hic jacet corpus Johīs Tooker, de
Norton-hall, gent, ſepult. Obiit 15 Feb. 1714, ætat. fuæ 50. Here lies the body of
Bridget Tooker, wife of John Tooker, of Norton-hall in the county of Somerſet, gent.
daughter of Sir Francis Leeke, and Dame Frances his wife, of Newark-upon-Trent in
the county of Nottingham, knt. and bart. Obiit July 29, 1712."
The arms cut on the ſtone are, Five bars wavy, over all a chevron gutté raguly
between three fea-horſes naiant, Tooker; impaling on a faltier engrailed nine annulets,
Leeke. Creft defaced.
On the north wall is a black frame, with an inſcription, importing that Mr.
Henry Werret, of Shepton-Beauchainp in this county, gave the intereſt of rool. in
perpetuum to the binding out of poor children apprentices; or for want of ſuch, to
the poor of Chilcompton, anno 1681. On two old windows towards the foutheaſt
are ſome remains of painted glaſs, but imperfect.



In
Chewton.)
131
CHIL COMP TO N.

In the church-yard is a very fine large ancient yew-tree, and many monumental
ſtones, among which only the following extraordinary inſcription merits notice:
“ Hic jacet Jacobus Tooker, armiger, inconcuſſæ fidei Jacobita. Obiit die 13 Sept.
anno 1737, ætat. ſuæ 72.”
The annual number of chriſtenings in this pariſh, taken on a ten years average, is
ten, and of burials five.
C Ο Μ Ρ Τ Ο Ν - Μ Α R TI N

IS
S a large pariſh, lying under the eaſt and northeaſt fides of Mendip, in a delightful
woody vale. From the ſouth ſide of the village, which is more than half a mile
in length, conſiſting chiefly of one ſtreet, the hills riſe, finely veſted with wood, and
very high and ſteep, the ridge being the top of Mendip. The principal part of the
pariſh is paſture, on which are ſeveral large dairies. Near the church riſes a ſpring,
the ſource of the river Yow, which runs hence to Ubley, Blagdon, and Wrington, and
falls into the ſea near Wick-St.-Lawrence.
The manor of Compton, anciently written Contone, was given by William the
Conqueror to Serlo de Burci, whoſe eſtates here we have the following account of:
“ Serlo himſelf holds ContOne. Euvacre held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are two carucates,
“ and two ſervants, and five villanes, and ſix cottagers, and five bordars, with four
ploughs. There are fifteen acres of meadow, and one mile of paſture in length, and
two furlongs in breadth; wood eleven furlongs long, and nine furlongs broad. It
“ was formerly worth one hundred ſhillings, now four pounds. Of this land Richard
“ holds of Serlo one virgate and one furlong, and has there one plough, with two bor-
“ dars, and five acres of meadow. It was formerly worth five ſhillings, now fifteen
ſhillings.
The family who gave this place its additional name, were of great eminence, and
remote antiquity. The firſt of the appellation that appears upon record is Martin de
Tours a Norman, who, making a conqueſt of the territory of Kemeys in the county of
Pembroke, began the foundation of a monaſtery for Benedictine monks at St. Dog-
mael's within its precincts, and annexed it as a cell to the abbey of Tyrone in France;
this monaſtery Robert Fitz-Martin his ſon endowed with lands in the time of Henry I.
He alſo gave the church of Blagdon to the monks of Stanley in the county of Wilts,
and was a great benefactor to other monaſteries.
To him ſucceeded another Robert, who 12 Hen. II. held three parts of a knight's fee
of the Biſhop of Bath, and in the time of King John gave half a hide of land in
Compton, and half a hide on Mendip, to the abbey of Goldcliff in Monmouthſhire.
• Lib. Domeſday, • Dugd. Bar. i. 729.
Lib. nig. Scac,
William
a
b
S ?
132
[Chewton.
COMPTON-MART I N.
William his ſon and heir married the daughter of Rheſe ap Griffith, prince of
South-Wales, from whom he received great injuries ; for by force of arms he took
from him his ſtrong caſtle of Llanhever in Kemeys-Land, contrary to his oath and
folemn promiſe of peace and friendſhip. In the time of Hen. II. this William Fitz-
Martin was ſent as a juſtice itinerant into the counties of Kent, Surrey, Middleſex,
Berks, Oxford, Buckingham, and Bedford, to enquire into the conduct of the ſheriffs,
and other officers, and correct certain abuſes complained of to the crown.
To him ſucceeded William his ſon and heir, who ni Joh. gave three hundred marks
for livery of his lands; he died 17th of the ſame reign, and was ſucceeded in his eſtates
by Nicholas Fitz-Martin, his ſon and heir, whoſe wardſhip was granted firſt to Falk de
Brent, and afterwards to Henry de Turberville.
This Nicholas Fitz-Martin, beſides the manor of Compton, was poſſeſſed of the
lordſhips of Blagdon, Hummer, Weſt-Lydford, and Lovington, of which he died
ſeized 10 Edw. I. He married Maud, daughter of Guy de Brien, by whom he had
Sir Nicholas Martin, (who died in his father's life-time) Colinet, and Robert. Colinet
Martin was father of another Sir Nicholas, who married Eleanor the daughter of Herbert
Fitz-Peter, by whom he had Sir William Martin, who was ſummoned to parliament
from 23 Edw. I. to 18 Edw. II. when he died, leaving iſſue, by Eleanor daughter of
Sir William de Mohun, William his fon and heir.
Which William was alſo a knight; but he lived not long after the death of his
father, and Eleanor his ſiſter, the wife of William de Columbers, and James the ſon
of Nicholas de Audley, by Joan his other ſiſter, divided his eſtates. But the name of
Martin was ſtill kept up by Robert Martin, a younger ſon of Nicholas Martin by the
heireſs of Guy de Brien, and from him are lineally deſcended the Martins of Seabo-
rough, and thoſe of Athelhampíton in Dorſetſhire.
Of this family of Martin the manor of Compton was long held by the family of
Wake. The inquiſitions ſhew us that in the time of Edw. III. John Wake became
poſſeſſed of this manor and advowſon by ſeizin, on the following account: Alice the
wife of Ralph de Wake, and mother of the ſaid John, who held this manor in her
demeſne as of fee of William Martin, had been found guilty of felony in contriving
the death of Ralph Wake her huſband, for which ſhe was tried and condemned to be
burnt. Whereupon the premiſes being forfeited, Sir William Martin, as capital lord,
ſeized the manor and advowſon of Compton, entered on it as his eſcheat, and continued
the ſeizin for ſeven years, till the ſaid John Wake ejected him, but by what title was
not known.
This John Wake a little before his death feoffed Ifabel the wife of John de Keynes,
and others, of this manor with other lands and appertenances. Which Iſabel died 33
Edw. III. ſeized of a third part of this manor, which ſhe held of James de Audley, to
whom Compton had been allotted in the diviſion of the Martin eſtates. 34 Edw. III.
John Wake held two parts of the manor, and 35 Edw. III. Thomas Keynes, ſon of
Iſabel above-mentioned, held that third. 7 Hen. V. John Keynes held at his death

f

Some records ſay Philip.
f Eſc. 22 Edw. III.
the
Chewton.)
133
COMPTON-MARTIN.
the manor of Compton-Martin, and one acre of arable land lying in the Over-Court
cloſe there, together with the advowſon of the church, John Keynes his fon and heir.
Of late years this manor has belonged to the Chandos family; but the preſent Duke of
Chandos ſold it about the year 1779 to John Heniker, eſq; who is the preſent poffeffor.
Moreton is a tithing belonging to this pariſh, ſituated about two iniles north, and has
been a place of very conſiderable note. At the time of the Conqueſt it was one of the
manors of Serlo de Burci, who held it in demeſne:
“ Serlo himſelf holds MORTONE. Three Thanes held it in the time of King Edward
“ for three manors, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. Godric
“holds of this land two hides, and Elric two hides. In demeſne are two carucates,
" and nine villanes, and eleven cottagers, with two ploughs. There is a mill of five
“ ſhillings rent, and forty acres of meadow, and fifteen acres of wood. It was formerly
“and is now worth three pounds. Of the fame land Richard holds three virgates,
“and Humphrey one virgate. There is one plough, and two villanes, and three cotta-
gers, and eighteen acres of meadow, and four acres of wood, and two acres of paſture.
“It was heretofore and is ſtill worth fifteen ſhillings.
This place anciently gave name to a family which flouriſhed in theſe parts for a con-
ſiderable time. 19 Edw. II. William Martin died ſeized of half a knight's fee in
Moreton, which John de Morton held in demeſne." A branch of this family was
alſo feated at Milborn-St.-Andrew in Dorſetſhire. The family de Sancta Cruce, or
St. Croſs, likewiſe poſſeſſed this manor for ſeveral deſcents, and reſided here; for
the record above quoted ſays that the ſame William Martin, lord of Compton-Martin,
had half a knight's fee in Morton and Bychemeſtok, which Peter de Sancta Cruce
and Robert Muſhrom held in demeſne.' 3 Ric. II. Matthew Gournay and Alice
his wife held the manor of Moreton of the heir of William de Staunton, as of his manor
of White-Staunton.k. 15 Hen. VI. John Newburgh granted this manor to Robert
Turges, William Turberville, and John Fitz-James. By an inquiſition taken at
Brewton 7 Hen. VIII. it was found that Sir Chriſtopher Wroughton, knt. poffefied
the manors of Moreton, Bawdrip, and Eſton, and that he enfeoffed Henry Longe,
John Brook, and others, of the ſaid premiſes, to have and to hold to them, their heirs
and aſſigns for ever. Which enfeoffment the jurors ſaid was made by covine and
colluſion, in order to defraud the King of the wardſhip and marriage of the ſaid
Chriſtopher." 24 Eliz. the manor was granted to the Earl of Hertford and his heirs
male." 39 Eliz. it belonged to Sir George Morton, knt. of Clenſton in the county of
Dorſet, who ſeems to have been deſcended from the family de Morton, who were lords
of this place in the time of Edw. II. He died 8 Jac. I.
One mile to the north of Compton-Martin is an ancient manſion called Big field or
Big fold, which formerly gave name to a family. The fame William Martin, of whom
we have made ſo frequent mention, poſſeſſed half a knight's fee in Bykefold, which
Roger de Bykefold held. It now belongs to Mr. Bridges of Briſtol.



Efc.
$ Lib. Domeſday.
n Lib. Feod.
* Inq. poft mort. Chriſt. Wroughton, Mil.
i Ibid.
k Eſc.
* Ter. Sydenham.
| Hutchins's Dorſetſhire, ii. 465.
o Ibid, p Lib. feod,
The
134
[Chewton.
C Ο Μ Ρ Τ Ο Ν - Μ Α R TI N.

The benefice of Compton, with its chapel, was in 1292 valued at fourteen marks.?
It is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, in the patronage of the Duke
of Chandos, and the Rev. Mr. Hoſkins is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and is a handſome ſtructure, conſiſting of a
nave and two ſide ailes - leaded. At the weſt end there is a good tower ſeventy feet
high, containing fix bells and a clock.
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel is a mural ſtone monument, with the following in-
ſcription:-“Memoriæ Thomæ Symes, filii Caroli Symes, hujus parochiæ rectoris;
cohortis præfecti ſub Johanne Duce Marlborough, feſe immiſcuit in multis præliis;
et non fine gloria militavit. Ejus reliquiæ juxta hunc locum depoſitæ ſunt. Obijt
Nov. 21, 1724, ætat. fuæ 35. Etiam Annæ Chriſtianæ Symes, uxoris charæ, quæ
obijt Mar. 4, 1732, ætatis fuæ 41. Etiam Ricardi Symes infantis, primogeniti filii.
Hoc monumentum poſuit ejus filius Thomas Symes.”
On a ſtone in the chancel floor: -"Here lyeth the body of the Rev. Mr. William
Symes, who departed this life the 18th of Sept. 1756, in the 66th year of his age.”
On another ſtone in the ſame floor:--"Here lyeth the body of George Roynon,
gent. the laſt of the houſe of Bigfold. He deceaſed Aug. 9, 1637, aged 79."
Mr. King of Moreton, at his death in 1776, leſt the intereſt of 100l. for eſtabliſhing
a ſchool for teaching poor children, with a proviſo that the pariſh would make it
per annum. In conſequence of this a ſchool has been eſtabliſhed, and twelve poor
children are taught.
The Duke of Chandos has added two guineas a year to this charity. Mr. Milner of
Briſtol, at his death in 1778, gave 201. the intereſt of which is alſo added to this charity.
up 10l.
9 Taxat. Spiritual.
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HIS little pariſh is ſituated on elevated ground, under the north ſide of Mendip
hills, in the turnpike-road from Bath to Wells, and five miles weſt from the
latter city. It lies in the three ſeveral hundreds of Chewton, Whitſtone, and Kil-
merſdon, and is divided into the tithings of Emborow, Dolton, and Aſhwick. The
lands are in general light, and of leſs value than in ſome of the neighbouring pariſhes.
The wood is moſtly aſh, elm, beech, and fycamore, which thrive well, particularly the
two laſt-mentioned forts, of which there are ſeveral trees of very large dimenſions in a
field adjoining to the court-houſe, the ſpread of one of the beeches being two hundred
and ſeventy feet in circumference. Here were formerly mines of coal and lapis calami-
naris, but of late the working them has been diſcontinued,
On

Chewton.]
135
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sa
On the ſouth ſide of the turnpike road, at the bottom of a ſteep declivity is a fine
lake, called by the different names of Emborow and Leachmore pond, containing
nearly ten acres. It lies in a vale extending almoſt eaſt and weſt, with a beautiful
plantation of firs, beeches, and ſycamores, on the ſlopes of the hills on each ſide. On
the eaſtern boundary is a ſmall cottage, and a boat-houſe; at the weſt end is a marih,
and below that another lake much ſmaller. Pleaſant winding walks are cut through
the plantations, which belong to Henry Hippeſley Coxe, of Stoneaſton, eſq; and that
on the weſt ſide abounds with many curious ferns and moſſes among the rocks.
The Romans ſeem to have been occupied in all theſe parts, and ſeveral of their ſilver
coins have been dug up in plowing a field near the church.
The Saxons called this place Amelberge, a name which was continued by the
Normans, when they came to the poſſeſſion of this kingdom. It then belonged to the
Biſhop of Coutance:
“ Robert holds of the Biſhop AmelBERGE. Two Thanes held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable is four carucates. In de-
" meſne are two carucates, and two fervants, and ſix villanes, and four cottagers, with
" five ploughs. There are twenty-nine acres of meadow. It was worth twenty fhil-
“ lings, now ſeventy ſhillings."
In the time of Edw. III. we learn from the inquiſition that Simon de Trewithoſe
held at his death jointly with Cecily the daughter of John Filiol, who ſurvived him, this
manor of Emborow, then written Emmeberghe. He alſo held two yardlands and a
half, nine acres of meadow, and twenty ſhillings rent in Wells, Kilmerſdon, Penne,
Watercome, and Corſcombe, of William Tracy, by the ſervice of five ſhillings per
annum for all ſervices. John de Trewithoſe was his ſon and heir of the age of forty
years. 23 Edw. III, the manor of Emenebere is ſet down among the knight's fees
which belonged to Hugh le Diſpencer deceaſed, and were held by him of the King in
capite; and William Tracy is certified to hold one knight's fee in this manor under the
ſaid Hugh le Diſpencer. 17 Edw. IV. Sir John Botiler, knt. died ſeized of the
manor of Eneburgh, and three meſſuages, one hundred acres of arable land, fixteen acres
of meadow, and twenty acres of paſture in Walcombe and Penne, which he held of
Henry Tracy, elq; by the ſervice of the third part of a knight's fee; and in which he
was ſucceeded by John Botiler his ſon and heir. Theſe Botilers, Botelers, or Butlers,
(as the name is now written) were defcended from Ralph, who in the time of Hen. I.
was the pincerna or butler in the houſhold of Robert Earl of Mellent and Leiceſter.
The chief reſidence of the family was at Badminton in the county of Gloceſter, now the
ſeat of the Duke of Beaufort. By an inquiſition taken at Brewton 17 Junė, 17 Hen.
VIII. it was found that John Butler, of Badminton, eſq; died 7 Jan. 15 Hen. VIII.
ſeized of the manors of Enborough, Walton, Walcombe, and Penne, all holden of
William Tracy, eſq; bụt by what ſervice was not known." His fon Ralph Butler died
in his father's life-time, and Sir John Butler, ſon of Ralph, ſucceeded in the eſtates,
d Eſc.
• Lib. Domeſday • Efc. 13 Edw. III.
Lib. Feod.
Ing, poft mort. Johannis Butler, ar. 17 Hen. VIII.
This
136
[Chewton.
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This Sir John married Silveſtra daughter of Sir Anſelm Guiſe of Elmore, and died
5 Edw. VI. leaving a fon William, who married Theophila, daughter of Sir John
Newton.
13 Eliz. this manor was the property of John Hippeſley, eſq; from whom it
has deſcended with the other lands to Henry Hippeſley Coxe, eſq; the preſent poffeffor.
The court or manor-houſe adjoins the church-yard, and bears evident veſtiges of
antiquity.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and one of the four, whereof
Chewton-Mendip is the mother church; the three others being Ston-Eaſton, Far-
rington, and Paulton. The King is patron, and the Rev. Dr. Anneſley the preſent
incumbent. The great tithes belong to Robert Kingſmill, eſq.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a ſmall edifice, conſiſting of a nave,
chancel, and north aile, covered with lead. The tower, which, though ſmall, is very
neat, ſtands between the chancel and the nave, and contains two bells.
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel are two ſmall mural monuments of ſtone, the firſt
of which is inſcribed, “ Under lyes the body of Elizabeth wife of John Hippeſley,
gent. who died October 14, 1703. And alſo the bodies of three of their children,
John, Elizabeth, and John, who all died in the years 1700 and 1702.” Arms: Sable,
three mullets between two bendlets or, impaling three battle-axes ſable.
On the ſecond monument: “Near this place lye the bodies of Mary and John,
ſon and daughter of John Hippeſley, gent. John died May 12 ..... Mary died
در
March 4
On the north ſide of the chancel is a mural monument of black ſtone with this
infcription:-"George the ſeventh ſon of John Hippeſley, of Ston-Eaſton, eſq; who
died the 9th day of May 1725, aged 84. Catherine his wife, who died the 8th of
April 1733, aged 84. John their eldeſt ſon, died Feb. 15, 1751, aged 82. And
Mary his wife died the 2d of May 1761, aged 75."
warna
On the north ſide of the aile is a mural monument of ſtone, on which is this
inſcription: :-“Underneath lies interred the body of Ann, daughter of Mr. Robert
Hippeſley of this pariſh by Margaret his wife; ſhe died Nov. 8, 1726, aged eight
years and eight months.”
At the weſt end of the aile are three old mural monuments of black ſtone.
On the firſt is this inſcription: -“ Near this place lieth the body of Mr. Edward
Hippeſley, ſen'. who died May 29, 1711, aged 65. Abigail his wife died the 27th of
April, 1723. Alſo of Edward, Richard, and Chriſtopher, three of their children.”
Arms: Hippeſley, impaling gules, in chief a talbot fable trippant, in baſe three tiger's
heads eraſed argent.
On the ſecond monument:-"Underneath lies the body of Mary the wife of Mr.
Robert Hippeſley, ſen'. She died March 4, 1714, aged 62. Alſo the body of
Hannah Bendel, who died Feb. 12, 1731, aged 66. Robert Hippeſley, ſon of Edward
Hippeſley, died Aug. 20, 1736, aged 85."

On
Chewton.]
137
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On the third monument: 'In memory of Mr. John Walter, who lies under-
neath interred. He died Aug. 24, 1730, aged 32. Chriſtus mihi vita.”
On a flat ſtone in the north aile:"Here lyeth the bodye of Triſtram Lane, who
dyed March 6, 1606. Elinor the wife of Triſtram Lane, died Aug. 14, A. D. 1642.
Alſo here reſteth the body of Catherine Hippiſey, widdow, daughter of Triſtram Lane
and Elinor his wife, who died April 26, 1666.”
On another ſtone: “Here lyeth the body of Theodore Hippiſley, gent. who
died June 11, 1704."
FARRINGTON-G OUR N A Y,
O called from its ancient lords, is a ſinall pariſh, three miles from Chewton-Mendip,
and in the turnpike-road from Wells to Briſtol, from which it is diſtant thirteen
miles. It contains about ninety houſes, and four hundred and ſixty inhabitants. The
country here is cloſely wooded, and more on a level than moſt of the adjacent pariſhes.
There is a coal-work here, belonging to Mr. Mogg, of High-Littleton, who owns the
greateſt part of the pariſh, and has two good houſes therein.
The manor of Ferentone, or Farrington, was one of thoſe many which the Conqueror
gave to the Biſhop of Coutances:
“ Azelin holds of the Biſhop, FERENTONE. Briſmar held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is feven carucates. In demeſne are
«c three carucates, and four ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and ſeven cottagers, with four
ploughs. There are one hundred acres of meadow. It was worth fifty ſhillings,
“now four pounds.
This Azelin, or Aſcelin, who held the manor of the Biſhop of Coutances, was the
progenitor of the family of Percival, of whom notice has been taken in the account of
Caſtle-Cary. He died in 1120, 21 Hen. I. leaving ſeveral fons, of whom John, a
younger fon, obtained of his father during his life the manors of Farrington and Harp-
tree for his inheritance; and from the latter place, which he generally inhabited, he
adopted the ſurname of de Harpetre. This John was father of William de Harpetre,
who 12 Hen. II. upon the aid levied for marrying the King's daughter, certified that
he held thirteen knight's fees and one half, and the fourth part of one knight's fee; and
that he gave half of one knight's fee to Robert de Ferenton. To whom ſucceeded
John de Harpetre his ſon and heir, baron of Harptree, of whom we find little mention
in hiſtory, ſave that he was father of two ſons, William de Harpetre, baron of Harptree,
wa
· Lib. Domeſday.
• See page 52 of this vol.
& Lib. Rub. Scaccarii.
VOL. II.
T
and
138
[Cheiuton,
F ARRINGTON-GOURNAY.

and John, who died without iſſue. William ſucceeded to the eſtates, and 22 Hen. II.
paid a fine of one hundred pounds for treſpaſſing in the King's foreſts in Dorſetſhire,
and 6 Ric. I. gave one hundred marks to make his peace with that King, ſo that he
might repoſſeſs his lands lying in the counties of Dorſet, Somerſet, Glouceſter, and
Devon." This William married Maud Oreſcuilz, or Orcas, a Norman lady, who was
a coheireſs with Alice Oreſcuilz her ſiſter, and made partition of her inheritance by
fine 10 Ric. I.' whereupon the ſaid William obtained half a knight's fee with its apper-
tenances in Sharncot in the county of Wilts. He died 16 Hen. III. leaving iſſue
Thomas de Harpetre, Pagan, and William. Thomas the eldeſt ſon married Eva de
Gorniaco, or Gournay, ſiſter and heir of Maurice de Berkely, (otherwiſe ſurnamed de
Gaunt) and daughter of Robert, ſon of Robert Fitzharding, by Alice the daughter and
heir of Robert de Gaunt of Folkingham, brother and at length heir of Gilbert de
Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln; which Eva, wife of the ſaid Thomas de Harpetre, was thus
heir of the great houſes of Fitzharding, Gournay, Gaunt, and Paganel. Their iſſue
was Robert de Harperre, lord of Harptree, Farrington, Ingliſhcombe, and Overweare.
This Robert aſſumed the name of Gournay from his mother, and under that title
41 Hen. III. had fummons to be in Briſtol, in the octaves of St. Peter ad vincula,
well fitted with horſe and arms, to march into Wales. He was alſo ſummoned to other
places of rendezvous for a ſimilar purpoſe. For his acts of charity, he was founder of
the hoſpital of Gaunt, alias Billeſwicke, near Briſtol, for the health of his own ſoul,
and for the ſoul of Maurice de Gaunt his uncle;and died 53 Hen. III. leaving iſſue,
by Hawiſa de Longchamp his wife, Anſelm de Gournay, lord of Farrington, Eaſt and
Weſt Harptree, &c." and John de Gournay, lord of Overweare and Netherweare in
this county. Which Anſelm having done his homage for his father's eſtate foon after
his deceaſe,' was returned by the jury of Winterſtoke hundred to hold of the King in
capite, the manor of Eaſt-Harptree, by the half of one knight's fee, on which depended
the manor of Weft-Harptree. He married Sibilla, daughter of Hugh de Vivoun, by
whom he had iſſue three fons, John, Robert, and Thomas de Gournay, to the laſt of
whom, being the youngeſt ſon, and unprovided for, he granted by deed 13 Edw. I.
this manor of Farrington, to be held to him and the heirs of his body for ever, by the
annual ſervice of a roſe, to be paid upon the feaſt of the Nativity of Saint John the
Baptiſt.' And in the year following he granted the manor of Ingliſhcombe to the ſaid
Thomas his fon, under the ſervice of twelve croſs-bow ſhot." He died the ſame year,
and the next after John de Gournay did his fealty, and had livery of his lands." This
John, who was a baron, married Oliva, daughter of Henry Lovel, baron of Caſtle-
Cary, by whom he had one only daughter and heir, viz. Elizabeth de Gournay, who,
though but fixteen years old at her father's death, was then married to John ap-Adam;
and he doing his fealty, had livery of all the lands of her inheritance, which was after-
wards profuſely ſquandered away.

i Fin.
d Rot. Pip. 22 Hen. II. e Rot. Pip. 6 Ric. I. f Fin. lev. ap. Wincheſter, 10 Ric. I.
8 Tanner's Notitia Monaſtica. * Efc. 53 Hen. III.
53
Hen. III.
* Ing. in baga de Ragman, 4 Edw. I. Somf. rot. 12. · Eſc. 13 Edw. I.
m Cart, antiq.
Rot. Fin. 15 Edw. I. m. 7.
The
Chewton.]
139
FARRINGTON-GOURN A Y.

The elder branch of this family being entirely extinct, we come next to Thomas de
Gournay, the firſt of that name, youngeſt ſon of Anſelm de Gournay and Sibilla de
Vivoun his wife, lord of Farrington, Ingliſhcombe, and Weſt-Harptree. But of him
all that is recorded is, that he was in the wars of Scotland 28 Edw. I. and that he was
father of Thomas de Gournay, the ſecond of that name, who ſucceeded to the manors
of Farrington, Ingliſhcombe, and Weft-Harptree. This Sir Thomas de Gournay was
one of thoſe who had the cuſtody of that unhappy prince King Edward II. after he had
been depoſed by the contrivances of Iſabella his queen, and Roger Mortimer earl of
March; and having conſequently been acceſſary to his murder in Berkeley-Caſtle, was
obliged on the change of times to fly into foreign parts. But a price being ſet on
his head, he was ſeized at Burges in Spain, and commanded by Edw. III. to be
brought over into England, notwithſtanding which order, by ſome ſecret practices or
other, his execution was performed privately at fea; and on account of his treaſonable
maneuvres all his eſtates in England were confiſcated, and became veſted in the
King's hands, who annexed them to the dutchy of Cornwall for ever, and at this
day the manors of Farrington-Gournay, Weſt-Harptree, Ingliſhcombe, Widcombe,
Curry-Malet, Shepton-Malet, Stoke-under-Hamden, Midſummer-Norton, Stratton-
on-the-Foſs, Laverton, Milton-Falconbridge in the pariſh of Martock, (all parcel of
the Gournay eſtates) belong to the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall.
Notwithſtanding the decree of King Edw. III. though abſolute in itſelf, it is
evident that favour was ſhewn to the children of this Thomas de Gournay, who was thus
attainted. Theſe were, Thomas de Gournay, the third of that name; John de Gournay,
of Knolle in Bedminſter; George de Gournay, who died without iſſue; and Sir Matthew
de Gournay, a famous knight, and a perſon of moſt conſummate ſkill and reputation:
having dedicated himſelf to the uſe of arms, he was preſent in all the memorable
engagements of the age he lived in, being recorded on his monument at Stoke-under-
Hamden, where he was buried, to have ſerved in the battles of Benamazin, Sluice,
Creſſy, Ingenny, Poictiers, Nazaron in Spain, and in the fiege of Algezira, againſt the
Saracens. He married two wives, 1. Alice, fiſter of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick, and relict of Sir John Beauchamp of Hatch. To his ſecond wife he
married Philippa, ſiſter and coheir of John Lord Talbot. This Matthew de Gournay
died without iſſue at the age of ninety-ſix, in the ſixth year of Henry IV. A. D. 1405.
Thomas de Gournay his brother, the third of that name, and after him his fon Thomas
de Gournay the fourth, poffeffed, under the royal grant, the manors of Farrington,
Ingliſhcombe, and Weft-Harptree, with all or moſt of the other eſtates, which, their
iſſue failing, the above-mentioned Matthew de Gournay, who was the laſt of the Gour-
nays of this line, fucceeded to, and after his deceaſe they reverted to the crown.
The living of Farrington is a vicarage in the deanery of Frome, and being annexed
to Chewton, the Rev. Dr. Anneſley is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptiſt, is a ſmall building, fur-
rounded with elm trees, twice the height of the tower, which entirely exclude it from
view. It conſiſts of a ſingle aile; the tower at the weſt end.
See Stoke-under-Hamden, in Tintinhull hundred,

Over
140
[bewton.
FARRING TON-GOURN A Y.
Over the communion-table an old ſtone monument commemorates Henry Hole,
gent, who died Jan. 16, 1708; and Mary his wife, who died April 23, 1689, as alſo
three of their children.
On the north ſide of the nave is a ſmall mural monument of grey and white marble,
inſcribed to the memory of John Mogg, eſq; who died March 4, 1728, aged 78 years ;
as, alſo of Dorothy his wife, and Richard their ſon.
At the weſt end of the tower is the effigies in ſtone of Thomas de Gournay, the third
of that name, lord of this manor, who lived in the time of King Edward the third.
According to the regiſter, the chriſtenings in this pariſh are ten annually, and the
burials four, on a ſeven years average.
W E S T -H A R P T R E E.
A
LARGE and neat village, ſituated under the north ſide of Mendip, in a valley
well wooded, and watered by a rivulet, which iſſuing from a ſpring near the ſtreet,
called Pileſwell, runs hence to Chew-Magna. It conſiſts of about forty houſes, eleven
of which are farms, the reſt chiefly cottages. There is a hamlet belonging to the
pariſh, called DowN-EDGE, about a mile weſtward from the church, and conſiſting of
eight houſes.
There are two manors within this pariſh, diſtinguiſhed by the names of Weſt-Harp-
iree-Gournay, and Weſt-Harptree-Tilly. The former belonged at the Conqueſt the
Biſhop of Coutances, and is thus particularized in the Norman Record:
“ Azelin holds of the Biſhop, Herpetrav. Edui held it in the time of King Ed-
“ward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is four carucates.
The arable is four carucates. In demeſne is half a
carucate, and ſeven villanes, and four bordars, and five cottagers, with three ploughs.
“There is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and fifty-eight acres of meadow, and forty-two
acres of wood. Paſture one mile long, and half a mile broad. It was and is worth
forty ſhillings.”
Who this tenant of the name of Azelin was, has been ſeen in the account of Far-
rington-Gournay, and there being no variation in the deſcent of this manor from that,
fave that the one was held of the Lovels of Caſtle-Cary, and the other of the Gournays
of Eaſt-Harptree, the reader is referred to the foregoing pages for an account of its
poffeffors, the prefent one being the Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall.
The other manor was the land of Walter de Dowai, and is thus ſurveyed:
Ralph holds of Walter, HarperreV. Eluvacre heldit in the time of King Edward,
6 and gelded for five hides. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne is one caru-

ya
/
• Lib. Domeſday.
« cate,
Chewton.
141
WEST-HARP TRE E.
ارد
cate, and two ſervants, and five villanes, and two cottagers with two ploughs. There
“ is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and fifty-eight acres of meadow, and fixty-two acres of
« wood. Paſture one mile in length and breadth. It was and is worth forty ſhillings."
The family of Tylly or Tilly, who afterwards poſſeſſed this manor, was very ancient.
6 Ric. I. Henry de Tilli paid fourteen pounds fifteen ſhillings as ſcutage for the King's
ranſom. To him ſucceeded John Tylly, who gave to the abbot and convent of
Bruerne in the county of Oxford one meſſuage, and one yardland and a half, in his
manor of Weft-Harptree-Tylly, in the time of Henry III. John Tylly, his ſon and
heir, was lord of this manor 16 Edw. I. To whom ſucceeded a ſecond John, and to
him Richard Tylly, whoſe ſon and heir William in the time of Edward III. was a
benefactor to Glaſtonbury-Abbey, granting to the abbot and convent thereof one mef-
ſuage, one hundred and ten acres of arable land, ſeven acres of meadow, five acres of
paſture, and five acres of wood, in Aſhcot, Greinton, and Walton. This William had
lands at the Barton, near Briſtol, and one hundred ſhillings rent in that city, which he
held of the King in burgage. The next of this name that occurs is John Tilly, whoſe
heir is fet down 23 Edw. III. as holding the fourth part of a knight's fee in Portiſhead,
and likewiſe the fourth part of a fee in Copeneden of Hugh le Diſpenſer. 10 Hen. IV.
Richard Tilly held the vill of Hogſhole upon Quantock. To which Richard fuc-
ceeded Walter Tilly, who was lord of Salty or Salthay, in this county. By his wife
Joan, he was father of Lionel Tilly, lord of Salthay 13 Hen. VI.k
16 Edw. IV. Walter Rodney, the ſon of Sir Walter Rodney, knt. releaſed to William
Raynon or Roynon, eſq; all his right in the lands and tenements in Weſt-Harptree-
Tilly, which the ſaid William Raynon had fome time before of the grant of Thomas
Bayouſe.
35 Hen. VIII. this manor being in the crown, was granted to John Lord Ruſſel,”
who the ſame year had licence to alienate it to John Buckland. 27 Eliz. Thomas
Buckland was lord of this manor. Of this ancient family was Ralph Buckland, a
celebrated Puritan in the time of James I. After ſtudying in London the municipal
laws for ſome time, he in 1579 became a commoner of Magdalen college in Oxford,
whence, by the inſtigation of ſome Roman-Catholick prieſt, he went forthwith to
the Engliſh college at Rheimes, where, and at Rome, he ſpent ſeven years in the
ſtudy of philoſophy and divinity. He afterwards was made a prieſt, and returning to
his own country, ſpent above twenty years in the offices of his profeſſion, during which
time he wrote and publiſhed ſeveral books in his own way, as “Seven Sparks of the
Enkindled Soul.” “ Four Lamentations, which, compoſed in the hard times of Queen
Elizabeth, may be uſed at all times when the Church happeneth to be extreamly per-
ſecuted.” 'It was thought, from ſome ſentences contained in theſe little books, which
are drawn out of the Holy Scriptures after the form of Pſalms, that the author paid
ſome little attention to the Gunpowder affair in 1605, which it is generally believed
was concerted abroad ſome years before its diſcovery. Buckland alſo wrote,
Lib. Domeſday.
Rot. pip. 6 Ric. I.
• Inq. ad quod damnum. 19 Edw. I.
Ibid. 6 Edw, III.
Rot. claus. 16 Edw. IV. m Ter. Sydenham.
Amballage


" An
с
f Eſc.
& Lib. Feod.
h Eſc.
k Ibid.
i Ibid.
It ibid.
342
(Chewton.
WEST-HARP TRE E.

Ambaſſage from Heaven, wherein our Lord Chriſt giveth to underſtand his indignation
againſt all ſuch as being catholickly minded, dare yield their preſence to the rites and
public prayers of the malignant church.” He likewiſe tranſlated into Engliſh a book
entitled De Perſecutione Vandelica, written by Victor biſhop of Benſerte in Africa; and
the fix volumes of Surius De Vitis San&torum. He died in 1611, leaving behind him
among the brethren, the character of a moſt pious and ſeraphical perſon, a perſon who
went beyond all of his time for fervent devotion. The old manſion-houſe, wherein the
Bucklands inhabited, ſtands oppoſite the ſouth ſide of the church, and over-againſt it is
another ancient houſe, the property of Goodenough Earl, eſq; who inherits the manor
of Weſt-Harptree-Tilly. On one ſide of the porch are the arms of Buckland, viz.
Three lions rampant, on a canton dexter a fret. On the other ſide, two chevrons
between three roſes. The arms of Tilly, as they were borne in the time of Henry VI.
were, a feiſe bendy counter-bendy, in chief three fleurs de lis.
The church of Weſt-Harptree, valued in 1292 at thirteen marks, is a prebend in
the cathedral of Wells. 11 Edw. III. Sir Walter de Rodney, knt. in commiſeration
of the poverty of the canons of Keynſham, granted to them the right of patronage of
this church, which the Biſhop appropriated to them in 1337, ordaining the vicar
hereof to take poſſeſſion of the rectorial houſes with garden and curtillage, and to re-
ceive all kinds of tithes, oblations, obventions, and profits whatſoever, belonging to the
ſaid church, excepting from the arable land, meadow, and wood of the glebe of the
church, and common, as well in the wood of Lady Joan de Gournay, as in other places
and paſtures appropriated to the feeding the cattle of the convent." A new ordination
of this vicarage was made in 1344, whereby it was appointed, that it being judged
more convenient and expedient for the vicar to have a houſe ſeparate from the parſon-
age-houſe, and nearer to the church, the faid vicar ſhould have all the manſe belonging
to the church, ſituated oppoſite the parſonage gate, with competent curtillage, and a
cloſe adjoining thereto, with a hall, and two ſitting rooms, and two cellars; one of the
rooms with a cellar at the hither end of the hall, and the other room with the cellar at
the further end of the hall, as alſo a kitchen, granary, ſtable for three horſes, and
a pigeon-houſe; to be built within ſix months, at the charge and expence of the
abbot and convent of Keynſham; but the vicar to ſtand to repairs as often as found
needful. The vicar was likewiſe to have five acres of arable land, and two acres of
meadow, contiguous to the ſaid houſe and tenement, with all its appertenances, viz.
free commonage of paſture for all ſorts of beaſts at all times of the year, in the cham-
pain, on the hill, and in all the common paſtures of the village of Weſt-Harptree; with
the privilege of cutting heath upon Mendip, as much and as often as he pleaſed.
In conſideration of which perquiſites, two quarters of wheat, two of oats, two of barley,
and three loads of hay, were to be deducted from the firſt ordination, and all other
matters contained therein to ſtand as appointed. But if the houſe ſhould not
be built within the time above ſpecified, or the vicar ſhould not obtain the ſaid houſe
and lands, the firſt ordination to remain in full force. Dated at Wivelſcombe 5 kal.
Dec. 1344.
. Wood's Athena Oxonienſes, i. 3742 375.
p Taxat. Spiritual. 9 Pat, 11 Edw. III. p.i. m. 35.
Excerpt. e Regift. Wellen,
Ibid.
The





Chewton.]
143
WEST-H A R P T R E E.
$
-

The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The King is
patron, and the Rev. Mr. Haines is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and aile on the
ſouth ſide, all covered with lead. At the weſt end is a ſmall tower, containing five
bells and a clock, and is ſurmounted by a fpire leaded.
On the north wall of the chancel is a ſmall plain ſtone monument with this inſcrip-
tion:-“Under this tombe are incloſed the bodys of John Buckland of this pariſh,
gent. ſonn of Charles Buckland and Bridget his wife, late of Lewes in Suſſex, gent.
He departed this life July 17. And alſo Bridget, the daughter of the ſaid John
Buckland, who departed this life Jan. 17, both in the year 1696.”
On the ſouth wall of the chancel:-"Under this tombe is incloſed Bridget the
daughter of John Reliffe, of Aſhburnham in the county of Suſſex, eſq; and grand-
daughter of Sir George Farewell, of Hill-Biſhops in this county; late wife of Charles
Buckland, of this pariſh, gent. She departed this life April the 8th, 1698, aged 58."
At the eaſt end of the ſouth aile is a handſome mural monument of ſtone, and on the
tablet this inſcription:-“Hîc juxta jacent Henrietta, uxor Willielmi Earle, arm. filia
Smart Goodenough, arm. de Barton prope Taunton; nata 6 Martij, anno 1676,
denata 31 Januarij 1703. Robertus Earle, gent. filius natu tertius Willielmi Earle,
arm. natus 22 Januarij; denatus 7 Februarij, 1703. Willielmus Hall Earle, gen. filius
natu fecundus Willielmi Earle, fervient. ad legem, natus 6 Julij, 1700; denatus 28
Julij, 1721. Willielmus Earle, ſerviens ad legem, filius natu quartus, Tho. Earle,
equitis aurati de Crudwell in agro Wilton, obiit 10 die Martij, anno ætatis 78,
Dom. 39.”
On the north ſide of the chancel is a mural monument of ſtone with this inſcription:
“ In the middle of this chancel lyeth interred Ann, daughter of John Brickdale, eſq;
who departed this life the 30th of April 1748, aged 32. And Ann, the wife of the
ſaid John Brickdale, died the 15th of Feb. 1748, aged 56. Alſo John Freke
Brickdale, eſq; ſon of the ſaid John Brickdale, who died June 4, 1765, aged 47.
Likewiſe the ſaid John Brickdale, efq; who died Oct. 25, 1766, aged 90."
Matthew Brickdale, efq; is impropriator of the great tithes of Weſt-Harptree.
Mrs. Mary Buckland, by her will, gave a cloſe in the pariſh of Backwell, called
Cockwell-Croft, to the uſe of the poor of this pariſh, to bind out a poor child appren-
tice. 1672.
John Buckland, eſq; by a codicil annexed to his will, dated 23d of April 1675, de-
viſed two cloſes in this pariſh, called Cloſewell and Syms-Cloſe, to the uſe of the poor
of this pariſh for ever. 1678.
John Plummer of this pariſh, yeoman, by his will Sept. 24, 1725, deviſed a copy-
hold tenement lying in this pariſh; the one half to the uſe of the poor of this pariſh,
and the other half to the uſe of the poor of Priddy, He died 1736, aged 88.


William
144
[Chewton
WEST-HARP TREE,
William Earle, ſerjeant at law, by his will dated the 17th of May 1739, gave 5ol.
to this pariſh; the intereſt thereof at four per cent, to be for ever applied to the uſe
of the poor.
By the regiſter it appears, that on a ſeven years' average, the births have been ſeven,
the burials five annually.
In the church-yard are ten of the fineſt yew-trees perhaps in the kingdom. They
are clipt into cones, and the diameter of the largeſt is at the bottom thirty-ſix feet, the
height forty; the body of the tree thirteen feet round.
Of this church Dr. James Dugdale (a deſcendant of Sir William Dugdale) was
prebendary in the great rebellion in 1642, and was much perſecuted for his loyalty,
He lived to ſee the Reſtoration.
HINTON-BLE WET, alias COLD-HINTON,
I
S a ſmall pariſh, five miles ſouthward from Chew-Magna, ſituated on high ground in a
pleaſant well-wooded country. A ſmall ſtream riſing in one of the neighbouring
hills, runs through this pariſh, turning two mills, and joins the little river at Radſtock.
The Rev. Mr. Brookes has a neat houſe and garden near the church; another on the
green is the property of Mr. Hutchinſon of Bath, who has a conſiderable farm here,
and an old ftable which has from time immemorial been called Abbot's Barn, from
which ſome have been induced to think it is the remains of ſome religious foundation;
but we have no account of it in the monaſtick books.
The name of this place in Britiſh ſignifies the Old Town; it is called in Domeſday.
Book Hantone, and thus deſcribed:
“Ralph holds of William [de Ow] HANTONE. In the time of King Edward it
“gelded for eight hides. The arable is ſix carucates and a half. In demeſne are two
“ carucates and a half, and four ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and three bordars, and
“ four cottagers, with three ploughs. There is a mill of four ſhillings rent, and ſixty
acres of meadow. A wood one mile long, and one furlong broad. It was worth
« fix pounds, now one hundred ſhillings. Of this land Hugh holds of William half a
“ hide. It was always worth three ſhillings.”'a
In the time of Edw. II. lived John Bluet, and in that of Edw. III. Ralph Bluet is
certified to hold one knight's fee in Hinton of Hugh le Diſpenſer. After him came
ſeveral of the name of John," who poſſeſſed this and divers other lands in this county
and Dorſet. 5 Hen. V. Sir Thomas Broke, knt. held at his death this manor and the
advowſon of the church, together with the manor of Stoneaſton, of Lord le Diſpenſer.
· Lib. Domeſday.
Lib. Feod. 23 Edw. III.
Thomas
5 Eſc.
d Eſc. Hen. IV.
Chewton.]
145
HINTON-BLE W E T,
Thomas Broke his ſon and heir of the age of twenty-ſix years. The Chedders had
before this ſome property in the place. Joan the wife of the ſaid Thomas Broke had
this manor in dower, and died ſeized of it 15 Hen, VI, leaving Thomas Chedder her
heir.' The family of Bluet or Blewet, had poſſeſſion here ſo late as 38 Hen. VIII.
Of late years the manor was the property of the Stockers of Chilcompton, and by
them was ſold to Mr, William James of Eaſt-Harptree, who now poſſeſſes it.
South-WIDCOMBE is a hamlet belonging to this pariſh.
The living of Hinton-Blewet is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter.
The Rev. Mr. Brookes is patron and incumbent.
The church is dedicated to All-Saints, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and north aile.
At the weſt end is a neat tower lately rebuilt,
On a large black ſtone in the middle paſſage, is the following inſcription: .“ Sub
hoc lapide jacent cineres Elizabethæ, Joannis Hunt conjugis deſideratiſſimæ, filiæque
Gulielmi James, gen. de Widcombe, hujus parochiæ vico; una cum duobus liberis,
qui in tenera ætate vita deceſſerunt. Obijt 18 Martii, 1772; ætatis 42.”
The abbot of Keynſham received annually twenty-five ſhillings out of this rectory."
According to the parochial regiſter, the chriſtenings here are on an average eight,
the burials five.
2
9 Eſc.
$ Ibid.
& Ter. Sydenham.
* Taxat. Temporal,
HI G H - L Ι Τ Τ L Ε Τ Ο Ν,
A
Pariſh ſo called to diſtinguiſh it from another of a ſimilar appellation, is ſituated
on the lower road from Bath to Wells, from each of which cities it is ten miles
diſtant. Including the large and ancient hamlet of HALLATROW, it contains about
ſeventy houſes, and four hundred inhabitants.
In this pariſh is a very large coal-work belonging to Mr. Mogg, in which great
quantities of fine coals are raiſed, and fold at the pit's mouth for three-pence a buſhel.
Mr. Strachey has given us the following obſervations on the ſtrata in coal-mines in
this part of the country:
« For diſcovery of coals, they firſt ſearch for the crop, which is really coal, though
very friable and weak, and ſometimes appears to the day, as they terin it; or elſe for
the clif, which is dark or blackiſh rock, and always keeps its regular courſe, as the coal
does, lying obliquèly over it. For all coal lies ſhelving, like the tile of a houſe, not
perpendicular nor horizontal, unleſs it be broken by a ridge, which is a parting of
Philofoph. Tranf. No. 360, p. 968,
VOL. II.
U
clay,

146
[Chewton.
HIGH-LI T T L E T O N.
clay, ſtone, or rubble; as if the veins by ſome violent ſhock were disjointed or broken,
ſo as to let in rubble, &c. between them. The obliquity, or pitch as they term it, in
all the works about Mendip hills, is about twenty-two inches in a fathom; and when
it riſes to the land, is called the crop, but in the North baſſeting. In the works near
Stowey, and likewiſe at Farrington, it riſeth to the north-weſt, and pitcheth to the
ſouth-eaſt; but the farther they work to the ſouth-weſt the pitch inclines to the ſouth,
and è contro when they work towards the north-eaſt. So likewiſe they obſerve, as they
work to the ſouth-weſt, when they meet with a ridge it cauſeth the coal to trap up, that
is, being cut off by the ridge, they find it over their heads when they are through the
ridge; bụt on the contrary, when they work through a ridge to the north-eaſt, they ſay
it traps down, that is, they find it under their feet.
"Coal is generally dug in valleys or low grounds. The ſurface in theſe parts is
moſtly a red ſoil, which under the firſt or ſecond ſpit degenerates into malm or loam,
and often yields a rock of reddiſh fire-ſtone, till you come to four, five, and many times
to twelve or fourteen fathom depth, when by degrees it changeth to a grey, then to a
dark or blackiſh rock, which they call the coal clives. Theſe always lie ſhelving and
regular as the coal doth; but in theſe parts they never meet with free-ſtone over the
coal, as at Newcaſtle, and in Staffordſhire. Theſe clives vary much in hardneſs, in
ſome places being little harder than malm or loam, in others ſo hard that they are
forced to ſplit them with gunpowder. So likewiſe in colour; the top inclining to red
or grey, but the nearer to coal the blacker they grow; and wherever they meet with
them, are ſure to find coal under them; but they are not always worth digging.
“ The firſt or uppermoſt vein at Sutton is called the Stinking Vein; it is hard coal
fit for mechanick uſes, but of a ſulphureous ſmell. About five fathom and half (ſeldom
more than ſeven fathoms) under this lies another vein, which, from certain lumps of
ſtone mixed with it like a caput mortuum, not inflammable, called Cat's-head, they call
the Cat-head Vein.
“ About the ſame depth under this again lies the Three-Coal Vein, ſo called becauſe it
is divided into three different coals; between the firſt and ſecond coal is a ſtone of a foot
(and in ſome places two feet) thick; but the middle and third coal ſeem placed looſe
on each other, without any ſeparation of a different matter. Theſe three veins before-
mentioned are ſometimes worked in the ſame pit; but the next vein which I am going
to mention is generally wrought in a ſeparate pit, for though it lie the like depth under
the other, the cliff between them is hard and ſubject to water.
“Next under the Three-Coal Vein is the Peaw Vein, ſo denominated becauſe the
coal is figured with eyes reſembling a peacock's tail gilt with gold, which bird in
this country dialect is called a Peaw. The cliff alſo over this vein is variegated with
cockle-ſhells and fern branches; and theſe are always an indication of this vein, which
is always ſearched for about fifteen fathom to the north-weſt of the former.
« Under this again, between five and ſix fathom, lies the Smith's-Coal Vein, about
a yard thick; and near the ſame depth under that, the Shelly Vein; and under that,
a vein of ten inches thick, which, being little valued, has not been wrought to any
purpoſe.


Chewton.]
147
HIGH-LIT T L E T O N.

purpoſe. Some ſay there is alſo another under the laſt, but that has not been proved
within the memory of man.
“At Farrington they have the ſame veins, which, as I am informed, agree in all
parts with thoſe of Biſhop's-Sutton before mentioned; but as Farrington lies four miles
ſouth-eaſt from Biſhop's-Sutton, ſo in the regular courſe they would lie a mile and a
third deeper than thoſe at Sutton. But as in fact they are dug near the ſame depth, it
follows there muſt be a trap or ſeveral traps down, which in all muſt amount to that
depth between the ſaid works.
« Between Farrington and High-Littleton, the ſame veins ſeem to retain their
regular courſe, but at Littleton their undermoft and deepeſt vein is the beſt coal, which
at Farrington proves ſmall.
« On the other hand, in the pariſh of Stanton-Drew, to the north-eaſt of Sutton
coal-works, about a mile diſtant, and in the true courſe with thoſe at Sutton, the fame
veins are found again; but here they wind a little, and their courſe or drift runs almoſt
north, and they dip to the eaſt. This winding is attributed to ridges, which the
workmen have met with on both ſides, and have diſcontinued their working that way.
At Stanton they have little of the red earth or malm on the ſurface, but come imme-
diately to an iron grit or grey tile-ſtone, which is a forerunner of the coal-clives; in
all other matters they agree with the works near Stowey.
“ In the ſame pariſh of Stanton-Drew, a little to the eaſtward, they have another
coal-work, but the veins are in all reſpects different from the former. Their drift or
courſe is to the eleven o'clock fun, as they term it; they pitch to the five o'clock
morning, and riſe to land conſequently to the five o'clock evening ſun. They have
ſeveral veins, but as yet only three are thought worth working. The uppermoſt, about
three feet thick, is ſmall lime-coal; the next is about three fathom under it, but two
feet and a half thick, fit for culinary uſes; the undermoſt is about the like depth under
the former, only ten inches thick, but good hard coal.
« At Clutton, about two miles from theſe latter, in the ſame drift, viz. nearly S. E.
and by S. theſe laſt veins appear again. The ſurface here is red, and ſo continues to
ten, and ſometimes, to fourteen fathom, and in other reſpects agree with the laſt-
mentioned works at Stanton-Drew.
“At Burnet, Queen’s-Charlton, and Briſeton, they have four veins, which pitch
nearly to the north, and conſequently the drift lies almoſt eaſt and weſt. The ſurface
is red land, generally to the depth of four or five fathom. The uppermoſt is from
three to fix feet thick at Briſeton, but leſs at Charlton and Burnet. The next, called
Pot-Vein, is fix fathom under the former, eighteen inches thick, all hard coal. 3dly.
The Trench Vein, ſeven fathom under the other, which is from two feet and half to
three feet thick, all ſolid coal. 4thly. Rock Vein, always diſtinguiſhed by a rock of
paving ſtone called penant lying over it; which rock is ſometimes twenty feet thick,
or more, and therefore this vein is never wrought in the fame pit with the former vein,
but about two hundred yards more to the ſouth, or to land as they term it. It is com-
puted ſeven fathom under the former,
5. This
U 2
148
[Chewton.
HIGH-LITTLE TO N.
" This is all I can ſay in relation to the different veins of coal and earth in the coal-
works in theſe parts, wherein all agree in the oblique ſituation of the veins; and every
vein has its cliff or clives riſing over it, in the ſame oblique manner. All of them pitch
or riſe about twenty-two inches in a fathom; and almoſt all have the ſame ſtrata of
earth, malm, and rock over them, but differ in reſpect to their courſe and drift, as alſo
in thickneſs, goodneſs, and uſe.
“ Now as coal is here generally dug in vallies, ſo the hills which interfere between
the ſeveral works before-mentioned ſeem alſo to obſerve a regular courſe in the ſtrata
of ſtone and earth found in their bowels; for in theſe hills (I mean thoſe only that are
diſperſed among the coal-works before-mentioned) we find on the ſummits a ſtony
arable mixed with a ſpungy yellowifh earth and clay, under which are quarries of lyas
in ſeveral beds to the depth of eight or ten feet; and fix feet under that, through
yellowiſh loam, there is a blue clay, inclinable to marl, which is about a yard thick.
Under this is another yard of whitiih loam, and then a deep blue marl, ſoft, fat, and
ſoapy, fix feet thick, only at about two feet thick it is parted by a marcaſite about fix
inches thick. Theſe beds of ſtone and marl, different from coal, lie all horizontal.”
The manors of Hallatrow and Littleton are found in the long list of thoſe which
belonged at the Conqueſt to the Biſhop of Coutances, and are thus ſurveyed together
in the Norman record :
Roger holds of the Biſhop, HELGETREV. Four thanes held it in the time of
“ King Edward, and gelded for five hides wanting half a virgate of land. The arable
K is fix carucates. In demeſne is one carucate and a half, and four villanes, and three
€ bordars, and three cottagers, with two ploughs. There are twenty-ſeven acres of
.cc meadow, and thirty-three acres of paſture. It was and is worth fixty ſhillings."
- Ralph holds of the Biſhop, LITELTONE. Alwod held it in the time of King
• Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are
two carucates, with one ſervant, and four villanes, and ſix cottagers, with three
ploughs. There is a mill of fifty pence rent, and thirty-two acres of meadow, and
« fixty-fix acres of paſture. In Bath one burgeſs pays fifteen-pence. It was and is
<< worth ſixty ſhillings."
The manors of Hallatrow and Littleton compoſed part of the eſtate of the family
of Gournay in the times of Hen. III. and Edw. I. but afterwards were annexed to the
honour of Glouceſter. In the reign of Edw. II. John le Sore, of Backwell, held
theſe hamlets of Gilbert de Clare Earl of Glouceſter, by the ſervice of one knight's
fee;' and in the ſucceeding reign of Edw. III. Walter de Rodney held the ſame; to
whom ſucceeded Richard de Rodney. 49 Edw. III. the abbot of Keynſham mona-
ſtery, founded by William Earl of Glouceſter A.D. 1170, Sir Walter Romeſey, knt.
and Maud Baſſet, were certified to hold a knight's fee in the hamlets of Hallatrow
and Littleton. The lands which Keynſham abbey poſſeſſed here, continued in that
monaſtery till its diſſolution, and the manor now belongs partly to Jacob Mogg, eſq;
and partly to William Gore Langton, of Newton-St.-Loe, eſq.
اور
Lib. Domeſday
c Lib. Feod. 7 Edward II.
Efc.
e Lib. Feod.
The
Chewton.]
149
HIGH-LIT T L E TON.
The church of High-Littleton was appropriated to the abbey of Keynſham in 1324;
the name of the abbot then preſiding was Nicholas.
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The King is
patron, and the Rev. Thomas Mogg is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and is a ſmall but very handſome
ſtructure, rebuilt in 1735, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and ſmall aile on the ſouth
fide, and a tower at the weſt end containing three bells.
There is an old ſtone mural monument on the north ſide of the chancel, inſcribed
as follows: .“ Here lyeth John Hodges, buried May 2, 1584. Alſo his fon
Thomas Hodges, buried Oct. 15, 1619. And Thomas Hodges, ſon of the above-
faid Thomas Hodges, buried April 13, 1616. And Thomas Hodges, ſon of the fe-
cond Thomas, buried March 1, 1686; and his wife Joan Hodges. Alſo here lyeth
Thomas Hodges, ſon of Thomas and Joan Hodges, buried Dec. 26, 1692; George
buried June 28, 1694; and Joan, buried June 26, 1694; ſons and daughter of the
laſt Thomas Hodges.”
The average chriſtenings in this pariſh are twenty-ſix, and the burials twelve, an-
nually.
f Excerpt. e Regift. Wellen.

M I D S U M M E R-N OR TON,
Alias NORTON-CANONICORUM, or Norton-Friars.
A
Pariſh ſituated ten miles northeaſt from Wells, nine weſt from Bath, and fourteen
ſouth from Briſtol. It is of large extent, being feven miles in length, from
Nettlebridge to Rodford-Bridge near Camerton; and contains about two hundred
and ninety houſes, and upwards of fifteen hundred inhabitants, including the three
following hamlets :
1. WELTON, ſituated northeaſtward.
2. CLAPTON, northweſtward.
3. Downside, near Chilcompton, fouthweſt.
The church and principal part of the pariſh lies in a woody vale, ſcreened from the
north by a ridge of high lands, and watered by a pleaſant ſtream. The lands are
incloſed, and divided between paſture and tillage; fome of the meadow is very rich,
and conſiderable part of the arable has been improved by marl. There are two coal-
works in the pariſh, in which many of the poor are employed. Theſe coals are ſold
at four-pence a buſhel at the pit's mouth. A fair for cattle, pigs, and pedlary-ware, is
held here on the 25th of April.
This
150
[Chewton.
MIDSUMMER-NORTON.
22
This was another of the Biſhop of Coutances manors, and held of him by Ulveva :
“ Ulveva holds of the Biſhop Nortone. Alwold held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for five hides. The arable is eight carucates. In demeſne is one caru-
cate, and three ſervants, and five villanes, and eleven cottagers, with three ploughs.
« There is a mill of forty pence rent, and thirty-four acres of meadow, and ſix acres of
coppice-wood, and one mile of wood in length, and as much in breadth. It was
“ worth one hundred ſhillings, now fixty ſhillings.
Some time after the conqueſt of England by the Normans, we find this manor
in the poſſeſſion of Alured de Lincolnia, or Nichole, (as the French records call
him) a perſon who repreſented a great and noble family, of high antiquity, and of
which Alured was the uſual chriſtian name before and after the time of the Conqueſt,
down to 48 Hen. III. when Alured de Nichole died ſeized, among other lands and
poſſeſſions, of the manor of Norton, and his neareſt heirs were found to be Robert
Fitzpaine, ſon of Margery his eldeſt ſiſter; Beatrix, his ſecond ſiſter, married to William
de Gouiz; and Albreda, his third ſiſter. The manor of Norton was aſſigned in the
partition betwixt theſe coheirs to William de Gouiz, huſband of the ſecond ſiſter, who
had livery of it the year after Alured de Nichole’s deceaſe." This William de Gouiz
died 27 Edw. I. having poſſeſſed half a knight's fee in Midſummer-Norton, which the
record ſtates he held in chief of John de Vivonia;a which moiety of a fee Laurence de
Hameldon ſometime held in foccage, paying to the ſaid William de Gouiz one penny
a year for all ſervices. Joan and Alice were his daughters and heirs. In the firſt
year of Edward the ſecond, Adomar de Archiaco granted to John de Vivonia and
Reginald his fon a fourth part of the manor of Midſummer-Norton, then certified to
be a member of, and to appertain to the manor of Chewton-under-Mendip. Some
few years after, viz. 9 Edw. II. Joan de Vivonia, otherwiſe ſtiled de Kyme from the
name of her mother Maud's firſt huſband, and who was the wife of Reginald Fitz-
Peter, held a moiety of the manor of Norton. This Joan de Vivonia had three
ſiſters, all of whom had lands in this county and Dorſet, by inheritance from their father
William de Vivonia, or de Fortibus, ſecond huſband of Maud de Kyme or Vivonia
above-mentioned. Cecilia the ſecond daughter, and ſiſter of Joan aforeſaid, married
John de Beauchamp, of Hatch, and, together with her purparty of Midſummer-
Norton, inherited the manor of Welton, (anciently Welwoneton) in this pariſh, which
was part of the barony de Fortibus, and a vill, which gave name to a very ancient
family, who had lands in Compton-Dunden and Aſhwick. Which manor of Welton
continued for many deſcents in the family of Beauchamp, as well as that portion of
Norton which fell to their ſhare as deſcendants of the Vivonias. The other portions
came to Peter Fitz-Reginald, and to Reginald Fitz-Reginald; the laſt-mentioned died
2 Edw. III. leaving Reginald Fitzherbert his heir. Which Reginald Fitzherbert died
20 Edw. III. and was ſucceeded by Edmund his ſon and heir." 48 Edw. III. Matthew
Gournay, lord of Farrington-Gournay, had the manor of Welton, with its members of


& Lib. Domeſday.
i Cart. Antiq.
d Eſc. e Lib. Feod.
f Eſc.
o Cart. Antiq.
• Rot. Claus. 49 Hen. III.
1 Eſc.
m Ibid.
Eſc.
See the Inquifition, * Cartular. Abbat. Glafton,
Midſummer-
תן
Chewton.]
151
MIDSUMMER-NORTON.
Midſummer-Norton and Widcombe, which paſſing with the other lands of the Gournays
to the crown," now belongs to the Prince of Wales as Duke of Cornwall. Edmund
Fitzherbert above-mentioned held at his death, 10 Ric. II. one meſfuage, and one
carucate of land with its appertenances, together with the fourth part of a fair in Mid-
ſummer-Norton, of the King in capite by knight's ſervice. He left iſſue a fon, named
Edmund, who died without iſſue, and a daughter, Alice, married to Sir Thomas
Weſt, knt. anceſtor to Earl Delawar, to whom ſhe brought the patrimonial eſtates.
Sir Thomas Weſt died 4 Hen. V. ſeized of a moiety of this manor, and a moiety
of the fair, and was ſucceeded by his brother Reginald. A moiety of the manor was
held at the ſame time by the family of Brook, and deſcended from them to the
Chedders, Newtons, Lord Line, and Sir Thomas Griffin.!
But beſides theſe disjointed portions, there was yet another manor or rectorial manor
in this pariſh, which formerly belonged to the Canons of Merton in the county of
Surry, from which circumſtance it obtained the name of Norton-Canonicorum. This
manor, after the diffolution of that houſe, was granted to Chriſt-church college in
Oxford, and now remains part of its poſſeſſions. It was formerly held under leaſe by
the family of Bull, (who bore for their arms, Or, three bulls' heads ſable, armed and
langued gules) and now by James Tooker, eſq.
Lands in Compton in this pariſh were held 37 Hen. VIII. by Robert Longe, eſq.
The rectory of Norton-Canonicorum was valued in 1292 at twenty-five marks, and
the vicarage at eight marks. It was appropriated to the priory of Merton, which
received from it a yearly penſion of thirty ſhillings."
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of the Dean and
Canons of Chriſtchurch. The Rev. Edward Ford is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. John Baptiſt, is a very ancient edifice, as is evident
from the circular arched door-ways, with uncouth zigzag mouldings, and other ſuch
decorations, characteriſtick of the Saxon and Norman ſtile. It conſiſts of a nave and
ſide ailes, with a handſome tower at the weſt end of more modern erection than the
reſt, having been built in the year 1674. This tower contains a clock, and eight bells,
three of which were given by King Charles the Second, whoſe ſtatue in a full-bottomed
wig and regalia ſtands in a niche on the ſouth ſide.
At the corner of the ſouth aile ſtands the wooden effigy of a man in armour, which
formerly lay under the ſingers' gallery, on a raiſed tomb, long ſince demoliſhed. It is
vulgarly called by the inhabitants Jack o' Lent; but tradition ſays it belonged to one
of the name of Warknell. Many of the Harbords of Welton, and the Bulls, were
interred here.
In the north aile is a ſmall mural monument with the following inſcription:
« Hoc monumentum poſuit Johannes Landſdown, in memoriam Chriſtopheri Hobſon,
A. M. vicarii, qui obijt 11 mo die Aprilis, Anno Domini 1762, ætatis fuæ 76.
n See page 139.
P See in Ubley, p, 156, and Chedder in Winterſtoke hundred.
9 Ter. Sydenham. * Taxat. Spiritual. s Taxat. Temporal.
« Dum


• Eſc.
152
[Chewton,
MIDSUMMER-NORTON.
« Dum vivens, moriens nemini ſe geſſit iniquum;
“ Sic vivens, moriens, fidat adire Deum.
« Mary, the wife of Chriſtopher Hobſon, died March 15, 1737; and Jane their
daughter, aged 42, died June 12, 1777.”
In the middle of the church-yard ſtands a very fine ancient yew-tree, whoſe branches
form a circle of one hundred and forty feet.
РА
U L
T
O N.
TORTHWARD of Midſummer-Norton, and betwixt that pariſh and High-
Littleton, is Paulton, pleaſantly ſituated on the edge of a fruitful vale, which
extends ſouthward, and is well wooded and watered. The number of houſes is about
one hundred and thirty, and that of inhabitants nearly ſeven hundred and fifty. Moſt
of the houſes ſtand in ſeveral irregular ſtreets near the church, and many of them are
good fubftantial dwellings. In this pariſh, which abounds with lyas ftone, burnt in
great quantities into lime for manure, are two large coal-pits, worked by fire-engines;
the coals are very good, and fold at the pit at fourpence a buſhel,
We have no account of this place in the old record ſo often quoted in this book, it
having in early times been member of ſome other manor. In the time of Edw. III. lived
John de Palton, who was a knight, and engaged in the wars of that reign; a ſtone effigy
in the chancel is ſaid to repreſent this man. To him fucceeded Sir Robert de Palton,
and to him Şir William de Palton, ſon and heir of Sir Robert, ſucceſſive poſſeſſors of
this manor. This Sir William de Palton, by his deed 6 Hen. IV. granted to Richard
Lord St. Maur, and to Elizabeth the relict of William Botreaux, all his lands and
tenements in Camerton, Doulting, Glaſtonbury, and Bath, with the advowſon of the
church of Camerton, and a yearly rent of five ſhillings, payable out of a tenement in
Paulton, late the property of John Duricote, together with all thoſe lands and tene-
ments in Holcombe, which Sir John de Palton, his grandfather, purchaſed of Juliana
de Walton. To which William ſucceeded another William Palton, who was lord not
only of this manor, but of Timſbury, Carſcombe, Camerton, Withycombe, Elworthy,
Brompton-Ralph, Holcombe, Wyche, and Bourbache, and alſo poſſeſſed divers lands
and tenements in other pariſhes. At his death, 28 Hen. VI. Joan the wife of John
Kelly, and Agnes the wife of Nicholas St. Loe, were found to be his couſins and heirs;
and thus the name and line of poffeffion became extinct. The lordſhip is now the
property of Thomas Bury, eſq.
Paulton is one of thoſe chapels which belonged to the rectory of Chewton, with
which it was given by Hen. V. to the priory of Shene. It appears by the regiſters of
Cart. Antiq.
Eſc. © Rot, claus, o Hen. VI.
d Eſc. 28 Hen. VI.
Wells,

Chewton.]
153
MIDSUMMER-NORTON.
Wells, that two chaplains had uſually ſerved the chapels of Paulton and Farrington;
but in 1494 an official decree was iſſued out that Thomas Golwege, then vicar of
Chewton, and his ſucceſſors, in conſideration of the ſmallneſs of the revenues of thoſe
chapels belonging to the vicarage, ſhould not be bound to find two chaplains to ſerve
the chapels, but that one in future ſhould alternately officiate in both.
The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is a handſome edifice; rebuilt
in the year 1753, and the tower in 1757, of ſtone brought from the quarries at Doul-
ting on Mendip, at the expence of the pariſh. The church conſiſts of one aile and
chancel, and the tower has a clock and five bells.
Sir John Palton's mutilated effigy lies on a low tomb on the ſouth ſide of the
chancel. On the north ſide is a plain mural monument inſcribed to ſeveral of the
Plumer family.
The average number of chriſtenings in this pariſh are nineteen, and the burials :
nine annually.
• Excerpto e Regiſt. Wellen,
S T
ON
E - EAST O
ON,
Otherwiſe STONY-EASTON.
TH
"HE original name of this village was Eaſton or Eſtone, ſignifying the Eaſt Town,
and given to it on account of its eafterly ſituation from Chewton-Mendip, the
hundred town.
It was additionally denominated Stony-Eaſton, by reaſon of its
abounding with thoſe ſtrata of ſtone which run along the verges of the Mendip hills.
There are other places in this county of a ſimilar diſtinction, as Stony-Hinton, Stony-
Stoke, Stony-Littleton, Stony-Stratton, &c. all or moſt of which have ſimilar reaſons
for their additional prænomen.
This village, conſiſting of a long ſtreet of tolerably built houſes, is ſituated in an
incloſed woody country, in the turnpike-road between Briſtol and Shepton-Mallet, and
near the interſection of the road from Bath to Wells, at a point called Old-Down.
This point is the weſtern angle of a large common of that name, on high ground, and
commanding an extenſive proſpect. Here are found divers varieties of ſpar, and no-
dules of iron-ſtone, which are hollow, and filled with white amethyſtine cryſtals of the
ſame kind as thoſe at St. Vincent's rocks, near Briſtol. At the interſection of the
roads is a large accuſtomed inn, known by the name of Old-Down Inn.
This place is of high antiquity, being ranked among thoſe manors which were held
at the Conqueſt by Geffrey Biſhop of Coutances. We have the following detail of it
in the Norman ſurvey:
VOL. II.
х
56 Azelin

154
[Chewton.
S T O N E-E A S T O N.
»a
“ Azelin [that is, Aſceline de Percheval] liolds of the Biſhop, Estone. Three
“thanes held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for four hides and a half.
"The arable is fix carucates. In demeſne are three carucates, and four ſervants, and
« five villanes, and four bordars, and two cottagers, with four ploughs. There is a
« mill which renders thirty pence, and forty acres of meadow, and forty acres of
paſture. It was and is worth ſeventy ſhillings.'
It had owners of its own name ſoon after this period; but in the time of Henry III.
it became the property of the family de Clifton, (ſo named from Clifton, their priſtine
poffeffion in Glouceſterſhire) of whom were Ignatius de Clifton, and Gervaſe de Clifton,
fucceſſive poſſeſſors hereof." They held one knight's fee here 24 Edw. I. another in
Radſtock, and another in Clifton before-mentioned. So did their heirs hold the
fame 23 Edw. III. In this reign we find other poſſeſſions alſo in this pariſh. 13
Edw. III. Simon de Trewithoſe held at his death of the King in chief three acres and
a half of arable land in Stony-Eſton, (as it was then written) and 20 Edw. III. Bartho-
lomew Peytevyn is certified to hold in Stony-Efton in demeſne, as of fee of the King
in chief, one meſſuage, two plough-lands of arable, fix acres of meadow, and fifty
ſhillings rent, by the ſingular ſervice of finding the King yearly at Chriſtmas a ſextary
or a pint and a half of clove wine, (which was ſomething of the nature of hippocras,
or ſpiced wine) and the ſaid land is reported to be worth ten pounds a year. A ſimilar
cuſtom prevailed in the manor of Stert in this county, which was held of the King by
the ſergeanty of one gallon of wine, to be paid yearly at the King's exchequer. And
another cuſtom ſomewhat ſimilar to both, though more extraordinary, occurs in the
tenure of the manor of Winterſlow in the county of Wilts, the lord of which was
obliged by his ſervice, whenever the King ſhould come to his palace at Clarendon,
and make any ſtay there, to go into the butlery of the ſaid palace, and draw out of
any veſſel he ſhould find, at his own choice, as much wine as ſhould be needful for
making a pitcher of claret, which he was to make at the King's expence, and to ſerve
his Majeſty with a cup of it, and after that he was to have for his pains the veſſel he
took the wine from, the remainder of its contents, and the cup that the King drank
out of.
There ſeem to have been from very early times two manors in Stone-Eaſton, or at
leaſt two vills within the precincts of the ſame pariſh. For in the time of Edw. I. and
II. the records mention an Eaſton-major and an Eaſton-minor. 33 Edw. III. Richard
Greneville and John de Sutton releaſed to John de Chinereſton the manor of Stone-
Eaſton, with lands in Midſummer-Norton and Compton-Dando. Which John de
Chinereſton by deed dated 44 Edw. III. granted to William Chedder and his heirs
all his manor of Nether-Stony-Eaſton, together with all his 'lands in Nether-Stony-
Eaſton, Compton-Dando, Chilcompton, and Midſummer-Norton." This manor con-
tinued in the deſcendants of Brook and Chedder, till it came by a coheireſs in the time
of Philip and Mary to Sir Thomas Griffin, knt.
e Eſc.
a Lib. Domeſday.
f Plac. Coron.
c Lib. Feod.
d Ibid.
• Cart. Antiq. 47 Hen. III.
& Ibid. h
Eſc. 50 Edw. III. Wilts.
i Ex Autog,
k Ibid.
The

6. Garvey Rdspina?
Ross
F. Bonnor, soulp
STO NE EASTON.
The deat of Henry Hippisley Cave Coghinto whom this Plate ie sinceribud, by his Obliged Servant
J. COLLZNS ON

Chewton.]
155
S T O N E-E A S T O N.
The other manor in Stone-Eaſton belonged to the priory of Brewton in this county
which held it till its diffolution. 36 Henry VIII. the manor of Stone-Eaſton, with
its appertenantes, was granted to John Hippiſley, eſq; whofe fon and heir John
Hippiſley, 17 Eliz. is certified to hold the ſame, together with the manor of Camely,
and twenty meſſuages and lands in Camely, Temple-Cloud, and Hinton-Blewet,
by knight's ſervice. From him deſcended Preſton Hippiſley, eſq; lord of this manor,
whoſe daughter and ſole heir conveyed it with many other manors in this neighbour-
hood in marriage to John Coxe, of Wiltſhire, eſq; anceſtor of Henry Hippiſley Coxe,
eſq; the preſent poffeffor, who has a very elegant manſion, with fine plantations on the
north ſide of the pariſh church.
The living is a curacy in the deanery of Frome, and is annexed to that of Chew-
ton Mendip.
The church conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and north aile, with a tower at the weſt end
containing five bells. The arch which divides the chancel from the nave is Saxon,
having zigzag mouldings.
In the aile, which is the burial-place of the Coxe family, there is an old mural
monument with the following inſcription: “To the memory of John Hippiſley,
efq; who departed this life the 28th day of October, Anno Dom. 1664. Alſo in me-
mory of Ann the wife of Richard Hippiſley, eſq; who left this life the 20th day of
November 1669.” On the top of the monument are theſe arms; Sable, two bendlets
between three mullets or; Hippiſley: impaling argent, a croſs azure.
On the one ſide
of the monument, Hippiſley; on the other Argent, a croſs gulés.
In the church-yard, which is ſurrounded with larch-trees, are two remarkable old
yew-trees, of aſtoniſhing girth."
John Stonefton, probably a native of this pariſh, was the laſt abbot of Keyníham."
m See vol. i. p. 13, note z.
# Archer 618.
bruto grinton.
Dhanus
VOL. II.
X2
UBLEY

[ 156 ]
[Chewton.
U B
fonet
E
Y
S the laſt pariſh in this hundred weſtward, and on the borders of Winterſtoke, lying
under the northern ridge of Mendip-hills, which riſe very ſteep and high imme-
diately from it. The road from the hill into the pariſh is down a ſteep precipice,
extremely narrow, winding among vaſt fragments of rock interſperſed with coppice-
wood, and in many places there are ſtone ſteps for ſeveral yards together.
In the time of Edw. I. the manor of Obbeleigh was the property of Ralph de Wake;
but in that of Edw. II. it was poſſeſſed by Richard Damorie, grandſon of Gilbert
de Aumari, of Winford in this county, who 12 Edw. II. procured from the Crown a
licence for a weekly market here on Monday, and a fair yearly, on the eve, day and
morrow of the feaſt of St. Bartholomew the apoſtle.' This Richard Damorie, who
ſerved in all the wars of Edw. II. died 4 Edw. III. and was ſucceeded by Richard his ſon
and heir, who 10 Edw. III. doing his homage had livery of his lands, and 15 Edw. III.
after his return from the expedition made into Flanders the preceding year, granted
this his manor to Matthew the ſon of Nicholas Peche. Which Matthew Peche, by
deed dated in the eighteenth year of the ſame reign, granted the manor of Ubley to
Robert de Luccombe, and Nicholas le Bole. Theſe perſons ſhortly after ſold the
manor to Nicholas Huſcarle, who 36 Edw. III. granted the ſame to Sir Richard
de Acton, knt. from whom it was conveyed to John Stoke, and from him to
William de Chedder. Sir Thomas Brook died ſeized of it 5 Henry V. and Joan his
wife held it in jointure.Thomas de Chedder was owner of it 21 Henry VI. and by the
marriage of his daughter and coheireſs Iſabel to Sir John Newton, it paſſed into his
family. Richard his ſon and heir left likewiſe two daughters coheireſſes, of whom
Iſabel was the wife of Sir Giles Capel, who had this manor in her right, and from him
it deſcended to Sir Henry Capel his ſon and heir, who had iſſue Sir Arthur, firſt knight
of Queen Elizabeth, whoſe iſſue was Sir Henry Capel, father of Arthur lord Capel,
and grandfather of Arthur earl of Eſſex. In 1726 the Earl of Effex fold it to
William Pulteney, eſq; afterwards created Earl of Bath; from whom it has deſcended
to William Pulteney, efq; the preſent poffeffor. In Thomas de Chedder's time, 21
Henry VI. there was a capital manſion here, with a park containing one hundred and
four acres, and one hundred and twenty head of deer.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the gift of
the King. The Rev. Peter Grigg is the preſent incumbent. It was formerly appro-
priated to the abbey of Keynſham.
The church is dedicated to St. Bartholomew, and conſiſts of a nave, north and
fouth ailes, with a ſquare tower and a ſpire at the weſt end, containing four bells.
At the upper end of the chancel on the left hand is an eſcutcheon cut in ſtone,
with two coats thereon impaled : 1. Sable, a chevron ermine between three eſcallops
* Cart. 12 Ed. II, n. 58,
► Cart. Antiq.
c Ibid.
• Eſc.
Orig. Survey
argent,

Chewton.]
157
U
Y.
B
E
L
argent, Chedder.
2. Argent, three fleurs de lis gules, a label with three points ; and
over head Scutum Dominae Chedder.s
In a window on the north ſide of the church are two coats, viz. I. Argent, on a
chevron azure, three garbs or, for Newton. The other is, Chedder, charged with a
creſcent for difference or.h
On a grave-ſtone near the communion table is this inſcription: “Hic jacet Gulielmus
Thoma's, eccleſiæ hujus rector pluſquam quadragenarius; qui populum docuit publice
ac domatim ſermone ac exemplo. Vitam, quam pro grege diutius inſumere ut paftor
non potuit, avidiſſimo ſummo paſtori reddidit Nov. 15°, A. D. 1667°, Ætatis fuæ 74.”
According to the regiſter, the annual number of chriſtenings in this pariſh is eight,
and of burials five, on a ſeven years' average.
The intereſt of about 181. given by Mr. Milner of Briſtol, and Mr. Thomas Fry,
belongs to the poor of Ubley. They have alſo the rent of a ſmall paddock.
8 MSS. Notes, taken June 5, 1677.
h Ibid.
Additional Remarks on ſome of the foregoing Pariſhes.
C A M E L E Y.
THIS
PAGE 125, L. 1.
HIS ſtream is the ſource of the little river Cam, from which the pariſh has its name.
The pariſh is
divided into two manors, viz. CAMELEY and TEMPLE-CLOUD, where they hold a court-leet, at which
they chooſe their own peace-officers, returning them to the hundred-court at Chewton. There are the
remains of a large manſion built by the family of the Hippiſleys. In the pariſh regiſter is the following
account of an extraordinary murder :-" A. Dni 1573, the 21ſt day of November was the murther of thes
66 Perſonnes :
« Thomas Froſter, parſon
Margrett Jenying
“ Ales Nayler, widdow
Iſabell Plentye.
« The murtherers weare John Jenannies, William Maſhie. They were executed at Chard the year following."
Near Cameley is Chalwell, which ſeems to be the Cilele of Domeſday-Book, p. 34.
E M B O ROW.
PAGE
134
THIS pariſh lies in the hundreds of Chewton and Whitftone, and compriſes two manors, viz. EMBOROVI
and WHITTENHULL. The former was the property of Sir Richard de Emmeberwe, knt, who by his deed
without date granted it to his nephew Alexander de Mountfort. In the reign of Richard II, it was the
poſſeſſion of Sir Hugh de Berewyk, knt. whoſe ſon Thomas Berwyke dying without iſſue, Margaret his
fifter, the wife of Ralph Boteler, eſq; became heir to the eſtate. From the Botelers it paſſed to the Byſſe
family, and from them to the Roynons, who 13 Eliz. conveyed it to John Hippiſley, eſq; whoſe family had
before poſſeſſions in this pariſh.*
* From original deeds in the poſſeſſion of Henry Hippiſley Coxe, eſq.
2
The
158
Additional Remarks on preceding Pariſhes.
[Chewton.
The manor of WhittenHull belonged to the families of Apharry, Walbeoff, and Gunter, and from
the laſt paſſed to Hippiſley.
The lake or pond in this pariſh was granted by John Boteler, lord of Emborow, to the Monks of Char-
terhouſe-Hinton; after the diſſolution of which monaſtery it was granted by King Henry VIII. to Thomas
Horner, efq; who conveyed it to the Hippiſley family.
Emborow and Ston-Eaſton are chapels of eaſe to Chewton, to the vicar of which church they pay vica
rial tithes.
2
HIN TON-BLE W E T.
PAGE
145.
THE manor was ſold 38 Eliz. by John Hippiſley of Cameley, to John Stocker of Chilcompton.
MIDSUMMER-N OR TO N.
PAGE
149.
THERE are four tithings in this pariſh, viz. Norton, Welton, Clapton, and Downside. In the
tithing of Downſide is Norton-Hall, the ſeat of James Tooker, eſq. And on the confines of the fame
tithing, near the pariſh of Stratton-on-the-Foſſe, is a well-built ſquare houſe, now belonging to William
Fookes, efq. This houſe, with ſome lands adjoining, was lately fold to him by Henry Hippiiley Coxe, of
Ston-Eaſton, efq; who now poſſeſſes other lands in this tithing, together with the manor of Bentor, which
he enjoys by will of his relation Mrs. Mary Hooper, eldeſt daughter and coheireſs of Sir William Davie, of
Creedy, in the county of Devon, bart. who took it by marriage with the daughter of George Stedman, efq.
It formerly belonged to the family of Plumley of Harptree.
STON-EASTON, STONY-Aston, or STONY-ESTON,
PAGE 153,
CONSISTS of two hamlets, viz. Ston-Easton Major, and STON-EAston Minor, otherwiſe Hay-ſtreet,
or High-ftreet, which laſt place was formerly lands of Chaffin, then of Tooker and Mogg. They both
now belong to the fame poffeffor. Stor-Eaſton Major was the property of Bartholomew Peytevyn, who had:
iſſue Walter, who by Lucia his wife had iſſue Gilbert, who 21 Edward III. granted the manor to Robert
prior of Brewton, in which monaſtery it continued till the diffolution, when coming to the crown, King
Henry VIII. in the 36th year of his reign granted it in fee to John Hippiſley, eſq; whoſe family held it
before of the prior of Brewton. This family had very large poſſeſſions in this and the neighbouring counties
of Wilts and Berks, and is the root from which three families of this name ſprang :-the family of Lamborne,
in Berks, which is now repreſented by the Rev. J. Hippiſley, of Stow in the county of Glouceſter ; the Stanton
branch, of which J. Hippiſley Trenchard, of Abbot's-Leigh near Briſtol, is the laſt heir male; and the family
of Wanborough, which is now extinct; the two laſt places being in the county
of Wilts.
They were all deſcended from their common anceſtor John Hippiſley, of Ston-Eaſton, eſq; by Elizabeth
daughter of J. Organ, of Lamborne, in the county of Berks, efq; which ſaid John Hippiſley died in 1613.
Henry Hippiſley Coxe, eſq; the preſent poffeffor of this manor, is the immediate deſcendant in the female
line from Preſton Hippiſley, eſq; whoſe daughter married John Coxe, of Baſſet’s-down in the county of Wilts,
eſq; which family came from Glouceſterſhire, where a branch of them now lives, and the elder branch in the
adjoining county of Hereford.
Old-Down in this pariſh is now incloſed.
THE
[159]

THE HUNDRED OF
CREW K E R N E.

TI
HIS hundred lies in the loweſt part of the county ſouthward, on the bor-
ders of Dorſetſhire, having part thereof on its ſoutheaſt angle. The pro-
perty of it was anciently veſted in the Courtneys, Earls of Devon; its more recent
poſſeſſors have been the Earls Poulet, of Hinton-Saint-George, a lordſhip contained
within its precincts. It derived its name from Crewkerne, its chief town.
C R E W K E R N E,

A
Very ancient town, known in the Saxon times by the name of Crucesne, which
is compounded of the words Cruce a croſs, and Earne a cottage, or place of
retirement. There is no doubt that this name was applied to it in the early ages of
Chriſtianity, when churches were rare, and hermitages or cells were the uſual places
of religious aſſociations.
It is ſituated in a rich and fertile vale, well wooded and watered, and ſurrounded with
cultivated eminences, which command extenſive and very beautiful proſpects. The
town conſiſts principally of five ſtreets, and the pariſh comprehends the vills or hamlets
of CLAPTON, HEWISH, WOOLMISTON, FURLAND, where was a chapel, ROWADHAM,
and LAYMORE. The river Ax runs through the pariſh, (and the Parret through
part of it) turning a corn-mill in the hamlet of Clapton; another mill there is, turned
by a ſtream, which riſes near the lodge in Lord Poulet's, and falls into the river near
the county bridge, which is built of ſtone, and conſiſts of three arches. Leland viſited
this town, but ſaw nothing remarkable in it. “ Crokehorn (ſays he) is ſette under the..
rootes of an hille. Ther I ſaw nothing very notable. Yet ther ys a praty croſſe envi-
ronid with ſmaul pillers, and a praty toune houſe yn the market place. The market.
is held on Saturdays, and there is a fair for cattle on the fourth of September.
# Itin, ii. 944
In
160
[Crewkerne.
CREW K E R N E.
b
In early times this was a royal manor, endowed with many privileges, and exempt
from all taxations.
« The King (ſays the Norman Survey) holds Cruche. Eddeva held it in the
6 time of King Edward, but paid no geld, nor is it known how many hides are there, ,
« The arable is forty carucates. In demefne are five carucates, and twelve ſervants,
" and twenty-ſix coliberts, and forty-two villanes, and forty-five cottagers, with twenty
ploughs. There are four mills of forty ſhillings rent, and a market rendering four
pounds. There are fixty acres of meadow. Paſture half a mile long, and four
furlongs broad. A wood four furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It yields
forty-fix pounds of white money.
« From this manor is ſevered ESTHAM. In the time of King Edward it was of the
« farm of the manor, and could not be ſeparated from it. Turſtin holds it of Earl
- Morton. It is worth fifty ſhillings.
In the time of Hen. II. this great manor of Crewkerne came to the poſſeſſion of
Baldwin de Redvers, baron of Oakhampton in Devonſhire, by his marriage with
Alice, daughter and heir of Ralph de Dol in Berry, but he died without any iſſue by
her, as did Richard de Redvers his brother, who ſucceeded him in this manor and
in his honours in Devon. By which means the family poſſeſſions reſorted to William
uncle of the ſaid Baldwin, and Richard de Redvers. Which William, who was fur-
named de Vernon, from the place where he received his education, gave in the ſixth
year
of King John the ſum of five hundred marks, to be repoſſeſſed of certain lordſhips
in Devonſhire, and to be acquitted of the annual rent of fourſcore pounds which he
paid for this his manor of Crewkerne. But ſhortly after the faid William gave this
manor to Robert de Courtney in free marriage with Mary his daughter. To which
Robert ſucceeded John de Courtney, who died 2 Edw. I. leaving iſſue by Iſabel
daughter of Hugh de Vere earl of Oxford, Hugh de Courtney baron of Oakhampton,
his heir and ſucceſſor. Which Hugh married Eleanor daughter of Hugh lord
Diſpenſer, by whom he was father of Hugh lord Courtney, the firſt Earl of Devon-
fhire of that name. He died ſeized of this manor 14 Edw. III. leaving iſſue by
Agnes his wife, ſiſter of John lord St. John of Baſing, Hugh de Courtney the third,
and the ſecond Earl of Devonſhire of that name. He married Margaret, daughter of
Humphrey de Bohun earl of Hereford and Effex, and dying 51 Edw. III. was fuc-


• Lib. Domeſday.The manor of Eaſtham, (ſo called to diſtinguiſh it from Rowndham) in another part of
the Record, is thus further ſurveyed:
“ Turſtin holds of the Earl [Morton above-mentioned] ESTHAM. Goduin, the King's bailiff, held in the
" time of King Edward, with Cruche, a manor belonging to the King, and could not be ſevered from the farm,
"and gelded for two hides. The arable is two carucates, which are in demeſne, with ten cottagers, and one
“ ſervant. There is a mill of twelve ſhillings rent, and twelve acres of meadow, and twenty acres of wood. It
es was and is worth fifty ſhillings.”
It afterwards went with the manor of Crewkerne; the benefice was rectorial, now a finecure, the church being
deſtroyed, and the village (formerly conſiderable) depopulated.
+ Sir William Pole's Survey of Devon, MS. Dugd. Bar. i, 255.
e Rot. Fin, 6 Joh. m. 8.
å Ibid.
ceeded
f Eſc.
Crewkerne.]
IOT
CRE W K E R N E.

ceeded in this manor by another Hugh de Courtney, his eldeſt ſon, commonly called
Hugh Courtney le Fitz, who married Elizabeth daughter of Lord Guy de Brien, and
had iſſue Hugh, who married Joan daughter of Thomas Holland Earl of Kent, ſiſter to
King Richard II. but had no iſſue by her. His father died in his grandfather's life-time,
and he ſhortly after." Edward Courtney, eldeſt ſon of Edward Courtney, third ſon of
Hugh Earl of Devonſhire, ſucceeded to the title and eſtates. He was ſtiled the blind
Earl, and married Matilda daughter of Thomas Lord Camois : he died 7 Hen. V ſeized,
of the manor and hundred of Crewkerne, and the advowſon of the church of Crewkerne,
and of the three portions in the ſaid church belonging to the manor, viz. the portion of
the dean of the ſaid church, the portion of the ſub-dean, and the portion of the chapel
of Miſterton annexed to the ſaid church; and the advowſon of the chantry of the
bleſſed Virgin Mary in the ſaid church, and of the chantry of the bleſſed Virgin
Mary in the cemetery thereof, appertaining to the manor of Crewkerne: all which
property was held of the King in capite, by knight's ſervice, as parcel of the honour
of Plympton in the county of Devon, given to Richard de Redvers by King Henry
the firſt." Edward, the eldeſt ſon of this Earl of Devon dying a year before his father,
Hugh, the ſecond, ſucceeded to the title and eſtate, and had to wife Anne daughter of
Richard Lord Talbot, and ſiſter of the celebrated John Talbot Earl of Shrewſbury»
by whom he had iſſue Thomas, and departed this life 10 Hen. V. then ſeized of this
and other large manors in Somerſet and Dorſet.' Thomas Courtney, ſon of Hugh,
ſucceeded his father, and married Margaret Beaufort, ſecond daughter of John Earl of
Somerſet, by whom he had iſſue Thomas, beheaded at York by the command of
Edward IV. in the year 1462, Henry, beheaded at Saliſbury in 1466, and John, who
was ſlain at Tewkeſbury in Glouceſterſhire in 1471. He had alſo ſeveral other chil-
dren; but Thomas the firſt, and Henry the ſecond ſon, above-mentioned, being
attainted for treaſon, Sir Humphrey Stafford was created Earl of Devonſhire, (who
was alſo afterwards beheaded) and the lands and poſſeſſions of the family were ſeized
by the Crown. This manor, with many others, was granted 18 Edw. IV. to George
Duke of Clarence. Notwithſtanding this attainder of the Courtneys, and the extinction
of the firſt line of that family, many of the lands were reſtored to their former channel,
and the title renewed in the perſon of Sir Edward Courtney, knt. who was ſon of Sir
Hugh Courtney of Boconnock, ſon of Sir Hugh Courtney of Haccomb, younger fon
of Sir Edward Courtney, and brother of Edward Courtney, third Earl of Devonſhire,
This Sir Edward Courtney had four ſiſters, whofe pofterity inherited the remaining
lands of Edward the laft Earl of the name of Courtney, who died iſſueleſs, viz.
Elizabeth, wife of John Tretherf; Maud, wife of John Arundell of Talvarn; Iſabel,
wife of William Mohun; and Florence, wife of John Trelawney. The part of
Tretherf became afterwards the property of Vivian. 23 Eliz. John Arundel had
the fourth part of the manor of Crewkerne Magna and Parva, and had licence to
alienate the ſame, with one hundred and forty meſſuages there and elſewhere, to Sir
Amias Paulett, who died ſeized of the fame Sept. 26, 1588. His deſcendant, John
Earl Poulett, now inherits this manor,

n Sir Wm. Pole.
i Eſc.
* Sir Wm. Pole.
1 Eſc.
VOL. II.
Y
This

162
(Crewkerne.
CRE W K E R N E.
»
This pariſh, in the time of William the Conqueror, had a church, and large pol-
feſſions annexed thereto, belonging to the abbey of St. Stephen of Caen, in the
dioceſe of Bayeux in Normandy, to which it was given by William Duke of Nor-
mandy, the founder, who was buried there in 1093. To this abbey William was
extravagantly munificent; for beſides the immenſe bounties which he in his life-time
conferred thereon, he on his death was fain to give it all his favourite trinkets, the
crown which he uſed to wear at high feſtivals, his ſceptre and rod, his cup ſet with
precious ſtones, his golden candleſticks, and all his other regalia; nay, even the bugle
horn, which he uſed to carry at his back, went to pot! It ſeems it was ſome difficulty
to recover theſe matters from the abbey ; for it is evident that it coſt King William
the Second the manor of Coker in this county, and a large parcel of exemptions, to
redeem what had been ſo fooliſhly ſquandered. The Norman record thus deſcribes
the lands belonging to that monaſtery in this pariſh:
“The church of St. Stephen holds of the King the church of CRUCHE. There are
6C ten hides. The arable is thirteen carucates. Thereof in demeſne are two hides, and
6 there is one carucate, with one ſervant, and eleven villanes, and two coliberts, and
"" ſeventeen cottagers, with fix ploughs. There are ten acres of meadow, and half a
“mile of paſture in length and breadth. Of theſe ten hides a knight holds of the
“abbot three hides, and has there two carucates, with one ſervant, and ſix villanes, and
“ two cottagers, with four ploughs. There is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and ten acres
" of meadow, and half a mile of paſture in length and breadth. It is worth to the abbot
6 ſeven pounds, to the knight four pounds.
The parſonage of the living is an impropriation belonging to the church of Win-
cheſter. William Huſſey, eſq; holds the rectorial manor.
The church was anciently divided into three portions; the firſt of which was in 1292
valued at fifty marks, (in 1554 at 551. 125. 11d.) the ſecond at ſixteen, and the third at
i Edw. II. it was found not to the King's detriment to grant to Agnes de
Monceaux a licence ſettling the ſum of 41. 45. 3d. rent in Crewkerne on a certain
chaplain in this church to celebrate maſs daily in perpetuum.' The laſt incumbent of
this ſervice was John Godge, who in 1553 received the ſum of four pounds three
ihillings and fourpence, by way of penſion.'
The church is a large, lofty, and ſtately Gothick building, in the form of a croſs,
in the center of which is a handſome embattled tower, ſtanding on four maſſive pillars.
On each ſide of the communion table is a door leading into a ſmall room, which
was formerly a confeſſional, or place where in days of Popery a reverend confeſſor
ſat in form to hear the declarations of his penitents, and to diſpenſe abſolutions. The
virtues and advantages of confeffion are not improperly expreſſed by ſome figures over
the doors which lead into this apartment. That by which the penitents entered has
two ſwine carved over it, to ſignify their pollution; over that by which they returned
are two angels, to repreſent their purity and innocence.
** Lib. Domeſday.
Taxat. Spiritual. • Inq. ad quod damnum, 1 Edw. II,
• Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ij. 202,

ten."
On

Engraved for the History of Somersetshire.
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Crewkerne.]
163
CREW K E R N E.
On the weſt ſide of the north end of the tranſept is a large mural monument of
ſtone, with two tablets, on which are theſe inſcriptions:
“M. S. Johannis Merefield, ſervient. ad legem, qui obiit viceſfimo fecundo die
Octob. A. D. 1666, et ætatis fuæ 75. Et Eleanoræ uxoris ejus, filiæ Johannis
Williams, de Herringſton in agro Dorceſt. armig. quæ obiit undecimo die Septembris
A. D. 1655.Hic juxta poſita eſt Alicia filia et hæres Johannis Coſton, de Bower-
henton, armigeri, et uxor Roberti Merefield, armig, quæ obiit 12 die April A. D.
1678, ætat. fuæ 29."-The Merefields were of Woolmiſton.
On the ſame wall is another ſmall mural monument of ſtone, on which is a braſs
plate, with the following inſcription: "Spectatiffimi viri M. Henrici Trat, nuper
dum vixit ludi magiftri Crewkernienſis longe celeberrimi ; cujus deſideratiſſimæ animæ
depoſitum ſubtus in Domino conquieſcit, defunctum primo die Maij, et ſepultum ſep-
timo die, A. D. 1679, ætat, ſuæ 55."-To which is added a long apoſtrophe by one
of his ſcholars.
On the north pillar at the northeaſt corner of the tranſept is a mural monument of
black and white marble. The tablet, ſupported by two round detached columns bears
this inſcription :-"M. S. Thomæ Way, qui, fi ætatem provectiorem attigiſſet, ipſe
ſibi exegiſſet monumentum, marmoreo iſthoc tanto perennius, quanto ingenii opera
manuum funt diuturniora. Eam enim à natura vim animo habuit inſitam, quæ doc-
trinas, quibuſcunq; puerilis ætas imbui debet, faciles redderet, et jucundas: literarum
tamen ftudium eâ ftrenua ſedulitate, quæ vincit omnia, ſint quamvis difficillima, proſe-
cutus eſt. Erat etiam moribus innocuus, integer, ſanctuſq; condiſcipulorum amans;
obſequens doctoribus; et matris viduæ (cui filius erat unicus) obſervantiſſimus. Auguſti
kalend. 16 anno a Xto nato 1723, ætat. fuæ 18 ; variolis per oppidum Crewkerniæ
tum miſere graſſantibus, atrociſſimorum fymptomatum impetu corruptus eſt. Et
poftquam pia fortitudine vehementiore triduum conflictaverat, quarto iniqui hujus
certaminis die purpuream efflavit animam.”
Under the eaſt window is a plain mural monument of ſtone with this inſcription:-
“Elizabeth Wyke, wife of John Wyke, of Henly in the county of Somerſet, eſquier,
daughter of James Coffine, of Munckly in the county of Devon, eſquier; was born
Aug. 5, 1565, died May 2ift, and was buried May 28, 1613, being then of the age of
50 years; and had iſſue three daughters then living, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Frances.
E nding on earth, to rebegin in heaven,
L oving my Maker dearer than my mate;
I calmely in a quiet ocean driven,
S ayld to this port, where love admits not hate.
A nkor'd I have ſo ſafely, that I ſcorne,
Be it with wind, tyde, weather, to be torne;
E clipſing fins, dark’ning bright virtue's ſun,
T hat weave ſuch webbs of woes ť intangle foules,
Have. here no reſidence, but downward run,
E arthy they are, Heav'n's judgment them controules;
Y 2
God

164
[Crewkerne.
CREW K E R N E.
God hath appointed 'firy ſeraphins,
To ſtand as ſentinells 'gaynft death, 'gaynſt fins.
Well came my death, that brought me unto life,
I ll gain my life, which would procure my death,
K nowing the careful reſt from combrous ſtrife,
Enjoy I ſhould with my Creator's breath;
For by ſuch meanes ſuch pow'r I do attaine,
Ever to live, never to die againe.”
At the ſouth end of the tranſept are three old ſtone tombs; one is inſcribed as follows:
« Here lieth the body of Adam Martin, eſq; of Seaborow, who was buried Dec. 20,
1678.”—The inſcriptions on the other two are illegible.
Near the above, is a mural monument of black ſtone, on which is inſcribed:
« In a vault underneath are depoſited the remains of Elizabeth Trevelyan, daughter
of John Trevelyan, of Minehead, eſq; who died Nov. 6, 1776, aged 65."
On a braſs.plate in one of the pillars in the nave, is the following account of
benefactions to the poor:
* Martha Mintern, of Crewkerne, gentlewoman, (obiit May 10, 1712, ætat. fuæ
90) in compaſſion to the poor of the ſaid pariſh, hath for ever given the lands called
Tuxingdon’s, part of the eſtate of Robert Ford, gentleman, to the uſes following, viz.
Two third parts of the clear yearly profits of the ſaid eſtate to be divided among ſuch
poor people as the curate, churchwardens, overſeers of the poor for the time being, and
the truſtees for the ſaid lands, ſhall think fit; to each poor perſon, every Candlemas-
day, three ſhillings. And the other part of the clear yearly profit of the ſaid eſtate to
be employed in the education of ſuch poor children as the perſons above-named
Thall appoint."
On the ſouth wall in a black frame, is the following account of other charities :
“Mr. Mat. Chubb gave the old alms-houſe for eight poor people.
« Mrs. Mary Davies gave the new alms-houſe for ſix poor men and ſix poor women,
and half a hundred of wood to each yearly. And alſo four pounds to be given to the
poor, one ſhilling each, on New-Year's day.
“Mr. Coffins gave 31. 125. a year, out of Furington's, for the education of poor
children.
“ Mrs. Jane Reynolds gave 31. to the poor of this town, and il to the poor
of
Hewiſh; one ſhilling each to be given Eaſter-Monday, by the overſeers, paid out of
the Grinham eſtate.
“A. D. 1730. Mr. William Budd gave 2ol. for the uſe of two induſtrious tradeſ-
men with bondſmen, four years without intereſt.
“ A. D. 1762. Mrs. Elizabeth Cookſon gave the uſe of sol. for poor children
to be taught to read."
A charity-ſchool here, endowed by Dr. Hody, and other benefactors, ſtill flouriſhes.
This

Drawn & Engravidby T. Bonners
CH.
B
Be
ਕਰੀ ਕਰ
HINTON SI GEORGE
The Seat of The Right Hon? Ert Poulett to sehem this Plateris inscribed by his Obliged Servant. coninsex

Crewkerne.]
165
C R E W K E R N E.
This pariſh gave birth and reſidence to a family of its name, who flouriſhed in the
times of Hen. IV. and V. in great proſperity.
Weſtward of Crewkerne, and between that town and Chard, is a hill called Rana-
Hill, on which was a chapel dedicated to St. Ranus, which contained his bones.
& Itin. Willelmi de Worceſtre, 163,
M
I S Τ Ε
RT
0 N.
S
OUTHWARD from Crewkerne, and in the road into Dorſetſhire, lies Miſterton,
in a
lands are moſtly paſture and meadow, and abound with a yellowiſh kind of rag-ſtone,
which is uſed for the roads, and for rough building. This ſtone contains a few cornua
ammonis, and ſome foffil ſhells of the bivalve kind.
The manor of Miſterton has always belonged to the great manor of Crewkerne, for
which reaſon it does not appear in the Norman Survey. In all the records it is called
Miſterton in the pariſh of Crewkerne; and the church, which is a vicarage, formed one
of the portions of that benefice. The Rev. Mr. Aſh is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall edifice, without either tower, turret, or ſpire, conſiſting of a
nave, chancel, and ſide ailes; at the eaſt end of the ſouth aile are two ſmall bellsi
It is dedicated to St. Leonard.
Η Ι Ν Τ Ο Ν
St.
G E O R G E..
THE
HIS pariſh is pleaſantly ſituated three miles northweſt from Crewkerne, the greater
part thereof on riſing ground from the north, having the ſeat and noble woods
and plantations of Earl Poulett on the ſouth, part of which are on a fine eminence, and
command a very extenſive and beautiful proſpect over the greateſt part of the county, ,
and the Dorſetſhire mountains to the ſouth. In the upper part of the pariſh, near the
fourth mile ſtone in the road from Chard to Crewkerne, both the north and ſouth ſeas
appear. A fine ſpring riſes near the church, from which a rivulet runs to Merriot,
and thence to South-Petherton; another which has its fource in the park, after paſſing
over a water-fall about fourteen feet high, runs through Dinnington, and afterwards
joins the former near Lopeton, where it turns a corn-mill.
* “ So caullid bycauſe the paroch chirch there is dedicate to St. George,” Lel. Itin. ii. 94.
There

766
[Crewkerne.
HIN TON ST. GEORGE.
There is a hamlet within this pariſh called Craft, and in old deeds Craft-Warre,
from its having formerly belonged to the ancient family of the Warres of Heſtercombe."
It lies fouthweſt from Hinton.
The manor of Hinton belonged in the Norman days to William de Ow, and was
then called Hantone.
« Williant himſelf holds HANTONE. In the time of King Edward it gelded for
“thirteen hides. The arable is twelve carucates. Thereof in demeſne are five hides,
“and there are four carucates, and five ſervants, and ſixteen villanes, and twenty-four
cottagers with ten ploughs. There are two mills of ſeven ſhillings and ſixpence rent,
" and fixty acres of meadow. Wood one mile in length, and half a mile broad.
“ When he received it, it was worth twelve pounds, now fifteen pounds."
The family of Powtrell were ancient owners of Hinton St. George, of whom were
John and George Powtrell, in the time of Richard I. and King John. Whether the
former poffeſſed this eſtate or not, is not certain; but the latter enjoyed it, and in the
time of Henry III. deviſed it to an only daughter and heir, married to John Giffard,
who ſometime reſided here;' but died without iſſue male, and the lands deſcended by
Alice his daughter and heir to Sir Philip Deneband, of Peſcayth in Monmouthſhire,
knt. Which Sir Philip was father of William Deneband, who 29 Hen. III. gave to
his younger brother Hamon a moiety of this manor, which was held of Roger le
Bigod Earl of Norfolk and marſhal of England. After many ſucceſſions of this
family of Deneband, the manor of Hinton came, by the marriage of Elizabeth daughter
and heir of John Deneband with Sir William Paulett, knt. into that ancient family,
who were afterwards ennobled with the barony.
The Paulets, or (as they are now written) Pouletts, had their name from the village
of Paulet near Bridgwater. The firſt that aſſumed this name was Hercules, Lord of
Tournon in Picardy, who came into England with Jeffery Plantagenet Earl of Anjou,
third ſon of Henry II. His fon and heir, Sir William de Paulet, had his reſidence
at Leigh-Paulet in Devonſhire; and dying in 1242, was ſucceeded by Sir William
of the ſame place, who died in 1281, leaving iſſue Sir William Paulet, who died in
1314, and was ſucceeded by Sir Walter Paulet, who had his dwelling chiefly at
Road in this county. This Sir Walter died in 1322, and was fucceeded by Sir
William Paulet, who was alſo of Road; and after him came Sir John Paulet, knight,
who was of Goathurſt in this county. Which Sir John married Elizabeth, daughter
and heir of Sir Thomas Reigni, or Reyney, of Rowd in Wiltſhire, and Sheerfton in this
county; the arms of which family, viz. a pair of wings conjoined in lure, were uſed by
his fucceffor Sir John Paulet, 15 Ric. II. This Sir John Paulet, ſon of Sir John,
was one of thoſe who engaged in the expedition under Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of
Buckingham, in aid of the Duke of Britanny' againſt the French;" and having married
Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Sir John Creedy,' of Creedy in the county of Devon,
had iſſue two ſons, Sir Thomas Paulet, knt. and William Paulet, progenitor of the
See Kingſton in Taunton hundred. c Lib. Domeſday.
Cart. Antiq.
f Cart. Antig.
h Hollinſhed's Chron. ii. 426.
Sir Wm. Pole ſays William Credy, MS. Survey of Devon,
Pouletts,
e Sir Wm. Pole's MSS.
8 Ex Stemmate.

Crewkerne.]
167
HIN TON-ST.-G E ORG E.
Pouletts, Dukes of Bolton. Which Sir Thomas Paulet married Margaret, daughter
and heir of Henry Boniton, and was father of Sir William Paulet, who married the
heireſs of Deneband. This Sir William left iſſue one ſon Sir Amias Paulet, and
four daughters. Sir Amias was knighted for his gallant behaviour at the battle of
Newark upon Trent, June 16, 1487. He built much at Hinton, but reſided for the
moſt
part in London, where he was treaſurer to the Society of the Middle Temple. He
died in 1538, leaving iſſue, by Lora his ſecond wife, daughter of William Kellaway,
of Rockborne in the county of Southampton, eſq; three fons and one daughter. Sir
Hugh, the eldeſt ſon, was in the French wars in 1544, and 31 Hen. VIII. was made
fuperviſor of all the manors, meſfuages, and lands, lately belonging to Richard Whiting,
abbot of Glaſtonbury, attainted. 33 Hen. VIII. he had a grant of Upcroft and
Combe in Crewkerne, and was ſheriff of the county 29 and 34 Hen. VIII. and i
Edw. VI. He married firſt, Elizabeth, daughter of Walter Blount, eſq; by whom he
had no iſſue; and ſecondly Philippa, daughter and heir of Sir Lewis Pollard, knt. by
whom he had iſſue three fons and one daughter. Sir Amias Paulet, the eldeſt ſon,
died ſeized of Hinton-St.-George, Sept. 26, 1588, leaving iſſue by Margaret, daughter
and heir of Anthony Harvey, eſq; three ſons, Hugh, who died in his infancy, Sir
Anthony Poulett, and George Paulet, of Goathurſt. He had alſo three daughters.
Sir Anthony Poulett ſucceeded to the title and eſtate, and married Catherine, fole
daughter of Henry Lord Norris, Baron of Rycot, by whom he had iſſue two ſons and
two daughters. John the eldeſt ſon was in 1627 advanced to the dignity of a Baron,
by the title of Lord Poulett, of Hinton-St.-George. He married Elizabeth, daughter
and coheir of Chriſtopher Ken, of Ken-Court, efq; by whom he had three ſons and
five daughters, viz. John, his eldeſt ſon and ſucceſſor, who was in 1640 elected knight of
the ſhire for this county, and diſtinguiſhed himſelf for his loyalty during the civil wars.
He died in 1665, at his manor houſe at Court de Wick, and was buried at Hinton.
He married firſt, Catherine, daughter and coheir of Sir Horatio Vere, knt. Lord Vere
of Tilbury, by whom he had two ſons, John and Horatio; and three daughters, Eli-
zabeth, Vere, and Catherine. To his ſecond wife he married Anne, ſecond daughter
and coheir of Sir Thomas Brown, bart. by whom he had iſſue two ſons, Amias, and
Charles; alſo four daughters, Anne, Florence, Mary, and Margaret. John, his eldeſt
ſon and heir, fucceeded him, and married Effex, daughter of Alexander Popham, of
Littlecot, eſq; by whom he was father of two daughters, Catherine and Letitia; by his
ſecond wife Suſan, daughter of Philip Earl of Pembroke, he had iſſue his only ſon and
heir John Lord Poulett, created Viſcount of Hinton-St.-George and Earl Poulett in
1706. His Lordſhip married Bridget, daughter and coheir of Peregrine Bertie, eſq;
and by her had iſſue four fons, John, who ſucceeded him, Peregrinę, buried at Hinton-
St.-George, Vere, and Lord Anne, ſo named by Queen Anne his godmother; as alſo
four daughters, whoſe names were Bridget, Catherine, Suſan, and Rebecca. John
ſucceeded his father, as ſecond Earl Poulett, and dying unmarried, his eſtate and titles
devolved on his brother Vere Poulett, father of John Earl Poulett, the preſent Lord
of Hinton-St.-George. His Lordſhip's arms are, Sable, three ſwords in pile, their
points in baſe, argent, pomels and hilts or.
* Burton, according to Sir William Pole,
The
168
[Crewkerne.
HINTON ST.GEORGE.
The living of Hinton, valued in 1292 at ten marks,' is a rectory in the deanery of
Crewkerne, and in the gift of Earl Poulett. The Rev. Mr. Tudor is the preſent
incumbent.
The church conſiſts of a nave and ſide ailes, with a well-built tower at the weſt end,
containing five bells. The north aile or chapel belongs to Earl Poulett, and contains
many monuments of that noble family. The arch, which divides it from the chancel,
is filled up with a large ſtone monument, on which, under a canopy, lie the effigies of
Anthony and Catherine Poulett, and on the fides of it ten of their children kneeling;
the inſcription is:-"Hic jacet Antonius Poulet, miles et dux infulæ Jerſey, qui
obiit 22 die Julij, Anno Dñi 1600. Hic jacet Dña Katherina Poulet, uxor Antonii
Poulet, militis, filia unica Henrici Dñi Norris, Baronis de Rycot, qui obiit 24 die
Martii, Anno Dñi 1601.”
Againſt and within the north wall of this chapel lie the effigies of a knight in compleat
armour, and his lady, with two plain coats of the Poulets carved over them, and this
inſcription:-"Hic jacet Amiſius Poulet, miles, qui obiit decimo die Aprilis 1537.”
Adjoining to this is another monument of ſtone, having thereon the effigies of a man
and woman, he is in compleat armour, and the ſame achievement as the former, in-
fcribed,__"Hic jacet Hugo Poulet, miles, qui obiit 6 die Decembris Anno Dñi....
At the eaſt end of the chapel is a very ſtately monument to the memory of John
Lord Poulett, firſt Baron of Hinton-St.-George, and John Lord Poulett the ſecond.
Round a blue flat ſtone in the ſame chapel was the following inſcription:-
“ Pci gift Aneſteiſe de Saint Duentin Fille Sire Johan. qutzavers ffeme
Herbert de Seynt Duentyn. Pries pur lui ke Du de s'alme eyt mercy to"
Round a flat ſtone in the chancel:-
“Hic jacet Amos Poulet, miles, filius ſecundus Antonii Poulet, inilitis,
qui obiit i mo die Maii Aino Dni 1626.”
On the north ſide of the nave, another of the family of Poulet lies in effigy on an
ancient tomb of ſtone.
On the ſame fide is a white marble monument, with this inſcription: « Rebecca
Poulett, youngeſt daughter of John Earl Poulett, of Hinton-St.-George, by Bridget his
wife, daughter and coheireſs of Peregrine Bertie, fon to the Earl of Lindſay, died
March 2, 1765. Many daughters have done virtuouſly, but thou excelleft them all..
This monument is erected to her memory by her ſiſter Sufan Poulett.”
Againſt the eaſt wall of the ſouth aile is a monument of ſtone, and over it on a braſs
plate the effigies of Adam and Elizabeth Martin, with ſeveral of their children kneeling,
and a copy of indifferent Latin verſes.

1 Taxat. Spiritual,
MERRIOT.
Crewkerne. ]
[ 169 )

M E
R R
I
0
T.
HIS pariſh and village, formerly written Meriet, lie at a ſmall diſtance north-
, from -
bدر
fruitful country,
Meriet is noticed in the general Survey as the land of two different perſons, Robert
Earl of Morton, and Harding Fitz-Alnod, one of the King's thanes.
“ Dodeman holds of the Earl, Meriet. Lewin and Briſtward held it in the time
of King Edward, and gelded for ſeven hides. The arable is feven carucates. In
« demeſne are two carucates, and ſix ſervants, and ten villanes, and ſix cottagers, with
« four ploughs. There are three mills of thirty ſhillings rent, and twenty-five acres of
“meadow, and half a mile of paſture in length and breadth. It was worth four pounds,
now ſeven pounds.”a
“The ſame [Harding] holds Meriet. Goduin held it in the time of King Edward,
“ and gelded for five hides. The arable is ſix carucates. In demeſne are two caru-
“cates, and two ſervants, and nine villanes, and fix cottagers, with two ploughs. There
“is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and ten acres of meadow, and three furlongs of paſture,
“It was formerly worth one hundred ſhillings, now it is worth four pounds.”
In this village, in the time of King Richard the firſt, lived a family who aſſumed
their names from it. Nicholas de Meriet had conſiderable poſſeſſions in this county in
that reign, and was aſſeſſed at thirty-eight ſhillings and nine-pence as ſcutage for the
King's ranſom. He was fucceeded by Hugh de Meriet, his ſon and heir, who 14
Hen, III. paid 25 marks for his relief of his lands.
To him fucceeded Nicholas de Meriet, who 20 Hen. III. gave ſeven pounds ten
ſhillings for his relief of one knight's fee in Meriet, which his father Hugh held of the
King in chief.' Alſo 38 Hen. III. he accounted for the ſum of thirty-ſeven ſhillings
and two-pence, in the aid for making the King's eldeſt ſon a knight.
To which Nicholas fucceeded John de Meriet, who died 13 Edw. I. ſeized of the
manor of Meriet, and the advowſon of the church thereof, then certified to be of the
yearly value of twenty pounds.
John, his ſon and heir, was a great warrior, and had the honour of knighthood con-
ferred upon him by King Edward I. in all whoſe wars he was engaged, and from whom
he obtained a charter of free warren, a market, and a fair in this manor. 28th of that
reign he was one of thoſe great men who had a ſpecial ſummons to attend the King
with horſe and arms to march againſt the Scots. He died ſhortly after, and by his
wife Lucia left iſſue John de Meriet, George, and William.k
d
f
b Ibid.
2 Lib. Domeſday.
f Rot. Pip. 38 Hen. III.
© Rot. Pip. 6 Ric. I. • Rot. Fin. 14 Hen. III.
& Efc. 5 MS. penes Edit, . 1 Eſc.
e Rot. Fin. zo Hen. III.
* Cart. Antiq.
VOL. II.
Z
John
170
[Crewkerne.
ER R1 0 T.
John de Meriet, the eldeſt ſon, was alſo a knight, and bore for his arms Barry of
fix, furmounted by a bend.' He feems to have been in great favour in the court of
Edw. II. but was 'of a turbulent temper, inſomuch that he was excommunicated by
John de Drokensford, biſhop of Bath and Wells, for embowelling his deceaſed wife."
He was afterwards pardoned, and died 1 Edw. III. leaving iſſue John his heir and
fucceffor, at the age of twenty years."
Which laſt-mentioned John died ſoon after his father, as did alſo George de Meriet,
lord of this manor, whoſe ſon and heir by Iſabella his wife was
Another Sir John de Meriet, lord of this and other manors in this county, wherein
he was ſucceeded by
Walter de Meriet, who is ſtiled of Comb-Flory." He was lord alſo of a manor in
Long-Aſhton, called Aſhton-Meriet, from the name of this family. Dying without
iſſue
19
Edw. III. Simon de Meriet, his nephew, became poſſeſſed of the eſtates.
Sir John Meriet, ſon and heir of Simon, was a knight. He married Eleanor ſiſter
and coheir of John de Beauchamp of Hatch, by whom he had iſſue
John Meriet, who ſucceeded him in this manor, and poſſeſſed alſo the lordſhips of
Lopen, Stratton, and Marſton-Magna, with the advowſon of the churches of Merriot
and Buckland; all which, after his death 46 Edw. III. deſcended to John Meriet
his fon and heir.”
Which John Meriet was a knight, and of much reputation in the days wherein he
lived. His wife's name was Maud, by whom he had iſſue one ſon, George, and two
daughters, viz. Margaret the wife of Sir Thomas Bonville, and Elizabeth the wife of
Humphrey Stafford. George died iſſueleſs, and a partition being made of the lands
of Meriet betwixt the daughters, this manor was aſſigned to Margaret the wife of
Sir Thomas Bonyille."
Which Sir Thomas Bonville was father of Sir William Bonville, who died in his
father's life-time; but left iſſue by Elizabeth, only daughter and heir of William Lord
Harington, William Bonville, Lord Harington, who died in the life-time of his
grandfather; and left iſſue by Catherine, daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Saliſbury,
an only daughter Cecily, married to Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorſet. After the
death of the ſaid Cecily, Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorſet, her ſon, poſſeſſed it; and
after him his ſon Henry Duke of Suffolk; by whoſe attainder it fell to the Crown.
i Mary, the manor of Merriot, with lands in Merriot and Cheſcombe, belonged to
William Rice, and it is now the property of Henry Rodbard, eſq.
The church of Merriot, valued in 1292 at twenty marks," was appropriated to the
abbey of Muchelney, A. D. 1382." It is a vicarage in the deanery of Crewkerne, and
ản the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Briſtol. The Rev. Mr. Price is the preſent
incumbent.


Seals from ancient deeds, Somerſet. Excerpt. e Regiſt. Joh. Drokensford, Ep. B. et W. n Efc.
• Cart. Antiq.
Eſc. 9 This or another Elizabeth is called the wife of Urry Seymour.
Cart. Antiq. • Ter. Sydenham. 1 Taxat, Spiritual. * Pat. 18 Ric. II. p. 2. m. 2.
The
Crewkerne.]
171
M
R R RI O T.
E

The church, which is dedicated to All-Saints, is a neat ſtructure, and conſiſts of a
nave, and two ſide ailes. A tower at the weſt end contains a clock and five bells.
Here was a chantry, founded by one of the Meriets.
In the ſouth aile is a neat mural monument of black and white marble, inſcribed,
“ This monument is erected to the pious memory of that worthy gentlewoman Mary
the wife of John Rodbard, of this place, eſq; and eldeſt daughter of Henry Henley, of
Leigh, in this county, eſq; by Catherine his wife, daughter and fole heireſs of Richard
Holt, of Nurſted in the county of Southampton, eſq; who died Jan. 7, 1733, aged 35.
John Rodbard, of Merriot, eſq; died March 20, 1744, aged 55; juftly eſteemed and
lamented by his neighbours and relations. He left, by the above-mentioned Mary
his wife, three ſons and a daughter of age ſufficient to remember and mourn ſo good
a parent.” Arms: Or, a chevron between three oxen fable; impaled with azure, a
lion rampant argent, crowned or, within a bordure of the ſecond, charged with eight
torteaux.
On another neat mural monument of white marble:"To the memory of Mary
daughter of John and Mary Rodbard, who died Oct. 20, 1745, aged 18. William
Rodbard died Nov. 22, 1762, aged 32.”
On a mural monument of white marble near the ſouth door:- Near this place
lieth the body of John England, of London, eſq; who died April 2, 1742, aged 59."
Arms: Gules, three lions argent, paſſant in pale; impaling ſable, between two bends,
ſix leopard's heads caboſſed or.
Benefactions to the Poor:
James Hooper, eſq; 100l. Robert Gough, eſq; 701. Robert England, eſq; 100l.
The intereſt to be diſtributed annually on Good-Friday and St. Thomas-Day, among
the ſecond poor.
S
E
A
B 0 R
O U
H.
TH
HIS pariſh lies ſouthweſt from Crewkerne, on the borders of the river Ax; which
on the ſouth and eaſt divides it from the county of Dorſet. Its ancient name was
Seveberge, under which it is thus noticed in the Norman Survey:
“The Biſhop (of Saliſbury] holds SEVEBERGE. Alward held it in the time of King
“Edward, and gelded for a hide and a half. The arable is one carucate and a half.
“Yet there are two ploughs, and two villanes, and four cottagers, and two ſervants.
“There is half a mill rendering ten-pence, and nine acres of meadow, and ten acres of
“wood. Paſture half a mile long, and half a furlong broad. To this manor is added
“ another SevebeRGE. Aluer held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for a
" hide and a half. There are two ploughs, with one villane, and five cottagers, and
6 half

2 2
$72
(Crewkerne.
SE A BOROUGH.

the
« half a mill rendering ten-pence, and nine acres of meadow, and ten acres of wood.
* Paſture half a mile long, and half a furlong broad. Theſe two lands are not of the
$6 biſhoprick of Sariſberie. Biſhop Oſmund held them for one manor, and Walter of
“him. They were and are worth ſixty ſhillings. In the time of King Edward they
belonged to Crewkerne, the King's manor, and they who held them could not be ſepa-
“rated from it, and paid to Crewkerne a cuſtomary rent of twelve ſheep with their
“ lambs, and one pig of iron from every freeman.”
Soon after this account was written, King William the Conqueror gave this manor
with other lands to Le Sieur de Vaus, or Vallibus, who came over with him from
France;' the Biſhop of Sarum was then the capital lord, and the feudal ſervice due
from the manor was that of one ſoldier. In which family of De Vallibus, Seaborough
deſcended through many generations, but the names of the ſeveral poſſeſſors do not
all occur. In the time of Henry III. Ralph de Vallibus being obliged to ſend men in
the ſervice of that king, when he undertook a cruſade to the Holy Land, amongſt
others diſpatched one John Gole out of his manor of Seaborough, who went accord-
ingly to Jeruſalem, and was preſent at the ſiege of Damieta, where he fought valiantly,
and after his return, as a reward for his merits, this Ralph de Vallibus gave him an
eſtate in Seaborough (by deed ſtill extant) about A. D. 1229.
This Ralph de Vallibus had an only daughter and heir named Grecia, who about
year 1 245 married Eudo de Rochford, and by that marriage the manor and eſtate
were transferred to the Rochford family, having continued in that of de Vallibus for one
hundred and eighty years. This Grecia, though thus married to Eudo de Rochford,
in all her deeds made after marriage, ftill retained her maiden name, according to the
cuſtom made uſe of in France to this day; and under that title 51 Hen. III. A. D.
I 267, joined with her huſband in a grant of this manor, and the advowſon of the
church, together with a pound of pepper, and a pound of cummin-ſeed, payable
annually by the abbot of Ford, unto their fon Ralph and his heirs for ever. But
14 Edw. II. John, the ſon of this Ralph de Rochford, ſold the whole of this manor
and eſtate to John Gold of Seaborough, who was in all probability a deſcendant of that
John Gole, or Gold, the cruſader above-mentioned.
The manor, eſtate, and advowſon, thus transferred from the Rochford family, (in
which they had continued about ſeventy-ſix years) to the Golds, were delivered down
in a lineal and direct deſcent in that family from father to ſon for almoſt three hundred
years. The laſt of the family was John Gold, who was killed in a field on Henley
farm near Seaborough, in the beginning of the reign of Queen Mary, as he was pur-
ſuing his favourite diverſion of hawking at harveſt time. Mr. Weeks, the then owner
of the farm, (between whoſe family and that of the Golds there had exiſted an ancient
animoſity) being in the field at the ſame time, ordered ſome of his workmen to beat
Mr. Gold off his horſe, which one of them did with a rake, and killed him. For this
murder Mr. Weeks and two of his men were tried at an aſſize held at Crewkerne
upon the occaſion, and being found guilty, were condemned and executed.

Lib. Domeſday,
• Battle-Abbey Roll.
John
Crewkerne.]
173
SE A BOROUGH.

John Gold thus dying, the eſtate, manor, and advowſon of Seaborough, became
the property of his widow Elizabeth, who lived near thirty years after his deceaſe.
They having no iſſue, Seaborough fell immediately on the death of the ſaid Elizabeth
to John Gold's heirs, who were four ſiſters, Margaret, Catherine, Alice, and Anne.
Margaret the eldeſt married with Richard Martin, eſq; ſecond ſon of Sir William
Martin, of Athelhamſtone in the county of Dorſet, knt. Catherine the ſecond mar-
ried Mr. Henry Hoſkins; Alice the third married with Mr. John Bale, (whoſe family
lived afterwards at Seaborough near one hundred years); and Anne the youngeſt ſiſter
married with William Stretchley, of Devonſhire, eſq. Catherine ſurvived her huſband,
but died a widow at Seaborough without iſſue, 20 March 1586, and by her death one
fourth part of Seaborough reſorted to the three ſurviving ſiſters, whoſe huſbands,
Martin, Bale, and Stretchley, in 1589 divided the demeſne lands in Seaborough by
lot. Mrs. Strechley ſurvived her huſband, and being willing to part with that pro-
portion which had fallen to her ſhare, Mr. Martin and Mr. Bale were competitors
for it; but Mr. Bale prevailed, and by the purchaſe became poſſeſſed of two third
parts of the houſe and demeſne lands. The families of Martin and Bale inhabited
each their reſpective parts of the dwelling or manſion-houſe. But they were too near
neighbours to continue long good friends, and the ways to each other's grounds became
alſo matter of contention. Wherefore Mr. Hugh Martin, grandſon of Mr. Richard
Martin, who married the eldeſt ſiſter of the Golds, pulled down his third part of the
manſion, and carrying off the materials, built the houſe in Seaborough in 1591, in
which ſome of the Martins have dwelt ever ſince; and ſoon after they ſettled their
ways to their reſpective grounds. The two third parts continued in the family of Bale
till about the year 1682, when Mr. James Bale ſold them to Sir John Strode, of
Parnham, knt. and from him they have deſcended to his relation Sir William Oglander,
bart. the preſent poſſeſſor. The third part of the manor Mr. Bale fold in fee to the
reſpective tenants, and the heirs of Mrs. Stretchley did the like. A. D. 1586, a ſurvey
was made of ſuch lands as the Widow Gold died poſſeſſed of; from which ſurvey it
appears that John Wills was a freeholder in the manor of Seaborough, and alſo held
lands of the lord thereof. His freehold and other lands have ever ſince been in the
Tame family, being now the property of the Rev. John Wills, D. D. warden of Wadham-
college in Oxford. There were other free tenants, but their lands have been all ſince
purchaſed by the Martins, and the property of the pariſh is now in the hands of Mrs.
Martin, Sir William Oglander, and the Rev. Dr. Wills.
At ſome of the courts held by the lords of this manor we find very ſingular preſent-
ments and orders made. 3 Ric. III. two women, viz. Iſabella, the wife of William
Pery, and Alianore Slade, were preſented for common ſcolds, and fined in one penny
each, which two-pence were the whole perquiſites of the court. And at the ſame
time an order of court was made that the tenants of the manor ſhould not fcold their
wives, under pain of forfeiting their tenements and cottages. 23 Hen. VII. an order
was made that tenants' wives ſhould not ſcold, under the penalty of a ſix and eight-
penny fine, half to go to the repairs of the chapel, and the other half to the lord of

the manor,
Northeaſt
174
Crewkerne.]
S E A BOROUGH,
Northeaſt from Seaborough ſtands Henley, the place where John Gold was mur-
dered by Mr. Weeks's labourers. Its name ſignifies the ancient leigh or paſture, from
the Britiſh word Hen, fignifying old, and the Saxon Leag, a paſture or field. It was
formerly ſo conſiderable as to give name to an eminent family, who had large poffef-
ſions in this county, Dorſet, and Devon, and bore for their arms, Azure, a lion rampant
argent, crowned or, within a bordure of the ſecond, charged with eight torteaux. Of
this family Robert Henley was ſheriff of the county in 1612. His grandſon Robert
Henly was created a baronet June 30, 1660. The title is now extinct. Of this family
was alſo Anthony Henley, eſq; that friend and ornament to muſick, poetry, and jovial
fociety, in the reign of Queen Anne, who died in Auguſt 1711.
The living of Seaborough is a rectory in the deanery of Crewkerne; the patronage
is in the family of Martin, and the Rev. Dr. Wills, preſented by Adam Martin, eſq;
in 1779, is the preſent incumbent.
3 Hen. V. John Golde of Seaborough gave, by licence from the King, to John
Thredder, parſon of the church of Seaborough, a certain parcel of land in the village,
containing one hundred feet in length, and fixty feet in breadth, for the building a new
church there. This church being in the latter end of the ſixteenth century found too
ſmall for the inhabitants, an additional building was made to it on the north ſide; but
A. D. 1728, the old part of the church being damaged in the roof and walls, and this
additional building being found defective and inconvenient, a faculty was obtained for
pulling down that part thereof, and for erecting in its place an aile twelve feet ſquare,
which was accordingly done, and the church was new roofed, new ſeated, and handſomely
adorned.
In the chancel is a mural monument of ſtone with a white marble tablet, whereon
is the following inſcription:-“M. S. Adami Martin, armig. qui, tanquam ſemper
moriturus, vivens; tanquam ſemper victurus, mortuus eſt, die 15° Jan. 1738, ætat. 66.”
On the top of this monument is placed a buft, large as life, in a robe gathered cloſe
below the ſhoulders, and a flowing curled periwig. This Adam Martin was father
of the late Adam Martin, who died and was buried at Wootten in Warwickſhire
in 1784.
The parſonage-houſe was built by the preſent rector; on the ſouth front is the fol-
lowing inſcription: .“ Johannes Wills, S. T. P. hujus parochiæ rector, necnon
Collegii Wadhami apud Oxon. Guardianus, hanc domum fua Impenſa ædificandam
curavit A. D. MDCCLXXXIV.”
Ing. ad quod damnum,
WAYFORD.
Crewkeine.]
175 ]
[
W
А
X
F
R
D.
A
PARISH ſituated on the ſoutheaſt Nope of a riſing ground to the ſouth of
Crewkerne, and a little to the right of the turnpike-road leading thence to Lyme-
Regis in Dorſetſhire. It conſiſts of two tithings, WAYFORD and OATHILL. The
land is moſtly paſture and meadow.
No notice is taken in the Conqueror's Survey of either Wayford or Oathill, both
having been included in the manor of Crewkerne. The manor is now the property
of John Bragg, of Thorncombe in the county of Devon, efq.
The living is rectorial, and in the deanery of Crewkerne; John Pinney, of Broad-
Windſor in the county of Dorſet, eſq; is patron, and the Rev. John Corpe the
preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall edifice, conſiſting of a nave leaded, and a chancel and porch
tiled; with a wooden turret painted white, at the weſt end, in which are two bells.
In the chancel are two mural monuments of white, black, and Sienna marble,
containing theſe inſcriptions:
“ Near this place are depoſited the remains of Azariah Pinney, of Bettiſcombe in
the county of Dorſet, eſq. He departed this life May 21, 1760, aged 53. His daily
benefactions and univerſal benevolence to the poor, by encouraging honeſt induſtry,
will be a more laſting memorial than this monument.”
“ In memory of John Frederick Pinney, of Bettiſcombe in the county of Dorfet,
eſq; who repreſented the borough of Bridport in two ſucceſſive parliaments, and behaved
with the freedom and dignity of a Britiſh ſenator. In private life he was juſt, humane,
and generous; of much humour and pleaſantry with his friends; of a flowing courteſy
to all men. Firm in affiction, he for years bore the ſevereſt pains of the gout with
uncommon fortitude; and relying on the mercy of God, died with the hope of a
chriſtian Nov. II, 1762, aged 44.” Arms: Gules, three creſcents, each griping a
croflet fiché, or.
Mrs. Elizabeth Bragg gave in 1719 the ſum of fifty ſhillings a year for the ſchooling
of poor children within this pariſh, payable yearly to the miniſter and churchwarden,
out of the profits of her eſtate called Alhcombe, by the tenant or occupiers thereof.
A charity of five pounds per annum was given to ſuch of the poor as did not receive
alms, by Daubeny Turbeville, M. D. by deed bearing date May 2, 1723.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are ten, the burials four. This diſproportion prin-
cipally ariſes from many children belonging to the pariſh of Crewkerne being baptized
here, and none buried but the inhabitants.
THE

[ 177 1
-
THE HUNDRED OF
N O R T H-CURRY
I
S a long narrow tract of land, lying between the hundreds of Abdick and Bulſtori
on the ſouth, and Andersfield and part of Somerton on the north. On either
ſide are two large moors, called Stanmoor and Weſt-Sedgmoor, which are a dead
flat, extending to the foot of that ridge of hills, which runs from Curry-Rivel weſt-
ward to Bickenhall. The weſt, northweſt, and ſouthweſt parts are incloſed, and
interſperſed with cultivated hills and fruitful vallies. It contains five pariſhes, of which
me principal is North-Curry, whence it derives its name,
N
OR TH-C
U R R Y
I
S a pariſh of large extent, ſeven miles nearly eaſt from Taunton, and ten ſouth from
Bridgwater, including a town of its name, and ſeveral tithings and hamlets.
The principal part of the town is an irregular ſtreet near the church, which ſtands on
an elevated ſpot, and commands from its tower a finely varied proſpect of woody in-
cloſures, and extenſive level moors, ſkirted with a lofty ridge of hills to the eaſt and
ſouth. Weſt-Moor, Curry-Moor, and Hay-Moor, are all included within the precincts
of the pariſh; and the inhabitants have a right of common on Weſt-Sedgmoor, Stan-
moor, Warmoor, and Weft-Wall, adjoining to the Iſe of Athelney, where the com-
monage is unlimited for all ſorts and numbers of cattle throughout the year.
The river Tone runs through this pariſh under a ſtone bridge of one arch, in its
way to Boroughbridge, where it mingles with the Parret.
Here was formerly a market on Wedneſday" long ſince diſcontinued; but a fair of
antient ſtanding is ſtill held on the firſt of Auguſt.
& Cart. 7 Joh. n. 526
A a
Vol. II,
This
178
[JNorth-Curry
NORTH-CURRY.

This place was of very conſiderable note in former days, and not unknown to the
Romans. In July 1748, on ploughing up a field in which an old hedge had ſtood,
an urn was found, containing a quantity of ſilver coins of Gratian, Valentinian, Valens,
Theodoſius, Honorius, Conftantine, Conſtans, Julian, and many others. When the
Romans left this iſland, it became the property of the Saxon Kings, and when William
the Conqueror came to the crown, he himſelf reſerved it in demeſne. In his time it
had the following deſcription:
« The King holds NORTCURI. Earl Herald held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for twenty hides. The arable is forty carucates,
The arable is forty carucates. Thereof in demeſne are
“ five hides, and there are five carucates, and eighteen ſervants, and twenty-three co-
liberts, and one hundred villanes, wanting five, and fifteen cottagers with thirty
“ ploughs. There are ſixty acres of meadow, and fifty acres of wood. Paſture two
“ miles long, and one mile broad. To this manor belong five burgeſſes in Langporth,
rendering thirty-eight pence, and eighteen ſervants, and four ſwineherds, and two
cottagers. The whole renders twenty-four pounds of white money. There is a
fiſhery, but it does not belong to the farm, and feven acres of vineyard.
« The church of this manor Biſhop Maurice holds, with three hides of the ſame
“ land. He has there ſeven villanes, and eleven cottagers, and two ſervants, with four
ploughs, and eighteen acres of meadow, and five acres of paſture, and twelve acres of
« wood. It renders fixty ſhillings.
“Of the ſame land of this manor Anſger holds one hide of Earl Morton. It is
6 worth twenty ſhillings.”
It continued in the crown from this date till the time of Richard the firſt, who in
1189 gave the hundred, manor, and advowſon of the church of North-Curry, with the
land of Hatch, Wrantage, and all its appertenances, to the church of St. Andrew in
Wells;º and in the year 1190, Reginald, then biſhop of Bath and Wells, ſettled it by
licence from the King on the canons of that church, which appointment was fully
confirmed by King John in the firſt year of his reign," The dean and chapter have
ever ſince held this manor.
14 Hen. II. Robert, provoſt of North-Curry, paid the ſum of forty ſhillings aid
for marrying the King's daughter. The reſt of the men of North-Curry paid fix
pounds thirteen ſhillings and fourpence.
The tithings and hamlets within this pariſh are, KNAP, LillisDON, WRANTAGE,
Hillend, NEWPORT, and MOORDON. The firſt of theſe, viz. KNAP, was granted
by Hameline de Godely, 35 Edw. I. to the Dean and Chapter of the church of St.
Andrew in Wells, and their ſucceſſors for ever. The ſaid Hameline held it of Cecilia
de Beauchamp, by the ſervice of fixpence per annum, and doing ſuit at her three
weeks court at Dunden. Cecily held it of the abbot of Glaſtonbury, and the abbot
of the King.'
b


• Lib. Domeſday.
Cart, , Joh, p. i, m. 6. n. 44.
e
• Cart. Antiq. Wharton's Anglia Sacra, Godwin de Præſulibus, &c.
Mag. Rot. 14 Hen. II. € Ing. ad quod damnum, 35 Edw. I.
LILLISDON
Qorth-Curry.]
179
NORTH-CURRY.

LILLISDON was in the time of Edw. I. the land of Baldric de Nonington, who held
it of the King, as of the honour of the caſtle of Cariſbrook in the Iſle of Wight.5
3 Edw. III. John Brodhome granted to Richard de Stapledon a moiety of the manor
of Lilliſdon for life." It was afterwards poſſeſſed by the Bonvilles, Wykes of Ninehead,
and the Beauchamps; and now belongs to John Collins, of Hatch-Beauchamp, eſq;
who is lord alſo of HUNTHAM cum SLOUGH.
MOORDON, or MOORDOWN, is the property of Henry William Portman, eſq.
NEWPORT was anciently diſtinguiſhed as a borough; having its privileges and pecu-
liar officers; it now only retains the name. Neither of theſe places are noticed in the
Norman Survey: At Knap, Lilliſdon, Wrantage, and Newport, were formerly chapels.
There is alſo a manor here belonging to Warwick Colmady, eſq.
A. D. 1293, the temporalities of the Chapter of Wells in North-Curry were valued
at forty-five pounds, and thoſe of the abbot of Athelney at twenty-ſix ſhillings and
eight-pence.
The vicarage was rated in 1292 at twenty marks. It lies in the deanery of Taunton.
The Rev. Canon Wilſon is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is a large Gothick ſtruc-
ture, built in the form of a croſs, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, two fide ailes, and a
tranſept. Over the interſection of the tranſept with the nave ſtands an hexagonal
embatttled tower, containing a clock and five bells.
At the ſouth end of the tranſept lie two effigies in ſtone of a man and woman, but
without any memorial.
On a braſs plate in the floor :-"Heere lyethe the bodye of John Bullor the
younger, of Lilleſdon, eſquier, who was buried the 29th of Februarie 1598."
In the floor of a pew which formerly belonged to the ſame family, is another braſs,
inſcribed, "Here lyethe the bodye of Elizabethe Bullor, late the wife of John
Bullor the yonger, of Lilliſdon, eſquier, who deceaſed the 29th of Januarie 1587."
The ſecond poor receive the intereſt of forty pounds, being the remains of a much
larger donation, now loft.
& Eſc.
* Cart. Antiq.
i Taxat. Temporal.
* Taxat. Spiritual.

A a 2
WEST-HATCH,
[ 1801
[North-Turry.

W E S
T. H
А т с
H,
called on account of its weſterly ſituation from Hatch-Beauchamp in the hundred
which are ſmall farms and cottages. The country is rather flat and woody; the chief
wood oak and elm, of which there is a large coppice, conſiſting of ten acres, The
only common land is Shutwood-Green, containing five acres; and Stoley's-Green, con-
taining twenty acres.
The manor is included in the grant of King Richard the firſt to the church of
Wells, and now belongs to the Dean and Chapter. The following ancient cuſtom is
ſtill obſerved here. The reeve, or bailiff to the manor, provides at the lord's expence
a feaſt on Chriſtmas-Day; and diſtributes to each houſholder a loaf of bread, a pound
and a half of beef, and the like quantity of pork, undreſſed; and the ſame evening
treats them with a ſupper,
The living is appendant to North-Curry, not mentioned in the taxations, or other
ſimilar records. The church conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and porch tiled, and a large
old tower, forty-one feet high, with three bells.
On the north wall of the nave is this inſcription:-“In memory of John Knowles,
gent. who departed this life the 16th day of June 1724; and in his laſt will gave five
pounds, to be left in the churchwardens' hands for ever, and the intereſt of the ſame
to be given to the ſecond poor in bread on Chriſtmas-Day."
STOK E-GREGORY.
THI
HIS vill, denominated from the dedication of its church, is ſituated in the moors
weſtward from North-Curry, being almoſt ſurrounded by Stanmoor on the north,
Weſt-Sedgmoor on the ſouth, and North-Curry-Moor and Hay-Moor on the weſt,
On all theſe moors the tenants have a right of common, For driving the moors a
reeve is appointed annually,
This pariſh contains the following hamlets :
1. MARE-GREEN, one mile northweſt.
2. WOODHILL-GREEN, bordering on Weſt-Sedgmoor.
3. CURRYLODE (corruptly called CURLWOOD-GREEN) adjoining Stanmoor.
4. MOORLANDS
5. WARMOOR,
6. STAETH, on the river Parrete
None

North-Curry.] STO KE-GREGOR Y.
181

None of theſe places occur in the Norman Survey, they having in early times been
members of ſome adjoining manors, or perhaps depopulated by hoſtile depredations.
The abbot of Athelney had poſſeſſions in Currylode ſoon after the Conqueſt, as alſo
in Staeth, together with free commonage in Stathmoor, Stanmoor, Haymoor, and
Currymoor. 7 Edw. VI. the demeſnes and manor of Currylode were held by Thomas
Reve and George Cotton, and by them alienated to Valentine Brown.'
Moorlands belonged to the family of Tilly, and thence paſſed to the houſe of
Perceval.
The manor of Staeth was part of the barony of the ancient Barons de Moels.
The manor of Stoke-Gregory is parcel of the poſſeſſions of the Dean and Chapter of
Wells, who are alſo patrons of the benefice, which is appendant to North-Curry.
The church is built in the form of a croſs, and has at the weſt end an octangular
tower with a low ſpire, and five bells.
In the ſouth tranſept are two monuments of ſtone, inſcribed,
“ Here under lyeth the body of Edward Court, of Lilliſdon in this county, eſq.
He departed this life Oct. 26, 1682." With ſeveral of his family.
“ Here lieth the body of Alexander Court, of the pariſh of North-Curry in this
county, gent. youngeſt brother of the aboveſaid Edward Court, ſen. eſq; who died
Aug. 10, 1705. Alſo the body of Margaret Court, one of the daughters of the ſaid
Edward Court, ſen. who died at the city of Bath, July 21, 1710."
• Regiſt. de Athelney, MS.
o Ter. Sydenham.
c Eſc.
d Lib. Feod.
T
H o R R N - F A L
C
O
N,
Anciently THORN-FAGON, or THORN-PARVA,

66
Sa ſmall pariſh four miles eaſtward from Taunton, and in the road from that town
to Saliſbury. It is called in Domeſday-Book Torne, being the property of Robert
earl of Morton:
Anſger holds of the Earl, Torne. Algar held it in the time of King Edward, and
" gelded for fix hides. The arable is ſix carucates. In demeſne are two carucates,
se and three ſervants, and five villanes, and four cottagers, with two ploughs. There
« are eight acres of meadow, and two acres of coppice-wood. It was and is worth
$5 three pounds."
* Lib. Domeſday.

ma
This
182
T HORN-FALCON. [Dorth-Curry.
This place had for a long ſpace of time owners of its name, who held the manor
under the caſtle of Dunſter, and did ſervice to, that court. 14 Edw. I. William de
Thorn is certified to hold two ſmall fees in Thorn-Fagon of John de Mohun, lord
of Dunſter. After him ſeveral other Williams held the ſame. 44 Edw. III. Richard
de Acton was lord of this place. 22 Ric. II. Roger de Mortimer, earl of March,
held one knight's fee here, as of the honour of Merſhwood. 5 Hen. V. Sir Thomas
Brook poſſeſſed this manor, and from him it deſcended to the Chedders and the
Capels. It afterwards came into the poſſeſſion of the family of Burridge, of Lyme in
Dorſetſhire, of whom it was purchaſed by Mr. Nathaniel Butler Batten, of Yeovil,
the preſent poffeffor.
The rectory of Thorn-Falcon was rated in 1292 at ten marks. The lords of the
manor have always been patrons; the Rev. Mr. Newcomen is the preſent incumbent.
The church is of one pace, having a tower at the weſt end which contains three bells.
In the chancel is a memorial to the Rev. Benjamin Jouxton, rector of this pariſh
twenty-four years, who died Sept. 27, 1739, aged 72.
b Lib. Feod.
c Efc.
& Taxat. Spiritual.
THURLBEER,
or THURLBURY.
TH
66
a
HIS pariſh lies on the borders of the hundred of Taunton-Dean, in a woody
country agreeably diverſified with ſmall hills and vallies. Its ancient name was
Torlaberie, and it is ſo called in the Norman Survey.
Drogo holds of the Earl [Morton] TORLABERIE. Ulviet held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable is nine carucates. In de-
“ meſne are two carucates, and fivé ſervants, and twenty-one villanes, with ſeven
ploughs. There are fifteen acres of meadow, and twenty acres of wood. It was
« and is worth fix pounds."
This Drogo, or Dru, was ſurnamed de Montacute, and was progenitor of the Barons
Montacute, and the Earls of Sarum, of whom we ſhall ſpeak hereafter. In this family
the manor of Thurlbeer long continued, and 11 Edw. II. William de Montacute,
eldeſt ſon of Simon lord Montacute, procured from the King a charter of free warren
in all his demeſne lands within this pariſh. 9 Hen. VI. Cecilia the wife of Sir
William Cheyne, knt. poffeffed this manor, and held it of the King in capite by the
ſervice of the fourth part of a knight's fee. It was alſo ſome time in the poſſeſſion of
the Bonville family. I and 2 Phil. and Mary, the manor and demeſne lands here were
a Lib. Domeſday.
Cart. 11 Edw. II. n. 65.
granted
Dorth-Curry.]
183
TH U R L B E E R.
1
granted to William lord Howard, of Effingham, who the following year fold the ſame
to Sir William Portman, knt. whoſe deſcendant, Henry William Portman, eſq; is the
preſent owner.
Here is a ſmall hamlet, called GREENWAY.
The church was valued in 1292 at ten marks. It was heretofore a chapel to St.
Mary Magdalen's in Taunton; but Sir William Portman reſtored the tithes, and it is
now (with Stoke-Saint-Mary annexed) a rectory, whereof the lord of the manor is
patron, and the Rev. Charles Ruſſell the preſent incumbent.
The church conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and porch, tiled, with a clumſy embattled
tower at the weſt end, containing four bells. It is dedicated to St. Thomas.
• Taxat. Spiritual.

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185 ]

THE HUNDRED OF
F
R
O
M
E.
TH
HIS hundred lies on the eaſtern verge of the county, having that of Wellow
on the north; Kilmerſdon, with the liberties of Hill-houſe, Mells, and Leigh,
on the weſt; and the hundreds of Brewton and Norton-Ferris on the ſouth. It con-
tains one market-town, and ſeventeen pariſhes. The country is finely diverſified with
hills and dales, and in many parts truly romantick.
This hundred was formerly held in ſerjeanty by the family of Braunch, and others.
In the time of William the Conqueror it conſiſted of two hundred and ninety-eight
hides.
From the third penny of Frome, William de Moion, then ſheriff, paid the crown
five ſhillings.
• Exeter Domeſday.
& Eſc.
c Ibid.
F
R
O
M
E

name.
S a large populous market-town, pleaſantly ſituated on the northeaſt declivity of a
hill in the foreſt of Selwood, whence it has frequently that appendage to its
Its ſimple appellation aroſe from the river Frome," (in Saxon From) which
paſſes through the lower part of the town, under a ſtone bridge of five arches, beſides
which it has over it three other bridges within this pariſh, called Wall-bridge, Blatch-
bridge, and Bradford's-bridge. The market is on Wedneſdays, and four fairs are
annually held; but only two of any account, which are on the feaſts of St. Matthias
and St. Catherine. This town contains thirty-eight ſtreets, thirteen lanes, and twelve
courts, bartons, &c. Moſt of the ſtreets are narrow and irregular, without paving,
except fome narrow foot-ways on one ſide of rough ſtone, with which the houſes are
chiefly conſtructed. It has long been famous for the manufacture of woollen cloth,

a This river has its fource about five miles ſoutheaſt from the town, at Yarnfield-Common, bordering on
on the county of Wilts,
VOL. II.
Bb
which
186
[ffiome.
R
E.
O
M

which of late (it is ſaid) has been rather declining than increaſing. But from an ac-
curate inſpection lately made, it appears that one hundred and fixty thouſand yards are
annually made, of which four-fifths are broad-cloths, and the reſt narrow-cloths and
caſſimeres. In the above manufacture, one thouſand four hundred and fifty packs of
wool, of two hundred and forty pounds weight each, are employed.
From a late ſurvey the town was found to contain one thouſand three hundred and
forty-eight families, and fix thouſand three hundred and forty-two inhabitants; ſeven
hamlets within the pariſh contain ſixty-ſix families, and three hundred and fifteen
inhabitants; and two hundred and ſeventy detached houſes, one thouſand four
hundred and forty-eight inhabitants:--in all, one thouſand fix hundred and eighty-four
families, and eight thouſand one hundred and five inhabitants. The hamlets are
as follow:
TYTHERINGTON, two miles and a quarter ſouth.
RODDENBURY-HILL, three miles ſoutheaſt.
FRIGGLE-STREET, three nearly eaſt.
LITTLE-KEYFORD, one ſouthweſt.
EGGFORD, one mile and a quarter weſt.
OLDFORD, one mile and a half north.
CLINK, one mile northeaſt.
The pariſh is divided into three tithings, viz. the Town tithing, the Weſt-Woodlands,
and the Eaſt-Woodlands. The principal peace-officers are two conſtables and a tithing-
man for the town tithing, annually choſen at the court-leet of the Earl of Cork and
Orrery; a conſtable and tithingman for the Weft-Woodlands, choſen at the court-leet
of Lord Viſcount Weymouth; and a tithingman for the Eaſt-Woodlands, choſen at
the hundred court of Frome.
The firſt account we have of Frome commences with the reign of Ina, king of the
Weſt-Saxons, whoſe kinſman Aldhelm, monk of Malmſbury, and afterwards biſhop of
Sherborne, founded here a monaſtery to the honour of St. John Baptiſt about A. D.
705. The monks that compoſed this ſociety were obliged to diſperſe on account of
the perſecutions of the Danes during their inroads into theſe parts, and they never ſeem
afterwards to have been reaſſembled; but the church exiſted ſo late as the reign of
King Stephen, as we learn from William of Malmſbury, who tells us, that in his days
it was ſtill ſtanding, and by its durability had defeated the ſhock of ages. There are
ſome veſtiges of this old building ſtill remaining in that part of the town which is called
Lower-Keyford, and are now converted into ſmall tenements for poor families. At the
interſection of two ftreets near theſe remains ſtood an ancient octagonal croſs, on a
ſquare pedeſtal, which being ruinous, was lately taken down.
In a part of the town called Hill-Lane, once ſtood an old building, by tradition a
priory, of which there now remains but a ſmall part, which is converted into a cellar
within a houſe built by Mr. Bull, and ſtill in the poſſeſſion of that family. And on the



Wilhelmi Malmſb. de Vita Aldhelmi, in Angl. Sacra, tom. ii. p. 8.
top
fome.]
187
F
E.
R
M
O
-
top of a ſtreet called Catherine-hill, was a ſmall cell of nuns, dedicated to that Saint,
the chapel whereof, which was of conſiderable capacity, is now converted into ſeveral
tenements.
The Norman Survey furniſhes us with the following memorial concerning this
ancient place:-
“ The King holds Frome. King Edward held it. It never was aſſeſſed, nor is it
$ known how many hides there are. The arable is fifty carucates. In demeſne are
se three carucates, and ſix coliberts, and thirty-one villanes, and thirty-ſix cottagers, with
forty ploughs. There are three mills rendering twenty-five ſhillings, and a market
“ rendering forty-fix ſhillings and eight-pence. There are thirty acres of meadow,
and fifty acres of paſture. Wood one mile long, and as much broad. It renders
“ fifty-three pounds and five-pence, every ore being of the value of twenty pence.
“ Of this manor the church of St. John of Frome holds eight carucates of land, and
alſo held the ſame in the time of King Edward. Reinbald is prieſt there.""
In the time of Henry II. the greateſt part of Frome was in the poſſeſſion of the
family of Fitz-Bernard, of whom were Hameline, William, and Richard, which laſt
held his property of Dru de Montacute. He had a ſon called Ralph Fitz-Bernard,
who by Alianor his wife was father of Joan his ſole daughter and heir. This Joan,
about the time of King John, married with William Branch, or Braunche, (as he is
ſometimes written) who in her right became poſſeſſed of the hundred, manor, and
town of Frome, with other property in this and the neighbouring counties; and 23
Hen. III. paid one hundred ſhillings for his relief of the lands of his wife's inheritance.
This William bore on his ſeal a fleur de lis, ſurmounted with a file of three points."
He died 8 Edw. I." and was ſucceeded by Nicholas Braunche, who with Roberga his
wife held the manors of Frome and la Valice, with the hundred of Frome, by the ſervice
of one knight's fee, 7 Edw. II. Sir Andrew Braunche, ſon and heir of Nicholas, 19
Edw. III. granted two mills in Frome, and the bailiwick of the bedelary of the hundred
of Frome, to Robert Adymot for life, which mills and bailiwick were certified to be
held of the King as parcel of the manor of Frome-Braunche.i He died 23 Edw. III.
leaving iſſue Thomas his ſon and heir; but he dying in his minority, the manor became
the property of Richard Winſade, who had married Alianor fifter of the ſaid Andrew
Braunche, and who held at his death ſeven meſfuages, one hundred and ſixty-two acres
of arable land, eighteen acres of meadow, eighty acres of paſture, fifty-one acres of wood,
fixteen ſhillings rent, and the third part of a mill with appertenances in Frome, Radden,
and Marſton-Bigot." To Richard Winſlade ſucceeded Stephen his fon and heir, wlio
granted the manor of Frome-Valleyſe to John Payne, of London, armourer, for life,
and died 6 Hen. IV, ſeized of the manor and hundred of Frome, leaving Elizabeth the
wife of Edmund Leverſege his daughter and heir.' Which Edmund Leverſege bore
for his arms a chevron between three dolphins." Robert Leverſege, 4 Edw. IV. died
ſeized of the manor and hundred of Frome, and had for his ſucceſſor William his ſon

f
c Lib. Domeſday. d Cart. Antiq.
& Seals from ancient deeds.
n Efc,
e Lib, nig. Scac. i. 94.
i Cart. Antiq.
* Eſc.
B b 2
p Rot, Pip. 23 Hen. III.
1 Ibid.
In From old deeds.
and
188
[Frome.
F
E.
R
M
and heir." By an inquiſition taken at Selwood, 23 Oct. i Hen. VIII. it was found
that Edward Leverſege died 7 Sept. 24 Hen. VII. ſeized of the manor and hundred of
Frome, and the manor of Bromham in the county of Wilts, leaving by Eleanor his
wife one ſon, Robert Poſthumus Leverſege, who ſucceeded him, and two daughters,
Anne and Margaret." Eleanor his wife furvived him, and married to her ſecond
huſband Sir Henry Long, knt. At her death 35 Hen. VIII. ſhe held this manor and
hundred, and the advowſon of two chantries in the church of Frome.' Robert, fon
and heir of the ſaid Eleanor, by Edward Leverſege her former huſband, ſucceeded to
the lands, and died ſeized thereof 29 Aug. 3 Edw. VI. leaving iſſue William his ſon
and heir. In the inquiſition taken after his deceaſe, it was found that the lands were
extended, and in extent for five hundred marks not yet ſatisfied. William Leverſege,
ſon and heir of Robert, lived at Vallis-houſe in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and from
him the manor and hundred of Frome deſcended to Edmund Leverſege, eſq; who
3 Jac. I. fold part thereof, being the manor of Eaſt-Woodlands, together with all his
lands in Eaſt-Woodlands, Weſt-Woodlands, Wall-Marſh, Clink, and in the foreſt of
Selwood, to Sir Thomas Vavaſour, knt. who in the 8th year of that reign fold the
ſame to Sir Thomas Thynne, knt. From Sir Thomas theſe poffeffions, with many
others, deſcended to his ſon and heir Sir Henry Frederick Thynne, created a baronet
17 Car. I. Whoſe eldeſt fon Sir Thomas was created baron Thynne of Warminſter,
and Viſcount Weymouth, 34 Car. II. and was ſucceeded by his couſin Thomas Thynne,
father of Thomas Lord Viſcount Weymouth, the preſent poſſeſſor. His Lordſhip’s
arms are, Barry of ten, or and ſable.
But the other parts of the Leverſedge eſtates in Frome, conſiſting of the manors of
Frome-Branch and Vallis, and the hundred of Frome, continued in that family till the
year 1706, when Roger Leverſedge, who was the laſt of the male line, deviſed them to
Lionel Seaman, eſq; who had married Frances his only daughter. Mr. Seaman at his
death deviſed the fame to his relation the Rev. Lionel Seaman, D.D. vicar of this
pariſh, who in 1751 ſold them to John Earl of Cork and Orrery; from whom they
deſcended to Hamilton his ſon, who dying without iſſue in 1764, they paſſed to
Edmund his half brother, the preſent Earl of Cork and Orrery, whoſe arms are, Party
per bend, crenelle, argent and gules.
Vallis-HOUSE, the ancient ſeat of the Leverſedges, is ſituated about a mile weſt-
ward from the town, and is converted into a farm-houſe. It is called in the old
records, Falois, Faleis, Valeis, la Valaiſe, and la Valice, all which are a corruption of
la Falaize, an old French word ſignifying a bank or noping hill. Very near the houſe
there is a delightful romantick vale, called Vallis-bottom, deep, narrow, and winding
in a ſerpentine direction through the pariſh of Elm to Mells. The ſides are ſteep, and
full of craggy projecting rocks, intermixed with trees and coppice-wood.
The manor of West-WOODLANDS was parcel of the ancient poſſeſſions of the abbey
of Cirenceſter in Glouceſterſhire; and, after the diſſolution of that houſe, was, together
with the advowſon, preſentation, donation, free diſpoſition, and right of patronage of

o
Eſc.
• Inq. poft Mort.
P Coles's Eſcheats,
9 Ibid.
the
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the vicarage of the church of Frome, parcel alſo of the ſaid monaſtery, granted by
James I. by letters patent, bearing date the fourth year of his reign, to Sir Thomas
Thynne, of Longleat.
Within the laſt-mentioned manor was another ſmall manor called Langley, or St.
Algars, from a chapel formerly there dedicated to that ſaint, wherein his bones were
buried, and “of late tymes (ſays Leland') ſuperſtitiuſly foute of the foliſch com-
“mune people.” This manor is now conſolidated with the Weſt-Woodlands.
The manor of KEYFORD, or CAYFORD, is alſo within this pariſh, and is taken notice
of in the Conqueror's ſurvey:
« Norman holds of Turſtin [Fitz-Rolf] CHAIVERT. Leuedai held it in the time
of King Edward, and gelded for half a hide. The arable is half a carucate, which is
« in demeſne, with four cottagers. There are four acres of meadow, and four acres of
pafture. It is worth ſeven ſhillings."
In the time of Edward I. this village was the poſſeſſion of William Polayn;' but
afterwards became the property of the ancient family of Twyniho, who had their
names from Twinhoe or Twiney in this county, where they had eſtates. Of this fa-
mily, who bore for their arms, a chevron between three lapwings fable, there were
ſeveral branches, ſeated at Steeple-Aſhton in Wiltſhire, Shipton and Cirenceſter in
Glouceſterſhire, and Turnworth in Dorſetſhire. They reſided at Cayford ſo early
as the reign of Henry IV. and held that manor of the lords of Frome. The following
curious petition in parliament will ſhew how one of them was ſerved in the time of
Edward IV.
« To the right wyſe and diſcrete Communes in this preſent Parliament aſſembled:
65 LAMENTABLY in moſt pituouſe and humblewiſe, complayneth and ſhewith unto your grete
wiſdomes Roger Twynyho, couſyn and heire of Ankerette, late the wiff of Wiliam Twynyho, of
Cayforde in the counte of Somerſet, Squyer; that is to ſay, ſon of John, ſon of the feid Wiliam and
Ankarette. That where the ſaid Ankarette, the Saturday the xiithe day of the moneth of Apryll,
in the XVIIth yere of the reigne of our moſt dredde Sovereigne Lorde the Kyng that now ys, was
in her manoyr at Cayforde afforeſeid, in Godd's peaſe and our faid Sovereigne Lord's, one Richard
Hyde, late of Warwyk in the counte of Warwyk Gentleman, and Roger Strugge, late of Beke-
hampton in the counte of Somerſet, Towker, accompayned with diverſe riotouſe and myſgoverned
perſones, in maner of werre and infurrection, arraied and aſſembled to the nombre of XXIIII
per-
ſones and moo, by the commaundement of George Duke of Clarence, of his ſubtile conjected
ymaginations, withoute grounde or mater, ayenſt all right, trouth, and conſcience, entendyng the
utter diſtruction and deth of the ſaid Ankarette, came to Cayforde afforeſeid, aboute II of the clokke
after none, the day and yere aboveſeid; and then and there with grete fury and wodeneſſe, ayenſt
the Kyng's peaſe, the houſe of the ſeid Ankarette with force bracke and entered, and the ſame
Ankarette (beyng of goode name and fame) then and ther toke and empriſoned, withoute writte,
warraunt, or any other laufull auctorite; and immediatly fro thens the ſeid Ankarette fo in preſon,
the ſame day with grete violence caryed and conveyed unto the cite of Bathe in the ſame counte,
without abode, not ſufferyng her to tary in her owne houſe to take eny convenient eaſe, nor ſo that
eny of her ſervauntes mought accompany her, and in ſemblable dureſſe her caried and conveyed
from Bathe biforeſeid, the Sonday then next folouying, to the towne of Circeter in the ſhire of



Itin. vii, 106.
· Lib. Domeſday
Peramb, Foreftæ de Selwode.
Glouceter,
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Glouceter, and from thens in like wiſe conveid her to the towne of Warrewyk in the counte of
Warrewyk, and theder broughte her the Monday then next folowyng aboute VIII of the clokke at
afternone, which towne of Warrewyk is in diſtance from the ſeid manoyr of Cayforde LXX miles.
And the feid riotouſe perſones, by the commaundement of the ſaid Duke, immediately then ther
toke fro the ſeid Ankarette all ſuch jewelx, money, godes, and cately, as ſhe there hadd; and alſo
then and ther, in the ſaid Duke's behalf, as though he had uſed a kyng's power, commaunded and
ſtreitely charged Thomas Delalynde, Squyer, and Edith his wiff, doughter of the ſeid Ankarette,
and other their ſervauntes, which folowed the feid Ankarette to have attended upon her, to avoyde
from the ſaid towne of Warwyk, appon payne of deth, and to logge them at Stratforde apon Avyn
that nyght, which is VI mile fro thens; by force of which commaundement, and for fere of deth,
the ſeid Thomas Delalynde and Edith his wiff, and ther feid other ſervauntes, then departed from
thens, withoute abode or taryeng, not ſuffred to ſpeke with the feid Ankarette, and ſo left her alone;
and the feid Duke the ſame Ankarette in ſuch priſon and dureſſe wrongfully there kept unto the
houre of IX before none, the Tueſday the next morrowe then folouyng, that is to wite, the Tueſday
next after the cloſyng of Pafche; and then with like force and violence cauſid the faid Ankarette to
be broughte to the Gyldhale at Warrewyk beforeſeid, bifore diverſe of the Kyngs Juſtices of the
peaſe of the feid counte of Warrewyk, ther then ſittyng in the Kyngs generall ceffions of peaſe in the
fame counte: and then and ther the feid Duke, in accompliſhyng of his ſeid ſubtile conjected yma-
ginations, untruly and ungoodly, ayenſt all trouth and conſcience, labored and cauſid her to be
endited by the name of Ankarette Twynneowe, late of Warrewyk in the counte of Warr' wydowe,
of fic that the ſeid Ankarette, late ſervaunt of George Duke of Clarence and Iſabell his wiff, malici-
ouſly and dampnably entendyng the diſtruction and deth of the ſeid Ifabell, at Warrewyk biforeſeid,
the Xth day of Octobre, the yere of the reigne of oure feid Soveraigne Lorde the XVIth, falſly,
traiterouſly, and feloneſly, yave unto the ſeid Iſabell a venymouſe drynke of ale myxt with poyſon
to drynke, to poyfon and flee the feid Iſabell, of the which drynke the feid Ifabell ſekenyd fro the ſeid
Xth daye of Octobre, unto the Sonday next before the feſt of the Natyvite of oure Lorde then
next folowyng, which Sonday ſhe then and ther therof dyed; and ſo the feid Ankarette the ſame
Iſabell the ſeid Sonday ther falſiy, traterouſly, and felonouſly flewe. And incontinent the ſame day,
the ſeid Juſtices therof arraned and put to anſwere the feid Ankarette; wherappon ſhe pleded that
ſhe was not therof gylty, and therappon by proceſſe made by the ſeid Juſtices the ſame daye, a jurre
appered, and founde the ſeid Ankarette gylty of the mater conteynid in the feid inditement, and
therappon it was conſidered and demed by the feid Juſtices, that the feid Ankarette fhulde be ladde
from the barre ther, unto the Kyngs gaole of Warrewyk biforefeid, and from that gaole ſhulde be
drawe thorowe the mydds of the ſeid towne of Warrewyk, unto the galowes of Myton, and ther
appon the ſeid galowes to be hanged untill ſhe wer dede; and commaunded the ſhiref of the ſeid
ſhire ther then beyng, to do theruf execution, and ſo he did: which enditement, triell, and judg-
ment, were hadde, done, and youven, within thre houres of the feid Tueſday, the ſame Juſtices
contynually in the fame ceſſion then ther fittyng, none adjournement of the ſeid ceffions for that tyme
hadde; a copie of alle which recorde is herto annexid. Which jurrours, for fere and drede of grete
menaces, and doute of loſſe of their lyves and godes, founde the ſeide verdit contrarie to their owne
entents, trouth, and conſcience; in prove wherof, diverſe of the ſame jurre, after the ſeid jugement
yoven, came to the feid Ankarette, havyng grete remorce in their conſciens, knowyng they hadde
yoven an untrue verdyt in that behalf, humbly and pituouſly aſked foryevnes therof of the ſaid
Ankarette. Pleaſe it youre ſeid grete wiſdomes, conſideryng the ſeide fubtile conjected ymaginati-
ons of the feid Duke, as well as his grete myght and ſtrenght, the unlaufull takyng, dureſſe, empry-
fonament, conveyaunce, and caryyng of the ſeid Ankarette thorowe the ſeid III ſeverall ſhires, the
ſeid inordynat haſty proceffe and jugement, and the lamentable and pituouſe conveiaunce to deth,
and deth of the ſame Ankarette, and the gode, vertuouſe, and true diſpoſition of her all the tyme of
her lyff, as it is openly knowen within the ſeid counte of Somerſet, and the countes therto adjoynyngs
where

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where ſhe was the more parte of her lyff duellyng and converſaunt; to praie the Kyng oure Sove-
reigne Lorde, to ordeyne and ſtablyſhe, by th' aſſent of the Lords Spirituelx and Temporelx in this
preſent Parliament aſſembled, and by auctorite of the ſame Parliament, that the recorde of the ſeid
inditement, the proceſſe therappon made, the verdit and jugement therappon yoven, and all thyngs
dependyng appon the ſame, and the recorde therof made, be caſſed, adnulled, voyde, repealed, and
of no force nor of none effecte. And foraſmoche as all the premiſes were done by the commaunde-
ment, myght, and ſtrenght of the ſeid Duke, and in no otherwyſe, that therfor it be ordeigned by the
ſeid auctorite, that none of the ſeid Juſtices, Shiref of the feid fhire, nor the Underſherif of the
fame, nor their miniſtres, nor eny other perſone, be ſued, vexed, nor greved, for the takyng, empry-
fonament, jugement, nor execution of the feid Ankarette." Rot. Parl. 17 Edw. IV.
Which petition being read in Parliament, anſwer was returned, “ Soit fait come il
eft defire."
There was a church in Frome in very early days, dedicated to St. John," of the
revenues whereof the following account is given us in the Norman Record:
“ Reinbald [the prieſt] holds the church of Frome, with eight carucates of land.
“ In demeſne are two carucates and a half, and four ſervants, and eight villanes, and
“ twelve cottagers, with fix ploughs. There is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and thirty-
66
five acres of meadow. Wood fix furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It is worth
of fix pounds."*
This Reinbald was chancellor to King Edward the Confeſſor, and a great favourite
with King William, who gave him large poſſeſſions in England, and an eſtate called
from him Reinberville, near Rouen in Normandy. He held alſo divers other offices
both in the time of Edward and William, and in his clerical line was dean of the pre-
bendal college at Cirenceſter in Glouceſterſhire, founded by Alwyn, a Saxon, in the
time of King Egbert, in the church of which he was buried, and his monument of white
marble remained till the time of Henry VIII. On his death, all the lands which he
had poſſeſſed reſorted to the crown, and King Henry I. in the thirty-fourth year
of his reign, granted the rectory of Frome, as alſo Standerwick, Milborne-Port,
Marſton-Bigot, and Wellow, with divers lands in this part of the county, to the
abbey of Auſtin Canons at Cirenceſter in Glouceſterſhire, which he had founded on the
ruins of the old Saxon college above-mentioned. In 1292 this rectory was valued at
twenty-five pounds, and the vicarage at eleven marks and a half. The abbot of
Cirenceſter had a penſion out of it, of twenty ſhillings. 26 Hen. VIII. the vicarage
was rated at twenty-two pounds. Lord Weymouth is patron, and the Rev. John
Rofs, D. D. biſhop of Exeter, is the preſent incumbent.
The church ſtands in the ſoutheaſt part of the town, and within the tithing and
manor of the Weſt-Woodlands. It is a large and handſome pile of building, one
hundred and fifty-two feet long, and fifty-four wide; conſiſting of a nave, chancel,
north and ſouth ailes, four chapels, a veſtry-room, and two porches. On the ſouth
u See the ancient Survey of the manor.
* Lib. Domeſday.
y Annales Abbat, de Bec. MSS.
2 Chronicon Abbat. Cirenceſt. MS. penes Edit. a Leland's Itin. v. 66. • Tanner's Notitia Monaſtica.
c Taxat. Temporal.
Lib. Valorum.
fide
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ſide of the entrance to the nave from the chancel, ſtands a quadrangular tower, with a
handſome ſtone ſpire; the whole one hundred and twenty feet high. This tower con-
tains eight bells, a clock, and chimes.
In a chapel built by the Leverſedges, are ſeveral memorials of that, as well as of the
Cork family, whoſe property it now is. In the middle of it, on an open tomb, lies the
effigy of a man almoſt naked, and in an emaciated appearance. On an adjoining ſtone
is this inſcription: --- W.L. Recordare Creatoris tui diebus juventutis tuæ.”
Arms, a leopard's head jeſſant fleur de lis, (the arms more recently uſed by the
family of Branch, and adopted by the Leverſedges) impaling, a griffin ſegreant.
On another ſtone near it:---"Rogeri Leverſidge, armig. exuviæ hic deponuntur,
qui obijt 23 die Februarij, Anno Domini 170$, ætatis fuæ 63.” Arms: Leverſedge,
as before, impaling on a chevron between three martlets as many mullets.
On the next ſtone:-" Reconduntur hic cineres Franciſcæ, unicæ Rogeri Lever-
fedge, armigeri, filiæ; Edmundi Seaman generoſi nuper uxoris, quæ obiit vigeſimo die
Decembris, Anno Domini 1726, ætatis fuæ 44. Hic etiam jacet ſepultum corpus
prædicti Edmundi Seaman, gen. fato qui occubuit viceſimo die Septembris, Anno
Domini 1730, ætatis ſuæ 50.” Arms: On an eſcutcheon between three pole-axes,
Branch, impaling Leverſedge.
On a flat ſtone within the ſame chapel:-“Margaret Counteſs of Cork and
Orrery, died Nov. 28, 1758, aged 48. Charles Lord Viſcount Dungarvon died Sept.
15, 1759, aged 30. John Earl of Cork and Orrery died Nov. 16, 1762, aged 55."
On another plain ſtone:-" Hamilton Earl of Cork and Orrery died Jan. 17,
1764, aged 34. Anne Counteſs of Cork and Orrery died Dec. 11, 1785, aged 43.
Richard John Lord Dungarvon, Honourable Hamilton Boyle, died infants.”
Near the northweſt corner of the church is a mural monument of ſtone, having an
open pediment, at the bottom of which lie the effigies of two infants hand in hand; on
the tablet this inſcription:-“Near this place lie the bodies of Henry Bull, gent. who
died the 3d of Auguſt 1738, aged 59 years; and Margaret his wife, who died the 26th
of July, 1752, aged 71 years. Here alſo lieth the body of James Bull, their ſon,
who died the 11th of February 1747, aged 30 years. Together with fix others of
their children, who all died infants.” Arms: Gules, three bulls' heads caboſſed, or.
In the principal aile is a braſs plate with this memorial:
“Pray for the ſoules of benzy Champeneys, [quyr, and Jane his wife,
whyche ihenry decelled the riiij dave of Auguâ the yere of oure Lord mv vi,
on whore foules Jhū have mercy. Amen.”
In a ſmall chapel by the north aile is a ſtately marble monument, inſcribed,-
“ Here lyeth the body of George Locke, of this place, gent. who departed this life the
third day of November, A. D. 1735, and in the 720 year of his age. To whoſe me-
mory his forrowful widow hath erected this monument. Alſo, here lyeth the body of
Suſannah, the wife of the ſaid George Locke, who departed this life Feb. 18, 1751,
aged

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aged 90 years.” Arms: Per feſſe, azure and or, a pale counterchanged, three hawks
with wings endorſed of the laſt, impaling or, on a feſſe engrailed azure, between three
horſes' heads eraſed fable, as many fleurs de lis of the firſt.
In the windows of this chapel are the following coats in painted glaſs. 1. Sable, a
horſe erect, argent, bridled, or; impaling, a chevron between three dolphins embowed,
argent; on a chief gules a leopard's head jeſſant fleurs de lis or. 2. The horſe as before,
impaling, argent, a pillar between two human heads reſpecting or. 3. The horſe,
impaling a text K and a bell or, being a device for the name of Cabell, a family who
had poſſeſſions in this pariſh.
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel is another ſmall chapel, which belonged to the family
of Smith, formerly of this pariſh, and in which divers of them lie interred.
Robert Smith, gent. died July 13, 1703; Dorothy his daughter, Sept. 9, 1700;
and John Smith, of Stoney-Littleton, eſq; Jan. 9, 1768.
There are theſe arms in a window of this chapel, viz. 1. Argent, on a chevron, ſable,
between three lapwings proper, a mullet of the firſt; impaling, tierce in girons
arondi, argent, or, and gules. 2. Chevron and lapwings as before, impaling, ermine, a
bar ſable. 3. Quarterly, firſt and third, argent, a bend gules, on a chief of the ſecond,
two mullets or; ſecond and fourth, gules, a bar or, between ſix martlets, 3, 2, and so
4. Ermine, a bar ſable, impaling, vert, a nautilus or.
In another chapel on the north ſide of the chancel, on a flat ſtone, whereon were
figures and an inſcription in braſs, (now removed) are arms as follow: 1. Quarterly,
firſt and third, a lion rampant; ſecond and fourth, on a chevron three croſſes moline.
2. On a chevron between three martlets five bezants.
In the veſtry-room, on a monument of alabaſter, are the effigies of a man and woman
kneeling, and on two tablets below, inſcriptions to the memory of the Rev. Anthony
Methwin, vicar of this church, who died July 6, 1640, aged 66; and of Jane his wife,
who died March 2, 1640, aged 61. Arms: firſt and fourth, argent, three wolves' heads
eraſed proper, 2 and 1. Second and third argent, a chevron ſable, between a croſs pateé
gules in chief, and a heart of the laſt in baſe, impaling, ſable, a lion paſſant argent.
- Adjoining to the eaſt end of the church is a burial place wherein lies the body of
Biſhop Kenn, who died A. D. 1711, whilſt on a viſit to his friend and patron Lord
Weymouth, at Longleat, in which noble manſion he had ſpent the greateſt part of
his life after his deprivation of the fee of Bath and Wells.
To the church of Frome appertained divers chantries, endowed with lands of confi-
derable value.
22 Edw. III. a licence was granted by the King to Robert Kaynes, Thomas the ſon
of Lucas Webb, John Honywood, and John the ſon of William de Whatcombe, to
give two meſſuages and ſeventeen acres of land in the pariſh of Frome to a certain
chaplain to perform divine ſervice in the chapel of the bleſſed Virgin Mary of Frome-
Braunch, every day for ever.
Ing. ad quod Damn, 22 Edw. III.
VOL. II.
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so
comentamos
i Ric. II. John de la Mare, knt. gave one meſfuage, and one acre of land; John la
Wode, one meſſuage and two acres; Walter Bychewode and Joan his wife, one meſ-
ſuage and two acres; John Whitcomb, two acres; and Argentine Horſleghe, four-
teen acres, all ſituated in Frome; to Laurence Walſhe, chaplain of the chantry of St.
John in the pariſh church of Frome for ever.' John Lyrpole was the laſt incumbent
of this chantry, and had allowed him in 1553, a penſion of five pounds.s
02
The chantry of St. Andrew had lands in Frome, Rodden, and Nunney de la Mare;-
the laſt incumbent, John Burley, had a penſion of five pounds. 5 Edw. VI. this
chantry, and that of St. John the Baptiſt, were held by Sir John Thynne, knt, and
Laurence Hyde, in foccage."
The chantry of St. Catherine had lands in Frome given it 4 Ric. II. Its laſt.
incumbent was John Frye, who at its diffolution was ſent away with a penſion of
five, pounds."
2011
Within that part of the pariſh which is called the Woodlands, about three miles ſouth-
ward from the town, ſtands another church or chapel, called the New-Church; which,
was built in the year 1712, by Thomas Lord Viſcount Weymouth, and endowed with
fixty pounds per annum, out of an eſtate at Pennard in this county, to ſuch mi-
niſter as ſhould officiate there, to be by him, and his ſucceſſors to the eſtate at
Longleat, nominated and appointed. This endowment was made by his Lordſhip, by
yirtue of and under the direction of the laſt will and teſtament of his deceaſed brother,
the Hon. Henry Frederick Thynne; the ſaid Viſcount himſelf augmenting the ftipend
with thirty pounds per annum, and alſo with five hundred pounds, which fum was by
his executors laid out in the purchaſe of ſtock in the funds, and veſted in the hands of
truſtees. The intereſt thereof was paid to the miniſter for ſome years; but in the year
1752, the truſtees with 3731. 18s. 9d. part of the ſaid sool. purchaſed an eſtate called
Codrington's, lying within the pariſh of Frome, which now lets at 21l. per annum, and
ſettled the clear profits thereof alſo on the miniſter of the ſaid church. The firſt
miniſter appointed to it was the Rev.Mr. Beauchamp in 1714. The Rev. John Roſs,
D. D. is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a handſome building, ſixty-eight feet long, thirty-four broad, and
twenty-eight high. At the weſt end is a ſquare tower and octagonal ſpire, ſeventy feet
high, with two bells.
The Woodlands around this church are now the only part of the ancient foreſt of
Selwood, which bears any reſemblance to its former ſtate; and have been, within the
memory of man, the notorious aſylum of a deſperate clan of banditti, whoſe depredations
were a terror to the ſurrounding pariſhes. One of their evil practices, and which
perhaps was far from being the worſt, was that of coining money; but the cutting
down large tracts of wood, eſtabliſhing ſmall farms, and building the church, have been
the means of deſtroying their haunts, and obliging the poſſeſſors to ſeek ſubſiſtence
in honeſt and uſeful labour.

{ Eſc. : Ric. II.
h Pat. 6 Hen. V.
i Willis.
8 Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii. 202.
* Ter. Sydenham. 1 Pat. 4 Ric. II.
m Willis.
The

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The name of this foreſt is very expreſſive of its ſize and conſequence in ancient times,
Sel ſignifying in the Saxon language great, and Pod a wood; in like manner as Silbury-
Hill in Wiltſhire ſignifies the great barrow or hill; and Silcheſter in Hampſhire, the
great city; the cpithet Sel being applied to theſe places by way of eminence and diſ-
tinction. This foreſt lay at the eaſtern extremity of the county, on the confines of
Wiltſhire, and extended itſelf fouthward from Frome towards Dorſetſhire. In the
time of Edward the firſt it was formally perambulated by commiſſioners appointed for
that purpoſe, and its bounds were aſcertained to be as follow: “ They began at Suth-
bruham bridge, which is the fartheſt water of the Bryw; and thence proceeded along
the road to the Berwe; and thence along a certain road to Bruke Houſe; and thence
leaving the ſaid houſe on the right hand to the gate of the King's-hall; and thence by
Hayham to Frome-Water; and thence along a certain water, leaving it on the right to
Waledich bridge; and thence along the ſkirts of Selewode thicket to Burtynghburg,
above Noble houſe; and thence leaving that houſe on the right hand to Wytecoſte; and
thence to Radeneye, on the confines of the counties of Somerſet and Wyltes; and thence
by a certain water-courſe to Weremeneſyre wood; and from the ſaid wood by Trencham-
mouth, along a road called Hunterſweye to la Gahere; and thence by Balmeton wood,
leaving it on the right, to a place called Kyngeſſecke; and thence along a way to Penburi,
leaving all Norton wood on the right, which wood is in the county of Somerſet; and
thence to Penne; and thence along the King's way by the middle of Bitewode, as a
ſmall ſtream called Standebrok, coming from Staverdale mill, directs; and thence leaving
the ſaid mill on the right, along a road without Forſhefe park to the eaſt; and thence
by the highway to Bruham church, leaving it on the left; and thence to Suthbruham
bridge, where the bounds firſt began.
Keepers of this Foreſt:
William de Wrotham, in the time of King John.
Richárd de Wrotham,
William de Placetis, 35 Hen. III.
Richard de Placetis, 2 Edw. I.
Sabina Peche, 24 Edw. I.
Nicholas Peche, 17 Edw. II.
Richard Peche,
6 Edw. III.
Thomas Peche, S
Matthew Peche, 9 Edw. III.
Sir Richard D’Amori, knt. 1o Edw. III.
Matthew de Clivedon, 18 Edw. III.
Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, 34 Edw. III.
Sir John Arundel, knt. 3 Ric. II.
Reginald Lord Cobham, 4 Hen. IV.
Edmund Lord Ferrers, of Chartley, was woodward 14 Hen. VI.
Sir John St. Loe, knt. 26 Hen. VI.
Sir Walter Hungerford, knt. 27 Hen. VI.
James Earl of Ormond, 38 Hen. VI.
Excerpt, e Regift. Wellen.
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The office was afterwards united to the crown, and there continued till the beginning
of the reign of Charles I. who granted commiffions to certain Lords of his Privy
Council and others, for the diſafforeſting the foreſt of Selwood; empowering them to
deal, agree, compound, bargain, and contract, as well for the diſafforeſting, as for all the
woods, ground, and foil, of the ſaid foreſt, with all the deer therein, in ſuch manner as
they ſhould think moſt convenient to his Majeſty's profit. By virtue of which autho-
rity, thoſe commiſſioners contracted with the lords and commoners of the manors within
the foreſt, in manner following, viz. That his Majeſty and his ſucceſſors ſhould have,
hold, and enjoy, one third part of the ſeveral waſtes and commonable grounds within
the faid foreſt; that one other third part ſhould be held and enjoyed by the lords and
owners of the foil; and the other third part ſhould be left to the ſeveral commoners,
having right of common for depafturing their cattle.
It was in this great foreſt that King Alfred convened a general council of his nobles
preparatively to his memorable attack upon the Danes, and his ſignal victory over
them at Æthendune, or Edington in Wiltſhire."
There was a houſe of Lepers in ſome part of this foreſt, to which Hugh de Wells,
biſhop of Lincoln, bequeathed in his laſt will and teſtament, made A. D. 1212, a
legacy of three marks.
Several charities have at different times been conferred on the pariſhioners of Frome.
In the time of Edward the fourth, William Leverſedge, eſq; founded in the town of
Frome, an alms-houſe for poor widows, and endowed the ſame with lands amounting
to the yearly value of three pounds ten ſhillings.
Mr. Thomas Smith gave 100l. that fourteen widows in that alms-houſe might an-
nually receive the ſum of five ſhillings each on St. Thomas-day.
The Rev. Richard Jenkins gave alſo to the faid charity 1ol. Which ſums were laid
out in lands, now amounting to the yearly rent of 81. 1os.
John A'Court gave 20s. annually to the fourteen widows, payable out of a tenement
in Nunney.
Jane Hippie gave land of the value of 61. ios. per annum, for the fame purpoſe.
John Aih gave half the yearly rent of three houſes in Beckington, value 31. 16s,
towards clothing the fourteen widows.
James Wickham and Jane Hippie gave to the ſame foundation, land of the yearly
value of 321. 25. 6d.
Suſannah Locke gave land to the ſame purpoſe, of the yearly value of 141. 125. 6d
Richard Coombe gave land of the yearly value of 21. 3. 6d.
Betty Hippie and others gave fundry ſums of money, with which lands of the annual
value of 6l. 10s. were purchaſed, for the uſe of the faid fourteen widows.
Vide Affer, Annal. rer. geſt. Ælfridi Mag. Et Chron. Saxon. A. D. 878.
Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen,
Alexander
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Alexander Stafford gave to them ſundry houſes in the pariſh of St. Milford, Lon-
don, amounting to the yearly value of 281.
Mr. Thomas Jeffer gave one hundred pounds to the poor of this pariſh, the intereſt
thereof to be paid on St. Thomas day, to ſuch as do not receive relief otherwiſe.
John Wadman gave for the ſame purpoſe 21. 1os. annually, payable out of lands in
this pariſh.
Jane Methwyn gave to fourteen poor men, and ten poor widows, a fixpenny loaf
on every Good-Friday, payable out of a houſe in Briſtol.
Sundry benefactions were laid out for the uſe of the charity-ſchool, in the purchaſe of
land and ſtock in the funds, of the yearly value of 621.
Mrs. Hippie gave money towards apprenticing boys out of the charity ſchool, with
which ſtock was purchaſed of the annual value of 151.
The charity-ſchool ſtands near the bridge, and is a large handſome freeſtone building;
with a turret and clock on the top. About the year 1720, a ſubſcription was ſet on foot
within the town, for raiſing a ſum of money to build a ſchool-houſe, &c. which foon
amounted to 10871. and together with ſome former donations, was found ſufficient for
building and endowing the ſaid ſchool. The building thereof was carried on under the
patronage and direction of Mr. James Wickhain, attorney at law, of the town of Frome,
who became a principal truſtee. In 1728, certain lands were purchaſed by the ſaid
James Wickham, and he ſoon after dying, ſuch lands were by Mr. John Wickham,
his brother and heir at law, granted to twenty truſtees; the rents and profits thereof
to be applied to the clothing and teaching twenty, or as many more boys as they ſhould
think fit, to read and write, and to be educated in the knowledge and practice of the
chriſtian religion, as profeſſed and taught in the Church of England; and ſuch other
things as ſhould be further ſuitable to their condition, and to the paying a maſter in
ſuch manner as the truſtees ſhould think fit. In 1748 the truſtees found it expedient
to apply to the Court of Chancery for a decree, the more firmly to eſtabliſh this charity,
which was readily granted.
The ſchool is now endowed with twenty-four pounds per annum falary to the maſter,
a ſchool-houſe, &c. for teaching twenty poor boys reading, writing, arithmetick, &c.
who are clothed and thus educated four years, and then apprenticed out to uſeful
trades, by monies ariſing from the benefactions before mentioned. This ſchool is
now governed by Mr. Abraham Crocker. Adjoining to it is the Widow's Alms-
Houſe, referred to in the foregoing liſt of charities.
Here is alſo a free-ſchool, of the foundation of Edward VI. endowed with fix pounds
a year, to which about five pounds annually have ſince been added.
The Rev. Mr. Langham bequeathed bol. towards erecting an altar-piece in the church
of Frome; other inhabitants contributed about 100l. more; and the altar was erected
and the chancel repaired and beautified in the year 1762.
Mr. John A'Court of Rodden, gave the treble bell, 1684,
Mrs. Anne Smith gave one braſs candleſtick, 1685,
The
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The Rev. Mr. Prigge gave 201. to be laid out for a communion fiagon; and 101.
to be laid out in bibles for poor families.
Mrs. Joan Avury gave twelve buckets.
The chriſtenings in this church from January 1778 to January 1785, were 1347,
being on an annual average 192. The burials during the ſame period 1060, being
annually on an average nearly 151.
2. Joſeph Glanvill, the noted author of the book on witchcraft, was ſome time vicar of
this pariſh.
in loonbears old
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1
S a village conſiſting of ſeveral ſtreets, ſituated in the turnpike-road between Bath
and Frome, from the former of which it is diſtant ten miles, and from the latter
three. It was formerly a town of conſiderable importance, and carried on a large
manufacture of woollen cloths, of which at this day about ſeven hundred are made
here yearly.
The name of this place may have been derived either from the Saxon words Beacen
a beacon, and Ton, a town; or from Becc, a torrent or rivulet; or from Bece, the
beech-tree. Biſhop Beckington, who was a native of the place, ſeems to have fa-
voured the firſt etymology; having for his device, ſtill to be ſeen in many parts of
Wells, a beacon with a tun or veſſel. It is called in Domeſday-Book Bechintone, and
is ſurveyed as the property of Roger Arundel, to the following effect:
« Roger himſelf holds -BECHINTONE. Ailuert held it in the time of King Edward,
«c and gelded for ten hides. The arable is ten carucates.
In demeſne are two caru-
“ cates, and nine villanes, and ſeven cottagers having fix ploughs. There is a mill of
“ twenty ſhillings rent, and twelve acres of meadow, and eight acres of paſture, and
one hundred acres of wood. It was worth when he received it ten pounds, now
" fix pounds."
Its moſt conſiderable poffeſſors, after the Conqueft; was the family of Erleigh, or de
Erlega, ſo called from a lordſhip near Reading in Berkſhire, who had large poſſeſſions
in this county, viz. the manors of Beckington, Durſton, Babcary, Michael's-church,
the manor and hundred of North-Petherton, and the manor of Somerton-parva, deno-
minated from them, Somerton-Erle, or Erleigh. The firſt of the name that appears in
this county is John de Erlegh, who 7 Hen. II. paid five marks for the ſcutage of his
lands in this county. This John died 11 Hen. II. and in the ſame year Adela his
widow paid the ſame fcutage.
be
Beckingtona mihi dedit ortum; Balnea, Fontes,
• Faſces.” Lelandi Comment. de Scriptor. Britann. p. 447. See of this prelate in Wells.
• Lib. Domeſday. © Rot. Pip. 7 Hen. II.
d Ibid.
Не.
b در

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199
B E C K I N G T O N.

He was ſucceeded by William de Erleigh his ſon, who is certified to hold a knight's
fee in capite of the King, and that by his fee he had a right to be his chamberlain."
This William was the founder of a priory at Buckland in this county, to which (among
divers other property) he gave the church of Beckington.
John de Erleigh, ſon and heir of William,,6 Ric. I. paid ſcutage for his lands in this
county and Berkſhire. 1 Joh. he held the manor and hundred of North-Petherton, at
an annual rent to the King of one hundred ſhillings.
William de Erleigh his eldeſt ſon, 1. Joh. paid fcutage for lands he had in Berkſhire
and Somerſetſhire, in his father's life-time. He left two ſons, John and Henry, of
whom the former married Iſolda, (who ſurvived him) and died without iſſue 12 Hen.
III. whereupon Henry his brother became his heir. He was ſheriff of this county and
Dorſet that ſame year. This Henry married two wives, 1. Egelina de Candos, by
whom he had a ſon called Philip. 2. Claricia, by whom he had John and Bartholomew.
Philip de Erleigh died foon after 8 Edw. I. leaving iſſue by Roſa his wife, daughter
and heir of Peter de Mariſco, and Maud his wife, lady of the manor of Babcary, John,
Philip, and Roland; and a daughter married to Richard de Acton. His wife ſurvived
him, and had to her ſecond huſband Sir Geffrey de Wroxall.
Which John de Erleigh, eldeſt ſon of Philip, was in the Scottiſh wars in the reign of
Edw. I. and 9 and 16 Edw. I. was ſheriff of this county and Dorfet; and 2 and 6
Edw. II. was knight of the ſhire for Somerſet. He died 17 Edw. II. and was fuc-
ceeded by his fon John, leaving another ſon called Roland.
This John died 11 Edw. III. being then ſeized of the manors of Beckington,
Somerton-Erle, Durſton, Babcary, Michael's-Church, the manor and hundred of
North-Petherton, and ſeveral other lands in this county; leaving by Elizabeth his wife,
John his eldeſt ſon, then four years old, Richard, and three daughters, viz. Catherine
prioreſs of Buckland, Elizabeth wife of Sir John Stafford, and Alice wife of Sir
Nicholas Poines, knt.
John his ſon and heir was a knight, and 40 Edw. III. attended the Black Prince
into Spain, and was prefent at the battle of Naziers, and ſeveral other engagements in
that kingdom, in one of which he was wounded and taken priſoner; and being put to
a great ranſom, was forced to ſell the beſt part of his ancient inheritance. By Margaret
daughter of Sir Guy de Brien, knight of the garter, he left iſſue John, Richard, and,
Philip, and three daughters.
John his eldeſt ſon fucceeded in this manor of Beckington. He was alſo a knight,
and married Ifabel, daughter of Sir John Pavely, by whom he left one only daughter his
heiry, married to John ſecond ſon of Sir Richard St. Maur, knt. afterwards to Sir Walter
Sondes, knt. and thirdly to Sir William Cheney, knt. She died 21 Hen. VI.
The ſaid John St. Maur was ſucceeded by John his eldeſt ſon, who, having married
Elizabeth daughter of Sir Thomas Broke, was father of Sir Thomas St. Maur; who,
by Philippa daughter of Sir Edmund Hungerford, had another John; which John..
e Cart. Antiq,
married?
d Lib. Feod.

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inarried Elizabeth daughter of Sir Richard Choke; and had three children, viz. Sir
William St. Maur, who ſucceeded him; and two daughters, Margaret wife of William
Bampfylde of Poltimore, and Anne wife to Robert Stawel, eſq.
Which Sir William St. Maur married Margaret daughter of Sir Richard Edgecombe,
knt. and was father of Margaret his heir, who dying without children, the deſcendants
of his ſiſters became his heirs, which were the families of Stawel and Bampfylde. The
manor of Beckington became the poſſeſſion of Bampfylde.
8 Edw. II. John de Erleigh bore on his ſeal three eſcallops ;' which arms were uſed
by his deſcendants within a bordure engrailed, and tinctured gules and argent.
In the beginning of the laſt century this manor was purchaſed by John Aſhe, eſq;
who poſſeſſed a very large eſtate in this and the adjoining county of Wilts; and lies
buried with ſeveral of his family in a vault under the ſouth aile of the pariſh church of
Beckington. At his death in 1658, this manor, with that of Teffont-Evias in the
county of Wilts, devolved to John Alhe, eſq; his ſecond ſon, who deviſed it by will to
his nephew John Methuen, ſon of his ſiſter Grace, wife of Paul Methuen, eſq. This
John Methuen was Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the reigns of King William the
Third and Queen Anne; and was frequently employed in embaſſies to Portugal. He
was fucceeded in this manor by his only ſurviving fon, the late Right Honourable Sir
Paul Methuen, knight of the Bath; a perſon eminently diſtinguiſhed by his embaſſies
abroad to the Emperors of Germany and Morocco; and the Kings of Spain, Portugal,
and Sardinia; and filled with equal honour at home many important offices as ſecretary
of ſtate, treaſurer of the houſhold, &c. In the year 1709, he fold this manor to his
uncle Anthony Methuen, eſq; whoſe grandfon, Paul Methuen, of Corſham in Wiltſhire,
eſq; is the preſent poſſeſſor.
The manor-houſe ſtill bears the name of Seymour's-Court, from its old inhabitants.
There was forinerly a chapel here near the Old Court, which the common people thought
had once been an hermitage or cell; and in a field about a quarter of a mile from the
houſe, called Mount-Pleaſant, were dug up, about twenty years ago, ſeveral human
ſkeletons, the innocuous tenants of ſome long-forgotten cemetery.
At the north end of the town of Beckington, in a deep vale, ſinking immediately
from the high road to Bath, ſtands an old houſe called Cliffords; once the reſidence of
that family, from whom it had its name.
The living of Beckington is rectorial. It was appropriated to the priory of Buckland,
and rated in 1292 at ſeventeen marks and a half. It lies in the deanery of Frome;
William Sainſbury, eſq; is patron, and the Rev. John Evans the preſent incumbent.
The Prior and Brethren of the hoſpital of St. John of Jeruſalem had from this church
an annual penſion of twenty ſhillings.
The church is dedicated to St. Gregory," and is a ſubſtantial ancient ſtructure,
(ſeveral of the window-arches being finiſhed with zig-zag mouldings) conſiſting of a
Seals from ancient deeds.. & Notes taken 1671. A Taxat. Spiritual,
Excerpt, e Regift. Wellen.
* Eston ſays St. George.
nave,
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201
Β Ε C Κ Ι Ν Ο Τ Ο Ν.
nave, chancel, two ſide ailes, and a veſtry-room leaded; with two porches tiled. At
the weſt end is an embattled tower, with a clock and fix bells.
On the north ſide of the chancel lie the effigies of John St. Maur, and Elizabeth his
wife, daughter of Sir Richard Choke; and on a braſs plate in the floor is the following
inſcription:-“bic jacet Johes Seyntmauj, azmig. et Elizabetha uror ejus,
qui quidem Johes obiit v. die Diobr. A. Dñi. millmo ccccirrro. Cujus
ale ppcietur Deus. Amen.”
In a pew within the eaſt aile, belonging to Paul Methuen, eſq; is this memorial:
· Pray for the ſowies of John Compton, and Edyth his wife, which John
decelled the riii day of D&ober the yeare of our Loud gecccccr, upon whoſe
fowles Jhū have mercy. Amen."
John Cooper, anceſtor of the Coopers earls of Shafteſbury, being of this place, by
his laſt will and teſtament, made Auguſt 29, 1498, ordered his body to be buried be-
fore the high altar of St. John Baptiſt, in the church of St. Gregory of Bekynton, to
which church he bequeathed the ſum of forty ſhillings.
Againſt the north wall of the north aile is a mural monument to the memory of
Daniel, the poet, inſcribed with the following words:-"Here lyes, expectinge
the ſecond coming of our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, the dead body of Samuell
Danyell, eſq; that excellent poet and hiſtorian; who was tutor to the Lady Anne
Clifford in her youth, ſhe that was fole daughter and heire to George Clifford, earl of
Cumberland; who in gratitude to him erected this monument to his memory a long
time after, when ſhe was Counteſſe Dowager of Pembroke, Dorſet, and Montgomery.
He died in October, An. Dom. 1619." He was a great favourite in the court of
James I. and ſucceeded Spenſer as poet-laureat to Queen Elizabeth. He was author
of a variety of pieces hiſtorical, dramatical, and miſcellaneous, into all which he ſeems
to have infuſed the refinements of a court, and in his language to have anticipated
the elegant expreſſions of the preſent age.
On a fat ſtone in the chancel floor is the following inſcription: Sub hoc
ſaxo reconditum jacet corpus Alexandri Huiſh, hujus eccleſiæ olim rectoris, qui obijt
decimo quinto die Aprilis MDCLXVIII.” He was of the Huiſhes of Donniford, and
grandſon of William Huiſh of that place. He was one of the editors of the Polyglott
Bible, and eſteemed one of the moſt conſiderable men in Europe in all parts of
learning, eſpecially the knowledge of the Oriental languages. He was a great fufferer
by the rebellion in the time of Charles I.
On another ſtone: "Here lies the body of William Sainſbury, late rector of this
pariſh, who died March 10, 1730, aged 45. Alſo Elizabeth his wife, who died March
13, 1752, aged 71. Eleanor Sainſbury, wife of William Sainſbury, rector of this
pariſh, died March 10, 1772, aged-41. Alſo William Sainſbury, late rector of this
pariſh, died July 8, 1778, aged 65.”Arms: Within a bordure engrailed, a bend
fuſilly
Ex Regift, Horne, in Cur. Prærog. Cante
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At the weſt end of the ſouth aile is a mural monument of white marble, inſcribed,
James Edgell, gentleman, died the 21ſt day of June, Anno Dom. 1729, in the 71ſt
year of his age. Harry Edgell, eldeſt ſon of James, is near this place alſo interred,
who departed this life, which he ſteered through with honour and integrity, May 22,
1743, ætat. 43. Elizabeth, widow of Harry Edgell, died July 7, 1761, aged 53 years.
Arms: Argent, on a chevron embattled ſable, between three cinquefoils gules, as many
bezants; impaling, argent, on a bend wavy, cottiſed gules, within a bordure azure be-
zanty, three lions' heads eraſed of the firſt.
The font is octagonal, fupported by eight plain pilaſters, ſurrounding a central ſhaft,
all ſpringing from an octagonal baſe.
This pariſh, including the hamlet of Ridge, on the borders of Wilts, contains onc
hundred and eighty-ſix houſes.
Thomas Webb, eſq; in the 20th of Elizabeth, gave 5l. per annum to be diſtributed
quarterly amongſt the pooreſt and inoſt needy inhabitants of this pariſha
Chriſtopher Brewer, in 1673, gave for the like purpoſe 21. annually.
William Yerbury, in 1700, gave 51. annually to be diſtributed amongſt the poor in
bread on every Friday for five weeks in Lent.

В Е
R
K
son
E
Y
I
S a ſmall pariſh, three miles weſt of Frome, containing ſeventy-ſix houſes, thirteen of
the others are ſcattered throughout the pariſh. The number of inhabitants is four
hundred and two. The lands are moſtly paſture, the ſoil various; ſome parts being
heavy clay, others ſtone-ruſh, and the reſt a rich mellow loam,, very fertile. The
pafture worth from ten to thirty ſhillings per acre, the arable from eight to ſixteen
ſhillings.
The river Frome waſhes this pariſh on the north-weſt fide, in its way from Frome
to Beckington.
The manor of Berkley belonged at the Conqueſt to Roger Arundel, and is thus
ſurveyed:
“ Robert holds of Roger, Berchelei. Toui held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for two hides and a half. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne
" are two carucates, with one ſervant, and three villanes, and four cottagers, with one
“ plough. There is a mill of twelve ſhillings and fixpence rent, and ſix acres of mea-
dow, and ſeventy acres of wood. It was and is worth forty ſhillings.
ora
· Lib. Domeſday,
This
Tome.]
203
B E
Y.
R
E
K
L
This place was the ancient ſeat of the family of Fayroke, who reſided at Fayroke in
this pariſh; from whom by intermarriage it deſcended to the houſe of Carent or
Carwent, ſo denominated from the town of Caer-Went in Wales, where they were more
early reſident. From this family it came by an heireſs to the poſſeſion of the New-
boroughs, of which ancient houſe the following account is given on a monumental
ftone in the pariſh church here, tracing its deſcent from the time of William the Con-
queror to the
year 1680.

“ Sacred to the memory of the family of the Newboroughs, deſcended from Roger
de Bellomont, lord of Pont-Audemer in Normandy, and Adelina his wife, daughter to
Waleran earl of Mellent in France, couſin and councellor to William the Conqueror,
with whom he came into England. Which Roger had two ſons; Robert the elder
was earl of Mellent and Leiceſter, and married Elizabeth, daughter to Hugh the Great,
fon to Henry the ift of France. The ſecond ſon was Henry de Novo-Burgo, (ſo
called from a caſtle in Normandy where he was born) who was made earl of Warwick
by the Conqueror; and that earldom continued in his poſterity through ſeveral noble
and royal branches, till it was extinct by the death of Ambroſe Dudley, fon to the
Duke of Northumberland, in 1589. Henry de Novo-Burgo, ſecond ſon to the ſaid
Henry earl of Warwick, ſettled in Dorſet, where Roger his ſon founded the abbey of
Byndon in 1172. From him in a lineal deſcent came John Newburgh, of Lulworth-
Caſtle in Dorſet, who married Alice, daughter of William Carwent of Fayroke, and
widow of John Weſtbery of Berkley, and was poſſeſſed of this manor in 1459. Several
of this family repreſented the county of Dorſet in parliament.
« In the reign of Henry VIII. Chriſtian, daughter and heireſs to Sir Roger Newburgh •
of Lulworth, a lineal deſcendant to the aforeſaid John, carried off a great eſtate to the
Lord Marney, whoſe daughter and coheireſs married Thomas Howard, ſecond fon to
the Duke of Norfolk, who was created Viſcount Bindon. Thomas Newborough,
couſin to Sir Roger, and heir male to this family, was the firſt who ſettled at Berkley,
and was buried in this church in 1513; from him in a direct line deſcended Roger
Newborough, the laſt of this name, who was buried here in 1680, whoſe eldeſt daughter
and coheireſs Anne married John Prowſe, of Compton-Biſhop, eſq. She died in 1740,
and is buried in that church. In honour to this family, now extinct, this inſcription was
placed here by Abigail, widow of John Prowſe, ſon and heir to the above-named John
Prowſe and Anne Newborough, in the year 1751, when this church was rebuilt.”-
The arms on this monument are, Or, three bends azure within a bordure engrailed
gules. Newborough.
The laſt of the Prowſe family was Thomas Prowſe, eſq; knight of the ſhire for this
county, who died about the year 1767, leaving two daughters his coheirs; one of whom
wedded Mr. Mordaunt, a gentleman deſcended from a collateral branch of the family of
Mordaunts, earls of Peterborough; and the other, who now reſides at Berkley, married
in 1783 the Rev. John Methuen Rogers, LL. B. the preſent owner of this manor,
The reſidence of the Carents was at Fayroke, a manor they derived from the family
of Fayroke, to which this ancient village (now depopulated) gave its name. It had
Dd 2
parochial

204
(frome.
B E R K L E Y.
parochial rights and cuſtoms; but the benefice in 1460, on account of the ſmallneſs of
its revenues, was, with the conſent of William Carent, eſq; patron of the church of
Fayroke, and John Newburgh, in right of Alice his wife, patron of Berkley, united
and annexed to the church of Berkley."
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of the Rev. Mr
Rogers; the preſent incumbent is the Rev. Ambroſe Kent, D. D.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a very neat modern edifice, built in the year
1751. Its dimenſions are forty-one feet ſquare, and the roof twenty-one feet high,
Over the centre of the building is an octagonal dome ſupported by four Ionic columns,
and terminated by a ſky-light. At the weſt ſide of the church is a neat tower with a
balluſtrade railing.
Near the chancel rails a flat ſtone bears the following inſcription:-“Underneath
lie the remains of Anne, wife of Nathaniel Kent, of Fulham in the county of Middleſex,
gentleman, who died Oct. iſt, 1780, aged 47 years. This ſtone is not placed here
from a vain deſire to chronicle the dead, but to guard her aſhes.”
Without the church is a ſmall mural monument erected to the memory of Roger
Newburgh, efq; the laſt of that family, who died in 1680.
This pariſh gave birth and name to Alexander de Berkley, or Barcley, an elegant
writer of the ſixteenth century. He was educated at Oriel college in Oxford, and was
one of the collegiate prieſts of St. Mary Ottery in Devonſhire. He afterwards entered
into the order of St. Benedict, and next became a Franciſcan; he was alſo a monk of
Ely, and on the diſſolution of that monaſtery, was preſented to the vicarage of Wokey
in this county, and afterwards to that of Badow-Magna in the county of Eflex. He had
alſo the rectorſhip of All-hallows, Lombard-ſtreet, and died at Croydon in Surry.
He was eſteemed a very polite writer, and a great refiner of the Engliſh language.
One of his books is entitled “ Navis Stultifera, or the Ship of Fools ;” a curious aſſem-
blage of original and tranſlated ſentiment, illuſtrated with wooden cuts,

Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.

frome,
[205]
-
Frome, and Part of Hillhouſe Liberty.
С
L
O
F
O R
D

wa
S ſituated five miles fouthward from Frome, on a little ſtream, riſing at Hitching-
green in the pariſh of Wanſtraw, and comprizes the two hamlets of LEIGHTON and
HOLWELL, the latter romantically ſituated in a deep and narrow valley. Here is a
very large wood, called Poftlebury, anciently Poſtbury, the only remaining veſtige of
what by tradition was once a conſiderable Roman villa.
At the time of the Conqueſt the Earl of Morton was poffeffed of Cloford:
“ Alured holds of the Earl, CLAFORD. Five thanes held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for ten hides. The arable is nine carucates.
In demeſne are
“ three carucates, and two ſervants, and three cottagers, and twelve villanes, and ſeven-
“ teen bordars, with ſeven ploughs. There is a mill of three ſhillings rent, and twenty
acres of meadow, and three hundred acres of paſture, and one hundred and ſixty
acres of wood. It was worth ſeven pounds, now ten pounds."
In the time of Edw. I. II. and III. the villages of Cloford and Poſtbury were pof-
ſeſſed by the family of Flory. Giles de Flory was living in theſe parts the beginning
of the reign of Edward I. After him caine John Flory, lord of Cloford and Poſtbury,
26 Edw. I. To whom ſucceeded John and Richard Flory, which laſt 3 Edw. III.
gave one meſfuage and two acres of land in Cloford to a chaplain to ſay maſs-for the
ſoul of him the ſaid Richard, and for the ſouls of his progenitors, in the pariſh church
of Cloford every day for ever." 1 Ric. II. Thomas Flory held the third part of a
knight's fee in High-Church near Hemington. 18 Hen. VI. John Flory died ſeized
of lands and tenements in Orehardleigh, leaving John his ſon and heir.". The manors
of Cloford and Leighton have been for many generations in the poſſeſſion of the family
of Horner, ſome of whom had their reſidence here in the manſion near the church.
Thomas Horner, eſq; is the preſent owner.
The hamlet of Holwell, in this pariſh, is called in old writings Holy-Waters,
and Holy-Fathers, from a well there, over which was a chapel or cell, much viſited
by pilgrims.
The church of Cloford was appropriated to the abbey of Keynſham, the tempora-
lities whereof in this pariſh were in 1293 valued at ſixty-five ſhillings. It is a vicaräge
in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of the lord of the manor; the Rey. Mr. Wells
is the preſent incumbent.


Lib. Domeſday.
6 Cart. Antiq.
e Lib. Feod,
c Perambul. Foreſt.
f Eſc. 8 Taxat. Temporal.
Inq. ad quod Damn,
The
206
[ffome, and part of
CL OF OR D.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and ſmall aile
or chapel belonging to the Horner family. At the weſt end is a modern-built tower,
containing two bells.
In the chancel is a ſtately and elegant mural monument of freeſtone, in the centre of
which ſtand the ſtatues of a man and woman in the dreſs of the laſt century; and on a
black tablet is this inſcription:-"Sir George Horner, knt. fell aſleepe Feb. 9th,
and was buried Feb. 19th, 1676. Ætat. ſuæ 72.” Arins: Sable, three talbots paſſant,
argent; Horner: impaling, azure, ſemeé of fleurs de lis or, a lion rampant argent,
langued gules. This monument is ſaid to have been put up in the life-time of Sir
George and his lady, who occaſionally fat for their likeneſs whilſt the ſculptor was
at work.
On a large ſtone tomb in the chapel is an inſcription to the memory of Maurice
Horner, ſon of Sir John Horner, knt, who died Feb. 21, 1621. And of his children,
Thomas, Margaret, George, and Edward.
Part of the ancient liberty of Hillhouse lies within this pariſh; another part is in
that of Elm. Both the manor and liberty of Hillhouſe, or Helehouſe, (as it was ſome-
times written) were formerly part of the eſtate of the Gorges family of Wraxal, and
afterwards paſſed to that of Horner, with whom it ſtill continues.
E
L
M,
Saxon ELM, from the quantity of that wood formerly growing there.
SMALL pariſh, three miles northweſt from Frome, pleaſantly ſituated on the
edge of a deep woody vale, winding through ſeveral pariſhes, and exhibiting
Some very beautiful and romantick ſcenery. It includes a hamlet called Little-ELM,
and contains about forty houſes, and two hundred inhabitants.
Near a place called Murder-Combe in the ſoutheaſt part of the pariſh, is an encamp-
ment, ſituated on the edge of a precipice, and ſevered from the other part of the hill
by a vallum on one ſide only; ſouth of it runs a rivulet. The name of this ancient
work is Tedbury; and here, in 1691, was dug up a pot of Roman coins, moſt of
Conſtantine junior.
The manor of Elm is not noticed in the Norman Survey. It has been the property
of a variety of families. 33 Edw. III. Sir Thomas de Cary, knt. ſon and heir of
Thomaſine de Cary, releaſed to John de Edyndone all his right in the manor and
advowſon of the church of Elm. 7 Hen. V. Elizabeth the widow of Reginald de
a
Stukeley's Itin. car. i. 149. .
Rot. claus. 33 Edw. III.
Brecon
Dillhouſe Liberty.]
207
E
M.
L

d
Brecon died ſeized of a moiety thereof. 36 Hen. VI. John Panys, fon and heir of
John Panys, of Newbury in the county of Berks, granted a leaſe of this manor for
the term of forty years to Thomas Clerk and Margery his fifter. 9
Edward IV.
Humphry Stafford, earl of Devon, died ſeized of it. 33 Eliz. Henry lord Compton
had this manor of Elm. From him it came to Spencer, who ſold the ſame to
Robert Webb and Alexander Chocke, who fold it to Thomas Hodges, eſq;" from
whom it has deſcended to Henry Strachey, efq; the preſent poffeffor.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome. The Rev. Mr. King is patron
and incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a ſmall ſtructure, having only an
aile, chancel, and a chevron-roofed tower, with three bells.
On a ſmall mural monument in the chancel, there is this inſcription: << Here lies
the body of Ann, daughter of Joſeph Francis, rector of this place, who died June 19,
1727, aged twelve years. Alſo the body of Joſeph Francis, rector, who died June 2,
1764, aged 84."
€ Eſc.
& Rot. Claus. 36 Hen. VI.
. Eſc.
? Licence to alienate,
Liberty of Cuanmore.
E AS T-C R A N M ORE
IES under the ſoutheaſt end of Mendip, in a long valley, bounded on either ſide
by high land; the ſlopes covered with hanging woods. In the bottom, a ſmall
ſtream riſing at Weft-Cranmore runs along the meadows.
The name ſignifies marſhy ground infeſted by cranes, from the Saxon [ran a crane,
and Mere a marſh or lake. To confirm the propriety of this etymology, it is to be
obſerved, that the eaſtern extremity of the valley, through which the rivulet runs, (which
doubtleſs was formerly marſhy, and would be ſo now, were not the channel kept clear)
is at this day diſtinguiſhed by the name of Mere-head, and the adjoining meadow Mere-
Mead; and although cranes are not ſo abundant as anciently, when multitudes were
among the dainties provided at many publick entertainments mentioned on record, yet
of late years thoſe birds have been obſerved here in greater numbers than in moſt
other places.
We have early memorials of the village and manor of Cranmore. In the year of our
Lord 956, Ælphege, one of the domeſticks of King Edwy, gave with his conſent the

manor
208
[Liberty of
E AS T-CRAN MO R E.
a
manor of Cranemere, then conſiſting of twelve hides, to the monks of Glaſtonbury.
This grant was afterwards confirmed by Edwy, Edgar, and other monarchs. When
King William the Conqueror came to the throne, he continued the abbey in its pof-
ſeſſions here, which in his time were thus recorded:
“ Harding holds of the abbot CrENEMELLE. He likewiſe held it in the time of
** King Edward, and gelded for twelve hides. The arable is ten carucates. Thereof
s in demeſne are fix hides, and there is one carucate, and fix ſervants, and eight vil-
«« lanes, and two bordars, and ſeven cottagers, with three ploughs. There is a mill of
thirty pence rent, and fifty acres of meadow, and ſixty acres of paſture, and one hun-
« dred acres of wood. It is worth four pounds. This land cannot be ſeparated from
6 the church."
Upon ſome pretence or other King William Rufus ſeized this manor, and appointed
one Ernulf his ſteward to ſuperintend the fruits and profits thereof. But upon the
petition of abbot Herlewin in 1101, it was reſtored, and King Henry I. erected this
diſtrict, including Eaſt and Weſt-Cranmore, (as they are now diſtinguiſhed) into a
liberty of itſelf, exempt from all ſuits and ſervice to the hundred courts. It was not
long, however, that the monks had quiet poffeffion of this manor; for in the great
conteſt between them and Joceline biſhop of Bath and Wells, concerning the union of
their abbacy to that ſee, Cranmore, with many other good poffefſions, was by way of
pacification given up to the biſhoprick.41 Hen. III. Biſhop William Bitton obtained
a charter of free warren in this his manor;' and his ſucceſſors enjoyed it till the time of
Edward VI. when it is found among the poſſeſſions of Edward Duke of Somerſet, in
whoſe ſchedule it is valued at 231. 8s. Id. It was ſoon after jointly purchaſed by Mr.
Horner, and Mr. Bradford. The moiety purchaſed by Mr. Horner has deſcended in
a regular ſucceſſion in the male line to the preſent Thomas Horner, eſq. The other
moiety continued in the Bradford name. till the year 1713, when Benjamin Bradford,
dying without iſſue, deviſed it to Mr. John Moore, his ſiſter's grandfon, whoſe
daughter and only child married William Jones, eſq; in whoſe ſiſter, Mrs. Mary Jones
of Stowey, it is now veſted in fee. Some time after the joint purchaſe of the manor,
a deed of partition was made, and the manor-houſe, a large ſquare building, which
appears to have undergone but little alteration in its outward form ſince that time, the
offices being built in the form of a croſs, and ſtill retaining the name of the Croſs-Houſe,
became part of Bradford's ſhare, and paſſed in like manner with that moiety of the eſtate.
The arms of Bradford were, Azure, a feſſe between three griffins' heads eraſed argent.
In the year 1770 an act was paſſed for incloſing that part of Mendip lying within the
pariſhes of Eaſt and Weſt-Cranmore, which, it is ſaid, was the firſt incloſure made in



a
с
Johan. Glafton. Hiſt. de rebus Glaſton. 126. b Lib. Domeſday.
Regift. Abbat. Glaſton.
Johan. Glafton. et Ad. Domerham Hift.
• Cart. 41 Hen. III. m. 5. There is extant a curious deed, printed in Upton de Studio Militari 1654, wherein
one Henry de Fernbureg engages for the ſum of thirty marks ſterling, to be always ready to fight as the Abbot
of Glaſtonbury's champion, in defence of the right which he had in the manors of Cranmore and Pucklechurch,
againſt the Biſhop of Bath and Wells; the Dean of Wells, and all other his champions whatſoever. Dat. Lond.
28 die Apr. 42 Hen. III.
f MS. Valor,
that

Cranmore.]
209
EAST-CRANMORE.
that foreſt under ſuch a fanction. A bank thrown up between the pariſhes of Eaſt-
Cranmore and Downhead, and known by the name of Rough-Ditch, was conſidered as
the boundary between them; but the fame bank being continued at intervals through
other pariſhes, where it certainly is no boundary, towards Maſberry-caſtle, it is ſuppoſed
to have been in ſome reſpect appertenant to that encampment. From its terminating
at a very high point, whence an enemy might be ſeen at a very great diſtance, it is proba-
ble that it was an out-poſt of obſervation, defended by a ditch and bank as a breaft-work.
Eaſt-Cranmore is a chapel of eaſe to Doulting; and the inhabitants dying have their
burial at Weſt-Cranmore. The chapel is a neat ſmall building dedicated to St. James.
It has an elegant mural monument of marble, inſcribed to William Jones, eſq; and
another to James Moore, of Chilcompton, gent.
The number of houſes is ten.
W E S T - C R A N M O R E.
YONTIGUOUS to Eaſt-Cranmore, but within the confines of the hundred of
Wells-Forum, lies Weſt-Cranmore, in a fattiſh vale, bounded on the north,
fouth, and eaſt, by high lands. It is tolerably well wooded, and watered by ſeveral
rivulets from ſprings riſing in the pariſh.
There is no ſurvey of two places of the name of Cranmore in the Norman record, tho'
the monks of Glaftonbury had poſſeſſions in both. The manerial property of Weſt-Cran-
more has been for ages veſted in lay hands; and now belongs to John Strode, eſq; who
has a handſome ſeat on a finall eminence ſouthward from the church, called South-Hill.
This family derive their deſcent from Warine de la Strode, lord of Strode in the
county of Dorſet in the time of William the Conqueror; in whoſe retinue he is ſaid to
have come into this country out of Bretagne in France. He was father of Sir William
de Strode, knt. who was of Strode, and bore for his arms, Ermine, on a canton fable an
etoile of five points argent. To him ſucceeded Hugh de Strode his ſon and heir, who
was living 8 Henry I. and had iſſue two ſons, Sir John Strode, knt. and Robert.
Sir
John the eldeſt was of Strode aforeſaid, and was father of Sir Hugh de Strode, knt.
who had iſſue a ſon named Henry, who married Maud Fichett Beaupre, and by her had
two ſons, Hugh and Edward. Hugh the eldeſt married Beatrice, one of the daughters
and coheirs of Sir John de Button, knt. by Hawiſe daughter and coheir of Sir Matthew
de Furneaux, by whom he had iſſue Henry de Strode, who married Elizabeth daughter
and heir of John Brent, and was father of Richard Strode, who ſucceeded to the eſtates.
He was thrice married; his firſt wife was Margaret daughter and heir of John Gerard,
eſq; by whom he had iſſue William de Strode, who married Alice daughter and heir
of Roger de Ledred, of Somerton in this county, and by her had two fons, William
and John. William the eldeſt ſon was of Chalmington in Dorſetſhire, and was pro-
genitor to the Strodes of Parnham in that county. John the ſecond ſon was ſeated at
Shepton-Mallet in this county, and married Joan daughter of John Okle, by whom he
had iſſue Walter Strode, who ſucceeded him in the eſtate at Shepton-Mallet, and was
father of Thomas Strode, who had two ſons, John and Edward.
VOL. II.
John
Еe

210
[Cranmore.
WEST-CRANMORE.
John, the eldeſt ſon of Thomas Strode, left iſſue a ſon named Stephen, who married
Mary daughter of Richard Hodges, and was father of Thomas Strode of Shepton-
Mallet in 1623. Which Thomas was twice married; his firſt wife was Alice daughter
of Maklin Bulliford, of the county of Devon, by whom he had a daughter Alice, who
died without iſſue; to his ſecond wife he married Anne, daughter of — Lane, of
Mells, by whom he had two daughters, Abigail and Hannah.
Edward Strode, ſecond ſon of Thomas Strode abovementioned, married Alice
daughter of Robert Whiting, brother of Richard Whiting, abbot of Glaſtonbury, and
by her had iſſue three ſons, Thomas, who is ſtiled of Batcomb in this county, and
William and Edward, both of Shepton-Mallet.
Thomas the eldeſt ſon, by his wife the daughter of Blanchard, eſq; had iſſue two
ſons, viz. John, who married a daughter of John Hippiſey, of Camely in this county,
eſq; and James, who married Amy daughter of Richard Pitt, eſq.
William, the ſecond ſon of Edward and Alice Strode abovementioned, was of Shepton-
Mallet; he married Elizabeth daughter and heir of Geffrey Upton, by whom he had
three fons, Geffrey, George, and William; and two daughters, Mary and Thomaſine.
Geffrey the eldeſt was of Shepton-Mallet; he married firſt Elizabeth, daughter of
William Filiol, of Marnhull in the county of Dorſet, by whom he had William“ his ſon
and heir, George, John, Geffrey, Edward, Joſias, Elizabeth, and Anne. His ſecond
wife was Sarah, daughter of John Barnard. George, the ſecond ſon of William Strode,
was of London, and by his wife Rebecca, daughter of Nicholas Criſpe, of that city, eſq;
had iſſue three ſons, Thomas who ſucceeded him, George, and William, and two daugh-
ters, Rebecca and Anne. William, the third ſon of William Strode, was of London,
and married Joan fole daughter and heir of Edward Barnard, of Downſide, eſq;" by whom
he had iſſue Edward Strode, who was father of James Strode, who by Amy his wife,
the daughter of Edward Court, had iſſue four fons, Carew, John, George, and Edward,
and a daughter named Betty. Carew Strode, by his wife Elizabeth the daughter of
Skinner, had iſſue James, Edward, and Elizabeth. James the eldeſt married the daugh-
Head, eſq; of Berkſhire, but had no iſſue, and was ſucceeded by Edward,
father of John Strode, who married Mary daughter of Simpſon, eſq; of Penrith in
Cumberland, and was father of John Strode, who married Sophia daughter of Sir Harry
Parker, bart. and alſo of Edward, Elizabeth, Anne, and Hervey.
Edward, the third ſon of Edward and Alice Strode beforementioned, married Alice,
daughter of Philip Pore, of the county of Wilts, eſq; and had iſſue Edward, who inhe-
rited the eſtate, and George, who was of Milbrook in this county; which George mar-
ried Margery, daughter of Richard Smith of the Iſle of Wight, and had iſſue by her,
James his ſon and heir, John, Philip, Thomas, and Mary.
The family arms are, Ermine, on a canton ſable, a creſcent argent.
The living of Weſt-Cranmore is a curacy in the deanery of Cary, and like Eaſt-
Cranmore, a chapel of eaſe to Doulting. The Rev. Dr. Biſhop is the preſent in-
cumbent. The church conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and a north aile. At the weſt end
is a handſome tower, containing five bells.
Col. William Strode, one of the five members demanded by King Charles I. out of the Houſe of Commons.
b See vol. iii. p. 464.
bunured
ter of
EN
a

Sam RCN
ALTIPPHH
H11
T. Bonnor delin. & fculp:direxit.
SOUTH
HIL L.
The Seat of John Strode tigan to whom this Plate is sinseribed by his Obliged Servants,
J.COLLINSON & E.RACK,
Published May 1,1787
Bagh
OH:

[ 211 ]
Hundred of Frome.
L A
V E-R
RT
0
N
I
a
S ſituated in a pleaſant vale, finely wooded, to the north of the town of Frome.
The number of families the pariſh contains is thirty, and of inhabitants about one
hundred and fixty. Here are ſome conſiderable woods, and elm and aſh timber
grows in great plenty; ſome very large, particularly in a field near the church, where
there are ſeveral elm trees upwards of eighty feet in height, and the trunks (three
feet above ground) from eleven to ſixteen feet in circumference. One of them ſpreads
two hundred and forty feet. A ſmall river runs under a ſtone bridge, and empties
itſelf into the Frome.
The Domeſday Survey tells us this manor was the property of William de Ow:
“ Herbert holds of William, LAVRETONE. In the time of King Edward it gelded
« for ten hides. The arable is ten carucates. In demeſne are three carucates, and
two ſervants, and ſix villanes, and eight cottagers, with four ploughs, . There are
“twelve acres of meadow, and fixty acres of paſture, and fixty acres of wood. When
“ he received it, it was worth ſeven pounds, now eight pounds.
It was of the fee of Roger le Bigod, earl of Norfolk, and marſhal of England, and was
held of that honour for ſeveral generations by the family of Panes. 35 Edw. I. Thomas
de Panes held it by the ſervice of one knight's fee. 36 Edw. III. Robert de Panes
poſſeſſed the ſame, and was ſucceeded by his ſon John de Panes, who died i Ric. II.S
6 Ric. II. the manor was the property of Edinund Moigne, to whom ſucceeded
Edmund his ſon, and to him his brother John Moigne. It had formerly given name
to a family of which divers are mentioned in the early records, but were of ſhort duration
in theſe parts. After the Panes and other poſſeſſors, it became the eſtate of the
Gournays, and thence was attached to the dutchy of Cornwall, whereto it now belongs.
The living, valued in 1292 at ten pounds, is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and
in the gift of the biſhop of the dioceſe. The Rev. Mr. Keate is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is a ſmall ſtructure, 52 feet long,
and 20 wide. At the weſt end is a tower, eight feet high, containing three bells. >
Againſt the ſouth wall there is a handſome monument of ſtone, "To the
memory of John eldeſt ſon of John Yerbury, of Frome in this county, gent. by Mary
his wife, daughter and coheireſs of John Brent, of Winborne in the county of Dorſet,
eſq. He married Joan Ralins of this place, and died July 1, 1691, aged 35. To
the memory alſo of John, eldeſt ſon of the above John and Joan Yerbury, who died
a Lib. Domeſday,
с
d Ibid.
e Taxat. Spiritual.
Lib. Feod. Eſc.
Еe 2
Oct.
2 12
[Frome.
L A V E R R TO
N.
Oct. 18, 1751, aged 70. To the memory of Ann, wife of John Yerbury: ſhe died
Jan. 24, 1756, aged 74.” Arms: Quarterly, firſt and fourth, per feſſe or and argent,
over all a lion rampant azure: Yerbury. Second and third, gules, a wivern ſegreant,
the tail nowed, argent: Brent.
The Rev. John Farwell was miniſter of this pariſh in the troubles of the laſt century,
and was ſequeſtered from his living, but afterwards reſtored.

L
U L
L IN
GT
O
N
wa
so
VTANDS three miles north from Frome, in the centre of a rich vale well wooded
and watered. The houſes are thirty in number, moſtly farms, and cottages of
rough ſtone thatched, and the inhabitants one hundred and fifty-four. The whole
pariſh contains ſeven hundred and ninety acres of land, chiefly paſture, and worth
from fifteen to thirty ſhillings an acre. The river Frome waſhes the lower part of
the pariſh
It was formerly written Loligtone, and belonged to the Biſhop of Coutances, as we
read in the Norman Survey:
“ The Biſhop himſelf holds LOLIGTONE. Earl Harold held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for ſeven hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are
two carucates, and two ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and ten cottagers with four
ploughs. There is a mill of twenty ſhillings rent, and twenty acres of meadow.
“ Wood fix furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It was worth four pounds, now
6 one hundred ſhillings.
The manor, with the advowſon of the church, held of the Duke of Lancaſter as of
the manor of Trowbridge, was afterwards conferred on the priory of Longleat in the
county of Wilts, the temporalities whereof here were valued in 1293 at ſixty ſhillings.
At the diſſolution of that priory 29 Hen. VIII. it was granted to John, prior of the
Carthuſian monaſtery at Hinton in this county; but the ſucceeding prior of that
monaſtery (Edmund Hord) ſurrendered it to the King, who, in the thirty-ſecond
year of his reign, granted the ſame to the Earl of Hertford. Which ſaid Earl the
year following fold it, together with the Longleat eſtate, to Sir John Thynne, from
whom it has deſcended through ſeven generations to the preſent Lord Viſcount
Weymouth, who is now lord of the manor.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, (valued in 1292 at ſix pounds) and
in the patronage of Lord Weymouth. The Rev. Mìr. Mayſon is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to All-Saints, and is a ſmall ſtructure of Saxon archi-
tecture, having a large embattled tower in the centre containing one bell. The
• Lib. Domeſday.
Taxat. Temporal,
Taxat. Spiritual.
four
JFrome.]
213
L / L L L N G T 0 N.

four corner pillars which ſupport this tower are cluſtered; ſome of the members
wrought in wreaths; and their capitals ornamented with groteſque figures of birds and
ſtrange beaſts. The arch which feparates the nave from the chancel is zig-zag. On
the north ſide of the church is an elegant door-way (long ſince cloſed) of very fine
Saxon workmanſhip, having over it on a corbel the image of the Virgin and the Holy
Child.
In the church-yard is a tomb inſcribed to the memory of Joan King, Richard Pob-
jay, William Oborn, and Mary Oborn. Mrs. Oborn gave by deed forty ſhillings per
annum, payable out of land at Frome, to be applied to the repairing of this tomb;
and the ſurplus to be laid out in bread for the poor at Chriſtmas.
M A R S T ON. BI GOT
S ſituated two miles northeaſt from Frome, in an open country, and on the ſoutheaſt
ſlope of an eaſy hill, overlooking a fine vale, about three miles broad, beyond
which the view is terminated by a range of lofty hills from Warminſter to Stourton.
A ſtream riſing near Stourton forms a little brook, which runs through this pariſh in
its way to the Frome, and has over it ſeveral ſmall ſtone bridges, kept up by the pariſh.
The manor of Marſton is of great antiquity, having belonged at the Conqueſt to
Roger Arundel, one of the loyal attendants on the Norman Conqueror. His eftate
here has the following deſcription:
Roger himſelf holds Mersitone. Æluert held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for three hides and a half. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is
one carucate, and two ſervants, and five villanes, and fourteen cottagers having five
ploughs. There is a mill of ſix ſhillings rent, and ſixteen acres of meadow, and one
“ hundred acres of paſture. Wood one mile long, and as much broad. It is worth
« feven pounds.
The Bigods, or Bigots, who gave the cognomen to the vill, were a branch of the
earls of Norfolk of that name, and earls marſhal of England. Before their time the
manor had been poſſeſſed by the family of De Wandeſtrie, ſeated from very ancient
times at Wanſtraw, in this neighbourhood, from which they had their name. There
appear on record fix generations of that name, the laſt of whom was Odo de Wan-
deſtrie, who 9 Joh. gave to the King ten marks for his livery of half a knight's fee in
Marſton. But in the fucceeding reign the whole pariſh became the property of the
Bigods. Walter de Bigot was lord of it 43 Hen. III.and was ſucceeded by Richard
de Bigod his fon, who, incurring the diſpleaſure of King Edw. II. by fortifying his
manſion here without licenſe, and diſreſpecting the King's meſſenger, forfeited his land
a
* Lib. Domeſday,
b Cart. Antiq,
• Rot. Pip. 9 Joh,
a Rot. Pip. 43 Hen, IJI.
here
214
(Frome.
M ARST ON-BIGO T.

g
here to the crown, and it was aſſigned in truſt for a certain time to William de Meriet,
John de Meriet, and others. In the time of Hen. V. it was held by the Orchard
family of the lords of Wanſtraw; and in that of Edw. IV. by William Lord Stourton.
The manſion of its ancient lords is ſtill known by the name of Marſton-Moat; but
not a ſtone thereof remains. The ground within the moat is about forty yards by
thirty-fix. The moat is about twenty feet broad; the rampire without, in the middle,
about ten feet high, but lower at the corners. Near this ſpot is a meadow called
Conqueror's-Mead, a name commemorative of ſome ancient battle, and in it a tumulus,
or burial place.
To this ancient ſtructure has ſucceeded (though in a different ſituation) a moſt ele-
gant and ſplendid manſion, built by the Earl of Cork and Orrery, the preſent owner
of the manor. It is ſituated on a riſing ground, which commands an agreeably diver-
fified proſpect over an extenſive vale of paſture land. Alfred's tower, which ſtands on
the pleaſure-grounds of Stourhead, forming a fine termination on the ſouthweſt;
the place of his Grace the Duke of Somerſet at Bradley, and that of Lord Weymouth
at Longleat, with the weſtern downs of Wiltſhire, bounding the view on the ſouth
and ſoutheaſt.
é Cart. Antiq.
f Eſc.
& The houſe is of modern conſtruction and great extent, being 365 feet long. The principal entrance is into a
ſpacious hall, 43 feet by 21, of the Dorick architecture, four pillars and as many pilaſters of that order ſupporting
the middle part of the ceiling. The floor is of black and white marble, intermixed with blue Kennton ſtone.
This room is enriched with a variety of good portraits of the ancient and honourable family of the Boyles, and
their connexions of affinity, among which is a very good one of Richard the firſt Earl of Cork, and Lord High
Treaſurer of Ireland, who was created a peer in the reign of James I.
The EATING-ROOM is a handſome apartment eaſt of the hall, 30 feet by 20, enriched with a Corinthian cor-
nice with carved modillons painted green and white, alſo a chimney-piece of marble purely white. It is further
ornamented with many very good paintings, among which are
Suſanna and the Elders, by Guercino da Cento The Aſcenſion, by two diſciples of Raphael
Lot and his Daughters, by the ſame
The Death of Cleopatra, by Carracci
An Old Woman, by Rembrandt.
The ANTI-Room, leading to the Drawing-Room, is a handſome apartment weſt of the hall, 27 feet by 13, in
which is a well-wrought chimney-piece of white, Sienna, and various coloured marble; and is enriched with a
variety of very good paintings, among which are the following:
The Virgin and Child, by Guido
Actæon and Diana, by Franceſco Mola
Hippomenes and Atalanta, by Pouſſin A Head, by Holbein
Two Landſcapes, by Zuccarelli
Diſcovery of Achilles, by Vandyk
The Finding of Moſes, by Polemburg A Head, by Carlo Dolci; and
Two Converſation Pieces, by Teniers, ſen. A Head of a Turk, by Vandyk.
The DRAWING-Room is an elegant apartment, 20 feet by 19, with a receſs of three feet, behind four Ionic
pillars on circular pedeſtals and ſquare plinths. The chimney-piece is of white marble, bordered with green and
black, enriched with eaſy ſculpture in ſtrong relievo. The ceiling is of elegant ſtucco, handſomely painted in
diſtemper. Every piece of painting in this room is truly valuable; the ſubjects are as follow:
A Piece of Architecture, by Viviano A Head, by Rembrandt
Jacob and Rebecca, by Paul Veroneſe The Holy Family, by Perugin
Two Landſcapes, by Bartolomeo
John the Baptift, by Cirro Ferri
A Boy catching Fleas, by Murillio A Child brought to Chriſt, by Lanfranco; and
Abraham offering up his ſon, by Teniers The Marriage of St. Catherine, by Carlo Maratti.
The LIBRARY is 26 feet by 24, fitted up and furniſhed in the moſt elegant ſtile, and enriched with a choice
collection of the moſt eſteemed authors. The caſes are ornamented with fluted pilaſters, and the cornice enriched


AND
with
frome.]
215
M A R S T O N-BIG O T.

In the pleaſure-ground belonging to this ſeat, is a neat little cottage of one room
only, fitted up by the preſent Earl, in commemoration of the following anecdote ---
Upon the death of King Charles the Firſt, Roger Earl of Orrery quitted the ſervice of
the Parliament in Ireland, and retired to this his ſeat at Marſton, which his father had
purchaſed of Sir John Hippiſley. The pariſh church was very near the manſion-houſe,
and Lord Orrery never failed to go thither on Sundays; but having one day fat there
ſome time, and being diſappointed of the then qualified miniſter, his Lørdſhip was
preparing to return home, when his ſteward told him a perfon in the church offered to
preach. His Lordſhip (though he looked on the propoſal only as a piece of enthuſiaſın)
gave permiſſion, and was never more ſurprized or delighted than with the ſermon,
which was filled with learning, ſenſe, and piety. His Lordſhip would not fuffer the
preacher to eſcape unknown, but invited him to dinner; and enquiring of him his
name, life, and fortune, received this anſwer: "My Lord, my name is ASBERRY; I
am a clergyman of the church of England, and a loyal ſubject to the King. I have
* lived three years in a poor cottage under your garden wall, within a few paces of your
Lordſhip's houſe; my ſon lives with me, and we dig and read by turns.
I have a
• little money, and ſome few books, and I ſubmit cheerfully to the will of Providence.
This worthy and learned man (for ſuch Lord Orrery always called him) lived ſome
years longer at Marſton, under an allowance of thirty pounds per annum, which his
Lordſhip obtained for him, without an obligation of taking the covenant, and died
there deſervedly lamented.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of Lord Weymouth.
The Rev. Mr. Clarke is the preſent incumbent. It was anciently appropriated to the
abbey of Cirenceſter in Glouceſterſhire, and valued in 1292 at ten marks."
The church (which has lately been taken down, and another erecting) was a ſmall
ructure, dedicated to St. Leonard, and contained no monuments.


A N D
with various buſts and figures in marble and bronze. The volumes, which amount te near ſeven thouſand, are of
elegant binding and in choice preſervation. In this room is an excellent portrait of that indefatigable philoſopher
and truly good man, the Honourable Robert Boyle, eſų; whoſe communications to the world are ſuch an ineſti,
mable treaſury of knowledge as does honour to the wiſdom of human nature, and will be held in reverence as long
as any reſpect is paid to the merit of ſcience. Here is alſo the original Orrery, invented by Charles Earl of Orrery,
the grandfather of the preſent Earl. This inſtrument is thirty inches in diameter.
Adjoining this apartment is an elliptical Dressing-Room, 26 feet by 17, in which are the following paintings:
Mars and Venus, by Jean de Rein A Fox breaking cover, by Elmer
The Queen Mother, by Vandyk
King Charles Ift. a copy by ditto
A Girl with a baſket of eggs, by Pond.
The little BrEAKFAST-Room is 18 feet by 17, in which are ſeveral modern pieces of painting, on game and
hunting ſubjects. Here is likewiſe an Air-Pump, of the invention of the Hon. Robert Boyle, before-mentioned ;
which is the ſecond of that valuable machine that was made, the firſt being by himſelf preſented to the Royal
Society. It works with one piſton only; yet, conſidering the few improvements which have been made in this
machine ſince its invention, the original will be viewed by philoſophers as a capital effort of genius, and juſtly
worthy of attention.
Beſides the rooms above deſcribed, are a STATE-ROOM, 30 feet by 22; another elliptical Dreſſing-Room, 22
feet by 11, with a receſs of 5 feet; and a Billiard-Room, 30 feet by 17; in each of which a true taſte of archi-
tecture prevails.
# Taxat. Spiritual,
In
216
(Frome.
M A R S T ON-B I GOT,

In the church-yard is a fine old yew-tree, twenty-three feet in circumference at the
height of four feet above the ſurface of the ground.
Within this pariſh is a hamlet lying a mile northweſt from Frome, called BRADFORD's-
BRIDGE; as alſo an ancient and depopulated vill, called Ham, or Monks-Ham, by
reaſon of its having formerly belonged to the monks of Witham, to whom the manor
was given by Edmund earl of Cornwall. After the diſſolution it was granted to
William lord Stourton, who ſold it to Sir John Thynne, knt. anceſtor to Lord
Weymouth.
N
U
N
N
E
Y
S a large pariſh ſituated three miles ſouthweſt from Frome, and fifteen ſouth from
Bath, in a dry and healthy ſpot, partly hilly and partly plain. The lands are
chiefly paſture, and in value from ten to forty ſhillings an acre; the ſoil at fix or eight
inches depth is either a bed of clay, or ſtratum of ſtone. Of the latter there are ſeveral
quarries of fine blue lyas, ſo hard as to take a fine poliſh, and is equal to many of the
Engliſh marbles. The pariſh abounds with oak timber, which here thrives well, and
there are ſome curious moſſes on the ſhaggy ſlopes of the hills. In the adjoining
pariſh of Cloford a ſpring riſes, called Holywell, or Holwell, from which a brook runs
through Nunney, in its way to Whatley, Elm, and Bradford's-Bridge, where it joins
the river Frome. This ſtream contains excellent trout and eels, and has a bridge of
three arches over it in the ſtreet of Nunney village, through which it runs.
The village is conſiderable, and conſiſts of a long ſtreet, containing ſome good and
pleaſant dwellings. On the north ſide of it, but ſeparated from it by a moat, ſtands
the caſtle, which, though not large, is a fine veſtige of antiquity.
This edifice was raiſed by Sir John Delamere, lord of this place, about the end of the
thirteenth century. Its form is a double ſquare, with a round tower at each corner.
The following are its dimenſions:
Length from eaſt to weſt 64 feet, breadth 27 feet;
Circumference without the walls, 240 feet;
Corner towers 16 feet in diameter within;
The ſide walls 8 feet and a half thick;
Walls of the towers 7 feet thick;
The entrance door, which is on the northweſt ſide, 4 feet wide and 9 high;
The towers and ſide walls 63 feet high.
Upon theſe towers are four turrets, two thirds the height of the former, riſing fifteen
feet above them, and moſtly covered with ivy, as alſo are the upper parts of ſome of
the towers, on the tops of which are ſeveral aſh trees, and other ſhrubs, ſome of them
riſing


$frome.]
217
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Y.
N
E

na
riſing above the broken tops of the turrets, exhibiting a fine pictureſque ſcene of
deſolated grandeur.
This caſtle conſiſted of four ſtories, but the floors are all fallen in. On the eaſt
ſide of the ground floor are two chimney-pieces twelve feet wide; and in the northweſt
tower are the remains of a grand ſtaircaſe, which reached to the top of the caſtle.
An elliptical moat, twenty feet wide and ten deep, ſurrounded the whole building;
but is now almoſt filled up with weeds and rubbiſh. It communicates with the river,
and formerly had an embattled wall round it twelve feet high.
Leland, who wrote in the reign of Henry the Eighth, gives us the following
account of the ſtate of this building in his days: “ Ther is a praty caſtle at the weſte
end of the paroche churche, havynge at eche end by northe and ſouthe 2 praty
rownd towres gatheryd by cumpace to joyne in to one. The waulls be very ſtronge
and thykke, the ſtayres narow, the lodginge within ſomewhat darke. It ſtandithe
on the lefte ripe of the ryver devidithe [deviding] it from the churche yarde. The
caftell is motyd about, and this mote is ſervid by watar conveyed into it owte of the
ryver. There is a ſtronge waulle withe owt the mote rounde about ſavinge at the eſt
parte of the caſtell where it is defendyd by the brooke."
In the civil wars of the laſt century this caſtle was garriſoned for the King, and had
in it a large magazine; but was taken Sept. 8, 1645, by the Parliament army, together
with all its ſtores, and burnt, to prevent its future ſervice to the King. The effects of
the ſiege are ſtill viſible in the ſhattered walls.
Near the ſouth end of the caſtle is a large old manſion, called Caſtle-houſe, now in
a ſtate of decay, and uninhabited, excepting a few back rooms which are occupied by
a farmer. At the entrance of the court-yard are large iron gates, and over them a coat
bearing, in chief gutteé a lion paſſant langued; in baſe three lions' heads eraſed langued.
A fair for cattle; ſheep, and pigs, is held here on the 11th of November.
This pariſh includes a hamlet and manor called Trudox-Hill, a name which be-
ſpeaks it of ſome antiquity; but it is not mentioned in Domeſday, and but little noticed
in the records of ſucceeding reigns. It is now the property of the Earl of Egremont.
A revel is held in this hamlet on Holy Thurſday. It formerly had a chapel, long ſince
deſtroyed, but is ſtill ſo conſiderable as to contain fifty houſes. As they were ſinking
a well here ſome years ſince, they met with a vein of talky iſinglaſs, which ſplit into
large laminæ or flakes, very tranſparent and of a rhomboidal figure. There are few
other natural particularities.
The ancient name of this pariſh is Nuni, (from Nunne a Nun, and Ea a Rivulet,
there having been in Saxon times, according to tradition, a nunnery on the little ſtream
here) as appears from the charter of King Edred, brother of King Edmund, made to
the abbey of Glaſtonbury, wherein he grants to the monks of that houſe part of, viz.
Lel. Itin, v. 7. p. 99.
VOL, II.
the

218
[frome.
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E Y.
N N
wa
two hides in this vill. At the Conqueſt it either loſt its former name, or was very
much corrupted by the tranſcribers of the Norman Survey, in which nothing like the
original name occurs, ſave Noiun, thus deſcribed as the property of William de Mohun:
“ Turgis holds of William, Noivn. Colo held it in the time of King Edward, and
paid gild for five hides. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
“ and four ſervants, and three villanes, and eight cottagers with one plough. There is
“ half a mill, which yields thirty pence, and twenty acres of meadow, and as many of
“ paſture, and one hundred acres of wood. It was worth formerly forty ſhillings, now
fixty ſhillings.”
The Delameres were very early poffeſfed of the chief manor in this place, and gave
it the addition of their name. Of this family there were four branches, who were ſeve-
rally ſeated in the counties of Wilts, Oxford, Hereford, and Somerſet. Nicholas de
la Mere was lord of Nunney in the time of Henry III. and was ſucceeded by another
Nicholas, who lived here in the time of Edward I. and had ſeveral children, of whom
Elias de la Mere was a great warrior, and was the firſt projector of the caſtle here, which
was finiſhed by his ſucceſſors. He died about 2 Ric. II. leaving iſſue Sir Thomas de
la Mere, knt. who 7 Hen. IV. gave lands in Kington St. Michael in the county of
Wilts, to the abbey of Bradenſtoke in the ſame county. He married two wives, Joan
and Margaret. By the former he was father of Sir Peter de la Mere, knt. whoſe eſtate
amounted (as we are told by Leland) to twelve hundred marks per annum. He
was father of Richard de la Mere, who fold lands in Nunney to Andrew Braunche
of Frome, and dying without iſſue male, was ſucceeded in the eſtate by his uncle Sir
John de la Mere, knt. by Margaret, the ſecond wife of Thomas his grandfather. This
John was lord of Nunney 46 Edw. III. His ſon John de la Mere was ſheriff of the
county of Wilts i Ric. II. and then bore on his ſeal two lions paſſant. This John
and his younger brother Jaques finiſhed the caſtle, embelliſhing it with ſpoils brought
from abroad, which had been won in the wars of France. Philip de la Mere his ſon
ſucceeded to the manor of Nunney Delamere, and was father of ſeveral children; of
whom Sir Elias de la Mere knt. was ſheriff of Wilts 2 Hen. V. but died without iſſue,
and Eleanor his eldeft ſiſter became heir to the whole eſtate lying in Somerſetſhire.
This Eleanor was married to William Paulet, eſq; ſerjeant at law, ſecond ſon to Sir
John Paulet, of Melcombe in this county. He died in 1435. By this marriage
Nunney caſtle came into the family of Paulet, and the grandſon of the pair was the
celebrated William Powlett, the firſt Marquis of Wincheſter, who died in 1571, and
whoſe great grandſon was William the fourth Marquis of Wincheſter, whoſe very gallant
defence of his ſeat called Baſing-Houſe in Hampſhire, againſt the Parliament forces,
is recorded in the annals of that time. He defended it againſt the moſt deſperate
attacks from Auguſt 1643 to October 1645, when at length it was taken by Cromwell
in perſon, who ſtormed it, and found therein a booty of two hundred thouſand pounds.
Nunney caſtle was ſtormed and ruined about the ſame time, nor did the eſtates this
d
· Lib. Domeſday.
Itin. vi. 36.
e
6 Inquiſitiones paſſim. c Cart. Antiq.
Regiſ. Priorat. de Bradenitoke MS.
f Eſc.
& Seals from ancient deeds, h Ter. Sydenham.
i Taxat. Temporal.
A Eſc.
family

Fromé.]
219
N
N E Y.
U
N
family poſſeffed long remain unalienated. This nobleman died in 1674, being
ſucceeded by his ſon Charles, who in 1689 was created Duke of Bolton, and whoſe
grandſon Charles, the third Duke, was fucceeded by his brother Harry. To whom
ſucceeded Charles his ſon, who died in 1765, having for a ſucceſſor his brother Harry,
the ſixth and preſent Duke of Bolton, born 1720, but who has no male iſſue.
It has already been obſerved that the abbey of Glaſtonbury very anciently poſſeſſed a
manor in this pariſh. This manor was called the manor of Nunney-Glafton, for the
ſame reaſon that the manor we have been deſcribing was called Nunney-Delamere,
and was granted 19 Eliz. with lands in Nunney, Trudoxhill, Thorpſhawe, Mells,
Leigh, and Marſton-Bigot, to Richard Parker. The prior of Longleat had likewiſe
property in the pariſh, which was valued in 1293 at ſix ſhillings.i
But the chief manor of Nunney, after having for many ages continued in the fami-
lies of Delamere and Powlet, paſſed in the time of Henry VII. into other hands. In
the 24th of that reign Sir Richard Mawdley, Knight of the Bath, died ſeized of the
manor of Nunney, and the advowſon of the church, together with the manor of
Trudoxhill, and other lands in theſe parts, leaving John Mawdley his ſon and heir of
the
age
of fifty years. The name of Mawdley occurs in the pariſh regiſter from the
year 1545 to 1674. From them the manor came to the Sambornes, and after them
to the family of Whitchurch. At the beginning of the preſent century William
Whitchurch, eſq; was lord of it, and was ſucceeded in it by William his ſon; after
whoſe death it was ſold to diſcharge fome debts and legacies; but was afterwards
repurchaſed by Elizabeth the relict of the ſaid William Whitchurch, who left it by
will in 1749 to James Theobald, of Waltham-place in the county of Berks, eſq; the
preſent proprietor.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome; the patronage has been always
annexed to the manor. In 1292, the rectory was valued at fifteen marks and a half.
The preſent incumbent is the Rev. Samuel Whitchurch. There are about fifty or
ſixty acres of glebe. The parſonage-houſe, now uninhabited, was partly rebuilt by the
late Rev. Samuel Whitchurch; who was preſented to the living by the guardians of
William Whitchurch, a minor, in the year 1734.
.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter, of which Saint there is the common emblem
of a key within a circle on the tower; and there is a feaſt or revel kept in the pariſh
on St. Peter's day. It conſiſts of a nave leaded, two ſide ailes, a chancel, and a porch
tiled. At the weſt end there is a handſome tower fixty-three feet high, with four
pinnacles twelve feet high, and a turret at the ſoutheaſt corner. This tower contains
a clock and fix bells. The length of the church is ninety-ſix feet, and the breadth
thirty-four.
In the north aile is the burial-place of the lords of the manor, of whom there are
many effigies on raiſed tombs. On a tomb under the window lies the figure of
Sir John De la Mere, knt. the founder of the caſtle, having a lion at his feet, and
Ter. Sydenham,
k Eſc.
1 Taxat. Spiritual.
i Taxat. Temporal.
Ff2
above,
220
[frome.
N, U
N E Y.
N
above, an eſcutcheon bearing the arms of that family, two lions paſſant gardant. The
next tomb has five eſcutcheons on the ſide and end, daubed over with white-waſh.
Two of them are now illegible; the other three are, 1. Quarterly, firſt and fourth, four
mullets; fecond and third two lions rampant addorſed. 2. In chief, a lion couchant;
in baſe three wolves' heads eraſed. 3. A gate. Upon this tomb lies the effigies of a
knight in armour, with his lady by his ſide, repreſenting others of the fame family.
On the third tomb are two ſimilar effigies. The man has a military belt and ſword,
and on his breaſt a ſhield or coat charged with a lion couchant. The lady is attired
in a looſe veil or robe flowing from her head, and open before. At the top are a key
and-lion intermingled; the arms, 1. Quarterly, firſt and fourth, three daggers in pile,
Poulet: ſecond and third, two lions, Delamere. 2. Two lions couchant gardarit,
Arms on the ſouth ſide: I. In chief two mullets. 2. Quarterly, firſt and fourth,
barry of ten, over all a bendlet, impaling two lions ſtatant. 3 as 1, impaling a lion
erect. 4. Two lions érect.
5. A lion erect impaling three anchors.
The ſouth aile formerly belonged to the family of Samborne, which is now extinct,
the heireſs thereof marrying with one of the family of Flower. This aile contains fix
mural monuments, with the following inſcriptions:
“ Here lieth Richard Mawdley, John Mawdley, Roger Mawdley, and Richard
Mawdley, eſquires, 1600.”
Mawdley Samborne, gent. ſon of Mawdley Samborne, late of Tymſborough, eſq;
who died Dec. 7, 1690. Here lieth the body of Mary Samborne, widow of Mawdley
Samborne, late of Timſborough, eſq; who died Nov. 13, 1690.” -Arms: a chevron
between three mullets, impaling as many bugle horns. Creſt, a mullet; another a
ſtag lodged, regardant, with a branch ſlipt in his mouth.
" Here lieth the body of Mawdley Flower, who died Sept. 27, 1728, aged 28 years
and 10 months. Alſo the body of Robert Whithear, gent. Obiit 17 April 1761,
ætat. 66.” Whithear married the heireſs of the Flower family.
“ Near this place lieth the body of Edward Flower, gent, who died July 18, 1728,
aged 27.”-Arms: a chevron between three mullets. Creſt, a mullet.
« Underneath do reſt the body of Sarah wife of Edward Flower, and daughter of
Mawdley Samborne, efq. She departed this life in the faith of Jeſus Chriſt the 19th
of July 1708:-And alſo nine of their children.”
“ Near this place lieth the body of Edward Flower, clothier, who died April 6,
1727, aged 61 years.”
Againſt the ſouth wall is an elegant mural monument of white and Sienna marble,
the tablet whereof is thus inſcribed:
:-"Under the communion table are depoſited
the remains of Elizabeth and James, alſo near the reading deſk thoſe of James-Wadham,
the beloved curate of this pariſh, who was called off the 5th day of January, 1776;
fons and daughter of Samuel Whitchurch, rector, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter
of Thomas Coward, of Spargrove, eſq; in the latter of which graves their affectionate
parents hope in due time to reft, in confolatory expectation of a joint reſurrection to
eternal
frome.)
221
N
N EY
U
N
eternal life, through the merits and mediation of their bleſſed Redeemer.” Arms:
Gules, three talbots' heads eraſed or; on a chief argent, gutteé de fang, a lion paſſant ſable.
On the floor are the names of Hodinot, Pickfat, Hiſcox, Lydford, Grines, and Popjoy.
On a table at the eaſt end of the nave is this inſcription:-" James" Singer, of
this pariſh, gent. gave 100l. the intereſt whereof to be diſtributed by the miniſter,
churchwardens, and overſeers of the poor; one half on Eaſter-Monday, and the other
on the 26th of December for ever, to ſuch honeſt and induſtrious middle poor as do
not receive alms of the pariſh.”
This church has been ſuppoſed (but wrongly) to have been built by one of the
Marquiſſes of Wincheſter, lord of the manor here.
In this church was formerly a chantry, the laſt incumbent of which was allowed in
1553 a penſion of five pounds." The chantry-houſe and manſion, with a garden and
orchard adjoining, ſituated within the precincts of the caſtle, and two tenements or
cottages, one yard-land of arable, and three acres of meadow in Trudoxhill, with a
rent of 61. 35. 4d. iſſuing out of the manor and rectory of Fiſherton-Delamere in the
county of Wilts, belonging to the ſaid chantry, and other lands and hereditaments
in Nunney, were granted by Queen Elizabeth, in the third year of her reign, to Wil-
liam Marquis of Wincheſter.
In the church-yard are the remains of an old ſtone croſs.
The annual number of chriſtenings in this pariſh is on a ſeven years average twenty-
fix, and of burials twenty-three. In the regiſter, among the chriſtenings, againſt the
name of Chriſtopher the ſon of Roger Starr, baptized Dec. 17, 1604, is the following
“ He clymed up a ladder to the top of the houſe, 23 Oct. 1606; being
ſeven weeks and odd days leſs than two years old.”
Adjoining to the church-yard is a very ancient houſe, called the Court-Houſe, now
in ruins, which tradition ſays was erected out of the ruins of a nunnery that formerly
ſtood upon the ſpot, from which circumſtance the village was denominated.

curious entry:
Antiq. Notes fay John,
Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii. 203.
Grants from the Crown,

ORCHARDLEY.
[222]
(fome,
0 R R CH ARD LEY

IS
S a very ſmall pariſh, one mile and a half north of Frome, containing only five
houſes, and twenty-eight inhabitants. The river Frome waſhes this pariſh on
the ſouth. The lands are in general good, much thereof being water-meadow, worth
three pounds per acre; the reſt, which is chiefly paſture, worth on an average twenty
ſhillings per acre.
The living, valued in 1292-at nine marks," is a rectory in the deanery of Frome,
and in the gift of Sir Thomas Champneys, bart. The preſent incumbent is the Rev.
Mr. Ames.
The church is fifty-one feet long and ſeventeen wide, containing one door, ſeven
windows, and fix pews. There is no tower or turret, and but one bell. The com-
munion-table is a marble ſlab, the window over it is a compound of various fragments
of good ſtained glaſs without any regularity or deſign.
There are in the church the following monumental inſcriptions:
“ Here lieth the body of John Champneys, gent. who departed this life April 11th,
1742, aged 42."
“ Here lieth the body of Richard Champneys, eſq; who was born Jan. 15th, 1698-9,
and died Dec. 7, 1761."
“In memory of Sarah wife of Richard Champneys, eſq; daughter of Sir William
Daines, knt. who died Jan. 4, 1733, aged 33.”
This place is called in the Domeſday Survey Horcerlei :
“ The Biſhop [of Coutances] himſelf holds HORCERLEI. Three thanes held it in
" the time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is four carucates.
* In demeſne are four carucates, and two ſervants, and three villanes, and nine cot-
tagers with two ploughs. There is a mill of twelve ſhillings and fixpence rent, and
twenty-four acres of meadow. Wood ſix furlongs long, and two furlongs broad.
It was and is worth four pounds.
In the time of Hen. II. this manor was held of the King in capite by the ſervice of
one knight's fee, by Henry de Cultura, or Colthurſt. Which Henry de Cultura was
ſucceeded by Robert de Cultura, who 10 Hen. III. paid two marks and a half for his
relief of his lands here. He had iffue by Julian his wife Ralph de la Culture, who
50 Hen. III. is certified to hold in Orchardleghe half a knight's fee worth fifty ſhillings
per annum. To whom ſucceeded Henry de la Culture, his ſon and heir, who trans-
ferred his eſtate in this place to Sir Henry de Merlaund, knt. in the time of Edw. I.
This Henry de Merlaund died 12 Edw. II. ſeized of this manor and advowſon, leaving
another Henry his ſon and heir, who died 30 Edw. III. and was ſucceeded in this eſtate
by Henry de Merlaund his ſon and heir, the third of that name. Which Henry was a

رو

* Taxat. Spiritual
• Lib. Domeſday,
c Lib. Nig. i. 97
Roi. Pip. 10 Hen, III,
e Lib. Feod.
knight
prome.]
223
ORCH A
RD LEY.

knight and celebrated warrior; he died 45 Edw. III. and Joan his wife ſurviving him,
had this manor in dower. John de Merlond, ſon and heir of Henry de Merlaund, was
living in the beginning of the reign of Ric. II. and ſeems to have been the laſt of
the name that poſſeſſed this manor; for 7 Hen. VI. William Romeſey, eſq; was lord
thereof, and after him Walter Romeſey, father of another Walter, whoſe couſin and
heir was Joan the wife of Thomas Paine, afterwards married to Henry Champneys,
eſq; deſcended from a family of the ſame name, who came over with William the
Conqueror, and whoſe deſcendant Thomas Champneys, of Orchardley, eſq; was created
7 Geo. III. a baronet of Great-Britain, by the name and title of Sir Thomas Champ-
heys, of Orchardley in the county of Somerſet, bart. His arms are, Party per pale,
argent and ſable, within a bordure of the ſame engrailed and counterchanged, a lion
rampant or.
f Eſc.
8 Ibid.
R
0
A.
D.
F
VOUR miles northeaſt from Frome ſtands Road, formerly a large market-town,
now only a village, conſiſting of one hundred and ſeventy families. This pariſh
and that of Wolverton compoſe one tithing.
In the time of King Edward the Confeffor it was held by ſeven different lords, and
in that of William the Conqueror by Geffrey biſhop of Coutances, for three diſtinct
manors, as appears from the following record:
“ The Biſhop holds Robe for three manors. Seven thanes held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for nine hides. The arable is nine carucates. Thereof
“ holds of the Biſhop, Robert one hide; Moyfes half a hide; Robert one hide and a
“ half; Roger two hides and a half; Sirewold two hides and a half; Richard one hide.
« In demeſne are ſeven carucates, and ſix fervants, and three villanes, and twenty-nine
“ cottagers with four ploughs and a half. Out of the mills iſſues a rent of twenty-ſeven
ſhillings. And there are thirty-three acres of meadow, and thirty-three acres of
“ wood, and twenty-five acres of paſture. The whole was worth ſeven pounds and
“ ten ſhillings; now amongſt them all it is worth eight pounds and five ſhillings.”
After the death of Geffrey biſhop of Coutances, this land was beſtowed upon one
Ranulf de Farſy, a Norman, in whom it continued till the ſixth year of King John,
when the eſtates of the Normans in England being ſeized, this manor reſorted to
the Crown, but being again diſpoſed of, became the property of the ancient family of
St. Maur. Milo de St. Maur was the firſt of that name who reſided here, and his
deſcendant Laurence de St. Maur obtained from Edw. I. a grant for a market upon

(0
va
· Lib. Domeſday,
> Rot. 6 Joh. de terris Norm. 79.
the
224
R Ο Α D.
(JFrome.

that city to Frome. In ancient times it was a member of the manor of Road,
the Thurſday of every week in this his manor of Road; and a fair there yearly, on the
eve, day, and morrow of St. Margaret the Virgin. From which family of St. Maur
the manor paſſed to that of Zouche in like manner, as did Caſtle-Cary, and other lands
of the St. Maurs. But in the time of Hen. VII. this manor is found to be the joint
property of the families of Stawell and Bampfylde, deſcendants of the ſiſters of Sir
William St. Maur, knt. lord of Beckington and Babcary. 8 Eliz. a moiety of the
manor was ſold by John Stawell, eſq; to Thomas Webbe, who afterwards became
poſſeſſed of the whole, and 31 Eliz. ſold it to the Hungerfords. It was afterwards in
the poſſeſſion of the Hortons of Chatley-houſe in Wolverton, who ſold it to Robert
Holton, of Farley, eſq; who fold it to the grandfather of Edward Andrews, of Man-
gotsfield in the county of Glouceſter, eſq; the preſent poffeffor.
The rectory of Road was in 1292 valued at ſeven marks. It is now conſolidated
with Wolverton, and in the patronage of Sir Edward Bayntun, of Spy-Park in the
county of Wilts, bart. whoſe ſon, the Rev. Henry Bayntun, is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Laurence, and is compoſed of a nave and ſide ailes,
with an embattled tower at the weſt end, containing fix bells.
On the north ſide of the chancel is a ſtone to the memory of James Hillman, rector
of this pariſh, who died Nov. 24, 1738, aged 53 years. There is likewiſe a memorial
to John Hellierd, gent. who died Dec. 13, 1623, and to Nathaniel Hellierd, rector of
Road, who died Nov. 20, 1650.
The annual number of chriſtenings is forty; and of burials thirty-eight.
Thomas Webb, eſq; in the 20th of Elizabeth, gave one pound yearly to be diſtri-
buted among the pooreſt inhabitants.
William Yerbury, in 1703, gave a rent charge of 21. 1os. per annum, for the payment
of ten ſhillings on every Friday for five weeks in Lent, to be diſtributed amongſt
Henry Whitaker gave a chief rent of eight ſhillings for the benefit of the poor,
c Cart. 11 Edw. I. n.7.
d Taxat. Spiritual.
W O L V E R Τ Ο Ν
IES to the weſt of Road, eight miles from Bath, and in the turnpike-road from
the poor
or rather one of thoſe three manors which are deſcribed in the Norman Survey under
that appellation. In the more modern records it is ſtiled Wolfrington, and in the
time of Edw. IV. was held by the family of Turney. 19 Edw. IV. Walter Turney
died ſeized of this manor, which he held of John Wadham, efq; leaving iſſue Philip
Turney
Frome.]
225
W O O L V E R T O N.

Turney his ſon and heir. This family bore Argent, a chevron between three bulls
paſſant fáble, attired or. They were lords alſo of Telsford. By an inquiſition taken at
Norton, 1 July, 6 Hen. VIII. it was found that Philip the ſon of John Turney, by
Elizabeth his wife, died that year ſeized of the manors of Woolverton, Weke, Telsford,
Chatley, and Swainſwick, and that John Turney was his brother and next heir, of the
age of twelve years. The manor of Wolverton was then held of Walter Hungerford,
as of the manor of Farley-caſtle. After this it got into the ſame hands as Road, and
now belongs by inheritance to Edward Andrews, eſq.
Chatley-Houſe in this pariſh, ſituated one mile north from the church, belongs to
Kingſmill Bury, efq.
The church of Woolverton was valued in 1292 at one hundred ſhillings. It is a
rectory in the deanery of Frome, and being conſolidated with that of Road in 17392
has ſince been held by the following incumbents:
The Rev. John Rolt, firſt rector of the united pariſhes
Rev. Mr. Oſwald
Rev. Mr. Beatſon
Rev. John Collinſon, of Bromham, co. Wilts
Rev. Mr. Yeſcomb
Rev. Henry Bayntun.
The church is a ſmall ſtructure of one pace, with a tower at the weſt end, in which
are three bells.
On the north fide of the church-yard is an old tomb, encompaſſed with an iron
railing, to the memory of Edward Horton, eſq; and ſeveral of his family.
• Ing. poft mort. Philip Turney.
· Taxat. Spiritual.
a Eſc.
-R
E
N
S ſituated northeaſt of the pariſh of Frome, through the lands of which the turnpike
I ,
paſs. It is not of very conſiderable extent, being but little more than two miles long,
and ſomewhat leſs than a mile broad; containing about one thouſand acres. The ſoil
iš various, fome being good loam, ſome clay, others ſtone braſh. The lands conſiſt
chiefly of meadow and cow-paſture, with a ſmall proportion of arable. The meadow
is worth from thirty to fifty ſhillings, the paſture twenty ſhillings; and the arable (in
which is chiefly cultivated wheat and barley) from fifteen to twenty ſhillings per acre.
Twenty-ſeven houſes, moſtly detached from one another, compoſe the whole pariſh,
which contain about one hundred and fixty inhabitants. Five of theſe houſes are
ſituated at OLDFORD, between Frome and Beckington,
VOL. II.
Through
GS

2:26
[ff rome.
R
N,
0 D
DE
<6
wa
Through this pariſh runs a rivulet (called Rodden Trout-ſtream) formed from two
{prings; one riſing near the pariſh church of Corſley in the county of Wilts, and the
other near Horningſham in the ſame county, the ſtreams of which unite near the
chapel of this pariſh; whence it proceeds about a quarter of a mile, and drives a griſt
mill, near the road fide from Frome to Warminſter; proceeding a quarter of a mile
farther, it falls into the river Frome, near another mill of the ſame kind, within this
pariſh. A ſtone bridge of two arches is over it near the firſt-mentioned mill.
King William the Conqueror gave the land of Reddene, with Weſton and Tickenham,
to Ernulf de Heſding, one of his attendants.
Ingelramn holds of Ernulf, Reddene. Edric held it in the time of King Edward,
“ and gelded for one hide. The arable is three carucates, which are in demeſne, and
** three ſervants, and twenty-eight cottagers. There are two mills rendering fifteen
fhillings, and twenty acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture. Wood one mile
long, and as much broad. It was and is now worth four pounds.
In very early times this place conferred its name on a family of diſtinction. Walter
de Raddon lived in the time of King Stephen. His ſucceſſor Richard de Raddon
was ſheriff of this county and Dorſet, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 11 Hen. II. In the aid levied
for marrying the king's daughter 12 Hen. II. William the ſon of John de Harpetre
certifies that he holds Raddon of the king, being one knight's fee; but complains that
Richard de Raddon withholds from him the ſervice thereof, alledging that he owes
him no ſervice of the fee of the Earl of Moreton. This Richard de Raddon held the
{ame year two knights' fees of the Biſhop of Exeter. In the time of Edw. I. Rodden
was the eſtate of Walter Giffard, who dying without iſſue 5 Edw. I. was ſucceeded by
his brother Godfrey Giffard, archdeacon of Wells, and biſhop of Worceſter. He died
A. D. 1302, and had for his ſucceſſor John the ſon and heir of William Giffard, bro-
ther of the ſaid Godfrey. This manor was then held of the dutchy of Lancaſter.
35 Edw. III. Henry Duke of Lancaſter held one knight's fee in Rodden, which John
de Clyvedon held of him, and two knights' fees in the ſame place holden by the heir
of John Sydenham, 6 Hen. IV. Sir Peter Courtney, knt. held this vill, and after him,
6 Hen. VI. John Stafford is found ſeized of the ſame. It ſoon after was veſted in
the Lords Botreaux. 9 Edw. IV. Frideſwide, the daughter of Robert Lord Hungerford
and Molyns, ſon of Sir Robert Hungerford, knt. and Margaret his wife, daughter and
heir of William Lord Botreaux, releaſed all her right in the manors of Rodden and
Standerwick, and in all the lands which belonged to the ſaid Lord Botreaux in Stock-
wood and Camely, to Sir Richard Choke, knt. to whom Lord Botreaux had given this
manor. Sir John Choke, knt. grandſon of the ſaid Richard, fold the manors of
Rodden and Flintford 22 Henry VII. to Giles Lord Daubeny. 10 Eliz. John Horner,
eſq; was lord of this manor; and it now is the property of the Rev. Mr. Rogers in
right of his wife, who purchaſed it of Mrs. A'Court Alh, relict of Pearce A'Court Alh,
of Heyteſbury in the county of Wilts, eſq. The ancient manſion of the A'Courg
family here is now converted into a poor-houſe.
Lib. Domefday. Cartular. Glaſton. MS. · Rot. Pip. ſub. iisdem annis. d Lib. Rub. et Lib. Nig. Scae,
e Ibid.
& Lib. Feod.
i Rot. Claus. 9 Edw. IV.
The
f Eſc,
n Eſc.
frome.]
227
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N.
O DD
E

The priory of Longleat had lands in Rodden, valued in 1293 at ten ſhillings."
Rodden, eccleſiaſtically conſidered, is a chapelry to Boynton in Wilts. The chapel
is a decent little building, fifty-four feet long, and ſeventeen broad; having a turret
with one bell.
Near the reading-deſk, on a ſmall ſquare blue ſtone, is this inſcription:-“ Here
lyeth the body of James A'Court, merchant, who deceaſed the 4th of Dec. 1692.”
In the chancel, near the communion-table, are three memorial ſtones, having the
following inſcriptions:
« Depoſitum mortale Johannis A'Court de Rodden, generoſi, qui Cal. Feb. anno
æræ Chriſtianæ MDCXCI, animam placide Deo reddidit, poftquam in corpore pere-
grinata eſt an. lxxii.”
“Hic jacet corpus Lidiæ Court, nuper uxoris Johannis Court, de Rodden generoſi,
quæ obijt viceſimo ſexto die Decembris, anno ætatis ſuæ 64', annoque Dom. 1681."
“Reponuntur hîc exuviä Johannis A'Court, armiger, qui excefſit e vivis, 27 die
Octobris 1701.”
This chapel was built at the expence of the Tithing, about the year 1640, by the
then rector of Boynton in the county of Wilts, purſuant to an order obtained of the
Archbiſhop of Canterbury by ſome perſons unknown, to which the ſaid rector annexed
the chancel. The endowment is about twelve acres and a half of glebe in lieu of
great tithes, and about fix pounds a year paid by the inhabitants, in lieu of all other
tithes and dues.
The preſentation, or nomination, to the living, is ſtill with the rector of Boynton
for the time being. The preſent incumbent is the Rev. Mr. Rogers, lord of the manor
before-mentioned.
* Taxat. Temporal.
S T
A
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E R
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І с
K

TS
S a ſmall pariſh, pleaſantly ſituated on the ſouth ſide of an eaſy ſlope, from whence
the view finely opens to the weſtern downs of Wiltſhire; Eddington and Weſtbury
hills terminating the view on the ſoutheaſt; the ſeat of Lord Viſcount Weymouth,
and Stourhead, on the ſouthweſt. This pariſh is bounded on the north and northweſt
by Beckington, and on the ſouthweſt by Berkley.
The number of houſes in this pariſh (including five at Oldford near Frome) is eleven
only; one of which is a handſome edifice, the ſeat of Harry Edgell, eſq. The inha-
bitants are about fixty.
Here is an extenſive common, where the inhabitants have a right to depaſture as
much ſtock in the ſummer, as they can otherwiſe keep through the winter.
Gg2
Ştelrewiches
728
[Frome.
S T AN DER W I C
K.

Stalrewiche, in the Conqueror's time, was held by Roger de Corcelle, as we read in
Domeſday-book:
« Robert holds of Roger, STALREWICHE. Smewin held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for a hide and a half. The arable is three carucates. In de-
meſne is one carucate, and two villanes, and ſeven cottagers. There are ſix acres of
meadow, and four acres of wood. It was worth fifty ſhillings; now twenty ſhillings.”a.
5 Edw. II. William Malherbe held two knights' fees in Standerwick, Shipham,
and Chedder. 6 Hen. IV. Peter Courtney, knt. died ſeized of Standerwick. 5
Hen. V. Richard Kayton releaſed to William Lord Botreaux all his right to this
manor, which the faid Lord William ſoon after gave with other lands to Richard
Choke. The Hungerfords poſſeſſed nearly the whole of this pariſh, and were bene-
factors thereto; for, whereas there lay a dirty ſough in the common of Standerwick,
which much incominoded travellers through Somerſet and Wilts, Sir Walter Hunger-
ford, knt. Lord of Heyteſbury, and Treaſurer of England in the time of Henry VI.
for the health of his own ſoul, and for the ſoul of Catherine his wife, made an highway
in the ſaid marſh for the accommodation of pilgrims and others. The preſent lord of
the manor of Standerwick is Harry Edgell, éſq; by whoſe grandfather it was purchaſed
under a decree of the court of chancery, after the death of Mr. Sturton, who had the
manor by purchaſe of Mr. Upton.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, appendant to that of Beckington,
theſe two livings having been conſolidated about the year 1660. The advowſon
thereof formerly belonged to the abbot and convent of Cirenceſter in Glouceſterſhire.
The church has long ſince been demoliſhed.
a Lib. Domeſday.
b Lib. Feod.
c Efc.
a Rot. Claus. 2 Ed. IV.
e
Dugd. Bar. ii. 205
W
А.
N
S T R
A
W

S a conſiderable pariſh, lying fix miles ſouth from Frome, and containing ſeventy
houſes, and three hundred and forty inhabitants. There is a hamlet half a mile to
the ſouth called Weston, or Weſton-Town, which contains ten houſes. A ſmall river
runs through this pariſh in its way to Frome, and has over it two ſmall bridges of a
ſingle arch each. The ſituation is low and woody; the ſoil a cold clay, and the lands
chiefly paſture.
It was anciently called Wandeſtrev, and is deſcribed in the general ſurvey in two
portions, one belonging to the Canons of Wells, the other to Turſtin Fitz-Rolf, lord of
Witham, the two Cadburys, Dunkerton, and other manors in theſe parts.
« The Canons of St. Andrew hold of the Biſhop, WANDESTREV. The ſame held
< it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for four hides. The arable is four
« carucates,
frome.]
229
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A N N S
TRA

Da
- carucates, of which in demeſne are two hides, and there are two carucates, and four
« ſervants, and five villanes, and two cottagers, with three ploughs. There are twelve
« acres of meadow. Wood three furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It is worth
<< three pounds."
« Norman holds of Turſtin, WANDESTREV. Alwold held it in the time of King
" Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five caracutes. In demeſne are
« two carucates, and four ſervants, and four villanes, and four cottagers, with one
plough. There are thirty-fix acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture. Wood
one mile long, and half a mile broad. It was worth three pounds, now ſix pounds.
The moſt conſiderable part of the pariſh was afterwards poſſeſſed by a family of its
name, of whom was Odo de Wandeſtrie and others; but it ſeems always to have been
divided as to its owners. One part thereof being called Eaſt-Wanſtraw, or Church-
Wanftraw; another Weft-Wanſtraw, Wanſtraw-Rogers, and Wanſtraw-Bullers, from
its different owners. 22 Edw. I. William de Ife held the chief manor in Wanſtraw
of Lord Roger de Moels, which property being afterwards divided, was held 26
Edw. I. by John de Acton, and Elizabeth de Clyvedon; and 9 Edw. II. by John
de Clyvedon, Odo de Acton, and John de Berkeley of Arlingham. 2 Edw. III.
Emmelina de Clyvedon, Idonea de Beauchamp, Odo de Acton, James de Wylton,
and James Lovel, held a knight's fee in Wanſtraw of John de Moels. 50 Edw. III.
Edmund de Clyvedon died ſeized of the fourth part of the manor of Wanſtraw, which
he held of Thomas Peverel in chief, leaving Edmund Hogſhaw his next heir. After
the death of the ſaid Edmund the eſtates were divided between Thomas Lovel and
John Bluet, who had married the coheireſſes of Hogſhaw, and the fourth part of the
manor of Eaſt-Wanſtraw was allotted in the partition to Thomas Lovel, who held it
2 Hen. IV. Thomas Lovel his ſon and heir held the ſame 6 Hen V. William de
Beauchamp at the ſame time poffefſing another portion. 20 Hen. VI. John Rogers
held at his death the fourth part of the manor of Wanſtraw, with the fourth part of the
advowſon of the church there of Bartholomew Kylbeck. 20 Eliz. the ſaid manor
called Wanſtraw-Rogers was granted to Newdigate and Founteyne. i Hen. VII.
John Buller held lands in Wanſtraw of the Abbot of Muchelney, which lands after the
diſſolution of that monaſtery, coming into the hands of Hugh Sexey, eſq; were given
by the name of the manor of Buller's-Wanſtraw, to his hoſpital at Brewton. The other
part of Wanſtraw, deſcending to the family of Baynard, was of them purchaſed of late
years by Meſſrs. Bethune and Spillowby, and is now the property of the Rev. Mr.
Bethune, of Rovalt near Eaſt-Grinſtead in the county of Suſſex.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and was valued in 1292 at ten
marks." The Rev. Mr. Bethune is patron and incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a neat edifice, conſiſting of a nave
and two fide ailes. On the ſouth ſide ſtands a low ſquare tower, chevron roofed, and
containing five bells. In the ſouth aile is a vault belonging to the Baynard family.
The annual chriſtenings in this pariſh on an average are ſeven; the burials five.
a Lib. Domeſday. b Eſc.
Lib. Feod.
d Ibid.
e Ibid.
$ Eſc. $ Ter. Sydenham. " Taxat. Spirit.
WHATLEY,
[ 2301
[ff rome.
W
H
- A
TL
E
Y,

A
Long ftraggling pariſh, ſituated on high ground, three miles weſt from the town
of Frome, in a pleaſant and airy country, diverſified with hill and dale, and not
encumbered with wood. On the northeaſt ſide of the pariſh is a continuation of that
fine romantick rocky glen, which runs through Elm and other pariſhes. The road
from hence to Mells is cut through a ridge of fine rocks, abounding with ſpar and ſome
few foffils.
Near the above-mentioned romantick valley, and in the hamlet of EGGFORD, part
of which is within this pariſh, is a houſe, which was ſometime the reſidence of the in-
genious and pious Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe. She was born at Ilcheſter in this county,
Sept. 11, 1674. Almoſt from her infant cradle ſhe diſcovered a remarkable taſte for
painting and the finer arts, with which ſhe amuſed her leiſure moments till very near
her death. But the ſtrongeſt bias of her mind was diſtinguiſhed in her love of lite-
rature, and eſpecially poetry. In this delightful retreat, preferring the humble pleaſures
of retirement to thofe higher walks of grandeur to which ſhe was repeatedly invited by
her noble acquaintance at Longleat, ſhe ſpent the prime of a life conſecrated to religion
and virtue. Here ſhe wrote moſt of her pieces both in proſe and verſe, and was an
example of piety, as well as of learning and refined abilities.
A. D. 940, Edmund king of the Weſt-Saxons gave the manor of Whatley, then
written Watelege, or the land of Watel, a Saxon lord, and conſiſting of ten hides, to the
church of Glaſtonbury. The monks thereof held it at the Conqueſt, and as lords
paramount till the diffolution of their houſe.
“Walter holds of the Abbot in WATELEI four hides. Ulgar the monk held it in
“ the time of King Edward, and it was unalienable from the church. The arable is
“ four carucates. Thereof in demeſne are two hides and a half, and there are two
carucates, and four ſervants, and eight villanes, and five cottagers, with two ploughs.
" There is a mill rendering five ſhillings, and ſix acres of meadow, and fifty acres of
“ paſture, and fourteen acres of wood. It is worth ſeventy ſhillings. In the ſame
“ manor John holds of the abbot one hide of the villanes' land. The arable is one
carucate, and there are two villanes with it. It is worth fifteen ſhillings.'
A ſmall portion of land in Whatley was held at the ſame time by William de Ow,
furveyed thus:
“ William de Ow holds of the King, WATELEGE. In the time of King Edward it
gelded for one hide. The arable is one carucate. There are two villanes, and fix.
furlongs of wood in length, and four in breadth. It is worth ten ſhillings.
A moiety of the demeſne lands here was given by Hen. III. to Sir Robert Waleran,
governor of the caſtle of Briſtol, who ſoon after the grant did fuit to the abbot's court
for the lands which he held in this pariſh. 52 Hen. III. this Robert de Waleran
a Guliel. Malmeſ. et Jo. Glafton. Hilt. Lib. Domeſday.
Cartular, Glaſton.
granted



طور
20
c Ibid.
Frome.]
231
W
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H
E
A
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T
manor.
granted all his poffeffions here, with lands in Wilts and Dorſet, to Alan Plugеnet, ſon
of his ſiſter Alice, to hold to him the faid Alan, and to the heirs of his body, paying
yearly to him the faid Robert, and his heirs, one hundred and twenty pounds, at four
terms in the year. This manor was for ſeveral ſucceſſions held of the abbey of
Glaſtonbury by the family of Brent. By an inquiſition taken 14 Hen. VIII. it was
found that William Servington died ſeized of the manor of Whatley, which he held of
the Abbot of Glaſtonbury, as of his manor of Doulting, and it was worth per annum
twenty pounds beſides all repriſes. Nicholas Servington was his ſon, and heir of the
age of nine years. The Servingtons were of Mageſtone in Dorſetſhire. The preſent
lord of this manor is Thomas Horner, of Mells-Park, eſq.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of the lord of the
The Rev. Dr. Biſhop is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated, according to Ecton, to St. George. It conſiſts of a nave,
chancel, and ſouth aile, with a tower ſurmounted by a ſpire at the weſt end.
In the ſouth aile on a raiſed tomb lies the effigy of a knight in armour, croſs-legged
and ſpurred. His hands are in a ſuppliant poſture cloſed on his breaſt; on the arm is a
ſhield, whereon is a chevron charged with three bucks' heads caboſſed. This effigy re-
preſents one of the family of Servington, tenants of this manor under Glaſtonbury-abbey.
In this aile is alſo a plain mural monument of ſtone, with a black marble tablet,
bearing an inſcription to the memory of Richard Shute, who died April 3, 1757, aged
85; and Philippa his wife, who died February 12, 1737, aged 68. As alſo to ſeveral
of their children. Arms: Per chevron, ſable, and or; in chief two eagles diſplayed
of the laſt.
In the north wall of the chancel is a ſtone thus inſcribed:-" Here lieth the body
of Morgan Jones Clarke, rector of this church, who departed this life Jan. 21, 1628.”
On a ſmall monument againſt the ſame wall:-" In perpetuam memoriam caftæ,
fideliſq; uxoris Mae. Elizabethæ Welfteed, quæ obijt Jan. 17°, ætatis fuæ 31, A. D.
1679, H. W. M. hoc erexit: Digna fuit hæc luce diuturniore, niſi quod luce meliore
digna.” Arms: A chevron between three fleurs-de-lis,
Elizabeth Shute in 1784, gave il. 55. a year to be laid out in clothes for the uſe of


the ſecond poor.
In 1636 a perſon, whoſe name is not now remembered, gave 1l. per annum for the
benefit of the poor.
e Cart. 52 Hen. III.
f Eſc.
€ Inq. poſt Mort.
Liberty
[ 232 ]
[Liberty of
Liberty of Witham Friary.
WITHAM-FRIARY, or CHARTERHOUSE-WITHAM,
S a large village fix miles ſouthweſt from Frome, ſituated in an extenſive and rich vale
of good land. The pariſh contains in the whole eighty-eight houſes. Thirty-ſeven
of theſe form the village near the church; nine others are ſituated at GEAR-Hill, a
mile ſouthward; and fix in a hainlet called CHARTERHOUSE, near Blagdon on the
Mendip Hills, at a vaſt diſtance from the village. The reſt are ſcattered throughout
the pariſh, which is computed at near ſix thouſand acres.
Before the Conqueſt this place was a member of Brewham; but it was ſeparated by
the Conqueror, and granted partly to Roger de Corcelle, and partly to Turſtin Fitz-
Rolf, whoſe ſeparate eſtates are thus ſurveyed:
“ William holds of Roger, WITEHAM. Erlebald held it in the time of King Edward,
< and gelded for two hides. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne is one caru-
“ cate, and two fervants, and four villanes, and three bordars, and four cottagers, with
“ two ploughs. There are twenty acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture. Wood
one furlong long, and half a furlong broad. It was worth twenty ſhillings, now
thirty ſhillings. This land in the time of King Edward lay in Briweham, the manor
«s of William de Moion, and could not be alienated thence.”
“ Butolf holds of Turſtin, WITEHAM. Chetel held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for one hide. The arable is two carucates.
In demeſne is one carucate,
“ and fix cottagers with one plough. When he received it, it was worth fifteen ſhil-
« lings, now twenty ſhillings.”
"To this manor is added one hide in WlTune, which Chetel held for a manor in
" the time of King Edward. The arable is one carucate, and there are with it one
" ſervant and ſix cottagers. There are two acres of meadow. It is worth ten ſhillings.
“When he received it, it was worth thirty ſhillings. This land is added to the lands
" of Alwold, which Turftin holds.'
After the death of the ſaid Roger de Corcelle and Turſtin Fitz-Rolf, owners of theſe
lands, the territory of Witham reſorted to the crown, and there continued till the
time of Henry II.
That Prince, upon his introduction of the Carthufian monks into England, A.D.
1181, founded, upon his demeſne lands in this place, the firſt houſe of that order in this
kingdom, which he dedicated to the honour of the bleſſed Virgin Mary, St. John
* Lib. Domeſday.
Baptiſt,


a

Witham-ffriary.] WITH A M - FRIARY.
233
Baptiſt, and All Saints, and endowed with this manor of Witham, and other valuable
poffeffions, having the following boundaries and deſcription: --- In the firſt place,
from the Park-Ditch northward to Hachſtoch; from the Hachftoch of Poſtberry, by the
dike of Berwa to the King’s-mead, and through the middle of the mead to Hacheweie.
From Hacheweie beyond Humburne to Rugalege; from Rugalege to Waletone; from
Waletone by Haneſda to Luthbroke; from Luthbroke by the water-courſe to Pennemere;
from Pennemere to the Mare of William Fitz-Peter, and thence to Kincput; from
Kinoput near the bridge to Wodecroft-Peter; from Wodecroft-Peter to Fraggemere; from
Fraggemere to Cleteweie; from Cleteweie to Fleiſtoke; from Fleiſtoke to Snepſuedefweie;
from Snepſuedeſweie to Ruggeſcliva-beaved; thence to Chelſledefweie; from Chelſledefweie by
the ſlope of the hill to Fiſborne-Heafole; thence by a water-courſe to the park; thence
by the park ditch to Fromweie, and from Fromweie to Hachſtoch.”
Theſe were the dimenſions of the demeſnes of Witham; beſides which Hen. II.
beſtowed upon this his recent foundation land for paſturage at Cheddenford, called
Harechine in Hindcomeſende, reaching to Lecherberg, and thence to Stemberg, Hoppewelle,
Staberge, Sgaldeberege, Stanamlane, and thence to a perforated rock by the middle of a
pit; and from the perforated rock to Chimindeclive, and thence by the valley to Robber's
Falde; and thence to Kingdoneſweſtende, and from Kingdoneſweſtende by the valley eaſt-
ward to the way leading from Pridy to Chederford; and thence above the meadow of
John Marefcall to Pembeleftorne Rock; from Pembeleſtorne by the road to the top of
Malherbe mead, and thence to Hareſtone, between the King's-mead and Malherbe mead;
and from Hareſtone to the ſtone in the road leading to Hindeſgrave; and from Hindeſgrave
to the broad way, and thence to a ſmall thorn fence, to Hedewoldefling; and thence to
pit between the King's-inead and Rugaberge mead; from that pit to Rademere, to the
ſtone which forms the boundary betwixt thoſe two meads; and from that ſtone to
another ſtone, and thence to Clive ſtone, and from Clive ſtone to the broad ſtone; thence
to Meleſtreſende, Stanrode, Begeſethle, Efweie, and Sigodesfield; and thence by Smelecume
vale to Roger's-Croft; thence to Rugelege and Clotleg to Meleweie croſs, and up Smelecume
to Lefiwieſmere; thence to Snedeleſputte, Eilſeſmede, Bikwelle, and Suthemeſte Rodberg;
thence to the Forks; and from the Forks by a hollow duct to a ſtone in the way to
Horſwelle; from Horfwelle to Hindeſwelle; and thence to Walborge and Harechman.
The grants of theſe lands were confirmed by King Edward I. Beſides which,
they had divers lands in Selwood and Mendip foreſts;º the priory and manor of Tofts
in Norfolk; the priory and manor of Warmington in Warwickſhire; the manor and
advowſon of Spettiſbury in Dorſetſhire; a cloſe in Rodden called Barbour’s-mede;
Monkſham; divers meſſuages and ſhops in the city and ſuburbs of Briſtol; lands and
tenements in Chilthorne-Vagg, and Chilthorne-Domer; the manor of Aſton in the
county of Bucks; fourteen meſſuages, one hundred and twenty-four acres of arable,
meadow, wood, and heath, in Fonthill-Gifford in the county of Wilts; lands in
Chedder; the manor of Charterhouſe-Hydon, and the grange called Bellerica. The
prior had yearly fix quarters of ſalt from the manor of Canford; and the lead miners
a
• Mon. Angl. i, 959.
cCart. 22 Ed. I. n. 42.
& Pat. i Ed. III. n. 28.
e Eſc. 14 Hen. VI. poft mort. Joan. Com. Bedford.
VOL, II.
Hh
digging
234
WITH AM - FRIARY. [Liberty of

g
digging in their ſoil on Mendip, had one hogſhead of wine allowed them annually
from the port of Briſtol.'
The firſt prior of this houſe was Hugh, Biſhop of Lincoln.
Walter was prior 1318.
John de Evercriche 1387.
Nicholas de la Felde 1402.
John Pefter 1458.--He and the convent obtained a licence to lay out a
cemetery, about the chapel in the Friary, to bury the fecular perſons who lived in their
diſtrict, and to have a font in the chapel, and a chaplain to officiate.
John de Witham, a native of the place, was prior A. D. 1539. He and twelve
monks ſurrendered their monaſtery to the King Feb. 15, the prior having a yearly
penſion of 331. 6s. 8d. and a gratuity of 81. 6s. 8d. In 1553 the following penſions
remained in charge, viz. To John Clyffe 61. 13s. 8d. and to John Swynnelhowe 21.5
The revenues of this priory were valued in 1534 at 2151. 155.
After its diſſolution, the manor of Witham, the ſcite of the building, with its apper
tenances, and a grange and meſſuage called La Frarie, as alſo the rectory of Witham,
and all tithes of grain and hay, in and arifing from Witham, Weſtbarrow, Bellerica,
and La Frarie, were granted by Henry VIII, in the 36th year of his reign to Robert
Hopton, eſq. This Robert Hopton was father of Sir Ralph Hopton, knt. who
died ſeized of Witham 15 Dec. 14 Eliz. From him deſcended another Sir Ralph
Hopton, knt. who for his eminent ſervices to Charles I. during the civil wars, in
which he was one of his generals, was by that King created Lord Hopton, of Stratton
in the county of Cornwall. His wife was Elizabeth, one of the daughters of Arthur
Capel, grandfather of Arthur Lord Capel; but having no iſſue by her, the eſtate came
into the family of Wyndham, by the marriage of Catherine, his eldeſt ſiſter and coheir,
with John Wyndham, eſą. Which John Wyndham by the ſaid Catherine his wife
was father of ſeveral children, a younger one of whom was named Hopton, and por-
feſſed this manor; but dying without iſſue it reſorted to the elder branch of the
family. William Wyndham, eldeſt ſon of John and Catherine, was created a baronet
in 1680. He died in 1683, and was ſucceeded by his ſon Sir Edward, whoſe ſon and
ſucceſſor was Sir William Wyndham, bart. who repreſented this county in parliament
in the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. and even to the time of his death in
1740, when he was ſucceeded by his ſon Sir Charles Wyndham, the late Earl of
Egremont, who died in 1763, having before ſold the manor of Witham to William
Beckford, eſq; Lord-Mayor of London, whoſe ſon William Beckford, of Fonthill in
the county of Wilts, eſq; is the preſent owner of the manor, and patron of the living,
whereof the Rev. Mr. Mitchell is incumbent.
The ruins of the monaſtery were taken down about the year 1764, excepting a ſmall
part connected with the eaſt end of the church. A farm-houſe, and another building,


f Pat. Ii Ric. II. p. I. m. 39.
6 Regiſt. Beckin. 233. Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii. 201.
Itin. Will. de Worceſter, 285.
have
Uditham-Friary.] WITH A M. FRIA RY.
235

have been erected on the ſcite, by which it appears to have been an extenſive edifice,
The dormitory was erected in the time of Biſhop Beckington.
At a little diſtance, an elegant ſeat was begun by the late alderman Beckford, and
had it been finiſhed, would have been a ſuperb pile. It was ſituated in the upper part
of what was intended an extenſive and beautiful lawn, with nearly a ſoutheaſt aſpect.
The principal entrance was nobly deſigned, having two ſemicircular columns of fine
proportion and elegance, one on each ſide the door, which reared their rich and lofty
capitals almoſt to the top of the edifice. The whole building was to have been of
Purbeck or Portland ſtone; but ſince the founder's death, which happened in 1770,
it lias been totally neglected, and is at length taken down.
At about a mile diſtance from this ſpot ſtands the church, which belonged to
the monaſtery. It is a ſmall ſtructure, conſiſting of one aile, the cieling ſupported
by ſtone arches which concentrate in a very ſingular manner. Within, on the north
wall, is the paſſage by which the monks entered the church. This entrance is cloſed
by the back of one of the pews, which being pulled down in order to explore it, a
very diſagreeable effluvia exhaled from the paſſage, occafioned probably from the non-
admiſſion of freſh air into a place on which perhaps no human foot had trod ſince the
year 1539. This paſſage winds in a ſemicircular direction round to the eaſt end of
the church, where the monaſtery joined it.
On three grave-ftones are the following inſcriptions:
“ Here lyeth the body of Thomas Wyndham, eſq; of this pariſh, fonn of John
Wyndham, eſq; of Orchard-Wyndham in the county of Somerſet, who departed this
life the 16th of December, A. D. 1689."
“ Here lieth the body of Hopton Wyndham, eſq; who departed this life Feb. 13,
A. D. 1697.". Arms: A chevron between three lions heads eraſed.
“Here lieth the body of Jane Codrington, the wife of John Codrington, eſq; of
Codrington, and relict of Hopton Wyndham, eſq; who died Feb. 6, 1702.” Arms:
Wyndham, impaling ten roundlets.
There was a chantry in this church, called Childes-Chauntery, endowed with ten
marks
per
annum.
To another chantry here belonged two meſſuages, and one hundred and ninety acres
of arable land, meadow, paſture and wood, in Witham and Wikham.'
A Mr. Payne gave ten ſhillings a year to the ſecond poor of this pariſh,
CHARTERHOUSE on Mendip was a cell to this priory, and was granted as part of its
poffeffions 36 Hen. VIII. to Robert May, efq. 44 Eliz. it was the ſeat of John May,
efq; ſheriff of this county. In the beginning of the preſent century it belonged to
Mr. Gore, who purchaſed it of the May family. It was ſold by the preſent John
Gore, eſq; to Welbore Ellis, eſq; the preſent owner.


* Pat, 22 Hen. VI. p. 2. m. 4.
1 Pat. 21 Ric. II. p. l. m. 39.
POTOM
Hh 2
HYDON
236
WITH A M - FRIARY. [Witham-ffriary: .

Hydon Grange, foutheaſt from Charterhouſe, belonged alſo to Witham-Friary,
and was included in the grant to Robert May abovementioned. In the old terriers it
is called Temple-Hydon and Charterhouſe-Hydon.
Southward from Hydon is BillERICA, another ancient grange of the fame mona-
ſtery, which after the diſſolution was held by Edward Duke of Somerſet, and in the
ſchedule of his eſtates was valued at 141. 125. 8d. per annum. 21 Eliz, the capital
meſſuage or farm of Billerica, two hundred acres of arable and meadow land, thirty
acres of paſture, and one hundred acres of wood, with appertenances in Billerica,
within the pariſh of Frary (as Witham is often called) were held of the crown by
John Ayſhe, eſq."
m MS. Valor,
Efc. 21 Eliz.


be
GLASTON

[ 237]
GL A S T ON
T W E L V E
H I DE S.
THIS
HIS is a long narrow tract of land lying between the hundreds of Wells-Forum
to the northeaſt, and Whitney to the ſouthweſt. The river Brew traverſes it
lengthwiſe from Baltonſbury to its junction with the Yeo, and thence falls into the
Parret near Burnham, commixing ſoon after with the channel. The ſoil is fenny,
having formerly been overflown by the waters of the ſea, which retiring, and being
excluded by Nuices and ſea walls, the marſhes have from time to time by much in-
duſtry been drained and reduced to profit.
The boundaries of theſe Twelve Hides were anciently diſtinguiſhed in the following
manner: -They begin at Brutaſche, at Stréte bridge, on the ſouth ſide of the faid
bridge, and proceed eaſtward in the ſouth part of the marſh, to the ſouth head of
Balteneſberge bridge, and from Balteneſberge on the north part from the houſe of Wiger
cum barba, who was the conſtructor of that bridge in the time of St. Dunſtan abbot of
Glaſtonbury; and fo above the cauſey to the further ſide of Pinnelake, by the middle of
the marſh to the houſe of Norman at Balteneſberge mill. And ſo up to the road which
comes from that church into Rebolte as far as la Lupiwite in the eaſtern part of the
houſe of Oſgar Attaholte. And thence into the road which leads through the middle
of that Holte directly to Keneward bridge over St. Dunſtan's dike. And ſo into the
rivulet coming from Coleburi. And ſo up againſt the water-courſe to the houſe of
Ofward de la Burne. And thence over-againſt the Burne to the court-houſe of Ailmer,
ſteward at Bradelee. And ſo up from that Burne into the road which lies before his
houſe. And ſo on the ſouth ſide of that church, eaſtward as far as Stoke, into the high
road. And ſo athwart the road over-againſt Withelee hill, into that path which lies on
the ſouth ſide of Chulebury. Then into a certain path as far as Windeiete, into the
bounds of Bikenham and Ferlege. And ſo downwards through the middle of Pilton
park to the further ſide of the way which goes acroſs the ſtone bridge into the road
* Johannis Glaſtonienfis Hiſtoria de Rebus Glaſtonienſibus, tom. I. p. 13.
leading
238
[Glation,
GLASTON TWELVE HIDES.

leading to Wottone, and ſo along a path to Fulebroc. And thence in the ſouth
part
of
that church to a rivulet, and as far as Loffellegethe. And ſo down into the moor as far
as Hocchye, and thence through the middle of the moor to Sowye, and into the dike
bounds on the north ſide of Bachinwere. And ſo by the bank, and along an old water-
courſe to Bledeney bridge, and ſo by the middle of that bridge to Litlenie, which is the
bounds of Marteneſei. And fo about that ifland as far as Sadelby, and thence by the
bank, and along a water-courſe to the dike which lies between the moor of Stoke and
Withricheſham; and ſo in the Wynerdlake. And thence by the bounds of Andredeſeż
inand, and from Draicote up over-againſt the hill to Horeſtone. Then in the Wyare-
paihe, and ſo down as far as Upper Batecumbe. And ſo by the bounds of Ceddre to
Greneballe. And ſo to Litellakwey, thence to Laymerwinel. Thence directly through
- the middle of an alder-grove to Horewythege, and ſo as far as Munekenelegh. Thence
to a certain trench called Bitwynevorde, and ſo to Scearpekorde. Thence to Notepulle,
and Ylake, and ſo along Ylake down to Ywere. And from Ywere along Abedeſdiche, up
to Langby, thence into the great water-courſe, and along it eaſtward into the bounds of
Wethemore, and from Northilade as far as Tunſingwere. Thence to Kinpingmere, thence
to Middelmede; thence beyond the hill to Cumeſam. Thence into Lithlake, and through
the middle of the moor, as far as the bounds of Mere and Pouldone. And ſo by thoſe
bounds eaſtward, in the ſouth part of the moor till underneath Scherpham. And ſo
thence under Hundewode eaſtward to Brutaſche, where the bounds began.
Within this diſtrict were contained the following places, viz. The iſland of Glaſton,
with the fields, woods, meadows, and moors, belonging thereto; the iſland of Heorti,
with a fine and extenſive grove of alders, meadows, and fruitful paſtures. After
this a great part of Piltone park; then Bekinham with Stikelingh. After theſe Withele
and Colnburi, with all Weſtpennard, fields, meadows, and paſtures thereto belonging.
Then the Burne and Kyneard, with their fields and meadows. After, great part of
Balteneſbergh, with its fields, meadows, large paſtures, and with all the alder groves,
and moors weſtward, on the north ſide of Buddeclee, as far as Brutaſche on the ſouth
ſide of Strete bridge. Then Edgarlegh, with its fields and meadows. Then the iſland
of Beokery, with its appertenances; and from Brutaſche abovementioned, the whole of
the marſh weſtward, which lies on the north ſide of Hundeſwode and Scherpham, as far
as the bounds of Pouldon and Mere into Lichelake. The iſland alſo of Mere and
Weſthey, with their fields, meadows, woods, and ſpacious moors; the iſland of Gadeney,
with its lands and very large moors; the iſland of Padenebeorge and Northilade, with
arable lands, meadows, paſtures, moors, and ample woods; the iſland of Andredeſey,
excelling all the reſt in pleaſantneſs of ſituation, with its lands, woods, meadows, and
Jarge moors; and the iſland of Martineſhey, with the lands, meadows, and paſtures
appertaining thereto. And near Meindepe hill is Batecumb, with all its lands and paſtures
upon

Olafton.]
239
GLASTON TWELVE HIDES.

upon the hill thereto belonging. All theſe places, continues my author, contained
within the bounds of the twelve hides, and belonging to Glaſtonbury, enjoyed all the
immunities of regal dignity, from ancient times and from the firſt eſtabliſhment of
Chriſtianity in this land; and they were confirmed to the church of Glaſtonbury as well
by the Britiſh as the Engliſh and Norman kings. Of the immunities and powers
which appertained to that church, one was very particular; which was, that by the
grant of King Canute, no ſubject could enter this diſtrict without the leave and per-
miſſion of the Lord Abbot of Glaſtonbury. It now includes the following pariſhes:---
Glaſtonbury St. Benedict, Glaſtonbury St. John, Baltonſbury, Bradley, Mere, Weft-
Pennard, and North-Wotton.
How this territory obtained the appellation of the twelve HIDES, we learn from the
monkiſh writers of the foil, who have carried the annals of their houſe to the remoteſt
ages of chriſtianity, and arrogated to it an honour unallowable to any other ſociety or
place in Britain.
When St. Philip the Apoſtle, after the death of our bleſſed Saviour, was in Gaul,
promulgating the doctrine of the Chriſtian Religion, he was informed by certain re-
fugees, that all thoſe horrid ſuperſtitions which he had obſerved in the inhabitants of
the country, and which he found ſo much labour and difficulty in overcoming,
originated from a little iſland, at no great diſtance from the continent, called Britain.
Thither he immediately reſolved to extend the influence of his precepts, and in the
place of barbarous and bloody rites, long exerciſed by bigoted and beſotted Druids,
to introduce the meek and gentle ſyſtem of Chriſtianity. Accordingly he diſpatched
twelve of his companions and followers, and appointed Joſeph of Arimathea, who not
long before had taken his Saviour from the croſs, to ſuperintend the ſacred embaſſy.
Britain was wild and uncultivated, its inhabitants rude and inimical to ſtrangers; yet
withal, its king Arviragus could foſter a few itinerants, whom he knew not how to
hate, nor wiſhed to love. In conſideration of their hard and laborious journey, he
diſpoſed their habitation in a ſmall iſland, then waſte and untillaged, and ſurrounded
by bogs and moraſſes; aſſigning to each of the twelve à certain portion of land called
a hide, ſufficient for one family to live upon, and compoſing in all a territory, deno-
minated to this day THE TWELVE HIDES OF GLASTON.
Johannes Glaſton. De locis principalibus infra duodecim hidas-
GLASTONBURY.
BDI 240 ] OTSAD
[Olattont.

GL A S T ON BURY.
T
HE ſpot was at this early period called by the natives Pnfwytryn, or the Glaſſy
Inand, either becauſe its ſurface repreſented a glaſten, or blue green colour; or
becauſe it abounded with the herb called Glaſt, or woad, with which they were uſed to
tinge their bodies. In after times it received the fancied name of Avalon, or the Ine
of Apples; or the land where Avalloc, a Britiſh chief, firſt pitched his reſidence. The
Saxons finally called it Llæstinga-byriz.
le foto is current
Here, according to the monaſtick annaliſts, St. Joſeph erected to the honour of the
bleſſed Virgin Mary, of wattles and wreathed twigs, the firſt Chriſtian oratory in Eng-
land; which being decayed by time, was rebuilt by St. Phaganus and Diruvianus, two
legates of Pope Eleutherius, who came into this iſland about one hundred years after
the death of Joſeph, Lucius then being king of the country. They alſo built another
oratory on the top of the hill called the Torr, to St. Michael the Archangel, “ That
he there might have honour on earth of men, who, at the command of God, ſhould
bring men to eternal honours in heaven.” St. Patrick the apoſtle of Ireland, A. D.
439, viſited the iſland of Ynfwytryn, which was by that time become a noted ſchool of
fanctity, and a regular congregation of monks, and repaired the two ruinated chapels
of St. Michael and the bleſſed Virgin. St. Benignus, his fucceffor in the ſee of Ar-
magh, followed his example, and retired to this place, then newly named Avalon,
where he preſided over a few religious till his death. About the year of our Lord
530, St. David, archbiſhop of Menevia, accompanied by ſeven of his fuffragan biſhops,
took a journey to Avalon, and expended large ſums of money in adding to the build-
ings of the church. This laſt-mentioned ſaint was uncle of the renowned King Arthur,
who in his time, A. D. 542, having been mortally wounded in the rebellion of his
couſin Mordred at the battle of Camlan, was carried to this abbey, that he miglit
prepare himſelf for his departure out of life in the fociety of the religious, and be
interred among ſuch a number of faints as repoſed there from the beginning of Chriſti-
anity. He was accordingly here buried, and his bones remained unmoleſted in the
monks'
cemetery for ſix hundred and forty years, when being found in digging a ſepul-
chre, the relicks were removed into the preſbytery of the church, and reinterred with
the following inſcription by Abbot Swanſey:
bic jacet arthurus, filos Regum, gloria regni,
Duem mores, probitas, commendant laude perenni.”
The common tradition was, that he ſuffered only a temporary kind of death, and
that he would come again to reaſſume the ſceptre:
" But for he skaped yt batell ye wys,
Bretons and Cornylch ſeyeth thus,
That he levyth zut perde,
and ſchall come and be a kyng aye.
at

Glatton.]
241
G L A S T O N BU RY.
at Glaſtyngbury on the queer,
They made arter's tombe ther,
And wrote with Latyn vers thus
Hic jacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus."*
But to ſay no more of this illuſtrious warrior, than that five different epitaphs are
attributed to his tomb, we return to the church of Glaſtonbury, which in the year 605
was inſtituted into a more regular ſociety by St. Auguſtine the monk, who was ſent
into England by Pope Gregory the Great, to preach the faith to the Engliſh Saxons,
Twenty-five years after this St. Paulinus, biſhop of Rocheſter, (but before that the
firſt archbiſhop of York) reſided in this monaſtery, and about this period the place
adopted the name of Glaſteinbyri, by which, with ſome little variation of orthography,
it has ever ſince been called. This Paulinus was a great benefactor to the abbey, the
buildings of which he enlarged, built the old church with timber, and covered it with-
out, from top to bottom, with lead."
Celric, Ceolwlph, Kenewalch, Kentwine, Cedwalla, and other kings, were great
benefactors to the abbey, and enriched it with valuable lands and poſſeſſions; but when
Ina came to the throne, he excelled all his predeceſſors in his munificence. For in
the
year
of our Lord 708 he pulled down the old ruinous buildings of the monaſtery,
and rebuilt it in the moſt fumptuous and magnificent manner, to the honour of Chriſt,
and the Apoſtles St. Peter and St. Paul; adorning the edifice with a coſtly chapel,
garniſhed and plated over with two thouſand ſix hundred and forty pounds weight of
ſilver; and an altar with two hundred and fixty-four pounds weight of gold. Beſides
which he gave rich ornaments thereto, as chalice, cenſer, candleſticks, baſon, bucket,
images, and pall for the altar of incredible value, with precious gems for the em-
broidery of the celebrating robes.
Nor did his liberality reſt here; for he beſtowed on the abbey a great extent of
territory; and, by his charter granted A.D.725, confirmed to the monks whatever had at
any time been given by any of his predeceſſors, and amongſt other immunities exempted
from epiſcopal authority the church of Glaſtonbury, and the following churches ſubject
thereto; viz. Sowy, Brent, Moorlinch, Shapwick, Street, Butleigh, and Pilton. The
juriſdiction, however, over theſe ſeven pariſhes was the ſubject of a four hundred
and fifty years' controverſy between the monks of this monaſtery and the biſhops of
the dioceſe. They afterwards compoſed the archdeaconry, and are ſtill called the
Juriſdiétion of Glaſtonbury,
Succeeding Monarchs withheld not their gratuities, but were zealous in ratifying,
confirming, and adding to all the grants that had precedently been made to this
illuſtrious foundation. In ſhort, (to uſe the words of a Glaſtonbury hiſtorian) Kings
and Queens, not only of the Weſt-Saxons, but of other kingdoms of the heptarchy;
ſeveral Archbiſhops and Biſhops, many Dukes, and the nobility of both ſexes,
thought themſelves happy in increaſing the revenues of this venerable houſe, to obtain
them a place of fepulture therein."
* De geſtis Arthuri in Libro Rubro Bathoniæ, penes Præhon. Vicecom. Weymouth. Joh. Glaiton. Hift. i. 89,
• Hiſtory and Antiquities of Glaſtonbury, by Charles Eyſton, p. 31.
VOL. II.
I i
However,
• Ibid. 95.
242
[olafton.
GL A S T ON BURY.

However, during the dreadful depredations of the Danes, both the monaſtery and
town of Glaſtonbury began to drop their ſplendour, and exhibit the appearance of ruin
and diſtreſs. To reſtore it to its ancient dignity was the buſineſs of King Edmund,
who appointed St. Dunſtan abbot over it, and permitted him to make free uſe of his
regal treaſury to enable him to rebuild it. A new foundation was laid in the
year
of
Chriſt 942, and the offices were built after a model brought from France, whence alſo
he introduced a new congregation of Benedictine monks, and, aided by the liberality of
his Monarch, reſtored the abbey to its former luſtre,
To add thereto, and to render the religious reſpectable in the eyes of the laity,
King Edmund, in the year 944, granted to St. Dunſtan and his monks a charter,
confirming all former ones, and diſcharging them from divers burdens, duties, con-
tributions, and ſubjections; and giving them a right and power to receive fines, puniſh
malefactors, and to enjoy all their lands and poſſeſſions as free from all claiins as he
enjoyed his own.
King Edgar granted the monks ſeveral charters, conveying to them additional pri-
vileges and poſſeſſions. Among the former, were the liberty of determining pleas, and
correcting delinquents; ſanctuary within the limits of the hundred; the appropriating
hidden treaſure to their own uſe; that the monks ſhould always be electors of their
own abbot, and that all controverſies whatſoever within their juriſdiction ſhould be
determined in the abbot's court.
The lands, which at this period, or at leaſt before the Norman Conqueſt, the
monaſtery of Glaſtonbury poſſeſſed by the grants of different kings and others, were
immenſe in number and in value.
Arthur King of the Britons gave Brent-Marſ and Polden, with many other lands,
which the Anglo-Saxons ſeized, but afterwards reſtored. Kenewalch gave Ferramere,
with the two iſlands on each ſide the lake; viz. Weſthay and Godney; as alſo the iſlands of
Beokery, Martinſey, and Andredſey. King Kentwine gave Monckton, conſiſting of twenty
hides, with the ſame number of hides in Cary, and three in Crewkerne. Baldred gave
Pennard fix hides, Logareſburgh (afterwards called Montecute) fixteen hides, and Weſt-
mere, with the fiſhery of the Parret. Biſhop Hedda gave Leigh upon Mendip ſix hides,
-confirmed by King Cedwalla. King Ina gave the twenty hides of Brent, Sowy or
Middlezoy of twelve hides, Pilton twenty hides, Doulting twenty hides, in Livig juxta
Tamer twenty hides, and the ſame in Roalt. St. Wulfrid, archbiſhop of York, gave
Wedmore ſixty hides, and one hide in Clewer. Biſhop Forther gave Bledanhead one
hide. Abbeſs Buggu, with the conſent of King Ina, gave Oar three hides. King
Athelard gave Poholt ſixty hides, and in Toric ten hides. Fridogida his Queen gave
Brumpton five hides. King Cuthred, Ure three hides. Lulla, a maiden, gave Bal-
tonfbury and Shapwick, ten hides. King Ethelbald, Gallick and Bradley four hides.
Kinelwuịph, Wotton five hides, Compton five hides, and Houndſborough. Ethelard his
fteward gave three hides in Chedder, viz. Ellenborough and Comb. Sulca, a maiden,
gave Cullum eleven hides. King Ofa, Inelworth ten hides. Ethelmund, Huntſpil,
Edgiſil, Butleigh twenty hides. King Athelwulph gave Uffcolum twenty-four hides,
Bucland five, Pennard nine, and confirmed the grant of Earl Ethelftan of Clutton ten

hides;
Glatton.]
243
G L A S T ON BURY.

hides; and of Enulph, Ditchet, Lottiham, and Hornblotton. King Ethelbald gave Blanc-
minſter ten hides. King Athelſtan granted and confirmed, of the gift of Duke Athelm,
Markſbury ten hides; of the gift of archbiſhop Wulfhelm, Deverel twenty hides; of
the gift of Ofric, Over-Deverel or Monkton ten hides; of the gift of Elfleda, queen of
King Edward, Winterburne ten hides; of the gift of Duke Ethelſtan, Wrington twenty
hides, Weſton or Foſscot five hides, and Lyme in Dorfetſhire, fix hides; and of the
gift of Widow Uffa, Stoke five hides. King Edmund gave Chriſtian-Malford twenty:
hides, Kingſton eight, Wotton five, Whatley ten, Pucklechurch thirty, Eaſtford, with
the fiſhery, half a hide; Domerham, Merton, and Pendrith, one hundred hides; Stone
eight hides. He confirmed alſo the grant of Elfreda, King Edward's Queen, of
Acford, Buckland, and Plais, conſiſting of twenty-ſeven hides; Hannington fifteen hides;
of the gift of Wulfrid, Kington thirty hides, Grittleton ten hides, Turnworth five, and
Tintinhull five hides; of the gift of Elli, Batcombe twenty hides; of the gift of Earl
Ethelſtan, Mells twenty hides; of the gift of Segewulph, Abbotſbury five hides; of the
gift of Wulfec, Langford two hides. King Edred gave Badbury twenty-five hides;
two hides in Chriſtchurch, Turnock, and Staplewell; two in. Nunney, and one in Ellen-
borough. He granted likewiſe the large manor of Aſhbury, conſiſting of forty hides,
King Alfred gave Camerton five hides. Ælfgitha, a nun, gave Pennard-Minſter ten
hides. King Edwin gave Pamborough two hides, and Blackford fix. He confirmed
alſo Elphegus's grant of Cranmore, containing twelve hides ; Eſericus's, of Widcombe fix;
Alwin's, of eighthides in Stourton; Brithric's, of Yeovilton five hides; Brithere's, of
Wyneat. King Edgar gave Stour thirty hides, Milton-Puddimore two; Luccombe two,
Blackford five, Ham ſeven, Dunden five, and Wheathill three. He confirmed Duke
Alphar's grant of Weſtbury forty hides, and of Othery five; Alwin's, of Grittleton twenty-
five hides, Nettleton twenty, and Horton ten; as alſo alderman Alphar's grant of twenty
hides in Badcombe; Ealdred's, of Clifton ; Elflem's, of Durborough; Athelflede’s, of Han-
nington ; Queen Ælfwith’s, of Winſcombe fifteen hides, Idmiſton ten, Streaton ſix, and
Andredſey half a hide; of the grant. of Edred, Middlehall fifteen hides; of Brithſige,
Hilton five hides. King Egelred gave Auſtclif ſix hides, Sidborough one, Fiſhwere, and
a houſe in Wilton. And King Edmund Ironſide gave Newton-Caſtle in Dorſetſhire,
conſiſting of ſeventeen hides,
At the coming in of the Conqueror the abbey was ſtript of many of theſe poſſeſſions,
but they ſtill retained the following manors in this county, viz. Glaſtonbury, Mere,
Pamborough, Andredſey, Winſcombe, Milton, Lydford, Shapwick, Middlezoy, Cof-
ſington, Durborough, Blackford, Stowel, Walton, Aſhcott, Pedwell, Budley, Dunden,
Greinton, Leigh, Ham, Butleigh, Lotterford, Pilton, Shepton, Pennard, Baltonſbury,
Doulting, Badcombe, Weſtcombe, Mells, Whatley, Wrington, Monkton, Markſbury,
Ditchet, Hornblotton, Camerton, Cranmore, Brent, Downhead, and ſome finall parcels
of land, not diſtinguiſhed in the general ſurvey of that period,
Their poſſeſſions in the town and environs of Glaſtonbury are thus ſurveyed;
« The church of GLASTONBURY has in that vill twelve hides, which were never
45 affefſed nor taxed. The arable is thirty carucates. In demeſne are ten hides wanting
Johan. Glaſton Hift. i. 41, 42, 43, 44,
I i2
e
$$ one
244
[lation
GL A S T O N BU RY.

66
s one virgate. And there are five carucates, and ſeventeen ſervants, and twenty-one
“ villanes, and twenty-three cottagers with five ploughs. There are eight ſmiths, and
“ three arpents of vineyard,' and ſixty acres of meadow, and two hundred acres of
paſture, and twenty acres of wood, and three hundred acres of coppice wood. It is
« worth twenty pounds.
“ To this manor adjoins an iſland called Mere, where are ſixty acres of land. The
"s arable is one carucate, and there are ten fiſhermen, and three fiſheries, which pay
twenty pence, and fix acres of meadow, and ſix acres of wood, and two arpents of
vineyard. It is worth twenty ſhillings.
" Another iſand belongs thereto, which is called PADENEBERIE. There are ſix
" acres of land, and three arpents of vineyard, and one cottager. It is worth four
ſhilings.
“ A third iſland adjoins thereto called Ederesige, in which are two hides, which
never paid geld. There is one carucate, with one bordar, and two acres of meadow,
**and one acre of coppice wood. It is worth fifteen ſhillings. Goduin holds it of
+36 the abbot.
The knights who held lands of the abbey in the times of Henry I. and Henry II. were,
Walter de Scireburne, who held one knight's fee, and after him Earl Patrick.
Walter Waleran the elder held one fee, and after him his ſon Walter.
Robert Malet held ten fees, and Hubert de Sancta Suſanna held thereof two fees,
and afterwards William Malet held the whole for twelve knights' fees.
Alured de Lincoln the elder, five; afterwards Alfred.
Robert de Candos and Walter his ſon, one.
Anſketil de Coſinton, one; his grandſon after him.
Geffrey de Coveſton, one; and afterwards Geffrey Fitz-Adam.
Hugh de Grainton and his grandſon, half a fee.
Sanſon de Spercegrave and his ſon, one fee.
Walter de Abbodefton and Robert his ſon, one fee.
Richard Fitz-Urſe and Reginald his ſon, one and a half.
William Fitz-Walter and Robert Fitz-Martin his ſon, five.
Odo Baucans, and afterwards Geffrey his grandſon, one.
William de Hwatelei, one.
Alberick, and after him Roger Folioth, one.
Ralph Huſe, one.
John Fitz-Hamund and William his grandſon, one.
Geffrey Torteſinains, and afterwards Robert Pukerel, one.
Oſbert de Liſuns, and afterwards Henry de Newmarch, one.
Roger de Berkeley, one.
Henry Oreſcvill and Helias his ſon, one.
* It appears from an old terrier of this abbey of the time of Edward III. that there was then a vineyard in
Glaſtonbury of five acres, and another in Pamborough of three. The arpent was a meaſure made uſe of in
Normandy, and was equivalent to our furlong.
Lib. Domeſday
Ralph
Olafton.]
245
G L A S T ON BURY

0 0
15 10
Ralph Baſſet, and the heir of Ralph Baſſet junior, one.
Aiulf and William Fitz-Richard his ſon, half a fee.
Rembald Uſcarl, and after him Robert de Winſhore, one.
Richard Cotele held twenty pounds value of land, which belonged to the demeſnes
and to the table of the monks, and did no ſervice therefrom.
Baldwin de Effecote held one fee, and in the time of Hen. II. the heir of Ywan his
ſon held the ſame."
For all which fees the abbot paid to the King the ſum of twenty-fix pounds thirteen
ſhillings and four-pence.' And 33 Hen. II. in the eſcuage or fcutage charged for the
army of Galway to thoſe barons who did not attend the King in his expedition, the ſame
abbot was aſſeſſed at forty pounds for the fees above recited. The ſame ſum was
likewiſe paid in the aid levied for the ranſom of King Richard I. when he was taken
and impriſoned in his return from the Holy Land.'
In the taxation of Pope Nicholas, made A.D. 1293, the Temporalities of the abbot
within this county were thus charged:
Deanery of REDCLIFF,
L. J. de
Wrington-The abbot of Glaſton
41
Markſbury-The ſame
Deanery of FROME.
Mells
Deanery of Cary.
Doulting
Pilton
42
Ditchet
50 6 10
Pennard
8- 8
Batcombe
Deanery of ILCHESTER.
Ham
33
Milton
14 12
Deanery of TAUNTON.
Weſt-Monkton-Chamberlain of Glaſton
30 O
Deanery of POULET.
Greinton
7 2 3
Withyes
Deanery of AXBRIDGE.
Brent, South-Brent, Eaſt-Brent, Lympíham, and Berrow 130 4
16 11

21
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lil
lil
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21 15
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8 4 9

* Lib. Nig. Scac. i. 87, 88, 89.
k Mag. Rot. 33 Hen. II. 5. 12, a.
Mag. Rot. 14 Hen. II. r. 10, a.
! Mag. Rot. 6 Ric. I. r. 13, b.
Juriſdiction
246
[Ølation.
G L A S T O N BU RY.

£o. . d.
51 13 10
46 8
8
3 0
19 3 4
19 15 4
050
6 2 8
1
Juriſdiction of GLASTONBURY,
Glaſtonbury.----The abbot of Glaſtonbury
The portion of the prior of Glaſton
The portion of the almoner
The portion of the cook
The portion of the pitancer
The portion of the gardener
The portion of the infirmarer
The portion of the hoftler
The portion of the præcentor
Ferling-Mere.---The abbot of Glaſton
Baltonſbury
Butleigh
Street
Walton
Aſchot
Shapwick
Sowy, Weſton, Middlezoy, and Othery
The hundred of Whitleigh
The hundred of Whitſtone
Andreſey---The fexton of Glaſtonbury
Glaſtonbury
S The abbot
The chamberlain
ויויויויויוין

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THE QUINZIEME of the King from the liberty of the abbot of Glaſtonbury, with
twenty pounds of advance, aſſeſſed 8 Edw. III.
Advance.
£.
f. S. d. L. S. d.
Glaſtonbury, with the twelve hides
6 8
Hundred of WHITLEIGH.
The village of Weſton
9
6
Middlezoy
8
4 O 13
Othery
3
Moorlinch
6
Greinton
3
Aſhcot
4
5
Shapwick
9 4
4
Walton
5 4 O 5
Street
8
Butleigh
I 14 4
7
8
Milton
Blackford
O 14 4
Wheathill
o 6 8
8
Cary
Dunden
5
Catcott
3
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Glatton.] G L A S T O N BU RY.
247
1
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2
O 16
2
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ויויויויויויויוין
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Advance.
£. s. d. £$. d.
The village of Edington
2
Chilton
8
3 O
Coffington
7 4
Stawell
3
Sutton
O 16
4
3
Wollavington
The Hundred of WHITSTONE.
The village of Corſcombe
0 7 0
Shepton
4
From which to the Lord Abbot's men at Ham
The village of Doulting
5
Charlton
5
Batcombe
4 14 6
8
Lamiat
4 4
3
Ditchet
3
76
Alhampton
4
5
Hornblotton
0 9 4
Pennard
5 9 8
Pylle
4
Bradley
38
4
Rookſham
5
3
6
Baltonfbury
5
Pilton
4
7
Compton
3 14 8
Wotton
3
8 8
6
Downhead
4
3
The Hundred of BRENT.
The village of South-Brent
Berrow
9
O 13 4
Lympham
5
4
Eaſt-Brent
7 II
The Hundred of WRINGTON,
The town of Wrington
The manor of Mells
4 6 8
The manor of Ham
3. OIO
The manor of Monkton
4 4
Markſbury
The ſum of the taxation of the goods ſpiritual and temporal of the abbot and con-
vent of Glaſtonbury, in and out of the county of Somerſet, was 1571). 14s. uid. The
tenths 1571. zs. 6d. Quinzième or fifteenths of the principal taxation 1041. 155. 8d."

O
2
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Adam. de Domerham, Hit, ii. 675 in Auctario.
King
248
[Glafton.
GL A S T O N BU RY,

King Henry II. confirmed to the abbey all its poſſeſſions, liberties, and privileges;
and King Edw. III. ratified the fame; and granted it a charter of free warrren for the
following manors, viz. Glaſtonbury, Meer, Baltonſbury, Pilton, Doulting, Mells,
Batcombe, Ditchet, Pennard, Butleigh, Milton, High-Ham, Weſton, Middlezoy,
Othery, Greinton, Shapwick, Aſhcot, Walton, Street, Brent, Wrington, Markſbury,
and Monkton."
Beſides this manerial property, the abbot and convent were poſſeſſed of a great
number of rectories and advowſons; as Lympſham, Markſbury, Wrington, Batcombe,
Ditchet, Mells, Street and Walton, High-Ham, Puddimore-Milton, Greinton, and
Monkton. The churches alſo of the following vicarages were appropriated to them,
and they preſented the vicars:-Doulting, with the four chapels of Eaſt and Weſt
Cranmore; Downhead, and Stoke-Lane; Eaſt-Brent, Eaſt-Pennard, Bradley, But-
leigh, Baltonſbury, Meer, Moorlinch; with Catcott, Chilton, Edington, and Sutton ;
Middlezoy, Othery, Weſton-Zoyland, Shapwick, and Afhcot.
And the whole profits of theſe curacies were appropriated to them, St. John and St.
Benignus in Glaſtonbury, and Weft-Pennard.
The abbot and officers of the monaſtery had penſions paid them yearly in money
from ſeveral churches in their manors, by the grants of the Biſhops of Bath and Wells.
To the ſexton, from St. John's in Glaſtonbury, fix marks.
To the fame, from the church of Doulting, four marks.
To the ſame, from Batcombe, twenty ſhillings.
To the fame, from Moorlinch, ſeven marks and a half,
To the ſame, from Shapwick, twenty ſhillings.
To the abbot, from High-Ham, forty ſhillings.
To the fame, from Camerton, one mark.
To the fame, from Ansford, forty ſhillings.
To the ſame, from Street, fixty ſhillings.
To the ſame, from Wrington, forty ſhillings.
To the ſame, from Ditchet, forty ſhillings.
To the fame, from Monkton, two marks.
To the convent, from Norton-under-Hamden, forty ſhillings.
To the keeper of the infirmary, from Puddimore-Milton, ten ſhillings.
To the fame, from Berrow, thirteen ſhillings and four-pence.
To the ſame, from Eaſt-Brent, thirteen ſhillings and four-pence.
To the fame, from Lympſham, thirteen ſhillings and four-pence.
To the mead-maker, from Lympſham, five ſhillings.
To the ſame, from the church of St. Peter in Ivelcheſter, half a mark.
To the fame, from Shapwick, forty-three ſhillings and four-pence.
To the præcentor, from Winſcombe, two marks.
To the almoner, from Middlezoy, four marks.
John Peckham, archb ſhop of Canterbury, confirmed theſe penſions by his charter
dated A. D. 1281.

Cart. 4 Ed. III, in Regiſt, Abbat. Glaſton, pen. Præhon. Vicecom. Weymouth,
We

Blaton.]
249
GL A S T O N BU RY.
We now come to a catalogue of the Abbots that preſided over this ancient and
rich monaſtery from its erection to its diſſolution.
1. Joſeph of Arimathea, head of the twelve anchorites,
2. Phaganus and Diruvianus,
3. St. Patrick.
4. St. Benignus.
5. Worgret, 601.
6. Lademund
7. Beorgret.
8. Berthwald, 670. He was afterwards archbiſhop of Canterbury,
9. Hemgiſel, preſided twenty-five years.
10. Berwald ſucceeded in 705.
II. Albert, 712.
12. Echfrid, 719.
13. Cengille, 729,
14. Cumbert, 745.-
15. Tican, 754. He was buried at Glaſtonbury, with this inſcription:
“ Tumba haec mirifico fulget fabricata decore,
" Deſuper ercuiptum condit ſuh culmine Tican.”
16. Guban, 760.
17. Waldon, 772
18. Bedwolf, 794.
19. Cuman, 800.
20. Mucan, 802.
21. Guthlac, 824.
22. Edmund, 840.
23. Hereferth, 859.
24. Styward. He was a great fcourge to the monks, and was therefore depicted in
the windows at Glaſtonbury with a large beſom in his hand.
25. Aldhun, 891.
26. Elfric.
27. St. Dunſtan, who preſided here twenty-two years, was firſt made biſhop of
Worceſter, afterwards of London, and at length archbiſhop of Canterbury. He was
ſometime expelled from his abbacy by King Edwin, and one Elſius (who is ſtiled
Pſeudo-Abbas, or the uſurper) placed in his ſtead. This ſaid Dunſtan was famous
for perſecuting and hunting married prieſts out of their livings. He died 988. To
him fucceeded
28. Egelward :- he flouriſhed in the happy days of King Edgar, who during his
abbacy granted and confirmed a number of immunities to the church of Glaſtonbury.
29. Ælfstan occurs in 966,
30. Sigegare, 970.
Vol. II.
Kk
31, Beorthred,
250
[Slattort.
G L A S T ON BURY.

31. Beorthred, 986. He died 1017, and was ſucceeded by
32. Brithwin, afterwards biſhop of Wells. After him came
33. Egelward in 1027, who preſided twenty-ſix years, and died A. D. 1053.
34. Egelnoth became abbot 1053. He was eſteemed one of the principal men in
the nation at the time of the Norman Conqueſt, and for this reaſon King William the
Conqueror, being jealous of his newly acquired ſubjects, carried him, with many of the
principal men in the nation, over into Normandy, and depoſing him from his dignity,
appointed in his ſtead
35. Turſtin, or Thurſtan. He was reckoned by the brethren of the convent a
weak, but withal a buſy, prodigal man, having ſhamefully wafted the revenues of the
abbey, and perverted ſeveral of its ancient ſtatutes. He ſo tyranniſed over the poor
monks, that they on a certain occaſion refuſed obedience to his power. Whereupon
he introduced a party of ſoldiers to bring them to order, who impetuouſly forced their
way into the chapter-houſe, drove the religious into the great church, and in their way
overſetting ſhrines and images, killed two monks at the altar, and wounded fourteen
others who had defended themſelves with benches and candleſticks. Upon this fray
many monks left the monaſtery, and did not return till the death of Turſtin, which
happened in 1101, when the abbey began to revive under the prudent management of
36. Herlewin, who ſucceeded. This Herlewin laid the old church level with the
ground, and expended the ſum of four hundred and eighty pounds on the foundation
of a new fabrick. He made a croſs of wonderful workmanſhip, and gave nine palls,
nine copes, one carpet, five veſtments, three albs, and an altar, to the uſe of the church.
He died in 1120.
37. Sigfrid, a monk of St. Martin de Seez, and brother to Ralph, the Norman
archbiſhop of Canterbury, became the next abbot, and governed the monaſtery (on
which he beſtowed a pall and veſtment) ſix years; at the expiration of which being
made biſhop of Chicheſters
38. Henry de Blois was appointed his ſucceſſor. This Henry was brother to
Theobald earl of Blois, nephew of King Henry I. a man much eſteemed for his litera-
ture and polite behaviour. During his abbacy he was promoted to the biſhoprick of
Wincheſter, and executed the office of the Pope's legate throughout England; but
ſtill retained the government of Glaſtonbury, to which he was a very great benefactor.
He rebuilt many manor houſes, and, in the monaſtery itſelf, he built from the very
foundations the belfry," the chapter-houſe, the cloiſter, the lavatory,' the refectory,
the
* More properly a bell-houſe. There were twelve large bells in the abbey.
• This building generally adjoined to the cloiſters. It was a large apartment where the monks met to
acknowledge and correct their faults, to confer on ſpiritual matters, and ſettle fuch other affairs as required the
general aſſent of the monaſtery.
· The cloiſter was a ſquare place with walks or allies round it ſupported with pillars, between which were
windows, and in the ſquare was a flower garden. The chief uſe of it was for the monks to make their
ceffions, and to inter ſome of the lower order of their fociety.
• The place where the monks waſhed their hands before meals, furniſhed with a ciſtern, towels, preſſes, and
other conveniences,

pro-
¢ 'The
Glafton.]
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G L A S T O N BU RY.

the dormitory,' the infirmary with its chapel, a large and magnificent palace near the
church, the outward gate, the great brewhouſe, and ſeveral ftables for horſes, all con-
ſtructed with an air of grandeur beſpeaking the ſpirit of the donor. · He likewiſe
beſtowed ſeveral very handſome ornaments on the church, viz. nine veils, fome of
which were of the moſt coſtly diaper, and ſome of fattin; a rich carpet and cuſhion;
nine copes' interwoven with gold and ſtone; two chefiples," one of green fattin and
another of purple; a coſtly ſtole' and maniple;” two albs;" a large banner interwoven
with gold;" a ſilver crucifix gilt and adorned with precious ſtones. He alſo gave a
large piece of embroidery to adorn the altar; and an ivory ſhrine, containing, among a
variety of other curious and religious remains; pieces of St. George, St. Coſmas, St.
Indractus, St. Benignus, St. Audomar, and St. Hilda; ſome of St. John the Evange-
liſt's Neeve; ſome oil of St. Catherine's tomb; and a large bone of St. Nicholas.
When he had continued forty-five years in the paſtoral charge of the church of
Glaſtonbury, this pious prelate died A. D. 1171, and was buried in the church of
Wincheſter,
e The refectory was a great hall where the monks uſed to eat their meals. In it were ſeven long tables, and
about them benches adjoining to the wall for the religious to fit on. The table at the upper end was for the
abbot, the priors, and fuperiors of the houſe; the two next for the prieſts; the two next for the acolytes, or ſuch
as were in orders, but not inveſted with prieſthood; and likewiſe for ſuch as were intended for the miniſtry; the
other tables were for the lay brethren. In one part of this hall was a deſk, at which one of the monks ſtood every
day during the repait of the others, and read ſome paſſages out of the Old and New Teſtament.
* The dormitory was that part of the monaſtery where the monks ſlept in ſmall ſeparate apartments over the
cloiſter and gallery. This part was under the care of the camerarius or chamberlain,
8 To this apartment belonged a chapel, ſeveral chambers with furniture proper for fick people, a ſeparate
common room, a kitchen, and a chamber for laying out the dead. The name of the officer who fuperintended
it was Infirmarius. Beſides the above-named apartments, there were in moſt monafteries the facriſly or veſtry-
room, where they kept the ſacred veſtments; the treaſury, wherein were depoſited the reliques, croſiers, cru-
cifixes, church-plate, &c.; the fratery, or apartment for the novices; the library, to which belonged a
Scriptorium, or room where the monks tranſcribed or compoſed their books; the wardrobe, where the monks'
clothing and bedding were kept; the common room, where was a fire for the monks to come and warm them-
ſelves at; the common treafury, or receptacle of the monaſtick charters, regiſters, and leiger-books; the buttery,
cellar, and other offices common to houſes in general.
The veil was of two kinds, one for the covering of the abbot and chief monks; the other as a covering for
the altar.
* The largeſt garment for the prieſt, with its tires, white girdle, fleeves, and other appertenances.
* The cheſiple, or cafula, ſo called becauſe it was a ſort of caſe covering the whole body of the prieſt at maſsa
Hence came, as it is thought, the modern caflock,
1 An inferior kind of garment uſed chiefly by the acolytes.
m A ſcarf worn about the wriſt by the prieſt at the time of maſs.
* A white garment and head-cloth, ſo called ab albo colore.
• The banner or flag was uſed in ſolemn proceffions.
P A croſs generally of filver, but ſometimes of gold, having thereon the image of our Saviour on the croſs.
9 One of the chief matters which promoted the reformation, was the diſcovery of the number of cheats and
counterfeits in the reliques ſhewn in Romiſh churches. The bones of the ſame faiat were fewn in twenty dif-
ferent places; St. Urſula had three heads; and the teeth of St. Apollonia, which were uſed as remedies for the
tooth-ach, amounted to more than a buſhel in quantity.
Kk 2
39. Robert,

GL A STONBURY.
[lation
39. Robert, prior of Wincheſter, fucceeded. A man accompliſhed in virtue, a
lover of the poor, and a great benefactor to his abbey, over which he preſided ſeven
years, and dying in 1178, was buried on the ſouth ſide of the chapter-houſe. After
his death, the abbey fell into the hands of King Henry II. who deputed the truſt of it
to one Peter de Marci, a monk of Cluni, who died in 1184. In which ſame year the
whole monaſtery, except part of the abbot's lodgings and the steeple, was by an acci-
dental fire reduced to aſhes. The King, taking compaſſion on the monks under this
heavy diſaſter, ſent Ralph Fitz-Stephen, one of his chamberlains, to inſpect their affairs,
relieve their wants, and appropriate the monaſtick revenues towards rebuilding the
abbey. This was done with great expedition, and the new church of St. Mary was
dedicated by Reginald, biſhop of Bath, on the feaſt of St. Barnabas A. D. 1186.
40. Henry de Swanſey was the next abbot, who obtained of Pope Celeſtine the
privilege of uſing the mitre and ring, gloves, dalmatick, tunick, and ſandals, and of
bleſſing facerdotal veſtments. In his time King Richard I. on his return from the
Holy Land, was craftily taken priſoner in his way through the Duke of Auſtria's do-
minions, at the inſtigation of Henry VI. the then Emperor of Germany. In order to
his releaſe the following condition was among others impofed, That one Savaricus, the
Emperor's chancellor and kinſman, who was then in England in the capacity of arch-
deacon of Northampton, ſhould by him be forthwith appointed to the biſhoprick of Bath
and Wells, and the abbacy of Glaſtonbury annexed thereto, for its aggrandiſement and
improvement. Upon this Henry de Swanley was promoted to the ſee of Worçeſter; then
vacant by the death of Biſhop Robert Fitz-Ralph, and Savaricus to that of Wells, to
which he immediately annexed the abbey, and aſſumed the title of Biſhop of Glaſtonbury.
41. This proceeding of courſe occafioned great confuſion among the religious of
the monaſtery, and they in 1199 elected William Pike for their abbot, who was forth-
with excommunicated, and ſeveral monks committed to priſon for contempt. Upon
which an apoftolick mandate was obtained, directed to the Biſhop of Ely, the Abbot of
St. Edmunds', and the Prior of Chriſt-church at Canterbury, for regulating the priory,
and dividing the poſſeſſions of Glaſtonbury between the Biſhop and the Monks. Theſe
delegates, after ſome debate, having ſummoned the parties concerned, aſſigned to the
Biſhop a fourth 'part of the eſtates, viz. the manors of Meare, Pucklechurch, Winf-
combe, Badbury, Aſhbury, Buckland, Lyme, Blackford, Cranmore, Kington, and
Chriſtian-Malford; as alſo the lodgings in the abbey, which had till then been appro-
priated to the abbots and priors of Kilcumin in Ireland. In the mean time abbot Pike
died at Rome not without ſuſpicion of poiſon; and Biſhop Savaricus did not long ſur-
vive him. But the diffention terminated not with their deaths; for Joceline, who
ſucceeded Savaricus in the fee of Wells, found theſe poffeffions too valuable to part
with, without better arguments than the monks were able to produce in behalf of
their-own cauſe, now grown deſperate to a degree. After a number of applications
and petitions to the court of Rome, the matter however was finally adjuſted by the
mediation of Richard biſhop of Sarum, and Pandulphus elect biſhop of Norwich;
and the parties came to an agreement, That there ſhould remain to the Biſhop and his
ſucceſſors for ever the manors of Winſcombe, Pucklechurch, Blackford, and Cranmore,
with all their appertenances; but that the other remaining manors of the Biſhop's
portion,

Blañon.)
253
G L A S T O N BURY,
portion, viz. Meare, Buckland, Hinton, Chriſtian-Malford, Badbury, and Aſhbury,
excepting the advowſons of all thoſe churches ſave that of Meare, ſhould be reſtored to
the monks. This compromiſe was concluded A. D. 1218. Soon after which
42. William Vigor, the monk, who had been active in the debates before recited,
was inſtalled abbot by the convent, now by the Pope diſengaged from the union of the
biſhoprick, and at liberty to elect an abbot according to their own regular obſervances.
This William preſided five years, and died in 1223. He was buried on the north ſide
of the chapter-houſe; and had for his ſucceſſor
43. Robert, prior of Bath, who governed the monaſtery with diſcretion eleven years,
and returned to Bath with a penſion allowed him of fixty pounds yearly.
44. Michael of Ambreſbury ſucceeded in 1235. After having preſided with great
reputation ſeveral years, beſtowed liberal ſums on the buildings of the abbey, and
reſtored to it many of its priſtine poſſeſſions, he on account of old age reſigned his
office in 1252, and dying the year following, was buried in the abbey church, with
this epitaph:
“Dui ſerpentinas fraudes y vincia reſolvit,
Rebituitque ovibus debita rura fuis :
Poftquam turbida tranquillatlet tempora, faro
Ecce fub hoc Abbas integitur Michael."
45. Roger Forde, a native of Glaſtonbury, and a man of great literature and famous
for the eloquence of his ſpeech, ſucceeded. The church of Glaſtonbury had not yet
altogether regained its tranquility, and it was the misfortune of this good man to em-
broil himſelf in its troubles. He was oppoſed in all his meaſures by the Biſhop of Bath
and Wells, and by his own monks, and was at length killed at the Biſhop of Ro-
cheſter's palace at Bromley in Kent, on a journey which he had undertaken to defend
the rights of his church, A. D. 1261, and was buried in Weſtminſter-abbey.
46. Robert de Pederton, a native of North-Petherton, and of a very ancient family,
ſucceeded him; he died in 1274. His chief character was paying the debts of his
predeceſſors, which was noted on his tomb in the abbey church of Glaſtonbury:
* Liberat oppretos Pedreton ab aere alieno,
Demum hac compolita pace quieſcit humo.”
47. John de Taunton, monk of Glaſtonbury, was the next abbot. He gave a large
quantity of books to the library, and of veſtments to the church. He died in 1290,
at the manor-houſe of Domerham in Wiltſhire, and being brought to Glaſtonbury was
there buried, with the following epitaph:
“ Ut multo tandem ſumptu muitoque labore
fit pattor, jamjam commoda multa parat.
Rura coiit Chrilti, docet et praecepta Johannes,
mor animi eruvias condit in hoc tumulo."
48. John de Cancia, or John Kent, ſucceeded, and having benefited the abbey, by
the gift of a number of croſſes, images, cenfers, banners, copes, albs, cheſiples, and
other
254
[Slation.
G L A S T O N BU RY.
other furniture, died in the thirteenth year of his prelacy, A.D. 1303, and was buried
in a ſumptuous tomb which he had built for himſelf on the north ſide of the high altar,
His ſucceſſor was
49. Geffry Fromund, a great benefactor to the abbey, the church of which he cauſed
to be newly dedicated, and enriched with the following furniture, viz. Two embroi-
dered copes, and a third plain; one grey, with moons and ſtars, called the velvet,
another of green ſattin with images, and the third of white ſattin. Three ſuits, one
called the trelles, another yellow unembroidered, the third of white fattin; fix veſt-
ments, the firſt called chuſingbury, accompanied with the ſtole and maniple; the ſecond
with images, and ground of gold; the third of red fattin, adorned with parrots, [the
arms of the abbot’s family;] the fourth interwoven with gold, called the terrilytz,
with the ſtole and maniple of the ſame workmanſhip; the fifth called the velvet, of the
ſame device; as alſo the cope without ſtole or maniple, and the amice of another fort;
and the ſixth of white fattin, with a ſtole and maniple of the fame. He likewiſe gave
enchaſed work called the G, a ſilver cenſer with a boat for the frankincenſe, and the
ſpoon. Six carpets, one green called the doſeez, with the ſeveral arms of his prede-
ceſſors; three ſmaller of the fame colour, with a ſhield of the fame length and breadth;
and two yellow, charged with parrots and roſes intermingled; alſo a very rich cheſiple,
and two good chefiples, with dalmaticks and tunicks ſuitable thereto; together with
one plain cheſiple, with a dalmatick and tunick, for the uſe of the chapel of St. Mary.
He in like manner demiſed to the monaſtery certain filver veſſels, coſtly rings, and
other jewels, to the value of two hundred pounds; and expended upwards of one
thouſand pounds on the buildings of the abbey, the great hall of which he began, and
laid the foundation of that noble chapter-houſe which ſtood till the diſſolution of the
abbey; he died in 1322, and was buried in the conventual church. After his death,
50. Walter de Taunton fucceeded to the abbacy, who died on the eleventh day
after the folemnity of his benediction; but during the ſhort time of his abbotíhip he
cauſed to be made the front of the choir, and otherwiſe adorned the abbey-church.
He was ſucceeded by
51. Adam de Sodbury, who adorned the high altar with a large image of the
bleſſed Virgin Mary, and a tabernacle of moſt excellent workmanſhip. He built the
altar of St. Silveſter and St. George, adding a number of images, a chalice, ſilver cruets
gilt, veils and veſtments, and many other ornaments; he vaulted the greateſt part of
the body of the church, and very curiouſly embelliſhed it with paintings of ſaints,
martyrs, kings, and benefactors. He employed one Peter Lightfoot, a monk of the
abbey, to erect an aſtronomical clock, with a variety of machinery, part of which was
calculated to move certain figures of knights, as it were, in tilts and tournaments.
After the diffolution of the abbey, this clock was removed to the cathedral church of
Wells, where it ſtill remains a monument of antiquity, neither common nor incurious.
He alſo gave an organ to the church of incredible ſize; caſt eleven great bells, fix of
which he cauſed to be hung in the church tower, and the other five in the clock tower.
The ſaid Adam de Sodbury died in 1335, when
52. John


Slalon.]
255
G L A S T O N BU RY.
52. John de Breinton, or de Brimpton, ſucceeded; who, at the expence of a thou-
ſand pounds, finiſhed the abbot's great hall, which two of his predeceſſors had begun,
and carried up to the cloſing of the windows: he built the kitchen, the long gallery,
the abbot's chapel, and a long range of out-offices: He died in the year 1341. To
him ſucceeded
53. Walter de Monington, who made the vault of the choir and of the preſbytery:
to which he added a couple of arches; and dying 1374, was ſucceeded by
54. John Chinoc, who rebuilt the ruined cloiſter, the dormitory, and fratery, and
likewiſe finiſhed the buildings of the great hall and chapter-houſe, begun by abbot
Fromund. He died 1420, and was interred in the ſaid chapter-houſe.
55. His ſucceſſor, Nicholas de Frome, (ſo called from the place of his nativity)
preſided over the abbey thirty-five years; and dying 1456, had for his ſucceſſor
56. Walter More, elected May 17th of the ſame year, at whoſe election there were
preſent fifty-three monks. He died Oct. 22, 1456, and was ſucceeded by
57. John de Selwode, who was elected abbot Nov. 15, 1457, at which time there
were forty-eight monks reſident in the monaſtery; he was a native of the Eaſt-Wood-
lands, near Frome, in the foreſt of Selwood, where his progenitors (who were of
the name of Edmonds) had conſiderable poſſeſſions; he died July 8th, 1493.
58. After his death, a monk of this monaſtery, of the name of Thomas Waſyn,
was elected abbot; but ſome contention enſuing thereupon, he was diſplaced Nov. 12,
1492, by Richard Fox, biſhop of Bath and Wells; and
59. Richard Beere ſucceeded him the January following. This Beere built at a
great expence a ſuit of apartments, called The King's Lodgings, and another ſuit for
ſecular prieſts; he built Edgar's chapel, vaulted the eaſt part of the nave of the abbey-
church, and adorned the high altar with an antependium of ſilver gilt. Adjoining to
the north ſide of the nave he conſtructed a chapel of our Lady of Loretto, and in the
ſouth end the chapel of the Sepulchre. He built A. D. 1512, a ſmall almshouſe for
ten poor women in the north precinets of the abbey, and the manor houſe of Sharpham-
Park, which before his time was nothing but a poor lodge: he died January 20th,
1524, and was buried in the ſouth aile of the abbey church. On his death forty-ſeven
monks devolved the election of their abbot to Cardinal Wolſey, who declared Richard
Whiting, then chamberlain of the houſe, their abbot.
60. This Richard Whiting, who was the laſt abbot of Glaſtonbury, finiſhed Edgar's
chapel, and much enlarged the buildings of the monaſtery. He preſided over this
abbey in thoſe unpropitious days to monks and religious focieties, when the accumu-
lated treaſures of many ages, which had been derived to the church from the bounty of
kings and nobles, were appropriated to ſecular purſes and avaricious intereſts. Whiting
was unwilling to ſurrender his abbey to the King, or to lend an ear to any of the
ſolicitations which were offered hiin; whereupon, by falſe pretence, they ſeized on him
at his manor-houſe of Sharpham, A. D. 1539, and without much formal proceſs as to
law or equiry, he was dragged on a hurdle to the Torr hill; where, without the leaſt
regard

255
[Glafton.
G L Å S T O N BU RY.
regard to his age, his ſanctity, or his entreaties to reviſit his convent, he was hanged;
his head ſet upon the abbey gate, and his quarters ſent to Wells, Bath, Ivelcheſter,
and Bridgwater."
He was head of the moſt ancient abbey in England, whereof the governor had prece-
dence of all the abbots in England till the year 1154, when pope Adrian IV. gave that
honour to the abbot of St. Alban's, in conſideration of having received his education in
that abbey, and becauſe our proto-martyr St. Alban ſuffered there. He was always a
member of the upper houſe of convocation, and a parliamentary baron; being ſum-
moned by a particular writ to ſit among the elders and barons of the realm. His apart:
ment was a kind of a well-diſciplined court, where the ſons of noblemen and gentlemen
were ſent for their virtuous education, and returned thence excellently accompliſhed.
After this manner Abbot Whiting bred up near three hundred pupils, beſides others of
a meaner rank, whom he fitted for the univerſities at home. His table, attendants, and
officers, were an honour to the nation; he is faid to have entertained five hundred
perfons of faſhion at one time, and that upon Wedneſdays and Fridays weekly, all the
poor of the country were relieved by his particular charity; and when he went abroad,
(which he ſeldom did but to national fynods, general chapters, and parliamentary
conventions) he was attended by upwards of one hundred perſons.
dow
The fate of the abbot and the abbey together being thus decided, the buildings and
revenues of this houſe, which had flouriſhed for ſuch a length of time, became the
objects of depredation. Thoſe riches which had flowed from the treaſury of monarchs,
aras, tai
" He was accuſed of treaſon, and of having embezzled the conventual plate. Concerning his execution the
following letter is ſtill extant,
Right Honourable and my verry good Lorde,
* Pleaſeth youre Lordeſhipp to be advertyſed, that I have receyved youre Letters dated the 12th daye of this
preafent; and underſtond by the ſame youre Lordeſhipps greate Goodnes towardes my Friende the Abbott of
Peterborough, for whome I have ben ofte bold to wryte unto youre good Lordſhip, mofte hartely thankynge
your Lordeſhipp for that and all other youre Goodnes that I have founde at youre good Lordeſhipp's handes,
even fo defiering you my Lord, longe to contynew in the fame.
My Lorde thies ſhalbe to aſſerteyne that on Thurſdaye the 14th daye of this preſent Moneth the Abbott of
Glaſtonburye was arrayned, and the next daye putt to Execucyon wyth 2 other of his Monkes for the robbyng of
Glaſtonburye Churche, on the Torre Hyll next unto the Towne of Glaſtonburye; the feyde Abbot’s Body being
devyded in fower partes and Hedde ftryken off; wherof bone Quarter ſtondythe at Welles, another at Bathe,
and at Ylcheſter and Brigewater the reſt; and his head uppon the Abby-Gate of Glaſtonbury,
«
And as concernyng the Rape and Burghlary comytted, thoſe Parties are all condempned, and fower of theym
put to Execucyon at the place of the A&t don, which is called the Were, and there adjudged to hange ſtyll in
chaynes to th' enfample of others. As for Capon, oone of the feyde offenders, I have reprived according to
your Lordeſhipps Letters, of whome I ſhall further ſhew unto you at my nexte repayre unto the Courte. And
here I do fende youre Lordeſhipp the names of th' enqueſt that paſſed on Whytyng the feid Abbot, which I en-
ſure you my Lorde, is as worſhippfull a Jurye as was charged here thies many yeres. And there was never ſeene
in thies parts ſo greate apparunce as were here at this preſent tyme, and never better wylyng to ſerve the Kyng.
My Lorde I enſure you there were many bylles putt up ageynſt the Abbott by hys tenaunts and others for wronges
and injuryes that he had donne theym. And I comytt youre good Lordeſhipp to the keapyng of the bleſſed
Tryntye. From Welles the 16th Day of Novembre (1539]
« Your owen to commande
J. RUSSEL L."
• Hift. of Glaſtonbury, p. 98.
and

Glaſton.]
257
G L A S T O N BU RY.
and thoſe ſtructures, which had outbraved the ſhock of time, and the inclemency of
ages, funk together. The eſtates of the monaſtery, devolving to the crown, were either
granted or ſold away. The revenues in 1444, were valued thus; Abbas Glaſton. cung
officiariis ibidem, et cum eccleſia de Strete, MDccxxvii marks xs. i. e. 11511. 6s. 8d. and
in 1534, 26 Hen. VIII. at 33111. 75. 6d. the tenths 3311. 2s. 9d.
In the firſt year of Queen Mary, viz. A. D. 1553, the following penſions remained
in charge to twenty-five monks, which was about half the number of the religious of
this abbey before its diſſolution:-Thomas White 61. 135. 4d. Nicholas Andrewe 61.
John Hayne 61. Thomas Waye 61. Thomas Aſheby 61. William Huchyns 51.
Thomas Dovell 51. John Tanner 51. Thomas Nicholas 51. John Watſon 41. 6s. 8d.
John Chynne 41. 6s. 8d. John Grundell 41. Martin Noble 41. Robert Cowker 41.
John Sheperd 41. John Pyddeſley 41. William Gryce 41. John Waye 41. John
Downe 41. William Byſshope 41. John Houſley 41. Simon Outerdon 41. John
Golde 41. Thomas Carry 41. Ariſtotle Webb 41.'
The monks had ſome hopes of regaining their abbey under the auſpices of Queen
Mary, who had reſtored ſeveral religious orders to their ancient manſions; and for this
purpoſe a few of them, placed at Weſtminſter, Nov. 21, 1556, preſented a petition to
the lord chamberlain, praying him to put the Queen in mind of her promiſe concerning
the reeſtabliſhment of the great monaſtery of Glaſtonbury;" but either by reaſon of
the ſhortneſs of that Queen's reign, or the impracticability of the project, the petition
had not its deſired effect.
After the diffolution, the following ſurvey of the manor of Glaſtonbury and its.
appertenances was taken upon the certificate of Richard Pollard and Thomas Moyle,,
general ſurveyors of the King's lands.
" THE LORDESHIP OF GLASTONBURYE.
Demaynes kept in the Abbatt's handes.
«« The demaynes which don apperteyne unto the fayde late monaſterye attaynted,
beyng allwayes kept in the handes and occupation of the ſaide abbat and convent, unto
the time of th' attaincture thereof, over and befydes certayn other demayne landes, letton
to divers perſons by indenture for terme of theire lyves, (the parcells wherof in the
particular boke of ſurvey, at this preſent tyme therof made, ſeverally don appere) ar of
the yerely value of 481. Ios. 8d.
“ Rentes of Afise and Cuſtomary Tenants.
“ The rente of aſſise of the freeholders apperteyning unto the fayde lordeſhip of Glaſ-
tonburye, allways payable at the feaſts of th’ Annunciation of oure Ladye, Mydſomer,
Michelmas, and Chriſtmas, is of the yerely value of 355. 64d.
“ The rente of cuſtomarye tenaunts and copiholders apperteyning unto the fayde
lordeſhip, with the workes and cuſtomes, which they are bounde to doe by the tenure
of theire landes, is of the value of 2621. 155. 6d.
t Willis’s Hift. of Abbies, i. 108.
Vol. II.
v Burnet's Hift. of the Reformation, ii, 306.
Il
Demaynes
258
[@lafton.
GL A S T O N BU RY.

xiv
« Demaynes lett oute to Fermes.
*** The demaynes apperteynyng unto the fayde lordeſhip, beyng lett to ferme to dyvers
perſons, for terme of theire lyves, by the ſame late abbat and convent, long before his
attayncture, with the herbage of the parks of Norwood, 261. 135. 4d. Wyrrall 16s.
and Sharpham 40s. are of the yerely value of 491. iis. 8d.
« Wood and Tymbre.
Within the parke of Norwood there are clxxii acres of woodde, of the age of xx
yeres, and heretofore have allwayes been uſed to be felde and folde every xvi yeres,
every acre therof at this preſent ſurveye worth xxs.
“ Alſo within the parke of Wyrrall is lx acres of fayre tymbre, eſtemed to be
worth 2891. Ios.
“ Alſo within the parke of Sharpham there are lxxx acres of wood, well ſet with
okes, alhes, and maples, whiche alweyes have ben uſed to be felled and ſolde every
yeres, and every acre is worth at this preſent tyme vis. viiid.
.“ Alſo within the ſame parke there ar cc okes fytt for tymbre, every oke eſtemed
to be worth 2s. Oute of the coppices and underwoods of the fayde woods, there may
a yerely wood ſale be made, not hurtyng nor ſpoyling any of the tymbre or under-
wodde; but the fayde woodes allwaies to contynewe as good as they ar now, to the
value of 3821. 25. id.
“ Northwood, Wyrrall, and Sharpham Parkes.
« Northwood Parke conteyneth in circuite iiii myles, the pales were repayred, th'
erbage verye good and ſwete, wherin are 800 deer, wherof there ar of dere of auntler
160, dere of raſcall 640.
" Wyrrall parke conteyneth in circuite one myle and one quarter, the pales have
nede to be repayred, therbage very good and fertyle, with a roning ſtreme throwe the
fame; 100 dere, wherof are of dere of auntler 15, dere of raſcall 85.
" The parke of Sharpham conteyneth in circuite ii long myles of good meade and
paſture, with ii fayre pondes in the ſame; wherin are 160 dere, wherof are of dere
of auntler 20, dere of raſcall 140.
* Commons.
“ Alſo there is apperteynyng unto the fayde lordeſhip one fayre common, called
Glaſtonburye Moore; the paſture therof is very fertile, and in effect as good as meade,
wherin the tenaunts doe common with theire catal at all ſeaſons of the yere, and it
conteyneth in circuit 16 miles.
* Able Men to ſerve the King.
« Alſo ther ben-of tennents and other able men, reciaunt and inhabiting within the
precincte of the fayde lordeſhip, beyng in redynes to ſerve the King's high Majeſtie,
when ſo ever they ſhall be called upon, to the nombre of 113.
« Bondmen.
« Alſo there are apperteynyng unto the ſaid manor certayne men called bondemen,
whoſe bodeyes and goodes are allwayes at the King's pleaſure, as lorde therof, to the
nombre of 14.
Glatton.]
259
GL A S T O N BU RY.
X
Perquyſites of Courtes.
« The profitts commyng of the perquyfites of the courtes, with the fynes of landes,
are this preſent yere, as appereth in the bokes of accompts, 181. 175. 8d.”
The manor of Glaſtonbury being thus veſted in the crown, was, together with the
houſe and ſite of the monaſtery, church, cloiſters, and church-yard belonging to the
fame, granted by King Edward VI. in the firſt year of his reign to Edward duke of
Somerſet. Y i Eliz. the houſe, ſite of the monaſtery, Wearyall-Park, a meſſuage called
Le Galley, ſite of the manor of Bride, a meſſuage called the New-Dairie, and other
lands, tenements, and hereditaments, with all their rights and appertenances in Glaſton-
bury, were granted to Sir Peter Carew, knt. 14 Eliz. the fame premiſes were granted
to Thomas earl of Suſſex and his heirs male. 38 Eliz. the Earl of Suſſex fold the
manor and ſite of the monaſtery to William Stone, who 41 Eliz. fold the ſame to
William Cavendiſh, efq. The manor was afterwards purchaſed by Mr. Bleadon,
from whom it came to the Strodes of Dorſetſhire. William Strode, efq; in the begin-
ning of the preſent century, left it in partition betwixt ſeven daughters, coheireſſes, who
afterwards diſpoſed of their ſeveral ſhares, reſerving to them and their heirs a fee-farm
or chief rent of 240l. payable yearly out of the ſaid manor. Of the ſeven ſhares, Peter
Berry, eſq; became poffeſfed of four, and ſold the ſame to William Reeves, eſq; mer-
chant of Briſtol, from whom they came by ſucceſſive purchaſes to Henry Burgum, and
George Miller, eſqrs. Miller's eſtates being fold in Auguſt 1785, the four ſhares
abovementioned were bought by Mr. Brook of Bath; the Tor part of the eſtate was
purchaſed by Richard Colt Hoare, eſq; two parts of the ſeven are inherited by John
Moſs of the city of Wells, eſq; and the laſt ſingle ſhare is now the property of Lucas
Pulsford, efq. Courts baron and leet are held yearly in ſucceſſion by the reſpective
lords. The manor houſe is ſituated in the northweſt part of the town, and belongs to
Mr. Brook abovementioned.
This abbey was ſituated on the ſouth ſide of the High-ſtreet leading from Wells to
Bridgwater, and was ſurrounded on all ſides by a high wall of wrought freeftone. The
buildings had frequently undergone thoſe devaſtations which the aſſaults of time, or the
rage of fire, laviſh unſparingly on the moſt pompous ſtructures.
The foundation plot of ground on which the abbey and its offices were erected,
compriſed no leſs than ſixty acres within the walls. The nave of the great church,
from St. Jofeph's chapel to the croſs, was in length two hundred and twenty feet; the
choir was one hundred and fifty-five feet long, and each tranſept forty-five feet in length;
the tower was alſo forty-five feet in breadth. The chapel of St. Joſeph of Arimathea,
contiguous to the weſt end of the great church, was one hundred and ten feet long, and
twenty-four feet broad; under the floor thereof was a large and handſome fepulchral
vault, having at the ſoutheaſt corner an arched paſſage leading to the Tor, which
has been traced a conſiderable way. Under the body of the church there were three
large vaults, ſupported by two rows of ſtrong maſſive pillars, in which lay entombed
many corpſes of the moſt illuſtrious perſonages. The cloiſters adjoined to the church on
* Langtoft's Chron. ii. 346. y Pat. I Ed. VI. p. 4.
z Pat. 1 Eliz. p. 7.
a Pat. 14 Eliz. p. 4.
• Licence to alienate,
L 12.
the


260
[Olafton.
G L A S T ON BURY.
the ſouth ſide, and were a ſquare of two hundred and twenty feet. The whole church,
including the chapel of St. Joſeph, was five hundred and thirty feet in length. It
contained five chapels; St. Edgar’s, which ſtood juſt behind the choir ; St. Mary's, in
the north aile; St. Andrew's, in the ſouth aile; on the north ſide of the nave, the chapel
of our Lady of Loretto; and at the ſouth angle, the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.
The floors were inlaid with Norman tile, inſcribed with ſcripture ſentences, and the
names of Kings and benefactors.
But to give the reader a competent idea of the whole of the buildings of this ſtu-
pendous abbey, it will be neceſſary to recur to
An Inventory of the Chambers, Dffices, tc.
Taken about the time of the Reformation:
The great chamber, ſeventy-two feet The high chamber, called the King's
long, and twenty-four feet broad.
Lodgings.
The abbot's chamber.
The wardrobe, under the King's.
The ſecond chamber.
The ſecond chamber, next to the King's.
The third chamber.
The third chamber.
The fourth chamber.
The fourth chamber.
The fifth chamber.
Two chambers, called the inner chambers.
The Prior's Lodgings.
The hall.
The chapel.
The prior’s chamber.
The bake-houſe.
The kitchen.
The buttery.
The inner chamber.
The Farmerar's Dfiice.
The hall.
The kitchen. The inner chamber.
The ſtill-houſe.
The buttery.
The chapel.
The cook's chamber.
The Simoner's houſe.
The inner chamber. The buttery. The new chamber. The chamber over againſt it.
In another Dffice.
A hall. A chamber. A chamber called Paradiſe. The inner chamber.
The Friar's Chamber.
The doctor's chamber.
The chapel.
The monks chamber.
The biſhop's chamber. The buttery chamber. The parlour.
The Serton's Ditice.
The chamber hanged with green fay.
The Jubiler's Difice The Friary Dffice.
The dairy houſe.
The Sub-Almoner's Dffice.
The bake-houſe belonging to the The biſhop's chamber.
ſub-almoner's office.
The inner chamber.
The

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b. The Library, or Guests Hall.
c. The Refectory, or Monks Hall.
d. The Chapter House.
e. The cloisters.
f. St Edgars Chapel.
The Choir.
h. Here ſtood the Rood Tower.
i. St Josephs Chapel.
k. S! Márys Chapel.
1. Here ſtood the almery.
m. The Kitchen.
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Glaton.]
261
G L A S T O N BU RY.
The pantry.
The cellarer's chambers.
The kitchen.
The red chamber.
Another chapel.
The green chamber.
The little parlour under the gallery.
The broad chamber.
The great hall on the ſouth ſide of the
The chamber next to it.
cloiſters, III feet long, and 51 feet
The white chamber.
broad; hung at the upper end with a
Paulett's chamber.
great piece of arras.
The fourth bed-chamber.
The middle chamber.
The buttery.
The next chamber.
The abbot's pump-houſe.
The doctor's chamber.
The abbot's ſtable, where were eight horfes.
Another hall.
Horſes, mares, and colts, kept at Sharp-
The mill-houſe.
ham, and other parks, in number 44.
The bake-houſe.
In the great tower ſeven large bells.
The brew-houſe
In the high church a number of coſtly
The armory, where was a great number altars.
of fwords, guns, bullets, and other In the new chapel a very fair tomb of King
materials belonging to that office. Edgar, copper gilt.
The convent's kitchen, 40 feet ſquare. The altar ſet with images gilt.
The archdeacon's office.
The broad court belonging to the abbey,
The gallery.
contained in length 491 feet, and in
The fextery.
breadth 220 feet.
Of this immenſe range of buildings ſcarce a veſtige now is to be ſeen; and all that
remains of this once magnificent pile, are ſome fragments of the church, St. Joſeph's
chapel, and the abbot's kitchen. The reſt is reduced to a heap of rubbiſh, loading the
furface of its ſcite with unſeemly ruins. Some of the ſouth walls of the choir are ſtill
ſtanding, as are alſo ſome pieces of St. Edgar's, St. Andrew's, and the Loretto chapel,
with the two eaſt pillars of the tower, and a weſt arch leading into St. Joſeph's chapel.
This laſt-mentioned chapel, except the roof and floor, is pretty entire. It was a moſt
elegant ſtructure, having on each ſide ſix windows, under which were very rich compart-
ments of zigzag arches of five pillars, and their ſpandrils adorned with roſes, creſcents,
and painted ſtars. The ſouth door has ornaments of flower-work, and hiſtory; and
the north, which is very rich, is decorated with flouriſhes, foliage, and figures.
The abbot's kitchen, built by Whiting, the laſt abbot, is octagonal, having in the
angles four fire-places ſixteen feet long. In the flat part of the roof riſes an arched
octagonal pyramid, crowned with a double lantern, one within another. In a
ſmaller pyramid hung a bell to call the poor people to the adjoining almonry. In
1667, this kitchen was hired by the Quakers for a meeting-houſe. In the north
wall there is ſtuck up the effigy of an abbot, attired in his robes; which in 1780 was
dug up in the north aile of the abbey-church. Other effigies have at different
33 Edw. I. William Pafturell held twelve ox-gangs of land in Glaſtonbury, of the abbot thereof, by the
ſervice of finding a cook in the kitchen of the ſaid abbot, and a baker in the bake-houſe. Eſc.
z Notes by Savage.
times
262
Øration:
GL A S T ON BURY.
19
times emerged from the ruins of this monaſtery, which contained the bodies of kings,
biſhops, abbots, prieſts, and nobles.
In the church were buried King Arthur, and his Queen Guinever; King Coel the
ſecond, father to St. Hellen, and grandfather to Conſtantine the Great; Kentwin King
of the Weſt Saxons, King Edmund I. King Edgar, and King Edmund Ironſide; the
Dukes Alpher, Athelſtan, Elwin, and Humphry Stafford, Duke of Devonſhire;
Biſhops, Hedda, third of the fee of Wincheſter; Brithwold, eighth biſhop of Wilton;
Brithwyn, twelfth biſhop of Wells; and Seffride, twenty-ninth biſhop of Chicheſter.
Abbots, Ambreſbury, Pederton, Taunton, Kent, Fromund, Walter de Taunton,
Sodbury, Breinton, Monington, Chinock, Frome, More, Selwood, and Beer. In the
Lady Chapel lay Sir John Byconel, and Sir William Seymour, knight of the Bath;
and in the ſouth tranſept Sir Thomas Stawel, knt, and Hugh Monington, S.T.P.
brother to Abbot Monington. In the fame aile lay the effigy of an armed knight
unknown.
Edw. III. one John Blome, a citizen of London, procured licence from
the King to ſearch among the buildings of the monaſtery for the body of St. Joſeph of
Arimathea; but the body was not found.
We are now to ſay ſomething of the town of Glaſtonbury itſelf, which owed its
origin to the abbey we have been deſcribing. It lies in a low marſhy country, five
miles nearly fouth from Wells, and in the great road from that city to Exeter. It
was built in the reign of King Ina, about A. D. 708, and was endowed by that King
with a variety of privileges. About the year 873 it was ruined by the Danes; but
was re-edified by King Edmund, the ninth Saxon Monarch, who exempted it from
all impofitions and oppreſſions, and rendered it entirely ſubject to and dependant on
the abbey. In this ſtate it continued till the year 1184, when both it and the abbey
were conſumed by fire. It was again rebuilt by the liberality of King Henry III.; but
on the eleventh of September 1276 it was once more deſtroyed by that dreadful earth-
quake which precipitated the church of St. Michael from the Tor hill, and greatly
endamaged other ſtructures in the country. It now principally conſiſts of two ſtreets,
the chief of which runs from eaſt to weſt, where ſtands the market croſs, the other from
the croſs ſouth and almoſt north, and is the road to Bridgewater and Exeter. In both
theſe ſtreets many houſes are either entirely built or patched up with ſtones from the
abbey. Out of the ruins of the old abbot's lodging on the eaſt ſide of the ſecond
ſtreet above-mentioned, the houſe now called the Abbey-Houſe was conſtructed in
1714, with arms and ornaments in very ſtrong relief: viz. the arms of Edward the
Confeſſor, France and England, quarterly; the initial letters of the abbots, Beer
and Fromund; a croſs between two cups, being the device of Beer; an ear of barley
for the fame, with pelicans, roſes, pomegranates, two birds with expanded wings,
encinctured with a mitred garland; fymbols of the Evangeliſts, &c. The great gate,
which formerly led into the abbey and the great church, is now become an inn. In
this houſe was not long ſince ſhewn the abbot's bed, a clumſy piece of furniture.
The George inn, in the High-ſtreet, was formerly an hoſpital for the entertainment
of pilgrims reſorting to the ſhrine of St. Joſeph of Arimathea, and to thoſe other
religious reliques which drew ſuch a number of itinerant devotees to this hallowed
ſpot. This houſe was given A.D. 1490 by Abbot Selwood, together with two cloſes


on
laiton.)
263
GL A S T O N BU RY.

on the north ſide thereof to the then chamberlain of the abbey; the front of the houſe
is very curiouſly ornamented with arms, niches, and entablatures. Over the gate there
is a chevron engrailed azure between three croſſes gules; per pale vert and azure;
per pale azure and gules. It was formerly decorated with figures of the Twelve Cæſars,
two of which, with a mutilated figure of Charity, ſtill remain. Underneath this houſe
is a vault which comes out quite under the town, and leads to the abbey, fo low that a
man muſt crawl on his knees to paſs it; but there are benches, or little narrow places
to reſt the elbows on, in order to eaſe the knees. It comes out into a large vaulted
place, uſed for a cellar, and after about five or ſix paces turns aſide to the right into
another paſſage high enough for a man to walk upright; this paſſage is about five or
ſix paces long, and leads to a flight of ſteps which conducted privately to the abbot's
chamber, wherein was a large handſome bedſtead, on which King Henry VIII. once lay.
In the place of the Porter's Lodge was erected a good dwelling-houſe, the owner of
which in the laſt century pulled down an old mantle-piece, and placed it in the ſtreet,
where it lay for ſeveral years. He was once offered three ſhillings for it, but would
not ſell it under three and four-pence. At length his daughter going to build a ſmall
chamber, got a workman to ſaw it out to make ſtairs; when in a private hole, which
had been purpoſely made in it, the maſon found near a hundred pieces of gold, of the
time of Richard II. and Edw. III. and of the value of about eleven ſhillings each.
Above the George is another houſe with a ſtone bay window called the Tribunal, which
was formerly filled with painted glaſs, conſiſting chiefly of coats of the Abbots, Kings
of England, and the different benefactors. On the ſouth ſide of the ſame ſtreet is the
hoſpital or alms-houſe of Abbot Richard Beer, founded and endowed in 1512 for ten
poor women. Adjoining thereto is a chapel, the entrance to which is from the High-
ſtreet near the croſs, through an ancient gateway, wherein-is a room paved with Roman
bricks. At the eaſt end of the ſtreet is an old chapel or cell dedicated to St. Mar-
garet, founded by one of the ancient abbots. In the other ſtreet on the weſt ſide of
the road, ftands the hoſpital of St. John, founded, or rather augmented, for ten poor
and infirm people by abbot Michael A. D. 1246.
The town of Glaſtonbury comprehends two pariſhes, (the patronage of both formerly
belonging to the abbey) St. John Baptiſt, and St. Benignus or Benedict, which within
their precincts contain upwards of three hundred and fixty houſes.
The church of St. John Baptiſt, valued in 1292 at twenty-four marks, and of
which the Rev. Mr. Pratt is the preſent incumbent, ſtands on the north ſide of the
High-ſtreet, and is a very neat, light ſtructure with a fine lofty tower.
In the chancel are two ancient tombs, one on each ſide; that on the north fide was
erected to the memory of one Richard Atwell, who died in the year 1472.
This
Atwell contributed to the repair of the church, and gave thereto ſeveral buildings in
the High-ſtreet. In the other tomb, which is conſtructed in a ſimilar manner, lies Joan
his wife, who was a benefactreſs to the abbey.
* MSS. Notes by Savage, 1677.
Taxat, Spiritual,
Againſt

264
[Olafton,
GL A S T O N BU RY,
Againſt the ſouth wall ſtands an old tomb of one John Camel, purſe-bearer to one
of the abbots, whoſe name is punned upon in divers repreſentations of camels, and
ſcrolls of Latin verſes, now not wholly intelligible.
On the floor is a blue ſtone inſcribed to the memory of Alexander Dyer and Catherine
his wife, of Street near Glaſtonbury. He died March 7, 1633; ſhe Sept. 26, 1650.
As alſo to the memory of Captain John Dyer, who died April 24, 1670. Arms:
Argent, dancettée.
On the north ſide of the communion-table there is a mural monument inſcribed to
the memory of Mary Trent, who died April 20, 1753, aged 33. Arms: Azure, three
chevronels or, in chief two roſes argent, impaled with, paly, argent and ſable, two fleurs-
de-lis counterchanged.
On a flat ſtone is an almoſt obliterated inſcription to the inemory of the Rev.
Edmund Byron, M. A.
The church of St. Benedict, or the lower church, ftands in the Weſt-ſtreet, and was
built by Abbot Beer, the initials of whoſe name are carved in a ſhield between a gar-
land ſurmounted by a mitre for the abbey over the north door; and on a battlement
above is a croſs with two cups and R. 5. at the bottom.
Within the church, in a pew belonging to the Golds' family of Sharpham-Park,
is a flat ſtone with this inſcription:
“ En depoſitas, Lector, fub hoc marmore reliquias integerrimi viri Henrici Gold,
de villa Sharphamienfi equitis aurati, Banci Reginenſis Juſticiarii prudentiſſimi: cujus
anima, corporis domicilio foluta, ad Deum creatorem remigravit Martij die xxvi, anno
Annæ Reginæ ixº. ætatis fuæ lxvII, redemptionis noftræ MDCCX.” Arms: Azure, ,
a lion rampant or, between three ſcrolls argent, Gold; impaling, on a bar between
three lions paſſant, as many croſſes patée.
Not only the town, but the environs of Glaſtonbury, abound with religious reliques.
The moſt conſpicuous is the Tor or Tower of St. Michael, ſtanding upon a very high
hill, northeaſtward from the town, on which poor Whiting met his untimely end.
On this bleak and deſolate ſpot the ſaints Phaganus and Diruvianus erected a fmall
oratory to the honour of St. Michael the archangel, which was re-edified by St.
Patrick, and beautified by ſome of his ſucceſſors. The fucceeding abbots enlarged
upon the ancient plan, and here built not only a large and elegant church and mona-
ſtery; but alſo other buildings, dwelling-houſes, and offices; and obtained many grants
of privileges from ſeveral of the kings; one of which was from Henry I. to the pre-
centor of the church of Glaſtonbury, appointing him to have yearly a fair at the
monaſtery of St. Michael de Torre in the iſle of Glaſton, belonging to the chantry of
the abbey of Glaſtonbury, to laſt for ſix days, viz. for five days before the feaſt of St.
Michael, and on the day of that feaſt, in the ſame place where the fair uſed to be held
for two days only, viz. on the eve and day of the ſame faint; with all liberties and free
cuſtoms uſually belonging to fairs of like fort, provided the ſaid fair be not to the
detriment of other fairs in the neighbourhood. The witneſſes to this charter were,
· See the former part of this account, and vol. i. p. 76, note'.
d
Cart. 27 Hen. I.
William

Engraved by T. Bonnor
.
GLASTONBURY
TORR
ALFRED'S TOWER
Tu Sir RichColt Hoan Bart this Plate is Suscribed by his Obliged Servant
J. COLLINSON
Published July 21.1788
.

Glaſton.]
265
G L A S T O N BU RY.
William Longeſpee, John Fitz-Gefferey, Philip Baſſet, Hugh de Vivon, Alan la
Zouche, John de Pleſſeto, Gefferey Diſpencer, Robert de Muſcegros, Paulin Peyner,
Nicholas de Bolewil, Walter de Luytone, and others. The whole of the buildings
which had been erected on this hill by ſeveral abbots, at a vaſt expence, the labour
being very great to convey materials up the immenſe aſcent, were totally deſtroyed by
the earthquake which happened in 1271, but afterwards more ſplendidly rebuilt, and
that church erected, of which the tower ſtill remains, and lifts its head into the clouds,
an object of admiration to travellers, and an ornament to the ſurrounding country.
At the weſt end of it is carved the figure of St. Michael the archangel, holding in his
hand a pair of ſcales, in one of which is the bible, in the other a devil, and another
devil hanging by ſtriving to make weight; but are both too light. This curious
remnant of antiquity is the property of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, bart, who has reſcued
it, as well as that of King Alfred's tower at Stourton, (both in view of each other) from
oblivion, by the annexed plate.
At the foot of this hill is the hamlet of EDGARLEY, where was a chapel dedicated to
St. Dunſtan; but at the diſſolution converted into a barn.
In the Ife of BeOKERY was likewiſe a chapel to the honour of St. Bridget, now
entirely in ruins.
Southweſt from the town is WEARYALL-Hill, an eminence ſo called (if we will be-
lieve the monkiſh writers) from St. Joſeph and his companions ſitting down here all weary
with their journey. Here St. Joſeph ftuck his ſtick into the earth, which, although a
dry hawthorn ſtaff, thenceforth grew, and conſtantly budded on Chriſtmas-day. It
had
two trunks or bodies, till the time of Queen Elizabeth, when a puritan exterminated
one, and left the other, which was of the ſize of a common man, to be viewed in
wonder by ſtrangers; and the bloſſoms thereof were eſteemed ſuch curioſities by people
of all nations, that the Briſtol merchants made a traffick of them, and exported them
into foreign parts. In the great rebellion, during the time of King Charles I. the
remaining trunk of this tree was alſo cut down; but other trees from its branches are
ſtill growing in many gardens of Glaſtonbury, and in the different nurſeries of this
kingdom. It is probable that the monks of Glaſtonbury procured this tree from
Paleſtine, where abundance of the ſame fort grow, and flower about the ſame time.
Where this thorn grew is ſaid to have been a nunnery dedicated to St. Peter, without
the pale of Weriel-Park, belonging to the abbey.
Beſides this holy thorn, there grew in the abbey-church-yard, on the north ſide of St.
Joſeph's chapel, a miraculous walnut-tree, which never budded forth before the feaſt
of St. Barnabas, viz. the eleventh of June; and on that very day ſhot forth leaves and
flouriſhed like its uſual ſpecies. This tree is alſo gone, and in the place thereof ſtands
a very fine walnut-tree of the common ſort.
It is ſtrange to ſay how much both theſe trees were fought after by the credulous;
and though the former was a common thorn, and the latter not an uncommon walnut,
Queen Anne, King James, and many of the nobility of the realm, even when the times
of monkiſh ſuperſtition had ceaſed, gave large fums of money for ſmall cuttings from
the original.
Vol. II.
Nor
Mm

266
(Glation.
G L A S T O N BU RY,
Nor did the rage of fuperftition ceaſe to harraſs this ancient but deſolated place till
the year 1751, when thouſands of itinerants found reaſon to complain of their journies
kither, and in heavineſs returning, lament their ill-drawn purſes.
One Matthew Chancellor, a pariſhioner of North-Wotton, near the town, who had
been afflicted with an aſthma thirty years, gave out upon oath, that about the middle
of October 1750, having had in the night-time a violent fit, and afterwards falling
aileep, he dreamed that he was at Glaſtonbury, ſome way above Chain-gate in the horſe
track, and there ſaw ſome of the cleareſt water he ever ſaw in all his life, and that he
kneeled down on his knees and heartily drank thereof. As ſoon as he ſtood up, there
ſeemed to be a perſon ſtanding before him, who, pointing with his finger to the ſpring,
addreſſed him thus:-“ If you will go to that freeſtone ſhoot, and take a clean glaſs,
and drink a glaſs full faſting ſeven Sunday mornings following, and let no perſon ſee
you, you will find a perfect cure of your diſorder, and then make it publick to all the
world.” He aſked him, “ Why ſeven Sunday mornings?" and was anſwered, that
s the world was made in ſix days, and on the ſeventh God Almighty reſted froin his
labour and bleſſed it above other days. Beſides (continues he) this water comes from
out of the holy ground where a great many ſaints and martyrs have been buried.” He
further told him ſomething concerning our Saviour's being baptized in the river Jordan,
but that he could not remember it diſtinctly when he awoke. In conſequence of this
converſation, the man went the Sunday morning following to Glaſtonbury, which is
about three miles from the place where he lived, and found it exactly according to his
dream; but it being a dry time, and the water not running very plentifully, he dipped
the glaſs three times into the hole under where the ſhoot dropped, took up to the
value of a glaſs full, and drank it, giving God thanks. He continued to do ſo ſeven
Sundays, and perfectly recovered from his diſorder,
It is incredible how eagerly this ridiculous ſtory was credited. People of all deno-
minations flocked hither from every part of the kingdom, to partake of the waters of
this falubrious ſtream. Every inn and houſe in Glaſtonbury and its environs were
crouded with gueſts and lodgers, and it is a fact well authenticated, that the town in
the month of May 1751, contained upwards of ten thouſand ſtrangers. If the reader
would wiſh to know the ſucceſs which theſe itinerant invalids experienced from their
viſit, he muſt be informed that this ſpring, diſcovered by a viſion in the night ſeaſon,
was no more than a ſpring of common fair water, poſſeſſing no medical properties
whatever; and that the whole ſtory was deſignedly trumped up with a view of bring-
ing cuſtom to the town, which had ſtrangely dwindled ſince the demolition of its abbey.
The ſpring is in the road to Shepton-Mallet under the Tor hill.
Before we conclude our account of this place, we muſt not omit mentioning the very
ancient pyramids which are recorded by William of Malmeſbury to have ſtood in the
e Mr. Aſhmole, the Roſicrucian of noted memory, tells us, that Edward Kelley, the famous Worceſter necro-
mançer, and his friend and companion Dr. Dee, had the good fortune to find a large quantity of the Elixir, or
Philoſopher's Stone, in the ruins of the abbey. This Elixir is ſaid to have been fo ſurpriſingly rich, that a great
deal was loſt in trials and projections before they diſcovered the force of its virtue. Biog. Dict. vii. 513,
Art. Kelley,
abbot's

Glaton.]
267
GL A S T ON BURY.
abbot's church-yard about the farcophagus of King Arthur. The talleſt, and that
which ſtood neareſt to the church, was twenty-fix feet in height, and conſiſted of five
courſes or ſtories. In the upper courſe was the figure of a biſhop; in the ſecond a
King, with this inſcription, HER. SEXI. and BLISVVERH. In the third the
names WEMCRESTE, BANTOMP, WENETHEGN. In the fourth, HATE.
WVLFREDE and EANFLEDE. In the fifth and loweſt the figure of an abbot,
with the following inſcription, LOGVVOR WESLIELAS, and BREGDENE,
SVVELYVES, HYVINGENDES, and BERNE. The other pyramid was
eighteen feet high, and conſiſted of four ſtories, whereon were inſcribed, in large charac-
ters, HEDDE Epiſcopus, BREGORRED and BEORVVALDE. Theſe pillars,
which have for many hundred years been buried in the duſt, commemorated ſome of
the early abbots, who were interred underneath them.
The feal of the abbey was differently charged: One coat was Vert, a croſs botonnée
ergent, on a canton of the laſt the Virgin Mary and Child: The other, Vert, a croſs
botonnée argent; on the dexter chief quarter the Virgin Mary holding the Infant in her
dexter arm; and in the finiſter a fceptre or; in each of the other quarters a ducal
crown of the laſt.
In the terriers of Richard Beere, the laſt abbot of Glaſtonbury but one, we find an
account of the ſtate of the town, its government, and other matters, in the time of
Henry VIII.
“ In the town of Glaſtonbury is a certain hall, lately built by Richard Lord Abbot,
for courts and ſeſſions, and meetings of the ſheriffs and juſtices of the peace, within the
liberties of the twelve hides; under which is a gaol for the confinement of priſoners.
A ſheriff's court is held there once at Hock, and again at the feaſt of St. Michael; at
which courts attend all the free tenants within the twelve hides. At the ſame attend
the underwritten tithings, and pay their common fines, viz.
£. S. d.
“ The tithing of Pathenborgh pays in common fines to the ſaid courts o
The tithing of Northlode
3
The tithing of Mere pays no fine, but ſuit
The tithings of Wotton and Weſthome, the ſame
The tithing of Weft-Pennard, common fines
Bradlye pays no fine, but fuit
Baltoneſborgh per annum in fines
8
Eftrete
Edgarly
60
4
o
I2
o
I!
O
2.
o
o 35
o
Sum total per annum
« The ſheriffs of the twelve hides hold their meetings from month to month.
" There are alſo two coroners elected by writ of the Lord Abbot, and amoveable
at his pleaſure, who inſpect all miſdemeanors within the twelve hides, receive the
f Guilielm. Malmeſb. Hift. : Johan. Glafton. Hiſt. de Reb. Glaſton, ii. 306.
M m 2
abjurations

268
[Ølafton,
GL A S T O N BU RY.
abjurations of felons, and record fuch things as belong to the coroner's office, before
the itinerant juſtices and others within the hides.
“ There is a market kept every week on Wedneſday.
“ There is alſo a certain portmote twice a year, viz. at Hock, and at the feaſt of St.
Michael, in which all ſorts of weights and meaſures of ſellers and buyers within the
twelve hides are tried and proved; and all ſellers of bread and ale contrary to the aſſize
tried and puniſhed.
« There is a fair on St. Dunſtan's day, now not in uſe. There is a certain fair on
the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Croſs, which is now alſo diſcontinued.
« There is alſo a fair at the Torre on the feaſt of the Nativity of the Bleſſed Virgin
Mary, which laſts generally for ſix days, the toll for which is eſtimated at 265. 8d. per
annum, A fair is likewiſe kept there on the feaſt of St. Michael.
“ There is a certain paſture under the ſouth ſide of Wyrehall-Park, called Vyneyard,
conſiſting of five cloſes very pleaſantly ſituated.
" There is another park called Sherphame, containing with ſome mead incloſures
in the circuit thereof three hundred and eighty-two acres. In this park Abbot
Richard lately built at his own expence a very handſome manor-houſe, with a chapel,
hall, parlour, chambers, ſtorehouſes, kitchen, and other rooms and offices, having a
Itone wall on one ſide and oak pales on the other, with an orchard and fiſhponds. In
which park might be kept four hundred deer, and forty large cattle.
« There is a moor, called Hultemore, with the alderwood, containing two hundred
and eighty-three acres.
“ Another moor is called Hethmore, containing with the heath eight hundred acres.
“ A third moor is called Southmore, or Allermore, containing one thouſand and forty
acres, the herbage of which is uſed in common by the different tenants, and all the
firing appertains to the monaſtery; in which moor no chace could formerly be made
by reaſon of the thickneſs of the alders, and the depth of the moraſſes.
“ A fourth common moor is called Northmore, and contains ſix hundred and
forty acres.
" The laſt common moor is called Kynnyård-More, containing by admeaſurement
four hundred and thirty acres.
“ There is likewiſe a new water-mill, ſituated at Northover, and erected by Abbot
Richard, which mill brings in yearly ten pounds, one hundred ſhillings of which are
appropriated to the ſupport of the poor women in the hoſpital, founded by the ſaid
abbot, at the outward abbey gate; and ten ſhillings to the ſexton for the tithe of the mill.
" There is another mill called Becary mill, and a new fulling-mill lately erected by
the ſaid Lord Abbot; as alſo a water-mill in the town, and a wind-mill above it."
Sharpham-Park gave birth to that elegant and humorous writer Henry Fielding,
April 22, 1707. His father Edmund Fielding, eſq; who was a younger ſon of the
Earl

Glañon.]
269
GL A S T ON BURY.
Earl of Denbigh, was in the arıny in the rank of lieutenant-general; and his mother
was the daughter of Judge Gould, and aunt to the preſent Sir Henry Gould, of Sharp-
ham, one of the judges of the common-pleas. His dramatick works are very
numerous and all comick, but his novels are moſt eſteemed, and perhaps no writer ever
painted human life in ſtronger colours than he has in moft of them. He died at Liſbon
in 1754, in the forty-eighth year of his age.
The title of Avalon, the ancient appellation of the diſtrict we have been deſcribing,
was granted by King Charles II. July 10, 1659, to John Mordaunt, ſecond ſon of John
Earl of Peterborough, who married Elizabeth, daughter and ſole heir of Thomas Carey,
ſecond ſon to Robert Earl of Monmouth, and by her had Charles third Earl of Peter-
borough, and father of the preſent Charles Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough and
Monmouth, Viſcount Avalon, &c.
32974
B
A L,
L TO
Τ Ο Ν S B U R Υ.
SOUT
CC
b)
YOUTHEAST from Glaſtonbury, on the river Brew, ſtands Baltonſbury, the manor
of which was A. D. 745 given to the monks by one Lulla, a devout lady, and great
benefactreſs to the abbey. In the Conqueror's time the church held it in demeſne:
“ The church itſelf holds BALTUNESBERGE. In the time of King Edward it gelded
« for five hides. The arable is ſix carucates. Thereof in demeſne are four hides, and
one virgate. And there are two carucates, and four ſervants, and five villanes, and
“ nine bordars, and three cottagers with two ploughs. There is a mill of five ſhillings
« rent, and thirty acres of meadow. Wood one mile and a half long, and half a mile
« broad. It was and is worth ſix pounds.
The mill mentioned in this account was broken down by Joceline biſhop of Bath,
which was one of the complaints exhibited by the monks againſt that prelate in their
contentions about the government of the abbey. There is yet a mill ſtanding upon
the ruins of the old one on the river Brew.
The tithing of Baltonſbury paid yearly eight ſhillings to the abbot's torn at Glaſton..
After the diſſolution the manor was granted to Edward Duke of Somerſet, in whoſe
ſchedule it is valued at 39). 185. 5 d. per annum;' and on his attainder Edw. VI. gave
it to John Ryther, efq. 8 Eliz. a moiety of it belonged to William Hungate, of
Saxton in Yorkſhire. In the ſame reign Sir William St. Loe held lands here. The
fee-farm rents of the manor now belong to John Codrington, eſq.
The roll of Glaſtonbury ſurveys this manor of Baltonſbury, as follows:
> Guilielm, Malmef. ap. Adam. Domerham, i. 62.
Fin. Com, Somerſ.
• Lib. Domeſday. e Adam. Domerham. i. 452.
MS. Valor.
6 THE
270
[Wiatton.
B ALTO NSBURY

ارد
« THE MANOR OF BALTESBOROUGH,
. etgo
" Rentes and Demaynes.
ort
“ The rentes of affiſe, cuſtomarye tennantes, and demaynes, perteynyng to the faide
manour, are of the yerely valew of 1911. 7s. 10 d.
Si ishte
Perquiſites of Courtes and Fynes.
« The profitts of the courtes, fynes, and other caſualties, as appereth in the bokes of
accompts of this yere, are 331. 16s. 3d.
cond batu
" Woodes.
Nuorodos
“ Alſo there are two woodes pertaynyng unto the fayde manour, called Southwoode
and Northwoode, contaynyng eight hundred acres, well ſett with okes, bothe olde and
yong, which have allwayes ben uſed to be ſolde to the tenauntes, worthe to be folde 4001.
wherein there may be a yerely wood-fale made of 63s. 60.-1381. 75. 7.d.
“ Able Men to ſerve the King:
“ Alſo there are within the fayde lordeſhip certayne tenauntes, and able perſons to
do the King ſervyce, to the nombre of 23.
« Bondmen.
“ Alſo there be within the fame certayne bondemen, beyng in ſervytude both of
bodye and goodes, at the King's pleaſure, in nombre 7
The pariſh of Baltonſbury contains ſix hamlets, viz.
MARTIN-STREET,
Southwood, LUBBON, and
HAMSTREET,
TILLAM-STREET,
WEST-TOWN,
moſt of which are mentioned in the ancient terriers of Glaſton; but contain nothing
remarkable.
The living is a chapel to Butleigh, with which it was in 1292 conjointly valued at.
twenty-two marks.
The church is dedicated to St. Dunftan, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and porchy
with an embattled tower containing five bells. ces primera es tu od
Under the north wall of the chancel is an old tomb with this inſcription:-
** Ricardo Waltono, homini ſanctiſſimo, ftemmate claroque ſatis, manſuetudinis et
miſericordiæ incomparabilis, Thomas Waltonus, A. M. amatiſſimo patri poſuit. Obt.
8 Julij 1581." In the ſtone are cut theſe coats, 1. A fleur-de-lis. 2. A chevron
between three boars' heads. 3. The ſame quartered.
On a braſs plate above-__'. Here under entombed doe lye the bodies of Richard
Walton, of Baltonfborough, eſq; and Alice his wife, one of the daughters of Ralphe
Hanam, of Evercreech in this countie of Sommerfett, gent. deceaſed; and alſo the
bodie of Thomas Walton, ſonne and heir of the faide Richard Walton; who having
ſpent his youth in the ſtudies of learning in the univerſitie of Oxford, and in the inns



Langtoft's Chro.. ii. 356, 357.
& Taxat. Spiritual.
of

Olafton.]
271
B A L T 0 N S B U R Y,
of court in London, and his riper yeares in the practiſe of pietie and vertue, com-
mended his foule into the hands of Almightie God the 18th day of Feb. 1609, leaving
one ſonne and three daughters by Elizabeth his wife, the only daughter of Philip
Cottington, of Godmanſton in the ſaid countye, eſquier.
“ A ſhroude, a coffin, and a marble ſtone,
Are dead men's due; and may the living teach
That when to ripeneſs they are fully growen,
Death will the beſt and faireft flowers reach.
For coulde a piouſe life have ſtay'd death's force,
Hee yet hadd lived thatts here a lifeleſs corſe.”
On this plate are two coats: 1. A chevron between three fleurs-de-lis, 2. On a feſſe
between three roſes as many bugle-horns.
A black ſtone in the eaſt wall commemorates Thomas Martin, gent, who was
buried Dec. 21, 1714, and Mary his only daughter, who died July 4, 1650, ætat. 17.
BR
A DL
E Y.
T'I
HIS pariſh lies four miles ſoutheaſt from Glaſtonbury, (having the pariſh of
Baltonſbury on the north) in a cloſe flat and woody ſituation, the lands whereof
are fertile, and the ſoil a clay.
It was given to the church of Glaſtonbury by King Ethelbald, and at the Conqueſt-
was thus ſurveyed:
" Roger holds of the abbot Bodeslege. Winegod held it in the time of King
" Edward, and gelded for three virgates of land. The arable is one carucate and a
" half, and there are on it ſeven cottagers. There are fix acres of meadow, and two
acres of wood. It is worth ten ſhillings.”a
The manor now belongs to the Rev. Mr. Keate, of Wookey.
Bradley is a chapel to Eaſt-Pennard in the Deanery of Cary. The Rev, Mr.
Foſter is the preſent incumbent.
The chapel is a ſmall ſtructure, containing neither monument nor inſcription.
. Lib. Domeſday
MERE.

[ 272 ]
(Glation.
mo
M
E R
E.
HIS pariſh is ſituated three miles northweſt from Glaſtonbury, in that vaſt wild
of moors or meres, from which (and from a very large mere or pond here) is
juſtly derived its name, and which being formerly overflown by the ſea, three iſlands
were formed called by the ancient natives Ferramere or Ferlingmere, Godeneie, and
Weſteie. The former of theſe conſtituted the village of Mere itſelf, the manor of which
conſiſted of about two thouſand eight hundred acres, and now belongs to the repreſen-
tatives of the late Mr. Thomas Moore of Briſtol. Godney contains about two thouſand
acres incloſed, and about one thouſand two hundred acres of moor, not yet incloſed,
belonging to Mr. Brown of Street. Weſthay-moor has of laté years been incloſed,
and compriſes about one thouſand feven hundred and fixty acres. That part of Mere
called Mere-pool, which was formerly a ſtagnant water, contains about four hundred
acres, and by draining is rendered valuable. In this pool, which according to the
Glaſtonbury legends was inſtantaneouſly formed by the prayers of St. Benignus, was a
large fiſhery reſerved entirely for the abbot's uſe, and the amuſement of his friends ja
beſides which there were ſeveral other pools or lakes in this diſtrict called Hacchewere
and Bordenwere, in which was an eеlery; Lichelake and Cockefwere, the latter of which
was rented in 1516 by John Gyblat at twenty ſhillings per annum. And there was
alſo another pool called Jamefwere, rented at thirteen ſhillings and fourpence in the
time of Henry VII. but at the above date was in the hands of the Lord Abbot. In
theſe pools were kept a great number of ſwans," herons, and other fowl.
In ſome of the moors are found quantities of large old yews, alders, birches, and
willows, lying in all directions, at the depth of from one to five feet beneath the ſurface,
with the largeſt branches and roots remaining; but which being expoſed to air foon
crumble into pieces. The moors alſo abound with the myrica, or ſweet gale, a low
ſhrub with ſpear-ſhaped, ſerrated leaves, bearing catkins and a dry berry. The northern
nations formerly uſed this plant inſtead of hops. The catkins boiled in water throw
up a waxy ſcum, which will make candles. And from another ſpecies of this plant,
which is a native of warmer climates, the myrtle candles are prepared. Gathered in
autumn, it dyes wool yellow; and it is likewiſe uſed in tanning calfskins. Horſes and
goats eat it. A fine aromatick plant called here cinnamon laver, (the calamus-
aromaticus of the ſhops) or ſweet-ſcented fag, grows in Godney moor.
Kenewalch, the ſeventh king of the Weſt-Saxons, gave Ferramere with the two
iſlands lying on each ſide the lake, called Godney and Weſthay, to the abbey of
Glaſtonbury, and the grant was confirmed by ſucceeding kings. Towards the Conqueſt
it altered its name, and was ſimply called Mere, being ſurveyed in the Norman record
under that title among the poffeffions of Glaſtonbury-abbey.
• Terrar. Ricardi Beere in Johan. Glaſton. Hiſt. ii. 317.
b Ibid.
c Ibid.
* The Glaſtonbury Roll mentions forty-one couple of fwans found here after the diſſolution of the abbey.
€ See page 244 of this vol.
After

Slaton.]
273
M
E.
E
R
After the diffolution, King Edw. VI. in the firſt year of his reign, granted the
manor of Mere with divers other poſſeſſions of the church to Edward Duke of Somerſet,
and it was valued at 731. 25. 4d. After which it paſſed to Gilbert Prynne, eſq; and
other hands, till it became veſted as above-mentioned.
The manor-houſe, wherein the abbot kept his court; and whereto he frequently
reſorted with his friends, ſtill exiſts, and is known by the name of Mere-Farm, being a
very ancient ſtructure, exhibiting the marks of time. It was built by abbot John Kent
about the year 1309, but was greatly improved and beautified by abbot Richard Beere
about the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. and the precincts, including new
offices, gardens, and orchards, were then ſurrounded with a high and thick wall, enclo-
ſing three acres and one perch of ground. This manſion had a fair large hall, partly
covered with lead and partly with flate; with eight fair chambers, a chapel, kitchen,
buttery, and pantry, and all other offices fuitable. “ Fynally (ſays the old ſurvey) the
howſe is fitt for a man of worſhip, but th’ayer thereof is not very holſome, favyng to
ſuche as have contynued long therein.'
Neither the manors of Godney, nor Westhay, are noticed in the Norman record. The
former is a conſiderable village, divided into two parts, called Upper and Lower
Godney, ſituated about a mile northeaſt from the pariſh church of Mere. In this
village a chapel was erected in ancient times to the honour of the Holy Trinity, and
the oblations were appropriated to the vicar of Ferlingmere. Of this chapel a notable
miracle was recorded; that notwithſtanding the environs, by reaſon of the thick groves
of trees, were conſtantly defiled by the ordure of different ſorts of birds inhabiting the
branches, yet this chapel was never known to be violated in like manner, or in the
leaſt to be touched by any of thoſe pollutions. In the place of the old chapel ſtands
one of more recent conſtruction, a ſmall but neat building, thirty-one feet long, and
twenty-eight broad, having this inſcription at the weſt end: “ This chapel (facred to
the Holy Trinity) was reſtored to its ancient uſe by Peter Davis, recorder of Wells,
efq; in the year 1737.” At the eaſt end are cut in the ſtone, in two coats, the Holy
Lamb and Eagle.
Among the ruins of Glaſtonbury-abbey there was found, in the year 1754, a ſeal,
on which were repreſented the figure of St. Dunſtan mitred and holding a croſier, and
addreſſing himſelf to certain figures in a congregation oppoſite; at the bottom, the
figure of a perſon kneeling and praying to the ſaint; and round the whole this legend:
S. Tome Capellani Dei Jnſula. This Thomas was chaplain of Godney, or
God's Inand, (as it was heretofore called) and is ſuppoſed to have been deſigned by
the figure at the feet of St. Dunſtan.
Westhay ſtands half a mile nearly weſtward from the church, and contains about
twenty-five houſes, which is nearly the ſame number with thoſe in Godney. Here
alſo was a chapel long ſince ruinated.
f MS. Valor.
3 Johan. Glaſton. ii. 316. h Glaſtonbury Roll above quoted.
Johan. Glaſton. Hift. ii. 315.
Another
VOL. II.
Nn

274
[ Ølation.
M M
E.
ER
Another village called Stilvey, or STIVELEIGH, ſtands half a mile ſoutheaſt from
the church, containing a few farins.
The church of Mere, valued in 1292 at fix marks and a half, was appropriated to
the abbey of Glaſtonbury, and a vicarage ordained A. D. 1351, when it was inſtituted
that the vicar ſhould have the parfonage-houſe, with all the arable land and meadow
which the rector holds in demeſne, with common for all kinds of beaſts with the abbot of
Glaſtonbury's tenants in all parts within the bounds and limits of the pariſh of Mere,
and common for four oxen and one heifer with the oxen of the religious in the places
uſual to the rector of Mere. He was alſo to receive all oblations to the ſaid church
ariſing from anniverſaries and legacies; the tithes of calves, pigs, geeſe, flax, hemp,
milk, cheeſe, wool, lambs, eggs, gardens, or curtilages, reed-walks, mills, pullets, and
pigeons, from the tenants of the abbot and convent, pariſhioners there; as alſo the
large and ſmall tithes of two tenements, called Pauneburgh, and Marteneſey; and the
tithes of the meads called Monekemede and Annevereſmede, and the dairy there; but the
vicar to have or claim no tithes whatſoever from the fruits or goods in the lands, or
places, or water, in the demeſnes of the ſaid religious, or of the animals there depafturing;
or of the fiſhes in the fiſheries there, except as above expreſſed. Nor ſhall the abbot
and convent receive any tithes from the arable lands or meadows aſſigned to the vicar
for his portion, or from his animals; but all mortuaries, church dues, and all other
things not aſſigned to the vicar, and belonging or due to the ſaid church of Mere, the
abbot and convent of Glaſtonbury ſhall wholly receive and enjoy. It ſhall alſo be
incumbent on every vicar to find bread, wine, incenſe, proceſſional candles, and other
lights in the ſaid church, bind the books uſed therein, waſh the veſtments, and repair
thoſe and all other ornaments belonging thereto, which had uſually been done by the
rector. The abbot and convent to ſupport all other burdens either by right or cuſtom
incumbent on the ſaid church, as well ordinary as extraordinary. Dated at Banwell
15 Kal. Oct. 1351.
The living of Mere is a vicarage in the juriſdiction of Glaſton, and in the gift of
Mrs. Cook, - Brown, eſq; and John Strode, efq.. The Rev. Robert Purcel is the
preſent incumbent.
The church which is dedicated to St. Mary, and ſtands on a ſmall eminence, is a
large Gothick ſtructure, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and two ſide ailes, all except the
chancel covered with lead. At the weſt end is a large embattled tower, containing fix
bells and a clock.
The eaſt window of the north aile contains very fine old painted glaſs, in which are
ſeveral hiſtorical groups of fine figures; but much obſcured by dirt. The principal
are the adminiſtration of Baptiſm, the Lord's Supper, and Extreme Unction. In
ſeveral other windows there is alſo ſome painted glaſs; but defaced by time. The
whole upper part of the great arch which divides the nave from the belfry is filled up
with an ancient painting, on the top of which is the croſs triumphant in the clouds,
ſurrounded by the celeſtial choir ſounding inſtruments of muſick. In the lower part is
* Taxat. Spiritual.
Exerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.
Peter

Olafton.]
275
M
E.
E
R
Peter with the keys, Moſes and Aaron, David playing on his harp, Hope with her
anchor, Juſtice with the ſword, and ſeveral other figures. In the center is a cherub
holding open the New Teſtament.
Some of the monks of Glaſtonbury are faid to have been buried here; but none of
their memorials remain.
In the ſtreet at the corner of the church-yard ſtands an old ſtone croſs.
W EST - P E N N A RD

L
IES three miles eaſt from Glaſtonbury, and in the turnpike-road from that town to
Shepton-Mallet. It is ſituated on the weſtern ſlope of a hill, in a woody country,
near the ſide of the moors; but the ſouthern part of the pariſh is high land, being a
ridge of hills running from Pill to within one mile of the Tor at Glaſtonbury. From
theſe high lands there is a fine proſpect. It conſiſts of five hamlets :
1. EAST-STREET, one mile northweſt of the church.
2. New-Town and LAVERLEY, along the turnpike road leading to Pilton.
3. HIGHER and LOWER SOUTH-Town, half a mile ſouth.
4. STICKLINGS, or STICKLINCH, half a mile northeaſt.
5. WOODLANDS, one mile ſouthweſt.
The manor of Pennard was given to the church of Glaſtonbury by Baldred king of
Kent, and conſiſted of ſix hides. It is included in the great Norman ſurvey under
Pennarminſtre, or Eaſt-Pennard, with which it was held till the diſſolution of the mo-
naſtery, and was then granted to the Duke of Somerſet, being of the yearly value
of 361. is. id."
The church of Weſt-Pennard was annexed to the churches of St. John and St.
Benignus in Glaſtonbury, and the rectories thereof were after the diſſolution veſted in
the crown till the year 1547, when William biſhop of Bath and Wells obtained of
King Edward VI. the church and rectory of St. John Baptiſt in Glaſtonbury, and the
rectory or the chapel of St. Benignus within the town of Glaſtonbury; as alſo the
rectories or chapels of Bradley and Weſt-Pennard, and the churches and rectories of
Northlode, Eaſt-Brent, Eaft-Pennard, and Weſton, and the advowſon and right of
patronage of thoſe churches, with all their lands, tithes, profits, and revenues, in
conſideration of conceding to the King the manors of Claverton, Hampton, Lydiard,
Chard, Chedder, Huiſh, and other poffeffions in this county, in Glouceſterſhire, and
in the city of London."
MS. Valor
* Rymer Feed. tom. xv. p. 171.
Nn 2
The
276
[Ølafton.
WEST-PENNAR D.
The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and is a large Gothick edifice, one hundred
feet in length, and forty-four in breadth, having a nave, chancel, and ſide ailes, covered
with lead, and a large tower at the weſt end containing five bells.
In the church are divers mural ſtones to the memory of the families of Grant, Walter,
and Burges.
In the church-yard is a fine yew tree, and a well-preſerved ſtone croſs.
Here is a charity-ſchool, endowed by Robert Slade, efq; about the year 1756, with
ten pounds per annum for teaching ten poor children to read.
N O R T H - W OTTON
S a ſmall pariſh ſix miles eaſt from Glaſtonbury, pleaſantly and pictureſquely ſituated
in a narrow warm vale encloſed on all ſides, except the weſt, by lofty ſteep hills
cultivated and wooded. The hills towards the north are called Lancelly-Hills; and
to the eaſt is Worminſter-Hill, a fine ſheep Nade. The ſlopes of theſe hills are very
ſteep; and thoſe towards the ſouth are in many places fiſſured from their tops. The
gutters, or charms, are too deep to have been formed by land foods, and bear evident
marks of antiquity; on the edges and ſlopes of them are old pollard trees and ſhrubs,
with deep channels in the ſtone, ſeeming to be the venerable veſtiges of the general
deluge.
A ſmall brook, formed by ſeveral ſprings which riſe in the pariſh of Pilton, runs
through and turns two overſhot griſt-mills in this pariſh, continuing its courſe through
the moors to Mere river. The lands are moſtly paſture and meadow; and here are
ſeveral quarries of blue lyas ſtone.
In the year of our Lord 760, Kinulph, king of the Weſt-Şaxons, gave to Guban
abbot of Glaſtonbury, who preſided two years over that monaſtery, the manor of
Wudetone, conſiſting of five hides:" which five hides in ſucceeding times were afterwards
incorporated into the great manor of Pilton, and at the Conqueſt were held by one
Adret, Eddret, or Aldred (as he is ſometimes called,) a thane of diſtinction, who at
the coming in of the Normans, was retained in the court of King William; but after-
wards diſmiſſed with the gratuity of divers lands in the weſt of England."
“Of the ſame land of this manor [PILTONE] Adret holds of the Abbot five hides
in Urone.”
The manor belongs to William Gore Langton, of Newton St. Loe, eſą.
Guilielm. Malmeſbur. de Antiq. Glafton. Ecclef. in Adam. Domerham. i. 63.
Excerpt. e Chronic. Glaſton. MS.
Lib. Domeſday.
The
Olaton.]
277
NORTH-W O T TO N.
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Cary; and has always been annexed to
Pilton, which is the mother church. The Rev. Mr. Hopkins is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall building of one pace, wherein nothing remarkable occurs as
to monuments or particularity of conſtruction. An embattled tower at the weſt end
contains three bells.
At Syckedon in Devonſhire certain lands of the yearly rent of 26s. 8d. and fix acres
of land in Pilton, were given for the ſupport of lights in the chapel of Wotton; which
lands were ſold by commiſſioners, appointed by Queen Mary, in 1557, to Henry
Portman, eſq.
In the church-yard is an old yew-tree.
The average births in this pariſh annually are nine; the burials four.
The pariſh conſiſts of about forty houſes, and nearly three hundred inhabitants.
d
d Harl. MS. 606, p. 45

ity
THE
( 279 )
THE HUNDRED OF
HARECLIVE AND BEDMINSTER.
PAB
ARTLY within the pariſh of Barrow, and partly within that of Winford, isa
rock or cliff, called Hare-Clive, or Cliff, which gives name to the Hundred now
united with that of Bedminſter. At this ſpot the courts for the Hundred were
formerly held, and the uſual buſineſs tranſacted; it being cuſtomary in ancient times to
convene publick meetings in ſome one of the moſt conſpicuous places in the diſtrict
over which any particular juriſdiction extended. The name is obviouſly derived from
the Saxon Here, which ſignifies an army, and Clif, a ſteep or craggy rock. In this
neighbourhood there is alſo a road called Hare-Lane, having the ſame ſignification;
the former expreſſing the military rock, the latter the military way. Through theſe
parts paſſed in its track towards the Severn ſea, that ancient famous boundary called
Wanſdike, formed by Belgick warriors previous to the invaſion of this kingdom by the
Romans.” And conſidering the many battles which muſt have been fought, upon a
rampart raiſed by a foreign enemy to repel the Aborigines, or ancient natives of this
country, who were equally fierce and warlike with themſelves, and very tenacious of
the ſmalleſt part of their territories; it is not to be wondered why this cliff and this
lane, both ſeated on this important boundary, obtained the appellation of Harecliff and
Harelane. A family of fome account derived their name from Hareclive, from which
we may conclude this ſpot was once peopled with inhabitants.
With regard to the property of the conjoined hundreds of Hareclive and Bedminſter,
it is to be obſerved that they originally were parcel of the crown. In the hundred of
Bedminſter were fix hides, from which the King received a tribute of twenty-four
ſhillings, as for four of thoſe hides; Oſbert Giffard held a fifth in demeſne, and Turſtin
the ſixth in free alms. The hundreds were afterwards held of the honour of Glou-
ceſter by the Fitz-Hardings and the Berkeleys, and thenceforth by the ſucceſſive lords
of the manor of Bedminſter, where the court for that hundred is now held; but the
court for that of Hareclive is held at Long-Aſhton. A conſtable is choſen for each.


* See vol. i. p. 170.
* Inquiſicio Gheldi in Sumerſeta.
Theſe
280
[bareclive and
HARECLIVE AND BEDMINSTER.
This hundred, which is ſituated in the northern verge of the county, extending
from Chew on the eaſt, and Wrington on the weſt, to the city and county of Briſtol,
contains the following pariſhes:
BEDMINSTER
BARROW
NEMNET
LONG-ASHTON BUTCOMBE
and
BACKWELL
CHELVY
WINFORD.
Of which we ſhall treat in order.
B E D M I
N
S Τ Ε
R..
T
HIS pariſh, which in ancient times conſiſted of only a few cottages, is now grown
ſo populous and crowded with buildings, as to form a very conſiderable fuburb
to the city of Briſtol, the principal ſtreet being the great road thereinto from the weſtern
parts of England.
Bedminſter was formerly parcel of the poſſeſſion of the Saxon kings, and was never
alienated from the crown till after the Norman Conqueſt. The Domeſday ſurvey
thus deſcribes it:
« The King holds BeiminSTRE. King Edward held it. It never was aſſeſſed to
" the geld; nor is it known how many hides it contains. The arable is twenty-fix
carucates. Three carucates are in demeſne, and there are three ſervants, and twenty-
“ five villanes, and twenty-two cottagers, with ten ploughs. There is a mill of five
« ſhillings rent, and thirty-four acres of meadow. Wood two miles long, and one
“ mile broad. It pays twenty-one pounds, and twopence halfpenny, every ore being
« of the value of twenty pence.
" The prieſt of this manor holds land to the amount of one carucate, and it is worth
twenty ſhillings.
“Of this manor the biſhop of Coutances holds one hundred and thirteen acres of
" meadow and wood."
King William II. when he conferred the honour of Glouceſter on - Robert Fitz-
Hamon, who came into England with William Duke of Normandy his father, granted
him this manor and hundred, with divers other large eſtates, to fupport that dignity,
whereto he willed them to be annexed for ever. Robert left only four daughters, the
eldeſt of whom, Mabel, being the wife of Robert the natural ſon of King Henry I.
he in 1100, was created Earl of Glouceſter, by the name of Robert of Mellent, and
na
died in 1147
Lib. Domeſday.
Of
Bedmintter. 1
281
B E D M IN S T E R.
Of this Robert the manor of Bedminſter was held by Robert Fitz-Harding, the ſon
of Harding, governor of Briſtol in the time of William the Conqueror, a perſon of
high extraction, being deſcended from the Kings of Denmark. This Robert Fitz-
Harding was progenitor of the Berkeley family, and dying in 1170, was buried in the
abbey-church of St. Auguſtine in Briſtol, which he himſelf had founded.
Maurice his ſon, ſurnamed de Berkeley, from that his lordſhip in Glouceſterſhire,
was a great benefactor to his father's, as well as to other religious foundations. He
died in 1189, and was ſucceeded by Robert his eldeſt ſon.
Which Robert de Berkeley founded in the village of Bedminſter, to the honour of
St. Catherine, an hoſpital for a maſter, or warden, and ſeveral poor brethren, which his
brother Sir Thomas de Berkeley confirmed, and gave to it lands and tenerents in
Biſhopworth within this pariſh. This Robert alſo founded a chantry in his manor-
houſe here, and another in his chapel at Portbury."
Thomas de Berkeley, his brother and heir, acquired himſelf a name from his piety
and religious benefactions. He died in 1243, and was buried in St. Auguſtine's
abbey.
Maurice, his eldeſt ſon, had livery of this manor 28 Hen. III. and 46 of the ſame
reign obtained of the King a charter of free warren in all his lands lying in Bedminſter,
Portbury, and other places.' 31 Henry III. this Maurice gave a mill and lands in
Bedminſter to the monaſtery of Whitland in the county of Brecon, for the ſake of his
own ſoul and the ſoul of Iſabel his wife. He died 9 Edw. I. ſeized of this manor, and
Redcliff-ſtreet without Briſtol belonging thereto, leaving iſſue Thomas his ſon and heir
then thirty years of age.
Which Thomas fortified and embattled his manſion-houſe at Bedminſter, and en-
larged the buildings of the hoſpital.” He died in 1321, and was ſucceeded by Maurice
de Berkeley his eldeſt ſon.
This Maurice de Berkeley 23 Edw. I. was fummoned to parliament by the title of
Lord Berkeley, of Berkeley-caſtle in the county of Glouceſter. IO Edw. II. he built
priory on the Flät-Holmes in the Briſtol channel, and gave thereto lands in his
manor of Portbury. He died in 1326, 19 Edw. II.
Sir Thomas Berkeley, his eldeſt ſon, ſucceeded to the title and eſtate; and 4 Edw. III.
had a full confirmation of the manor of Bedminſter with all its appertenances.
11 Edw. III. he gave an annual rent of thirty ſhillings out of this manor for a prieſt to
ſing in the abbey-church of St. Auguſtine's in Briſtol, for the foul of Margaret his
vife, his own ſoul, and all the faithful deceaſed. He likewiſe founded a chantry in the
chapel of St. Catherine in Bedminſter, 19 Edw. III. for a prieſt to ſay maſs for Lord
Maurice his father, and for Margaret his wife, and himſelf after his deceaſe: which
chantry he endowed with lands in Bedminfter and Portbury." 21 Edw. III. he erected

g
a


• Tanner's Notitia Monaftica. • Itin. Willelmi de Worceſtre, 294, 295.
a Dugd. Bar. i. 352.
e Rot. fin. 28 Hen. III. f Cart. 46 Hen. III. s Eſc. h Pat. 25 Edw. I. i MS. Notes by Savage.
k Cart. 4 Edw. III. n. 62. i Pat. Ji Edw. III. p. 2. m. 3. m Rot. claus, 19 Edw. III.
Vol. II.
an
A
282
[bareclive and
B E D M IN S T E R.
an hermitage in Bedminſter, and gave to the maſter of St. Catherine's hoſpital a parcel
of land near it to pray for the ſouls of his father, mother, and wife." He died in 1361,
leaving iſſue,
Sir Maurice, the third Lord Berkeley, who was alſo a great founder of chantries;
attending the Black Prince into Gaſcoigne, he received ſuch wounds at the bat of
Poictiers, as ended his days June 8, 1367, being then ſeized of the manors of Bedminſter,
Portbury, and Portiſhead; as alſo the hundred of Hareclive and Bedminſter.
His ſucceſſor was Thomas the fourth Lord Berkeley, who was the laſt of the family
that poſſeſſed this manor; for dying in 1416 without iſſue male, Elizabeth his only
daughter and heir transferred it with many other eſtates to her huſband Richard
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.
The ſaid Richard Beauchamp, at his death in 1439, left three daughters his co-
heireſſes, viz. Margaret, wife of John Talbot earl of Shrewſbury; Eleanor, firſt
married to Lord Roos, and afterwards to Edmund Beaufort marquis of Dorſet and
duke of Somerſet; and Elizabeth wife to George Nevil lord Latimer. The manor
of Bedminſter came to Eleanor the ſecond coheireſs, whoſe daughter Margaret was
married to Humphry earl of Stafford, father to Henry duke of Buckingham, and
grandfather to Edward duke of Buckingham, who all ſucceſſively poſſeſſed this manor
and hundred. But the laſt-mentioned Duke being attainted in parliament 13 Henry
VIII. it became confiſcated to the crown, and that King the ſame year, March 12,
granted it to Henry Bourchier earl of Effex, and the heirs male of his body. The
ſaid Earl was killed March 13, 1539, by a fall from his horſe, and leaving no iſſue
male, the manor of Bedminſter reverted to the crown, and was granted in 1553, 1 and
2 Philip and Mary, to Edward Nevil and his heirs. From him it deſcended to Sir
Henry Nevil his grandſon, ſon and heir apparent of Edward lord Abergavenny, who
in 1605 fold it to Sir Hugh Smyth, knt. from whom it has paſſed, in like manner with
Long-Aſhton, to Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart. and Edward Gore, eſq; the preſent
poffeffors. A patent of confirmation of this manor was granted to Sir Hugh Smyth,
7th of Dec. 1 1 James I.
St. Catherine's hoſpital, founded by Robert de Berkeley, lord of this manor, ſtood
on the weſt ſide of the ſtreet near the bridge called Brightbow-Bridge, and was ſome-
time ſince a glaſs-houſe; but is now conyerted into ſmall tenements. Nothing remains
of the original building except the eaſt end of the chapel, where there is a Gothick
window blocked up. The body of the chapel was forty-nine feet long, and twenty-
one feet wide; the chancel twenty-ſeven feet long, and fixteen wide.°
16 June, 29 Eliz. the ſcite of this hoſpital was granted to Edward Heron and
John Nicholas, and their heirs, who the next year ſold it to Henry Nevil, eſq; by whoſe
family it was conveyed to Sir Hugh Smyth, knt. and it is now the property of Sir John
Hugh Smyth, bart.
The regiſters of Wells inform us, that it was not a houſe of religious at its firſt
foundation, and that heretofore the warden or inafter had with him at a time three





Dugd. Bar. i. 359, from papers in Berkeley-Caſtle.
• Itin. Willelm. de Worceſtre, 294.
or

Bedmintter.]
283
B E D M IN S T E R.
or four prieſts or brethren, who always wore the habit of ſecular prieſts; except
that inſtead of the outer veſt, they uſed a cope or mantle of black or burnet, with a
St. Catherine's wheel of cloth of another colour fewed to the left breaſt. The revenues
of this hoſpital never exceeded the yearly value of twenty-four pounds, out of which
it paid to the rector of Bedminſter an annual penſion of fix ſhillings and eightpence,
and to the ſame church, on the feaſt of St. John the Baptiſt, two wax candles of a
pound weight each. In 1534, the revenues were valued at 2rl. 155. rod.
The lords of the manor were the ſucceſſive patrons; the maſters were,
John, of Babcary, elected April 25, 1325.
Richard, of Borefordeſcote-Wyke, Sept. 30, 1327,
John Randolph, of Coleſhill, April 11, 1332,
John of Malmeſbury, Oct. 22, 1338.
John of Eggeſworth, Dec. 10, 1348.
William of Foſton, April 14, 1349.
Walter of Eaſt-Ham, April 19, 1351.
John of Kilmerſdon, Oct. 29, 1353.
John Difford, 1373.
Nicholas de Barnſtable, reſigned 1413.
John Worthy, April 21, 1414.
John Dyer, Nov. 19, 1414.
John Coriſcomb, 1420.
Thomas Fulford, D.D. a preaching friar, June 1, 1425,
Jacobus Akadenſis Epiſcopus, Oct. 11, 1432.
Henry Abyndon, muſician of the king's chapel, 1478.
Thomas Cofyn, B.D. Sept. 1, 1491 and 1497.
John Lloyd, April 21, 1513.
Richard Waldegrave, gentleman, a layman, May 12, 1523.
William Clarke, a layman, April 14, 1543.
John Aungel, 1566.
James Bond, B.D. Aug. 23, 1568.
John Bridgwater, canon reſidentiary of Wells, Nov. 23, 1570.
Edward Mowcroft, 1572.
Francis Nevil, May 26, 1573.
The prior of Stanley in Wiltſhire had in 1444 an eſtate in Bedminſter of the yearly
value of two marks ten ſhillings. The abbot of Bruerne in Oxfordſhire, had alſo three
marks; and the abbot of Whitland in Brecknockſhire one mark from the manor of
Bedminſter.
The revenues of St. Auguſtine’s-abbey here were in 1293 valued at 81. 155."
In this pariſh are ſix tithings, East, West, and North tithings, KNOLLE, Bishop-
WORTH-ARTHUR, and BISHOPWORTH-LIONS.
PExcerpt. e Regift. Wellen.
9 He preſided here when William of Worceſter wrote,
Taxat. Temporal.
002
The
284
[bareclive and
B E D M IN S T E R.
ws
The tithing and hamlet of KNOLLE are ſituated ſoutheaſt from the village of Bedminſter.
In the time of King William the Conqueror the manor of Knolle, then written Canole,
was held by Oſbern Giffard of the crown.
« Olbern holds of the King, CANOLE. Alnod held it in the time of King Edward,
sand gelded for two hides. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne is one caru-
** cate, and five villanes, and fix cottagers, with two ploughs. There are fixteen acres
“ of meadow, and twenty acres of paſture. Wood two furlongs and a half long, and
-** half a furlong broad. It was formerly worth thirty ſhillings, now forty ſhillings.
The manor of Knolle was afterwards held of the Berkeleys by the family of Gournay,
of whom John de Gournay 26 Edw. III. obtained licence of the King to grant a piece
of land in Knolle, eighteen feet in length, and as many in breadth, in which there lay a
certain fountain called Ravenſwell, to the prior and brethren of St. Auguſtine in the
city of Briſtol, for a ſubterraneous aqueduct to the houſe of the ſaid prior.
Here formerly was a chapel, long ſince ruinated. 3 Edw. VI. it was granted with
all lands and tithes to Richard Roberts.
BISHOPWORTH lies ſouth from Bedminſter, and in the portway from the city of Wells
to that of Briſtol. It belonged at the Conqueſt to the Biſhop of Coutances, as we read
in the ſurvey:
“ Azeline holds of the Biſhop, BiscopewRDE. Edric held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for one hide and a half. - The arable is two carucates, and with
« it are four villanes, and four bordars, and four cottagers. There are ten acres of
“ meadow, and forty-five acres of paſture. It was worth twenty ſhillings, now thirty
66 ſhillings.
This manor (ſometimes written Buiſhport) was formerly the property of a branch of
the family of the Arthurs, of Clapton in the hundred of Portbury. Thomas Arthur
was lord of it in 1312, and it continued in that family till the year 1558, when John
Arthur dying without iſſue, it deſcended to Thomas Croſs and Henry Manſewer, his
neareſt heirs, of whom it was purchaſed 12 Eliz. by Hugh Smyth, of Long-Aſhton,
eſq; whoſe repreſentatives, Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart. and Edward Gore, efq; now
inherit it.
In this manor is an ancient houſe called Inyn's-Court, which in 1353 belonged to
John Onewyn. Sir John Inyn was owner thereof, and died 1439. From him it
deſcended to the Kenns of Kenn-Court, and by the marriage of Elizabeth coheireſs of
Chriſtopher Kenn with John the firſt Lord Poulett, paſſed into that family, and is now
the property of the preſent Lord Poulett. In this houſe are theſe arms in painted
glafs:-A feſſe azure, between four unicorns' heads, three in chief and one in baſe; im-
paling azure a chevron ermine, between three lions rampant, argent.
Another eſtate in this manor belonged to St. John's hoſpital at Redcliff-pit in
Briſtol, and is now divided among ſeveral freeholders. The Lyons of Whitchurch
در


* Lib. Domeſday
+ Inq. ad quod damnum, 26 Ed. III.
u Lib. Domeſday,
had
Bedmintter.]
285
B E D M IN S T E R.
had likewiſe eſtates here, which now belong to Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart. by purchaſe;
and an eſtate alſo here belonged to St. Catherine's hoſpital, now James's and Hipſley's.
John Arthur, lord of this manor, built a chapel on his waſte lands in this village,
dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, by virtue of a licence from Gilbert de Dunſter,
canon of Saliſbury, and prebendary of Bedminſter, The building is now converted
into a dwelling-houſe.
The church of Bedminſter has flouriſhed ever ſince the Saxon days, and has been
endowed with large revenues; at the time of the Conqueſt, the then officiating prieſt
here held within the manor and pariſh one carucate or ploughland (amounting to about
one hundred and twenty acres) worth twenty ſhillings, or three pounds of our money;
but which would now be worth three hundred pounds. In 1292 the church of Bed-
minſter with its chapel, and the penſion which it received from the vicarage, was rated
at ſeventy marks, and the vicarage at eight marks. It is a prebend in the cathedral
church of Saliſbury, and a court-baron is held here for the ſame. The Rev. Mr.
Whiſh is prebendary of Bedminſter, and the prebendal manor is held for lives under
him by the college of Wincheſter. The Rev. Mr. Spry is the preſent incumbent of
the vicarage, with the annexed chapels of Abbots-Leigh, Redcliff and St. Thomas in
the city of Briſtol.
The church is dedicated to St. John Baptiſt, and ſtands a little ſouthward from the
village, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and north aile. At the weſt end is a large ſquare
tower, with open balluſtrades at top, containing a clock and two bells. On this tower
once ſtood a ſteeple, which was thrown down in 1563.


1
* Per iftud fcriptum indentatum fciant omnes ad quos preſens ſcriptura pervenerit, quod ego G. de Dunſterre,
canonicus Sarum, & prebendarius eccleſiæ de Bedmynſtre, conceſſi libere & quiete parochianis meis de Byſhop-
wourth, pro ayſamento illorum & commoditate divina audienda, capellam & cantariam in villa eorum conftru-
endam, ſuper terram Roberti Arthur, ubi ipfi diſpoſuerunt, in honore apoſtolorum Petri & Pauli imperpetuum.
Habenda iſtis diebus in ebdomoda miſſa cum ſervicio diei; ſcilicet diebus Dominicis, diebus Veneris & Mercurii
per capellanum meum de Bedmynſtre; ita videlicet, quod fi aliquis iftorum dierum aliquo legitimo impedimento
fuerit impeditus, diem illum in ebdomoda proxime ſequenti illis fideliter reſtaurabit. Ad exhibicionem autem
capellani qui illic miniſtrabit, parochiani predicti concefferunt de terris ſuis Deo & Eccleſiæ ſancti Johannis de
Bedmynſtre, videlicet; Robertus Arthur illam placeam ubi capella eſt conſtructa & edificata; cum illo ferlyngo
terre & meſfuagio quod Iſgod tenuit, in omnibus rebus, pratis, & ceteris pertinentiis ſuis; Galfridus de Bello
monte unam acram in uno campo, & unam acram in alio campo; Robertus Rufy i acram fingulis annis ; Arnulfus
del Brock i acram fingulis annis; Galfridus Byſchop i acram fingulis annis; ſub hoc tenore, cantariam pre-
dictam illis conceſſam, ut illi qui de terris fuis predicte eccleſie ejus occaſione dederunt, ipfi & ſui in perpetuum
participium omnis honoris, quem in illam capellam fient, habeant, & divinorum ibi celebrandorum communionem.
Ceteri autem ab illo participio ſunt exclufi, & ad matricem ecclefiam, ficut folebant, revertantur. Et fi contingat
predi&ta cantaria eſſe ſubftracta, omiſſa, vel deſerta per unum menſem quando abſit excuſacio; tum liceat dicto
Roberto Arthur, & heredibus ſuis, omnia predicta, terras & tenementa, ad dictam cantariam et datam et con-
ceffam, omnino ingredi, et in feodo poffidere, fine aliquo impedimento vel calumpnia aliquorum ſucceſſorum
meorum. Ut vero hec conceſſio et imperpetuum rata & inconcuſſa permaneat, eam figilli mei appoſicione robo.
raví. His T. Johanne abbate de fancta Auguſtino, Willielmo abbate de Eynſham, A. decano Wellenfi, O.
decano de Ferliga, Henrico Lufel, Willielmo capellano de Redecliva, Mauricio Luvel, Ricardo Luvel, S.
perſona de Winfrod, Hunfrido capellano de Aſtona, Rogero capellano de Leia, Hugone capellano, ſcriptore
prefentis carte, & multis aliis. Datum quinto die Maij anno regni regis Henrici quinto.” The ſeal appendant
to this deed has on it the repreſentation of a perſon praying, and round it Jefus eft amor meus.
y Taxat. Spiritual
There

286
[bareclive and
B E D M IN S T E R.

S. d.
4
O
2
o
There are ſeveral modern monuments and infcriptions in this church. The only
ancient one is on a flat ſtone in the chancel for the family of Grinfield, whereon it is
faid that they ſettled in this pariſh in the ſecond year of Edw. I. The arms on the
ſtone are quarterly, 1. A ſword in pale. 2. Two ſpurs leathered. 3. Two eſcallops
in chief. 4e A feſs lozengy.
By an inquiſition taken on the goods of foreigners poſſeſſed of benefices within this
dioceſe A.D. 1317, there were found in the parſonage-houſe of Bedminſter, the fol-
lowing goods and chattels, belonging to Maſter Gerald de Tylleto, rector of the pre-
bendal church of Bedminſter, viz.
“ In primis 30 quarters of wheat at 6 8 per quarter.
20 quarters of beans
3 3
10 quarters of barley
15 quarters of oats
Rents of aſſize due as follow, viz. At Bedminſtre-William Sprente 18d. Adam de
Vycheler 7d. John le Lom 7d. John Coky 12d. John Jorthelane gd. Walter
Cogel od. Thomas Doulay gd. William le Couk 21d. Richard Holloker 20d.
Richard Tobbe 12d. Iſabell Tony 7 d. John Forſt 7 d. John Hole Weye 18d.
Walter Buryman gs. Richard Calbac 9d. Walter Buryman 8 d. John Bac 3s. 9 d.
The maſter of the houſe of St. Catherine 2od. Thomas Lovel of Legh 20d.
“ Redclyve-William Wyt Wode 2s. Walter Faber 25. George le Barbour 18d.
The vicar of Redeclyve for his penſion roos. Item for ſtraw fold ios. Of which
Henry de Afton, rector of the church of Heie-riſynden, in the dioceſe of Worceſter,
farmer of the ſaid church of Bedmynſtre, received 181. 75. 8d. and by the hands of the
vicar of Redeclyve ioos. for his penſion."
The ſtate of the church and chapels in Bedminſter at the time of the Reformation
appears
* In the certyfycate of Sir Thomas Speke, knight, Sir Hugh Pawlet, knight,
Sir John Seyntlowe, knight, Sir Thomas Dyer, knight, Sir John Rogers, knight,
Robert Kelwaye, eſquire, George Lynde, eſquire, William Moryce, eſquire, William
Hartegyll, eſquire, comiſſioners aſſigned by the letters patents of our Soveraigne Lord
Edward the Sixt by the grace of God King of England, France, and Ireland, defender
of the Faith, and of the Church of England, and alſo of Ireland, in earth the ſupreme
hedd, bearing date the xiiijh day of February in the ſecond yere of his moſt gracyous
reigne to them directed for the ſurvey of all and fingular colliges, chauntryes, free
chappells, guylds, fraternityes, brotherydes, anniverſaris whatſoever within the ſaid
countie [of Somerſet,] gyven unto his highnefſe by vertue of an act of parliament
made in the firſt yere of his Majeſties reigne in that behalfe provyded. Amongſt
others it is conteyned as followeth, viz.
»Z


2 Excerpt, e Regift. Wellen,
Decanatuis
Bedmintter.]
287
B E D M IN S T E R.

Decanatus de Bedmyster.
[Is yerely worth in landes, tents and hereditam in the tenure of fondry
pſones as may appere perticulerly more at large by the rentall of the
ſame xxji. xvs. iiijd, whereof in rents reſolute payd yerely vs. iiijd.
And fo remayneth clere xxjl. xs.
Plate and / A chalice of ſilver waying viij oz. di.
Bedmyller
ornaments. J Ornaments prayſed at iiijs. vjd.
Bell metal cló.
William Clerke, gent. (as it is ſaid) maiſter of the ſame
The Free
hoſpital by the kings lrēs patents not yet ſhewed.
Chapell or
There be noe poore people maynteyned or releved
Hoſpital of
with the pmiſes faveing that the ſaid Maſter Clerke aſſign-
St. Bate-
Memoran"
rine there
eth iij cottages pcell of the ſame hoſpitall worth yerely
xx$. not charged in this value for the poore men to dwell
in, and other relief they have none, but as God ſendeth.
The prieſt alwayes incumbent before him was bound
to ſay maſſe there thryſe every weke.
No fundacõn ſhewed.
Is yerely worth in lands, tents, tythes, hereditaments, and other prof-
fects in the tenure of ſondery perſons as may appere pticulerly more at
Che Free
large by the rentall of the fame lxvj. vijd.
Chapell of
Plate and ?
None but a chalice ix oz.
Knolle
ornaments.
Bell-metal dī. C.
Memoran John Bradley Clerke incumbent there. The chapel is
ſ diſtant from the pyſhe churche a quarter of a myle.
The Cha-)
pell ſcituate
within the Is yerely worth in The rent of the fame chapell in the occupying of the
Parithe pyſhenors there xij d.
Church
yerde there
The Cha-( Is yerely worth in The rent of the ſaid chapell with a pece of grounde
pell of St.
incloſed wherein the fame chapell is ſcituate xx D.
Peter of
Plate and / A chalice of ſilver waying xixoz, dī,
Bytporte
ornaments. J Ornaments prayſed at vis. ij d.
Bell-metal dī. C.
}
Lights
288
[hareclive and
B E D M I N S T E R.
Lights
founded
within the
parilhe
churche
ther
Are yerely worthe in Dne annuall rent to be levyed and received of the
iſfues and revenues of the lands and tenements of John Kemys of
Knolle vijd.
The pfonage there is of the yerely value of xxviijl. whereof
Henry Williams Clerke is now incumbent.
Memoran"
The vicarage there is of the yerely value of xl. whereof
Nicholas Sampford Clerke is now incūbent, who findeth
one prieſt to helpe to minifter ther.
ptakers of the Lord's Holy Soop there cccxx pſones,
L M N G -
A S H TO N.
THI
HIS pariſh, ſo denominated from its prolixity, adjoins to that of Bedminſter
weſtward, and is three miles diſtant from the city of Briſtol. Its ſituation is
extremely pleaſant, being chiefly a rich and wooded vale, having the lofty ridge of
Dundry on the ſouth, and on the north a bleak pictureſque range of hills, which,
beginning at the disjointed cliffs of St. Vincent on the eaſt, extend weſtward through
the pariſhes of Leigh, Wraxal, Tickenham, and Clevedon, and as they paſs are
differently denominated.
The river Avon, over which is a ferry at a place called Rownam, ſeparates this
pariſh and county from Glouceſterſhire and Briſtol. A ſmall ſtream, formed by a
ſpring riſing at Dundry, after having traverſed the vale of Aſhton, empties itſelf into
the Avon near the abovenamed paſſage. Another ſpring, having its fource in Barrow,
compoſes a ſecond rivulet, which purſues a different courſe, winding through Wraxal
and the moors towards the Severn fea.
Againſt the ſoutheaſt nope of Aſhton-hill, ſtretching in a lengthwiſe direction from
eaſt to weſt, lies the village of Long-Aſhton, throughout which and the whole pariſh,
a fine gravel road is cut, which in many places forms a terrace, overlooking a moſt
pleaſing ſucceſſion of fine meads and paſtures, intermingled with wood, and having in
view
part of the city of Briſtol, Clifton, Dundry, and the hills and ſcattered villages on
the other ſide the Avon,
The eaſtern point of Aſhton-hill overlooks the Avon and the Hotwells, which lie
below at an immenſe depth. This point is rudely interſperſed with wood and
foreſt flirubs, ſpringing from amidſt the crags, which are in ſome places almoft, and
in others quite perpendicular, having here and there a cavern hollowed by the hand
of nature, and exhibiting a very romantick and magnificently wild appearance. On
the verge of theſe cliffs, are two very ancient Roman encampments, known by the
names
Bedmintter.]
289
L ON G. AS H T O N.

a
names of Burwalls and Stokeleigh. The former is triangular, conforming to the ſhape
of the cliff, and conſiſts of three ramparts, placed on the hill fide weſtward, the parts
next the river being guarded by the precipice. The inner rampart is eighteen
feet high, and is compoſed of a ſtrong cemented maſs of limeſtone rubbiſh; ſo hard as
fcarcely to be broken by any tool.
Stokeleigh ſtands northward from Burwalls, being divided from it by a very deep
narrow dell, clothed on the north ſide with wood. It is of an oval form, and conſiſts
of two ramparts, the inmoſt of which is very thick and ſtrong. They ſeem to have
been thrown up more with a view of obſervation than defence, and to have ſerved as
a ſpeculum over the paſs between the Belgæ on this, and the Dobuni on the other ſide
the river.
The pariſh of Long-Aſhton contains about four thouſand two hundred acres, and is
divided into the tithings of Ashton-DANDO, ASHTON-Lions, Ashton-Philips, and
ASHTON-ALEXANDER. The lands are generally paſture and meadow; there being no
more than twenty acres of arable land in the whole pariſh. The chief employment of
the common people is gardening, and vaſt quantities of all kinds of vegetables and
fruits (particularly ſtrawberries) are raiſed here for Briſtol market and the Hotwells,
which are alſo ſupplied with milk and butter from the dairies. In the valley ſouth-
ward from the village are ſeveral coal-mines, where at the pit's mouth coal is delivered
at three-pence per
buſhel.
In many of the gardens Roman coins have been dug up, from which it may be
concluded that the Romans were acquainted with this territory; but we know not by
what name they diſtinguiſhed it. The Saxons called it Easton, on account of its
eaſtern ſituation from Portbury, which was in their days the principal town on this ſide
the river. It was written by the Normans Eſt une, and under that title it is ſurveyed
in Domeſday-Book, immediately after the town of Porberie, or Portbury, above-
mentioned. The whole place had previouſly to the Conqueſt belonged to three Saxon
thanes; but was then the property of Gefferey biſhop of Coutances in Normandy.
« The Biſhop himſelf holds EstuNE. Three thapes held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for twenty hides. The arable is thirty carucates. In demefne
u are two carucates, and five ſervants, and twelve villanes, and ſix cottagers, with ſeven
ploughs. There is a mill of forty pence rent, and twenty-five acres of meadow.
“ Paſture one mile long, and half a mile broad, and one hundred acres of wood. It
“ was worth twelve pounds, now ten pounds.
“Of the land of this manor Roger holds of the Biſhop feven hides, and has there in
« demeſne two carucates, and four ſervants, and eight villanes, and ten cottagers, with
« five ploughs. There are eighteen acres of meadow, and thirty acres of wood. It is
« worth ſeven pounds.
« Of the ſame land of this manor Wido a prieſt holds three hides, and has there two
carucates, and two fervants, and three villanes, and two cottagers, with two ploughs.
" It is worth one hundred ſhillings.
a This pariſh finds a conſtable for the Hundred of Hareclive
VOL. II.
every
fourth
year.
PP
66 To
290
[parective and
L O N G - A S HT N,
« To the church of this manor appertains one virgate of the fame land.”
This Gefferey, biſhop of Coutances, died in 1093, and his lands reſorting to the
crown were differently diſpoſed of. The firſt perſon that appears upon record to have
enjoyed any conſiderable poſſeſſions in this place, is Adam de Heyron or Herun, who
lived in the time of Henry I. and bore on his ſeal three herons, in alluſion to his name."
He died about the beginning of the reign of King Stephen, and his property deſcended
by his only daughter and heireſs to Alexander De Alneto, or De Alno, a name after-
wards corrupted into De Auno, Danno, and Dando.
Which Alexander de Alnéto, in the twelfth year of Henry II. upon the aid levied
for marrying the king's daughter, certified that he held his lands by the ſervice of one
knight's fee." He was a benefactor to the monks of Bath, and among other donations
gave to them the manor of Camely, and dying about the beginning of the reign of
King John, was buried near the weit entrance of the church of St. Peter at Bath.
To this Alexander ſucceeded Robert, Henry, Fulk, and Geoffrey De Alno, which
laſt, 43 Hen. III, held two carucates of land in Aſhton;' and dying that ſame year,
was ſucceeded by
Alexander De Alnieto, or De Alno, the ſecond of that name, who gave to the hof-
pital of St. Catherine in the village of Bedminſter, the Burwalls on Aſhton-Cliff, and
a meſſuage in the hamlet of Boure-Aſhton; and to the hoſpital of Billeſwick in the
city of Briſtol, a meſſuage and lands in Long-Aſhton, ſituated oppoſite the preſent
vicarage-houſe. The territory which this family poffeffed in Aſhton, was ever after
called by their name, and at this day conſtitutes a tithing of the appellation of
ASHTON-DANDO,
But this branch of the De Alnos failing about the time of Edward I. another family
ſucceeded to the eſtates, of the name of Lions, or De Lions; deſcended from a houſe
which originated from Lyons, the capital of Lyonnois, a province in France, from
which country they emigrated into England ſoon after the Norman Conqueſt.
Of this family was Nicholas de Lions, who in 1252 held the office of reeve of the
city of Briſtol.
His eldeſt ſon's name was William, who improved the patrimonial eſtates by pur-
chaſe from Agnes the widow of Alexander de Alno, and William de Aſhton; inſomuch
that at his death 5 Edw. II. he held in this pariſh a capital meſſuage, (the ſame in all
probability which is ſtill partly ſtanding) a hundred and forty-ſeven acres of arable land,
forty-four acres of meadow, and ſeparate parcels of paſture, with a windmill, two fulling-
mills, and divers other poffeffions.' By Maud his wife he left iſſue three ſons, Adam,
Thomas, and Edmund.


h
Adam de Lions, the eldeſt ſon, was born in the year 1287, and ſucceeded to this
eſtate; but lived only one year after the death of his father, and
e Lib. Rub. Bathon. MS.
Lib. Domeſday,
+ Eſc.
· Seals from ancient deeds.
% Cart, antiq.
Lib. Nig. Scac. i. 96.
Notes by Savage MS.
i Eſc.
Thomas
Bedmintter.]
291
L ON G - A S H T O N.

Thomas the ſecond ſon of William, and brother of Adam, inherited this manor, and
paid thirty-three ſhillings and four-pence for his relief. This Thomas, dying alſo
without iſſue in the year 1328, was ſucceeded by his only ſurviving brother
Edmund de Lions, born in 1303, 32 Edw.I. This Edmund, the year after his coming
to the eſtate, made a grant of Stokeleigh, parcel thereof, to the abbey of St. Auguſtine
in Briſtol." Beſides his hereditary poſſeſſions, he had lands in the hamlet of Kencot in
this pariſh, granted him by Gefferey de Alta Villa, or Hautville, which before had
belonged to Thomas de Gatcombe.' 17 Edw. III. he held the parſonage of Aſhton by
leaſe from John de Irford, prior of the monaſtery of St. Peter at Bath," and died 40
Edw. III. leaving iſſue two ſons, William and Thomas.
William de Lions, the eldeſt ſon and heir of Edmund, dying without iſſue in 1370,
was ſucceeded by his brother Thomas, who 15 Ric. II. obtained a charter of free
warren, and liberty to incloſe and make a park in his manor of Long-Aſhton," which
from this family henceforward aſſumed the name of Ashton-Lions, and ſtill denomi-
nates a tithing in this pariſh. His wife's name was Margaret, but he left no iſſue,
and all his eſtatés deſcended to Alianore Hulle his couſin and next heir.
Which Alianore Hulle, who poſſeſſed conſiderable eſtates in the lower parts of this
county, being a great heireſs, by deed bearing date A. D. 1454, conveyed all her right
in Long-Aſhton to Richard Choke of Stanton-Drew, eſq; afterwards Lord Chief Juſtice
of England, a perſon of very great eminence in the days wherein he lived. He kept
his chief houſe here, having (in Leland's words) great furniture of ſilver;" and dying
ſeized of this manor A. D. 1486, was buried in the pariſh church of Long-Aſhton, in
which he had founded a chantry, and endowed the ſame with lands in Long-Aſhton,
Keynſham, Ingliſhcombe, and Wookey, for the ſupport of fix prieſts to attend his
k Cart. Antiq.
1 Ibid.
m Ex. Autog

o « Rex Archiepiſcopis, Epiſcopis, Abbatibus, Prioribus, Ducibus, Comitibus, Baronibus, Juſticiariis, Vice-
comitibus, Prepofitis, Miniſtris, et omnibus Ballivis, et Fidelibus ſuis falutem. Sciatis nos de gratia noſtra
ſpeciali conceffiffe et hac carta noſtra confirmaſſe dilecto armigero noftro Thomæ Lyons, quod ipfe et hæredes fui
imperpetuum habeant liberam warennam in omnibus terris fuis quas tenet de nobis in manerio de Aſhton-Lyons
juxta Briſtolliam, dum tamen terræ illæ non fint infra metas Foreſtæ noftræ. Ita quod nullus intret terras illas ad
fugandum in eis; vel ad aliquid capiendum, quod ad warennam pertineat, fine licentia et voluntate ipfius Thomæ,
vel hæredum fuorum, fub forisfactura noftra decem librarum. Quare volumus, et firmiter præcipimus, pro
nobis et heredibus noftris, quod predictus Thomas, et heredes fui, imperpetuum habeant liberam warennam in
omnibus terris ſuis predictis; dum tamen terræ illæ non fint infra metas Foreſtæ noftræ. Ita quod nullus intret
terras illas, ad fugandum in eis, vel ad aliquid capiendum, quod ad warennam pertineat, fine licentia et voluntate
ipfius Thomæ, vel heredum ſuorum, ſub forisfactura noftra decem librarum, ficut prcdictum eſt. Conceſſimus
inſuper, et licentiam dedimus, pro nobis et heredibus noſtris, quantum in nobis eſt, prefato Thomæ, quod ipſe
predictas terras cum foſfatis et haijs includere, et parcum inde facere, et eafdem terras, cum foſſatis et haijs fic
inclufas, et parcum inde factum, habere et tenere poffit, fibi et hæredibus fuis imperpetuum, abſque impetitione
noftri, vel heredum noſtrorum, ſeu miniſtrorum noftrorum quorumcunque. Hijs teftibus, venerabilibus patribus,
W. Archiepiſcopo Cantuar. totius Angliæ Primate; Th. Archiepifcopo Ebor, Angliæ Primate, Cancellario
noftro; R. London, W. Wynton, T. Sarum, Theſaurario noftro, Epiſcopis; Johanne Aquitann. et Lancaſtr.
Edmundo Ebor. et Thoma Glouceſtr. Ducibus, Avunculis noftris cariflimis, Edwardo Rotell, Rico Arundell,
Thoma Warr, Henr. Northumbr. comitibus; Thoma de Percy, ſeneſcallo hofpitij noftri; Magiftro Edmundo
de Stafford, cuſtode privati ſigilli noftri; et alijs. Dat. per manum noftram apud Weſtm. xx° die Aprilis."
Cart. 15 Ric. II, n. 21.
• Itin. vii. 84.
obit.
Pp 2
292
(bareclive and
L ON G. A S H TO N.

obit. He was twice married; his firſt wife was Joan the daughter of William Pavey,
of the city of Briſtol, eſq; by whom he had three fons, John, who ſucceeded him;
Richard, ſettled in Berkſhire; and William, who was a prieſt and prebendary of Bed-
minſter; as alſo two daughters, Joan, and Elizabeth. His ſecond wife was Margaret
Morres, who ſurvived him, and was living in 1478.
John Choke, ſon and heir of Sir Richard, married Elizabeth daughter of Sir John
Wroughton, knt. by whom he had ſeveral children, and dying in 1491, was fuc-
ceeded by
Sir John Choke, knt. his ſon and heir. This Sir John, in the year 1495, gave the
houſe called the Church-houſe," ſituated near the church-croſs in the village of Long-
Aſhton, and lands, to feoffees in truſt for the pariſh, on condition that on Sunday for
ever prayer ſhould be offered up from the pulpit of Aſhton church, for the ſouls of himſelf
and his anceſtors deceaſed.' In 1506, 21 Henry VII, he ſold the manor of Long-
Aſhton, and the advowſon of the chantry, to Sir Giles Daubney, knt. lord Daubney,
the King's chamberlain; whoſe fon Henry Daubney earl of Bridgwater, in the year
1541, 32 Henry VIII. conveyed the ſame to Sir Thomas Arundel, knt. by whom, in
1545, both the manor and advowſon of the chantry of Long-Aſhton were finally fold
to John Smyth, eſq.
The family of Smyth was for many generations feated at Aylburton, near Lidney,
in the county of Glouceſter. John Smyth was living there the beginning of the
reign of Henry VI. and was father of Robert Smyth of the ſame place, who had
a ſon named John, living alſo at Aylburton the latter end of the ſame reign, viz.
27 Henry VI. 1449.
Which John was father of Matthew Smyth, who married Alice daughter of Charles
Havard, of Herefordſhire, eſq; and died in 1526, leaving iſſue one fon John, the pur-
chaſer of Long-Aſhton, and a daughter married to Thomas Phelips, of Montacute
in this county, eſq.
After the ſaid purchaſe of this manor, John Smyth feated himſelf principally at
Long-Aſhton. In 1532 he was ſheriff of the city of Briſtol, and mayor thereof in
1547, and again in 1554. He married Joan the daughter of John Parr, efq; and
both lie buried in the north aile of St. Werburgh's church in Briſtol. They left iſſue
two ſons, Hugh, and Matthew.
Hugh Smyth, the eldeſt ſon, was born A. D. 1530. He married Maud, daughter
and coheir of Hugh Biccombe, of Crowcombe in this county, efq; and dying in 1580,
was buried at Long-Aſhton. They had iſſue one only daughter and heir, married to


+ This chantry, (of which the laſt incumbent was Henry Rowe, who in 1553 had a penfion of 61.) and the
Aands belonging thereto, were, after the diſſolution 18 April, 3 Edw. VI. granted to John Smyth, eſq; together
with fundry lands in Huntſpill, Stone-Eaſton, and Aſhton, formerly given by Nicholas and Henry Choke,
younger brothers of Sir John Choke, and grandſons of the Judge, for the ſupport of a chaplain to celebrate mafs
in the chapel of the Virgin Mary, called Meriet chapel in Long-Aſhton.
This houſe is now a publick-houſe, the ſign of the Angel, on the ſouth ſide of the ſtreet.
* From original papers in the poſſeſſion of Sir J. H. Smyth, bart.
Edward

Bedminfter.]
293
L ON G. AS H T O N.
Edward Morgan, efq; fon of Sir Willian Morgan, of Lanternam in the county of
Monmouth, knt.
Matthew Smyth, the ſecond ſon of John, and heir male to his brother Hugh, ſuc-
ceeded to the eſtates. He married Jane, eldeſt daughter and coheir of Thomas
Tewther, of Ludlow in Shropſhire, and relict of Bartholomew Skerne, of the county of
Lincoln, by whom he was father of a ſon, Hugh, and a daughter, Anne, married to
George Rodney, eſq; fon and heir of Sir Maurice Rodney, knt. He died in 1583,
and was buried with his lady at Long-Aſhton.
Hugh Smyth, their only ſon, was a knight, and married Elizabeth, eldeſt daughter
of Sir Thomas Gorges, knt. by whom he had iſſue one ſon, Thomas; and two daugh-
ters, Mary, the wife of Sir Thomas Smith, of Hough in the county of Cheſter, knt,
and Helena, the wife of Sir Francis Rogers, of Cannington in this county, knt.; Sir
Hugh Smyth died 15 April 1627, and was buried at Long-Aſhton. His widow was
married to Sir Ferdinand Gorges, knt.
Thomas Smyth, eldeſt ſon and heir of Sir Hugh Smyth, was elected one of the
repreſentatives in parliament for the town of Bridgwater, Feb. 28, 1627. He was alſo
choſen one of the knights of the ſhire for this county, with Sir Ralph Hopton, March
30, 1640; and Feb. 8, 1640-1, was re-elected for Bridgwater in the room of Edward
Wyndham, eſq. On the breaking out of the civil war, he engaged himſelf in the
Royal cauſe, and was at Sherborne with the Marquis of Hertford, and with him
retreated into Wales, where he was taken ill, and died at Cardiff in that principality in
1642. His remains were interred in the church of Long-Aſhton. By Florence his
wife, daughter of John lord Poulett, he had iſſue one ſon, Hugh, and four daughters,
Florence, Mary, Helena, and Anne. His widow ſurviving him, was married ſe-
condly to Thomas Pigott, of the kingdom of Ireland, efq; the purchaſer of the manor
of Brockley.
Hugh Smyth, ſon and heir of Thomas, was in 1660 created a knight of the Bath,
and the ſame year elected knight of the ſhire for this county with George Horner, eſq.
In the following year he was made a baronet of England, and again, in 1678, was
elected knight of the ſhire for Somerſet. He married Anne fecond daughter of the
Hon. John Aſhburnham, of Aſhburnham in the county of Suſſex, groom of the bed-
chamber to King Charles I. and II. by whom he had three ſons, Sir John Smyth, bart.
Hugh, and Charles, (of whom the two laſt died unmarried) and alſo three daughters,
viz. Elizabeth, Florence, and Anne. Sir Hugh Smyth died in 1680, and was fuc-
ceeded by
Sir John Smyth, his eldeſt ſon, who was elected knight of the ſhire in the firſt par-
liament of James II. and again in 1695. He married Elizabeth, daughter and
coheir of Sir Samuel Aſtry, of Henbury in the county of Glouceſter, knt. by whom he
had iſſue three fons, Sir John; Hugh, who died unmarried, and was buried at Long-
Aſhton; and Samuel, who died and was buried at Taunton; he had alſo five daughters,
the eldeſt of whom, Anne, died in 1760 unmarried. Elizabeth, the ſecond, died
unmarried alſo. Aftrea, the third daughter, married Thomas Coſter, eſq; member of
parliament for the city of Briſtol; but died without iſſue. Florence, the fourth
daughter,

294
[pareciive and
L ON G. AS H T O N.
at the
daughter, was married firſt in 1727 to John Pigott, of Brockley, eſq; and ſecondly, in
1731-2, to Jarrit Smyth, eſq; (only ſon of John Smyth, of Briſtol, eſq;) who was
elected one of the repreſentatives in parliament for the city of Briſtol in 1756, and
again in 1761; and was Jan. 27, 1763, advanced to the dignity of a baronet of Great-
Britain. Arabella, the fifth and youngeſt daughter of Sir John Smyth, and Elizabeth
his wife, married Edward Gore, of Flax-Bourton in this county, eſq; by whom ſhe had
iſſue two ſons, John Gore, now of Barrow-court, eſq; and Edward Gore, now of
Kiddington in the county of Oxford, eſq.
Sir John Smyth, eldeſt ſon of Sir John Smyth abovementioned, inherited the family
eſtates, and married Anne, daughter of Mr. Pym of Oxford; but leaving no iſſue at
his death in 1741, the title became extinct; and this manor, with the other patrimo-
nial inheritance, deſcended to his three ſurviving ſiſters, Anne, Florence, and Arabella.
Anne the eldeſt, dying unmarried, left her, portion thereof to Edward, ſon of Edward
Gore, of Flax-Bourton abovementioned. The ſecond ſhare became the property of
Sir Jarrit Smyth, bart. in right of his wife Florence, the ſecond ſurviving ſiſter and
coheir of Sir John. And the third ſhare, being poſſeſſed by Edward Gore, eſq; the
huſband of Arabella the other ſiſter and coheir, deſcended to John Gore, of Barrow-
Court, eſq; who fold his third ſhare in the ſeveral manors and in the hundred of
Hareclive and Bedminſter to Sir Jarrit Smyth, bart. Sir Jarrit died Jan. 18, 1783,
age of ninety years, leaving iſſue by Florence his wife, two ſons, Sir John Hugh
Smyth, the preſent baronet, and Thomas Smyth, now of Stapleton, eſq. On his death
Sir John Hugh Smyth becaine poffeſſed of two-thirds of the manors, and the other
is now veſted in Edward Gore, of Kiddington, efq.
Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart. married in 1757 Elizabeth only daughter and heir of
Henry Woolnough, of Pucklechurch in the county of Glouceſter, eſq.
Thomas Smyth, ſecond ſon of Sir Jarrit, married, in 1767, Jane only daughter of
Joſeph Whitchurch, of Stapleton in the county of Glouceſter, eſq; by whom he has
iſſue two ſons, Hugh, born July 4, 1772; and John, born Feb. 9, 1776; as alſo two
daughters, Florence, and Mary.
The family arms are, Gules, on a chevron between three cinquefoils argent, as many
leopards' faces ſable. Creſt, upon a wreath, a griffin's head eraſed gules, charged on the
neck with a bar gemel, beaked and eared or. This creſt was granted 36 Hen. VIII.
The manſion-houſe, called Aſhton-Court, is a noble old ſtructure, partly erected by
the family of Lions, who inhabited it, and whoſe arms and devices ſtill remain therein.
It is ſituated on the ſoutheaſt ſlope of Aſhton-Down, and commands a very pleaſing
proſpect. The front of the houſe was built in 1634 by Inigo Jones, who intended to
have moderniſed the ancient edifice, and to have made it a regular pile of building,
This front is in length one hundred and forty-three feet, and conſiſts below of three
rooms; the weſtern one of which is a fine apartment, ninety-three feet long, and twenty
feet wide, and contains ſeveral family and other portraits. The back part of the houſe
is very ancient, and the court leading to the park weſtward is called the Caſtle-Court,
from its having been embattled, and ſtill retaining an old gate-way, ſimilar to thoſe
adopted

की
FASE
Shantomnia
IT ITTI
Braun Bengraved by T. Bone
Bonnor .
.
LONG ASHTON COURT.
The Sunt of Sir John Hugh Smyth Bar: to whom this Plate is Irmenibod, by his Obliged Servanda
J. COLLINS ON
AIRE

"Bedminder.]
295
L ON G. A S H T O N.
adopted in baronial manſions; the ſecond court contains ſome of the offices, and its
entrance from without is under a low door-way between two lofty turrets, one of
which contains a bell and clock. The ſtables and correſpondent offices in the front
court are of ancient date, and the whole conſtitutes a very venerable and pictureſque
building. Adjoining to the houſe is a park well ſtocked with deer.
We now proceed to an account of the other manors in Long-Aſhton, and their
different poſſeſſors.
Within the precincts of the great park ſtood an ancient manſion, now entirely demo-
liſhed, the reſidence of a family of the name of Theyne, lords of a diſtinct manor,
denominated after its poffeffors the manor of Ashton-THEYNES.
In the court of the Saxon kings were kept a certain ſort of ſuperior attendants or
officers, called Thanès, from the word Đeznian, ſignifying ſervice, whoſe buſineſs it
was to wait on the king's perfon, and conduct ſuch matters of ſtate as more imme-
diately concerned the houſhold of the palace. A progenitor of the family in queſtion
was a perſon of this deſcription, and in all probability one of thoſe three thanes who
jointly held this manor in the time of King Edward the Confeſſor; and being of ſome-
what greater conſequence than the others, or arrogating to himſelf ſome ſuperior
authority, he acquired the title of le Theyne, or the Thane, which title his poſterity
retained till late in the thirteenth century,
In the time of Henry I. Girard le Theyne was living at Littleton in Wiltſhire, in
which village he held lands of Peter Fitz-Albert.
To him ſucceeded Olbert le Theyne, who ſeems to have been of this county, being
found in the number of thoſe who in the reign of King Stephen were engaged in the
defence of the city of Briſtol.
After him we find Matthew, Roger, and William le Theyne, ſucceſive po ffors
of a ſmall manor in Long-Aſhton, on the demeſnes of which they had their reſidence.
William le Theyne was living here in 1312, and was father of Henry le Theyne, who
was lord of Aſhton-Theynes in the year 1329, and whoſe widow Edith held it for her
life. Its next poſſeſſor was Richard le Theyne, who lived in the time of Edward the
Third. Leaving no iſſue male, his eſtates deſcended to John Power, a perſon of no
great account, who was living in 1385.
The next poffeffor of this manor that we meet with, is Sir John Inyn, knt. who
reſided at Biſhopworth in Bedminſter. This Sir John Inyn was recorder of Briſtol,
and afterwards chief baron of the Exchequer. He died March 4, 1439, leaving iſſue
by Alice his wife, William his ſon and heir, who at his death left one only daughter
and heir, firſt married to Robert Bowring, and ſecondly to John Kekewich, eſq. But
dying without iſſue May 20, 1529, John Kenn, grandſon of Iſabel, the daughter of
Sir John Inyn by John Kenn, eſq; became her heir. To this John, who was living
in 1545, ſucceeded Chriſtopher Kenn, his ſon and heir, who, in 1584, fold all the
manor of Aſhton-Theynes, except the capital meſſuage and the demeſnes (which had
ſome little time before been conveyed to Jane widow of Matthew Smyth, efq;) to
s Notes of Wiltſhire MSS.
William

296
[bareclive and
L ONG. ASH TO N,
William Clerk, of Minchin-Barrow, whoſe fon Chriſtopher Clerk fold the ſame to
Sir Hugh Smyth, knt. in the year 1603. Since which it has been blended with the
capital manor of Aſhton-Lions.
William de Wyttington was owner of an eſtate within this manor in 1310. In
which name and family it continued till ſo late as the year 1653, when it was ſold to
John Tovey, the coheireſſes of which family were married to Obadiah Webb, eſq; and
Mr. Richardſon, whoſe reſpective deſcendants now poſſeſs it.
Rownam-Ferry is within this manor of Aſhton-Theynes. Here was formerly an
hermitage and a chapel; the latter ſtood on the river ſide, near the ſcite of the ruinated
ſmelting-houſes, northward of the paſſage-houſe.
Another manor and tithing within the pariſh of Long-Aſhton, is called Ashton-
Philips. Its moſt ancient poſſeſſors were a family of very great account, who
derived their names from the village of Aſhton, being called Afton, de Aſton, de
Aeſton, Ayſton, and de Aſhton. Sir John de Aſton, a famous knight in the time of
Henry III. was owner hereof, and was reſident here A. D. 1230. To him fucceeded
Sir Adam de Aſton, who was living in 1259. His ſon's name was John, who was
alſo a knight, and is ſtiled in old writings Sir John de Aeſton. This Sir John was
the founder of the old manſion-houſe of Aſhton-Philips, as appears by a paſſage in the
regiſters of Wells, in domicilio quod ipſe conſtruxerat.' This building was finiſhed before
the year 1265, at which time he had a diſpute with the rector of Aſhton, concerning
a chantry which he had founded in the chapel of his ' manor houſe here without due
licence." His ſucceſſors were John de Aſhton, lord of this manor in 1290; William
de Aſhton in 1308, and Sir Robert de Aſhton, knt, who died in 1384. This Sir
Robert was the laſt of his name that poſſeſſed this manor; for after his death it was
held in moieties, one of which became veſted in a perſon of the name of John Teyſant,
whoſe ſon John ſold it to Robert Poyntz, of Iron-Acton in the county of Glouceſter,
6 Henry V. 1419. Two years after which, viz. 1421, the ſaid Robert Poyntz ſold
the ſame to Roger Lyveden of Briſtol, whoſe widow Iſabella had it in jointure in 1450. .
After her death Thomas the ſon of John Wythiford, and grandſon of Roger Lyveden
abovementioned, inherited this manor, and ſold it about the year 1490 to Richard
A'Merryck
The other moiety of this manor, after the death of Sir Robert de Aſhton, was poſ-
ſeſſed
19 Ric. II. by Margaret Weſton. Richard Weſton her ſon enjoyed it in 1422,
and about 1425 fold it to Roger Lyveden, the owner of the other moiety.
After which this ſecond moiety of the manor became alſo divided by the marriage of
Lyveden's two daughters, coheireſſes, one of whom, Jane, was married to Richard
Wymbuih. Which Richard had a ſon named William, living about the year 1450.
He died without iſſue male, and his eftates came to Iſabella his fole daughter and
heireſs, the wife of Richard Seymour, of Oxfordſhire, eſq; who poſſeſſed this manor
in her right, and was living in 1470. Humphrey Seymour, his fon, ſucceeded him in
1490, and in 1503 fold it to Richard A’Merryck.
• Excerpt, e Regiſt. Wellen,
* Ex Außog.
The

Bedmintter.]
297
L ON G. A S H T O N.
The other half of the ſecond moiety of this manor, paſſed by Agnes, the other
daughter and coheireſs of Roger Lyveden, by marriage to John Wythiford, from whom
it deſcended to Thomas his ſon, and was by him in 1491 ſold to Richard A’Merryck,
who thus became ſeized of the entire manor.
Jane, ſole daughter and heireſs of this Richard A’Merryck, was married to John
Brook, ſerjeant at law, in 1494. He died in 1522, leaving iſſue two ſons, Thomas and
David Thomas ſucceeded to the manor of Aſhton-Philips, and was living in 1524.
Hugh Brook his ſon and heir was reſident here, and, dying in 1586, was buried in the
pariſh church of Aſhton. He left four daughters his coheireſſes, viz. Elizabeth, Frances,
Suſan, and Alice.
Elizabeth, the eldeſt daughter, was married to Giles Walwyn, of Herefordſhire, eſq;
who in 1593 ſold that part of the manor which had fallen to his ſhare in right of his
ſaid wife, to Jane Smyth, widow of Matthew Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, eſq.
Frances, the ſecond daughter, was the wife of William Clarke, of Minchin-Barrow,
efq; whoſe fon Chriſtopher Clarke, in 1603, fold his portion to Sir Hugh Smyth, knt.
Suſan, the third daughter, was wife to Hugh Halfwell, eſq; by whom ſhe had a fon
named Thomas, who inherited this portion of the manor, and in the year 1600 con-
veyed the fame to Sir Hugh Smyth, knt.
Alice, the fourth daughter and coheireſs, was married to Thomas Vatchell, of Can-
nington, eſq; and they in 1593 ſold this laſt remaining portion of the manor to Jane
the widow of Matthew Smyth, eſq. By which ſeveral diſpoſals the whole property of
the manor, centring in the family of Smyth, has deſcended like the other eſtates
in Aſhton.
The manor-houſe of Aſhton-Philips (called Lower-Court) is ſituated in the valley
ſouthweſt from the village. It was formerly a very large and grand ſtructure for the
times in which it was erected. But little now remains except an eaſt wing of the
dwelling-apartments, in which is a large room wainſcoted, and the edges of the pannels
gilt. At the ſouth end of this building ſtands the chapel, which is entire, being twenty-
two feet in length, and ten in breadth. The altar is of ſtone, and ſtill remains in its
priſtine ſtate. The pulpit ſtood on the left ſide of it, and in the ſouth wall is a niche
or receptacle for holy water. A ſmall bell till of late years hung in an arcade over
the entrance.
The family of de Aſhton, who bore for their arms, Argent, two bars fable, over all a
bend gules, were lords alſo of another manor in Aſhton, called, after its ſubſequent
owners, the manor of Aſhton-Meriet, by which appellation it is diſtinguiſhed to this day,
William de Aſhton, ſon of John de Aſhton, lord of this manor, and that of Eaſt-
Copeland in this county, granted all this his faid manor to Sir John Meriet, knt. and
Elizabeth his wife, and the heirs of the ſaid John. Shortly after this grant, viz.
13 Edw. II. Sir John Meriet procured from the King a charter of free warren in all
his demeſne lands in the manor of Aſhton, and in the manors of Heftercombe, Leigh-
VOL. II.
Flory,
Qq

298
[ateclive and
L ON G - A SH TO N.
convent.
Flory, Eaſt-Copeland, and Combe-Flory, in this county. He left two fons, John and
Simon. John the eldeſt, after the death of Elizabeth his mother, ſucceeded to the
manor, and ſold it to Walter de Meriet, clerk, his uncle, who dying without iſſue, it
deſcended to Simon, ſecond ſon of Sir John Meriet, his nephew and heir, who was
living in 1347. In the year 1375, the truſtees of this Simon de Meriet obtained of
Thomas de Berkeley, lord of the hundred of Hareclive, a licence to grant this manor to
the priory of St. Peter at Bath. The prior and convent of that monaſtery had long
before been in poſſeſſion of the manor of the parfonage of Aſhton, as well as the ad-
vowſon of the vicarage, the former being held of them by the families of Lyons and
Choke. In 1344 Edmund de Lyons was the lefſee thereof under the ſaid prior and
Sir Richard Choke, knt. Dame Margaret his wife, and William Choke,
clerk, held the ſame and the manor of Aſhton-Meriet by leaſe dated July 2, 1478, for
fixty years. Sir Richard Choke's leaſe was ſurrendered, and another leaſe granted 20
March, 6 Henry VIII. of the ſame manor and parſonage, with rents, mortuaries,
tithes of corn, hay, and wool, to Nicholas Choke, Maud his wife, George their ſon,
and John Chapman, clerk, for fixty-one years; the ſaid prior and convent reſerving to
themſelves the uſe of the hall, chamber, kitchen, and ſtable, for their convenience at
the ſeaſon of holding their courts here. Maud Choke and John Chapman ſurvived the
other leſſees, and 9 Henry VIII. aſſigned the remainder of the ſaid term to Marmaduke
Mauncel, brother of the ſaid Maud, in truſt for her uſe for life, and after her deceaſe
for the uſe of her nephew Alexander Mauncel during the remainder of the ſaid term;
on condition that he ſhould every year, during the ſaid limitation, hold a dirge to be
fung by note, and one maſs of requiem to be alſo ſung by note, in the pariſh church of
Long-Aſhton, on the vigil of St. Laurence, for the ſouls of the ſaid Muud, Nicholas her
huſband, George their ſon, and for the ſouls of her father and mother, and for all Chriſtian
ſouls. He was appointed to allow the prieſt, clerks, and other miniſters of the ſaid
ſervice, ten ſhillings, and a ſimilar ſum to ſuch poor people as ſhould aſſemble at the
ſaid celebration. In 1293, the temporalities of the Biſhop of Bath, in Aſhton, were
valued at twenty pounds." By the diſſolution of that priory the manor of Aſhton-
Meriet, with the rectorial manor, and the advowſon of the vicarage, became veſted in
the crown, and King Henry VIII. by letters patent bearing date 2.1 June, the 38th
year of his reign, granted the ſaid premiſes to John Smyth, eſq; and his heirs.
Within the manor of Aſhton-Meriet, ſtood a chapel, at a ſmall diſtance from the
northeaſt corner of the church-yard, in a field ſtill bearing the name of Meriet's. It
was for ſome time let as a cottage; but taken down in the year 1774, and nothing of
* Rex Archiepiſcopis, &c. falutem. Sciatis nos ad inftantiam dilecti conſanguinei et fidelis noftri Thomæ
Comitis Lancaſtr. conceffiffe, et hac carta noſtra confirmaffe, dilecto et fideli noftro Johanni de Meriet, quod
ipſe, et heredes fui imperpetuum habeant liberam warennam in omnibus dominicis terris fuis de Heftercoumbe,
Legheflory, Eſtcapelond, Coumbeflory, et Aſhton juxta Briſtoll in com. Sumerset. Dum tamen terræ illæ non
fint infra metas Foreſtæ noftræ. Ita quod nullus intret terras illas ad fugandum in eis vel ad aliquid capiendum,
quod ad warennam pertineat, fine licentia et voluntate ipfius. Johannis, vel heredum ſuorum, fuper forisfa&turam
noftram decem librarum, &c. Hijs teftibus venerabilibus patribus W. Archiepô. Ebor. Angliæ primate; T.
Elien. Epô. Cancellario noſtro; Johanne de Britann. comite Richmond. Ricardo de Grey; Hugone de Audele,
Peniore, et alijs. Dat. per manum noſtram apud Ebor. ix° die Julij.” Cart. 13 Edw. II. n. 35.
y Cart. Antia.
2 Ex. Autog.
a Taxat. Temporal.

1
M
போவார்
Cerchi
SQUS
CH
of
_Dewi
LONG
Engraved by
by T. Bonnor
ASHTON
CHURCH
To Sir Sohn Hugh Smyth Bart. John Gone laq" and Edward Gore Esqi
This Pláte is inscribed by their Obliged Servant J.COLLINSON

Bedminder.] L ON G- A SH TO N.
299
it now remains. It was dedicated to the bleſſed Virgin Mary; and was endowed with
lands by divers of the Choke family, for the ſupport of a chaplain to celebrate divine
ſervice therein.“
The parſonage or rectorial houſe, ſtands on the weſt ſide of the church-yard. The
old hall is ſtill ſtanding, and forms a weſt wing, now converted into a cellar. The
room above ſtairs where the abbots' courts were held is alſo entire, and is now uſed as a
repoſitory for lumber. Its window opens to the garden ſouthward. The rectorial or
abbot's barn, is a very large old ſtructure, and of the kind generally uſed in mona-
ſtick granges.
The rectory of Long-Aſhton was in 1292 valued at ſeventeen marks. The benefice
is vicarial, in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The lords of the manor are its
patrons, and the Rev. John Collinſon the preſent incumbent. The vicarage-houſe
ſtands near the road fide, about two furlongs weſtward from the church. It had here-
tofore a ſmall chapel, which was taken down about thirty years ago on the alteration :
of the old building.
Of the vicars we preſerve the following names:
Robert Coker, 1329.
William Parr, 1591.
John de Bradford, 1340.
James Nichols, 1618.
Richard Cooke, 1371.
Thomas Tucker, 1623.-
John, 1387.
Adam Holland, 1638.
Robert, 1398.
Richard Forſter, 1639.
Thomas Heynes, 1428.
Richard Smith, 1681.
John Spore, 1484.
Elidni Trat, 1695.
Thomas Draper, 1495.
Thomas Wickham, 1725.
John Rought, 1547.
John Wickham, 1754. -
William Parſons, 1571.
John Collinſon, 1787.
The church, which is dedicated to All Saints, is a handſome ſtructure, built by one:
of the family of Lyons, whoſe arms are cut in ſtone on the weſt end of the tower on
the outſide, and are likewiſe blazoned on the ceiling of the nave, viz. Argent, a chevron
fable, between three lions dormant coward gules. It conſiſts of a nave, north and ſouth
ailes, chancel, with a chapel on each ſide, and a tower at the weſt end containing fix
bells, one of which is very ancient, and has the following circumſcription: Sande
Johannes Baptiſte ora pro nobis. On another bell is this inernorial: Sir JOHN
SMYTH, BARONET, FOR WHOSE NAME I WILL LOUDLY SPEAKE. WILLIAM BRITTIN
AND HENRY MURFORD, CHURCHWARDENS. T. BILBIE, F. 1767. The nave is ſepa-
rated from the ailes by two rows of neat cluſtered pillars ſupporting pointed arches, and
from the chancel both ailes and nave are divided by a beautiful Gothick ſcreen of
fiower and fret-work painted and gilt, and of moſt admirable workmanſhip. On the
roof between the nave and the chancel is a ſmall arched turret, which formerly held a
ſaint's bell. In the eaſt window are theſe arms: viz. 1. Quarterly, firſt and fourth
· Taxat. Spiritual,
Q 9 2
Argents
See page 292,
300
[pareclive and
L ON G. ASH TO N.

Argent, three cinquefoils per pale azure and gules, Choke. Second and third, argent,
three bars wavy gules. 2. Azure, a St. Andrew's croſs or, impaling, azure: a St. Peter's
key double warded or, 3. Choke, quartered with Lyons. On a window of the north
aile are the arms of De Aſhton; and in the windows of the north chapel are ſeveral
figures, viz. An abbot with his initre and croſier, a cardinal, and the portraitures of
King Edward the Fourth and his Queen Elizabeth Woodville.
In this chapel, againſt the north wall, ſtands a very elegant monument of ſtone
richly decorated with Gothick tracery, and imagery much fuperior to moſt ſimilar
works of the age wherein it was erected. Under a fine canopy lie the effigies of Sir
Richard Choke, and Margaret his wife; he in his judge's robes, and ſhe in the dreſs of
the times; two cherubs ſupport their heads; at his feet a lion, at her's a dog. On the
back of the monument above the figures, are two angels ſupporting, in well-drawn
attitudes, a Glory, in which was formerly the repreſentation of our Saviour on the croſs,
but which is now effaced. Above theſe, on a ſcroll, reaching from end to end is the
following fentence: Zbu for thi grete pety of our ſynnes have mercy: And for
the love of pi paſtion bryng õe foules to Calvacio. On another ſcroll underneath,
Asiſericors Xte fili Dei vivi miſerere noltri. At each corner are arms: On the
dexter ſide, Or, a faltire gules, on the finiſter, Or, a croſs gules. On the front of the
tomb are theſe coats: 1. Choke, impaling ermine, on a feſſe gules, three martlets or; a
creſcent for diſtinction, Pavy. 2. Choke, impaling Argent, two chevrons fable between
three roſes gules, feeded or. 3. Choke, impaling Lyons.
Againſt the northeaſt corner of this chapel is a white marble monument, inſcribed:
“ Juxta requieſcit, ac ſemper in pace requieſcat, quod mortale fuerat Dñæ Annæ
Smyth Dñi Johannis Smyth, baronetti, uxoris dilectiſfime; fæmina omni laude digna;
venuſtate corporis ornata, ſuavitate morum ornatior; animi virtutibus ornatiſſima:
æqualem fortaſſis invenias lector, ſuperiorem nullibi. In egenos etenim liberalis, erga
omnes benevola. Qualis fuiffet unico verbo diſcas ; optima amica, optima conjux,
Chriſtiana optima. Exegit fibi monumentum ære perennius—hocce marmoreum,
vir ſui amatiſſimus, a ſe merito amatus, extrui curavit. Obdormivit die Septembris
nono, A. D. MDCCXXXIII, ætat. XXXVI. Abi et fac fimiliter.”
In the chapel oppoſite to this, againſt the ſouth wall, is a large ſtone monument,
erected to the memory of Hugh Brooke, of Lower-Court, eſq; who died 30 Eliz. and
was buried Feb. 23, 1556. There is no inſcription on this tomb, it having been left
unfiniſhed. The arms of Brooke were Gules, on a chevron or three lions rampant ſablo.
On the floor round the verge of a ſtone enſculptured with a croſs flory is the follow-
ing legend :
“ Hic jacet Domina Augneta Lemon cujus anime ppicietur Deus. Amen."
Againſt the ſouth wall there is a niche for holy water; and on the walls ſome rem-
nants of banners, and other inſignia of Sir Hugh Smyth, knt. and bart. are fuſpended.
In the chancel on the north wall is a monument of white marble:-" In memory
of the moſt vertuous and pious Dame Elizabeth Smyth, late the dear wife of Sir John
Smyth,
Bedminder.]
301
L ONG. ASH TO N.

Smyth, of this pariſh, baronet. She was eldeſt daughter of Sir Samuel Aſtry, late of the
pariſh of Henbury in the county of Glouceſter, knt. and Dame Elizabeth his wife.
She departed this life the xvth day of Septemb. in the year of our Lord mdccxv, aged
near xlvi years. They had iſſue three fons, John, Hugh, and Samuel; and five
daughters, Anne, Elizabeth, Aftræa, Florence, and Arabella. Sir John Smyth, bart.
ob. xixth of May, MDccxxvi, ætat. LXVI.” Arms, Smyth, impaling Barry wavy of
ſix, argent and azure; on a chief gules three bezants: Aftry.
On a ſimilar monument againſt the ſouth wall:"To the memory of Sir Hugh
Smyth of this pariſh, knight, of the honble order of the Bath, and baronet, who departed
this life the 28th day of July, in the year of our Lord MDCLXXX, aged xLvIII years.
“ Alſo of Dame Anne Smyth, his vertuous lady. She was ſecond daughter of the
Hon. John Aſhburnham, of Aſhburnham in the county of Suſſex, eſq. She departed
this life the twenty-ſixth day of June, in the year of our Lord MDcxcvii, aged about
Lx years. They had iſſue three ſons, John, Hugh, and Charles; and three daughters,
Elizabeth, Florence, and Anne.” Arms, Smyth, impaling gules, a feſſe between fix
mullets argent, Aſhburnham.
On the floor:-" Here lieth the body of the Rev. Richard Forſter, vicar of this
pariſh, who died the 13th of December 1680, aged 72."
“ Under this ſtone lieth the body of the Rev. Robert Stillingfleet, D.D. prebendary
of Durham, and maſter of Sherburne-hoſpital near Durham, who departed this life
Aug. 3, 1759, aged 53, with a hope full of immortality through the revelation of the
Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt. He was third ſon of the Rev. James Stillingfleet, D.D. dean,
and grandſon of the Right Rev. Edward Stillingfleet, D. D. biſhop of Worceſter. In
his life-time he was beloved and reſpected, and in his death ſincerely lamented by all
his relations, friends, and neighbours.
« Here alſo lieth the body of Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. John Wickham, vicar
of this pariſh, by Elizabeth his wife, niece to Dr. Stillingfleet. She died March 1oth,
1775, aged 14. In ſure and certain hope of a joyful reſurrection through the merits
of Jeſus Chriſt.
“ Here alſo lieth the body of the Rev. John Wickham, vicar of this pariſh near
thirty-three years, who departed this life March the 5th, 1787, aged 70, in hope of a
bleſſed immortality through the merits of Jeſus Chriſt.”
On another ſtone:" Hic dormit Anna, uxor Elidni Trat, vic. quæ animam
Creatori fuo religioſe reddidit 28 Julij, A.D. 1716, ætat. fuæ 47.
“ Hic etiam requieſcit corpus Elidni Trat, hujus eccleſiæ per- 33 annos vicarij, qui
obiit Septembris 3, anno falutis MDccxxv, ætatis ſuæ lx.
“ Mr. Thomas Wickham, vicar of this pariſh thirty years, died the 12th day of
May, in the year of our Lord 1754, aged 65 years."
In the body of the church, within the memory of people now living, ſtood a raiſed
tomb, containing the reliques of Thomas de Lyons the founder of the church. On
the


302
(Bareclive and
L ON G. A SH TO N.
the top was a large ſtone, whereon was the figure of a man lying in a ſideways attitude
on a long pillow, his head attired with a Janizary's cap, and a lion at his feet. Round
the verge of the ſtone was this inſcription: Hic jacet Thomas Lyons miles, Xtus
Benedictus Deus, amen. Both the figure and the inſcription were inlaid in a
îtrong coat of terras cemented to the ſurface of the ſtone, a method of decking the
coverings of fepulchres firſt introduced into this country from France. The raiſed
tomb being removed for the purpoſe of levelling the floor, this ſtone was placed therein
among others as a paving ſtone, and ſtill remains in the middle paſſage between the
chancel and the belfry. On turning it up ſometime ſince the arms of Lyons were
found carved on a ſeparate ſtone underneath.
At the weſt end of the nave, near the organ loft, is a neat marble monument-"In
memory of Joan the fourth daughter of James Sparrow, of Flax-Bourton, gent. and
Rachel his wife, who died the 26th day of Nov. 1745, aged 48 years; and was interred
near this place. Beloved by her friends, knew no enemy, in health cheerful, patient
in pain; and as ſhe lived, ſo ſhe died, a Chriſtian. In the next grave lie the remains
of Sarah, the ſecond daughter of the ſaid James and Rachel Sparrow, who died the 24th
day of January 1750, aged 61 years, endued with every ſocial and Chriſtian virtue.”
Arms: Argent, three roſes gules, feeded or, barbed vert: a chief of the ſecond.
Under an arch in the wall at the end of the ſouth aile is an old tomb, wherein was
interred one of the family of de Gatecombe, who had their name from and their reſi-
dence in a place called GATECOMBE or GATCOMBE within this pariſh, about two miles
weſtward from the church; where in ancient times there having ſtood a gate, ferving
as a chief entrance into the combe or valley from the hill, it thence derived the appel-
lation of Gatecombe. Of the owners of this place were
William de Gatecombe, who occurs in 1296.
John de Gatecombe, 1308.
Thomas de Gatecoinbe, 1312.
John de Gatecombe, 1323.
John de Gatecombe, 1377.
Williain de Gatecombe, 1398.
Nicholas de Gatecombe, 1430. Catherine the fole daughter and heireſs of this
Nicholas de Gatecombe, about the above date was married to Richard Halſwell, eſq;
-who became poſſeſſed of Gatcombe in her right, and whoſe deſcendant Sir Nicholas
Halſwell, knt. fold it to William Cox in the year 1623. Francis, ſon of the ſaid
William Cox, dying in 1667, left iſſue two daughters his coheirs; Rachel, wife to
James Sparrow, eſq; and Sarah, wife to Mr. Richard Cooke, between whom the eſtate
was divided. Joſeph, ſon of Richard Cooke, fold his moiety thereof to Richard
Grimſted, and he to John Combes, eſq; whoſe nephew Richard Combes, of Earnſhill
in this county, eſq; fold the ſame to Francis Sparrow, eſq; father of James Sparrow,
eſq; the preſent proprietor of Gatcombe, who married Lætitia daughter of Thomas
Popham, of Weſt-Bagborough in this county, eſq.
At the weſt end of the ſouth aile there is a ſmall mural monument of ſtone to the
memory of one of the coheireſſes of Francis Cox, of Gatcombe, in the following words:


« Spe
Bedmintier.]
303
L O N G - A SHTO N.
Spe reſurrectionis ad gloriam Sarah uxor Richardi Cooke, gen. mulier, bonis moribus
et virtutibus ornata; omnibus placida et benigna; vitam mortalem pro immortali
mutavit 29° die Novembris, anno Dom. 1704.” Arms: In chief three cocks' heads
eraſed, in baſe a ſpur leathered.
Againſt the north wall of the north aile, near the door, there is a neat monument of
black and white marble, inſcribed as follows: “ Near this place reſt the mortal
remains of William Fenn, of this pariſh, eſq; who died June 11th, 1788, in the forty-
ſecond year of his age, univerſally lamented.—The goodneſs of his heart, which was
ever open to all, but particularly to the poor, the rectitude of his conduct through life,
were juſtly approved by men.-His unaffected piety, and his chriſtian reſignation at the
hour of death, endeared him to his God.”
In the church-yard, under the north wall of the tower, lie the effigies in ſtone of a
man and a woman, ſuppoſed to repreſent two of the family of Lyons. Their feet are
turned to the eaſt; at thoſe of the man is a lion ſtanding up, at thoſe of the woman
a dog. On the edge of the ſtone, ſculptured in Gothick characters, is the following
remnant of an inſcription: DE SALME CYT MERCI A[MEN.
BENEFACTIONS TO THIS PARISH:
" 1660. Mrs. Mary Smith gave 300l. for the purchaſe of a houſe and land, the
rents thereof to be given to four poor people of this pariſh, as the owner of the upper-
court, and the miniſter of the time being, ſhould think fit. With this money lands at
Kingſton-Seymour were purchaſed, and the rents applied to the uſes abovementioned.
1661. Francis Derrick gave four acres of land called Gaſtons, the rents to be thus
applied:-10s. to the miniſter for a ſermon on Good-Friday; 1os. to the poor on
Good-Friday and St. Thomas's-day, by equal portions; and the overplus of the ſaid
rent for the ſchooling of poor children, according to the diſcretion of the miniſter and
churchwardens for the time being yearly for ever.
"1709. Mr. George Whiting gave 300l. laid out in lands at Lawrence-Weſton in
Henbury; of which rent are applied ros. to the miniſter of the pariſh to read divine
ſervice, and preach a fermon on All-Saints-day yearly for ever ;–71. to buy yearly for
ever coarſe woollen cloth, to be given to ſuch poor people and poor children, as are
that day at divine ſervice and fermon, at the diſcretion of the miniſter and church
wardens;—ſo much of the rent as is neceſſary to be laid out in keeping in good repair
fix freeſtone tombs, a head-ſtone and a foot-ſtone, being altogether on the ſouth-eaſt
fide of the chancel;—and the reſidue of the rents and profits to be laid out in ten loaves
of ſixpenny bread to be given to ten poor people that are at divine ſervice every Sunday
after All-Saints' day, until all be diſpoſed of; except the ſum of 10s. to be laid out in
twenty fixpenny loaves, and diſpoſed of on Good-Friday to twenty poor people yearly

for ever.
1726. Sir John Smyth, bart. gave sl. yearly for ever to be diſtributed equally to
forty poor people; 2os. for preaching a ſermon, and ss. to the clerk yearly for ever on
St. Thomas's-day.
1748. Mrs.
304
(Hareclive and
L ON G. ASH T O N.
“ 1748. Mrs. Arabella Gore gave a handſome pair of ſilver candleſticks for the
uſe of this church.
“ 1760. Mrs. Anne Smyth gave a rent charge of 10l. per annum, payable out of
Whitchurch farm, for teaching poor children to read and knit, or binding out poor
children apprentices, at the diſcretion of the miniſter and churchwardens.
“ 1779. Mrs. Anne Pomroy gave 50l. the intereſt to be applied to ſuch charities
as Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart, and his heirs ſhould think fit.”
There were anciently ſeveral croſſes in this pariſh, as
1. Horesham-Cross, which ſtood on Horeſham green, near the interſection of the
roads leading from Bedminſter to Long-Aſhton, Pill, and Portbury.
Northweſt from this point is BOURE-Ashton, a hamlet ſo called within the manor
of Aſhton-Lyons, and containing ſeveral neat tenements. Oppoſite an inn in the
high road, called the Coach and Horſes, there formerly ſtood a chapel dedicated to St.
John, in a field ſtill called Chapel-Acre.
2. Lyon's-Cross. This ſtood ſomewhere near the manor-houſe; but the exact
fpot is not aſcertained.
3. THEYNE'S-Cross, in the park, near the ſcite of the old manſion of Theyne's-
Court.
4. Church-Cross, ſtill partly ſtanding in the ſtreet oppoſite the parſonage-houſe,
and at the weſt end of the old church-houſe. There was alſo a croſs in the church-
yard on the ſouth ſide.
5. RAYENE’s-Cross, near the hamlet of LAMPTON, or LAMINGTON, a mile and a
half weſtward from the church. This hamlet is ſcarcely ever mentioned but in ancient
deeds. It notwithſtanding gave name to a conſiderable family.
6. Kencor-Cross. This croſs, conſiſting of two rows of ſteps, and a pedeſtal
(the pillar being quite gone) ſtands on the declivity of Aſhton-hill above the hamlet of
KENCOT. This hamlet is beautifully ſituated in a narrow glen, between that hill and
ſome ſmall eminences on the north ſide of the road from Long-Aſhton to Bourton.
At the bottom of the vale runs a fine ſtream, through fertile meadows thickly clothed
with wood. The hill to the north exhibits a real picture of wild uncultivated nature;
being compoſed of ſhelving ſcars, romantickly diſpoſed, intermingled here and there
with herbage, and expoſing on their acclivities a number of antiquated yew-trees,
ſhrinking their withered heads from the weſtern blafts, which here blow ſtrongly in the
winter ſeaſon from the channel.
At YANLEIGH, anciently YoNLEGH, a hamlet fituated between Aſhton and Dundry,
have been diſcovered the foundations of ancient buildings, ſuppoſed to be Roman.
The chriſtenings and burials in this pariſh from the year 1700 to 1710, and from the
year 1770 to 1,780 incluſive, have been as follows:
Chriſtenings.

Bedminſter.]
305
L O N G. AS H T O N.

18
Chriſtenings.
1700 17
1701 15
1702 13
1703 14
1704 18
1705
18
1706 - 16
1707 16
1708 20
1709
1710 7
Burials.
1700 IL
1701 9
1702 14
1703 15
1704
16
1705
8
1706 II
1707
18
1708 ІІ
1709 IO
1710 14
Chriſtenings.
1770 II
1771 20
1772 I2
1773
15
1774 18
1775
14
1776
IO
1777 20
1778
15
1779 14
1780 22
Burials.
1770 6
1771
14
1772
1773 II
1774 15
1775 22
1776 18
1777
1778 17
1779
12
1780 18

19
18
Total
172
Total
137
Total
171
Total 170
B A
CK
W E L
L.

A
Pariſh ſeven miles ſouthweſt from Briſtol, the principal dwellings thereof ſtanding
in the turnpike-road from that city to Yatton; but there are a few houſes near
the church half a mile toward the ſouthweſt. The ſituation is very pleaſant, having
eminences to the ſouth and eaſt; a rich country to the weſt; and the fine range of hills
which run along the hundred of Portbury to the north and northweſt at about three
miles diſtance. The hills eaſt and ſouthward from the church are in a romantiek man-
ner wildly ſcared with rocks, and patched with ſhrubs and foreſt trees, with deep winding
glens between them, in which ſome of the houſes are pictureſquely ſituated. Theſe
hills are compoſed of vaſt maſſes of calcarious ſtone, very hard, of a reddiſh colour,
with blue and white veins, and ſuſceptible of a very good poliſh. A brook from Long-
Aſhton paſſes through the pariſh under a ſtone bridge of a ſingle arch.
A market was formerly held here on Mondays by a grant made to Sir Richard de
Rodney, lord of this manor, 11 Edw. II. and confirmed 18 Hen. VII.; and a fair, of
royal charter alſo, is ſtill held here Sept. 21, for cattle and pedlary ware.
There was
alſo a charter of free warren for this manor. King William the Conqueror gave the
place to the biſhop of Coutances, of whom it was held by two domeſticks of the name
of Fulcran and Nigel.
« Fulcran and Nigel hold of the Biſhop, BACOILE. Turchil held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for ten hides. The arable is fourteen carucates, occupied
by thirty-two villanes, and twenty-one cottagers, and two ſervants. There is a mill
“ of four ſhillings rerit, and twenty-four acres of meadow, paſture one mile long, and
“ half a mile broad. Coppice wood one mile long, and two furlongs broad. It was
" and is worth eight pounds.
Lib. Domeſday.
VOL. II.
When

ارد
* Cart. u Edw. II.
RF

-300
[bareclive and
BACK W E L L.
When this manor fell into the hands of the crown by the biſhop's death, it was
divided into two portions; one of which the Empreſs Maud, daughter of King Hen. I.
gave, together with the manors of Lamyat and Hurleſtone, and divers other lands in
chis county, to Walter de Rodney, anceſtor of the Rodneys of Rodney-Stoke in the
hundred of Winterftoke.
This moiety of the manor, in regard it was ſometime held by the family of Bayouſe
or de Baiocis, was denominated Backwell-Byouſe; as the other moiety was called
Backwell-Sore, from its ancient poſſeſſors of that denomination. And to this day the
two tithings into which the pariſh is divided retain the names of Backwell-Bayouſe and
Backwell-Sores.
47 Henry III. Thomas de Baiocis and Mary his mother are certified to hold eight
knights' fees in the different pariſhes of Backwell, Twiverton, Saltford, Winford, and
Stoke;" all which were held 24 Edw. I. by Joceus de Baioſe of the honour of Glou-
ceſter.° 47 Henry III. William le Sor held the other part of the pariſh of Backwell,
conſiſting of one knight's fee; and alſo the manor of Claverham."
The family of le Sor, which laſted but a very ſhort period in theſe parts, were of ſome
diſtinction, being allied to the Clares earls of Glouceſter. There were two Williams
and one John Le Sor, who ſucceſſively poſſeſſed this 'eſtate. 3 Edw. I. Iſabel Sore,
or Soore, lady of Clare, was in poſſeſſion of a moiety of the manor of Backwell, and
that year granted to Richard Rodney and his heirs for ever a certain piece of land
lying on Backwell-Hill. The ſame lady had alſo a moiety of the advowſon of the
church. But in the beginning of the reign of Edw. III. this family became extinct,
and this moiety of the manor paſſed to Elizabeth Wickham, one of the coheireſſes of
Le Sor, who conveyed all her right herein to Sir Walter Rodney, who thus became
lord of the whole undivided manor, and in whoſe deſcendants it continued till the time
of Queen Elizabeth.
This family, of whom more particular mention will be made in that pariſh to which
they gave their name, poſſeſſed alſo a variety of other manors. An inquiſition taken
6 Edw. IV. ſets forth that Sir Walter Rodney, knt. died ſeized of the manors of
Congreſbury and Badgworth; lands in Draycot; the manor of Lamyat with lands
therein; the manor of Backweil, and the hamlets of Felton, Winford, and Farley,
members and parcel of the ſaid manor of Backwell, with the advowſon of the churches
of Backwell and Winford; the manors of Stoke-Rodney, Hallatrow, Twiverton, and
Saltford, and lands and tenements in Chard and the city of Wells.
The ſeal of John de Rodney lord of Backwell 21 Edw. III. was three ſpread eagles."
From the family of Rodney the manor paſſed to that of Fitz-James, and after-
wards to Sir John Churchill, knt. maſter of the Rolls, and was, about the year 1710,
purchaſed of the truſtees and coheirs of Sir John Churchill by guardians for the
uſe of Thomas Thynne, eſq; anceſtor of Lord Viſcount Weymouth, the preſent poſ-
• Harl. MS. No. 1153, p. 40.
d Lib. Feod. e Ibid.
f Ibid.
3 Cart. Antiq.
+ Eſc.
Ing. poſt, mort. Walter Rodney, mil. * Seals from ancient deeds.
feffor

Lin
TWI
KIF 3 1918 1919 1916
41
Oraun und Engravd by I. Bonnor.
M A RT 0 C K.
ſo Iohn Butter Eg? this Church is inscribed, by his Obliged Servants
T.COZZINSON &E. RACK.

nunu
B A C K W E L L.
UNIT
RICH
Crawn und Engrane by T. Bonner.
Tothe Right Hom holood Heymonth, thi Church is incribed, by his Obleged Servanto
T.COLLINSON &E.RACK,
Published Feb. g#1735.

Bedmindfer.]
307
B A C K W E L L.
k
ſeffor. The manor-houſe, which ſtood eaſtward from the church is taken down, and
nothing of it remains excepting a ſmall wing near the church yard. Againſt the front
were the arms of Sir John Churchill, Sable, a lion rampant argent, debruiſed with a
bendlet gules, impaling argent a chevron ſable, over all a file with three lambeaux gules,
for Prideaux.
The hamlets belonging to this pariſh are,
1. West-Town, pleaſantly ſituated near a mile weſtward from the church, con-
taining ſeveral good houſes.
2. Farley, in the turnpike-road, half a mile north
3. MOOR-SIDE, a mile northweſt.
4. Down-side, near two miles ſoutheaſt. Joceus de Bayouſe gave lands in this
hamlet to Keynſham-abbey.
There was a park at Backwell, containing one hundred and forty acres, belonging
to the Rodneys.
A.D. 1292 the value of the rectory of Backwell was certified at fifteen marks.
Soon after which valuation, viz. A. D. 1306, it was granted by Ralph de Salopia,
biſhop of Bath and Wells, to the brethren of the hoſpital of St. John the Baptiſt at
Redcliff-pit in Briſtol, they repreſenting to him their being in a ſtarving condition.'
9 1343 the biſhop admitted a vicar to the ſaid church, who was preſented thereto
by the maſter of the above hoſpital, the true and undoubted patron thereof." The
rectory is now a finecure belonging to Mr. De Beſt, who is appropriator of the
vicarage, of which the Rev. Mr. Wake is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a very handſome ſtructure of fine ſtone and
excellent maſonry, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, two ſide ailes, a chapel, veſtry-room,
porch, and belfry, all leaded except the chancel. At the weſt end ſtands a very elegant
tower, embattled, with open turreted pinnacles, and containing five bells.
The chancel is decorated with a very fine altar-piece given by the Rev. J. Markham,
rector of the living, in the year 1771. This altar-piece formerly ſtood in the old
church of St. Leonard in Corn-ſtreet, Briſtol, and when that church was taken down,
it was purchaſed by Mr. Markham, and placed here. The font is circular, and is
removed into the church-yard under the wall of the ſouth aile.
On the north ſide of the chancel is a large ancient Gothick tomb, on which lies the
effigy in ſtone of one of the Rodney family, whoſe burial place was in the adjoining
chapel. Above the effigy on a long ſcroll is the following infcription:
we
“Within this chapel Iyeth Elizabeth the firft founderys of this chapell,
and of the Roke of thepe to the quarter tymes" lat ... --------, knygbt, and before
Oct. 1343
k Taxat. Spiritual.
'Excerpt. e Regiít. Wellen.
m Ibid.
* This infcription was either written by a Frenchman, who underſtood not Engliſh, or tranſlated by an Engliſh-
man who underſtood not French. To the quarter ty mes is an ungrammatical tranſlation of the French
A le quatre tems, a term in that language uſed for the Ember Weeks, or four ſeaſons of the year appointed for
fafting; at which ſeaſons this lady here interred, might have inſtituted either ſome publick ſervice in the church,
or particular benefaction to the
poor.
that
Rr2

308
[Bateclive and
B A C K W E L L.
that iyir to St Ulatar Rodney knyght and fyftur to Sr Wyliyam Compton
knyght whyche Elizabeth deperted the ...... in the yere of grace mºcccccrrrvi.”
On the tomb above and below, and alſo within the chapel, are the arms of Rodney, and
the family alliances.
Within the chapel, on the eaſt wall, is an old ſtone monument with a braſs plate,
having thereon the portraitures of a man and woman kneeling at an altar face to face
with three children behind each of them; the inſcription is as follows:
“ Here lyeth the bodies of Rice Davis, eſq; who reedified this chapel, and died
2 Sept. 1638, and Dorothie. his wife, daughter to Morice Rodney, eſq; and ſiſter
and coheir to Sir George Rodney, knt. Shee died the 12th of Jan" 1604, and had
iſſue betwene them 3 ſonnes deceaſed, and three daughters now livinge, viz. Johan,
Elizabeth, and Margaret." Arms: Quarterly, firſt and fourth, Gules, a griffin ſegreant
or; ſecond and third, ſable, a chevron or between three ſpears' heads, argent.
On a ſmall marble againſt the ſame wall: “ Elizabeth the daughter of Edward
Harvey, eſq; and Elizabeth his wife, of Brockley-Combe, under this fubjacent ſtone
lieth depoſited.
Thy life was like thyſelf, a ſpan,
In meaſure ended as began.
Short in dimenſion, ſhort in ſtay,
Five days induc'd, reduc'd thy clay,"
Arms: Sable, a feffe or between three ſquirrels ſejant argent.
In the ſouth wall of the chancel are three of thoſe niches commonly called tabernacles.
This church was pewed, paved, and ornamented, A. D. 1771. Samuel Filer,
churchwarden. - In the church-yard near the ſouth door is an old croſs quite per:
fect, with a dial on the top.
B
А
R
R
O
W
I
'S a pariſh of one tithing, denominated after its ancient owners Barrow-Gournay,
ſituated ſix miles ſouthweſt from Briſtol, and one mile eaſt from Backwell. The
greater part of the houſes ftand ſcattered in a kind of ſtreet half a mile diſtant from the
church; but the environs of the church are called Barrow-Minchin, from a houſe of
Minicenes", or nuns, which ſtood there on the ſcite of the preſent manſion-houſe; a
pleaſant, but expoſed ſituation, commanding an extenſive view over the city of Briſtol,
and the hundred of Portbury.
The whole place belonged in ancient times to that monopolizer of property Geffrey
biſhop of Coutances, as we learn from the following ſurvey:
a Sax. MINICENE, Monialis, a nun.
" Nigel

ܐܐܐܐ
այսինկյաաաաա
TULDU
SALU
in
Dranın & Engraved by F. Bonnor.
B ARROW
COURT.
To Iohn Gore Edward Gjore Ergothis Plate zInscribed by their Obliged Servant
J.COLLINSON,

Bedmintter.]
309
B A
W.
R
O
R
Nigel holds of the biſhop, BERVE. Edric held it in the time of King Edward,
“ and gelded for ten hides. The arable is fourteen carucates.
In demeſne are two
“ carucates, and three ſervants, and fifteen villanes, and ſeven cottagers. There is a mill
“ of five ſhillings rent, and thirty-five acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture.
« Wood one mile long, and one furlong broad. It was and is worth ten pounds.
When it reſorted to the crown, King William Rufus beſtowed it with other lands in
theſe parts on Robert Fitz-Harding; from whom it deſcended to Eva his grandaughter
and heir, the wife of Thomas de Harpetree, ſon of William de Harpetree, who 7
Ric, I. paid fifty marks for this his inheritance."
Robert, the ſon and heir of this Thomas de Harpetree, adopted the name of
Gournay, and annexed it to this his manor, in order to diſtinguiſh it from the other
Barrows in this county.
To him fucceeded Anſelm and John de Gournay, ſucceſſive owners of this manor:
which laſt, by Oliva his wife, daughter of Henry lord Lovel, of Caſtle-Cary in this
county, (who had this manor and that of Eaſt-Harptree in jointure) left iſſue one only
daughter and heir Elizabeth, married to John Ap-Adain, who had livery of his faid
wife's lands 19 Edw. I.' and 24 Edw. I. had a charter of free warren in the manor of
Barrow. He died 11 Edw. II. and was ſucceeded by
Thomas Ap-Adam, his ſon and heir, who 4 Edw. HII. conveyed this manor to
Thomas de Berkeley and Margarer his wife'; and in their deſcendants, the Berkeleys
of Beverſtone, it continued till the reign of Hen. VIII. when we find it in the poſ-
feffion of the family of Compton.
34. Hen. VIII. Peter Compton was lord of the manor of Barrow-Gournay. His
wife's name was Anne, who ſurviving him was married ſecondly to William Earl of
Pembroke. After his death it was ſucceſſively held by Francis Compton, Sir Henry
Compton, and William lord Compton, all living in the time of Queen Elizabeth.
38 Eliz. William Lord Compton fold this manor to William Clarke, eſq; who,
jointly with truſtees, in three years after, ſold alſo the ſame to William Hanham and
others; and they about i Jac. I. conveyed it to Francis James, L. L. D. 11 Car. I.
Francis and William, the ſons of Dr. James, diſpoſed of the ſame to Robert Cotterel,
whoſe daughter and heireſs, the wife of Hazle, ſucceeded to the poſſeſſion of it.
Which Hazle by his faid wife had one daughter Magdalen, married to Benjamin
Tibbot, who enjoyed this eſtate, and left it to his ſon John Tibbot, who died ſeized
of it in 1674. Ruth, daughter of this John Tibbot, and firſt wife of William Gore,
eſq; inherited this manor, and left iſſue a daughter Mary, married to Anthony
Blagrave, eſq; by whom ſhe had two ſons, John and Anthony, whoſe couſin and heir
John Blagrave, eſq; is the preſent poſſeſſor.
In this pariſh, on the hill weſtward from Barrow-Gournay, one of the Fitz-Hardings,
lord of the manor, founded a Benedictine nunnery to the honour of St. Mary and St.
• Lib. Domeſday,
© Rot. Pip. 7 Ric. I.
e Cart. 24. Edw. I. f Cart. Antiq.
d Rot. Fin. 19 Edw. I.
8 Eſc.
Edwin;

310
[bareclive and
B A R R O
W.
Edwin; but which at the Reformation was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Leland"
attributes its foundation to one of the Gournays, but it muſt have been before
either of their times, as it is noticed ſo early as the reigns of Richard I. and King
John; particularly in the will of Hugh biſhop of Lincoln, made A. D. 12111,
wherein he leaves to the houſe of nuns at Barrow ten marks; Domui Monialium de
Berwe io marc. 35 Edw. III. Sir Richard de Acton gave lands in Barrow-Gournay
to the priory of Minchin-Barrow. 44. Edw. III. Sir Richard de Acton and others
gave a meſſuage and ſeventy-nine acres of land in Barrow-Gournay to the ſame priory.
2 Hen. IV. Gilbert Hareclive gave to Joan Panes, prioreſs of Barrow, and her ſuc-
ceſſors for ever, a meadow in an incloſure called Chappelmeade, in Barrow-Gournay,
containing two acres.' The nuns had alſo a penſion of two marks out of the
rectory of Twiverton near Bath;" and the ſame ſum out of the appropriated tithes of
Barrow-Gournay.
Thomas de Berkeley was patron of this priory, the advowſon of which belonged
to the manor of Barrow-Gournay in 1316.
That ſame year, Johanna de Gurney was elected prioreſs of this houſe, Oct. 4, and
reſigned in April 1325.
Agnes de Sancta Cruce, elected 1325. She died 1328.
Ad con-
ħ Itin. vii. 88.
1 Godwin de Præfulibus, 289.
“k TESTAMENTUM HUGONIS EPISCOPI LINCOLN. Lego pro anima mea 500 marcas ad fabricam eccles,
Lincoln.; & 500 marcas ad emendas terras redditus & poffeffiones ad augmentandum commune ejuſdem eccleſiæ.
Vicariis Linc. Eccles. 60 marcas; ec 300 marcas ad diftribuendum per domos religioſas Epiſcopatus Linc.; et
100 marcas ad diſtribuendum per domos leproſorum ejufdem Epiſcopatus ; et 100 marcas per domos hoſpital.
epiſcopatus ejuſdem; et 300 marcas diſtribuendas ecclefiis quas habui ad libros & ornamenta emenda. Domui de
Stanleg. 30 marc. Domui de Quarrer 20 marcas ; Domui de Poleſton. 30 marc. Domui de Fernleg. 10 marc.
Domui de Plinton. 100 márc. Ad hoſpitale conſtruendum pro anima Jordani de Turry, vel ad alias elemofynas
pro anima fua faciendas, 300 marc. Domui leproſorum de Selwod 3 marc. Domui monialium de Berwe 10 marc.
Domui de Berlich 3 mar. Ad fabricam ecclefiæ de Bokland 20 marc.
Ad fabricam eccleſiæ de Bokland 20 marc. Domui de Caninton 5 marc.
ftruendum hoſpitale apud Well. 509 marc. Hoſpitali Bath 7 marc. & dim. Domui leproſorum extra Bath
3
marc. Leprofis extra Ivelceſtr. 3 marc. Monialibus de Stodleg in Oxenfordſire 7 marc. & dim. Magiſtro Johi.
de Ebor. nifi a me beneficiatus fuerit, cent. marc. Filiabus Willielmi de Stratton. 300 marc. ad eas maritandas
Puellæ de Sco Edward 150 marc. ad fe maritandam. Puero de Evercrich 40 marc. ad eum exhibend. Paupe-
ribus de conſanguinitate mea 100 marc. Volo autem quod reſtituantur hominibus meis tam militibus quam aliis,
facta mihi reſtitutione quæ me & eos contingit, omnia quæ ab eis capta ſunt injuſte in hoc interdicto. Item lego
Canonicis de Morton 20 marc. Canonicis de Sca Barbara 20 marc. Pro anima filii Stephani perſona de Doke-
mers. 7 marc. & dim. Autem teftamenti mei executores conſtituo Dominum Bath. & Magiſtrum Hel de
Derham ad recipiend. omnia & diſtribuend. ut prædixi, & Dominum Cant. & confratres & co-epiſcopales
meos rogo, quatenus pro Deo & honore eccleſiæ Dei, & pro falute animarum fuarum & meæ cum requiſiti
fuerint confilium & auxilium efficax apponant ut hoc teftamentum meum compleatur. Quod autem ultra hæc
omnia prædicta remanſerit tam de his quæ mihi reſtituenda funt, quam de aliis bonis meis & his quæ mihi
debentur, volo quod per prædictos executores mei teſtamenti diſtribuantur pro anima mea tam pauperibus per
Epiſcopatum Lincoln. quam alibi ficut magis viderint expedire. Ad hæc lego ad fabricam Ecclefiæ Well. 300
marc. & ad commune eccleſiæ ipfius augmentandum tam ad opus Vicariorum quam Canonicorum 300 marc.;
et 40 marc. diftribuendas Vicariis ecclefiæ memoratæ. A&t. apud Sanctum Martinum de Garenn. in die Sci
Bricii pontificatus mei 3'', preſentibus Dno J. Bath Epiſcopo, magiſtro Hel de Derham, magiſtro Joh. de Ebor.
magiſtro Regin. de Ceftr. magiftro Willielmo Rogero & Hel capellanis, Petro de Cic. & Will. de Ham.”
Inq. ad quod Damn.
Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.
2
m
Bafilia

Bcunrintter.)
311
B A R R O
W.
Nov. 44
Baſilia de Sutton ſucceeded the ſame year, and died June 13, 1340.
Juliana de Grandy was elected Aug. 12, 1340.
Agnes Walim, prioreſs elect, confirmed Oct. 20, 1348.
Joan Panes was prioreſs 1400.
Margery Fitz-Nichol, reſigned Sept. 2, 1410,
Johanna Stabler, May 20, 1432.
Agnes Leveregge, 1463.
Iſabella Cogan, March 2, 1511.
The revenues of this priory were valued in 1426 at four marks, and 26 Henry VIII.
at 231. 14s. 3d.
After its ſuppreſſion King Henry VIII. in the 28th year of his reign granted the
houſe and the demeſne lands to John Drew of Briſtol, eſq; for twenty-one years at the
rent of sl. is. 8d. This Drew converted the old building into a good dwelling-houſe."
22 May, 36 Henry VIII. the King granted the reverſion of the above premiſes, and
alſo the manor of Minchin-Barrow, and the rectory of Minchin-Barrow and Barrow-
Gournay, with the advowſon of the church and the rent before reſerved, to William
Clarke, eſq; and his heirs. Chriſtopher Clarke, ſon and heir of the ſaid William Clarke,
9
Eliz. ſold the above manor, &c. to Francis James, LL.D. and Blanch his
wife, and the heirs of the ſaid Francis. 13 July, 11 Car. I. Francis ſon of the faid
Francis James conveyed the ſame to Sir Francis Dodington, knt. and John his ſon,
and the heirs of the ſaid John. 16 July 1659, Sir Francis Dodington and John his
fon ſold the above to William Gore, eſq; and his heirs.
Which William Gore was ſecond ſon of John Gore, of Gilſton in Hertfordſhire, eſq;
and died July 10, 1662, leaving iſſue
Sir Thomas Gore, knt. his ſon and heir. He married Philippa daughter and coheir
of Sir Giles Tooker, of Maddington in the county of Wilts, by whom he had two
ſons, William and Edward.
William died in 1718, and left iſſue another William, who died in 1769 without iſſue.
Edward Gore, the other ſon of Sir Thomas married Arabella daughter and coheir of
Sir John Smyth, by whom he left iſſue two ſons, John and Edward.
John, the eldeſt, is the preſent poffeffor of Barrow-Court, and reſides in the manor-
houſe, a good old building near the church.
Edward Gore, the ſecond ſon, is of Kiddington in Oxfordſhire. He married Barbara,
the daughter and heir of Sir George Browne, bart. and reliet of Sir Edward Moſtyn,
of Talacre in the county of Flint, bart. by whom he has living three ſons, William
Gore Langton, John, and Charles. The arms of Gore are, Gules, a feſſe between three
croſs croſets fitcheé or.
The living of Barrow is a donative in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and
in the patronage of John Gore, eſq. The Rev. Mr. Goddard is the preſent incumbent.
n Lel. Itin. vii, 106.
The

312
[Hareclive and
B A R R OW.
The church is a ſmall building, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and ſouth aile. At
the weſt end is a tower containing three bells.
In the upper window on the north ſide of the altar are theſe arms; 1. Barry wavy of
fix argent and gules: Bayouſe. 2. Argent, two chevrons fable, between three roſes gules,
feeded or: Drew. 3. Argent, three cinquefoils per pale azure and gules: Choke.
Argent, a chevron ſable between three lions dormant coward gules: Lyons.
In the window over the altar, 1. Quarterly per feſſe indented argent and azure, in
the firſt quarter a mullet gules: Acton. 2. Effaced.
Over the north porch, and eaſt window, on the outſide of the church, are two
ſhields, bearing on a bend between two lions rampant three eſcallop ſhells: Clarke.
Againſt the eaſt wall of the chancel is a handſome marble monument with the fol-
lowing infcription:-
“ Under the altar are depoſited the remains of Edward Gore, eſq; ſon of Sir Thomas
Gore, knight, (by Philippa, fiſter and coheireſs to Sir Giles Tooker, bart. of Mad-
dington in Wiltſhire) and ſecond in paternal deſcent from Sir John Gore, knight, of
Gilſton in Hertfordſhire, who was lord-mayor of London 1624.-_Whitleigh and
Aldrington in Wiltſhire were the ancient ſeats of the Gores, from the 5th year of King
Edward the Third for many centuries; from this ſtock ſprung ſeveral Aouriſhing
branches, particularly the Gores of Hertfordſhire, who received the honour of knight-
hood for their diſtinguiſhed loyalty, and firm attachment to King Charles the Firſt.
“ In a grave adjoining is alſo interred his wife Arabella, ſiſter and one of the
coheirs of Sir John Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, baronet, who by maternal extraction
was lineally deſcended from Mowbrey firſt Duke of Norfolk, and the Earls Poulett
and Aſhburnham families.
" Edward and Arabella Gore were both eminently conſpicuous for their piety, be-
nevolence and charity, reſignation and humility, and all thoſe Chriſtian graces, which
eclipfe the luſtre even of an honourable anceſtry. He died Sept. 18, A. D. 1742,
æt. 70. She, Oēt. 27, 1748, æt. 48. They left iſſue two ſons, John and Edward.”
Arms: Quarterly, firſt and fourth, Gules, a feſſe between three croſs croſets fitchee,
or for Gore. Second and third, vert, on a bend engrailed argent three body-hearts,
gules: Tooker. On an eſcutcheon of pretence, gules, on a chevron between three
cinquefoils argent, as many leopards' faces ſable : Smyth.
In the ſouth aile is a monument of white, grey, and Sienna marble, whereon in two
arched receſſes are the effigies of Dr. Francis James and his wife kneeling; he in a
counſellor's robe and large white ruff, with four boys behind him, and over him on a
ſhield, Sable, a dolphin embowed between three croſſes botony or : James. She is
attired in black, and has five girls kneeling behind her, and above, Sable, three gaunt-
lets, argent. Underneath is this inſcription:
“Here lieth the body of Francis James, Dr. of Lawe, one of the maſters of the
high court of chancery, judge of the court of audience of the lord archbiſhop of
Canterbury,

Bedminder.]
313
B A R R
O W.
Canterbury, and chancellor of the dioceſe of Bath and Wells; who living was wor-
thily beloved of all honeſt men, and dead hartely of them deplored. He died 26
March, 1616; in whoſe rememberance Blanch James his beloved wife did erect this
monument.
On an old mural monument of ſtone againſt the eaſt wall: “ M. S. Gemmulam
viator, quam hic fubtus capſulatam cernis, Catherina Bampfyldia eft, ex honeftiſſima
Sydenhamorum familia oriunda, nupta non data Jofepho Bampfyld, facratiſſimæ
Caroli Britannici Majeſtati A Chiliarchis: femina, Deo fuo chariſſima; bonis omnibus
deſideratiſſima; utqui pietatis omnis religionisque, maximum, fi non exemplar unicum,
Quæ poſt plurimas temporum fortunarumque viciſſitudines, poft maximas morborum
ægritudinumque procellas; poft labores maſcule exantlatos, omnes et fingulos; hic
tandem in Dño placide obdormit. Ob Aug. 12, 1657.” Arms: On a bend three
mullets, Bampfyld: impaled with three rams paſſant, Sydenham.

B UT
со
M
в Е
STAN
TANDS on the ſide of a lonely valley, about three miles weſt from Chew-Stoke,
and the ſame diſtance eaſt from Wrington.
This pariſh comprehends ſeveral manors; whereof that of Butcombe belonged at the
Conqueſt to the biſhop of Coutances, and was thus ſurveyed:
“ Fulcran holds of the biſhop, BUDICOME. Elward held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable
three hides. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne is
one carucate, and two ſervants, and eleven villanes, and four cottagers, with five
ploughs. There is a mill of twenty pence rent, and ten acres of meadow, and thirty
“ acres of wood. It was and is worth four pounds.”a
After this manor lapſed to the crown by the demiſe of the biſhop of Coutances, it
was granted to one of the name of Bodicombe, of whom Walter de Budecumbe and
Robert his fon poſſeſſed it before 1113, whence paſſing into the family of Mohun, it
was about the year 1200 given to Sir Richard de Perceval, anceſtor of the Percevals
of Weſton in Gordano, in marriage with the daughter of William de Mohun, lord
of Dunſter, and afterwards Earl of Somerſet. John de Perceval, grandſon of
this Sir Richard de Perceval was a great patron and benefactor to monaſteries, and
among other donations granted to the monks of the Ciſtertian abbey of Thame in
Oxfordſhire, one yard-land in this village, adjoining on the north fide to a certain
plough-land, which the ſaid monks received formerly of the gift of Richard de
Perceval, his grandfather, in pure and perpetual alms, for the rebuilding a certain
houſe there belonging to the abbot and conyent, for the welfare of King Henry, ſon of
a Lib. Doeſday.
• Cart, Antiq,
VOL. II.
Ss
John
1
314
[ibareclive and
BU T C O M B E.
Z

d
John his lord, and that of all his predeceſſors and ſucceſſors, that he and they might
be partakers of all the benefits and alms which had been, or ſhould be made from the
days of the apoſtles to the end of time; willingly and firmly enjoining, that the ſaid
alms ſhould be free of all ſecular ſervices whatſoever. This deed bears date at Stowell,
and was witneſſed by Robert and Hugh, brothers of the ſaid John de Perceval, Robert
de Chen, Edward de Boſco, Roger, John, and Afcelin, his fons; Maſter Thomas de
Kenn, and others.
In this family of Perceval the manor of Butcombe continued in the male line till the
time of King William III. when it fell to Anne, fole daughter and heireſs of Thomas
Perceval
, who being twice married, firſt to Evan Lloyd, of the county of Salop,
eſq; and afterwards to Thomas Saliſbury, of Flintſhire, eſq; conſented at different times,
in favour of her two huſbands, to part with her inheritance.
The manor of Butcombe was held by the ſervice of half a knight's fee of John le
Sor, and the profits of the manor in the time of Edw. I. are ſet down at the ſum of
two ſhillings.
The manor of THRUBWELL, or TROBBEwell, partly in this pariſh, and partly in that
of Nemnet, and ſo called from Thrub-Well, a ſpring riſing in the latter, came into the
family of Perceval by the marriage of Joan, the daughter of Sir John de Britalhe, with
Roger lord Perceval, in the time of Edward I. The hamlet had been the habitation
of the family of Britaſhe, or Breteſche, for many generations. They are ſaid to have
proceeded originally from a younger branch of the ancient Counts of Guiſnes in Flan-
ders; but they probably derived their appellation from a ſmall manor in the pariſh of
Street near Glaſtonbury called Bruteſayſhe, where once they had the chief of their pof-
ſeſſions. 24 Henry II. Richard de Breteſche, lord of this manor, was fined ten marks
for treſpaſſes committed by him in the King's foreſts.' He died 10 Ric. I. A.D. 1198,
leaving iſſue
John de Breteſche his ſon and heir, who married Margaret, widow of Warin de
Ralege, and daughter of Lord Boteler of Overley. 3 Hen. III. he is found entering
into a compoſition with Adam Gianne and Anne his wife, concerning certain lands in
Crewkerne, part of the dowry of the ſaid Margaret from her former huſband. In the
fame reign he was witneſs to a charter of Richard earl of Cornwall, the King's brother,
whereby he granted liberty throughout his whole eſtate in Cornwall to the abbot and
monks of Cleve in this county. In the 23d year of the ſame reign he exchanged his
right of common in Heygrove, with the maſter of St. John's hoſpital in Redcliff-pit,
for one yard-land in Thrubwell, formerly held by Walter Fitz-Norman, and for half
a yard-land, which the ſaid John held of the gift of Elias Fitz-William, agreeing to pay
ten ſhillings and ſixpence to the ſaid maſter, in lieu of all ſervices otherwiſe due for the
ſaid lands. 27 Henry III. he is recorded for non-appearance before the juſtices itine-
rant, in the hundreds of Chew, Wellow, Portbury, Hareclive, and Chewton, in all
which hundreds he poſſeſſed eſtates. Not long after this he occurs witneſs to a deed
e Cart. Antiq. in Bibl. Cotton. Houſe of Yvery, i. 455.
e Eſc.
Rot. Fin. 3 Hen. III.
* Mon. Angl. i. 531.
i Fin. Somers, 23 Hen. III.
Rot. Pip. 24 Hen. II.
* Plac. Coron. 27 Hen. III.
of

Bedminder.]
315
B U T C O M B E.
of Geoffrey de Craucombe, whereby he granted his manor of Craucombe in this
county to the church of the bleſſed Virgin Mary of Studley in the county of Oxford.'
To him ſucceeded John de Breteſche his ſon and heir, lord of the manor of Thrub-
well, which he held of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Glouceſter, by the ſervice of half a
knight's fee. The profits of the court were valued at two ſhillings. This John 42
Henry III. preſented William de Sodden to William Briton, chief juſtice of the foreſt,
to be his woodward of the foreſt of Winford, who was admitted accordingly." 47 Hen.
III. he joined with his wife Engeretta in a grant to William Bozun and his heirs of
one meſſage and three furlongs of arable land in Heathfield in this county, as alſo two
furlongs and a tenement in Ford; reſerving an acknowledgment of two barbed arrows,
or in lieu thereof one penny, to be paid annually at Eaſter.” He died 15 Edw. I,
leaving iſſue one fole daughter and heir, Joan, married (as above ſaid) to Roger lord
Perceval of Butcombe, progenitor of the preſent Earl of Egmont. The arms of
Breteſche were, Sable, a lion rampant argent, double queued, crowned or.
The family of Clevedon had alſo poſſeſſions in Thrubwell and Butcombe, as had
alſo the abbot and convent of Flaxley in Glouceſterſhire; and the hoſpital of St. John
in Redcliff-pit in Briſtol had alſo a manor within this pariſh, which after the diffolu-
tion was granted to George Owen, efq; the King's phyſician,' together with the rectory
and advowſon of the church of Butcombe belonging to the ſame hoſpital. After:
which the manor and advowſon of Butcombe were in the family of Buſh, and paſſed
by the widow of John Buſh, eſq; in marriage to William Mann, of London, eſq; whoſe
grandſon Francis Mann, of Kidlington in Oxfordſhire, eſq; fold the ſame, 29 Sept. 1735,
to Mr. Richard Plaiſter, whoſe ſon John Plaiſter conveyed it to John Curtis, eſq;
whoſe fon fold it, with the advowſon of the living, to John Savery, eſq; the preſent
poffeffor. The manor-houſe, ſituated near the edge of Broadfield-down, was nearly
demoliſhed in the rebellion of the laſt century.
The manor of Aldwick, anciently Aldvic, or the old town, is alſo partly within this
pariſh and partly within that of Blagdon. It belonged in the time of William the
Conqueror to Serlo de Burci, who was likewiſe lord of Blagdon:
« Walter holds of Serlo, Aldvic. Almar held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for two hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
« and two fervants, and four villanes, and one cottager. There is a mill of three
ſhillings rent, and fifteen acres of meadow, and forty-nine acres of wood. It was
« formerly and is now worth forty ſhillings.
It was afterwards held by the Martins, lords of Blagdon; but in the time of Hen. V.
it was held by Sir Thomas Brook, of the abbey of St. Mary of Graces near the tower
of London. Of the fame abbey it was held 21 Henry VI. by Thomas de Chedder;
but afterwards of the Duke of Exeter.' By a coheireſs of Thomas de Chedder it
paſſed in marriage to Sir John Newton, knt. and from him deſcended to Richard
9
Mon. Ang. i. 487.
• Rot. Fin. 47 Hen. III.
m Lib. Feod. * Plac. Foreſt. in com. Som, 42 Hen. III,
Ter. Sydenham. & Lib. Domeſday,
I Efc.
SS 2
Newton
316
[bareclive and
BUT COM BE

Newton his fon, whoſe coheireſs carried it in marriage to Sir Giles Capel, knt, It is
now the property of Samuel Baker, efq.
,
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the gift of
the lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Bere is the preſent incumbent,
The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and is a ſmall ſtructuré, conſiſting of a
nave, chancel, and chapel on the ſouth ſide, leaded. On the ſame ſide is a ſtrong em-
battled tower, containing three bells.
Againſt the ſouth wall of the chancel is a ſmall monument to the memory of Richard
Humphreys, rector of this church, who died Nov. 15, A. D. 1716. And in the floor,
a memorial for Thomas Powell, another rector, who died Feb. 23, 1681, agęd 90,
At the eaſt end of the chapel is a monument of white marble to the memory of
« Richard Plaiſter, gent. who died Jan. 14, 1756, aged 65. Alſo three of his children
by Elizabeth his wife, viz, Martha, Henry, and Rebecca. Allo of- John Plaiſter,
eldeſt ſon of the above Richard Plaiſter, who died Feb. 10, 1760, aged 36. Alſo of
Elizabeth, reliet of the ſaid Richard Plaifter, who died Jan. I, 1767, aged 71,
In the ſame chapel there is alſo another marble monument, -" In memory of Mary
wife of Richard Plaiſter, who died the 11th of March 1777, aged 29 years. Alſo of
three of their children, John, Richard, and Mary, who died in their infancy."
In the chancel windows are ſome good figures in painted glaſs, and the initials W.R.
In the church-yard ſtands an old decayed croſs,
HE E L
VY

HIS pariſh, the name of which has been written Calviche, Chelvinch, Cheveldlyniche,
and Chelvy, lies one mile to the right of the ſeventh mile ſtone, in the road from
Briſtol to Yatton. Its ſituation is in a woody Alat; the lands good, and moſtly paſture.
It was anciently the land of Matthew de Moretaine, and was held of him by one
Rumaldus, a perſon probably ſubſervient to him in his domeſtick affairs:
“ Rumald holds of Matthew, CALVICHE. Torchil held it in the time of King
*** Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is three carucates.
In demeſne is
one carucate, and two fervants, and three villanes, and four cottagers with two
"ploughs. There are fix acres of coppice wood. It was and is now worth forty
6c ſhillings.
From this manor is taken away one virgate of land, which Torchil held with the
* land abovementioned. The biſhop of Coutances holds it."
Sir Richard de Acton, knt, was poffeffed of Chelvy in the time of Edw. III. He
was a great benefactor to the monaſtery of Barrow. He left iffue William de Acton,
a Lib. Domeſday
Ek. 35 Ed. III. © Pat, 26 Ed. III.
whoſe

Bedminger.]
317
C
Y.
H
V
L
whoſe daughter and heireſs Alice brought it to the family of Perceval, in which it con-
tinued for many generations. In the reign of Henry VIII. it was in the family of
Aiſshe. Richard Aiſshe by Margaret his wife was father of John and Hugh. John,
the eldeſt, died 19 Aug 32 Henry VIII. ſeized of this manor, Midghill, Tickenham,
and Compton-Biſhop, leaving iſſue one ſon John, and two daughters Joan and Mary.
John married Iſabel the daughter of Sir Edward Gorges, knt. and ſiſter of Anne
the wife of Edward Tynte, eſq; who purchaſed this manor, and was buried in the
pariſh church,
The ſaid Edward Tynte died in 1629, leaving iſſue five ſons, and two daughters.
John the eldeſt married Janę, daughter and heir of Hugh Hallwell, of Halſwell in this
county, D.D. and was father of
Halſwell Tynte, eſq; created a bāronet of Great-Britain by Charles II. He married
Grace, daughter and coheir of Robert Forteſcue, of Filleigh in the county of Devon,
eſq; by whom he had a daughter, Grace, and four fons, Halſwell, Forteſcue, John,
and Robert.
The two eldeſt dying without iſſue, John the third ſon ſucceeded to the title and
eftate on the death of his father in 1702, and married Jane eldeſt daughter of Sir Charles
Kemeys, of Keven-Mabley in the county of Glamorgan, bart. He died in 1710,
leaving iſſue three ſons, Halſwell, John, and Charles-Kemeys, and one daughter Jane.
Sir Halſwell Tynte, bart. his eldeſt ſon and fucceffor, was elected i Geo. II. a
repreſentative in parliament for Bridgwater. He married Mary, daughter and heir of
John Walters, of Brecknock, eſq; by whom he had iffiie two daughters, who both died
young, and was ſucceeded in title and eſtate by his eldeſt brother
Sir John Tynte, bart. who was rector of Goathurſt in this county, and died un-
married in 1740, whereupon the dignity and patrimonial inheritance devolved on his
only ſurviving brother
Sir Charles Kemeys Tynte, bart. LL.D. who was elected knight of the ſhire for
this county in ſeveral parliaments, and was colonel of the ſecond battalion of the
Somerſet militia. He married Anne, daughter and coheir of the Rev. Dr. Buſby,
but dying without iſſue in 1785, the eſtate became veſted in John Johnſon, eſq; who
married his niece, and is the preſent poſſeſſor of this manor. He has aſſumed the
name of Tynte.
The manor houſe, formerly inhabited by the Tyntes, is a very large old ſtructure,
and had a park adjoining thereto, a warren, and a ſwanery, all now appropriated to
other uſes. In this houſe there are many good apartments, well wainſcoted, with
handſome cornices gilt, and elegant cielings; but they are all now locked up, and the
windows blinded; only ſo much of it being inhabited, as is neceſſary for the farmer's
ule who occupies it.
MIDGHILL was the land of the biſhop of Coutances:

* Ing. poſt mort. Joh. Aiſshe,
For the Arms of Tynte, ſee vol. i. p. 83.
« Lewin

318
bareclive and
C
VY.
H
EL
“Lewin holds of the biſhop, Megele. Almar held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for one hide. The arable is two carucates, and there are two villanes,
“ and three cottagers, and one ſervant, and fix acres of meadow. It was worth four
ſhillings, now twenty ſhillings.”
It afterwards deſcended with the manor of Chelvy.
The church of Chelvy is a rectory, in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The
lord of the manor is patron, and the Rev. Mr. Parſons is the preſent incumbent.
It is dedicated to St. Bridget, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and ſouth aile (belong-
ing to the Tynte family) covered with tile. A ſquare tower ſtands at the weſt end
containing one bell. There are ſome ſmall remains of painted glaſs in the windows.
On the floor are theſe inſcriptions: _-" Here lyeth the body of Edward Tynte, eſq;
lord of this manor by his own purchaſe, who married Anne the daughter of Sir Edward
Gorges, of Wraxall, knight; by whome he had iſſue 5 ſons and 2 daughters. He
departed this mortal lyſe the 16th of Dec. 1629, in the 59th year of his age. .
“ Here reſteth the body of Anne the wife of Edward Tynte, eſq; and daughter of
Sir Edward Gorges, who deceaſed Dec. 24, 1660.
“ Here reſteth the body of Robert Tynte, gent. who knowing God in his youth,
made hafte to his Redeemer; May 13, 1636, aged 16."
In the chancel floor: “Depoſitum Gulielmi Gregorii, artium magiſtri, rectoris
iftius eccleſiæ, qui mortalitatem exuens, cælo natus eſt die 28 Octob. A. D. 1667.
Ætat. 77.”

N E
M
N
E
T.
TH
THIS place (like moſt others) has been variouſly written, as Nimet, Nempnett,
Nemlet, Emnet, and Emet, the etymology of all which is extremely uncertain.
It is a pariſh ſituated twelve miles ſouthweſt from Briſtol, and fix eaſt from Wrington,
on high land, but full of deep hollows pleaſingly intermingled with wood. Here are
two hamlets:
1. West-Town, ſtanding a mile and a half weſtward from the church; and con-
taining three houſes.
2. Whitling-STREET, ſouthweſt, ſeven houſes.
In this pariſh, but on the borders of that of Butcombe, and at a ſmall diſtance
eaſtward from that pariſh church, ſtands a large tumulus, or barrow, fixty yards in
length, twenty in breadth, and fifteen in height, and covered on its top with aſh-trees,
briars, and thick ſhrubs. On opening it ſome time ago, its compoſition throughout
was

Bedmintter.]
319
N
T.
E
N E
M
was found to be a maſs of ſtones, ſupported on each ſide lengthwiſe by a wall of thin
flakes. The diſtance between the two walls is about eight feet, and the intermediate
ſpace is filled up with two rows of cells, or cavities, formed by very large ſtones ſet
edgewiſe: Theſe cells, the entrance into which is at the ſouth end, run in a direction
from north to fouth; and are divided from each other by vaſt ſtones placed on their
edges, and covered with others ſtill larger by way of architrave. In one of them
were found ſeven ſculls, one quite perfect; in another a vaſt heap of ſmall human
bones, and horſes' teeth. All the cells are not yet opened; and as no coins, or any
other reliques. but the abovementioned, have hitherto been diſcovered, it cannot
be aſcertained at what period this receptacle of mortality was conſtructed; however,
it undoubtedly is one of the nobleſt fepulchres of the kind in Great-Britain; and pro-
bably contains the fragments of many brave chieftains, whom ſome fatal battle near the
ſpot forbad to reviſit their natal country. The field in which this barrow ſtands has
from time iinmemorial been called the Fairy field; and the common people ſay that
ſtrange noiſes have been heard underneath the hill, and viſions, portentous to children,
have been ſeen waving in the thickets which crown its ſummit.
The village of Nemnet is not mentioned in the Conqueror's ſurvey. It was always
heretofore an appendage to the manor of Regilbury in this pariſh, and held by the
families of Martin and Perceval for ſeveral generations, of the abbot of Flaxley, chief
lord of that manor. After the diffolution of monaſteries, that manor, with lands and
appertenances in Nemnet, Blagdon, Winford, Butcombe, and Regilbury, was granted
by King Henry VIII. in the 34th year of his reign to Sir Anthony Kingſton, whoſe ſon
Edward Kingſton 7 Eliz. ſold it to Edward Barnard, eſq; and he the year following
conveyed the ſame to Edward Baber, eſq; ferjeant at law, and his heirs. From him
deſcended Edward Baber, eſq; who lived in the beginning of the preſent century, and
tranſmitted this with other eſtates to Sir Halſwell Tynte his next heir; from whom it
deſcended to the late Sir Charles Kemeys Tynte, bart. and his heirs.
The manor-houſe is a large old building, called Regilbury-houſe, and is famous for
being ſometime the retirement of Sir William Wyndham.
On the confines of this pariſh and that of Chew-Stoke is an old manor called
Beaucham-Stoke (corruptly Bichen-Stoke) from the family of Beauchamp, or de Bello
Campo, who once poſſeſſed it. It was always held of the honour of Glouceſter. In
the time of Edw. I. Robert de Walton and his heirs held the tenth part of one knight's
fee here. 19 Edw. II. William Martin held a fourth part of a knight's fee in Bycheme-
ſtok, which Peter de Sancta Cruce formerly held in demeſne. 23 Edw. III. the heir
of John de Leyceſter held the tenth part, and Philip le Walleis the fourth part of a
fee in Bichenſtoke. By an inquiſition taken at Wells 23 Oct. 4 Henry VIII. it was
found that Thomas Ive died ſeized of the manor of Bechenſtok, and that he held the
fame of the King as of the honour of Glouceſter. Mr. Page, now or late of Briſtol,
is the preſent lord.
? Lib. Feod.
• Ibid.
Inq. poſt mort. Tho. Ive.
Nemnet

320
[bareclive and
NE M N
E T,
Nemnet is a chapel to Compton-Martin; the church, a ſmall ſtructure, dedicated to
St. Mary, conſiſts of one pace, with a tower, newly rebuilt, at the weſt end, which con-
tains five bells.
* By the laſt will of Madam Florence Baber, bearing date the 3d of April, 1713,
was given to this pariſh the ſum of sol. to be placed out at intereſt; and the increaſe
and profit thereof to be employed in binding out poor children apprentice to ſome
honeſt calling, the ſame to remain for ever."
W I I N
F
O
R
D,
(Anciently a FOREST)
STAN
TANDS north from Nemnet, in a deep narrow vale, bounded by high hilly
grounds, well cultivated and wooded on every ſide. It comprizes three tithings,
viz. WINFORD, REgil, and Felton,
The former is ſurveyed in Domeſday Book as the land of the biſhop of Coutances:
“The Biſhop holds WENFRE. Alwold held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for ten hides. The arable is twenty-two carucates. Of this Roger holds
“ four hides, Folcran five hides, Colſuain one hide. In demeſne they have five caru-
cates, and there are ſeven ſervants, and nineteen villanes, and twelve cottagers, with
“ fourteen ploughs. There is a mill of forty pence rent, and twenty acres of meadow.
“ Paſture two furlongs long, and one furlong broad. Wood one mile long, and two
furlongs broad. The whole was worth nine pounds and five ſhillings; now twenty
« ſhillings more.
" To this manor is added one hide, which Aluric held in the time of King Edward.
« Now Colſuain holds it of the biſhop, and has there two ploughs, and two cottagers.
“ It was and is worth twenty-five ſhillings.
In the time of Henry II. this manor was in the poſſeſſion of Gilbert D'Amorie, or
De Aumari, who gave fifteen marks for the livery of his lands within this pariſh.
To him ſucceeded another Gilbert, Nicholas and Richard De Amorie; but in the
time of Henry III. and Edw. I. Winford was the eſtate of the families of Bayouſe
and Sor. 7 Edw. II. the heirs of Edmund Baffet held a moiety of this manor with
the alternate preſentation to the living, by the ſervice of one knight's fee of the
honour of Glouceſter, and the other moiety was held in a ſimilar manner by the heirs
of John Le Sor, After which both moieties came into the family of Rodney, who
are certified to hold the hamlets of Winford and Felton, as members and parcel of the
manor of Backwell, together with the advowſon of the church of Winford, lands called

ya


b
* Lib. Domeſday.
• Rot. Pip. 15 Hen. II.
c Lib. Feod.
Hakker's-

Bedmintter.
321
W I N F O R
D.
"C
Hakker's-Londs in Strode within the pariſh of Winford, formerly belonging to John
Lanyard; and other lands and tenements in the ſaid pariſh. In the beginning of the
preſent century it was the property of Matthew Ducie Morton, of Tortworth in the
county of Glouceſter, eſq; who fold it to Abraham Elton, eſq; afterwards created :
baronet, and whoſe great grandſon Ifaac Elton, of Stapleton, eſq; is the preſent owner.
The manor of REgil was in the Conqueror's time the land of Serlo de Burci:
“ Guntard holds of Serlo, RagiOL. Four thanes held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for two hides. The arable is two carucatęs. In demeſne is
" one carucate, with one fervant, and one villane. There are five acres of meadow,
" and five acres of coppice wood. It is worth thirty ſhillings.
“ To this are added one hide, and one virgate of land. A thane held it freely in
ce the time of King Edward. The arable is three carucates. Walter holds it of Serlo,
« and has there one plough, and four ſervants, with one villane, and one cottager.
« There are three acres of meadow, and three furlongs of wood in length and breadth.
“ It was formerly worth ten ſhillings, now thirty ſhillings. This land did not belong
" to Euuacre.”
A
very conſiderable part of this place was given to the Ciſtertian abbey of Flaxley
in Glouceſterſhire, founded by Roger earl of Hereford in the time of King Henry I.
and thus this place became a cell to that monaſtery. In the time of Edw. III, the
abbot thereof held the fourth part of a knight's fee in Regil, and the heir of Herbert
de St. Quintin the moiety of a fee in the ſame village of Hugh Le Diſpenſer.' The
convent ſeems afterwards to have accumulated large poſſeſſions in the pariſhes of
Winford, Nemnet, Butcombe, and Stoke, and to have held moſt of them in demeſne.
This hamlet ſtands on Broadfield-Down between Winford and Nemnet.
The living of Winford is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and
was in 1292 valued at fifteen marks. The Rev. Mr. Webb is both patron and
incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary and St. Peter, is a handſome ſtructure,
conſiſting of a nave, chancel, ſide ailes, and porch, all covered with lead, and a ſtately
tower at the weſt end of very good maſonry.
At the northeaſt corner of the ſouth aile, formerly ſtood a monument (now removed
to another place) whereon lay the effigy of John Cottrell in armour, and over him
this epitaph:---"Here lyeth the body of John Cottrell, gentilman, who deceaſed the
15th day of July in the yeare 1612. Katherine Cottrell, the wife of Triſtram Cottrell,
eſquier, cauſed this monument to be made in the year 1613.”
Arms: Argent, a bend between ſix eſcallops ſable. Under the ſtatue in the work of
the tomb was this coat: Party per faltire, ſable and argent ; in the chief and baſe of
the ſable part, three trefoils or.
d Eſc. 18 Ed. IV.
Lib. Feod.
*Taxat. Spirit.
• Lib. Domeſday.
Tt
VOL. II.
In

322
[hareclive, &c.
W I N F O R D.
6 13
4
O
In the upper window of the chancel a coat in a round, viz. Gules, a faltire between
four faces like moons or.
On a table hanging in the church, is the following liſt of benefactions to this pariſh:
£. so do
£-s. d.
Mr. John Cottrell
1668. William Yorke
5
John Buſh of Regell
6 8
John Norcot of Barrow 2
Edward Buſh of London
By the church-yard riſes a fine ſpring which never fails, forming together with ſome
ſmaller ſprings a little river, which turns a gunpowder-mill and a ſnuff-mill, and then
runs through Chew-Stoke to Chew-Magna in its way to Keynſham, where it joins
the Ayon.
ос
2
O
THE

[ 323]
THE HUNDRED OF
HOUNDSBOROUGH, BERWICK, AND COKER,
F
ORMERLY three diſtinct hundreds; now only one, in the ſouthern part of the
county, bordering on Dorſetſhire. The pariſhes which conſtitute this now
undivided diſtrict, were anciently diſtributed as follows, viz.
1. HoundSBOROUGH Hundred contained Odcombe, Eaſt-Chinnock, Middle-Chinnock,
Weſt-Chinnock, Chiſſelborough, Haſelborough, Norton-under-Hamden, and North-Parret.
2. BERWICK Hundred contained Berwick, and Chilton-Cantelo.
3. Coker Hundred contained Eaſt-Goker, Weft-Coker, Cloſworth, Hardington, Pen-
domer, and Sutton-Bingham.
The appellations of the two laſt hundreds are obvious from the pariſhes they recently
diſtinguiſh; but that of the firſt was derived from a place, now altogether depopulated,
and almoſt unknown, lying within the pariſh of Odcombe, between which place and
Yeovil there is ſtill a ſpot called Houndſborough-Croſs; and near it a houſe and farm of
the name of Houndſton or Hounſden. The ancient name was Huneſberge, and Hunereſ-
burgh; and in the year of our Lord 787, Kenulph, king of the Weft-Saxons, gave it
to Tican, abbot of Glaſtonbury, under the deſcription of a vill, ſituated on the eaſtern
ripe of the Petride or Parret. King William the Conqueror took it from the abbey,
and ganted it to Robert earl of Morton, whoſe ſon William endowed his monaſtery
at Montacute with both the church and manor of Huneſberge."
a Johan. Glaſton. Hift. i. 107.
o Mon. Angl. i. 669.
Tt2
ODCOMBE

[ 324 ]
[boundsborough,
O D
C
o
M
B
E.
THI
HIS is a conſiderable pariſh, three miles weſt from Yeovil, and ſix northeaſt from
Crewkerne; it forms only one tithing, but is divided into four hamlets, viz.
1. HIGHER-ODCOMBE, in which ſtands the church. This part contains forty-
fix houſes.
2. LOWER-ODCOMBE, a ſtreet of about thirty-ſix houſes,
3. WOODHOUSE, half a mile weſt, three houfes.
4. WESTBURY, half a mile ſouth, two houſes.
The whole number of houſes is ninety-two, and of inhabitants nearly five hundred:
the pariſh is rated at about eleven hundred pounds per annum. The bailiff for the
hundred is always choſen out of it, and here alſo is kept the pound for eſtrays.
In the Conqueror's time this village belonged to the Earl of Morton, as we find it
recorded in the ſurvey:
Anſger holds of the Earl, Udecome. Edmer held it in the time of King Edward,
“and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are two caru-
“cates, and four ſervants, and ten villanes, and ſixteen cottagers, with three ploughs.
“ There is a mill of the rent of ſeven ſhillings and fixpence. There are twenty acres
“ of meadow, and twelve acres of paſture, and one furlong of coppice wood. It was
« and is worth one hundred ſhillings."
It was one of thoſe manors which were held by barony of the honour of Oakhampton,
and in the time of Henry II. was poſſeſſed by William de Briwere, or de Briewer, a
noble baron, whoſe father, as Camden in his Britannia writes, was ſo called becauſe he
was born on a bruerium or heath. This William de Briewer having much intereſt at
court, and being a particular favourite of Richard I. and careſſed and reſpected by all,
raiſed a large eſtate, and his daughters (on the death of his ſon without iſſue) by mar-
riage with the families of Breoſe, Wake, Mohun, La-fert, and Percy, carried large
poſſeſſions into thoſe families.b
This manor in the diviſion of the eſtates came to William de Breoſe, a perſon of
great diſtinction, who was murdered by Llewellin prince of Wales. He left iſſue four
daughters his coheirs, of whom Maud the wife of Roger Mortimer, in her life time,
enfeoffed Sir William Mortimer, her third ſon, with this manor.
He married Hawiſe
daughter and heir of Robert de Muſcegros, and, dying without iſſue, left Edward lord
Mortimer of Wigmore, his elder brother, heir to his eſtate, which continued in the male
deſcendants of the ſaid Edmund till 3 Hen. VI. at which time, on the death of Edmund
the laſt Earl of March without iſſue, it paſſed by an heir female to the houſe of York.
Whence it paſſed to the Lords Zouch of Harringworth, and after the attainder of John
lord Zouch, was granted by Henry VII. to Queen Margaret for her dower. It ſeveral
* Lib. Domeſday.
• Britannia in Somerſetſhire, new edit. by Mr. Gough, p. 56.
c Rot. Parl.
times

Berwick et Coker.]
323
0 DC O M B E
>e
times afterwards reſorted to the crown, and was granted to the Duke of Northumber-
land, the Earl of Hertford, (in whoſe ſchedule it is valued at 51. 2s. 8d.") and others.
The manor is now diſperſed among the freeholders and tenants,
Houndston in this pariſh was formerly thus ſurveyed among the other poſſeſſions
of the Earl of Morton:
« Anſger holds of the Earl, HUNDESTONE. Three thanes held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is one carucate, which is in
« demeſne, and two ſervants, and two villanes, and three cottagers, and three acres and
" a half of meadow. It was worth ten ſhillings, now twenty ſhillings.
6 Edw. I. Roger de Potford held half a knight's fee in Hounſden, of John de Mohun.
The church of Odcombe was appropriated to the priory of Montacute, and was
valued in 1292 at thirty-four marks. It is a rectory in the deanery of Ilcheſter; the
dean and canons of Chriſt-Church in Oxford are the patrons, and the Rev. Mr. Burt
is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. It is a plain ſtructure of one
aile, with a tower between the nave and chancel. It ſtands on an elevated ſpot, com-
manding a moſt beautiful and extenſive proſpect.
There are memorials to the Rev. Mr. Barry, clerk, M. A. rector of this pariſh, who
died Jan. II, 1781. To the Rev. Mr. Edmund Brickenden, rector, who died Feb, 15,
1707. To Frideſwide, wife of Mr. Brickenden, and daughter of Dr. Robert Creyghton,
who died Feb. 19, 1708; and to Frideſwide their daughter, who died an infant.
In the chancel lies interred George Coryat, rector of this church in 1570, and pre-
bendary of Warthill in the cathedral of York, 1594, a perſon highly celebrated for
his fine taſte in Latin poetry, and other writings. He died in the parſonage-houſe here
on the fourth of March 1606, and his ſon Tom, of whom we ſhall ſoon ſpeak, kept
his body above ground till the fourteenth of April following.
This Thomas Coryat, ſon of George above-mentioned, was a moſt extraordinary
genius, and, for his whimſies and abſurdities, acquired himſelf a name, which ſeems
likely enough to laſt till the end of extravagance. He was born here in 1577, and
became a commoner of Glouceſter-hall in Oxford in 1596, where he attained to the
knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. Hence he returned to Odcombe, where
he ſpent ſome time; but afterwards left it for the metropolis, and was there received
into the family of Henry Prince of Wales, which gave him an introduction to all the
wits of thoſe times, who, by way of diverting themſelves, expoſed him to ridicule. In
1608, he rambled to France, Italy, Germany, &c. and at his return publiſhed his travels
under the title of “ Crudities haſtily gobbled up in five months' travels in France,
Savoy, Italy, Rhetia, Helvetia, ſome parts of High-Germany, and the Netherlands.”
This book was printed in quarto in 1611, and reprinted in 3 vols. octavo, 1776. In
1612, after he had taken leave of his countrymen by an oration ſpoken at the croſs in
& MS. Valor.
e Lib. Domeſday.
f Lib. Feod.
8 Taxat, Spiritual.
Athena Oxon. i. 335.
Odcombe,

326
[boundsborough,
0 D C O M B E.
Odcombe, he undertook a long journey, with an intention not to reviſit his native
country till he had ſpent ten years in travelling. The firſt place he viſited was Con-
ftantinople, whence he took occaſion to view the ſeveral parts of Greece, making
his remarks on the two ancient caſtles of Seſtos and Abydos, on Smyrna, Alexan-
dria; and the pyramids near Cairo. From thence he went to Jeruſalem, and ſo on to
the Dead Sea, to Aleppo in Syria, to Babylon in Chaldea, to the kingdom of Perſia,
and to Uſpahan the reſidence of the Perſian king. Thence to Seras, anciently called
Shuſhan; to Candahor, the firſt province northeaſt under the ſubjection of the Great
Mogul, and ſo to Lahore, the chief city but one belonging to that empire. From
Lahore he went to Agra, where, being well received by the Engliſh factory, he made a
halt, till he had acquired the knowledge of the Turkiſh and Arabian languages. He
likewiſe made himſelf maſter of the Perſian and Indoftan tongues, which were of great
uiſe to him in travelling up and down the Great Mogul's dominions. In the Perſian
tongue he made an elaborate harangue to the Mogul; and in the Indoſtan he had ſo
great a command, that he is ſaid to have undertaken a laundry-woman of that coun-
try, who had ſuch a liberty and freedom of ſpeech, that ſhe would ſometimes ſcold,
brawl, and rail from ſun-riſing to ſun-fet; and to have ſo ſilenced her by eight o'clock
in the morning, that ſhe had not one word more to ſpeak, to the great aſtoniſhment
and diverſion of the company. After he had viſited ſeveral places in that country, he
went to Surat in Eaſt-India, where he fell ill of a Aux, of which he died in 1617. What
became of all his notes and diaries no one knows; but many of his obſervations, letters,
and harangues, were tranſmitted to England, and publiſhed; among the reſt was his
oration, “ Purus, Putus Coryatus; Quinteſſence of Coryate;” ſpoken extempore, when
Mr. Rugg dubbed him a knight on the ruins of Troy, by the name of Thomas Coryate,
the firſt Engliſh knight of Troy.' His journies were moſtly on foot, and he always lay
in his clothes to ſave the trouble and expence of ſhifting them. But notwitſtanding all
his oddities, he had certainly-merit as a traveller, linguiſt, antiquarian, and hiſtorian.
Humphrey Hody, an eminent divine, was another native of this place, of which his
father was rector. He was born here Jan. 1, 1659, was educated at Wadham-college
in Oxford, and at the age of twenty-one diſtinguiſhed himſelf by a << Diſſertation againſt
Ariſteas's hiſtory of the Seventy-two Interpreters.”k His ſubſequent publications were
both numerous and learned. He was in 1698 appointed Regius Profeſſor of the Greek
tongue in the univerſity of Oxford, and inſtituted to the archdeaconry of Oxford in
1704. He died Jan. 20, 1706, and was buried in Wadham-college chapel.
This Humphrey Hody, or another of his name, left lands to the amount of five
pounds per annum, for the purpoſe of binding out poor children apprentices. To
which benefaction Mrs. Clarke of Houndſton farm added forty ſhillings, and Mr. Ring,
of Yateminſter in Dorſetſhire, twenty ſhillings more.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are on an average ten; the burials, nine.
i Athena Oxon, i. 426.
* Biog. Dict. vii. 160.
EAST-CHINNOCK

Berwick & Coker.]
[ 327 ]
E A S T - C H I N N O C K
L
IES eaſtward from Crewkerne, and in the turnpike-road betwixt that town and
Yeovil. There is in this pariſh a falt ſpring, about a mile weſt from the church.
It is in a meadow of deep ruſty red and yellowiſh rich loamy earth, covered with a
thick fine turf
. The ſpring forms a pool of water, in which are reeds and other
aquatick plants, with divers fpecies of confervas; but none of them of the marine kind.
This ſpring never fails in dry, nor overflows in wet ſeaſons. From the pool narrow
drains are cut to a houſe erected for the purpoſe of making ſalt with the water thereof,
in which the proportion of ſalt ſeems to be about one-fortieth part; for with this water
they can make one pound of falt in forty more than they can with other water, under
a ſimilar operation, and with a like quantity of rock falt.
There are three villages of the name of Chinnock; it is therefore difficult to diſtin-
guiſh them in the old Domeſday ſurvey, where they are thus deſcribed:
“ The Earl himſelf [i. e. of Morton] holds CINIOCH. Edmer held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for ſeven hides, The arable is ſeven carucates. In de
“ meſne are three carucates, and four ſervants, and ten villanes, and twelve cottagers, with
“ four ploughs. There is a mill of fifteen pence rent, and fixty acres of meadow, and
twenty acres of paſture. It was worth one hundred ſhillings; now twelve pounds.a”
“ Malger holds of the Earl, CINIOCH. A thane held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for three hides. The arable is three carucates.
In demeſne is one ca-
rucate, and three ſervants, and two villanes, and nine cottagers, with one plough.
“ There are thirty-ſix acres of meadow. It was worth four pounds, now three
pounds.
“ Alured holds of the Earl, CINIOCH. A thane held it in the time of King Edward,
“and gelded for four hides. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne are two ca-
rucates, and five ſervants, and five villanes, and ten cottagers, with two ploughs.
“There is a mill of ten ſhillings rent, and forty acres of meadow, and two acres of
“ paſture. It is worth four pounds.”
William, the ſon of this Robert Earl of Morton, whoſe lands are here recited,
gave both the manor and church of Eaſt-Chinnock to his monaſtery at Montacute;
the prior whereof 37 Hen. III. procured a charter of free warren for all his lands
here, which were in 1293 valued at ten pounds.
After the diſſolution of the priory of Montacute, King Henry VIII. in the thirty-
ſeventh year of his reign, granted the manor of Eaſt-Chinnock, with that of Clof-
worth, Park-Wood, Weft-Grove, Whitechapel-Wood, and St. Auguſtine's-Grove,
all belonging to the ſame priory, to Sir Richard Moryſon, knight, and Bridget his
wife, who 4 Edw. VI. ſold it to Stephen Hales, eſq; and he, 3 Elizabeth, to Henry
bدر
* Lib. Domeſday.
o Ibid.
c Ibid.
• Cart. 37 Hen. III. m. 8,
e Taxat. Temporal.
Portman,

328
E AST.CH INNOCK. [houndsborough,
Portman, efq; in which family it continued in a lineal male deſcent till the time of
William III. when Sir William Portman, bart, and knight of the Bath, entailed his
whole great eſtate on his couſin Henry Seymour, eſq; William Berkeley, eſq; and
ſeveral others; on condition of the ſucceſſors' aſſuming the name of Portman, Henry
Portman Seymour ſucceeded in it accordingly, but died without iſſue; whereupon
it came to William Berkeley Portman, eſq; and after him to his eldeſt ſon, Henry
William Portman, one of the knights of this county in parliament; whoſe fon, Henry
William Portman, eſq; now enjoys it.
The rectory was taxed in 1292 at fifteen marks.' The King is patron of the vicarage
of this living; the Rev. Henry Gould the preſent incumbent.
The church has in it nothing of account; the chriſtenings annually are twelve; the
burials eight.
Mr. William Saliſbury, of Barking in Effex, who lies buried in the chancel here,
gave to this pariſh a large ſilver cup gilt, for the uſe of the altar; and five pounds a
year to the poor for ever. He alſo left ten ſhillings to the miniſter to preach a ſermon
on the eighteenth day of June, to be paid out of his eſtate lying in the foreſt of Neroche,
and in the pariſh of Barrington in this county.
f Taxat. Spiritual.
MIDDLE-CHIN NOCK
Α'
DJOINS to Eaſt-Chinnock on the north, and contains twenty-one houſes, moſt
of which are farms. Conſiderable quantities of hemp and flax grow here and in
Eaſt-Chinnock; and the poor are generally employed in ſpinning and weaving fail-
cloth, &c.
17 Edw. I. William de Albemarle held this manor at his death, and was fucceeded
by Geffrey his ſon and heir." From which family it came by marriage to that of
Maltravers. John lord Maltravers, of Hooke in the county of Dorſet, died ſeized
of it 9 Richard II. leaving Elizabeth his daughter and coheireſs, married to Sir
Humphrey Stafford, knt. whoſe deſcendant, Humphrey Stafford earl of Devon, died
ſeized of Middle-Chinnock and Weſt-Chinnock, 9 Edw. IV. leaving three female
couſins his coheireſſes, of whom Eleanor, the wife of Thomas Strangeways, inherited
this eſtate. From this Thomas deſcended Giles Strangeways, who held this manor,
and that of Weſt-Chinnock, 35 Henry VIII. and they continued in his deſcendants till
the time of George I. when Thomas Strangeways, eſq; dying without iſſue male, left
two ſiſters his coheirs; the eldeſt of whom, Suſannah, was married to Thomas Horner,
of Mells, eſq; the other was ſecond wife to the duke of Hamilton. The eldeſt ſiſter
had this manor and that of Weſt-Chinnock fettled on her and her heirs; and had by
b Ibid.
the
a Eſc.

Berwick, Coker.]
329
MIDDLE-CHINNOCK,
the ſaid Thomas Horner an only daughter, Elizabeth, married to Stephen Fox, efq;
afterwards created Lord Ilcheſter, whoſe ſon Henry Thomas Fox, the preſent earl of
Ilcheſter, is lord of this manor, as well as that of Weſt-Chinnock,
The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Ilcheſter, valued in 1292 at ſixteen marks,
The patronage thereof belongs to the manor, and the Rev, Mr. Wightwick is the pre-
ſent incumbent,
The church is dedicated to St. Margaret, according to Mr. Willis; but according to
others to St. Luke; it is a ſmall ſtructure apparently very ancient, the arch over the
fouth door being of Saxon architecture. Under the ſide ſeat in the porch is an arched
niche, in which ſtand the head and ſhoulders of the ſtone ſtatue of a female; the reſt is
beneath the pavement Images of faints were frequently placed in church porches for
a memento to devotees,
John Strangeways, eſq; gave to this pariſh twenty pounds, the intereſt to be paid
annually to the ſecond poor. To this benefaction the Rev. Mr. Clarke added five
pounds.
William Good, an eccleſiaſtick of this place, but native of Glaſtonbury, got himſelf
a name by a book (now very ſcarce) which he publiſhed under the title of Ecclefiæ
Anglicanæ Trophæa, printed at Rome in 1584. He died at Naples, July 5, 1586.4
• Taxat. Spiritual.
d Athenæ Oxon, i, 226.
W E S T.CH IN 'N OCK,
TI
HIS pariſh and Middle-Chinnock are but one tithing; the churches are about
half a mile diſtant from each other. There are fifty-two houſes, and two hun-
dred and ſeventy inhabitants. Moſt of the houſes are ſmall farms, and ſtand near the
church. Five are in a hamlet called SNAIL-Hill.
The manor belonged in the time of Edw. III, to the family of Marſhall, whereof
Ralph Marſhall held it at his death 20 Edw. III. leaving Herbert his ſon and heir.
It afterwards paſſed in the ſame manner as Middle-Chinnock, and now belongs to the
fame lord.
The living is annexed to that of Chiffelborough. The church has nothing re-
markable.
VOL. II.
Uu
CHISSELBOROUGH

[boundsborough,
CH I S S E L BOROUGH
ST
sa
YTANDS north from Weſt-Chinnock, in a pleaſant woody country, ſurrounded on
all ſides, except the weſt, by fine lofty and well cultivated hills, which riſe very
ſteep, and afford from their ſummits, rich and extenſive proſpects over the weſt and
northweſt parts of the country, the Briſtol channel and coaſt of Wales. The village
conſiſts of a long ftraggling ſtreet near the church. A large fair is held here on the
29th of October for horſes, cattle, and toys.
The Earl of Morton had alſo this manor, which is called in Domeſday book Ceolſeberge.
" Alured holds CEOLSEBERGE. Two thanes held it in the time of King Edward,
< and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
« and two ſervants, and ten villanes, and twelve cottagers, with four ploughs. There
“is a mill of fifteen ſhillings rent, and thirty-eight acres of meadow, and three acres
" of coppice wood. It was worth ſixty ſhillings, now one hundred ſhillings."
It was afterwards given to the Montacutes; from which family it came to that of
Andham, or Aldham, by the marriage of Iſabel, one of the daughters and coheirs of
William de Montacute, with Thomas de Andham, 31 Henry III. This Thomas was
ſucceeded by Baldwin de Andham, who died 19 Edw. I. leaving iſſue Francis de
Andham. Francis died i Edw. III. leaving John, the ſon of John de St. Clare, his
couſin and next heir. This John de St. Clare died ſeized of the manor and advowſon
of the church of Chiffelborough, 10 Edw. III. and was ſucceeded by John his ſon
and heir. To which John ſucceeded another John, who died io Ric. II. ſeized of
the manor and advowſon of the church, leaving Philip de St. Clare his fon and heir,
who paſſed it to the Chidiock family; from whom it came to the Staffords of Hooke,
one of whoſe heireſſes, Eleanor, carried it into the family of Srangeways, of whom Giles
Strangeways, eſq; 5 Edw. VI. ſold it to John Wadham, eſq; and it is now by inherit-
ance dividedly the property of the Earls of Ilcheſter and Egremont, and Col. William
Wyndham; and one ſhare belongs to the freeholders of the pariſh.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Ilcheſter, and in the preſentation of the
lords of the manor alternately; the Rev. Mr. Wightwick is the preſent incumbent.
The prior of Montacute received an annual penſion of five pounds from this rectory,
which was valued in 1292 at twenty marks.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul: it conſiſts of a nave and chancel,
with an intermediate tower, containing four bells. The chancel has an inſcription to
the memory of the Rev. Nicholas Baker, rector of this pariſh, who died Jan. 8, 1747;
and ſeveral of his family,
Mrs. Strangeways gave thirty pounds to this pariſh, the intereſt to be applied to the
fecond poor for ever.

.
Lib. Domeſday,
Eſc.
c Ibid.
Taxat. Spiritual.
HASELBOROUGH,

Berwick, & Coker.]
[331]
H A SE L BOROUGH.
HIS is a conſiderable pariſh two miles eaſt from Crewkerne, in the turnpike-
road to Yeovil, pleaſantly ſituated in a fine incloſed fruitful country; the number
of houſes that compoſe it is one hundred and ten, ninety-five of which ſtand in two
irregular ſtreets, which meet at a right angle, forming an L, near half a mile in length,
on the turnpike road. The reſt ſtand a little northward of the church. The whole
pariſh is rated at about 700l. a year, and is divided into about forty ſmall farms. The
river Parret runs through this pariſh under a ſtone bridge of one arch, dividing it from
the pariſh of Crewkerne,
In this place, about the year of our Lord 1146, lived Wulfric, a celebrated ſaint,
hermit, and prophet. He was born at Compton-Martin in this county, and applying
himſelf to religious ſtudies, became prieſt of Deverell, near Warminſter in Wiltſhire.
Hence he removed to a ſmall cell near the church of Haſelborough, where, clad in
iron raiment, he indulged the auſterities of an eremitical life. In this retirement he
was viſited by ſome of the greateſt perſonages, and amongſt them by King Henry I.
to whom he foretold his death, as he did to Stephen that he ſhould ſit upon the
throne. He died in an advanced age, A. D. 1154, and was buried in his own cell
by Robert biſhop of Bath; but his body was afterwards removed to one ſide of the
altar of the pariſh church of Haſelborough. The monks of Montacute had petitioned
his body for interment in their chapel, but Oſbern, then officiating prieſt at Haſel-
borough, oppoſed them, and his reliques were ſuffered to remain in a ſmall aile or
chapel adjoining to the chancel, and ſtill called Wulfric's Aile, where his tomb was
viſited by pilgrims for many ages.*
The poſſeſſor of the manor of Haſelborough, at the time of the Conqueſt, was one
Briſmar, a Saxon thane: the place was then called Halberge.
“ Briſmar holds Halberge. He alſo held it in the time of King Edward, and
“ gelded for ten hides. The arable is eight carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
and two fervants, and eight villanes, and fixteen cottagers, with five ploughs.
« There is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and thirteen acres and a half of meadow, and
“half a mile of paſture in length and breadth, and as much wood. It is worth eight
pounds.
In St. Wulfric's days William Fitz-Walter was lord of this town, and here founded
and endowed a monaſtery for regular canons, which was deſtroyed in the baronial
contentions. To this William fucceeded a ſecond William, who aſſumed the name
de Haſeberge from this his place of reſidence." 12 Henry II. in the aid levied for
arrying the King's daughter, William, the ſon of William de Hafeberge, accounted
for three knights' fees of the old feoffment, or thoſe which were held in the time
of Henry the Firſt, from which William Fitz-Terric owed him the ſervice of two
-b
man
a Leland's Collectanea, II. 445.
$ Tanner's Notitia Monaſtica in Somerſetfhire.
UU 2
Lib. Domeſday,
& Cart. Antiq.
knights

332
HAS E L BORO U GH, [boundsborough,
knights' fees. He himſelf acknowledged the ſervice of one fee for his demeſnes at
Haſelborough, and had nothing to do with the new feoffment. This William de
Haſeberge had for his fucceffor another William, whoſe ſon, Richard de Hafeberge,
was the laſt of the name that enjoyed this manor; for having joined a mutinous ſo-
ciety in arms againſt King John, his perſon and property were ſeized, and he was
hanged at Sherborne. The manor coming by theſe means into the King's hands, was
granted to John Marſhall, nephew to William Marſhall earl of Pembroke, then
keeper of the caſtle of Sherborne, where the ſaid William de Hafeberge was executed."
Which John Marſhall was one of King John's favourites, and moſt ſteady adherents.
Of him he obtained a variety of lands in different parts of England, and was ſuc-
ceſſively appointed to the government of the ſeveral caſtles of Oſweſtry, Hawarden,
Norwich, Oxford, Dorcheſter, Worceſter, Devizes, and Sherborne. Beſides which
he held many other offices of importance; and 10 Henry III. was one of thoſe who
were deputed from the King, then lying ill at Marlborough in Wiltſhire, to the great
council held at Weſtminſter, to forbid them to ſubject their lay-fees to the church of
Rome. He died 19 Henry III. leaving iſſue John his ſon and heir, who the ſame
year had livery of all his lands in this county, Norfolk, and Southampton." Which
John died 27 Henry III, then ſeized of this manor, leaving William his fon and heir.
William was a knight, and 45 Henry III. took part with Simon de Montfort earl of
Leiceſter, and other rebellious barons, againſt the king," who conſequently deprived
him of his eſtates, and this manor, being part thereof, was granted to Alan Plugеnet,"
deſcended from a family, who in the time of Henry II. were ſeated at Lamborne in
the county of Berks, 49 Henry III. this Alan was, after the defeat of the barons at
Eveſham, conſtituted governor of Dunſter-Caſtle in this county; and 14 Edw. I. he
procured a charter for a weekly market to be held here on Mondays, and alſo for free
warren in this and all his manors. He died 27 Edw. I. leaving Alan his ſon and heir,
who that year had livery of his lands. This Alan was made a knight 34 Edw. I. and
attended that king in his expedition into Scotland. 5 Edw. II. he was ſummoned to
parliament, and oth of the fame reign, for contumelious behaviour, incurred the ſentence
of excommunication from the biſhop of Bath and Wells. He died ſoon after with-
out iſſue, leaving Joan de Bohun his ſiſter heir to his eſtates. She alſo dying iſſueleſs,
1 Edw. III. Richard de la Bere, her couſin, ſucceeded to the inheritance. Which
Richard died ſeized of this manor 19 Edw. III. leaving, by Clarice his wife, Thomas
his fon and heir. Which Thomas forfeited it to the crown, and it was thereupon
granted to Ingelram de Ghiſnes, fometimes called de Couci," and again reverting in
the time of Ric. II. it was beſtowed on John de Holland, third ſon of Thomas earl of
Kent, afterwards created Earl of Huntingdon. The ſaid Earl being attainted in par-
liament, his manors were confiſcated to the King, but ſoon after reſtored, and Richard,
ſon and heir of John earl of Huntingdon, died ſeized of this manor 4. Henry V.; the
ſame year alſo John his ſon and heir was reſtored in blood, as heir to John his father
e Lib. Nig. Scac. i. 95.
f Ibid.
& Hutchins's Hift. of Dorſet, i. 94. Eſc. et Rot. Parl.
5 Cart. Antiq.
Dugd. Bar. i. 6oo. * Rot. Pip. 19 Hen. III.
Eſc.
m See the Engliſh Hiſtories,
Cart, Antiq.
• Cart. 14 Edw. I, n. 42.
P Excerpt. e Regiſt, Wellen,
9 Cart. 41 Edw. III.
* Dugd. Bar, ü. 79.
Earl

Berwick, & Coker.) HASELBOROUGH.
333
Earl of Huntingdon; and 21 Henry VI. was by letters patent, bearing date at Windſor
Jan. 6, advanced to the title of Duke of Exeter. He died ſeized of this manor 25
Henry VI. and was buried in St. Catherine's chapel near the tower of London. By
Anne his firſt wife, daughter of Edmund earl of Stafford, he left iſſue Henry his ſon and
heir, who ſucceeded to both title and eſtate. He married Anne, daughter of Richard
duke of York, and ſiſter to King Edw. IV. After the overthrow of the Lancaſtrian
party, this Earl was attainted in parliament; and the crown becoming again poſſeſſed
of this manor, granted the ſame in 1489, 4 Henry VII. to Thomas Stanley, firſt
Earl of Derby, who died poſſeſſed of it in 1504. George, the eldeſt ſurviving ſon
and heir of the ſaid Earl, had fummons to parliament by the title of Lord Strange,
22 Edw. IV, to the time of his death, Dec. 5, 1497, when he was ſucceeded by Thomas
his eldeſt ſon, who in 1504 had livery of his father's lands, and in the ſame year ſuc-
ceeded his grandfather as ſecond Earl of Derby. At his death in 1522, he was found
ſeized of this manor, and thoſe of Weſt-Lydford and Blackdon, in which he was
fucceeded by Edward his ſon and heir, Henry earl of Derby held it 16 Eliz. but
it paſſed afterwards into the family of Portman, and is now the property of Henry
William Portman, efq.
The church of Haſelborough is a prebend in the cathedral of Wells, and was valued
in 1292 at fifteen marks.' It is in the deanery of Ilcheſter. The Rev. Thomas
England is the preſent vicar.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and north
aile, or chapel of St. Wulfric. At the weſt end is a plain tower with five bells.
Againſt the ſouth wall of the chancel is an elegant monument of white and Sienna
marble, inſcribed as follows: G" In a vault underneath lies the body of William
Hofkyns, late of this pariſh, gentleman, who died the 12th of October 1760, aged 52
years. Alſo the body of Joan Hoſkyns, his wife, who died the 21ſt of May 1776,
aged 62 years." Arms, Per pale gules and azure, a chevron engrailed or, between
three lions rampant argent,
There are likewiſe two monuments: 1. To the memory of Chriſtian, daughter of
the Rev. Mountrich Hill, rector of Weſt-Camel, who died Jan. 21, 1753, aged 31;
and 2. To John Draper, who died Sept. 26, 1768, aged 94. Elizabeth his wife
died Nov. 6, 1764, aged 89: and two of their children. Arms, Gules, three bends or,
a chief per feſſe, ermine and argent, in chief three mullets fable.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are on an average ſixteen; the burials, fifteen.
s Taxat. Spiritual.
NORTON

[ 334 ]
[boundsborough,
NORTON-UNDER-H A MDE N.
Chiftelborough
Pariſh pleaſantly ſituated under the north and northeaſt brow of Hamden and
hills; the former riſing with a ſteep aſcent behind it. This hill
ſtands in the different pariſhes of Norton, Stoke, and Montacute, º diſtinguiſhing the
two former by the addition of its name. “ Hamden Hille is a ſpecula ther to vewe a
great peace of the contrye therabout.?»b It has been noted for many ages for its
quarries of fine ſtone, whereof there are four on it lying within the precincts of this
pariſh. The ſurface of the hill, for about a foot in depth, is a light ſandy ſoil, yielding
a ſhort ſweet herbage for depafturing ſheep. From thence to about the depth of
ſixteen or eighteen feet, is a looſe ſmall ſtone fit only for repairing roads. Six or eight
feet lower is a ſtratum of good tile ſtone; and under that, for the depth of forty feet,
are different ſtrata of a fine hard ſtone, lying one on another, without any intervening
earth. Theſe ſtrata are from one foot to three feet in thickneſs; the lower weighing a
hundred and a quarter by the ſolid foot. The perpendicular fiffures, or what the
quarrymen call gullies, are from ten to thirty feet apart. Some quarries on the ſouth-
eaſt ſide of the hill have, at the depth of about twenty feet below the ſurface, a ſtratum
of yellow fand ochre of three feet thickneſs.
The ſoil of this pariſh is a deep and fruitful loam, and the country is well wooded
and watered. A ſmall river called Credy, riſing near Miſterton, runs under a ſtone
bridge of two arches at the weſt end of this pariſh, dividing it from South-Petherton.
The village conſiſts of about fifty houſes, beſides which there is a hamlet called
EASTERN End. Matthew Quantoc, eſq; has a good houſe in this pariſh.
The manor of Norton belonged in the Conqueror's time to the Benedictine abbey
of Greſtein, in the dioceſe of Liſieux in Normandy, to which it was granted by Robert
earl of Morton, and held under him when the Norman ſurvey was drawn up.
“ The church of St. Mary of Greiſtan holds of the Earl, NORTONE. A thane held
« it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five caru-
Thereof in demeſne are two hides, and there is one carucate, and five
“ ſervants, and eight villanes, and fix cottagers, with three ploughs. There are two
« mills of twenty ſhillings rent, and twenty-five acres of meadow. Wood two fur-
longs long, and one furlong broad. It was and is worth one hundred ſhillings.”
After the ſecond Earl of Morton's diſgrace, it fell to the crown, and was granted to
the family of Montacute, of whom John de Montacute, reſiding at the neighbouring
manſion of Montacute, poſſeſſed it in the 13th year of King John." It ſeveral other
times lapſed, and was at length ſettled in the family of the Dukes of Suffolk, who
enjoyed the ſame for ſeveral ſucceſſive reigns, till by the attainder of Henry duke of
Suffolk in 1553, it became forfeited, and thence palling through ſeveral unknown
hands, is now the property of the Earl of Weſtmoreland, in right of his lady, the
daughter of the late Robert Child, eſq.


as
cates.
50
? See Montacute in Tintinhull Hundred.
b Lel. Itin. vi. 64.
· Lib. Domeſday.
Rot. Pip. 13 Joh.
The

Berwick, Coker.] NORTON-UNDER-HAMDEN.
335
The abbey of Greftein had property in this pariſh in 1293, to the amount of 121.
35. 4d. And the abbey of Glaſtonbury received from the manor a penſion of forty
fhillings."
The church was appropriated to the abbot and convent of Greſtein, and valued in
1 292 at twelve marks, the ſaid abbot and convent having therefrom a penſion of
three marks. It is a rectory in the deanery of Ilcheſter, and in the gift of William
Lock, eſq. The Rev. Mr. Ford is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and ſide ailes, with
a tower at the weſt end, containing a clock and five bells.
There is in the chancel an old monument of ſtone inſcribed to the memory of Anne
Conſtantine, who died A. D. 1696. Another commemorates Anne the daughter of
John Conſtantine, clerk, and Philippa his wife, who died July 7, 1713: as alſo the
Rev. John Conſtantine, rector of this pariſh thirty-five years, who was a native of the
county of York, and married one of the daughters of Matthew Quantoc, of this
pariſh, eſq.--He died Feb. 7, 1724, aged 63. Philippa his wife died May 30,
1741, aged 74.
The average chriſtenings are annually ten; the burials ſeven.
• Taxat. Temporal.
fRegiſt. Abbat. Glaſton.
& Taxat. Spiritual.
h Ibid.
N
OR T H - PA RRET,
called from its ſituation on that river, a ſmall pariſh on the borders of Dorſet-
ſhire, and about two miles ſoutheaſt from Crewkerne in this county, conſiſting of
eighty-three houſes. It was anciently the eſtate of the Earl of Morton, and was
written Peret.
“ Bretel holds of the Earl, Peret. Algar held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for ten hides. The arable is eight carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
" and two ſervants, and eight villanes, and twelve cottagers, with three ploughs. There
« are two mills of fourteen ſhillings rent, and eighteen acres, of meadow. Wood fix
furlongs long, and three furlongs broad. It was and is worth ſeven pounds.'
15 Henry III. this manor belonged to Mabel Rivel, lady of Stoke and Swell in this
county; from whoſe family it paſſed by the marriage of an heireſs to that of L'Orti or
de Urtiaco, whoſe reſidence was chiefly at Curry-Rivel, which manor they had by virtue
of the ſame match. Maud the wife of Sir John Lorti, knt. died ſeized of North-
Parret, 7 Henry V. leaving Alice the wife of Walter Buckham her ſiſter and heir.
Buckham did not hold it long; for in the next reign, it became the property of Weſt
a
a Lib. Domeſday,
o See vol. i. p. 26.
c Eſc.
lord

336
[boundsborough,
NOR T H - PARR E T.
lord De la Warre. It went afterwards to the crown, and 15 Eliz. was granted to
Thomas lord Wentworth. - 24 Eliz. the manors of North-Parret, Chillington, and
Southarp, were granted to the Earl of Hertford, and in his ſchedule this manor is ſet
down at the yearly value of 321. 8s. It is now in the poſſeſſion of William Pitt, of
Dorſetſhire, eſq; who has it by inheritance.
The benefice was valued in 1292 at ten marks. It is a rectory in the deanery of
Ilcheſter, and in the patronage of the lord of the manor. The Rev. Dr. Taunton is
the preſent incumbent.
The church, according to Ecton, is dedicated to St. Martin; it is built in the form
of a croſs, having in the centre a plain tower about fifty feet high, containing a clock,
chimes, and five bells.
There is neither monument nor inſcription in memory of the dead; but in the belfry
we find the following curious old articles of bell-ringing, in Sternholdian metre:
" He that in ringing takes delight, If any one with ſpurs to 's heels
And to this place draws near,
Rings here at any time,
Theſe articles ſet in his fight
He muſt for breaking articles
Muſt keep if he rings here.
Pay fix-pence for his crime.
The firſt he muſt obſerve with care: If any overthrow a bell,
Who comes within the door,
As that by chance he may;
Muſt, if he chance to curſe or ſwear, Becauſe he minds not ringing well,
Pay ſix-pence to the poor.
He muſt his ſix-pence pay.
And whoſoe'er a noiſe does make,
Or if a noble-minded man
Or idle ſtory tells,
Comes here to ring a bell,
Muſt fix-pence to the ringers take A teſter is the ſexton's fee,
For mending of the bells.
Who keeps the church ſo well,
Young men that come to ſee and try, Whoever breaks an article,
And do not ringing uſe,
Or duty does neglect;
Muſt fix-pence give the company,
Muſt never meddle with a bell,
And that ſhall them excuſe.
The rope will him correct.”
He that his hat on's head does keep
Within this facred place,
Muſt pay his ſix-pence ere he ſleep,
Or turn out with diſgrace.
The annual average chriſtenings in this pariſh are twelve; the burials, nine.
Near the church is a handſome ſtone manſion, newly built, the ſeat of Thomas
Hoſkyns, eſą; with a good garden, and neat plantations.
& MS. Valor.
• Taxat, Spiritual.
BERWICK,

Berwick, t Coker.]
[ 337 ]
Β Ε
R
W
I cК.
TH
*HIS pariſh, which formerly gave name to a hundred, is ſituated two miles ſouth-
weſt from Yeovil, bounded on the north by Brimpton, on the weſt by Eaſt and
Weft-Coker, and on the eaſt and ſouth by the county of Dorſet. The country is very
pleaſant, being a mixture of gently-riſing hills, and fine fruitful vales; the whole in large
incloſures, and not encumbered with wood.
The village of Berwick is compoſed of nine houſes, and the hamlet of STOFORD,
a mile to the ſouth, of thirty-two houſes. The number of inhabitants amounts to
about two hundred and forty. Stoford was a very conſiderable town in former times,
and belonged to the lords of Berwick, by whom it was erected into a borough; but its
privileges have long ſince been loft. Neither Berwick nor Stoford are mentioned in the
Norman record; the ancient appellation of the former was Berewyke. The manor
ſoon after the Conqueſt came into the poſſeſſion of the family of Courteney, of whom
was William de Courteney, the founder of the priory of Woodſpring, A. D. 1210. In
the 26 Henry III. the lands of Robert de Courteney, lord of this manor, were divided
between Vitalis Engain and William de Cantilupe; and in that partition Berwick was
allotted to the latter, who died ſeized thereof 35 Henry III. leaving William de Cantilupe
his fon and heir." Which William had livery of his lands the ſame year; he married
Eve, daughter and coheir of Walter Mareſchal earl of Pembroke, by whom at his
death 38 Henry III. he left iſſue one ſon, George, who died without iſſue, and two
daughters, viz. Millicent, firſt the wife of John de Montalt, and afterwards of Ivo le
Zouch; and Joan, married to Henry de Haſtings. 2 Edw. I. partition being made
of the lands which he left at his deceaſe, the manors of Berwick, Stoford, and Marſton-
Parva, with the borough of Stoford, were aſſigned to John de Haſtings, ſon of Joan
and Henry de Haſtings. This John de Haſtings was in all the wars of Edw. I. and
had fummons to parliament as a baron of the realm. He married Ifabel ſiſter and
coheir of Aymer de Valence earl of Pembroke, by whom he had iſſue three fons;
John, who ſucceeded him; and William and Henry, who died without iſſue; as alſo
three daughters, Joan, Elizabeth, and Margaret. He died 6 Edw. II. and Iſabel his
wife ſurviving him had this manor in dower. John his 'ſon and heir was in the
Scottiſh wars, of the retinue of Aymer de Valence earl of Pembroke, and 16 Edw. II.
was appointed governor of Kenilworth-caſtle in Warwickſhire. He died 18 Edw. II.
leaving iſſue by Julian his wife, daughter and heir of Thomas de Leyburne, Laurence
his ſon and heir. Which Laurence, by reaſon of his deſcent from the coheir of Valence
earl of Peinbroke, was, by King Edw. III. in the 13th year of his reign, advanced
to the dignity and title of that earldom.He died in the 22d year of that reign,
having married Agnes, daughter of Roger Mortimer earl of March; by whom he had
iſſue John lord Haſtings, who ſucceeded him in title and eſtate, and was made alſo
knight of the garter. He married Anne daughter and heireſs of Lord Manny, founder
of the Charter-houſe in London; and died in France, as it was ſuppoſed, by poiſon,
• Dugd. Bar. i. 732, 733.
© Rot. Fin. 2 Ed. I.
• Pat. 13 Ed. III, m. 12.
a Eſc.
VOL. II.
Xx
49 Edward

338
[boundsborough
B E R
I C K.
W
f
49 Edward III. leaving iſſue John earl of Pembroke, his ſon and heir. This laſt-
mentioned Earl was in 1390, 13 Ric. II. unfortunately killed at a tournament held at
Woodſtock in Oxfordſhire, being then ſeized of the manor of Berwick, with the
advowfon of the chantry there, and the borough of Stoford; as alſo the manors of
Odcombe, Milverton, and Marſton-parva, all in this county. Upon his death,
Reginald Grey, of Ruthen, was found to be his next heir, as lineally deſcended from
Elizabeth, ſiſter of John de Haſtings, father of John, great-grandfather of the Earl laſt-
mentioned. 21 Ric. II. Richard earl of Arundel held, as of the dowry of his wife
Philippa, late widow. of John de Haſtings earl of Pembroke, this manor of Berwick,
in which pariſh 12 Henry IV. Elizabeth, the widow of John Holland earl of Kent,
held two knights' fees, poſſeſſed afterwards by John Rogers. Sir John Nevil and Sir
Ralph Nevil were ſubſequently lords paramount of this manor. 20 Henry VI. John
Rogers held at his death the manor and hundred of Berwick, with the advowſon of
the church, and the borough of Stoford, of John earl of Somerſet; and left iſſue John
Rogers his ſon and heir.26 Eliz. Andrew Rogers and Mary his wife, and John
Rogers, gent. ſold the manor, with the hundred, and advowſon of the church of
Berwick, and the borough of Stoford, to William Symes and his heirs, in which family
it continued for ſeveral deſcents, and is now poffeffed by John Newman, eſq; who
has a good ſeat here, with a fine park and plantations.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton. The patronage belongs to the
lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Warry is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, and is a very good neat building,
conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and fide ailes, with a tower on the north ſide thereof con-
taining five bells. There is a handſome altar-piece of white ſtucco. At the weſt end
of the north aile is a plain monument of white marble, inſcribed,
« Heic ſubter fepultus jacet Thomas Symes, armiger, annos natus 46, a febri
ereptus 22 die Novembris, anno Verbi Incarnati 1681, mæftiffimam reliquit viduam
Merillam, filiam natu minorem Johannis Horner, de Mells, in agro Somerſetenſi,
equitis aurati: per quam filium unicum Johannem, et unicam filiam habuit, quorum
hæc infans 6° die Septembris 1671, occubuit, heic etiam ſepulta: ille, una cum matre
ſuperſtite monumentum hoc pofuit; pientiſſima conjux, memoriam mariti ſui pié
colens, hunc etiam fui locum fepulchri ftatuens, cum Deo Opt. Max. viſum fuerit.”
Arms: Azure, three eſcallops in pale or, Symes: impaling, ſable, three talbots paſſant
argent, two and one, Horner.
n Eſc.
• Eſc.
f Ibid.
& Lib. Feod.
door
CHILTON-

Berwick, Coker.)
[339]
CHIL TON - CAN T E L O.
T
"HIS pariſh, although belonging to the hundred of Berwick, is ſituated in a nook
between the hundreds of Somerton and Horethorn, at ſome diſtance from its
proper hundred, whereunto it was added by the lords Cantilupe its owners, from
whom it received its name.
This pariſh contains twenty-eight houſes, and about one hundred and fifty inhabi-
tants. Moſt of the houſes form two ftraggling ſtreets near the church; the ſituation is
low and woody; but the lands are ſtrong clay, very good, and worth on an average
from thirty to fifty ſhillings an acre. A ſmall ſtream, riſing at Sandford-Orcas, runs
under a ſtone bridge of one arch, and turns a griſt-mill in this pariſh.
It is uncertain to whom the manor belonged at the Norman Conqueſt, there being
ſeveral places of the ſame name entered in the ſurvey, and not diſtinguiſhed by ſituation
or locality.
It was anciently held of the manor of Berwick by a younger branch of the family
of Cantilupe, by the ſervice of one knight's fee. Richard de Cantilupe held it
1 Edw. I. John de Cantelo died ſeized of it 23 Edw. III. leaving two daughters his
coheireſſes, of whom Emma the wife of Walter Parker had this manor, and brought it
to her ſaid huſhand, who died ſeized of it 35 Edw. III. 'In the time of Edw. IV. it
was in the family of Wadham, and afterwards in that of Parham. I Mary, Richard
Parham held a moiety of the manor from Sir John Rogers, knt. whence it came to
the Strodes, of Parnham in the county of Dorſet. After the death of Sir George
Strode, A. D. 1702, a partition was made of his eſtates between Francis lord Broke,
and Frances counteſs of Hertford, in purſuance of a decree in chancery 16 April,
1729, wherein the manor of Chilton-Cantelo, rent 1641. 155. was allotted by the act
to the Counteſs of Hertford. It now belongs to J. Goodford, of Yeovil, eſq; whoſe
mother purchaſed it of the Earl of Northumberland, who had it by his lady, a daughter
of the Earl of Hertford.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, valued in 1292 at fifteen marks.
The Rev. Mr. Hill is both patron and incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. James; it is built in the form of a croſs, having at
the weſt end a well-built tower of Hamdon-hill ſtone, ſeventy feet high, with three
bells. In the ſouth wall of the chancel are three tabernacles, and a niche for holy water.
At the north end of the tranſept is a ſtone with this inſcription:-“Here lyeth
the body of Theophilus Brome, of the Bromes, of the houſe of Woodlowes neere
Warwick towne in the county of Warwick; who deceaſed the 18th of Auguſt 1670,
aged 69. A man juſt in the actions of his life; true to his friends; forgave thoſe that
wronged him; and dyed in peace.” Arms, Sable, on a chevron argent three ſprigs of
a Lib. Feod,
o Eſc.
X x 2
Taxat. Spiritual.
Broom
340
CHILTON-CANTELO. [boundsborough,

Broom proper.--N. B. There is a tradition in this pariſh, that the perſon here interred
requeſted that his head might be taken off before his burial, and be preſerved at the
farm-houſe near the church, where a head, chop-fallen enough, is ſtill ſhewn, which the
tenants of the houſe have often endeavoured to commit to the bowels of the earth, but
have been as often deterred by horrid noiſes, portentive of fad diſpleaſure; and about
twenty years ſince (which perhaps was the laſt attempt) the ſexton, in digging the place
for the ſcull's repoſitory, broke his fpade in two pieces, and uttered a ſolemn aſſevera-
tion never more to attempt an act fo evidently repugnant to the quiet of Brome's head!
E A S T - CO K E R.
TH
HIS pariſh lies ſouthward from Berwick, and compriſes a village of its name,
and a hamlet called NORTH-COKER, in which was formerly a chapel, lately
taken down to make room for a workhouſe fince erected on its ſcite.
This pariſh, although at a conſiderable diſtance from the old fofle road, abounds
with veſtiges of Roman antiquity. In the year 1753, in ditching in a field belonging
to Mr. Forbes, (a great collector of curioſities) the foundations of a Roman dwelling-
houſe were diſcovered, conſiſting of ſeveral rooms, one of which was floored with a
moſt beautiful teſſelated pavement, repreſenting in ſtrong colours a variety of figures,
among which was a female lying on a couch in full proportion, with an hour-glaſs
under her elbow, and a cornucopia in her hand; over her head a hare flying from a
greyhound, juſt catching her in his mouth; and at her feet a bloodhound in purſuit of
a doe juſt before him. Another female appeared dreſſed in her Roman ſtola with the
purple laticlave; and a third, much damaged, helping to affix a robe round a naked
perſon on a couch. Under this pavement was a hypocauſt; and a great quantity of
bricks, burnt bones, and corroded pieces of iron, were found in other apartments. Not
a piece of this pavement is now left, the whole of the field wherein it was found having
been ploughed up, and the antique fragments diſperſed among curious viſitors.
There are three places of the name of Coker, viz. Eaſt-Coker, Weſt-Coker, and
North-Coker, which are all deſcribed under one title in the Norman ſurvey:
" The King holds Cocre. Ghida [mother of Earl Harold] held it in the time of
King Edward. There are fifteen hides, and it gelded for ſeven hides. The arable
* is fifteen carucates. Thereof are in demeſne five hides and a half; and there are
" three carucates, and ſeven ſervants, and four coliberts, and thirty-five villanes, and
forty-two cottagers, with twelve ploughs. There is a mill of five ſhillings rent,
" and one hundred acres of meadow. Paſture one mile long, and half a mile broad.
“ Wood eight furlongs long, and ſix furlongs broad. It yields nineteen pounds and
“ twelve-pence of white money."
* Lib. Domeſday.
(5
ya
King

Berwick, Coker.] E AS T-CO K E R.
341
King William Rufus granted the manor of Coker to the abbey of St. Stephen at
Caen in the province of Normandy, founded, A.D. 1064, by William duke of Nor-
mandy, who was buried there in 1093.
This was only part of the great manor of Coker; tlte reſidue whereof belonged to
the families of Courteney and Mandeville. 7 Joh. Robert de Mandeville held one
knight's fee in Eaſt and Weft-Coker, with the hundred of Coker, of which this was
the principal town. 4 Edw. I. John de Mandeville was lord hereof, and after his
death Clemence his wife held it in dower." To him ſucceeded another John, whoſe ſon
Robert de Mandeville was outlawed 34 Edw. I. and the manors of Eaſt and Weſt-
Coker were in the king's hands for a year and a day. 9 Edw. III. Maud the wife of
Sir William de Falconberge, knt. ſiſter and heir of Robert de Mandeville, ſon and heir
of Sir John de Mandeville, releaſed to Hugh de Courteney, ſon of Hugh de Courteney
earl of Devon, all her right in the manors of Eaſt-Coker, Weſt-Coker, and in the
hundred of Coker, in the county of Somerſet. This deed of releaſe was dated at
Stoke-under-Hamden.' Elizabeth, the wife of the ſaid Hugh Courteney, held the
manor for life, and died ſeized of the ſame 49 Edw. III. After her death it was
inherited by Hugh Courteney earl of Devon, who died 51 Edw. III. leaving iſſue
Edward his ſon and heir, Margaret his wife having Eaſt and Weſt-Coker, with the
hundred of Coker, the advowſon of the church of Weſt-Coker, and ten acres of
meadow in Bureſmulle, within the manor of Weſt-Coker, in dower for life. She died
15 Ric. II. The ſaid Hugh de Courteney earl of Devon, her huſband, founded,
18 Edw. III. a chantry at the altar before the high croſs, in the church of St. Michael
the Archangel, at Eaſt-Coker, for a chaplain to celebrate divine ſervice every day for
ever, for the good eſtate of him the faid Hugh, Margaret his faid wife, and William
de Middleton, parſon of the church of Eaſt-Coker; and gave four meſſuages, fixty
acres of arable land, and ten acres of meadow, with appertenances, in Eaſt-Coker,
North-Coker, and Weſt-Coker, for the convenient and proper ſupport thereof. Sir
Philip Courteney, knt. held at his death 7 Henry IV. the manor of Eaſt-Coker, and
was ſucceeded by Richard Courteney, biſhop of Norwich, his ſon and heir. This
Richard died 3 Henry V. leaving Philip Courteney, ſon of Sir John Courteney, knt.
his brother, heir to his eſtates. 7 Henry V. Edward Courteney held the manor and
hundred of Coker, and after him Hugh his ſon and heir. I Henry VI. Hugh
Courteney earl of Devon died ſeized of three knights' fees in Eaſt-Coker, North-
Coker, and Hardington, which the heirs of John de Maundeville and John and
Clement de Montalt formerly held in thoſe places; as alſo the advowſon of the church
of Weſt-Coker, worth per annum 201.5 33 Eliz. William Courteney had licence to
ſell this manor to Bartholomew Trevilian. It afterwards came into the family of
Symes, and now belongs to William Hellyar, eſq; in whoſe family it has been for fome
generations. The ſeat of Mr. Hellyar adjoins the church-yard; and is ſituated on
an eminence which overlooks the town, and commands a fine proſpect to the north
and eaſt.
b Account of the Alien Priories, i. 125, 127. c Rot. Pip. 7 Joh. d Eſc. 4 Ed. I. e Eſc. 3 Ed. II.
f Sir William Pole's Book of ancient Evidences, 8 Efc. n Ibid.
Excerpt. e Regift. Wellen.
k Eſc,
Licence to alienate,
The

342
[boundsborough,
E AS TE R.
CK -
The manor of North-Coker belongs to the biſhop of Exeter. In 1553 the
chapel here, and lands belonging to the chantry in Eaſt-Coker, were granted to Edward
Nevil and his heirs.
The benefice of Eaſt-Coker, valued in 1292 at twenty-four marks," is an appropri-
ation in the cathedral of Exeter. It is a vicarage in the deanery of Marſton. The
Rev. Mr. Free is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and is a light handſome ſtructure in the
form of a croſs, with a tower in the centre, containing a clock, chimes, and eight
muſical bells.
In the chancel by the ſide of the north wall, is the mutilated effigy in ſtone, of a
female of the Courteney family, many of them having been interred within this church.
There is alſo a ſtone to the memory of Robert Paul, miniſter of this pariſh, with the
following curious inſcription:
“ Hic acquieſcit corpus Domini Roberti Pauli, M. A. nuper hujus parochi. eccle.
paftoris ornatiffimi; obijt Aug. 22, An. Dom. 1673. Occidifti, poſlidifti; fed quid ?
corpus non animam: et veniet aliquando Chriſtus cum poteftate et majeſtate carnem
illam quærere, et corpus iſtud cadaverofum conſignare corpori claritatis fuæ.
An ACROSTICK.
R eader not weep, to hear the tory
D f his deceaſe, was Coker's glory:
B emoan thyſelf, and know here lies
Entomb'd a treaſure of great prize:
R icher or more celeftial duft
T ime ſcarce hath left to earth in trutt.
Prepar'd his ſever'd ſoul is gon
a loft, its 6DD to wait upon,
U pbraiding vice, it could not ftay
L onger below, ſo filed away.” Abijt, non Obijt.
Robert
Apt
Paul
.
Labourer.
Apt labourer, dear faint! all thoſe that knew
Thy works, can ſay, ſuch labourers are few:
Indeed there's none could yet out-labour all
His fellow-workmen, fave triumphant Paul
Thy predeceſſor: yet thou wert, I know,
So apt a labourer, that death to ſhew
Thy worth, hence fetch'd thee upon angel's wings
As an apt chaplain for the King of Kings.
}
in Taxat. Spiritual.
Ah

Berwick, & Coker.] E A ST. CO K E R.
343
tau or.
Ah mihi! quid dicam? Paulum te flemus ademptum,
In faufta eft nobis mors tua fauſta tibi:
Dicam, Paule, vale: tua fama perennior ære
Durabit, nullo ſtat moritura die.
Et quod in æternum regem celebrabis Olympi
Cokero nullus poftea Paulus erit.”
In the eaſt window of the chancel are theſe arms; viz. I. Argent on a bezant a croſs
2. Argent, a croſs gules. 3. Azure, a ſaltier or. 4. Argent, three eſcallops or.
In the north aile is a very ancient tomb in a niche of the wall, but without any
memorial. In the eaſt wall of the ſame aile is a benetoire for holy water; and in the
north window theſe coats, 1. A chevron between three garbs or. 2. Or, three torteaux
in pile ſurmounted by a label of three points azure, each charged with as many bezants.
The arms of the Courteneys, and their intermarriages.
In the ſouth window of the fouth aile are the arms following, viz. 1. Quarterly,
firſt and fourth, or, three torteaux in pile; ſecond and third, or, a lion rampant azure.
2. Azure, a croſs flory or, between four etoiles gules, impaling argent, on a bend ſable
three plates pierced. 3. Gules, a ſword and key in ſaltire, argent and or. 4. Quarterly,
Firſt and fourth, fable, fix martlets, 3, 2, 1, argent; ſecond and third, azure, a bend or.
5. Argent, a faltire gules, impaling argent, three greyhounds ſtatant ſable.
Near the church is an alms-houſe, founded by an anceſtor of the preſent lord of the
manor, and endowed with an eſtate at Whitchurch in Dorſetſhire, which furniſhes two
ſhillings a week to twelve poor widows.
At North-Coker in this pariſh is an old manſion, in which are the following arms
painted in the windows: 1. Argent, a chevron between three geeſe ſable; impaling
bendy, argent and gules, a martlet for diſtinction. 2. Sable on a bend argent, between
fix falcons, three Catherine wheels or.
Not far from hence ſtands another very large and ancient building called Naſh-houſe.
A well-reſpected family of the name of Coker dwelt in former ages in this pariſh,
and were beholden to it for their appellation. They bore for their arms, Argent, on a
bend gules, three leopards' heads or, within a bordure engrailed ſable. In the time of
Henry I. Robert de Cocre was a witneſs to a charter of Robert de Mandeville, con-
cerning lands in Eaſt-Coker. His ſon Matthias de Cocre was founder of a chantry at
Wembdon in this county, 19 Edw. II. His ſon Richard de Cocre gave lands in
Charlton to the priory of Brewton, and oceurs 19 Edw. III. Matthias de Cocre his
ſon held lands in Coker in the beginning of the reign of Henry IV, and by Margery
his wife had iſſue John de Coker, who was of Weſt-Coker. Bartholomew his ſon had
a daughter, Elizabeth, who married John Seymour, of Wolf-hall in the county of
Wilts, great-grandfather to Edward Seymour duke of Somerſet, which family ſtill
quarter the arms of Coker, but without the bordure. This lady was heireſs to the
elder branch of the Cokers. William de Coker, of Rolſton and Bower in this county,
occurs 49 Edw. III. and was brother of Matthias, the ſecond of that name. He
married

344
E A ST. CO K E R.
(boundsborough,
married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Norris, of Pentelyn in the county of
Glamorgan, by whom he had Robert de Coker, of Bower, who married the daughter
and heireſs of John Wallys, of Worle in this county. He was ſheriff of Somerſet and
Dorſet i Henry VI. and was father of John, anceſtor of the Cokers of Mapouder in
the county of Dorſet." Of this family alſo was the Rev. John Coker, the ingenious
author in the laſt century of a Survey of Dorſetſhire, publiſhed in 1732, fol.
* Hutchins's Hift. of Dorſet, ii. 263.

W E S T - CO K E R
IES to the northweſt of Eaſt-Coker, and a little to the ſouth of the turnpike-road
leading from Crewkerne to Yeovil. This pariſh contains about one hundred
houſes, moſt of which compoſe two or three irregular ſtreets about the church; the
reſt are in two hamlets, Fontenoy, half a mile ſoutheaſt, and BridWELL, near Eaſt-
Chinnock. This pariſh is rated at about one thouſand pounds per annum.
Upon the grant of King William Rufus of part of his demeſne lands in Coker to
the abbey of St. Stephen, at Caen in Normandy, the abbot and convent thought fit to
tranſmit hither a certain number of monks to ſuperintend their eſtates. Theſe in pro-
ceſs of time eſtabliſhed a cell here, and the convent enjoyed their property in this place
till the diffolution of alien priories in the time of Henry V. when they were given to
the priory of Montacute. The manor (formerly belonging to the Courteneys) is now
poſſeſſed by Henry William Portman, eſq.
The church, valued in 1292 at eighteen marks and a half, is a rectory in the
deanery of Marſton, and gift of Thomas Proctor, of Pointingdon, eſq. The Rev. Mr.
Biſhop is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, is a neat edifice, conſiſting of a nave,
chancel, and ſouth aile tiled. The tower is newly built, and holds ſix bells.
In the aile, now uſed as a veftry-room, is a handſome mural monument of ſtone,
having in a receſs under an arched canopy the effigies of two ladies kneeling, and below
this inſcription : Grace, third daughter of Sir John Portman, knt. and baronet.
Elizabeth, eldeſt daughter of Sir John Portman, knt. and baronet.
Grace crowns her youth, y glads her parets deare,
Death ſtrikes her heart, this ſtrikes theirs alſo neare."
Arms: 1. Or, three fleurs-de-lis vert. 2. Azure, three taus or. 3. Azure, a
chevron, argent, between three gauntlets or. 4. Argent, a cheyron, the upper part
engrailed between three roſes gules. 5. Argent, three etoiles ſable. 6. Argent a chevron
a Taxat. Spiritual.
ermine
Berwick, it Coker.]
345
W E S T - CO K E R,

ermine between three moors' heads. 7. Argent, a bar gules ermine between three annulets
of the firſt; impaling, argent, ten torteaux 4, 3, 2, 1.
The ſame arms are on the
front of the manor houſe.
On the left hand of the communion table is a ſtone monument to the memory of
John Perry, M. A. rector of this church, and Mary his wife; he died Feb. 25, 1727;
ſhe April 22, 1705.
Near the eaſt window is a monument of white marble, inſcribed, -_-" William
Ruddock, of this pariſh, gentleman, departed this life Nov. 30, 1685; Edith, his
wife, died Jan. 30, 1688; Deborah, their daughter, left this ſtate of mortality Feb. 21,
1706: who all reſt here in hope of a reſurrection. This marble being inſcribed to
their pious memory by the executrix of the ſaid Deborah, who by her will gave
100l. to purchaſe lands for the uſe of the poor in this pariſh.” Arms: Gules, a bend
lozengy argent.
On the north wall of the chancel is an elegant monument of different forts of
marble, containing this memorial:"To the memory of Henry Moore, (and his
anceſtors) of this pariſh, gent. who died in the year 1679. Alſo Henry Moore, his
fon, who died the 17th of April 1743. Alſo Elizabeth, wife of the laſt-mentioned
Henry Moore, who died the 22d of November 1755. Alſo the Rev. Thomas
Moore, B. A. who died July 4, 1759. Alſo Henry Moore, who died Jan. II, 1762.
Alſo Jane, wife of the Rev. Charles Morgan, who died Sept. 24, 1769, whoſe remains
lie interred in the chancel of the pariſh church of High-Ham in this county. Alſo
John Moore, who died Nov. 21, 1769, (which ſaid Thomas, Henry, Jane, and John,
were the ſons and daughters of the ſaid Henry and Elizabeth Moore.) And alſo
Henry Talbot Moore, ſon of the faid John Moore, by Eleanor his wife, daughter of
Henry Talbot, of Butleigh in this county, who died Feb. 4, 1777, aged 29.
“What though ſhort thy date,
Virtue, not rolling ſuns, the mind matures.”
Arms: Argent, two bars engrailed between nine martlets fable
On another handſome monument of white and grey marble on the ſame wall:-
" Near this place lie the remains of Thomas, the eldeſt ſon of Thomas Proctor, eſq;
of Rock in the county of Northumberland. He married Mary, younger daughter of
John Hall, of Pitcombe in the county of Somerſet, eſq; by Mary, ſiſter of William
Ruddock, eſq. He died Sept. 5, 1748. And of John their ſon, who died July 20,
1752.” Arms, Argent, a chevron gules between nine croſs croflets fable. Over all an
ineſcutcheon quarterly, firſt and fourth, argent, a chevron between three orles; ſecond
and third, gules, a bend raguly argent.
On the north wall of the nave is a white marble monument, with this inſcription:-
“ Gulielmus Ruddock, hujus parochiæ armiger, fundator domus Eleemofynariæ in
hac parochia, obijt decimo die Novembris, A.D. 1718. Quæ domus (immediatè
poſt mortem fundatoris) erecta fuit per Johannem Hall, armigerum, executorem fe-
cundum effectum ultimæ voluntatis teftatoris.”

19


2
VOL. II.
Y Y
This
346
boundsborough,
WE S T.C.O K E R.

This alinshouſe was founded for the maintenance of five poor perſons in the pariſh
of Weſt-Coker, by the ſaid John Hall, in purſuance of the will of the ſaid William
Ruddock here interred, who laid a perpetual rent-charge of ten ſhillings a week upon
all his eſtates for that purpoſe.
Mrs. Deborah Ruddock, by will dated 1706, left one hundred pounds to the poor
of this pariſh, to be laid out in lands for their benefit.
Thomas Taylor, by will, dated 1677, left twenty pounds in money, the yearly
intereſt to be paid by his executor to the poor of Weſt-Coker.
A ſimilar fum was left by Henry Moore in 1679, the intereſt to be paid in like
manner at Chriſtmas.
C L O OS S W
ORT
H.

T
WHIS is a ſmall pariſh, ſituated on riſing ground in an incloſed and woody
country, ſix miles ſouth from Yeovil, and divided on the ſoutheaſt from Dorſet-
ſhire by the river Ivel, which paſſing under Boarden-bridge, a mile eaſtward from the
church, runs to Yeovil. The number of houſes in the village is twenty, which are
ſcattered about round the church. In the hamlet of NETHERTON, one mile north
from the church, are ten houſes; in that of WestON, half a mile weſt, eight houſes.
The inhabitants are about two hundred,
This manor was one of the Earl of Morton's, at the time the following ſurvey of it
was drawn up:
" The Earl himſelf holds CLOVEWRDE. A thane held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for ſeven hides. The arable is ſix carucates. In demeſne
« are three carucates, and three ſervants, and ten villanes, and ſeven cottagers, with
" three ploughs. There is a mill of fifteen ſhillings rent, and twelve acres of
« meadow. Wood four furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It was and is worth
« feven pounds.
William the ſon of this Earl of Morton endowed his priory at Montacute with this
among many other manors and eſtates, and the prior had a charter of free warren
in all his lands here 37 Henry III. It continued in the poſſeſſion of the ſaid priory
till its diſſolution, when it was granted to Sir Richard Moriſon, who fold it i Mary to
Stephen Hales, who 3 Eliz. ſold it to Henry Portman, eſq; in which name and family
it ſtill continues, Henry William Portman, eſq; being the preſent owner. The lands
of the prior of Montacute in this pariſh were valued in 1293 at thirteen pounds."

ja
* Lib. Domeſday.
Cart. 37 Hen. III. m. 8.
· Taxat. Temporal.
The

Berwick, t Coker.]
347
CLOS WORTH,
commes on
The church is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, valued in 1292 at ten marks.*
It was appropriated to the priory of Montacute, and the patronage is now veſted
in the lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Bartlett is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to All Saints, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and tower
containing five bells.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel ſtands a ſmall monument of white marble,
with this inſcription:-"Underneath lie the remains of Elizabeth Knight, daughter
of Mr. Ambroſe Seward, of Yeovil, who died Oct. 23, 1730. Alſo the body of
Thomas Knight, gent. who died May 20, 1748. This marble was erected, in the
higheſt ſenſe of duty and gratitude to the beſt of parents, by their eldeſt daughter
Anne Knight, who deſires to reſt in the ſame grave, and to be made partaker with
them of a joyful reſurrection.” Arms: Paly of eight, Argent, three pales gules on a
canton fable, a ſpur or, Knight. Impaling, Argent, on a feſſe gules, between two
chevrons ermine, three roſes of the firſt.
• Taxat. Spiritual.

Η Α R DI N G Τ Ο
N
'S a pariſh lying ſouthward from Weſt-Coker, in a bleak and cold ſituation, con-
taining ſeventy houſes, and near four hundred inhabitants.
This manor was the demeſne of King William the Conqueror, as we read in the
general ſurvey:
“ The King holds HARDINTONE. Gunnild (fifter of King Harold) held it in the
“ time of King Edward, and there are ten hides, and gelded for five hides. The
arable is ten carucates. Thereof in demeſne are five hides and a half, and there are
two carucates, and ſeven ſervants, and fixteen villanes, and fixteen cottagers, with
eight ploughs. There are forty acres of meadow. Wood five furlongs long, and
“ four furlongs broad. It yields twelve pounds and fourteen ſhillings of white ſilver.”
After the Conqueſt this manor was annexed to the barony of Marſhwood in the
county of Dorſet, and held as parcel thereof by the noble family of Mandeville or de
Magna Villa, who came over with King William,' and obtained large poſſeſſions in this
country. Hence this place was named HARDINGTON-MANDEVILLE. In the aid
levied for marrying the King's daughter, Gefferey de Mandeville certified that he held
the manor of Herdinton, conſiſting of one knight's fee, of his Lord the King in
Sumerſete. To which Gefferey fucceeded William, and to him Robert de Mandeville,
whoſe ſon Robert paid ten marks 7 Joh. for his relief of this manor. John de
Mandeville occurs lord of this manor 4 Edw. I. Robert his fon 13 Edw. II. paid.

· Lib. Domeſday.
b Chron. Norman.
Rot. Pip. 7 Joh,
• Lib. Nig. Scac, i, jol,
Y y 2
e Eſc,
the
34,8
HARDING TO N. [houndsborough,

the ſum of forty ſhillings for licence to enfeoff Alexander, the ſon of Andrew Luttrell,
with this manor. Whence it paſſed to the families of Fauconbergh, Wadham, and
Strangeways, and is now the property of the Earl of Ilcheſter.
The living of Hardington, valued in 1292 at twenty marks, is a rectory in the
deanery of Ilcheſter, and in the gift of William Hellyar, eſq. The Rev. Mr. Daubeny
is the preſent incumbent.
The church conſiſts of a nave, chancel, north aile, and tower at the weſt end, con-
taining five bells.
At the eaſt end of the chancel are two ſtone monuments, inſcribed, “Here reſteth
the body of Samuel Hood, M. A. rector of this church upwards of fifty-one years.
He died April 10, 1728, ætat. 80.'
[Then follows a long liſt of fourteen of his children, and the date of their deaths. ]
“ Here reſteth the body of Elizabeth, the wife of Samuel Hood, rector of this
church, and mother of theſe children, and four more, whom God preſerve! She died
March 30, 1718, ætat. 63."
Near the chancel door, on a braſs plate, is a long bombaſtick and ridiculous in-
ſcription in Latin proſe and Engliſh verſe, commemorating a former rector of this
pariſh of the name of Blagden, who died Jan. 13, 1675, aged 67.
In this pariſh are the remains of an ancient chapel of elegant workmanſhip, con-
verted ſome time ſince into a weaving ſhop.
f Rot. Pip. 13 Ed, II.
8 Taxat. Spiritual.
Ρ Ε Ν D Ο
M
E R.
TH
HIS pariſh ſtands on the ſouth ſide of Hardington, at the eaſt end of a flat vale
more than a mile in width, and ſkirted with high lands to the north and ſouth.
Hence its original name Penne, which fignifies in old Britiſh a head or ſummit; and is
particularly applied to elevated points of land. About half a mile eaſtward from the
church, which ſtands on a fine eminence, is Birt' s-Hill, or Abbot's-Hill, a large ſwelling
knoll of high ground, the ſides of which are finely ſtriped with hanging woods. From
the ſummit there is a very extenſive proſpect into both Somerſet and Dorſet.
This is ranked among the manors of the Earl of Morton, under the following
deſcription:
« Alured holds of the Earl, PenNE. Alwald held it in the time of King Edward,
er and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates, In demeſne are three
«
carucates,


Serwick, & Coker.]
349
P E N D O M E R.

2a
carucates, and two ſervants, and five villanes, and ten cottagers, with four ploughs.
«« There are ten acres of meadow, and four furlongs of paſture in length and breadth.
« Wood ſeven furlongs long, and three furlongs broad. It was worth forty ſhillings,
now ſixty ſhillings.
Its principal lords after the Conqueſt were the family of Domer or Dummer,
the effigy of one of whom lies in a Gothick niche under the north wall of the
church, in armour, with his ſhield on his left arm, and his military belt and ſword;
his head bare, lying on his helmet. At his head and feet ſtand the effigies of his two
ſons, who ſupport an arched canopy above. The manor now belongs to Earl Poulett,
who has it by inheritance from many generations.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Ilcheſter, and in the patronage of the lord
of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Webber is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall Gothick building of one pace, with a turret, containing two
bells, at the weſt end.
In the chancel window are theſe coats, I. A croſs argent. 2. A bend or between
fix plates. 3. The ſame as 2, with the addition of a mullet for diſtinction. 4. Or,
on a chevron argent a mitre of the firſt.
Againſt the ſouth wall of the chancel is a ſmall monument, inſcribed:
.“ Near
this place lieth the body of Thomas Taylor, 37 years rector of this pariſh. He died
Dec. 12, 1720, aged 66.” Arms, 1. Argent, a bar counter-embattled between fix
fleurs-de-lis fable. 2. Sable, a lion paſſant argent. 3. Argent, three Catherine-
wheels gules.
The font is circular, very large and clumſy. The chriſtenings in this pariſh are
five, the burials three, on an average annually.
a Lib. Domeſday.
S U T T 0 N - B I N G H A M.
I
S a ſmall pariſh of very few houſes, in a little valley, between two hills, on the fouth
ſide of Eaſt-Coker. The lands are moſtly arable, and produce ſome hemp and
fax. The river Parret riſes a little to the ſouth, and turns a mill in this pariſh. This
ſtream contains trout, eels, roach, and dace.
The manor of Sutton was given by the Conqueror to Roger Arundel:
“Roger [Buiſſel] holds of Roger, Sutone. Ulward held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates, There are fix
“ bordars, and four cottagers, and a mill of ſixteen ſhillings rent. There are twelve
6 acres
350
SUTTON-BINGHAM. [Houndsborough, tc.

a
« acres of meadow. Paſture three furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It was
« worth one hundred ſhillings, now thirty ſhillings.'
This Roger Buiſfel was progenitor of the family of Bingham, who reſided in this
place, and gave it the addition of their name. Sir John de Bingham, knt. was living
here in the time of Henry I. to whom lineally fucceeded Silveſter de Bingham, Gefferey
de Bingham, Auguſtine de Bingham, William de Bingham, Ralph de Bingham, Sir
Ralph de Bingham, knt. and Sir William de Bingham, who reſided in this place in
the time of Henry III. and left iffue Margaret his daughter and heir, married to
Ralph lord Biſſet, in whoſe deſcendants the manor long continued.
Another branch of this ancient family, deſcended from Sir Ralph de Bingham, was
ſeated at Eaſt-Melcombe in the county of Dorſet; and bore for their arms, Azure a
bend cotiſed between fix croffes formée or. Another branch was feated in Warwick-
ſhire, and others in Kent, Herts, and Nottinghamſhire; and divers deſcendants of
the ſeveral families are ſtill exiſting.
The manor of Sutton-Bingham is now in the poſſeſſion of Wyndham Harbin, eſq.
The living was valued in 1292 at ſeven marks; it is a rectory in the deanery of
Marſton; and in the gift of Wyndham Harbin, eſq. The Rev. Mr. Barjew is the
preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall building tiled, with two bells hanging in a hole of the wall at
the weſt end. Between the chancel and the nave is a fine Saxon arch.
A fat ſtone has this infcription: "Here Iyeth the body of Nicholas Stone,
miniſter of Sutton-Bingham, who deceaſed June 3, 1674.” And over it on the wall,
“ Here lyeth the body of Mrs. Joane Stone, a great example of all Chriſtian virtues;
who was buried Dec. 8, 1667."
• Lib. Domeſday,
→ Taxat. Spiritual.

JIAN
THE

[351]
THE HUNDRED
F
H OR ET
T H O R N E.
T
HIS hundred, ſituated in the ſoutheaſt extremity of the county, on the borders
of Dorſetſhire, derived its name from a down in the vicinity of Milborne-
Port, called Horethorne-Down, in regard of its once having a remarkable
thorn, on the ſpot where in priſtine times the hundred courts were held: which tree,
being conſpicuous to the ſurrounding country, was denominated by the Saxons
Dear-Đorn, or the High Thorn. On this down, which is common land, and con-
tains about two hundred and thirty acres, riſe ſeven ſprings cloſe together, and uniting
their waters, form a rivulet, which paſſes through the pariſh of Pointington, and at
Sherborne falls into the river Yeo.
The hundred and manor of Horethorne were anciently veſted in the kings of
England, and continued in their poſſeſſion till the time of Edw. II. That king, by his
charter, bearing date Sept. 16, the 7th year of his reign, granted the ſaid manor and
hundred to Robert Fitzpaine, lord of the manor of Kingſbury in the pariſh of Milborne,
in exchange for that of Norton, which at the ſame time was reſtored to Walter, biſhop
of Coventry and Litchfield.
a
In the time of Edward IV, the manor and hundred were held by Sir Thomas
Stanley, knt. and Margaret his wife, counteſs of Richmond."
* Rot. Pip. 13 Ed. II. et ap. Cart. Antiq.
• Eſc. 14 Ed. IV.
HANN
MILBORNE-
[352]
[borethorneo
M I L B O R N E - PORT

S a borough town, ten miles ſoutheaſt from Ivelcheſter, and two miles eaſt from
furrounded with fine hills, and in a healthy ſoil. It conſiſts of four ſtreets; the prin-
cipal one is called High-ſtreet, and is tolerably wide, but irregularly built. In this
ſtreet is the guild-hall, an ancient building, having a door-caſe partly of Saxon and
partly of Norman ſtructure. In the middle of the town ſtands an old market-houſe,
now converted into a warehouſe, and the arches cloſed up. Here are conſiderable
manufactures of woollen, linen, and hoſiery, which employ moſt of the poor in this
and the neighbouring pariſhes. The principal markets for the goods are London,
Briſtol, Bath, Saliſbury, and Exeter.
This pariſh contains about four thouſand acres of land, and feeds annually about
two thouſand five hundred ſheep. The inclofed part is moſtly arable, and produces
good crops of all ſorts of grain; the ſoil is a ſtone-ruſh. There is marle, and itone
for rough building, and for repair of the roads; but it is of a ſoft kind, and quickly
turns to dirt. It contains few (if any) foſſils.
In the high ftreet of the town is a well called Town-Well, which ſupplies moſt of
the inhabitants with water. Another ſpring, called Bath-Well, riſes behind the church.
A third ſpring, riſing at Bradley-head, forms a brook, which turns a corn-mill in the
hamlet of MILBORNE-WICK.
From the circumſtance of theſe ſprings and rivulets, and from there having been
formerly in this pariſh more mills than in moſt other pariſhes of the county, the
Saxons gave this place the name of Myllburn, which is compounded of Mýll, or
Mýlen, a mill, and Burn, a torrent; and from the circumſtance of its being a borough
and market-town, the moſt conſiderable in theſe parts, it obtained the additional name
of Port, fignifying a town or incorporated vill, by which it is diſtinguiſhed to this day.
Its importance in early ages may be collected from the following record:
“ The King holds. MELEBURNE. King Edward held it. It never paid geld, nor is
< it known how many hides there are. The arable is, fifty carucates. In demeſne are
four carucates, and five ſervants, and ſeventy villanes, and eighteen cottagers, with
ſixty-five ploughs. There are ſix mills paying ſeventy-ſeven ſhillings and ſixpence;
se and one hundred and ſeventy acres of meadow. Wood two miles in length, and
“ nine furlongs in breadth. Paſture four furlongs long, and two furlongs broad, and
one mile of moor.
“ In this manor are fifty-fix burgeſſes, and a market paying fixty ſhillings.
“ The whole of MELEBURNE, with its aforeſaid appendages, pays fourſcore pounds
« of white money, wanting nine ſhillings and five pence. In the time of King Edward
ss it was accountable for half a night's entertainment for the King, and one fourth.
66
« Reinbald

Dorethorne.)
353
MIL BORN E-PORT.
“ Reinbald holds the church with one hide. He has there one plough. It is worth
« thirty ſhillings.
« Of the third penny [of the county] Meleburne pays twenty ſhillings.
“ Warmund holds of the Earl [of Morton] in Meleburne one hide. The arable
“ is one carucate, which is in demeſne, with two cottagers, and two ſervants, and eleven
« acres of meadow there, and a mill rendering ſixteen pence, and five burgeſſes pay
“ three ſhillings. The whole is worth twenty ſhillings.
Not long after the Conqueſt this town ſeems to have loſt a great deal of its former
conſequence, but ſtill retained its market, and its privilege as a borough; returning
burgeſſes 26, 28, 33, and 35 Edw. I. after which it ceaſed to be repreſented in par-
liament till 15 Car. I. when it was reſtored to that franchiſe, and was fummoned by
the Houſe of Commons to return members. The borough is governed by the owners
of nine bailiwicks, who are the lords thereof, hold a court-leet, and are aſſiſted by
two deputy bailiffs, two conſtables, an ale-taſter, a ſearcher and ſealer of leather,
beſides the pariſh officers. There is alſo within the borough a corporate body of nine
perſons, conſiſting of two ſtewards and ſeven aſliſtants. In this body ſeveral parcels of
lands are veſted, the rents and profits of which are appropriated to the ſecond poor of
the borough.
The arms of the borough are, a lion paſſant gardant with the letter R in baſe:
The manor of KINGSBURY-REGIS, a tiining in this pariſh, belongs to the Earl of
Uxbridge. 2 Edw. I. John de Burgh gave this manor to the King, whence it received
its additional title.
King Henry I. in the thirty-fourth year of his reign, granted to the abbey of Ciren-
cefter in Glouceſterſhire certain of his demeſne lands lying within the pariſh of Milborne-
Port, together with the rectory of Milborne-Port, and the advowſon of the vicarage of
the ſame;' all which lands and premiſes were held by the ſaid abbey till its diſſolution,
and were then granted to Wykeham College in Wincheſter, to which they now belong.
The abbot of Cirenceſter had an annual penſion of two marks out of the rectory.
Biſhop Savaricus wiſhed to have made the rectory a prebend in the cathedral of Wells,
to be enjoyed by the abbot of that convent and his ſucceſſors for ever; but his
propoſal, which was made about the year 1198, was not acceded to.
The fellows of Wincheſter College are the patrons of the vicarage. The Rev.
George Iſaac Huntingford is the preſent incumbent. In 1292, the rectory was rated
at twenty-five marks, and the vicarage at eight, out of which a penſion of two marks
was paid to the rector.&
The church is dedicated to St. John the Evangeliſt. It is an ancient ſtructure
in the form of a croſs, over which is a large quadrangular tower, ſupported by two
pointed, and two femicircular arches, and containing ſix bells.
&
a Lib. Domeſday.
b Ibid.
c Ibid.
e Cårt. Antiq.
d Pat. 2 Edw. I. m. 241
Archer's Account of Religious Houſes,
: Taxat. Spiritual,
Againſt
VOL. II.
Z z

354
[borethorne.
MIL BORN E-POR T.
Againſt the eaſt wall of the north aile is a neat monument of white marble, inſcribed,
« In a vault underneath is depoſited the body of Thomas Medlycott, of Abingdon
in the county of Berks, eſq; juſtice of the peace, and deputy-lieutenant of the ſaid
county, who departed this life Dec. 13, 1716, aged 88 years, 9 months, and 15 days.
“ In the ſame vault is alſo depoſited the body of James Medlycott, eſq; fon and
heir of the ſaid Thomas Medlycott, and in ſeveral parliaments one of the repreſenta-
tives of this borough, who died May 2, 1731, aged 73. Here alſo lyeth the body of
James Medlycott, gent. ſecond ſon of the ſaid James Medlycott, who died Feb. 14,
1729, aged 26.” Arms, Quarterly, gules and azure, per feſſe indented, three lions
rampant argent.
On the north wall of the ſame aile:-_" This facred marble is erected in memory
of George Medlycott, gent. firſt lieutenant in Colonel Moreton's regiment of marines,
who died in the Weſt-Indies, and the debt he owed to nature paid his country.
“ Near this place lyeth the body of Thomas Medlycott, gent. only ſon of Thomas
Medlycott, of Venn" in the county of Somerſet, eſq; who departed this life June 133
1741, in the 10th year of his age.”
The ſingers’ gallery was erected by Sir Thomas Travell, knt. and James Medlycott,
eſq; in the year 1712.
In the chancel floor is a ſtone with this inſcription:-"Here lieth the body of
the Rev. Mr. John Hall, vicar of this place, who died Feb. 25, 1765, aged 45 years."
Againſt the ſouth wall of the chancel is a ſtone monument, inſcribed,
« Near this place lyeth the body of John Noake, who dyed Feb. 19, 1701, aged 71.
And alſo Elizabeth his wife, who dyed July 16, 1708, aged 87. She was the mother,
grandmother, and great-grandmother of 66 children.
" Here likewiſe are interred John Noake, grandſon of the abovementioned, and
Mary Noake, his wife, with four of their children, who all died young. John Noake
died Jan. 23, 1737, aged 51 years. Mary Noake died April 18, 1727, aged 39 years.”
Above this, on a ſquare tablet of white marble:-"Near this place lies the body
of Elizabeth Noake, who died Aug. 4, 1775, aged 54. Alſo the body of Catharine
Noake, who died the iſt of November 1776, aged 50 years.”
On a large old tomb in the church-yard:-"Here reſteth the body of Thomas
Prankerd, bachelor, interred the 3d of Januarie 1609, which gave by his will to the
people of M. P. 40 povnds to be and remaine to them for ever: And I will and
appoynt and by thes pñtes doe ordaine and make my kinſmen Robert, Thomas, John,
and William Prankerds, joynte overſeers to rule and govern the ſtock to the poore;
and the profit quarterly to be diſtributed to the ſaid poore.
“ Here alſo reſteth the body of James Prankerd, bacheler, who dyed the 21ſt of
January 1699, aged 35-years; who was the ſon of Edward Prankerd, who dyed the
* Venn lies north from Milborne-Port, and is the manor and ſeat of the preſent T.H. Medlycott, efq.
29th

borethorne.]
355
MIL BORN E-POR T.
29th of April 1692, aged 74 years:-And the ſaid James Prankerd, to his everlaſting
remembrance, gave unto the poor of Milbourn-Port the intereſt of 60 pounds, to be
paid unto them in Chriſtmas week yearly for ever; at the diſcretion of Edward, John,
and Thomas, brothers of the ſaid James Prankerd, and Edward Prankerd their kinſ-
man, in whoſe hands the ſaid 60 pounds are to remaine ſo long as they ſhall live; and
when it ſhall pleaſe God that either of them ſhall dyé, the ſurvivours of him ſo dying
ſhall proceed to chuſe another of the ſaid name in his ſtead, as further appears in
Prankerd's will.
On another tomb:4" Here lyes the body of Joſeph Lewyes, who dyed March 22,
1767, aged 8 1 years; who gave fifteen pounds to the poor of this town.”
In the garden of Mr. Noake, adjoining the church-yard, on opening the ground
fome years ſince for the foundation of a building, near fixty bodies were found, lying
twenty in a row, with their heads to the north. In one of the rows were men, women,
and children. No remains of any coffins were found; and it is ſuppoſed they were
buried here in the time of the great plague, when (as tradition fays) 1500 died here
pour
within one year.
When Cromwell's ſoldiers were in this town they robbed the church of the bible;
but in their return were attacked by the town's people, who, armed with quarter-ſtaffs,
reſcued the bible, and put the Oliverians to flight.
Milborne-Port gave name to an eminent family. Sir William de Milborn was
living in the time of Edw. III. Sir John de Milborn in 1413, 2 Hen. V. and Ralph
de Milborn was ſteward of the monaſtery of Glaſtonbury. Their deſcendants were
feated at Monaftow in the county of Monmouth.
King Richard II. granted this place a charter for holding a two-days fair annually;
and a confirmation of its weekly market. A ſecond fair is held by preſcription, as it is
ſuppoſed, no grant of a charter being to be found. The fairs are, June 5, and Oct, 28.
CHARLETON-HORETHORNE, or CHARLETON-CAMVILLE;
The former, from its ſituation; the latter, from its old poffeſfors;
IS a pariſh north of Milborne-Port, in the turnpike-road between Wincanton and
Sherborne, pleaſantly ſituated in a rich yale, incloſed and well cultivated.
It belonged at the Conqueſt to Robert Fitz-Gerold, a Norman:
“ Robert the ſon of Girold holds of the King, CIRLETONE, and Godzeline of him.
“ Godman held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable
* In fome old writings it is called South-Charlton, and Charlton-under-Horethorne,
Z z 2
se is

356
[Dorethorne.
CHARLETON-HORE THORNE.
" is twelve carucates, In demeſne are three carucates, and ſeven ſervants, and four
« villanes, and fifteen bordars, and three cottagers, with eight ploughs. There is a
« mill of five ſhillings rent, and fifty acres of meadow. Paſture four furlongs long,
and three furlongs broad. Wood half a mile long, and as much broad. It was
« worth ten pounds, now ſix pounds.”
Soon after this general ſurvey, this manor was in the poſſeſſion of the family of
Camville, or Canvill, or de Campvilla, of whom, in the 5th year of the reign of King
Stephen, Gerard de Camville gave two parts of the tithe of this pariſh to the Cluniac
abbey of Bermondſey in Surrey.
To this Gerard ſucceeded Richard de Camvillé, who was the founder of the abbey
of Combe in Warwickſhire, and 12 Steph. was witneſs to the agreement between that
King and the Duke of Normandy, touching the ſucceſſion of the crown. This
Richard, for the ſake of his own ſoul, and the ſouls of his anceſtors and ſucceſſors,
granted in perpetual alms to the church of St. Mary of Kenilworth in the county of
Warwick, the church of St. Peter of Cherletone within that his manor, with all lands
and tithes, meadows and paſtures, and all liberties and other appertenances. To this
charter many of the family were witneſſes, and therefore the deed itſelf is ſubjoined.
He died at the ſiege of Acon, in which expedition he had attended King Richard I.
Gerard de Camville, his ſon, ſucceeded him. He married Nicola, daughter and
coheir of Richard De la Hay, by which, and his other connections, he became por-
feſſed of a large extent of preperty in this and other counties. But for ſome diſloyal
practices his poſſeſſions were ſeized by the crown, and himſelf adjudged to be baniſhed
the kingdom. However, upon interceſſion, and the payment of two thouſand marks,
he was reinſtated in his lands, and reſtored to favour.
Richard, his ſon and heir, married Euſtachia, daughter and heir of Gilbert Baſſet,
relict of Thomas de Verdon. 16 Joh. he had livery of part, and 2 Hen. III. of all
his paternal inheritance. He left iſſue by his ſaid wife one ſole daughter and heir,
named Idonea, who was married to William de Longeſpee, ſon of the Earl of Saliſbury,
who 10 Henry III. after the death of the ſaid Richard, had livery of his lands, as he
had 15 Henry III. of all thoſe lands which had been held of the honour of Camel in
• Lib. Domeſday.
• Cart. 5 Steph.
a Roberto, Dei Gratia, Bathonienfi Epiſcopo, et Roberto Archidiacono, et univerſo Bathonienfis Eccleſiæ
Capitulo, Ricardus de Campvilla in Domino Salutem. Sciant omnes præſentes et pofteri, quod ego Ricardus de
Campvilla, pro ſalute animæ meæ, et meorum prædecefforum, et ſucceſſorum, conceſſi, et in perpetuam elemoſinam
donavi, ecclefiæ Sanctæ Mariæ de Keningwrda, et canonicis ibidem Deo ſervientibus, eccleſiam Sancti Petri de
Cherletona, in manerio meo in Sumerſeta; cum terris et decimis, et omnibus ad eandem ecclefiam pertinentibus ,
ſalvo jure monachorum et monafterii de Bermundeſeia, ad quorum jus antiquum pertinent duæ partes decima-
tionis, tam de agricultura, quam de nutrimentis animalium de dominio meo: Quare volo, et firmiter ftatuo, ut
prædicti Canonici prænominatam eccleſiam de Cherleton habeant, et teneant bene, et in pace, et honorifice,
folutam et liberam, et quietam ab omni fervitio et exactione ſeculari, ficut fupradictum eſt, cum terris et decimis,
pratis et paſcuis, et omnibus pertinentiis et libertatibus fuis; et ut nullus heredum, vel hominum meorum, huic
meæ donationi contrarie, vel eam in aliquo temere perturbare præſumat. Hiis teſtibus, Gerardo de Campvilla,
Hugone de Campvilla, Willielmo de Campvilla, Ricardo de Campvilla, Milliſenta Marmiun, Waltero de Campo
Avene, Philippo de Sancto Ligeso, Ranulpho de Chent, Humfredo Clerico, Ricardo Clerico."
this

Dorethorne.) CHARLETON-HORETHORNE.
357
4
this place and Henſtridge by Nicola De la Hay, and by hereditary right belonged to
the ſaid Idonea.
Which William de Longeſpee was the ſon of the celebrated Ela counteſs of
Saliſbury, who executed the office of ſheriff for the county of Wilts for ſeveral fuc-
ceſſive reigns, being the only female to whom ſuch a publick and very active charge
was ever before committed.
This William de Longefpee was ſain abroad by the Saracens, A. D. 1250, and
was ſucceeded by his ſon and heir William de Longeſpee, who 36 Henry III. did
homage and had livery of his lands. He married Maud, the daughter of Sir Walter
Clifford, knt. with whom he had in marriage a portion of twenty-eight pounds eight
ſhillings, and two-pence per annum; a fum conſidered large enough in thoſe days of
moderation. He died 41 Henry III. leaving iſſue by the ſaid Maud ſeveral children,
whereof Margaret inherited the eſtate.
Which Margaret was married to Henry, ſon of Edmund de Lacy earl of Lincoln,
who 22 Edw. I. procured a charter for a weekly market to be held on this his manor,
and a fair yearly on the eve and day of St. Thomas the martyr. He died Edw. II.
leaving Alice his daughter and heir, the wife of Thomas earl of Lancaſter, ſon and
heir of Edmund earl of Lancaſter, brother to King Edward I.
Of which Alice it is reported," that on the Monday before Aſcenſion-day, A. D.
1317, being at Great-Canford in the county of Dorſet, ſhe was violently ſeized by a
certain knight of the family of John earl of Warren, and carried away, in ſight and
deſpite of her huſband, towards the Earl's houſe at Ryegate in Surrey; but her
conductors ſeeing in their paſſage in the road betwixt Holton and Farnham certain
ſtreamers and banners through a hedge, which they thought belonged to people who
had been ſent to reſcue her, but which really belonged to ſome prieſts going in pro-
ceſſion; they fled, and left her all alone; but when they found their miſtake, they
quickly returned, and brought with them a perſon of a very low ftature, lame, and
hunch-backed, called Richard de St. Martin, who challenged her for his wife, and
afterwards perſiſting in his inſolence, laid claim to the earldoms of Lincoln and Saliſbury
in her right.
It was not allowed; and ſhe, ſurviving her huſband the Earl of Lancaſter, granted
the reverſion of this manor to the crown, after the death of John earl of Warren. She
married to her ſecond huſband Eubulo le Strange, and died 22 Edw. III.
The manor of Charleton being thus in the hands of the crown, the reverſion thereof
was granted by King Edward III. to William de Montacute earl of Saliſbury, whoſe
fon William died ſeized of it 20 Ric. II. Elizabeth the wife of the ſaid William had
it in dower, and held it till 2 Henry V. when again eſcheating, it was granted by that
King to his brother John duke of Bedford, who died ſeized of it 14 Henry VI.
In an old writing' are the following documents relating to the early ſtate of this manor:
2
i Cart. 22 Ed. I.
k Tho. Walſingham, Hiſt. p. 85.
1 Rawlinſon's Book of Inquiſitions, MS, in the Harleian Library.
<< To

358
[Þorethorne.
CHARLETON-HORETHORNE.
& P
« To the manor of Charlton-Horthorne belong Horſington, Cheriton, and ſome
land in Wyncaulton, and a meadow in Stowell. This Charlton with the apperte-
nances was purchaſed of one Nicholas Edmond, lord thereof.”
« Sciant, &c. quod ego Ricūs de Camvile, aſſenſu &c. Girardi Patris mei dedi, et
conceſſi Roberto filio Mychel & hæredibus ſuis 2 car. & dimid. terr. in maner. de
Cherlton cum omnibus pertiñ. fuis, & pro hac donatione præd. Robertus dedit 60
marcas argenti.” No date.
« Anno 7° Hen. III. Ricardus de Camvile p finem levat. concedit cuidam Willo
Longeſpee, & Idoneæ uxori ejus quandam partem manerii de Charlton & hæredibus
fuis, &c. Iſta fuit filia & hæres dicti Ricardi. Iſte Willūs habuit exitum Ricardum
Longeſpee Dñum de Charlton-Camvile.”
The arms of Camville were differently borne; as, an eagle diſplayed, and three
lions paſſant."
The manor is now the property of the Earl of Uxbridge.
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Marſton. The rectory was rated in
1 292 at twenty-five marks, and the vicarage at nine." The canons of Kenilworth had
fix marks out of it annually. The Rev. Mr. Peddle is the preſent incumbent.
There was a chantry chapel within the manor, wherein the prior of Kenilworth
found a chaplain to officiate three days in the week."
The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, conſiſting of a nave, chancel,
fide ailes, and a tower at the weſt end containing four bells. There are four ſteps
from each door down into the church.
At the eaſt end of the ſouth aile is a mural monument of marble, inſcribed:
« Near this place lyeth the body of John Wright, efq; ſecond ſon of Sir Nathan
Wright, of Cranham-Hall in the county of Eſſex, bart. who departed this life March
27, 1726, aged 36.--As a laſting teſtimony of his affection to this pariſh, he gave
to the vicar for the time being, and for ever, the yearly ſum of 4os. for a ſermon to
be preached in this church on the 27th of March annually. To the Clerk 2os. for
tolling the great bell, and attendance on that occaſion; and to ſuch poor people as have
no relief, five pounds, to be equally diſtributed among them.” Arms: Azure two bars
argent, in chief three leopards' heads or. Creſt, out of a ducal coronet or a dragon's
head proper.
The average chriſtenings in this pariſh are thirteen; the burials nine, annually.
Seals from ancient deeds,
Taxat. Spiritual.
© Eſc.
ABBOTS-

Horetherne.]
[ 359 ]
ABBOTS-COMBE, otherwiſe ABBAS-COMBE,
I
a
a pariſh ſituated in the eaſtern part of the hundred, on the river Cale, five miles
ſouth from Wincanton. It had its name from the combe or valley in which it lies,
and its additional name from its having formerly belonged to the abbey of Shaftſbury
in Dorſetſhire. It is alſo ſometimes called Combe-Porter.
« The church of St. Edward holds Cumbe. In the time of King Edward it gelded
“ for five hides. The arable is five carucates.
Thereof in demeſne are two hides and
a half, and there are two carucates, and four villanes, and ſeven cottagers, with two
« ploughs. In Meleburne ſix burgeffes pay fifty pence. Meadow four furlongs long,
" and two furlongs broad. Wood three furlongs long, and two furlongs broad.
“ Paſture two furlongs long, and one furlong broad. It was and is worth fix pounds.
In 1293 the temporalities of the abbey of Shaftſbury in this pariſh were valued at
ten pounds, and the abbeſs received a penſion of fifteen marks out of the manor.
After the diſſolution of that monaſtery the manor of Abbots-Combe, with the
advowſon of the church, was granted by King Henry VIII. in the 34th year of his
reign to William Sherrington. In Queen Elizabeth's time Richard Duke, eſq; was
owner of the ſame manor and advowſon, and dying left one ſole daughter and heir,
Chriſtiana, married to George Sprint, who in her right held the ſame by knight's
ſervice. The manor now belongs to the Earl of Uxbridge.
Adjoining to Abbots-Combe is a hamlet called TEMPLE-COMBE, from the circum-
ſtance of its having been poſſeſſed by the fraternity of knights-templars, to whom
about the year 1185 the whole village was given by Serlo Fitz-Odo. In conſequence
of this donation, the place became a preceptory or commandery of that order. But
after the ſuppreſſion of the templars, the knights of St. John of Jeruſalem, or hof-
pitalers, became poſſeſſed of their lands. Theſe were alſo ſuppreſſed by parliament,
A. D. 1540, and this manor of Temple-Combe, with the ſcite of the preceptory, was
granted 34 Henry VIII. to Richard Andrewes and Leonard Chamberlain. The year
following the manor was granted to Lord Clinton. 15 Eliz. it belonged to Richard
Duke before-mentioned. In the beginning of this century it was the ſeat of Sir
William Wogan.
The revenues of the free chapel of Temple-Combe, (the buildings whereof have
long ſince been in ruins) were valued 26 Henry VIII. 1534, at 1071. 16s. 11d.
The church of Abbots-Combe is rectorial, in the deanery of Marſton, and was
valued in 1292 at fourteen marks. The Rev. Mr. Biſhop is the preſent incumbent.
The building is ſmall, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, ſmall ſouth aile, and porch
tiled. On the ſouth ſide is an embattled tower, with a clock and five bells.
The chriſtenings here are eleven; the burials fourteen, annually.
Lib. Domeſday.
• Taxat. Temporal. Ter. Sydenham. Taxat. Spiritual.
NORTH-

( 360 )
[yorethorne.
Ν Ο R T Η - C Η Ε R Ι Τ Ο Ν
IES in the north part of the hundred towards Wincanton, and includes the hamlet
L
of LOTTERFORD, or Lederford. Cheriton is recorded in the Norman ſurvey,
as follows:
« Bernard holds of William Fitz-Wido, CHERINTONE. Alwold held it in the time
« of King Edward, and gelded for ſix hides. The arable is ſix carucates. In demeſne
« are two carucates, and ſix ſervants, and five villanes, and four bordars, and two
cottagers, with three ploughs. There are one hundred and twenty-five acres of
« meadow. Paſture five furlongs long, and three furlongs broad. Wood ſeven fur-
longs long, and as many broad. When he received it, it was worth one hundred
« ſhillings, now ſix pounds.
« Of this ſame land Alwold bought five hides of the abbot of Cernel for his life
“ only, and after his death the land is to return to the church.”.
In proceſs of time this manor became annexed to that of Charlton-Camville; but
in the time of Edw. II. was part of the barony of Nicholas de Moels, and held of
him by Gefferey de Freethorn." 20 Edw. III. John de Handlo lord Burnell died
ſeized of two parts of this manor, and the advowſon of the church, which he held in
right of Maud his wife, the widow of John Lovel, and in the ſame year two other
parts were held by the family of Dannay. The whole was afterwards in the fole
poſſeſſion of the family of Lovel, lords of Sparkford and Upton-Noble, from whom
it paſſed to the Rogers and the Gorges. Richard Gorge died ſeized of it 20 Edw. IV.
leaving Marmaduke Gorge his ſon and heir. Richard Gorge, a deſcendant of this
Marmaduke died 3 Henry VIII. ſeized of this manor and that of Horſington; by
Maud his wife (who was afterwards married to Henry Roos) he had iſſue Marmaduke
who died in his father's life time, but was married, and left iſſue two daughters
coheireſſes, Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Shirley, and Maud. Francis Shirley,
i Eliz. fold all his property in North and South-Cheriton, and Horſington, to Edward
Ludlow, from whom it paſſed to the families of Leveſon, Fitz-James, and Goldinge;
and the manor is now the property of the Rev. Thomas Watſon, M. A. who is alſo
patron of the living.
The living is rectorial; it lies in the deanery of Marſton, and was valued in 1292 at
fix marks and a half.
The church is dedicated to St. John Baptift. It is a ſmall ſtructure of one pace,
with a tower at the weſt end containing four bells.
On the floor is this inſcription:-" The burying-place of Thomas Watſon, efq.”
Againſt the north wall:-_" Thomas Abbot, gentleman, gave the two higher weſt
fields, lying and being in the pariſh of North-Cheriton, containing ſeven acres or there-
abouts, towards the ſecond poor for ever.”
Lib. Domeſday. Lib. Feod.
d Ibid, • Ibid. f Taxat. Spiritual.
CORTON-
« Effice
Dorethorne.]
[ 361 )
CORTON-DIN HAM

a
I
the next pariſh to Charleton-Horethorne weſtward, very pleaſantly and pictureſquely
ſituated in a valley under a ridge of high hills, extending in à curve to the eaſt and
ſouth, and commanding from one part an extenſive proſpect of all the middle part of
the county, quite down to the channel. Here is a large tree called Corton-Aſh, which
is a fea-mark; and near it once ſtood a beacon.
In the year 1772, as ſome labourers were digging in the common field, in order to
make an incloſure, they found an urn, which contained about two quarts of Roman
coins, chiefly of Valerian, Gallienus, Aurelian, Tacitus, Florianus, and Probus: moſt
of them were fair and plain, and depoſited in the hands of the Rev. Thomas Naſh,
rector of the pariſh.
The Romans were therefore acquainted with the place; but the earlieſt account we
have of it does not much antecede the Norman Conqueſt, when it was held by King
William in demeſne.
“ The King holds CORFETONE. In the time of King Edward it gelded for ſeven
“ hides; the arable is ſeven carucates, of which in demeſne are three hides and a half,
« and one ferding, [ten acres,] and there is one carucate, and three ſervants, and ten
« villanes, and eight cottagers, with three ploughs. There are ſix acres of meadow.
« Wood two furlongs long, and one furlong broad. It was and is worth ſeven pounds.
The manor obtained its additional title from the family of Dinham, its future owners.
Oliver de Dinant came into this country with the Conqueror, out of Britanny in France,
where, at a place called Dinant, was the baronial caſtle of this ancient houſe,
It does not appear when they became poffeffed of Corton; but we find that in the
fixth
year of King John, Hawiſe de Dynant, and Sibyl her ſiſter, gave to the King a
horſe of price, for having a precept againſt Oliver de Dinant, returnable before the
King in 3 feptiman. Michael, for the manors of Corton and Buckland (afterwards
called Buckland-Dinham) both in this county, and Hartland in the county of Devon..
15 Joh. the ſaid Oliver de Dinant gave a fine of threeſcore marks for livery of his
lordſhip of Buckland.
Gefferey Dinant, ſon of Oliver, inherited the manors of Corton and Buckland; and
for the latter 24 Henry III, obtained a charter for a market on Tueſday, and a fair
yearly for three days, viz. on the eve, day, and morrow of the feſtival of St. Michael.
sib
C
a Stuk. Itin. Curioſ. i. 149. This Mr. Naſh was rector of Nether-Compton in Dorſetſhire, and ſubdean of
Sarum for fixty years. He was tutor to Mr. Addiſon, and publiſhed ſome very elegant ſermons on muſick, in
which he particularly excelled. He died May 1755, aged 85, and was buried in Corton church.
• Lib. Domeſday.
· Rot. Norman. It is alſo ſaid that this family had their name from the caſtle of Dinan, fince called Ludlow
in Shropſhire. See Dugd. Bar. i. 513.
Rot. Fin, 6 Joh. e Rot. Pip, 15 Joh.
f Pat. 16 Ric. II. n. 15. per inſpex.
VOL. II.
41 Henry
Ааа
362
(borethorne,
CORTON-DINHA M,
14 Edw. I.
41 Henry III, he had ſummons, among many others, to repair to the King at Briſtol,
on the octaves of St. Peter, well fitted with horſe and arms, to march againſt the
Welch. He died 43 Hen. III. leaving iſſue two ſons, Oliver and Geffrey,
Oliver, his ſon and heir, had livery of his lands, and is certified to hold his manor of
Buckland of the King in chief, as a member of his barony of Hartland,
he procured a charter of free warren for that manor," and having been ſummoned to
parliament among the barons, died 27 Edw. I. leaving Joſce his ſon and heir, twenty-
four years of age, who doing his homage had livery of his lands,
Which Joſce died two years after, viz. 29 Edw. I. He married Margaret, daughter
and heir of Sir Richard Hydon, by whom he was father of Sir John and Sir Oliver
Dinham.
Sir John Dinham ſucceeded him, and married Joan daughter of Sir Guy de Brian,
by whom he had iſſue another Sir John, who inherited the family eſtates.
This Sir John married Muriel, one of the daughters and coheirs of Sir Thomas
Courtney, and by her had iſſue a ſon of his own name.
Sir John Dinham, the third of that name, married Elizabeth the daughter of John
Lord Lovel, and poſſeſſed the lordſhips of Buckland and Corton, with lands in Corton,
and the advowſon of the church of Corton, which he held of the King by knight's
ſervice.
He was ſucceeded by the fourth Sir John Dinham, who married Jane the daughter
and heir of Sir Richard de Arches. 8 Hen. VI. being then a knight, he was retained
to ſerve the King in his wars of France, with eleven men at arms, and thirty-fix
archers. So likewiſe 14 Henry VI. to ſerve him again for the relief of Calais, with
eleven men at arms, and ſeventy-two archers. He died 36 Henry VI. leaving John
Lord Dinham his ſon and heir, twenty-eight years of age, who ſucceeded him in the
eſtate; Margaret, wife of Sir Nicholas Carew; Catherine, wife of Sir Thomas Arundel
of Lanherne; Elizabeth, firſt married to Fulk Bourchier lord Fitz-Warren, and
ſecondly to Sir John Sapcotes; and Jane, wife of John lord Zouche,
John lord Dinham married Elizabeth, the widow of Sir John Radcliff, daughter
and heir of Walter lord Fitz-Warren, and had iſſue Henry, who died childleſs. And
ſo this manor, with the reſt of his lands, came to the heirs general of his four ſiſters,
After this extinction of the name of Dinham, the manor of Corton was diſſipated into
a number of other poffeffors; it is now the property of Henry William Portman, eſq.
A mile eaſtward is a hamlet called WITCOMBE.
The church is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, rated in 1292 at twenty marks,
The patronage is in the lord of the manor; and the Rev. Dr. Wyndham is the preſent
încuinbent.
$ Claus. 41 Hen, III. m. 6.
* Cart, 14 Ed. I,
Sir William Pole's Survey of Devon, in Hartland Hundred,
* Eſc,
Taxat. Spiritual
I.
borethorne.]
363
CORTON-DINHA M.

It is dedicated to St. Andrew, ſtands on a riſing ground, and conſiſts of a nave,
chancel, and north aile, covered with tile. On the north ſide of the nave is an
embattled tower containing five bells.
Divers of the families of Brickenden and Naſh, rectors of this pariſh, were buried here.
GO A
T H
H I L L
annum.
I
S a ſmall pariſh ſituated in a nook of the county, ſurrounded on the eaſt, ſouth, and
weſt, by Dorſetſhire, and bounded on the north by Milborne-Port. The ſpot is
romantick and pleaſing, being in a low bottom, environed by ſteep hills, ſome of which
are clothed with hanging woods, and others are ſmooth and bare. To the ſouth lies
part of the fine park and plantations of Lord Digby. Here are only three farm-houſes,
and one cottage; the whole pariſh being rented at only three hundred pounds per
. A little ſouthward of the church, in the road, are two ſprings, about eight
feet diſtant from and oppoſite to each other. That on the weſt fide is fine water,
and deemed ſerviceable for diſorders of the eyes. The other is a chalybeate, ſtrongly
tinctured with iron, and is faid to be of a purgative quality; the ground and ſtones
where it riſes are of a lively yellowiſh ruſt colour, and leaves an ochry ſubſtance on the
hands; a thin greaſy pellicle foats at top.
The place is called in Domeſday-Book Gatelme, and is there recorded to be held of
the Earl of Morton:
“ Hunfrid holds of the Earl one hide in GATELME. Godric held it in the time of
King Edward. The arable is two carucates, and there are with it two villanes, and
" three cottagers. There is a mill of ten ſhillings rent, and fifteen acres of meadow,
« and fifteen acres of wood. It is worth thirty ſhillings.”'a
King Edw. I. granted this manor to Simon de Montacute, in the eighteenth year of
his reign; and in that ſame family it continued till the time of Henry V.; when, upon
the attainder of John earl of Sarum, it came to the crown. It was however ſhortly
after regranted to Thomas Montague, the fourth earl of Saliſbury, and paſſed by the
marriage of Alice his fole daughter and heir to Richard Neville, ſon of Ralph the firſt
Earl of Weſtmoreland, who was created Earl of Saliſbury by King Henry VI. This
Richard Neville was a knight of the garter, lord chancellor, and a great promoter of
the intereſt of the houſe of York. In 1458, he beat the Lancaſtrian forces at Blore-
Heath in Staffordſhire, and again in 1460 at Northampton; but in the month of
December the ſame year, in that battle at Wakefield wherein Richard Duke of York
was defeated, he fell into the hands of the enemy, and was by them beheaded. He left
iſſue Richard earl of Warwick, and John, who, in 1464, was by King Edward created
a Lib. Domeſday,
Cart. 18 Ed, I. n. 73.
A a a 2
Earl
364
(borethorne.
GOA
L,
A T
H I L

Earl of Northumberland, in the room of Percy, who was ſlain at the battle of Towton,
and attainted. His fidelity, however, being ſomewhat ſuſpected, the people were fain
to petition the reſtoration of young Percy to his family title and dignity: this was
granted, and Neville, ſurrendering that title, was in lieu thereof made Marquis of
Montacute. This Marquis, and his brother Richard earl of Warwick and Saliſbury,
were two of the greateſt opponents to the marriage of King Edward, and joining all
their forces to dethrone him, were both killed in the battle of Barnet, A. D. 1472.
John marquis of Montacute married Ifabel daughter of Sir Edmund Ingolſthorp, and
had iſſue by her two ſons, George and John. The former, after his father's attainder,
was ſtript of all his honours and poſſeſſions, reduced to great poverty, and died without
iſſue; and John the other ſon, being dead before, this manor was held by Iſabel, relict
of the Marquis, for the remainder of her life. Upon her deceaſe it became the pro-
perty of John Stoner, ſon of Sir William Stoner, who had married Ann her eldeſt
daughter, and heir of her other daughters by the ſaid Marquis, and from him it
deſcended to his ſon William Stoner, who died feized hereof 10 Henry VII. leaving
John his ſon and heir, who likewiſe poſſeſſed this manor.
After which it was divided
into ſeveral parts, and held by different owners, as Baggart, Long, North, and
Hannam," till in the 19th year of Queen Elizabeth, the whole manor became veſted
in John Hannam, efq; and it is now the property of Henry lord Digby,
The living, which is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, was rated in 1292 at fix
marks and a half.' Lord Digby is patron, and the Rev. George Hutchins is the
preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter, a ſmall ſtructure of one pace, containing no-
thing worthy of remark.
C
Ing.
& Ter. MS.
• Taxat. Spiritual.
H E N S T R I D G E.
A
N extenſive pariſh on the borders of Dorſetſhire, which bounds it on the ſouth
and eaſt, compriſing a little town of three ſtreets, wherein are ſome very good
dwellings; and the ſtreets being wide and clean, render it a very pleaſant place. The
ſituation is on a little declivity to the north, commanding a fine extenſive view of
Wincanton, Stourton-Tower, and the country northward, as well as to the eaſt and
weſt. There are alſo three hamlets, viz.
I. YEANSTON, ſituated one mile north.
2. WHITCHURCH, the ſame diſtance north-eaſt; and
3. BOWDEN, nearly two miles weſt,
In

borethorne.]
365
H E N S T R I D G E.
a
طور
In the Saxon and Norman times the whole pariſh compoſed two manors; the firſt
was demeſne of the crown, and had this deſcription :
" The King holds Hesterige. Earl Harold held it in the time of King Edward,
6 and gelded for ten hides. The arable is ſixteen carucates. Beſides theſe ten hides,
“ there is arable to the amount of eight carucates, which never paid geld. There are
s in demeſne five carucates, and eight ſervants, and thirty-ſeven villanes, and fifteen
cottagers, with fixteen ploughs. There is a mill of thirty-pence rent, and one
« hundred and fixty acres of meadow. Paſture one mile long, and half a mile broad.
“ And wood of the fame dimenſions. It pays twenty-three pounds of white money.
" In this manor a freeman held nine acres of land and two acres of wood. It was
“worth thirty-pence. He could not ſeparate himſelf from the lord of the manor.
The other manor is furveyed under the title of The land of Earl Hugh, [i.e. Hugh
de Abrincis, earl of Cheſter.]
The church of St. Sever holds of the Earl, HenGESTERICH. Ednod held it in
“ the time of King Edward, and gelded for four hides. The arable is three carucates.
« Thereof in demeſne are three hides and a half. And there are two carucates, and
“ four ſervants, and ſix cottagers, with one plough. There are thirty acres of meadow,
" and thirty acres of paſture. Wood four furlongs long, and one furlong broad. It is
“ worth four pounds and ten ſhillings.'
The church mentioned in this record was a Benedictine abbey in the town of St.
Sever, in the dioceſe of Coutances in Normandy, founded about A. D. 558, by Severus
biſhop of Avranches. Being deſtroyed by fire, it was rebuilt and endowed with lands
by Hugh de Abrincis, Viſcount d'Avranches, afterwards Earl of Cheſter, A. D. 1085.
Which Hugh de Abrincis, beſides the manor of Henſtridge, was at the time of the
Conqueſt poffeffed of Tedintone, Sandford, and Aller, in this county, and various other
lands in different parts of England." He was nephew to William the Conqueror, and,
from the ferocity of his diſpoſition, was ſurnamed Lupus. The earldom of Cheſter
was given him to hold as free by the ſword as the king held England by the crown.
He died about 1 Henry I. having been a great benefactor to foreign and Engliſh
monaſteries, particularly to that of his own foundation, the abbey of St. Sever, to
which he gave all his lands in Endeſton, now Yeanſton, in the pariſh of Henſtridge,
where he founded an alien priory of Benedictine monks, and made it a cell to the
abbey of St. Sever abovementioned. This priory was granted 7 Edw. IV. to Eaton-
college in Buckinghamſhire, which received a rent from it of 71.° But by Edw. VI.
it was exchanged away for Bloxham and other lands. And 2 Edw. VI. the farm and
barton of Yeanſton, and divers lands and tenements in Yeanſton, and Henſtridge,
were held by Sir Thomas Bell, knt.
Henftridge was the manor and eſtate of Henry Laci earl of Lincoln in the time of
Edw. II. from whom it paſſed, in like manner with Charleton-Horethorne, to Thomas

a
Lib. Domeſday.
b Ibid.
Alien Priories, ii. 154.
• Account of the Alien Priories, ii. 1.
f Tanner's Notitia Monaſtica.
e
d See Domeſday-Book,
: Ter. Sydenham.
earl
366
[iborethorne.
H E N S T R I D G E.

earl of Lancaſter, and the titles of Warren, Montacute, Bedford, and Clarence.
36 Henry VIII. the King granted to Richard Duke the manor of Henſtridge, being
parcel of the eſtate called Warwick's-Lands, to be held in capite. There was a
meſſuage in Henſtridge ſituated on a certain paſture called the Eaſt-Park, and another
paſture called the Weſt-Park, both occupied by the family of Duke, and which ſeem
to have been the territory which William de Montacute had licence from the King to
environ with a fence and wall.' The manor now belongs to the Earl of Uxbridge.
An ancient manor lies within the pariſh of Henſtridge called Toomer, Dummer, and
Toomer-Park, which was for many generations the property and the reſidence of a family
of diſtinction to whom it gave its name. The firſt of the family that we find in theſe
parts is Nicholas de Dummere, who in the time of Henry III. gave lands in Saltmere
to the abbot of Athelney in this county. To him ſucceeded John de Dommere, lord
of Chilthorne-Domer, who was living 28 Edw. I. and then gave lands in that lordſhip,
with the advowſon of the church, to Thomas biſhop of Exeter.' John de Dummer
ſucceeded him, and 18 Edw. II. is certified to hold the hamlet of Dummer of Elias
de Aubeney; and the ſheriff that ſame year accounted for eight ſhillings and eight-
pence iſſuing out of the ſaid hamlet." The next of this family was Richard Dommere,
or Tommere, who 9 Edw. III. held the fourth part of one knight's fee in Chilthorne."
He died that year, and was ſucceeded by John de Tomere, who 20 Ric. II. bore on
his ſeal three bars wavy. To him ſucceeded Richard Tomer, (for in all theſe ways
the name is written) who is ſtiled armiger, and died 2 Henry IV. ſeized of Toomer,
and lands in Henſtridge and Hinton St. George, leaving John his fon and heir of the
age of eight years. Which John Tomer, dying without iſſue, was ſucceeded in this
inheritance by Edith his ſiſter, who alſo dying childleſs, 10 Henry IV. it reſorted to
Alice her aunt, the ſiſter of Richard Tomer abovementioned. This Alice was married
to Sir William Carent, knt. who in her right became poſſeſſed of Toomer, and by this
match (according to Leland") the Carents' lands were moſt augmented. She and her
huſband lie interred in Henſtridge church.
The family of Carent is of great antiquity, being deſcended from Owen de Carwent,
who in the time of Henry I. was owner of a territory in Caerwent, a townſhip ſo
called, near Chepſtow in Monmouthſhire. They firſt ſeated themſelves chiefly in this
county after the intermarriage with the heireſs of Toomer, and made this the principal
place of their reſidence; although they had another feat at Fayroke in this county,
which they inherited from the family of Fayroke; and a third at Swanwich in the
county of Dorſet; which laſt to this day retains the name of Carent's-Court.
Alexander de Carwent, 2 Edw. III. conveyed lands in Newent in the county of
Glouceſter, to William de Fauconberge, who is called his couſin." The name after
this was generally written Carent; but ſometimes de Carent, and Caraunt.

MSS. Carew, pen. Jac. Bernard, efq.
i
Pat. 19 Ric. II.
& Cart. Antiq.
3
Inq. ad quod damn.
m Rot. Pip. 18 Ed. II.
n Lib. Feod.
o Seals from ancient Deeds.
P Eſc.
9 Ibid.
? Itin. vii. 110.
• Rot. Walliæ.
+ Hutchins's Dorſet. i. 222.
u Cart. Antiq.
This

iborethorne.) H E N S TRI D G E,
367
This Alexander was ſucceeded by John, and he by William Carent, whoſe ſon's name
was alſo William.
Which laſt mentioned William, jointly with Joan his wife, poſſeſſed the manors of
Kington and Weſt-Marſh, as alſo lands in Hinton St. George, and other places in
this county; and the manor of Fifehide, and lands in Todbere, Marnhill, Burton, and
Alh, in the county of Dorſet." He died 22 Edw. III. leaving iſſue
William his ſon and heir, who 36 Edw. III. was in ward to the king.' He was
living 10 Ric. II. bearing then on his ſeal three torteaux, having on each as many
chevronels.” He was lord of the manor of Great-Wiſhford in the county of Wilts,
Sir William Carent, knt. ſucceeded him, and left iſſue by the heireſs of Toomer,
William, who married Margaret daughter of William Stourton by Elizabeth his wife,
the daughter of Sir John Moigne, of Maddington in the county of Wilts;" and poſſeſſed
the manor of Toomer in the time of Henry V,
John Caraunt, ſon of William, was the King's eſcheator in this county 8 Hen, V,
He married Joan daughter of Sir Thomas Brook, and had iſſue William Carent, lord
of Toomer, and ſheriff of this county and Dorſet, in the 6, 13, 19, 25, and 29 Hen,
VI.; 38 Henry VI. John Caraunt, jun. executed the fame office: he had before, viz.
31 Henry VI. repreſented the county of Dorſet in parliament.
William Carent died ſoon after, 2 Edw. IV. Catherine his wife ſurviving him, had
in dower the manors of Speckington, Yeovil, and Mere. She died 13 Edw. IV.5
William Carent ſucceeded to the manor of Toomer, where he reſided, and added to
the buildings of Toomer-Court. He died 16 Edw. IV. ſeized of the ſaid manor and
of divers lands in Henſtridge, Whitchurch, Venn, Milborne, and Pointington, leaving
John Carent his ſon and heir.
This John died ſoon after, and was ſucceeded by William Carent, who died 19 Edw,
IV. leaving John his ſon and heir.
To which John ſucceeded Sir William Carent, knight of the Bath, who was ſheriff
of this county and Dorſet 14 Henry VIII. and dying, left iſſue a ſon of his own name,
who 35 Eliz, was reſident at Toomer-Park.
There were many other ſucceſſions of this family of the name of William, who
poſſeſſed the manor we are ſpeaking of; till in the beginning of the preſent century,
it was purchaſed with other lands by James Medlycott, eſq; a maſter in chancery,
and then member for Milborne-Port, of the laſt of this family father and ſon, who
were both uſhers of the black rod. The two Miſs Carents of Saliſbury are now the
only repreſentatives of this ancient family; whoſe arms ſomewhat differ from the
ancient bearing, being Argent three torteaux or roundels gules, each charged with two
chevronels of the firſt.
Thomas Hutchins Medlycott, efq; grandſon of the abovementioned James Medlycott,
eſq; is the preſent proprietor of Toomer, now called Toomer-Farm,

* Eſc.
y Ibid.
2 Seals from ancient Deeds,
* Collins's Peerage, vi, 390,
• Eſc,
The
368
[Dorethorne.
H E N S TRI D G E.
The living of Henſtridge is a prebend in the cathedral church of Wells. It was
valued in 1292 at twenty-five marks. The preſentation of the vicarage is in Mr.
Weſton. Lord Francis Seymour is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and is a large ſtructure, conſiſting of a
nave, chancel, and north aile, covered with tile. An embattled tower at the weſt end
contains a clock and fix bells.
On the north ſide of the chancel is a ſmall chapel, which has been from time imme-
morial the burial-place of the Toomer and Carent families, and has always been
repaired by the poffeffors of Toomer-park. In this aile or chapel, under an elliptical
arched canopy, is an altar tomb of freeſtone, having thereon the effigies of Sir William
Carent in armour, and cropt hair; and Alice his wife, the laſt of the Toomer family.
On the north ſide underneath in niches are ſmall ſtatues of the twelve apoſtles, much
mutilated. The following lines are painted round the arch:
« Sis teſtis Xte, quod non tumulus jacet iſte,
" Corpus ut ornetur, fed fpiritus ut memorétur.”
On the cornice, as on the knight's ſurcoat, are theſe arms: viz. Argent, three torteaux
charged with three chevronels, for Carent. Gules, three bars wavy argent, Toomer.
Sable, a bend or, between fix plates. The firſt quartering the ſecond; the firſt impaling
the ſecond twice.
On the ſouth ſide are ſix women, and a ſpace boarded up, whereon there was once
an inſcription. Above the head, the feet, and the north ſide of the arch, in gilt letters,
Mene wel and truly. Dieu-le vult.
On the ſouth wall of the chancel is an elegant mural monument of white and grey
marble, inſcribed, “Within the communion rails lie interred the remains of Baptiſt
Iſaac, B. D. 15 years vicar of this pariſh, and prebendary of Compton-Dundon; only
ſon of John Iſaac, rector of Whitwell in the county of Rutland, and Mary his wife. He
left iſſue three ſons and two daughters, by Jenny his wife, the only ſurviving daughter
of Richard Wright, M. D. and Mary his firſt wife, daughter of William Weſton,
eſq; of Hargrove. He died June 20, 1772, aged 48 years. His unſhaken integrity,
and engaging hoſpitality, endear his memory, whilſt they add weight to his loſs; which
is particularly felt by her, who with a true ſenſe of gratitude erected this monument.”
Oppoſite is a ſmall oval of white marble, ſuſpended by a fillet, inſcribed,
the memory of Phipps Weſton, D. D. vicar of this pariſh, and rector of Ruſhall,
Wilts; who departed this life 23 Nov. 1777, aged 64 years. How he diſcharged his
duty to God and man will beſt appear at that day when the ſecrets of all hearts ſhall
be diſcloſed.” Arms, Or an eagle diſplayed ſable.
On the ſouth wall of the nave is a mural monument of grey and white marble,
inſcribed, “ This monument was erected by Mr. Shadrach Hobbs, for his family,
who are buried underneath. Suſanna, his mother, died Sept. 6, 1749, aged 62.
Thomas, his father, died Jan. 13, 1759, aged 70. Suſanna, his firſt wife, died July
18, 1755, aged 33. Mary, his ſecond wife, died July 29, 1767, aged 34. With four
of his children. Alſo Mr, Shadrach Hobbs, who died Nov. 3, 1775, aged 54.”
Taxat. Spiritual.
HOLWELL,


_o Το

Þorethorne)
( 369 )
H Н
L
W E L
L.
HIS is a long pariſh belonging to this county, to the civil juriſdiction whereof
it is ſubject, although ſituated in the foreſt of Blackmore Dorſetſhire, and
furrounded by that county on every fide, being more than three miles diſtant from the
neareſt part of this. Here ftood the principal lodge of the foreſt of Blackmore.
9 John, A. D. 1209, an agreement was made at this place, on Thurſday before the
nativity of the Virgin Mary, between the King and Amph. Fill, for his redemption,
which was ten thouſand marks, and ten horſes, each worth thirty marks, or ſo much
for every horſe.
Reginald earl of Cornwall, baſe ſon of Henry I. gave this manor to William de
Bikelege, or Bickleigh, ſo denominated from Bickleigh in this county, where he had
conſiderable poſſeſſions. His ſucceſſor was Huard de Bikelege, who 12 Joh. is certified
to hold eight librates of land in Holewale. William de Bikeley was owner of the
manor 35 Henry III. and after him William and Henry de Bikeley, who lived in the
time of Edw. I. In the ſucceeding reign of Edw. II. Thomas Luda poffeffed the
manor in right of his wife, the daughter and heir of Henry de Bikeley, and ſoon after
granted it to the abbey of Abbotſbury in Dorſetſhire, the abbot whereof 10 Edw.
III. obtained a charter of free warren in all his lands lying within the ſame. After
the diffolution of that houſe, it was purchaſed by Sir Giles Strangeways, who con-
veyed it to Humphry Watkins, eſq; who reſided here in the time of Queen Elizabeth.'
His ſon Richard Watkins left one only daughter and heir Mary, married to James
Hanham, of Purſe-Candel in Dorſetſhire, whoſe poſterity ſold it to Thomas Gollop, of
Strode, eſq; but he ſhortly after reconveyed it to the Hanhams; and from them it
came to the Henleys, of Grange in the county of Hants. It afterwards belonged to
the Earl of Northington, and is now the property of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, bart,
About a mile ſouthweſt from Holwell is BUCKSHAW, now only a ſmall hamlet and
farm; but formerly a manor of ſome note, belonging for many generations to the
family of Guldene, of Langton in Dorſetſhire. Sir Henry le Gulden, knt. died 8 Edw.
III. ſeized of Buckſhaw, and had iſſue Sir Alan le Gulden, who at his death 35 Edw.
III. left one ſon, Roger, and a daughter, Amice, the wife of Sir Stephen Derby, knt.
who held this manor, and left it to his ſon Robert. He died 9 Henry V. without
iſſue, and was ſucceeded by William Derby his nephew, who was living in the time of
Henry VI. By an inquiſition taken 6 Edw. IV. it was found that Elizabeth Cryklade
held at her death the manor of Buckſhaw of Richard earl of Warwick, and that Ann
the wife of Richard Cowdray, eſq; was her couſin and next heir." By another inqui-
ſition it appears that Agnes the widow of William Wheatley, and formerly the wife of
William Combe, died 14 Edw. IV. ſeized of the manor of Buckſhaw, which ſhe held
of Lord Stanley and Margaret his wife, as of their manor of Horethorne; reverſionary
* Hutchins's Hift. of Dorſetſhire, ii. 495. • Hutchins ut ſupra, ex Rymer. Fæd. i. 146. c Lib. Rub,
d Eſc.
e Cart. 10 Ed. III. n. 41.
fMS. Survey
$ Eſc.
h Ibid.
VOL. II.
Bbb
after


370
[borethorne,
Ή Ο
L W E L L.
after the death of the ſaid Agnes to Avice late wife of William Cowdray, but then the
wife of Morgan Kidwelly, as couſin and heir of Roger Gulden, eſq. Thomas Combe
was the heir of the ſaid Agnes. 39 Eliz. it was held by James Hanham, efq; and
afterwards by John Herbert, eſq; deſcended from a family ſeated in the county of
Glamorgan in South-Wales, who built a feat here about the year 1730. It now
belongs to Miſs Herbert.
The ſcite of the manor of Buckſhaw belonged to Sir Robert Henley, knt. in the
year 1692, and was ſold by his ſon Anthony Henley, eſq; to William Grandy, gent.
whoſe deſcendant William Grandy ſold the ſame in 1734 to John Elbridge, efq; and
now a moiety thereof belongs to Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart. in right of Elizabeth
his wife, great niece of the ſaid John Elbridge, and the other moiety to Thomas
French, eſq.
About a mile northeaſt from Holwell ſtands another little hamlet and farm called
WOODBRIDGE, which ſometime belonged to John Rich, eſq.
All theſe places are entirely environed by Dorſetſhire, and there was a particular
road that connected them to the county of Somerſet.
There are various reaſons aſſigned for parcels of one county being encompaſſed by an-
other, and ſometimes widely diſtant from that to which they belong; the moſt prevalent
one ſeems to be, that before the diviſions of counties were thoroughly ſettled, ſuch frag-
ments of land belonged to ſome great perſons reſiding at a diſtance, who were there
rated in the aſſeſſments, and therefore thoſe lands were in proceſs of time reputed part
of the ſhires wherein their poſſeſſors were ſeated. In the caſe before us, it is to be
obſerved, that the place we are ſpeaking of was conſidered as part of Dorſetſhire long
after the diviſion of counties took place; and the fact is, that the family of Bickleigh,
holding their lands of the lords of the manor of Horethorne, at a time when the two
counties of Somerſet and Dorſet were under the fame ſheriffs; the tenants at Holwell
did their fuit in their lord's court at Horethorne; and thus this diſtrict became by
cuítom incorporated, and conſidered as part of the hundred of Horethorne, and con-
fequently of the county of Somerſet. The ſame reaſon holds good with regard to the
disjointed parcels of hundreds in one and the fame county, the ſame hundred being
fometimes ſcattered in three or four different parts of it. 6 and 11 Edw. I. complaint
was made that ſeveral tithings had withdrawn themſelves from their legal hundred, and
had for the reaſon above aſſigned fued to the courts of the earls of Glouceſter.
The church of Holwell, which is a rectory in the deanery of Shafton, was appro-
priated to the abbey of Cirenceſter in Glouceſterſhire, and in 1 292 was valued at one
hundred ſhillings. The abbot had a penſion out of it of fifty ſhillings. I and 2 Phil.
and Mary, the advowſon was granted to Thomas Vavaſor and Henry Ward. The
perpetuity thereof was ſold in the beginning of the preſent century by Robert Henley,
of Glanvill's-Wootton, eſq; to Queen's College in Oxford, in which the patronage is
now veſted. The Rev. Richard Radcliffe is the preſent incumbent.
n Eſc.
i Excheq. Somerſet. See Radſtock in Kilmerſdon Hundred.
* Taxat. Spiritual.
The

Dorethorne.]
371
H o L L
E L L.
W
The church is dedicated to St. Laurence, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, north
aile, chapel on the ſouth ſide, and a tower at the weſt end containing five bells.
Here was formerly a chantry called Brett's chantry,
The church and parſonage-houſe are in the county of Dorſet, on which account the
ecclefiaftical juriſdiction belongs now to the biſhop of Briſtol, as it did anciently to the
biſhop of Sarum.
Η Ο R S Ι Ν G Τ Ο Ν,
N extenſive pariſh lying eaſtward from Charleton-Horethorne, including a confi-
А
derable town, ſituated on the ſlope of a gently riſing hill, in a pleaſant and
healthful country, the lands whereof are rich, and moſtly paſture.
Its ancient name was Horſtenetone, and its firſt poſſeſſor after the Conqueſt was
William Fitz-Wido, or William Fitz-Odo, a Norman.
“ William the ſon of Wido holds of the King HORSTENETONE. Sauard and Eldeva
" held it in the time of King Edward for two manors, and might diſpoſe of it where-
“ever they went, and they gelded for eleven hides. The arable is ten carucates. In
" demeſne is one carucate, and four ſervants, and twelve villanes, and ten bordars, and
“ twelve cottagers, with ſeven ploughs and a half. There is a mill of two and forty
pence rent, and one hundred acres of meadow. Paſture ſix furlongs long, and five
furlongs broad. Wood ſeven furlongs long, and fix furlongs broad. When he
" received it, it was worth eight pounds fifteen ſhillings, now as much. Of this land
“ Ralf holds of William one hide and a half, and has there one plough and a half. It
was always worth twenty-five ſhillings.”a
This William Fitz-Wido reſided in theſe parts, and poſſeſſed the vills of Cheriton,
and Combe, the laſt of which one of his family gave in free alms to the knights
templars, and it became a cell. In after times the manor of Horſington was poſſeſſed
by a family denominated from the place, and was held by them of the honour of
Montacute. John de Horſindon, by his charter dated 12 Joh. gave, granted, and
confirmed, to Robert de Braibroc, for his homage and ſervice, and in conſideration of
fixty marks of ſilver, all the land of Horſindon, which was of the fee of John de
Montacute. Hence it ſhortly after came by grant to the family of Newmarch, or De
Novo Mercatu, deſcended from that Bernard de Newmarch, who attended the Con-
queror into England. James de Newmarch was living 16 Joh. and poſſeſſed this
manor with many other eſtates in the counties of Somerſet, Dorſet, Wilts, and
Glouceſter. At his death he left iſſue two daughters, Iſabel, the wife of Sir Ralph
a Lib. Domeſday.
o See page 359.
· Mag. Rot. 12 Joh. rot. 26.
Bb b 2
Cart. Antiq.
Ruſſell,

372
[Dorethorne.
H OR SI N G TO N.
Ruſſell, knt. and Maud. In the diviſion of the eſtates Horſington fell to Iſabel the
eldeſt, and Sir Ralph Ruſſell, 8 Henry III. had livery of the lands of her inheritance.
By the ſaid Iſabel he had iſſue two ſons, Robert, who died without iſſue 25 Edw. I.
feized of lands in Horſington and Wilkinthrop in this pariſh, which he held of the
capital lords of Horſington;' and William, who ſucceeded to the eſtate. Which
William married Jane the daughter of Robert Peverel, and died ſeized of this manor
4 Edw. II. having held it by the ſervice of half a barony.5. To him fucceeded
Theobald Ruſſell, who 13 Edw. II. being found under age, this manor of Horſington
was granted to Alice de Leygrave the king's nurſe, for her ſupport during the minority
of the ſaid Theobald. He was twice married; his firſt wife was Eleanor, daughter
and coheir of Ralph de Gorges, a baion, by whom he left a poſterity called ſometimes
by the name of Ruſſell, but generally by that of Gorges: to his ſecond wife he married
another Eleanor, daughter and heir of John de la Tour, By his firſt wife he had iſſue
Theobald, who aſſumed the name of Gorges, and was anceſtor of the Gorges of
Wraxal, where their chief feat was, and in the account of which further notice will be
taken of this family; and Sir Ralph Ruſſell, knt. who was of Kingſton-Ruſſel in Dor-
ſetſhire, and of Dirham in Glouceſterſhire. By his ſecond wife he had iſſue William,
who was progenitor of the Berwick family and the dukes of Bedford. After the death
of the ſaid Theobald, Eleanor, who ſurvived him, had an aſſignation of the third part
of this manor in dower. After which the manor was divided between the deſcend-
ants of the ſaid heirs, till in the time of Edw. IV. it became reunited in the perſon of
Richard Gorges, eſq. He died 20 Edw. IV. and Maud his wife ſurviving him, mar-
ried to her ſecond huſband Henry Roos, and died 1 April, 3 Henry VIII. ſeized of
the manors of Horſington and South-Cheriton, and the advowſon of the church of
Horſington, and the chapel of South-Cheriton. Marmaduke, the ſon and heir of the
ſaid Richard Gorges, had died before, viz. i Henry VIII. and Elizabeth and Maud his
two daughters were found to be the next heirs of the ſaid Maud Roos. Elizabeth the
eldeſt daughter was married to Thomas Shirley, who in her right enjoyed this manor,
and left it to his ſon Francis Shirley, who 2 Eliz. fold the fame to Edward Ludlow
and Maud his wife, and their heirs. Robert Ludlow, fon and heir of the ſaid Edward,
16 Eliz. conveyed the manor of Horſington, and Horſington-Marſh, to Matthew
Smyth, eſq; and it is now the property of Walter Spencer, eſą.
HORSINGTON-MARSH, SOUTH-CHERITON, or CHURTON, (where was a chapel)
WilKINTHROOP, and Horwood, are all hamlets within this pariſh, and were chiefly
appendant to the principal manor of Horſington.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, valued in 1292 at twenty marks."
James Wickham, of Frome, eſq; and Thomas Wickham, of Whitchurch, eſq; are the
joint patrons thereof; and the Rev. Mr. Whalley is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. John Baptiſt, is a Gothick ſtructure, conſiſting of a
nave, ſmall aile, chancel, and porch, tiled; and a well-built embattled tower, fixty feet
high, with a clock and five bells.
m
. Rot. Claus, 8 Hen. III. f Eſc.
* Coles's Eſcheats.
i Rot. Claus,
® Ibid.
1 Ibid.
* Rot. Pip. 13 ED. II.
m Taxat. Spiritual.
Om

Horethorne.)
373
H Q R S T N G T 0 N.
On the ſouth wall of the chancel is a handſome mural monument of marble, termi-
nated by a mitred pediment and urn. “Here lyes the body of Mr. William Gifford,
gent. ſon of Benjamin Gifford, of Boreham in the county of Wilts, eſq; who dyed the
3oth of Nov. 1693, aged 36. Alſo Benjamin Gifford, eſq; his ſon, who dyed June
13, 1713, aged 25. Likewiſe all that could dye of Alicia daughter of the ſaid
William Gifford, and the beloved wife of George Doddington, eſq; was buried June 27,
1745, aged 54 years.” Below are the arms cut in ſtone: Quarterly, firſt and fourth,
three ſtirrups within a bordure engrailed. Second and third, a chevron between three
lions rampant.
On a mural monument of white marble in the chancel: ---"The remains of George
Doddington, eſq; who died Oct. 27, 1762, aged 1 year and 8 months.”
At the ſoutheaſt end of the nave is an elegant mural monument of white and Sienna
marble; on the tablet is this inſcription: .“ Sacred to the memory of the Rev.
Anthony Wickham, A. M. late rector of this pariſh, who departed this life April 15,
1767. With a hope full of immortality, through the revelation of the Goſpel of
Jeſus Chriſt. He was pious without hypocriſy; charitable without oſtentation; hof-
pitable without extravagance. Such was his amiable diſpoſition, that he was alike
reſpected and beloved by the rich and poor. He had two wives; his firſt, Jane,
daughter of Mr. George Brodripp, of the city of London. His ſecond, Dorothy,
daughter of John Lloyd, of Soughton in the county of Flint, eſq. His remains, and
thoſe of his wives, are depoſited in the church-yard near the ſouth window. This
monument was erected by his grateful kinſman the Rev. John Wickham, A. M. rector
of Sampford; and James Wickham, of Frome, gent." Arms, Argent, two chevrons
Sable, between three roſes gules.
On a flat ſtone in the chancel floor is an inſcription to the memory of Rooke
Doddington, eſq. Arms, Three bugle horns.
On two black frames the following benefactions to the poor are recorded:
“ Thomas Abbut, gent. gave North-Cloſe in North-Cheriton, to the uſe of the
fecond
poor.
“ Thomas Rolt, gent. gave lands in Abbot's-Combe, called Gadgrove, and other
lands, after the death of Elizabeth Winſcomb, for the uſe of the
poor for ever.
“ Memorandum. The pariſh exchanged the church-houſe for five houſes in Broad-
mead-lane with Thomas Gawen, eſq; for the uſe of the pariſh 1722,
By the will of John Wickham, late of Sherborne, deceaſed, five pounds a year are
given to the rector of this pariſh in truſt for the poor to be paid on St. Thomas's-day
out of lands called Great-Lyes and Little-Lyes.”
There is a charity-ſchool here endowed with five pounds per annum, for teaching
twelve poor children.
MARSTON

[ 374 )
[borethorne,
MARSTON-MAGNA, or BROAD-MARSTON,
So called to diſtinguiſh it from MARSTON-Parva, a farm in this pariſh one mile weſt;
MARSTON-BIGot; and other places of the naine)
S a pariſh in the weſtern extremity of the hundred, ſituated in a low flat country,
thickly incloſed with wood, of which elm grows in great abundance; the lands are
moſtly paſture, and the ſoil wet and cold. About the year 1778, on opening a marle
pit, ſeveral maſſes of very curious calcarious blue ſtone were diſcovered here, in appear-
ance an indurated marle, entirely filled with a new ſpecies of cornua-ammonis, covered
with the original white pearl, and refracting the priſmatick colours. They were in
general ſmall, from one quarter of an inch to an inch in diameter, and of a purpliſh
violet colour. This ſtone was raiſed in maſſes fufficiently large to make fide-boards
of four feet by two and a half, took a fine poliſh, and was extremely beautiful.
In the time of Edward the Confeffor, Marſton was held by a number of thanes, no
leſs than nine, who at the Conqueſt being put out of their poffeffions, King William the
Conqueror gave it to Robert earl of Morton, who held part of it in demeſne :
« The Earl himſelf holds MERSTONE, Four thanes held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is
“s one carucate, with one ſervant, and five villanes, and ten cottagers, with three ploughs.
“ There are forty acres of meadow, and thirty acres of wood. It was and is worth
66 ten pounds."
« Robert holds of the Earl, MERstone. Five thanes held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for two hides. The arable is two carucates. Theſe are occu-
pied by five villanes and two cottagers, and there are twenty-four acres of meądow.
“ It was worth forty ſhillings, now ſixty ſhillings."
It was afterwards held by the Barons Beauchamp of Hatch, and continued in that
name till the time of Edw. III. when it paſſed by a coheireſs of John de Beauchamp
to Sir John Meriet, who 46 Edw. III. is ſaid to hold it of the honour of Farley-
Monachorum. In the time of Henry V. it was in the Stourton family, and 9 Edw.
IV. was the poſſeſſion of Humphry Stafford earl of Devon. In 1690, Lennard lord
Dacre died ſeized of it; and it has now for its poſſeſſor Humphry Sydenham, of
Dulverton, eſq; who inherits it from Sir John St. Barbe, of Broadlands in the county
of Southampton, bart,
Marſton denominates a deanery. So early as 9 Ric. I. the church was appropri-
ated to the Benedictine nunnery of Polleſhoo, or Polſho, in the county of Devon,
founded by William Briwere in that reign. In 1292 it was taxed at twenty-four
marks fix ſhillings and eight-pence. The vicarage was endowed with twelve marks.
A penſion of ſeven ſhillings was paid out of the rectory to the prior of Montacute.
wa
procesor
* Lib. Domeſday.
b Efc.
* Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen,
Taxat. Spiritual.
e Regiſt. Wellen.
By

Horethorne.]
375
M A R S T O N-MAGNA.
By the verbal appointment of Sir John St. Barbe, Humphrey Sydenham, efq; lord
of this manor, and deviſee of his laſt will and teſtament, conveyed to the Rev. John
Rutherford, vicar of this pariſh, and his ſucceſſors, vicars of the ſaid pariſh, for ever,
the rectory or impropriate parſonage of Marſton-Magna with all its appertenances.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and north aile,
with a ſtrong embattled tower, containing a clock and four bells.
In the chancel is an old reading-deſk with the following inſcription:
66 Drate pro anima Dñi Johīs Rowswell, vicarii,”
f From a marble tablet in the church,
Ρ Ο Ι Ν Τ Ι Ν G Τ Ο Ν.
a
Small pariſh on the confines of Dorſetſhire, having Sherborne in that county,
A
two miles diſtant, on the ſouth, and Milborne-Port in this county on the eaſt.
The ſituation is exceedingly pleaſant, being in a fine fertile vale, ſurrounded by conſi-
derable hills, the tops of which form a beautiful outline, being finely indented and
broken by ſmall openings. Theſe hills are moſtly arable and open, or cut into large
incloſures, without much wood,
“ William holds of the Earl [Morton] PonditONE. Adulf held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for two hides and a half. The arable is three carucates,
“ In demeſne is one carucate, and four villanes, and ſix cottagers, with two ploughs,
« There is a mill of thirty-two pence rent, and half an acre of meadow, and twenty
acres of paſture. It is worth forty ſhillings.
Richard de Pondetone occurs witneſs to a charter made to Glaſtonbury-abbey in the
time of Henry II. from which it may be concluded that this place had either lords of
its own name after the Conqueſt, or at leaſt a family reſident here of very conſiderable
account. In the time of Edw. I. it was poſſeſſed by the family of Cheney, or de Caineto,
of Norman extraction. 14 Edw. I. William de Cheney held one knight's fee here, and
was ſucceeded by Nicholas de Cheney, who held the ſame 28 Edw. I. Nicholas de
Cheney, ſon and heir of Nicholas, died ſeized of the manor of Pointington 19 Edw. II.
leaving William his ſon and heir. Which William, who was a knight, was dead before
20 Edw. III. his wife Joan having then an aſſignation of a moiety of the manor in
dower. 13 Ric. II. John de Montacute held two knights' fees here of the grant of
John de Grandifon biſhop of Exeter. About the time of Henry V. Edinund Cheney
died ſeized of this manor without iſſue, and thereupon it paſſed to Ralph brother of
* Lib. Domeſday. • Regiſt. Glaſton. The arms of Pontington were on a bend three roundels, Eſc.
Rot. Pip. i Ed. III, ? Rot, Claus, 20 Ed. III.
f Lib, Feod.
Edmund,

376
[Dorethorne.
P O 1 N T I N G T O N.
Edmund, and from him to another Edmund couſin of Ralph, who died 9 Hen. VI.
Ralph de Cheney bore on his feal a feſſe lozengy, each lozenge charged with an eſcallop.
This manor became afterwards the poſſeſſion of Robert lord Willoughby of Broke,
who was a knight of the garter, and died in 1521. He married Elizabeth one of the
daughters and coheireſſes of Richard lord Beauchamp, of Powick in the county of
Worceſter, by whom he had an only ſon Edward, who died in his father's life-time.
This Edward married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Neville lord Latimer, and by
her had iſſue three daughters; of whom the two youngeſt dying without iffue, Elizabeth
became ſole heireſs, and was one of the greateſt fortunes of her time, being heireſs
both to Lord Willoughby and Lord Beauchamp.
The wardſhip of this Lady Elizabeth was given to Sir Edward Grevile, of Milcot in
Warwickſhire, who intended her for John Grevile his eldeſt fon; but Fulk the younger,
being her favourite, ſhe became his wife. This Fulk was afterwards knighted by King
Henry VIII. and died in 1559, leaving iſſue Sir Fulk Grevile, who ſucceeded him,
and divers other children.
Which Sir Fulk Grevile married Anne, the daughter of Ralph Neville earl of
Weſtmoreland, and died in 1606, ſeized of this manor of Pointington, which he is
certified to have held of George Luttrell, eſq; as of the manor of Dunſter, by fealty
and ſuit of court." He left iſſue an only ſon, Sir Fulk, and one daughter, Margaret.
Sir Fulk Grevile, his ſon and heir, was a great favourite in the court of Queen
Elizabeth. In 1620 he was created by King James I. Lord Broke, of Beauchamp-
court in the county of Warwick. In 1628 he was baſely murdered by one of his own
domeſticks, in a rage excited by a diſcovery he had made that his maſter had left him
nothing in his will; and was buried in the family vault at Warwick.
Upon his death, the elder branch of the family in the male line ended; and Margaret
his ſiſter, having married Sir Richard Verney, of Compton in Warwickſhire, knt. ſhe
carried the title of Willoughby de Broke into his family, wherein it ſtill remains in the
perſon of John-Peyto Verney, baron Willoughby de Broke, who is lord of this manor.
His lordſhip's arms are, Gules, three croſſes recercele or; a chief vaire, ermine and
ermines.
The court-houſe is a venerable old building, near the church,
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, and in the patronage of the lord
of the manor.
The Rev. Mr. Paget is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to All-Saints; it conſiſts of a nave and ſouth aile leaded,
and a chancel covered with tile.
Under one of the arches which ſeparate the aile from the nave, on an old ſtone
tomb, the front of which is decorated with Gothick arches, lies the mutilated effigies
of a knight in armour.
On the ſouth wall of the ſouth aile is a ſmall but curious old monument of red and
white marble, having on the table a man in armour, and a woman in a large ruff and
Seals from ancient deeds.
5 Ing. capt. ap Warwick, 5 Jac.
looſe

borethorne.]
377
ΡοΙ Ν Τ Ι Ν Ο Τ ο Ν.
looſe white robe, kneeling oppoſite each other, with an altar deſk between them, on
which is a blue cloth with a gilt fringe. Behind the woman is her daughter: both
their head-dreſſes are winged caps, ſtiff plaited over the forehead, and a black hood
with a long lappet behind. Below is this inſcription:
“ Heere George Tilly, efquier, lieth, and Mary his wife; this being erected by Sir
Edward Parham, knt, who married the daughter and heire Elizabeth.” Above are
three coats of arms: viz. 1. Argent, on a chevron between three mallets gules, as many
lions' paws eraſed or. Creſt; a lion's paw eraſed or, holding a mallet erect gules:
Parham. 2. Argent, a wivern ſable : Tilly. 3. The two firſt coats impaled.
In a gilt frame is this inſcription:-“Thomas Mallet, mil. unus Juſtitiariorum
Domini Regis ad placita coram ipſo Rege tenenda aſſignato, Obijt 19° die Decembris
anno ætatis fuæ 83, 1665."
On another: Baldwin Mallet, ſecond ſon of Sir Thomas Mallet, died in the
King's ſervice, the 3d of June 1646, aged 20.” Arms, Azure, three eſcallops or.
On the north ſide of the chancel is an old ſtone tomb with this inſcription:-" Here
lyeth the body of Water Blobole, parſon of this pariſh, buried Jan. 19, 1617.".
On a ſtone in the floor: -"Here lieth the body of John Paget, M. A. late rector
of this church, who died April 20, 1745, aged 81." There are divers other memo-
rials to the fame family.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are on an average three; the burials two.
S A N D F O R D - ORCAS,
I de
'S a pariſh weſtward from Pointington, and three miles north from Sherborne in
of which are fituated in a long winding narrow vale, with high hills riſing in a ſteep
aſcent on either ſide. The vale is thickly wooded in the hedge-rows, and many of the
houſes have conſiderable orchards. Two ſmall brooks, joining in this pariſh, turn an
overſhot mill here in their way to the Ivel.
The additional name of this place aroſe from its ancient poſſeſſors, the family of
Oreſcuilz, of which Orcas is a ſtrange corruption, The manor belonged in the Con-
queror's time to Hugh de Abrinçis earl of Cheſter,
“ William holds of the Earl, SANFORD. In the time of King Edward it gelded for
4 two hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne is one carucate, with one
ſervant, and eight villanes, with one plough. There are nine acres of meadow, and
“ fifty acres of wood, and a mill. It was and is worth three pounds."
* Lib. Domeſday.
VOL. II.
Сcc
The
ja

378
[Dorethorne.
SANDFORD.ORCA S.
The family of Orefcuilz came from Normandy, and bore for their arms fix lions
rampant. Little mention is made of them in hiſtory; but thus far we know, that they
poffèffed lands in this county, Wilts, and Glouceſter, ſoon after the Conqueſt. In the
time of King Henry I. Henry Oreſcuilz held one knight's fee in this county of the
abbot of Glaſtonbury, in which poſſeſſion he was ſucceeded by Helias de Oreſcuilz his
fon, who was living 12 Henry II. To this Helias ſucceeded Richard de Oreſcuilz,
lord of this manor, and that of Sturis, in the beginning of the reign of King John; in
the 12th of which, Roger de Viliers paid twenty marks that he might inherit the ſhare
of his mother Alice in the lands of the ſaid Richard de Oreſcuilz. Maud the daughter
and coheir of this Richard, and ſiſter of the ſaid Alice, was lady of the manor of
Sharncot in the county of Wilts, as alſo of the manor of Sandford. She married
William the ſon of John de Harptree, of Harptree in this county, who poſſeſſed the
ſame in her right, and tranſmitted it to his poſterity, of whom were the Gournays, De
la Mores, and others. The manor now jointly belongs to Dorrington Hunt, of Pit-
combe, eſq; and to Charles and John Hutchins, eſqrs.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, valued in 1292 at fifteen marks.
The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, ſouth aile,
and tower with five bells.
In the aile is an old mural monument of ſtone, the upper part of which forms two
receſſes; in one are the effigies of a man and woman kneeling face to face; the man
holds a ſcull; the woman a bible; behind them are three boys and four girls kneeling.
In the other receſs is a woman kneeling with a ſcull in her hand; and behind her lie
four infants fwathed up like mummies. The man has a ſword in a military belt.
Below is this inſcription:
“Here lyeth the body of William Knoyle, of Santford-Orcas, eſq. Hee was firſt
married to Fillip daughter of Robert Morgane, of Maperton in the county of Dorſet,
eſq; by whome he had iſſue four children, and bee dead. Hee was ſecondly married to
Grace Clavel, daughter of Joſeph Clavel, of Barſtone in the county of Dorſet, eſq; by
whom hee had yſſue 3 fons and 4 daughters. Hee died Jan. 21, 1607, in the 49th
yeare of his age.”. Arms, Gules, on a bend argent, three eſcallops ſable, Knoyle.
Impaling three horſes current argent.
On another handſome mural monument of various coloured marble, is an inſcription
to the memory of John Hutchins, eſq; ſon of Samuel Hutchins, of South-Cadbury,
eſq; and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of James Medlycott, eſq; whoſe arms are, Argent,
three lions paſſant ſable, two and one, Hutchins; impaling, gules and azure, per feſſe
indented, three lions rampant argent, Medlycott.
In the church-yard are the remains of an old croſs, and a large and very ancient
yew-tree.
Francis Godwin, D.D. the celebrated writer of “ De Præſulibus Angliæ Commentarius,"
was ſometime rector of this pariſh.
Ancient Seals. Lib. Nig. Scac. i. 89. a Rot. Pip. 12 Joh,
e Taxat. Spiritual.
STAWEL
b

Horethorne ]
[ 379 ]
STAWEL,
OL
S TO W E L,
IS
a
S the next pariſh ſouthward from Horfington, compriſing a ſinall ftraggling village,
ſituated in a woody vale, and watered by a rivulet, which riſes in Charleton-
Horethorne, and runs through Milborne-Port into the Yeo near Sherborne. Another
brook riſing in a wood here paſſes through the pariſh of Abbot's-Combe. The lands
are chiefly paſture.
This place was anciently written Stanwelle, or the Stone Fount, and is thus recorded
in Domeſday-Book:
“ Azeline [de Percheval] holds of the Biſhop [of Coutances] STANWELLE. Tur-
“ mund held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable
" is four carucates. In demeſne are two carucates, and two ſervants, and five villanes,
• and ſeven bordars, and two cottagers, with two ploughs. There are ſixteen acres of
“ meadow, and five acres of paſture, and fix acres of coppice wood. It was worth
forty ſhillings, now ſixty ſhillings.''
In the time of Edw. I. this manor was held by the family of Muſcegros, of Charlton
Muſgrove, and conſiſted of two knight's fees.' Hawiſe, the heir of Robert de Muſcegros,
was married to Sir William Mortimer, knt, who had the manor of Stowel, and died
ſeized thereof 25 Edw. I. 9 Ric. II. Sir Edmund Molyns, knt. held the manor and
the advowſon of the church jointly with Iſabel his wife, of Sir Matthew de Gournay, as
of his manor of Curry-Mallet." Sir John Tiptot, knt. Lord Powis, was ſeized of this
manor 21 Hen. VI. and 13 Edw. IV, Elizabeth the widow of Robert Cappes held the
ſame at her death of Margaret Counteſs of Richmond, leaving John the ſon of Sir
John Hody, knt. her heir. Chriſtopher Hody, eſq; died ſeized of the manor and
advowſon 15 Jac. I. leaving John his ſon and heir, Samuel Dodington, eſq; is the
preſent lord of the manor.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Maríton; it was valued in 1292 at ſeven
marks, and is now in the patronage of Samuel Dodington, eſq. The Rey, Mr. Pye
is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, and is a ſmall building fifty-ſix feet
long, and fixteen wide, being of one pace, with a ſquare tower, rebuilt in the year
1748, and containing three bells.
On the eaſt wall of the chancel are the following inſcriptions:-"Here lieth the
body of Thomas Mogg, rector, who died Nov. 27, 1708, Catharine Mogg, the wife
of T. M. rector, was buried Aug. 14, 1684."
« Believe aright, and live as you believe; and you cannot but die in ſafety"
The average chriſtenings in this pariſh are three, the burials two annually.
Lib. Domeſday
b Lib. Feod.
• Efc.
a Ibid.
e Ibid.
f Ibid,
s Taxat, Spiritual,
Ссҫ2
TRENT

[ 380 ]
[borethorne.
T RE
NT
Is
a pariſh four miles nearly weſt from Sherborne, twelve eaſt from Ivelcheſter, and
three northeaſt from Yeovil.
Mr. Baxter, in his Gloſſary, derives the name of Trent or Treonta from the Britiſh
Troijent, which implies a winding river. Trent is waſhed on the weſt by the river
Ivel, and on the ſouth by a ſtream from a ſpring which riſes at Nether-Compton
in Dorſet.
This village ſtands upon a riſing ground, open to the weſt and ſouth, and is guarded
by a conſiderable hill on the eaſt, which renders it remarkably warm and healthy.
It conſiſts principally of a long ſtraggling ſtreet near the church, and two hamlets;
viz. ADBEER, one mile northweſt, containing ten houſes; and Hummer, half a mile
weft, five houſes. The whole number of houſes (moſt of which are of rough ſtone)
is about 80; and of inhabitants, nearly 400.
On examining a period of forty-two years, (from 1560 to 1601 incluſive) there
appear to have been g6 marriages, and 387 births; (each marriage having produced
four children on an average) and the burials 198. The proportion of males to females
born during this period is 4 to 3. The births from 1772 to 1782 are 12; burials in
each year on an average. The regiſter begins i Eliz.
The ſituation is woody, but the country round is pleaſingly varied with hills and vallies.
The ſoil towards the upper part of the pariſh' is a light ſand, which changes by de-
grees into a loam, and becomes in the lower ſide a ſtrong blue clay. It is very fertile,
and has the advantage of a large marle-pit. The marle is blue, greaſy, and hard almoſt
as itone when firſt raiſed; but being beaten into ſmall pieces, and expoſed a while to the
air, it ſoon diſſolves, and eaſily incorporates with the earth. Between forty and fifty load
is the quantity uſually laid on an acre, which in paſture or meadow ground, it is ſaid, will
continue forty or fifty years without any ſenſible decay. It is alſo found to be very good
manure for arable land, but the improvement is not ſo laſting. After three or four years
ploughing it ſinks by its weight beyond the reach of the plough, and loſes its virtue.
The greateſt part of this pariſh is incloſed. The oxen fed upon it are of the large
kind, and acknowledged to be as good beef as any that are driven to London.
Few pariſhes are ſo well planted with orchards, or afford greater quantities of good
fruit for cyder.
Here is little oak, but aſh and elm thrive well, and grow to large trees in a ſhort time.
The manor of Trent, as well as almoſt all others in this neighbourhood, belonged
in the time of William the Conqueror to Robert Earl of Morton.
“ Anſger holds of the Earl, TRENTE. Briſnod held it in the time of King Edward,
6 and gelded for ſeven hides. The arable is five carucates.
In demeſne is one
o carucate,


borethorne.]
381
T R
T.
N
23а
carucate, and ſix ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and ten cottagers, with four ploughs.
“ There are thirty acres of meadow, and ſixty acres of paſture, and thirty acres of
« wood. It was and is worth eight pounds."
It was afterwards granted to the family of Mohun, and from them paſſed to the
Briweres; but in the time of Edw. I. the manor was the property of Walter le Bret,
who held it of the caſtle of Dunſter, and died ſeized thereof 4 Edw. I. leaving iſſue two
daughters, Alice and Annora, between whoſe deſcendants the eſtate was divided."
17 Edw. II. Alan de Chaſtellain held a third part of the manor of Trent, of Robert de
Seford and Maud his wife, by the rent of one penny per annum. Thomas Chaſtellain
his ſon and heir ſucceeded him. 46 Edw. III. Robert Wyke held a third part of Trent
of the honour of Farley-Monachorum; and 10 Ric. II. a third part of the fame be-
longed to Sir Thomas Weſt, and deſcended to his ſon Thomas Weft. In proceſs of
time the principal eſtate and whole manor of Trent became the property of the family
of Stork, from whom it deſcended by coheireſſes to the families of Gerard, Wyndham,
and Young. The heireſs of the Wyndham family was married to Henry Bromley,
eſq; of Cambridgeſhire, created Lord Montfort by Geo. II. who having no male heir,
ſold the eſtate to Mr. Colliton, a gentleman of Hertfordſhire. From him, by a ſecond
purchaſe, it came into the hands of Francis Seymour, eſq; ſecond ſon of Sir Edward
Seymour, of Maiden-Bradley in Wilts. It thence paſſed to Henry Seymour, eſq; fon
to Francis aforeſaid. Sir Francis Wyndham, the laſt of that name who lived at this
place, was a colonel in the army of Cha. I. and is recorded to have ſheltered Cha. II,
for ſome time at his houſe in Trent, after the battle of Worceſter, till he could make
his eſcape abroad. For this ſervice, after the Reſtoration, he was created a baronet,
with a penſion of 6ool. a year ſettled upon him and his heirs male for ever, beſides
ſome conſiderable annuities granted to his ſiſters for their lives. The ſecond Sir
Francis, ſon of this Colonel Wyndham, a little before his death erected a very hand-
fome houſe of freeſtone, with four beautiful fronts, [over the door, date 1709, and
the family motto) at the expence of near 6oool. which in the year 177i was entirely
taken down, and not a ſingle trace of it now remains.
The other branch of the Storks' eſtate is likewiſe in the poſſeſſion of Henry Seymour,
eſq; whoſe father purchaſed it of the late Rev. Mr. Walker, of Spetiſbury near Bland-
ford, in Dorſetſhire; to whom it came by his marriage with Miſs Young, the only
remaining branch of that family,
To Mr. Young, of London, merchant, native of this place, this pariſh is indebted
for a free-ſchool for teaching boys to read and write; who, in his will, directs his
executors to lay out and diſburſe within four years after his deceaſe, the ſum of one
thouſand pounds in the buying or new building a ſchool-houſe in the pariſh of Trent,
and in the purchaſing of lands or tenements in fee-ſimple for maintaining the ſame,
and of a ſchoolmaſter, and twenty fons of poor inhabitants of that pariſh; and for want
of ſo many there, the number was to be made up out of the two pariſhes of Mudford
and Nether-Compton, in the county of Dorſet. Purſuant to theſe directions, a very
a Lib, Domeſday,
b Rot. Claus.
C Elc.
a Ibid.
good

382
[Dorethorne.
T R
T.
E N
good ſchool-houſe was ſoon after erected; and the remaining part of the money was
laid out in two eſtates, one lying in the pariſh of Charlton-Mackerel near Somerton,
and the other in South-Brewham near Bruton.
Over the ſchool door, upon a marble ſcroll, is the following inſcription:
“ This ſchool-houſe was built and endowed at the proper coſt of Mr. John Young,
(born in this pariſh, and late of London, merchant, deceaſed) by the direction of his
executor William Love, of London, merchant, who in purſuance of the teſtator's will
hath ſettled it in truſtees. A. D. 1678.”
On the eaſt ſide of the church-yard is a houſe, which, by the manner of building,
carvings and coats of arms, appears to have formerly belonged to the church. Wood,
in his antiquities of Oxford, among the benefactors of Oriel college, mentions one
Frank, who was born at Trent, and was maſter of the rolls in Henry the VIth's time.
He gave to Oriel college one thouſand pounds, with which was purchaſed the reverſion,
after two lives, of the manor of Wadley in Berkſhire, charging his legacy with a penſion
of twelve marks per annum, for the ſupport of a chantry at his native place of Trent.
The houſe abovementioned was probably appropriated to this chantry; but the penſion
was ſunk at the Reformation, and is now paid by Oriel college to the crown. The
laſt incumbent was John Shete, who in 1553 had a penſion of fix pounds.
On the eaſt, at a ſmall diſtance from the church, ftands the parſonage-houſe, on a
well-choſen ſpot of ground.
ground. The front to the weſt is of freeſtone in the modern taſte,
very neat and plain. It was built in the year 1725 by the then incumbent Mr.
Gardiner, ſon to Dr. Gardiner, biſhop of Lincoln. The ſouth front was rebuilt in the
year 1780.
In the hamlet of ADBEER was formerly a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and
belonging to the mother church; but it was demoliſhed in the time of the great
rebellion.
In ancient times there were two hamlets of this name, viz. NETHER--ADBEER, and
OVER-ADBEER, or, as they are written in Domeſday-Book, Eteſerie, and Ette'bere.
They are thus ſurveyed:
“ Drogo holds of the Earl [Morton] in ETESBERIE three virgates of land. Alwi
“ held them in the time of King Edward. The arable is half a carucate, and there
“ are with it three cottagers. There are fix acres of meadow, and ten acres of wood.
« It was and is worth ten ſhillings.
“ Siward [a thane] holds ETTEBERE. The ſame held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for one hide. The arable is one carucate and a half, and there are on it
“two villanes and three cottagers. There are fix acres of meadow, and one furlong of
“ wood in length and breadth. It was formerly and is now worth twenty ſhillings.”
The manors of Adbeer and Hummer were afterwards beſtowed on the Earl of
Morton's Cluniac priory at Montacute in this county, founded in the beginning of the
گور
e Willis's Hiſt, of Abbies, 2.
f Lib. Domeſday.
8 Ibid.
reign

borethorne.]
383
TR EN
reign of King Henry I. but the lands were ſoon after ſeized on occaſion of the founder's
rebellion, and poſſeſſed by other owners. 10 Henry III. Jordan de Alneto paid
twenty ſhillings for cutting down his wood at Ettebere, without licence, before per-
ambulation." Gervaſe de Alneto (probably ſon of Jordan) was owner of Ettebere in
the latter end of the reign of Henry III. In the time of Edw. I. the family of
Windſore had poſſeſſions here and in Mudford.k 26 Edw. III. Thomas Huntleghe
held two parts of the manor of Nether-Adbeer, and divers lands in Over-Adbeer, of
Sir Walter de Romeſey. Hence it came to the Carents, who poſſeſſed the two
hamlets of Over and Nether-Adbeer, and the hamlet of Hummer, for many generations.
Catherine, the widow of William Carent, eſq; died ſeized of theſe premiſes 13 Edw.
IV. holding them of George duke of Clarence, as of his manor of Yarlington John
Wadham is found by the inquiſition to be her heir. Which John Wadham died
ſeized of Adbere the following year, and was ſucceeded in his eſtates by a ſon of his
own name.m The Wadhams were of Merryfield."
The abbeſs of Studley in Oxfordſhire had a yearly penſion of ſix marks from the
manor of Trent."
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Marſton, valued in 1292 at thirty marks;P
the advowſon was formerly in the family of the Storks, one of which family having
bequeathed it to a religious houſe, it was ſeized by Henry VIII. at the diffolution of
the monaſteries, and continued in the crown till a grant was made of it by James I. to
Sir Henry Fowkes, bart. Of him it was purchaſed by Corpus-Chriſti college, Oxford.
Liſt of the Rectors from the Reformation.
1. Henry Stephen; he died 1542.
2. Emery Tuckfield, preſented by Hen. VIII.; inducted Feb. 22, 1542.
3. Robert Elliot, preſented by Philip and Mary, Jan. 7, 1557.
4. Henry Beaumont, preſented by Eliz. Sept. 17, 1585, reſigned the year following.
5. John Seward, preſented by Eliz. Jan. 23, 1586.
6. Henry Seward, preſented by Thomas Shuter, de Clauſo Sarum, Ap. 8, 1625.
7. Benjamin Elliot, Fellow of C.C.C. preſented by the college, Sept. 16, 1640.
8. Elias Wrench, preſented by C.C.C. April 6, 1644, for the firſt 16 years deprived
of his living by the rebel parliament.
9. Amos Berry, preſented by C.C.C. 1680.
10. Charles Gardiner, by C.C.C. Feb. 20, 1723-
11. Barnabas Smyth, by C.C.C. Oct. 26, 1732.
I 2. Henry Pinnel, by C.C.C. inſtituted May 28, 1760.
13. George Beaver, (the preſent incumbent) by C.C.C. inſtituted Feb. 14, 1770.
Rectory preſent value £:23 5 5 ?
Tenths
3
The church (which is dedicated to St. Andrew) is a ſtrong well-built Gothick edifice,
conſiſting of a nave, north aile, and porch, the latter large and lofty. At the ſoutheaft
2
* Eſc.
n See vol. i. p. 48.
* Rot. Pip. 10 Hen. III. i Cart. Antiq.
• Taxat. Temporal.
1 Ibid.
m Ibid.
p Taxat. Spiritual
corner,

384
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corner, between the porch and chancel, is a tower 59 feet high, with a well-proportioned
hexagon ſpire of 35 feet beſides the iron and weather-cock, which are 6 feet above it;
the whole height 100 feet. The pinnacles which ſtood originally at each corner of the
tower are deſtroyed; but here is a clock and five bells.
The bells bear the following inſcription: Auguftine tuam campanam
protege ſanam.” 2. Campana ſci Andreae Ecc Trentae. 3. Draw near to God,
1603. 4. Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis. 5. This bell was made by the pariſhioners of
Trent in 1604. William Gerard, eſq; and Thomas Loſcomb, benefactors. Tho.
Pennington new caſt me in 1626.
The chancel appears to have been built ſince the church; it being conſiderably
higher, and covered with ſtone tile. It is wainſcotted round as high as the windows,
which are five in number, and of crown glaſs. The Rev. Barnabas Smith, rector of
this pariſh, at his own expence altered the ſeats, glazed the windows, and floored the
whole area within the rails with a beautiful ſtone richly veined from Longburton near
Sherborne, and the reſt with Portland ſtone ornamented with little ſquare dots of the
former. He moreover preſented the pariſh with a ſervice of communion plate, con-
ſiſting of a flagon, a chalice, and patine, and a diſh for receiving the oblations; all plain
filyer, but neat and handſome.
On the ſouth fide of the church, an arch opens into an aile about twelve feet ſquare,
which belongs to Henry Seymour, eſą. In this aile is a ſpacious vault, formerly the
burying-place of the Youngs.
On the north ſide of the church is an aile, which formerly belonged to the Gerard
and Wyndham families. The entrance into it is through a very curious arch, the
bend of which is painted all over with laurel branches and leaves, among which are
forty armorial ſhields, repreſenting the alliances of the families of Coker and Gerard.
The ſcreen which ſeparates the body of the church from the chancel has the ap-
pearance of great antiquity. The lower part is wainſcot; from which go balluſtrades
tapering upwards, and branching out at top into elliptic arches embelliſhed with carved
work, very light and airy. Over it was formerly a rood loft, part of which is ſtill
remaining, neatly carved and painted. Beneath it are the remains of a border of
extremely rich work, divided by narrow ſlips of timber into four rows, carved, painted
and gilded in the moſt beautiful manner. This, and the ſcreen to the chancel, are
evidently of a different ſtile from the reſt of the church; and were probably ornaments
of ſome part of the abbey church of Glaſtonbury.
At entering the church, on the left, is a piece of antiquity which eſcaped the zeal of
our reformers; víz. the Ave Maria carved upon the front boards of the ſeats, in protu-
berant letters, but in a very rude and coarſe manner. On the two oppoſite ſeats are the
crown of thorns, ladder, nails, &c. and the letters J.H.S.
In the north aile are two ſtatues in ſtone, lying at full length under two arches in the
north wall, which appear to have been moved hither from ſome other place; probably
from the oppoſite wall when the aile was built, and the communication made between
the church by a large arch; for they are certainly much older than the aile. The one
is

072 ATL
The Orms on the SOUTH Side of the Arch
enlarged Scale
Thase on the NORTH Side
te
XH
Bosto
*
This is on North Side
of the East Sping of the arch.
al Shield over the back of the
Family Seat, undortedrch.
This Shield is between the Olneyels under the Arch.
VIN
This Tree is on the
SOUTH Side of the arch.
rann und ingraved, ling 5. Bonnor:
This Free is on the
NORIH Side of the arch.
O TENAMENTED ARCH &C IN TRENT CAURTH
To Rut Goodden of Compton House in the County of Donset (3q; and the Rey, John Wyndham, LLD.
Rector of Corten Denham and Maple-Sitopaine bike County of Romerot, this Plate is raipeetpilly inseribed
by Their Obliged Servant J.COLLINSON.
published September 11.7786.
CH

borethorne.]
385
TR
Ε Ν Τ.
Is thirteen window
is in armour from head to foot with his hands joined on his breaſt, and legs ſtrait; the
other is in much the ſame poſture, but a different habit, having a military belt and
fword hanging from it. The taperneſs of the fingers, the remarkable ſlenderneſs of the
wriſts and ancles, the garments hanging down in folds to the feet, which are very ſmall,
a hood thrown over the head and drawn together under the throat, with the reſemblance
of a mantle falling on the ſhoulders, and the whole figure being at leaſt a foot ſhorter
than the other, give it altogether the appearance of a female. The feet of each reſt on
a dog, which is part of the Gerard arms.
The pulpit and reading-deſk are of old wainſcot carved; each of them has a cuſhion
and cloth made out of the whittle in which King Henry V I. was chriſtened; being a
crimſon brocade flowered richly with gold and ſilver tiſſue, and blue filk.
we
The ſingers' gallery is between the chancel and the nave, and on the top are the
royal arins, ſix feet by fix, all cut out of one folid board without a joint, and well
painted. Here are five doors, thirteen windows, and fix pews; and ſeveral old helmets,
gauntlets, &c.
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel is an ancient mural monument of ſtone, four feet by
five. On the right and left of the tablet are two round black columns with Corinthian
capitals gilded. On one of them is the head of a negro; on the other a man's leg and
foot, cut off juſt above the knee, with a black leathern buſkin on it. The tablet is
inſcribed___"To the memory of Thomas Huſſey, ſon and heyre of Gyles Huſſey,
of Edmondſham in the county of Dorſet, efq. Bridget his wife, daughter of Robert
Coker, of Mapowder in the ſame county, eſq; hath erected this. He dyed the 19th of
March in the yeere of our Lord 1630, and of his age neere 32.
Reader, here below doth lye
A pattern of trew pietye;
Whoſe example none neede ſhame
To follow: few can bee the ſame.
Yeares ſcarce thirty-two hee told,
When in goodneſs growen old
Hee dyed, and ſo injoys long reſt,
God takes them ſooneft he loves beſt."
Between the windows, on the north wall, is a mural monument inſcribed,
lye buried the bodies of Triſteram Storke, of Trent, efq; and Alice his wife, daughter
unto Robert Bingham, of Bingham's-Melcomb, eſq; which Triſteram dyed the 18th
of Auguſt 1532, and left four daughters his heyres: Joane, the wife of. Richard
Compton, efq; Ann, the wife of John Larder, eſq; Iſabel, the wife of Alexander
Seymour, eſq; and Mary, the wife of William Gerard, eſq.”
On the eaſt wall is another mural monument, with this inſcription:-"Near this
place lieth the body of Henry Pinnell, B. D. lately fellow of C.C.C. Oxon, and rector
of this pariſh; who departed this life Nov. 22, 1769, aged 52 years. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Prattenton, vicar of Prittleworth in the county of Suſſex;
who, ſurviving him, erected this ſtone as an humble teſtimony of her great regard for a
moſt affectionate huſband, and a very worthy man."
VOL. II.
D dd
In
.“ Here
336
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In the chancel floor, on two flat ſtones : " Here lieth the body of Amos Berry,
of C.C.C. Oxon, Fellow, B. D. rector of this pariſh from 1680 to 1723, when he
died Feb. 20, aged 89. Here alſo lies Margaret his wife, who departed this life June
29, 1734, in the gift year of her age. The ſouls of the righteous are in the hand
of God.”
« Elias Wrench, S.T.B. e C. C.C. Oxon. quond. focius hujus eccleſiæ rector in-
ductus A° 1644, ob' A° 1680, æt. 75."
On a ſtone at the ſouth end, under the fingers' gallery:
:-> Here lyeth the body
of Elizabeth Martyn, relict of Ralph Martyn, late of Marſton in the county of So-
merfet, gent. who departed this life July 10, 1693, aged 60.”
On another ſtone at the entrance of the chancel:--Here lie the bodies of
Gideon Pittard, gent.; Frances, his wife; John, his ſon; and Roſe, his daughter.
Gideon dyed Auguſt y 25, 1697, aged 91; Frances, Oct. y 26, 1733, aged 80;-
John, Dec. 27, 1703, aged 13; and Roſe, Oct. 30, 1729, aged 36. Here lies Eleanor
Noake, the wife of Samuel Noake, gent. daughter of the ſaid Gideon and Frances
Pittard, who departed this life April 23, 1767, aged 71."
In the north aile (formerly the burial-place of the Gerard and Wyndham families)
are the following infcriptions on large coarſe flat ſtones, which ſeem to have been
brought from Ham-hill quarry.
“ Heere lyeth the body of William Gerard, of Trent, efq; who dyed the of
January, anno 1567.
“ Heere alſo lyeth the body of William Gerard, efq; grandchilde to the other William
Gerard, who dyed the iſt of May 1604.
“ Heere lyeth the body of Ann Gerard, daughter of William Gerard, eſq; by Mary
his wife, daughter of Sir Chriſtopher Allen, of the Mote in the county of Kent, knt.
She was buried the 25th of January 1596.
“ Heere lyeth the body of Mary Gerard, the wife of William Gerard, eſq; daughter
and coheyre of Triſteram Storke, of Trent, efq; who dyed March 18, 1577.
“ Heere alſo lyeth the body of Thomas Gerard, eſq; fon of William Gerard and
Mary his wife. And neere unto him lyeth Iſabel his wife, who was daughter and co-
heyre of Leonard Willoughby, of Toners-Piddle in the county of Dorſet, eſq.”
Againſt the weſt wall, at the end of the north aile, is an ancient handſome mural
monument of black and white marble to another William Gerard, moſt probably the
ſon of the former, with this inſcription:-“Gulielmo Gerard, armigero, ex antiqua
Gerardorum familia in agro Lancaſtrienſi oriundo, monumentum hoc impoſuit uxor
ejus mæiſtiſfima, filia Chriſtopheri Allen, equitis aurati militis: obijt May 1", Anº Dom,
1604, ætat. vero ſuæ 52.
On another marble monument:- Anna uxor Thomæ Gerard, arm. filia Roberti
Coker, ar. obijt in partu Junii xxv Año Dom MDCXXXIII, vixit annos xxix diemq; 1".
Digna hac luce diuturniore, niſi quod luce meliore digna. Vale! nos te eo ordine quo

)
natura
borethorne.)
387
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natura juſſerit ſequemur. Mors mihi lucrum: vivit poſt funera virtus. Reliquit quinq;
filias ſuperſtites, viz. Elizabetham, Annam, Ethelredam, Amiam, & Franciſcam, duas
mort. & filium unicum.”
Anne, the ſecond daughter of this Thomas and Anne Gerard, marrying Colonel
Wyndham, by her the eſtate came into his family. He was created a baronet by King
Charles II. and died in the year 1676. His ſon, Sir Francis, lies in a vault made for
him under the aile, and againſt the middle of the north wall is an elegant monument of
white marble, upon the table of which is the following inſcription:
“ Here lieth the body of Sir Francis Wyndham, bart. (originally deſcended from the
ancient and honourable family of the Wyndhams of Felbridge in the county of Nor-
folk). In his younger years he applied himſelf to arms, and ſerved King Charles II.
in the poſt of a captain of horſe. But afterwards he ſerved his country in ſeveral par-
liaments as a member for Ilcheſter in this county. He married three wives; his firſt
was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Onſlow, of Clanden in the county of Surrey, by
whom he had his only child named Thomas, who dyed before him, leaving a ſon, now
Sir Francis, and a daughter Frances, by his wife Lucy, daughter of Richard Mead, of
London, eſq. His ſecond wife was Eſther, widow of Matthew Ingram, gent.; and his
laft was dame Henrietta, widow of Sir Richard Newdigate, bart. and daughter of Thomas
Wigington, of Ham in the county of Surrey, gent. who ſurvived him. He was the
third ſon of Sir Francis Wyndham of this place, who in conſideration of his conſtant
and faithful ſervices to K. Charles the Firſt and Second, in quality of a lieutenant-
colonel of horſe, but more particularly for his being inſtrumental in preſerving K.
Charles the Second in his houſe here, after the unfortunate battle of Worceſter, till his
retreat to France, was by him ſoon after his reſtoration created a baronet, with a large
penſion to attend the honour, as a farther token of his royal favour. He had four bro-
thers and five ſiſters. Gerard died unmarried. Sir Thomas left only one daughter,
Anne. Hugh died in Spain unmarried, (having by his valour and conduct raiſed him-
ſelf to the poſt of lieutenant-general of horſe) and Edmund left no iſſue. Two of
his ſiſters Mary and Anne died children. Elizabeth was married to Wm. Harbyn, of
Newton in this county, efq. Rachel, who was maid of honour to the princeſs of
Orange, and afterwards of the bed-chamber to her when ſhe was queen, died unmar-
ried: and Frances, who ſurviv'd him, alſo died unmarried.
« By the direction of Sir Francis Wyndham's will, this monument was erected to
his memory, by his executrix and relict the Lady Henrietta Wyndham, and his exe-
cutor Wm. James, of Ightham in the county of Kent, eſq; who married Anne the ſole
daughter and heir of the above-mentioned Sir Thomas Wyndham. On which account
Sir Francis has entail'd his eſtate on the iſſue of the body of Anne James, in caſe of
failure of his own, (they taking the name of Wyndham additionally.)
« Sir Francis Wyndham died March 22, 1715, aged 62 years."
The young Sir Francis mentioned in the inſcription died about 12 years old of the
fmall-pox, and his ſiſter Frances, (who married Henry Bromley, eſq; afterwards Lord.
Montfort) having no iſſue, the family is extinct.
D d d 2
On


388
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On a ſtone in the church-yard: Beneath lieth the body of the Rev. Mr. Bar-
nabas Smyth, born at Panton in the county of Lincoln, Nov. the 21ſt, 1692: choſen
ſcholar of C. C. C. Oxon, Aug. the 6th, 1709: nominated to the rectory of this pariſh
Oct. 26, 1732: buried February 9th, 1760. Alſo Frances his wife, who departed this
life Dec. 26th, 1765, in the 67th year of her age--in hopes of a joyful reſurrection:
and what ſhe was that day will ſhew."
On a tomb under the chancel window: “ Carolus Gardiner, S.T.B. C.C.C. Oxon.
Quondam focius hujus eccleſiæ rector inductus 22 Julij, 1729; obijt 26 O&t. 1732
Eccleſiæ Wellenſis Canonicum factum, in ipfo pene honoris aditu, mors occupavit.”
Mrs. Bridget Gardiner, relict of the Rev. Charles Gardiner, died and was buried in
Oxford, in the year 1772. She left to the pariſh of Trent one hundred pounds, directing
the yearly intereſt to be paid on Eaſter-Sunday yearly; and divided among fix poor
men and ſix poor women who do not receive alms.
She likewiſe left twenty pounds, the yearly profits whereof are directed to be laid out
in repairing and preſerving the rails round her huſband's grave.
Here is a large yew-tree, the body of which at five feet high, is 12 feet in circumference.
Alſo an old ſtone croſs, with five rows of ſteps, the pillar broken off within three feet
of the ſocket,

IIN
THE

[389]
THE H U N D R E D
0 F
HUNTSPILL CUM PURITON,
A
Small tract of land lying on the river Parret, near its influx into the Briſtol
Channel, comprehending two pariſhes, HUNTSPILL, and PURITON; to the
former of which manors, the property of the Hundred in ancient times belonged.
H
U
N T S Ρ Ι
L L

1* water
water.
'S a very large pariſh twelve miles weſt from Axbridge, and ſeven north from Bridg-
It had its name from Hun or Hune, a Saxon lord, and from the pill or bay,
which is here formed by the conflux of the rivers Brew and Parret, at the mouth
whereof there is an ancient farm called to this day Pill's Mouth. The river Brew is
navigable for veſſels of conſiderable burden up to HIGHBRIDGE, a hamlet ſo called
from the bridge there thrown over it. The beach at Huntſpill is a fine fand near a mile
broad at low water, bounded on the land ſide by large fand-banks, raiſed to prevent the
overflowings of the ſea. Among the ruſhes and fedge above high water mark, are vaſt
quantities of beautiful ſhells of the Wentletrap, ſnail and Helix kinds. Salmon, plaice,
founders and ſhrimps are caught on the coaſt, and the ditches abound with eels,
roach and dace.
This pariſh is five miles and a half in length, two and a half in breadth, and fifteen
miles in circumference, excluſive of a ſmall part of it heretofore broken in upon by
the ſea, and now divided from it by the Parret, and which is therefore rather conſidered
as part of Stoke-Courcy, being ſubject to the parochial incumbrances, without the
advantages of Huntſpill.
The whole number of houſes contained within the precincts of the pariſh of Hunt-
ſpill is about one hundred and forty, and of inhabitants ſeven hundred and fifty. Moſt
of
390
(buntſpill, cum
H U N T S P I L L.

of the houſes are very neat, and in general occupied by their reſpective owners, many
of whom are wealthy graziers. The lands are almoſt wholly rich paſture and meadow,
extremely well cultivated, and the pariſh is eſtimated in the king's books at 2000l. per
annum, it being one fifth of its net produce.
The town of Huntſpill had formerly the privilege of a market, which has long ago
been dropt; but there are ſtill three fairs, toll-free, held within the pariſh, viz. one at
Huntſpill, June 29; the other two, Auguſt 10, and Dec. 17, at Highbridge.
This place is noted in ancient hiſtory. Ethelmund, by the concurrence and con-
firmation of king Offa, gave the manor of Huneſpulle, containing five hides, to the
church of Glaſtonbury. This property, thus conferred, remained in the poſſeſſion of
that monaſtery till the Norman Conqueſt, when King William deſpoiled it thereof,
and gave it to his itinerant attendant Walter de Dowai. It is thus recorded:
« Walter himſelf holds Honspil. Elwacre held it in the time of King Edward,
" and gelded for one hide. The arable is thirteen carucates. In demeſne are two
« carucates, and five ſervants, and twenty-one villanes, and five bordars, and ſeven
cottagers, with eleven ploughs. There are one hundred acres of meadow, and two
“ hundred acres of paſture. It was and is worth eight pounds."
« Walter himſelf holds HUNESPIL. Alwin held it in the time of King Edward,
“ and gelded for three virgates of land. The arable is two carucates. In demeſne is
“ one carucate, and four ſervants, and two villanes, and five bordars, and four cottagers,
« with one plough. There are twenty acres of meadow. It was and is worth twenty
“ ſhillings.”
This Walter de Dowai was a Norman knight, and of a family which derived their
name from the town of Douai in the French Netherlands. Having attended the Con-
queror into England, he was rewarded with this and a great number of other manors in
this county, where he had his reſidence. At his death he left iſſue, a ſon of his own
name, who was ſeated at Bamptan or Baunton in Devonſhire, and thence altered his
name to De Baunton. Having no male iſſue, he left all his eſtates to Julian his only
daughter, who became the wife of William Paganel, and inveſted him with this manor.
Which William Paganel, or, as he was ſometimes written, Paynel, by the ſaid Julian
his wife, had iſſue Fulke Paganel, who married Ada, eldeſt fiſter and coheir of Gilbert
de Abrincis, who was drowned at ſea in the year 1172. He had iſſue by her Adam
Paynel, who was lord of Huntſpill in the time of Henry III. and died without iſſue,
and William Paynel, who ſucceeded to the manors of Huntſpill and Baunton. This
William, by Maud his wife, had ſeveral children, (of whom William, Millicent, Alice,
and Agnes, died without iſſue) and Chriſtian, who ſucceeded to the eſtate, and was
married to Sir Milo Cogan, one of the firſt Conquerors of Ireland.
To which Sir Milo Cogan, fucceeded William, and John, ſucceſſive lords of
Huntſpill; the laſt-mentioned dying ſeized thereof 9 Edw. I. left a ſon of his own
name heir to his property. This John Cogan was a knight, and was buried at



Gulielm, Malmeſ. Hift, i. 98.
• Lib, Domeſday.
Ibis.
Huntſpill,
Puriton.]
391
H U N T S P I L L.

Huntſpill, 30 Edw. I. Thomas his ſon and heir ſucceeded, and left iſſue Richard,
who was ſixteen years of age at the time of his father's death 8 Edw. II. This Richard
married Mary daughter and heir of Sir Richard Wigbere, of Wigborough in this
county, with whom he had that manor and divers other large poſſeſſions. He died 42
Edw. III. leaving iſſue by the ſaid Mary Sir William Cogan, knt. his ſon and heir,
who died 6 Ric. II. ſeized of the manor and advowfon of Huntſpill
. He left iſſue by
Iſabel his wife, one ſon, John, and a daughter, Elizabeth, firſt married to Sir Fulke
Fitzwarren, and ſecondly to Sir Hugh Courtney, knt.
The ſaid Sir John Cogan dying without iſſue 12 Ric. II. Elizabeth his ſiſter fuc-
ceeded to the patrimony, and inveſted her huſband Sir Fulke Fitzwarren with the
manors of Huntſpill and Wigborough. She had iſſue by her ſaid huſband one ſon,
who was named after his father Fulke, and a daughter, Elizabeth, the wife of Sir
Richard Hankford:
Sir Fulke Fitzwarren died without iſſue, and Elizabeth his ſiſter, the wife of Sir
Richard Hankford, ſucceeded to the eſtate, and had iſſue by the ſaid Sir Richard two
daughters, Thomaſine, the wife of William Bourchier, created Lord Fitzwarren, and
Elizabeth, who died without iſſue.
Which William Bourchier, in right of Thomaſine his ſaid wife, became poſſeſſed of
Huntſpill-Cogan, and other manors. He was the ſecond ſon of William Bourchier
earl of Ewe, by Anne, daughter of Thomas of Woodſtock duke of Glouceſter: he
died 9 Edw. IV. leaving iſſue Fulke Bourchier, lord Fitzwarren, his ſon and ſucceſſor.
This Fulke Bourchier lord Fitzwarren married Elizabeth, - ſiſter and coheir of John
lord Dinham, by whom he had iſſue John Bourchier lord Fitzwarren, and died 6
Henry VII.
Which John Bourchier lord Fitzwarren was created Earl of Bath 23 Henry VIII.
He married Cecily, the only fifter of Henry Daubney earl of Bridgwater, by whom he
had iſſue one fon John, and two daughters, Elizabeth the wife of Edward Chicheſter, of
Raleigh, eſq; and Dorothy, wife of Sir John Fulford. He died 31 Henry VIII.
John Bourchier earl of Bath ſucceeded his father in this and the other eſtates, and
married firſt Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Walter Hungerford, by whom he had iſſue
one daughter, Elizabeth. To his ſecond wife he married Eleanor, daughter of George
Manners lord Roos, and had iſſue by her John, Sir George, and Henry; Mary, wife of
Hugh Wyatt, of Exeter; and Cecily, wife of Thomas Peyton, cuſtomer of Plymouth.
His third wife was Margaret, daughter and heir of John Donington, who had before
been married, firſt to Sir Thomas Kitſon, of Hengrave in the county of Suffolk; and
ſecondly, to Sir Richard Long, of Cambridgeſhire. He had iſſue by the ſaid Margaret,
two daughters, Suſan, and Bridget; and died 3 Eliz.
John Bourchier lord Fitzwarren died in the life-time of his father, but left iſſue, by
Frances his wife, a ſon named William, who ſucceeded as Lord Fitzwarren and Earl
of Bath, as well as to the poſſeſſion of this manor. He married Elizabeth, daughter
of Francis Ruſſel earl of Bedford, by whom he had iſſue four ſons, John, Robert,
Francis, who died without iſſue, and Edward, who ſucceeded to the title and eſtate.

Which

392
(buntſpill, cum
H U N T S P I L L.
Which Edward Bourchier earl of Bath married a ſiſter of Oliver lord St. John of
Bletſho, earl of Bolingbroke, by whom he had iſſue three daughters: Anne, the eldeſt,
married Sir Chriſtopher Wrey, bart. and Dorothy was the wife of Thomas Grey, eldeſt
ſon of Henry the firſt Earl of Stamford.
Henry Bourchier, uncle to Edward, ſucceeded as Earl of Bath in 1638; but dying
unmarried, the title expired, and the eſtates were divided between the repreſentatives of
the coheireſſes of the ſaid Edward.
Accordingly, 36 Car. II. a diviſion of the manor was made between Lord Stamford
and Sir Bourchier Wrey, bart. ſubject to the payment of 48,000l. Their repreſenta-
tives, by virtue of a decree in chancery, ſold the whole together in 1693 to James
Grove, eſq; of the Inner Temple, ſerjeant at law, who, in the courſe of a few years, ſold
off, among the leaſehold tenants, fix hundred acres; and the remainder, in the
year
1711, was ſold to William Arnold, eſq; who in 1723 fold the ſame to Samuel Cockerell,
eſq; and he, after diſpoſing of two hundred and fifty acres thereof, left it to his nephew
Luke Cockerell, eſq; who fold the whole without reſerve.
It ſhould be obſerved that the manor thus deduced from the Norman Conqueſt,
was only a part of the pariſh of Huntſpill; other lords had manerial claims therein
from a very early date; and as this lordſhip had the name of HUNTSPILL-COGAN,
from the Cogans its poffeffors; ſo there was a HUNTSPILL-MAREYS, HUNTSPILL-DE-
LA-Hay, and HuntSPILL-VERNEY, from its ſeveral lords thus denominated,
In the time of King Stephen, Jordan de Mariſco, or of the Marſh, probably ſo
titled from the ſpot of his nativity in this neighbourhood, was lord of a manor in
Huntſpill, and had a ſon named William, who inherited the ſame." To him ſucceeded
Gefferey de Mariſco, who was chief juſtice of Ireland 10 Henry III. and next William
de Mariſco, who was owner of this manor, and of the iſland of Lundy, which he held
of the king in chief by the ſervice of the tenth part of a knight's fee. He was alſo lord
of La Clude, or Cloud, in the pariſh of Camely, which he had by inheritance from
Alexander de Alneto, lord of the manor of Camely. William de Mariſco, fun and
heir of the ſaid William, died 10 Edw. I.' and was ſucceeded by Herbert de Mariſco,
or Marays, who 9 Edw. II. was ſummoned with divers Iriſh barons to attend the king
againſt the Scots. He died i Edw. III. leaving iſſue Stephen de Mareis heir to his
eſtates. Which Stephen had lands in Ireland; and as ſuch was ſummoned to attend the
king at Weſtminſter 35 Edw. III. to conſider of methods to repel the Iriſh. He was
then a knight. He died 47 Edw. III. leaving his eſtate to Sir James Boteler earl of
Ormond, his couſin and next heir, remainder for life to Sir John Trivet, knt. This
James earl of Ormond died 7 Henry IV. leaving the manor of Huntſpill-Mareys to
his ſon James earl of Ormond, who at his death 31 Henry VI. held beſides it the
manors of Belluton, Pensford, Brean, Exton, and the iſland of Steep-Holmes, and the
advowſon of the church of Brean, leaving James earl of Wiltſhire his ſon and heir."
This James being attainted in parliament, his eſtates became confiſcated; and this
manor and that of Brean paſſed into the family of Beecher. In 1590 Henry Beecher,
a Cart. Antiq.
e Ibid.
f Eſc.
& Acta Publica.
h Eſc.
of

Puriton.]
393
H U N T S P I L L.
of London, was lord of Huntſpill-Mareys, and from him it deſcended to Thomas
Anſel, eſq; who fold two hundred and fifty acres thereof in fee to the leſſees; and in
1616, the remaining part, conſiſting of four hundred and ſeventy acres, was conveyed
to Andrew Henly, eſq. From him it deſcended to his ſon Robert Henly, eſq; and
from him to Sir Andrew Henly, bart. who in 1669 fold part of the fee to the ſeveral
leſfees. This ſale was productive of a ſuit in chancery of ſeven years' continuance;
when it was at length decreed, that Eleanor Maundrel and John Bere ſhould confirm
the ſeveral purchaſes, and ſtand ſeized of the remains of the manor, which is now the
property of Richard Gould, efq.
The manor of HUNTSPILL-DE-LA-Hay derived its name from a grange or farm in
this pariſh, called Delhayes, conſiſting in the time of Ric. II. of a capital meſſuage,
two hundred acres of arable land, ſixty acres of meadow, and twenty acres of paſture;
all which were held by Sir William Cogan of the king in chief. A family of diſtinc-
tion had alſo their appellation from this ſpot, and held their lands of the principal lords
of Huntſpill: they flouriſhed in the reigns of Edw. I. and II. In proceſs of time this
manor came to be poſſeſſed by the family of Howe, progenitors of Lord Chedworth,
and thence paſſed to the Rodney family. Of late years it was ſold off to the leſfees by
his Grace the Duke of Chandos, the laſt poffeffor.
The manor of HUNTSPILL-VERNEY was ſo denominated from the ancient family of
Verney, or Vernai, lords of Fairfield and other manors in this county, to whom it be-
longed for many generations, and from whom it has deſcended through the family of
Palmer to John Acland, eſq; the preſent poſſeſſor.
Another manor called ALSTON, ALLISTON, or ALSTON-MARIS, lies within this
pariſh, and had for its poffeffor at the time of the Conqueſt the ſame lord as Huntſpill:
“ Rademer holds of Walter [de Dowai] ALSISTUNE. Alwold held it in the time
“ of King Edward, and gelded for one hide. The arable is three carucates. In
" demeſnė is one carucate, with one ſervant, and one villane, and four bordars, and
" three cottagers, having one plough, and forty acres of paſture. It was and is worth
twenty ſhillings.Pk
This manor was likewiſe held under the family of Cogan by the De Mariſcos; lords
of Huntſpill-Mareys. It was ſometime conſidered as part of the hundred of Bemp-
ſtone; and did ſuit and ſervice at that hundred court, till within a few years the leet
has been diſcontinued. In the time of Edw. III. this manor belonged to Thomas de
Drokensford, who gave the fame to John de Storteforde, clerk, and he conveyed it to
Walter Aldebury, clerk; who 44 Edw. III. granted the manor of Alliſtone to Robert
Chedder, eſq;" from which family it deſcended to thoſe of Newton and Griffin, and
afterwards became the property of Henry Walrond, eſq; then of Thomas White, eſq;
and now the royalty belongs to Thomas Jeane, eſą. According to the rates heretofore
made, it contained ſeven hundred and fifty acres, which are at preſent moſtly in the
poſſeſſion of ſundry freeholders.
60
* Lib. Domeſday.
? Cart. Antig.
Vol. II.
Еее
Sir

394
fpuntſpill, cum
H U N T S P I L L.
Sir Raymund de Sully had lands in Alleſtone juxta Hunſpill in the time of Edw. III.
He bore on his ſeal barry of fix. The witneſſes to a deed of this Sir Raymund, dated
A. D. 1370, were John Everard of Huntſpill, Thomas de Burgh, John de Weſton,
and John de Mariſco."
Withy in this pariſh was an ancient manor of the monks of Glaſtonbury, whoſe
revenues therein were rated in 1293 at 81. 45. 9d."
Fulke Paganel, lord of the manor of Huntſpill-Cogan, gave the church of Huntſpill
to the cell of Cluniac monks, which he had founded in the time of William Rufus, at
Tickford in Buckinghamſhire. This church was valued in 1292 at forty-ſeven marks.
It is a rectory in the deanery of Poulet, and in the gift of Baliol college in Oxford.
The Rev. Mr. White is the preſent incuinbent.
The church is dedicated to All-Saints, and is a handſome building, compoſed of a
nave, chancel, ſide ailes, and a tower at the weſt end.
In a niche in the wall of the ſouth aile lie the effigies of one of the lords of this
manor and his lady; he in armour with an ornamented belt round his body; ſhe in a
long looſe robe, with cloſe fleeves down to the wriſt, and a large hood round her face.
On the north ſide of the chancel is a mural monument of ſtone with the following
inſcription: Lege viator, ac luge; ſed quiſquis es, hoſce ne premas cineres;
quieſcit enim ſub hoc lapide quicquid fuit verendum. Gulielmus Fane, Franciſci nuper
admodum comitis Weſtmorlandiæ minor natu filius, vir ornatiſſimæ virtutis, fanæque
doctrinæ, facræ theologiæ doctor, Irenarcha ſciens, et ſereniſſimo Regi Carolo II. a
facris; h ujus eccleſiæ per triginta (aut circiter) annos rector ſedulus; necnon eccleſiæ
cathedralis Stī Andreæ in hac Bathon. et Wellen. dioceſi canonicus: Poftquam beatæ
vitæ exemplar et vivendi preſcriptum nobis promulgaſſet, mutavit chorum, altiorem ut
capeſſeret. Bis ut vivat, femel moritur 28° die Junii anno ætatis fuæ ſexageffimo, anno-
que gratiæ 1679.”
“ Nulli pietate ſecunda, hic jacet Maria, ux. Gab. Gladman, gen. et filia dicti
Guliel. Fane, D. D. quæ obijt 10° Aug. 1716, anno ætat. fuæ 61.” Arms, Azure,
three gauntlets or, impaling or three eagles diſplayed gules.
On the ſame ſide of the chancel is a memorial to John Trip, A. M. who died A. D.
1738, aged 58.
On the ſouth ſide is this inſcription:--- Subter jacent reliquiæ facræ Gulielmi
Rodney, de Rodney-Stoke in comitatu Somerſet, qui pro tempore fibi aflignato, habitus
erat corona poetarum digniſſimus; et qui in decedentibus rebus eccleſiæ, negotiis
animi diſcrutiatus, fponte e variis vitæ miferiis emigravit duodecimo die Junij, anno
Domini 1669."
On a flat ſtone in the floor, are theſe lines to the memory of the ſame perſon, who
was the ſon of Sir John Rodney, knt. and ſuppoſed to be great grandfather to the
preſent admiral Lord Rodney:
! Seals from ancient deeds.
m Cart. Ant.
& Taxat. Temp.
• Mon. Angl. i. 912.
Taxat. Spirit.
« If

Puriton.1
395
H U N T S P I LL.
< If ye knew who lay here,
You'd ſurely ha' beene ſhapeing ideas rare;
And ſweare you'd ſeen witt, loyal valour, and true poeſie,
Congeald with ſorrow to a Niobe;
And in that drooping ſtatue to appear,
His fad lamentor, and his fepulcher.
'Tis Rodney, know! whoſe name has here ſurviv'd
William of Normand, Noll the regicide.
Conquer'd thoſe conquerors; only to death
(As they have done before) did yield his breath.”
On another grave-ſtone:
Beauty, feature, witt, and grace,
Lie interred within this place:
Envy cannot ſpeake him bad,
Who's with virtues richly clad;
Nor profane may he be thought,
Who to know his name was taught.
Fane in's ſenſe a church declares,
And a ſacred title bears;
Which is (if you'll make the moſt)
Temple of the Holy Ghoſt.”
“ Henry Fane, fonne of William Fane, D.D. rector here, and Frances his wife, dyed
the 22d day of March, A. D. 1675."
On the next ſtone:
"Here lies a child, whoſe death hath ſet us right
In the old ſtory of our guardian knight.
For who dare ſay the champion ſmells o'the forge,
Since we are all aſſur'd there's a St. George,
Who ne'er was vanquiſh’d, nor o'ercome;
For he is ſtill alive by a fynecdoche.
« George Fane, the ſon of William Fane, D.D. rector here, and Frances his wife,
died the 29th day of March 1670.”.
On a frame in the north aile is the following account of benefactions to this pariſh:
“ James Comer, late of Chedder in this county, yeoman, by his will gave
the churchwardens and overſeers of the poor of this pariſh, upon this truſt, that they
perpetually keep the ſame out at uſe on ſufficient ſecurity; and at their diſcretion, diſ-
tribute the yearly intereſt thereof for ever to the poor of this pariſh, having no relief.
He died June 22, 1733.
Allo Mr. James Saunders, of this pariſh, by his will gave 5l. the intereſt thereof to
be diſtributed on Chriſtmas-day for ever by the churchwardens and overſeers at their
Eee 2
diſcretion,
201. to

396
H U N T S P I LL." [buntfpill, cum
diſcretion, in ten equal loaves of bread, to ten poor perſons of this pariſh having no
relief. He died Oct. 7, 1743.
“ Allo Mr. William Jeffery by will gave 10l. the intereſt of the ſame to be diſtri-
buted by the churchwardens and overſeers on Chriſtmas-day for ever, at their diſcretion,
to the poor of this pariſh having no relief, He died Nov. 30, 1760.
boel
10132 hoo Slono
God slots
bo
P U R I TO:60 N,
Anciently called Peritone, or the Town on the Parret;
ST
TANDS foutheaſt from Huntſpill, in a low and damp ſituation, on the edge of
the moors and marth.
dwid Iloir92
In early days the major of Peritone belonged to the church of St. Peter at Rome,
as we find it recorded in the Norman ſurvey:
“ The church of the bleſſed apoſtle St. Peter at Rome holds of the King, Peritone.
" Queen Eddid held it in the time of King Edward. There are fix hides; but it
gelded only for five hides. The arable is twelve carucates. Thereof in demeſne are
« three hides, and there are two carucates, and four ſervants, and eleven villanes, and
“ four cottagers, with ſix ploughs. There are one hundred and fifty acres of meadow,
" and one hundred and fifty acres of paſture. It yields per annum twelve pounds.'
It is not altogether evident by what means the Romiſh church loſt the poſſeſſion of
this eſtate; but we find it ſoon after the Conqueſt annexed to the barony of Stowey;
and in the time of Henry I. held as parcel thereof by Robert de Candos, a Norman,
who gave the church here to the priory founded by him at Goldclive in the county
of Monmouth. To this Robert ſucceeded Walter de Candos, whoſe daughter Maud
carried it with other large eſtates into the family of Columbers, by her marriage
with Sir Philip de Columbers, knt. From which family it paſſed to that of Audley,
and from thence to the crown. 36 Henry VIII. it was granted to William Goddinge,
alias Goodwin; and 24 Eliz. the manors of Puriton, and Downend, (now a hamlet in
this pariſh) were granted to the Earl of Hertford, in the ſchedule of whoſe eſtates
Peryton is ſet down at the annual value of 261. 5s. rod. It afterwards became the
property of the family of Finch, from whom it has deſcended to Lady Ailesford the
preſent poffeffor.
The hamlet of Downend belonged at the Conqueſt to Walter de Dowai, to whom
it was given by King William the Conqueror:
“Walter holds one virgate of land which is called Doneham. Algar held it in the
“ time of King Edward. This is [parcel] of that land which the King gave to him
66 between the two waters [the rivers Brew and Parret.] It is worth twelve pence.
It went afterwards with Puriton. In this place ſtood an ancient chapel.
a Lib. Domeſday.
• MS. Valor.
• Lib. Domeſday,
There
))C

Puriton.]
397
P U R I T
N.
There was a church at this period in the village of Puriton, to which belonged three
virgates of land. The arable conſiſted of one carucate, and the whole was rated at
twenty ſhillings." The rectory of this church was valued in 1292 at twelve marks,
and the vicarage at fix marks four ſhillings: out of the former the prior of Goldclive
received a penſion of two hillings and ſeven-pence. It was appropriated to the mo-
naſtery of Tewkſbury, and in the year 1450, by an ordination of biſhop Beckington,
it was decreed that the vicar ſhould have a houſe built in the farm called the Parſon's
Cloſe, oppoſite the ſouth door of the pariſh church of Puriton ; and all the cloſe called
the Parſon's-Cloſe, adjoining to the ſaid vicarage, together with two acres of meadow,
one lying in the North-mead, and the other in the Fiſtylmede; and alſo four acres of
paſture called the Vicary’s-more near Oxhay; as, alſo all ſmall tithes within the ſame
pariſh, whether of lamb, wool, milk, calves, flax, hemp, pigeons, pigs, geeſe, chicken,
and apples, excepting the ſmall tithes of three tenements belonging to the abbot and
convent; together with the tithes of mills in the ſame pariſh. The vicar to receive
from the the ſaid abbot and convent 26s. 3d. per annum, and ſuſtain the underwritten
incumbrances; viz. repair the chancel, find bread and wine for the altar, and two
proceſſional wax-candles for the high altar; pay his quotum for procurations and
fynodals; and to the archdeacon of the place ios. 4d. per annum. The ſaid vicar ſhall
alſo find a dean rural for the deanery of Poulet, as often as ſhall be found meet. And
the ſaid vicar ſhall alſo ſerve the chapel of Downend, ſituated within the bounds and
limits of the ſaid pariſh of Puriton; and ſupport all charges incumbent on the ſame.
The above ordination was confirmed by John the then abbot, and the convent of
Tewkſbury.
33 Eliz. the rectory and the advowſon of the vicarage were granted to the dean and
canons of the free chapel royal of St. George at Windſor, who are the preſent patrons
of this benefice. The Rev. Mr. Wilmot is the preſent incumbent.
The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a Gothick edifice eighty feet long, and
twenty-ſix feet wide, with a low clumſy ſpire, containing five bells and a clock.
On the ſouth wall a black ſtone is inſcribed as follows:--> Subtus jacent exuviæ
Johannis Gouldam, cui morum amænitas, animus propoſiti tenax, ac veræ religionis
amor, bonis cum queis innotuit dilectum reddidit et colendum. Ingenij inſuper acu-
mine varios feliciter dignoſcens morbos, et medendi arte penitus inſtructus, optatus
inclaruit medicus. Dies ille nocteſque nunquam non paratus pauperibus blandam
porrexit manum, cum ditiores ejus ambierunt opem. Tam chari capitis deſiderio quis
finis luctus? omnibus eheu! Aebilis omne in ævum. Pallida mors nunc magis hor-
renda appares;-de Æſculapio altero agens triumphum.”
Lib. Domeſday.
e Taxat. Spiritual.
f Excerpt, e Regiſt. Wellen,
THE

( 399 )
MIES
Τ Η Ε Η U N D RE D
0 F
K
E
Y
N
S
H
- A
M
L
IES on the northeaſt ſide of the county, between the hundred of Bath-Forum
on the eaſt, and the hundreds of Chew, and Hareclive and Bedminſter, on
the weſt and ſouthweſt. The river Avon here divides this county from that
of Glouceſter.
In the time of William the Conqueror, this hundred was thus ſurveyed:
" In Canesham hundred are one hundred and four hides. Thence the King has
« received for his geld fifteen pounds for fifty hides; and the King and his Barons have
« in their demeſne thirty hides and a half, of which the King in his demeſne fifteen
hides, and the Biſhop of Coutances three hides and three yard-lands, and the Abbot
“ of Glaſtonbury four hides and a half, and the Abbot of Bath five hides and one
" yard-land; and the Prieſt of Caneſham one hide, and Alvaricus of Caneſham one
“ hide; and for ſeventeen hides and a half held by the King's villanes at Caneſham,
the King has received no geld; and half a hide which William Hubert holds of the
Biſhop of Coutances not yet accounted to the King's rate; and one hide and a half
“ which Herald holds of Alured not paid; and one hide and a half which Nicholas de
“ Alvered holds, not paid; and three hides which Roger de Stanton holds, not paid.
“From this hundred there is ſtill coming to the King for geld ſeven pounds and
« twelve-pence.
14 Henry II. this hundred was fined ten marks for a murder not noticed in the courts."
Great part of this diſtrict was anciently a royal chace; and Leland in his Itinerary
that there was in his time a park of the King's walled with ſtone hard
without Keynſham. 8 Henry III. Ralph de Wilinton, governor of Briſtol caſtle, was
conſtituted by the King warden of the foreſt and chace of Keynſham."

sa
tells us,
a Exeter Domeſday.
e Lel. Itin. vii. 104.
Mag. Rot. 14 Henry II. Rot. 10. b.
Pat. 8 Hen. III. p.i. m, 2.
KEYNSHAM
[ 400 ]
(Keynfhain.

Κ Ε Υ
Ε Υ Ν
S
H A
M M
I
S a market town ſituated on the ſouthern bank of the river Avon, five miles ſouth-
eaſt from Briſtol, ſeven northweſt from Bath, and in the great turnpike-road between
thoſe cities. It conſiſts principally of one ſtreet, which is nearly a mile in length from
eaſt to weſt. The river Chew runs through the eaſt end of the town, and falls into
the Avon at the county bridge, which is of ſtone, and conſiſts of fifteen arches: another
bridge croſſes the Chew in the road to Bath. The tide from Briſtol comes up the
Avon to this pariſh, and in the ſpring ſometimes brings up large quantities of that
ſmall fiſh called elvers, which are noted by Camden as a curioſity, but now reckoned
common. On this river there are conſiderable large braſs and wire mills; there is alſo
a ſteel mill, and a cotton mill. There was formerly a conſiderable woollen manufacture
carried on here, but it is now entirely dropt; many of the poor however are ſtill
employed in ſpinning for the Bradford, Trowbridge, and Shepton clothiers. Great
quantities of the herb called Woad (the ancient Glaffum, once peculiar to this county)
are raiſed here for the purpoſes of dying. And the pariſh likewiſe has long been
famous for the prolifick growth of the Percepier, or Parſley-Piert, ſaid to be a ſpecifick
in all urinary obſtructions. In the . ſouth part of the pariſh riſes a ſpring, called
Chartſwell, which forms a rivulet, and traverſing the Bath road, mixes with the Avon
weſt of Saltford. The market here is on Thurſday; and there are two fairs annually,
viz. March 24, and Auguſt 15.
It has always been the popular opinion that Keynſham derived its name from one
Keyna, a Britiſh virgin, who lived about the year of Chriſt 490, and according to
Capgrave, a writer of the fourteenth century, was daughter of Bråganus, prince of
that province in Wales which from him was afterwards called Brecknockſhire. When
this lady arrived at years of maturity, ſhe attracted many admirers, and many noble
perſonages ſought her in marriage: but ſhe was deaf to all their overtures, having
conſecrated her virginity by a perpetual vow; for which cauſe ſhe was denominated by
the Britons Keyn-Wyryf, or Keyna the Virgin. At length ſhe determined to forfake her
native country, and ſeek ſome deſert place where to indulge in private her religious
contemplations. Directing her journey beyond the Severn, ſhe met with a certain
a Britannia in Somerſetſhire.
• Hearne, in his introduction to the hiſtory of Adam de Domerham, p. 87, has given us the following old recipe
for making woad :
Jll the mounthe of Warche take thy fede, and ſowe hit in goude londe wel y rakyd, and clene, and wan hit ys groud
U3331 ynchys longe, than rype hit, and grund hit {mal, and inake balle hereof, as moche as a verthyng Yove, and lete hai
dry a pon an huruel in the conne, and than grynd ham a zen finale in to poudyr, and than ſyfte hit thorwe a ſmale ryddyrue,
and the grete there of grynde hit a zen, and ſyft het a zen as ze oyue a fore, and than ley al thy poudyr a poit a fayre pavyd
ftore a brode Hatfote thyke, and thare pon caſt water, and turne and wende hitt with a fhovyi, tyi hit ve nothyr wete, nothyr
bry, bote by tlpyxt to, and than Yep hit up to an hype, as ye Wold malt, tyl hit take hete, as hote as ye may ſuffyr youre
hand tiare in. And than lep hit a brode, and lete the hegre pafle away there of, and than ley hit to geðyr a gen to an
vype, tyl hit be as hote as hit wos, and than every day do in the ſame wyſe, tyt hit wol take no more here, and than hit
moſt be led avrede a gen apon a fayre pavyd fleure, and try hit with turnpng with a fhovui euery ay, tplle hit be dry, and
xhau hit ys ful made to go to the yodefade, and to per gohde Bluwe."
woody

77

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woody place in theſe parts, and made her requeſt to the prince of the country that ſhe
might be permitted to ſerve God in that ſpot of ſolitude and retireinent. The prince
informed her he was ready to grant her petition; but that the place ſo ſwarmed with
ſerpents, that neither man nor beaſt could live therein; to which the virgin replied, that
ſhe firmly truſted ſhe ſhould be able to drive the venomous brood out of all that
country. Hereupon the place was granted her, and by her prayers all the ſnakes and
vipers were converted into ftones. And to this day (continues Capgráve's Tranſlator)
the ſtones in that country reſemble the windings of ſerpents through all the fields and
villages, as if they had been ſo framed by the hand of the engraver,
In this manner the monkiſh enthuſiaſts of former times accounted for that wonderful
lufus naturæ, the Cornua Ammonis, or ſnake-ſtones, (as they are vulgarly called) which
abound in the quarries of this pariſh, and many whereof are ſtuck up in the walls of the
houſes. They are found from a quarter of an inch to upwards of two feet in diameter.
There are others alſo that pretend this place obtained its appellation from the Congi,
a people who inhabited theſe parts; but this etymology is equally uncertain as the
other is abſurd; nor can we trace its hiſtory any further back than the Norman Con-
queſt, when it had the following deſcription:
“ The King holds Cainesham. In the time of King Edward it gelded for fifty
« hides. The arable is one hundred carucates. Thereof are in demeſne fifteen hides
" and a half, and there are ten carucates, and twenty ſervants, and twenty-five coliberts,
“ and ſeventy villanes, and forty cottagers, with fixty-three ploughs. There are fix
“ mills of ſixty ſhillings rent, and one hundred acres of meadow, and one hundred
acres of paſture. Wood one mile long, and as much broad. It renders one hundred
«c and eight pounds by tale. It did render fourſcore pounds.
" To this manor belong eight burgeſſes in Bade, [Bath]. They pay five ſhillings
per annum.
« Of thoſe fifty hides Earl Euſtace holds four hides in BeletonE, [Belluton) and
“ Alured of him. Tovi held them for a manor in the time of King Edward. There
" is in demeſne one carucate and a half, with one ſervant, and five villanes, and two
cottagers, with two ploughs. There is a mill of fifteen ſhillings rent, and twenty-
two acres of meadow, and twenty acres of paſture. Wood three furlongs long, and
two furlongs broad. It was worth three pounds, now four pounds.
« Of the ſame land of this manor, Roger holds ten hides in STANTONE [Stanton-
Drew]. He has there in demeſne one carucate, and fifteen villanes, and thirteen
cottagers, having ſeven ploughs. There is a mill of ten ſhillings rent, and fifteen
acres of meadow. Paſture four furlongs long, and one furlong and a half broad, and
as much wood. It is worth one hundred ſhillings.
“ Of the ſame land the biſhop of Coutances holds half a hide, and there has half a
It is worth five ſhillings. Ulward held it, and it could not be alienated
" from the manor.
Capgrave in Vita S. Keynæ, Creffy's Church Hiſtory, &c.
VOL. II.
F
6 The
(C
(6 carucate.

402
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« The wife of the ſaid Ulward holds one hide of the aforeſaid fifty hides, and has
«s there four ploughs, with three ſervants, and three villanes, and four cottagers. There
“ are twelve acres of meadow, and four acres of coppice wood. It was and is worth
« four pounds.
« Aluric holds of the ſame land one hide, which Ulmar held in the time of King
« Edward, and could not be ſeparated from the manor. There is one plough, and
« ſeventeen acres of meadow, and two acres of paſture. It is worth twenty ſhillings.”
In ſucceeding times this great manor became a member of the honour of Glouceſter,
and was held by the Earls thereof till the year 1170, when William earl of Glouceſter
having, at the requeſt of his ſon Robert on his death-bed, founded in the town of
Keynſham an abbey of Black Canons, which he dedicated to the honour of God, the
bleſſed Virgin Mary, and St. Peter and St. Paul, endowed the ſame with this whole
manor and hundred; which donation was confirmed to the abbey by Gilbert de Clare,
a fucceeding Earl of Glouceſter. King Edw. II. in the 11th year of his reign, ratified
the grant made by William earl of Glouceſter, of the manor of Keyníham, with the
church and chapels thereto belonging; and the village of Filton, Chewton, and
Charleton, inter alia; and four ſhillings rent of land of the gift of Thomas de Bayes in
the pariſh of Backwell. King Edw. III. in the tenth year of his reign, reciting the
above confirmation, further confirmed it. Beſides theſe, various other poſſeſſions were
added to this monaſtery by different benefactors, inſomuch that at its fuppreſſion the
yearly revenues thereof were valued at 4191. 14s. 3d. The abbots were fummoned
to the convocation: their names were,
William, who preſided in 1175.
George de Eſton, 1213.
Gilbert, 1274.
Nicholas de Taunton, 1322, 1335.
John de Bradford was confirmed Feb. 3, 1348.
Thomas, 1396. He was ſummoned to the convocation Nov. 9, 1416.
Walter Bekkensfield was fummoned to the council of Florence, April 20, 1438.
He reſigned in December 1455.
Thomas Tyler ſucceeded the fame year, at whoſe election there were fifteen monks
reſident in the convent. He occurs abbot in 1463.
John Graunt was elected in 1493.
Philip de Keynſham ſucceeded in 1499. He died in 1505.
William Rolfe was elected April 8, 1506. He was fummoned to the convoca-
tion in 1515.
John Stonefton was abbot in 1526. This John was the laſt abbot of the monaſtery,
and with William Herne, prior, John Given, fub-prior, John Arnold, and twelve
others, ſubſcribed to the King's ſupremacy Aug. 18, 1534; after which, viz. Jan 23,
1539, he with ten monks ſurrendered the convent to the crown, and had a penſion of
Lib. Domeſday.
e So Archer; but Willis ſays Stourton.
fixty

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ſixty pounds per annum aſſigned him for life. In 1553 there remained in charge 211.
I 2s. in annuities, and the following penſions, viz. To John Horne 91. William Sybbott,
61. 135. 4d.; John Arnold 61.; Thomas Bode 51. 6s. 8d.; John Browne 51. 6s. 8d.;
John Gifford 5l. 6s. 8d.; Thomas Parker 51. 6s. 8d.; John Partrydge 5l.; and to
Richard Adamps 21.'
None of the buildings of the abbey, which are ſaid to have been large and grand,
are now remaining. In the abbey-church, which ſtood ſoutheaſt of the preſent pariſh
church, were buried William earl of Glouceſter, the founder, who died in 1173, and
Robert his ſon, who died in his father's life-time; as alſo divers others of the ſame
family. Jaſper duke of Bedford, by his will dated 15 Dec. 11 Henry VII. bequeathed
his body to be buried in this monaſtery, and a handſome tomb to be made for him,
whereon to be expended one hundred marks; appointing that certain of his lordſhips
and lands lying within the counties of Nottingham, Derby, and Warwick, of the
yearly value of forty pounds, ſhould be amortiſed for the finding of four prieſts to ſing
perpetually in this monaſtery for the welfare of his ſoul, and for the ſoul of his father ;
as alſo for the ſouls of Catherine (ſometime queen of England) his mother; Edmund
earl of Richmond his brother; and the ſouls of all other his predeceſſors. And that
upon the day of his interment there ſhould be diſtributed to every poor man and
woman, that would accept it, two-pence a piece. Many of the Berkeley family were
alſo buried here, and for ſeveral of them obits were regularly obſerved. In the latter
end of the laſt century three effigies of abbots were dug up out of the conventual
cemetery, and carried away to adorn ſome neighbouring garden."
Near the ſcite of the abbey-houſe was built a ſuperb and elegant ſeat, ſometime
occupied by Colonel Bridges, and after his death, by the Duke of Chandos; but the
fabrick being ſuffered to get out of repair, and the family ſeldom reſiding there, it was
pulled down in the year 1776; and about the ſame time the ruinous remains of the
old abbey, about one hundred yards behind the houſe, were dug up to level the ground,
when many monumental ſtones were diſcovered.
Immediately after the diffolution King Henry VIII. 5 July 1535, demiſed and let
to farm the ſcite of the abbey of Keynſam to John Panter, for a term of twenty-one
years, together with a cloſe called Covent-Orchard, conſiſting of fifteen acres, at a yearly
rent of fix ſhillings and eight-pence; the tenant to repair the houſes and buildings.
The ſame king ſettled the manor of Keyníham on Catherine Parre his laſt queen, who
ſurvived him, and was afterwards married to Sir Thomas Seymour, lord high admiral
of England. She died in 1548. After which King Edw. VI. by patent dated 12 May
1550, granted the manor and hundred of Keynſham, and the parfonage and the
church of Keynſham, with the manors of Filton, alias Whitchurch, Charleton, and
Chewton; the rectory and church of Briſlington; the chapel of St. Anne at Briſlington;
as alſo the ſcite and the chapel of the manor of Keynſham, and all tithes belonging to
the ſeveral manors and churches abovementioned, to Sir John St. Loe, knt. for the
term of ſixty years.
f Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii. 198.
† Notes by Savage, 1692,
3 Dugd. Bar. ii. 242.
Fff 2
This

404
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This leaſe was ſoon after in part given up, and Edw. VI. in the ſixth year of his
reign, A. D. 1552, in conſideration of the ſum of 9221. 25. 2 d. granted to Thomas
Bridges, eſq; all thoſe farms, fee-farms, tenements, and hereditaments, known by the
names of Eſtover and Weſtover, with rights and appertenances in the pariſh of Keyn-
ſham, lately belonging to the monaſtery there; and all houſes, barns, &c. thereto
belonging, and commons of paſture on the downs of Eſtover and Weſtover. Alſo
all that fee-farm of Stockwood, &c. Alſo the rectory and church of Keynſham, and
right of patronage of the ſame, lately belonging to the ſaid monaſtery; and all tithes
called the Strewe-Tything. Alſo all houſes, lands, barns, tithes, glebes, tithes of grain
and hay, and all other tithes, as well as oblations and profits, belonging to the ſaid
rectory. Alſo all that ſcite or houſe of the late monaſtery, land, ſoil, &c. thereto
belonging. Alſo all that tenement called Newycke, with its appertenances, ſituated
near the late chapel of St. Anne of Briſtleton, and all houſes, gardens, and profits
belonging to the ſaid meſſuage of Newycke. Alſo all the chapel of St. Anne aforeſaid,
and the church-yard wherein it was ſituated, and all rents and profits belonging to the
faid meſſuage, chapel, and church-yard. Alſo all that wood or grove called Hamclyffe-
Wood, lying near the Avon in the pariſh of Weſt-Hannam in the county of Glouceſter,
lately belonging to the ſaid monaſtery; alſo all underwood, trees, &c. in Hamclyffe-
Wood; alſo all that cloſe of land called Cofyner's Leaſe, under Warley-wood, within
the pariſh of Keyníham, and all trees and profits belonging to the ſaid cloſe. Alſo
all thoſe twelve waggon-loads of fire-wood, annually to be taken out of Filwood, and
to be carried by the farmer of Filton near Whitchurch to the meſſuage of Newycke,
at the reaſonable ſummons of the poſſeſſor of the ſaid meſſuage, annually, and at the fit
and proper time. With all woods, lands, rents, reverſions, &c. to the ſaid Thomas
Bridges, as were uſually enjoyed by the ſaid monaſtery; EXCEPT out of the ſaid grant the
lead and bells in and upon the ſcite of the ſaid monaſtery, reſerved to the King and his
heirs; one cloſe called Cofyner's cloſe in Filton nigh Whitchurch, and one other cloſe
called the Cowe-Leaſe, and one underwood called Ilfing's-Grove, and one other cloſe
called Broad-Meadow in Chewton; as alſo the tithes of Chewton, Charleton, and
Whitchurch; all which were let by the King by leaſe for a term of life or years.
This Thomas Bridges, to whom the above grant of Keynſham was made, was the
ſecond ſon of Sir Giles Bridges, of Coberley in the county of Glouceſter, and brother
of Sir John Bridges, created Baron Chandos, of Sudley-Caſtle in the county of Glou-
ceſter, April 8, 1554;—a family which derived their origin from a younger branch of
the old Montgomeries, lords of Brugge-Caſtle in Shropſhire, whence they obtained
their name.
The ſaid Thomas Bridges was of the court of Henry VIII. and one of
thoſe who attended at that King's funeral, bearing the dragon ſtandard between two
ſerjeants at arms with their maces. He was ſheriff of Glouceſterſhire 3 Edw. VI. and
in the time of Q. Mary was an officer of the tower under his brother Sir John Bridges
lord Chandos. By his laſt will and teſtament, bearing date Oct. 18, 1559, he be-
queathed towards the reparation of the bridge and cauſeway of Keynſham 40l. with
as much ſtone of the late abbey-church there, as might be needful for the repair of
the ſaid bridge and church, provided it ſhould be repaired within two years after his
deceaſe; and in default thereof the 40l, to be diſtributed among the poor of the town
of

Keynlham:]
405
Κ Ε Υ Ν S
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of Keynſham. To Anne his wife, daughter of John Wyndham, of Orchard-Wyndham,
eſq; he bequeathed for the term of her life, his houſe of Keynſham, (formerly the
abbey) with the ſcite of the ſaid houſe, and all other houſes appertaining thereto, as
alſo the grange of Eftover and Weſtover, and the farm of Stockwood near the town
of Keyníham.
His Grace the preſent Duke of Chandos is the repreſentative of this ancient family;
many of whoſe monuments, ſetting forth their characters and deſcents, remain in the
pariſh church, where they had their fepulture.
With regard to the future poſſeſſors of the royalties appertaining to this pariſh,
King James I. by letters patent bearing date March 6, 1613, the 11th year of his
reign, granted the manor and hundred of Keynſham to Anne Whitmore, of London,
widow: in whoſe family it continued till lately purchaſed of them by Edward Lyne,
M. D. father of Edward Lyne, eſq; the preſent poffeffor, who holds court-leet and
baron, and a court every three weeks for the recovery of ſmall debts under the ſum of
förty ſhillings contracted within the hundred.
Within the pariſh, and nearly fouth from the town of Keynſham, is a hamlet called
from it CHEWTON-KEYNSHAM, which at the time of the Conqueſt was a member of
the great manor of Keynſham, and was afterwards annexed to the abbey. After the
diffolution it was granted to Clarke, and paſſing into the family of Popham, was by
them fold in 1766 to Thomas Lediard, efq; the preſent poſſeſſor.
The church of Keynſham was appropriated to the abbey, and with the chapel of
Chewton, was valued in 1292 at fifty marks, the vicarage at one hundred ſhillings.
The living is vicarial, and lies in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The Duke
of Chandos is the patron, and the Rev. Mr. Jones the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. John Baptiſt, ſtands in the middle of the town,
and is a large and very handſome edifice, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and two ſide
ailes, with a lofty tower at the weſt end, containing eight bells.
The chancel belongs to the Duke of Chandos, and contains the family vault of the
Bridges, and many curious monuments.
On the north fide of the chancel is an ancient mural monument of ſtone, ſupported
by a tomb about five feet high, on which, under a double arch, lies the effigies of Henry
Bridges, eſq; in armour, his feet fupported by a dragon couchant, with the head turned
back and mouth open, in the attitude of ſeizing his leg. His neck is encompaſſed
with a large ruff, and his hands placed together in a ſuppliant poſture over his breaſt.
Above is the following inſcription:
“ Hic jacet fub hoc tumvlo corpus Henrici Bridges, armigeri, qui mortem obijt
decimo-quarto die menſis Aprilis Anno Domini 1587.” Arms, (cut in ſtone) 1. On
a croſs a leopard's head: Bridges. . 2. A pile: Chandos. 3. A feſſe between three
martlets. 4. Bridges.
1 Taxat. Spiritual,
On

406
[keyndham
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M.
On the ſouth wall is a mural monument of white marble, inſcribed, -- " To the
religious memorie of Mrs. Phillip Bridges, wife of Edward Bridges, eſq; and beloved
daughter of Sir George Speke, knight of the honourable order of the Bath, who died
the 6th day of December 1628; her age 34.
« Here under buried lyeth, but lives above,
A female Joſeph for her father's love;
Loving and loved of her beloved mate,
His care-away, and ſtay unto his ſtate;
Whom winter's chill that all things elce decaies
Nipt off before the autumn of her daies ;
Seven buddes ſhe left behind, her fruits of grace
Are with Her gon vnto the heavenly place,
Where we which now do part with grief, with joy ſhall meet
When God ſhall raiſe up us, and tread death under feet.”
Arms: On one ſide of the monument, Argent, on a croſs ſable, a leopard's head or:
Bridges. On the other, Argent, two bars ſable, over all an eagle diſplayed with two
necks gules: Speke.
On the ſame ſide of the chancel is a ſuperb mural monument of ſtone of three parts,
viz. In the center, within a hollow arched nich 4 feet wide, and 9 high, is the effigies
of Sir Thomas Bridges, knt. kneeling on a cuſhion. He is dreſſed in a looſe gown
with long hanging cuffs which reach his knees, and a robe flowing behind lined with
white. On his ancle is a large ſpur, and on his foot a ſquare-toed white ſhoe with a
very high red heel. His long curling hair flows on his ſhoulders. On his left hand,
which is a little extended forward, hang the ribband of the order; and at his ſide are
the remains of a ſword. From his breaſt hang the inſignia. In the top, within the
hollow of the cove, is a fine group of clouds, from which projects a figure crowned with
gold, repreſenting an angel with a trumpet in his hand, the upper part of which is in
his mouth, and from the lower part iſſues a label with this inſcription:
“ Awake thou that ſleepeſt, ariſe from the dead, and Chriſt ſhall give thee life.”
Beneath the effigies is the following infcription: “ To the memory of Sir
Thomas Bridges, knight of the noble order of the Bath, ſon of Sir Thomas Bridges,
of Keynſham, knt. and of Anna, one of the daughters and heirs of Sir Edward Rodney,
of Rodney-Stoke in this county, knt. who by his father was deſcended from the right
honourable and moſt ancient familie of the Lords Shandos, barons of Sudley-caſtle in
the county of Glouceſter; and by his mother from the illuſtrious dukes of Norfolke
and Somerſett. He received his honour on the 19th of April in the yeare of our
Lord 1661, and on the 23d of the ſame moneth attended at the coronation of his
Majeſty King Charles the Second. And on Saturday the firſt of June in the ſame
year 1661, hee exchanged his tranfitory for an eternal weight of glory, and in hopes of
a glorious reunion with his immortal ſoul. Neare unto this place reſteth his earthly and
mortal part.
Reader

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“ Reader, if thou haſte ought that's deare,
Expreſs 't by thy compaſſion here,
Soe may noo force of deſtiny
Cauſe future floweings from thine eye ;
Know that the neighbouring earth enſhrines
The caſket of a gemme divine;
Nature on one all ſweetneſs plac'd,
T'other embelliſhed was by grace;
Of both the full perfections join’d,
Beautyes and virtues rays combined,
A peerleſs brightneſs to compoſe,
Which death ecclips'd ev’n as it roſe;
And rend'ring it as ſhort as bright,
Left us envelop'd in an endleſs night.
In fumme there lye his parents worthy chief
Delight and hopes, their greateſt joy and grief.
Chriſt was his life, who taught him ſoone to dye,
And gave by death a bleſt eternity.”
Under the ſecond and third parts of this monument, to the right and left of the
above, are two angels in fine white drapery, with golden crowns on their heads, each
of them holding a crown in one hand, and pointing with the other hand to the
label iffuing from the trumpet. Their faces are towards the effigy, and they ſeem
waiting for the command to crown him. Above their heads are fine rich cornices and
pediments ſupported by two black projecting and detached twiſted columns, and ter-
minated by two ſtone ſtatues. Underneath theſe angels are the arms, viz. 1. Bridges,
impaling Speke. 2. Or, three eagles diſplayed gules, Rodney; impaling, argent, three
cinquefoils gules.
To the right of the above is another elegant mural monument of red and white
marble, terminated by a flaming urn. On an oval black tablet encompaſſed with
foliage and palm branches, with a weeping cherub on each ſide, is the following in-
ſcription:-“ To the deare memory of Anna, daughter and coheir of Sir Edward
Rodney, knt. of Rodney-Stoke in this county, and beloved wife of the honourable Sir
Thomas Bridges, of Kainſham. She was truly pious to God, charitable to the poor,
loving to all. She left this life, in hopes of a glorious reſurrection, the 4th of April
1705.” Arms, Bridges impaling Rodney.
On the north ſide of the chancel is a neat mural monument of white marble, with a
coved pediment terminated by three urns. On each ſide are weeping cherubs. On
the tablet is this infcription:-“H. S. E. Thomas Bridges, eques, antiqua genero-
ſorum familia, proceribus etiam fæcunda, oriundus: cui clarum Rodneiorum nomen
et ſanguinem, hærede in matrimonium receptâ, feliciter adjunxit virtutis, eruditionis,
prudentiæ fpecimen egregium: Regi optimo Carolo primo inrebus difficillimis (non
ſine gravi patrimonij detrimento) fidelis ac utilis. Reſtituto Carolo ſecundo fortunas tam
honeſte diminutas, homo quod fatis erat frugi, induſtria et prudentia, non minus honeſte
reparayit.

408
[Keynihan.
Κ Ε Υ
N S H A M.
reparavit. Eccleſijs ornandis, pauperibus alendis, pueris erudiendis, abdite, ample
tamen, et frequenter, beneficus: moriens, parochias de Keynſham, Covent-Garden,
Rodney-Stoke, Batcomb, &c. munificentiæ teftes, reliquit. In ædibus fuis, huic
eccleſiæ proximis, Feb. die xx° Anº D" MDCCvi, ætatis fuæ xc, obijt. Patri optimo,
Anna Powell, filia natu, (non tamen affectus) ſecunda, hoc monumentum, M. P.”-
Arms, Bridges and Rodney.
Near to this, and on another mural monument of grey marble, the cornice of which
is ſupported with two columns, round and ſwelling in the middle, and terminated with
Corinthian capitals gilt, is the following:-->" To the memory of George Bridges, of
Lincolnes-Inn, eſq; the ſon of Edward Bridges, efq; who dyed the firſt of Jan. 1677.
To the memory of Katharine Bridges, the daughter of Edward Bridges, eſq; a woman
truly, eminent in her duty to God and love to her neighbours, and charitye to the poore
and fatherleſs, who left this life the 15th of April 1687."
On the ſame wall is a rich monument of fine clouded marble, in the ſwelling tablet
of which, ſurrounded with a feſtoon curtain with gilt fringe and taſſels, is inſcribed,
“ Infra jacet corpus Harry Bridges, armigeri, filii Thomæ Bridges, equitis aurati, et
Annæ uxoris; vir patriæ fuæ verus amator, qui annos ultra quinquagenarios magiſtratus
officiis fideliter functus eſt. Multis peregrinationibus varias acquiſivit linguas, Gallicæ,
Hiſpanicæ, et Italicæ, apprime ſciens. In omnibus denique egregie doctus, prompto
et faceto ingenio, vixit undecimo die Octobris 1728, ætat. 81.” Arms, Bridges,
impaling ermine, two piles ſable.
On a flat ſtone under the communion-table:-“Here lyeth the body of Charles
Bridges, eſq; ſon of Sir Thomas Bridges and Anne his wife; who dyed the 6th day of
January 1668."
On the next ſtone: “Here lyeth the body of Edward Bridges, ſon of Sir Thomas
Bridges and Anne his wife; who dyed the firſt day of November 1678.”
On an adjacent ſtone:--Here lyeth the Lady Anna Bridges, wife of Sir Thomas
Bridges, of Keynſham."
And on another next to it:-“ Here lyeth Sir Thomas Bridges, knt. of Keynſham.”
On the next ſtone: Here lyeth the body of William Bridges, eſq; ſonne of Sir
Thomas Bridges and Anne his wife, who dyed the roth day of March 1684. Anna
Powell, daughter of Sir Thomas Bridges, departed this life the 18th of March 1740."
On another ſtone below the rails:-"Here lyeth the body of Harry the ſon of
James Bridges, of this pariſh, gent. and Mary his wife, who departed this life the 15th
of Jan. 1720, aged one year and four months. And alſo of James, Thomas, and
another Harry, who all dyed infants.”
On another ſtone:_“Here lyeth the body of James Bridges, gent. natural ſon of
Harry Bridges, efq; who dyed June the 23d, 1741, aged 44 years.”
On an old mural monument of ſtone, againſt the wall of the north aile : Mr Mrs.
Joane Flover.
Anag.–Love for anie.
Having by love fulfill'd the law, ſhe dies,
That natyre's law might have its facrifice,
Be

Keynlham.]
409
Κ Ε Υ Ν S Η Α Μ.
Be not thov curious, reader, to knowe
The jewel in earth's cabinet below;
If an inſcription will give content,
This ſtone can tell ſhe liv'd as innocent
As here ſhe lies: If faints receive their blis,
Precious in God's ſight this jewel is.
If this pleaſe not, reade thou her name, and find
The expreſs characters of her ſweet mind.
To be where ſhe's, think thov it noe diſgrace,
An element ſhould be in its proper place.
Thus earth to earth--like is of like deſir'd,
And thou expect the like when life's expir’d.
Noe triumph, death! that ſovldier 's not Nayne,
That trumpet's founds can raiſe-to die is gayne.
“ Carendo potius quam fruendo beneficium agnoſcimus.”
Againſt the eaſt end of the north aile is a mural monument of ſtone, in the center of
which on an oval black tablet incircled with foliage (in which reſt two weeping cherubs
in a reclining poſture, the one holding a ſkull, the other an hour-glaſs) is the following
inſcription: “Siſtas parumper viator, et lachrymvla faltem vrnam humectes Henrici
Flower, generoſi, qui ſi candorem ſpectes ceteris ætatis fvæ præfuit: fi modeſtiam; par
omnibus: fi fcientiam; paucis inferior: fi religionem (quod nomen defæcatâ hâc ætate
ſchiſmatum voragine pænè abſorptum eſt) eccleſiæ veræ apoftolicæ conftans et indefeſſus
vigvit alvmnvs. Quod fi Apollineam lavrvm addidiſce potviſſet, Apollinaris facultas
vivide adhuc floruiſſet Apollinis filius. Sed invidente fato Junij 9, anno Domini 1667,
vere ſui menſis cecidit Flos.”
On a flat ſtone in the paſſage of the middle aile,----_"Here lyeth the body of Anna,
the daughter of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Mary Leman, who departed April 23, 1633,
ætatis fuæ 19.
« Grim death, the eater meate doth give,
By that which did me kill, I live;
The grave devours me, but I ſhall
Live to fee its funeral;
After ſome ages more are ſpent,
The gluttonous grave ſhall keep a lent.”
Againſt the north wall, by the veſtry-room, are the following records of benefactions:
Benefa&tors to the Poore of this Pariſh.
“Henry Bridges, eſq; gave fifty pounds, the profitts to the poore for ever.
“ Mr Carew gave twenty pounds.
“ Mr. William Carter gave five pounds.
“ Mr. Walter Holbin gave fifty pounds.
" Mr. John Wright, five pounds.
“ Mr. Stibbins, five pounds.
VOL. II.
" Mr.

Gg.

Κ Ε Υ
[Beyníham.
N S H A
M.
}
“ Mr. Thomas Holbin gave five pounds a year for ever, to be paid to the poore of
the pariſh on St. Thomas's-day.
« Mr. Thomas Cox gave forty ſhillings to the poore for ever.
65 The feoffees of this pariſh gave fowerteene pounds, the profitts to the poore for ever.
« Mr. John Henry gave ten ſhillings a yeare for ever for a fermon to be preached
every yeare on New-year's-day,
“Mr. Robert Bagnal gave fifty pounds, the profitts to the poore for ever.
W. HILL,
Churchwardens, 1685. VE."
J. RUMSEY,
In another frame:
<< Benefactors to the Church and Poor of this pariſh.
1724. Mrs. Ann Tilly, late of this pariſh, ſpinſter, deceaſed, gave the two braſs
branches in the middle and ſouth ailes, with the irons and ornaments thereto. She
alſo gave the fuñe of forty pounds, the profits thereof to be applied in manner fol-
lowing, viz. 205. " to the poore in bread on Chriſtmas-Eve; Ios. for a fermon on
Chriſtmas-day in the evening; 55. for candles, and the remainder for cleaning the
branches yearly for ever, to be laid out and paid as by her will is directed.
"1725. Harry Bridges, eſq; gave the new font and cover, and other benefactions,
towards ornamenting this church.
1729. Mr. John Bowles, late of Kingſton-upon-Thames, deceaſed, by his will
gave iol. a year payable at Chriſtmas for ever to put poor boys of this pariſh to ſchool
or apprentices, as the churchwardens for the time being ſhall think fit.”
On a third frame:
66 The benefactions of the honourable Sir Thomas Bridges, and of his virtuous lady
the Lady Anna Bridges, to the pariſh and pariſh church of Keyníham.
“ Sir Thomas Bridges hath given one hundred pounds, the uſe of it to twelve poor
men, to be diſtributed by his heir and the miniſter of the parikh for ever.
“ The Lady Anna Bridges, wife of Sir Thomas Bridges lately deceaſed, gave the
crimſon velvet altar-cloth and cuſhion, and a crimſon velvet pulpit-cloth, all with gold
fringe; as alſo a large Common-Prayer book to be uſed at the altar.
" Sir Thomas Bridges hath given two filver flagons, a chalice, and cover, with his
and his Lady's arms on it, to the uſe of the altar.
« Sir Thomas Bridges hath erected a ſchool, and endowed it with twenty pounds a
year, for the teaching of twenty poor boys of the town and pariſh,
“Sir Thomas Bridges hath erected an alms-houſe for ſix people, and endowed it
with twenty-four pounds a year.
“ Sir Thomas Bridges hath given twenty ſhillings a year for preaching a fermon in
the church of Keyníham on the 4th of April, in memory of the Lady Bridges for ever.”
In

Keyntham.]
411
Κ Ε Υ
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A
In a frame over the veſtry door:
« Captain James Saunders, late of London, and a native of this town, by his will of
the 8th of March 1739, gave one hundred pounds to the poor of this pariſh, to be
diſpoſed of as agreed on in veftry; and one hundred pounds to the churchwardens to-
wards keeping this church in repair, and preſerving the grave-ſtones of his father
and family.”
In the ſouth wall of the chancel is a remarkably large benetoire, with two circular
baſons for the reception of holy water.
B R I S L I N G T ON
S a village pleaſantly ſituated on the great road from Bath to Briſtol, and diſtant
from the latter two miles. It ſtands on the eaſy ſlope of a hill, and is waſhed by a
ſmall ſtream which has its ſource at Saltwell in the pariſh of Whitchurch.
This place was a part of the honour of Glouceſter, granted by King William Rufus
to Robert Fitz-Hamon, nephew of William the Conqueror. This Robert at his death
left iffue four daughters, two of whom were abbeſſes, viz. Cecily of Shafteſbury, and
Hawife of Wilton, Amice married the Earl of Britanny; and Mabel was married
to Robert earl of Glouceſter, one of the illegitimate fons of Henry I. who had in her
right this manor.
To this Robert ſucceeded William his ſon, whoſe iſſue male being extinct, the ſaid
William conſtituted John a younger ſon of Henry II. his heir. He died in 1173, and
after his deceaſe the king retained this earldom in his own hands; but in the laſt year
of his reign he gave Iſabel, the ſiſter and coheir of the ſaid William, in marriage to John
his ſon, afterwards King of England, who before he came to the crown, at the requeſt
of the ſaid Iſabel his wife, granted this manor with all its appertenances to Sir John la
Warre, to hold by the ſervice of half a knights fee, which grant the ſaid King John
ratified and confirmed in the eighth year of his reign."
This John la Warre died 14 Joh. leaving Jordan la Warre his ſon and heir, who
then paid two hundred pounds for livery of his lands. His wife's name was Johanna.
To whom ſucceeded John la Warre, who 3 Edw. I. was ſheriff of Herefordſhire, in
which county he chiefly had his reſidence, as had alſo his ſucceſſor
Roger la Warre, who 27 Edw. I. was fummoned to parliament among the barons;
and died ſeized of this manor 14 Edw. II. leaving by Clarice his wife, daughter and
coheir of Sir John de Tregoz, a great baron in Herefordſhire and Wiltſhire, Jolin his
Con heir, forty years of age.
a Cart. 8 Joh.
• Rot. Pip, 14 Joh.
Ggg 2
Which

412
B R I S L I N G TO N. (keyntham.
Which John, ſon and heir of Roger lord la Warre, upon the death of Clarice his
mother, 29 Edw. I. had an aſſignation of a moiety of the lands of which John de
Tregoz, father of the ſaid Clarice, died poffeffed. Among them was the manor of
Chelworth in this county. This John was in ſeveral expeditions in the time of Edw.
I. II. and III.; he married Joane, daughter of Robert, and fifter and heir to Thomas
lord Grelle, of Mancheſter in the county of Lancaſter; and having been ſummoned to
parliament from 1 Edw. II. to 16 Edw. III. died 21 Edw. III. without iſſue; where-
upon Roger his grandſon, viz. ſon of John his eldeſt ſon, who died in his life-time, by
Margaret daughter of Robert Holland, became his heir,
Which Roger 23 Edw. III. had livery of the lands of his inheritance. 30 Edw. III.
he was with Prince Edward in the great battle of Poictiers, where the Engliſh gained a
compleat victory. He was ſummoned to parliament 36 and 37 Edw. III. and died
44th of that reign, ſeized, among many other manors, of Briſlington which he held of
Edward le Diſpencer, leaving John la Warre his ſon and heir. Of the aforeſaid Roger,
Robert Wyteney held a knight's fee in Comb-Wyche. The ſaid Roger la Warre was
buried in the abbey of Swineſhead in the county of Lincoln, and was ſucceeded in his
eſtates by Sir John la Warre, knt. twenty-five years of age at the date of his father's
deceaſe.
This John had fummons to parliament from 44 Edw. III. till 21 Ric. II. He died
27 July, 22 Ric. II. without iſſue; being then certified to have been ſeized, among
divers other eſtates, of this manor of Briſtleton, which he is ſaid to have held of Thomas
le Diſpencer earl of Glouceſter, as of the honour of Glouceſter, by the ſervice of two
parts of a knight's fee.
At the death of which John, Thomas his brother became his heir. The ſaid Thomas
was rector of the church of Mancheſter, which he made collegiate; and dying 4 Hen.
VI. Sir Reginald Weſt, knt. was found to be his heir; being the ſon of Joane, late the
wife of Thomas Weſt, and ſiſter of the ſaid Thomas de la Warre.
Which Reginald Weſt was ſummoned to parliament by the title of Lord de la Warre,
5 Hen. VI. in which firſt year he had livery of his lands. He was in many cam-
paigns in France in the reign of Henry VI. and dying 29 Henry VI. left Richard his
fon and heir.
Which Richard, in conſideration of his ſpecial ſervices to the houſe of Lancaſter
during their contentions with the houſe of York, 38 Henry VI. obtained a grant of
40l. per annum during his life, to be received out of the iſſues and profits of the manor
of Old-Wutton in the county of Wilts, part of the poſſeſſions of the Duke of York,
(Richard) then attainted. He afterwards went abroad to avoid the politicks of the
times, and died 16 Edw. IV. poſſeſſed of this manor, which deſcended to his ſon and
heir Thomas, then nineteen years of age.
This Thomas Weſt lord de la Warre was a great favourite in the courts of Hen. VII.
and VIII. of the former of whom he obtained many large eſtates in the county
of
Suſſex, being part of the poſſeſſions of John duke of Norfolk attainted. He had two
wives, 1. Elizabeth, ſiſter of Sir John Mortimer, knt. by whom he had Thomas, and
William

Keynthám.] B R I S L IN G. TO N.
413
William who died iſſueleſs, and four daughters. 2. Eleanor, daughter of Sir Roger
Copley, knt. He died 1525, 17 Henry VIII.
Thomas Weſt lord de la Warre, ſon and heir of the laſt-mentioned Thomas lord de
la Warre, ſucceeded him. He was a knight banneret, and being elected knig of the
garter, Dec. 1, 1549, was inſtalled the 13th of that month at Windſor. He married
Elizabeth daughter and coheir of Sir John Bonville, knt. but left no iſſue. He died
in 1554, ſeized of this manor, and that of Shepton-Mallet in this county. By an
inquiſition taken after his deceaſe, his heirs were found to be Joan Dudley ducheſs of
Northumberland, being the daughter and heir of Eleanor his eldeſt ſiſter, the wife of
Sir John Guildford, knt. and the three daughters of his ſecond ſiſter Dorothy, the wife
of Sir Owen Weſt, knt. viz. Elizabeth, wife of Nicholas Deering; Mary, wife of John
Warnet; and Anne, wife of James Gage. John Lacey, eſq; was lord of this manor
30 Eliz. and from him it deſcended to Sir Rowland Lacey, knt. Sir John Lacey,
knt. and Rowland Lacey, eſq; who poſſeſſed it in 1653; whence it paſſed to the
family of Langton, and from them to William Gore Langton, eſq; (in right of his
wife) who is the preſent owner.
2 Edw. III. A.D. 1328, a petition was preſented in parliament at the ſuit of Joan
la Warre, complaining that the manor of Briſtleton, which then and always was with-
out the bounds of the King's chace, called Kingſwood, and alſo that of Filwood, had
been included within the ſaid chaces by the wardens thereof.
One of the Lords de la Warre founded, on the north ſide of his manor here, a chapel
to the honour of St. Anne. This chapel was fifty-ſeven feet in length, and fifteen in
breadth, and there were nineteen buttreſſes about it; the height of it from the ground
to the covering of the arched vault was eighty feet. The place where this chapel
(long ſince ruinated) ſtood, is but little known, being in a nook of the county, oppoſite
Crew's-Hole in the pariſh of St. George in Glouceſterſhire, from which it is divided by
the Avon. A more retired ſpot could hardly be found; a deep dell, overhung with aged
oaks, alders, and poplars, bounds its fouthern aſpect, and through it runs a limpid rivulet
from Briſlington, murmuring over a rocky bottom, and forming ſeveral water-falls.
The living of Briſlington is a donative in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter,
and in the gift of Mrs. Popham. The Rev. Mr. Baker is the preſent incumbent,
The church is dedicated to St. Luke. It is a neat building, compoſed of a nave,
fouth-aile, and chancel. A well-built tower at the weſt end contains five bells. There
are ſeveral inſcriptive memorials in this church, but of little account; and the following
notice of benefactions:
"A.D. 1670. Thomas Jones, yeoman, ſometime churchwarden of this pariſh,
gave twenty ſhillings, the uſe whereof is to be diſtributed to fix poor houſekeepers
every St. Thomas's-day.
“ 1686. Thomas Munday, yeoman, of this pariſh, gave out of his land for ever
twenty ſhillings a year, to be laid out in bread, and diſtributed to the poor every St.
Thomas's-day.
€ Rot. Parl, 2 Edw. III.
• Itin, Willelm. de Worceſtre, 190.
1698. Sir
55

414
[keynſham.
B R I S L I N G TO N.
“ 1698. Sir William Cann, knight and baronet, of this pariſh, gave twenty-five
pounds, the profits thereof to be diſtributed in bread to the poor the firſt Sunday after
the ſecond of July yearly for ever.
“ 1724. Mr. John Newman, of the city of Briſtol, plumber, gave to the poor of
this pariſh twenty-fix pounds, the intereſt thereof to be given in bread on St. John's and
St. Peter's days yearly for ever, by the churchwardens and overſeers of the pariſh, to
thoſe poor that frequent divine ſervice at this church.
In the church-yard, at the eaſt end of the church, is an old tomb, whereon is this
inſcription:
" 1542.
Thomas Newman
Aged 153
* This ſtone was new-faced in the year 1771, to perpetuate the great age of the
deceaſed.”
+ The original numerals on this tomb were ſimply 53; but ſome arch wag, by prefixing the figure 1, made the
perſon here interred one year older than the celebrated Thomas Parr, who died in 1625, at the age of one hun-
dred and fifty-two. Another perſon of the name of Newman, who was coroner for this county, is ſaid to have
been buried at King-Weſton, at the age of 132. To this advanced period few mortals have protracted their
exiſtence; and of thoſe few, little is recorded but their names. Among the inſtances of longevity that are pre-
ſerved to us either by the pen of the hiſtorian, or the parochial regiſter, the old woman of Lancaſhire, called the
Cricket of the Hedge, who died in the reign of Charles the Firſt, and yet remembered the battle of Boſworth-Field,
is ſet down as a moſt remarkable one, and may ſerve to fhew, that the little thread of life, frail as it is, may,
under an all-ruling Providence, by temperance and alacrity, be long preſerved from quite unravelling or ſnapping
off. She was born at Over, near Delamere-foreſt in Cheſhire. Her chriſtian name was Margaret; her maiden
name unknown. She lived for fome years in the ſervice of a family called Downs, at Shrigley; but was after-
wards married to one Humphry Broadhurſt, a day-labourer, with whom ſhe lived in a ſmall tenement in Hedge-
Row, in the townſhip of Rainow in the county of Cheſter; from which place, and the natural merrineſs of her
temper, ſhe acquired the name of the Cricket of the Hedge. She was very active; never known to be fick; and
could walk nimbly till a few years before her death. Her chief diet was water-gruel; and in her old age
manchet and new-milk. She was viſited out of curioſity by people from all parts, and among the reſt by ſome
families of quality and diſtinction. Some years before her death Sir George Booth ſent for her to his feat, and
would have there kept her, together with a relation to take care of her; but after ſtaying a month, ſhe told Sir
George his diet would not do, and that if ſhe did not return home ſhortly ſhe muſt die. Towards the cloſe of
her life ſhe was reduced to that degree of weaknefs, that ſhe was carried like a child in her youngeſt daughter's
arms, and ſometimes was rocked in a cradle. She lived to one hundred and forty years, and was buried in the
pariſh church of Preſtbury. To an enquiry made about her age by one of her viſitors, ſhe returned this anſwer,
“ I was fourſcore years old when I had that ſnicket, (pointing to her daughter who ſtood by) and ſhe is now
turned of fixty."--Letter at the end of the ſixth vol. of LeLAND's ITINERARY,
Douce
BURNET.

Keyniham.]
[ 415 )
BU R RN
E
T.
THIS ſmall compact pariſh, conſiſting of about ſeven hundred acres, is ſituated on
the river Chew, two miles ſouth from Keynſham, of which manor it was a part at
the time of the Conqueſt, and was that hide which was held by the wife of Ulward,
a freeman, when the Norman ſurvey was compiled. When it came by grant of King
William Rufus to Robert Fitz-Hamon, lord of the honour of Glouceſter, he annexed
it with other great poſſeſſions to the abbey which he refounded at Tewkeſbury in the
county of Glouceſter, on the ſcite of the old monaſtery erected A.D. 715, to the honour
of the bleſſed Virgin Mary, by Oddo and Doddo, two brothers, dukes of Mercia."
In 1293 the temporalities of the abbot here were valued at fix pounds. He had a
charter of free-warren in Burnet, and by grant of divers kings, this, with his other
manors, was exempt from all ſecular ſervices. An inquiſition taken 13 Ric. II. ſets
forth, that the abbot of Tewkeſbury held the manor of Burnet juxta Keyníham, as
parcel of the foundation of his church of Tewkeſbury, of the heir of Lord le Diſpencer
then a minor, as of his honour of Glouceſter. The manor and advowſon of the
church continued in the poſſeſſion of the ſame abbey till its diſſolution; after which,
2 Eliz. both the manor and the advowſon, with all the tithes, were granted by the
Queen to John Cutte and Richard Roberts. Which John Cutte was mayor of Briſtol,
and died 1575 ſeized of the manor and advowſon of Burnet, leaving iſſue William
Cutte his ſon and heir, who was lord of this manor 26 Eliz. To whom ſucceeded
another John Cutte, who 41 Eliz. fold the manor and advowſon to John Whitſon,
alderman of Briſtol, who gave it to feoffees in truſt for the endowment of his Red-
inaids' hoſpital in Briſtol, and other charitable uſes. The mayor and certain of the
corporation of the city of Briſtol are the preſent feoffees, and under them the manor of
Burnet is held by Samuel Day, eſq; who has a neat and very pleaſant dwelling-houſe
adjoining to the church, built of late years near the ſcite of the old court-houſe inha-
bited by the Cuttes.
The living is a rectory, in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, in the gift of the
mayor and corporation of the city of Briſtol. The Rev. Mr. Baker is the preſent
incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and conſiſts of a nave and one ſmall fide
aile on the ſouth ſide; at the end of which is a curious old braſs plate to the memory
of John Cutte, lord of this manor, Joan his wife, and twelve of their children.
The two parents are repreſented as kneeling at an altar with their hands cloſed in a
fuppliant pofture, and books open before thein: From the mouth of each iſſues a la
on which is written the name, viz. John Cutte, Joan Cutte. On the father's right
hand are his eight fons in a row, kneeling, with their names on labels iſſuing from
each of their mouths; viz. Matthewe, Thomas, John, Nicholas, John, Richard,
William, and Robarte. On the left hand of the mother are her four daughters in the
- See under Keynſham.
d Cart. Var.
b Tanner's Notitia Monaſtica.
• Eſc. 13 Ric. II.
· Taxat. Temporal.
f Ter. Syden,
fame

416
[Keynlham.
B
T.
U
N
R
fame attitude, and their names diſtinguiſhed in the ſame manner, viz. Brigit, Marye,
Suſan, and Anne. Both the parents and children are dreſſed in a kind of looſe robe,
reaching to the feet. At the upper corners are the arms of the city of Briſtol, viz, on
the ſiniſter fide, on a mount, a caſtle with two towers domed, on each a pennon; on
the dexter baſe, barry wavy of ſix, a ſhip failing from behind the caſtle, the fore and
main-maft with two fails on each in ſight. On the other ſide of the plate is the Mer-
chant's mark.
On the top of the plate is this inſcription--" Here lyeth buried John Cutte, ſome-
tyme mayore of the cyttye of Briſtolle, who deceaſede leving his wife Joane, and hath
had betwene them 8 fones and 4 dovghters. He deceſed in the monethe of May the
21 daye in anno Domini 1575."
On the lower part of the plate is inſcribed,
«« Par jacet hoc tumulo ſociale; uxore maritus
Jungitur: ut lectus, fic tenet urna duos.
Cuthevs Johannes conjunx, vir dignus amari,
Sumpſit Johannam: par in amore decus.
Pignore multiplici par fælix luſtra peregit
Plurima; ſecunda nunc regnat junctus.
Uterquam Deos.”
In the chancel over the communion-table is a ſmall ſtone monument, inſcribed,
Jane Dyer, daughter of Jane the wife of Mr. Phillip Gwin, miniſter, who departed
May 12, 1650. Ralph Dyer, ſon of Jane the wife of Mr. Phillip Gwin, miniſter,
departed April 9, 1652."
On a neat mural monument againft the fouth ſide of the church:--- Near this
place lies the body of Samuel Day, who died the 21ſt of December 1708, aged 55.
Alſo of Samuel his ſon, who died the 8th of June 1734, aged 41. And of Mary his
widow, who died the 18th of November 1770, aged 80. As alſo the body of George
Phelps, who died the 31ſt of December 1750, aged 34. And Samuel Day Phelps,
his ſon, by Mary his wife, daughter of the late Samuel Day, who died May 4, 1751,
aged 50 weeks. Alſo of one ſon and daughter of John Day by the ſaid Mary.”
Againſt the north wall:--"Sacred to the memory of John Day, eſq; who departed
this life the 31ſt day of January 1772, aged 49 years."
QUEEN-CHARLETON.

Keyntham.]
[ 417 ]
QUE EN-CHARLETO N.
THI
WHIS pariſh, ſo called from its having belonged to one of the Queens of England,
lies five miles ſoutheaſt from the city of Briſtol, and two nearly eaſt from the
village of Whitchurch, to which it is contiguous. Its ſituation is woody, incloſed, and
full of ſprings; ſome coal is produced on its northeaſt limits, near Keynſham. The
whole pariſh contains about twelve hundred acres. The great road to Bath lay
formerly through the village; and on account of the falubrity of its air, it has been a
place of much refort; particularly in the year 1574, when the plague raged fo violently
in Briſtol, as to carry off two thouſand perſons, houſes were fitted up here for the
reception of families from that city. Queen Elizabeth had gone through this place the
year before, and granted it a charter for a fair to be held yearly on the twentieth day of
July, which fair is ſtill continued.
At the time of the Conqueſt this village, with that of Whitchurch, and many other
adjoining places, was parcel of the manor of Keynſham, and therefore is not mentioned
in the general ſurvey of that age. Upon the foundation of the abbey in the town of
Keynſham, it was ſevered from the body of that lordſhip, and given to the religious,
whoſe revenues in this place, in the town of Keynſham, and in Filton or Whitchurch,
were in the year 1293 rated at twenty-ſix pounds." 7 Edw. II. the abbot and convent
procured a charter of free-warren in all their lands lying within Charleton. The
abbot's court-houſe ſtood on the north ſide of the ſtreet: nothing of it now remains
except an old gateway, the arch of which is circular, and decorated with zigzag
mouldings.
After the ſuppreſſion of the monaſtery, the manor of Charleton, among other poſ-
ſeſſions, was ſettled in jointure on Catherine Parr, the laſt Queen of King Henry VIII.
from which circumſtance the pariſh obtained its name.
But the tithes of hay, corn,
and other articles, and alſo a meſſuage or tenement, ſituated in Charleton near the
church-yard, called the Sextery, were granted to Sir William Herbert, knt. The
family of Popham of late years poſſeſſed this manor, and fold it in 1769 to Vickris
Dickinſon, eſq; who is the preſent owner.
The family of Dickinſon were originally from Yorkſhire, and bore for their arms,
Or, a bend engrailed between two lions rampant gules.
William Dickinſon, B. D. was rector of Appleton, and of Beſille's-Leigh, near
Oxford; and had his livings ſequeſtered by the parliament for his attachment to the
royal cauſe. By a daughter of Culpeper he left iffue three ſons, 1. Edmund Dickinſon,
M. D. who died in April A. D. 1707, aged 83, and was father of Elizabeth Dickinſon,
fole heireſs to his eſtates; ſhe was firſt married to Sir Edward Shires, bart, and after-
wards to Baron Bloomberg, envoy from the Duke of Courland. 2. William Dickinſon,
who was of Abingdon in the county of Berks. And 3. Captain Francis Dickinſon, of
· Taxat. Temporal.
Ter. Sydenham.
8 Cart. 7 Edw. II.
* Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy.
Hhh

VOL. II.
Jamaica,

418
[Keynlham.
QUE EN-CHARLETO N.
Jamaica,' who ſerved under Pen and Venables, at the taking of that iſland from the
Spaniards, in the year 1655. He had iſſue three fons, of whom the ſurvivor Caleb
Dickinſon married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Vickris, of Chew-Magna in this
county, eſq; grandſon and heir of Richard Vickris, merchant and alderman of the city
of Briſtol. Vickris Dickinſon, the preſent owner of Charleton, is the youngeſt ſon of
the abovenamed Caleb Dickinſon, by the ſaid Elizabeth his wife; to whom, and to his
two nephews Barnard Dickinſon, of Monks and of Bowden-houſe in the county of
Wilts, eſq; and William Dickinſon, of King-Weſton in this county, eſq; valuable eſtates
in the iſland of Jamaica are deſcended from Francis Dickinſon their progenitor above-
mentioned.
The living of Queen-Charleton is a donative in the deanery of Redcliff and Bed-
minſter, and in the preſentation of the lord of the manor. The Rev. Mr. Adams is
the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Margaret, is a ſmall but neat ſtructure,
compoſed of a nave and two ſide ailes, with a tower at the weſt end, containing a
clock and four bells; one of which has this inſcription: Water Maria plena graciae.
There are ſeveral memorials in the church to the family of Hayward.
BENEFACTIONS. “ Mr. George Lacy gave fix pounds to the poor of the pariſh of
Queen-Charleton, to be diſtributed in bread by the miniſter and churchwardens on the
25th of December yearly for ever.
« Mrs. Sarah Lacy gave forty ſhillings, the profits thereof to be diſtributed in like
manner.
“ Mrs. Anne Lacy, gave ten pounds to the fame purpoſe.
“Mrs. Mary Freeman, by a codicil to her will, dated the 8th day of May 1760,
gave the intereſt of five hundred pounds, to be paid by quarterly payments, towards
clothing, books, and teaching twenty poor children.”
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are nearly on a ten years average 26, the burials 25.
The pariſh is remarkably healthy, there being a gentleman now alive, and in good
health, of ninety years of age; and a widow woman of the age of ninety-two. And
about twelve years ſince there was a yeoman aged near a hundred, and his father, who
was alſo born and lived here, died at about the fame age. Several of the former in-
habitants have lived to be upwards of eighty.
Thoreſby's Ducatus Leodienfis,
CHELWOOD,

Keyníham.]
[ 419 )
CHE L WOOD, OR CHE L WORT H.
HIS pariſh is ſituated in a woody country, full of hills and deep vales, in the
ſouthern part of the hundred, bordering upon the eaſt angle of that of Chew.
It conſiſts of only about twenty houſes.
In former times it was a place of much account, and poſſeſſed by perſons of the
higheſt diſtinction. At the time of the Conqueſt it was the property of two diſtinct
lords; being then called by the ſeveral names of Celeworde, and Cellewert; the former
belonged to Euſtace earl of Bulloigne, and is thus ſurveyed:
« Alured holds of the Earl, CelewORDE. Thuri held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable is three carucates. Thereof in
« demeſne are two hides and a half, and three villanes, and two cottagers, with one
“ carucate, and in demeſne another. There are five acres of meadow. Wood five
“ furlongs long, and one furlong broad. It is worth fixty ſhillings.
The land of Alured de Merleberge.
« Alured de Merleberge holds of the King, CELLEWERT, and Nicolas of him. Carle
“ held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five
“ carucates. In demeſne is one carucate, and four ſervants, and three villanes, and
“ four cottagers, with one plough. There are ſeven acres of meadow, and thirty acres
" of wood. It was and is worth one hundred ſhillings.
Theſe two parcels of territory afterwards compoſed the two manors called Eaſt and
Weft-Chelworth, and both were held by barony, as parcel of the barony of Ewyas,
in the county of Hereford. Harold de Ewyas was lord thereof in the time of King
Stephen, and left iſſue two ſons, John lord Sudley, of Sudley in Glouceſterſhire, and
Robert, who reſided at Ewyas, and had this manor given him by his father, being
poſeſſed of it in the time of Henry II. This Robert de Ewyas left one daughter,
Sibil, fole heir to his eſtates, who being married to Robert de Tregoz, a baron of
Wiltſhire, the manor paſſed into that family, and the ſaid Robert de Tregoz, 7 Joh.
upon the collection of the ſixth ſcutage of that king's reign, anſwered thirty-eight
marks, for nineteen knights' fees belonging to the honour of Robert de Ewyas his
father-in-law.
To this Robert ſucceeded Robert his ſon and heir, who 20 Henry III. had reſpite
for the payment of one hundred pounds, due for the relief of thoſe lands, which were
of the inheritance of Sibil de Ewyas, his mother; and doing his homage had livery
thereof, ſoon after which he obtained liberty to pay his relief by twenty pounds per
ya
b
annum.“
Robert the ſon of Geffery de Tregoz ſucceeded to this manor on the death of the
laſt-mentioned Robert, and being one of thoſe who engaged in the baronial wars, was
Nain in the battle of Eveíham in Worceſterſhire, 49 Henry III.
Lib. Domeſday. • Rot. Pip. 8 Joh. c Rot. Fin. 23 Hen. III.
Hhh 2
On

420
[Keyntham.
CH E L WOOD,
On his death, John his ſon and heir came to the eſtate; and, notwithſtanding his
father's delinquency, was in great favour with Henry III. and from Edw. I. obtained a
charter of free-warren in all his demeſne lands lying in Chelworth and Burnham in
this county; and alſo, beſides divers other grants and privileges from the crown, he
22 Edw. I. being in the expedition then made into Gaſcony, had leave for his wife and
all his family to abide during his abſence in the caſtle of Devizes in the county of
Wilts, and to have wood from Melkſham, and other foreſts, for their fires. He
died 28 Edw. I. leaving John la Warre, ſon of Roger la Warre, by Clarice his
eldeſt daughter, and Sibyll
, the wife of William de Grandifon, his other daughter, his
next heirs.
8 Edw. II. this John la Warre granted to William de Beauchamp and Joan his
wife, this his ſaid manor of Chelworth, to hold of the King in capite by barony, as
parcel of the honour or barony of Ewyas.' Which William de Beauchamp died ſeized
of the fame 29 Edw. III.S
In ſome proceſs of time this manor, poſſeſſing the name of Weft-Chelwood, or
Weſt-Chelworth, was tranſmitted to the family of Latimer; and Sir Thomas Latimer,
of Braybrock, knt. held it 2 Henry IV. and was ſucceeded in it by his brother Edward,
who died without iſſue 12 Henry IV. leaving John Gryffin his couſin and next heir,
(viz. the ſon of Richard, ſon of Elizabeth his ſiſter) who, doing his fealty, had livery of
his lands.
Edward Griffin, a deſcendant of the ſaid John Gryffin, heir to the Latimer eſtate,
was owner of Weft-Chelworth in the time of Elizabeth, and in the 23d year of that
Queen's reign, fold the manor to John Cockſwell."
The manor of Eaſt-Chelworth was alſo held of the honour of Ewyas, and poſſeſſed
in the reigns of Richard II. and Henry IV. by the family of Montacute, of whom
it was held for many generations by the family of Cocks. The families of Weekes,
Biſſe, and Morgan, were alſo ſometime owners of it, and at this time both the manors
of Eaſt and Weſt-Chelworth, or Chelwood, are the property of Mrs. Popham, relict
of Francis Popham, eſq.
The living of Chelwood is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter.
The biſhop of Bath and Wells is patron, and the Rev. Mr. Sayle is the preſent
incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Leonard. It is a ſmall but neat building, having a
nave, chancel, and a ſmall ſouth aile. At the weſt end is a tower, built in 1772, con-
taining one bell.
In the chancel on the north ſide is a handſome mural monument with this inſcription:
“ Near this place are interred the remains of Roger Lyde of this pariſh, eſq; who de-
parted this life the 30th of January 1760, aged 52. He ſerved the office of high
ſheriff for this county in the year 1755, and acted as a juſtice of the peace for near
thirty years with great integrity and honour. Alſo Anne his wife, daughter of Mr.
Rot, Claus, 22 E3. I.
* Ing. ad quod damnum, 8 Ed. II.
Ter, Syden.
Langley,
e Eſc.
8 Efc.
· Eſc.

Keyntham:)
421
CHE LW 0 D,
nada
Langley, of Warminſter in the county of Wilts; a woman of great piety and charity:
they lived together many years in great affection, and died much lamented. She de-
parted this life Dec. 3, 1770, aged 60."
On another monument againſt the ſame wall is an inſcription to the Rev. Thomas
Pearce, M. D. who died Nov. 15, 1770, aged 74. He was fifty years paſtor of a
congregation of proteſtant diſſenters in this pariſh.
C O M P T O N - D A N D 0,
Ala
b
Pariſh denominated from its owners, lies ſouthweſt from Keynſham, ſituated in a
deep woody vale, ſeven miles from Bath, and the ſame diſtance from Briſtol.
The lands are moſtly paſture, and the ſlopes of the hills are covered with woods and
coppices. The river Chew. runs through it in its way to Keynſham. Its ancient
name was CONTITONE, as it is written in Domeſday-Book:
“ Mathildis holds of the Earl [Euſtace], CONTITONE. Wlnod held it in the time
« of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates.
five carucates. Thereof
« in demeſne are three hides, and there are two carucates, and four ſervants, and five
“ villanes, and ten cottagers, with three ploughs. There is a mill of- fixty-four pence
rent, and five acres of meadow. Paſture four furlongs long, and two furlongs broad.
“ It is worth one hundred ſhillings.
In the time of Henry II. this manor was the property of Alexander de Alno, corruptly
called Danno, or Dando, and from this family the place had its additional name.
Which Alexander de Alno, 7 Henry II. for this and his other lands in this county, paid
two marks into the King's exchequer; and 22d of the ſame reign the ſaid Alexander
and Robert his ſon were amerced in the ſum of twenty marks for the foreſt."
To this Robert fucceeded Henry de Alno, who was living 6 Ric. I. and had lands
in this county and Dorſet. He ſeems to have died without iſſue; for 8 Ric. I. Fulk
de Alno, brother of Henry and Richard de Alno, is certified to hold three knights' fees
in Somerſet and Dorſet, which formerly Robert and Alexander de Alno held.
Fulk de Alno was living in the time of King John, and then occurs among the
tenants of the abbot of Glaſtonbury.
His ſucceſſor was Gefferey de Alno, who died 43 Henry III. then ſeized of two
carucates of land in the village of Compton-D'Anno; and two carucates of land in the
village of Aſhton; both which he held of the king in chief by the ſervice of one knight's
fee. At the time of his deceaſe Alexander his ſon and heir was thirty years of age.3
d Ibid, 22 Hen. II.
: Lib. Domeſday. Cart. Antiq.
* Lib. Feod.
• Rot. Pip. 7 Hen. II.
* Regiit. Glaſton.
: Eſc.

422
[keyntham.
COMPTON . D A N D O.
1
.
The
Of which Alexander de Alno, who in many records is alſo called Danno, this manor
of Compton-Dando was held in the time of Edward I. by Robert Burnel, biſhop of
Bath and Wells, lord chancellor, and lord treaſurer of England, by the ſervice of
a pair of gilt ſpurs." The ſaid Robert Burnel died A. D. 1292, 21 Edw. I. leaving
Philip, his brother's ſon, heir to his eſtates.
Which Philip married Maud, daughter of Richard earl of Arundel, by whom he
had iſſue Edward his ſon and heir, He died 22 Edw. I. the year after his uncle Biſhop
Robert Burnel.
This Edward, 4 Edw. II. was in the expedition made into Scotland, as alſo 7 Edw. II.
being then of the retinue of Bartholomew de Badleſmere. He was ſummoned to par-
liament by the title of Lord Burnel, from 5 to 8 Edw. II. and dying 9 Edw. II. without
ifſue, his ſiſter Maud, the wife of John de Handlo, became his heir.
ſaid John de Handlo died ſeized of this manor, which he held in right of the ſaid
Maud his wife, 20 Edw. III. leaving a ſon and heir Nicholas, who was ſummoned to
parliament by the appellation of Lord Burnel.
29 Edw. III. this Nicholas lord Burnel was in the wars of France, and again in the
33d year of the ſame reign. He died 6 Ric. II. leaving Hugh lord Burnel his ſon
and heir.
Hugh lord Burnel was knight of the garter in the time of Henry IV. with whom he
ſtood in ſuch high eſteem, that he was conítituted chief governor of ſeveral caſtles in
Wales during the rebellion in that principality. 4 Edw. V. Edward his ſon being
then dead, he entered into articles of agreement with Sir Walter Hungerford, knt. for
the marriage of Margery, one of the daughters and heirs of Edward his ſaid ſon, to
Edmund Hungerford, eſq; ſon of the ſaid Sir Walter. Which marriage took effect,
and after the death of Hugh lord Burnel, 8 Edw. V. Edmund Hungerford came the
poſſeſſion of this manor."
From him it lineally deſcended to Sir John Hungerford, Sir Anthony, John, and
Thomas Hungerford, who fold it in 1567 to Matthew Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, eſq;
whoſe great grandſon Sir Hugh Smyth, bart. ſold the ſame in 1664 to Alexander
Popham, eſq; in whoſe family it has continued ever ſince, being now the property of
Mrs. Popham, relict of the late Francis Popham, of Houndſtreet in the pariſh of
Markſbury, eſq.
33 Edw. I. Peter Fitz-Robert granted one meſſuage and ten acres of land in
Compton-Dando to the prior and convent of Bath.
48 Edw. III. Thomas the ſon and heir of Richard de la Ryvere held the manor of
SEVERYSWYKE, or SewardSWICK, juxta Compton-Dando, of Thomas the ſon of
Edmund de Lyons. And Emma the wife of the ſaid Richard held for her life one
meſſuage and one yard-land in Compton called GRUBBESWYKE." Theſe lands de-
ſcended to Richard Priour of Widcombe, who married Thomaſia, a ſiſter of the faid
Richard de la Ryvere, and in the time of Edw. IV. were held by Edward Brooke lord
hel, s kaw: V!
h Eſc.
i
Dugd. Bar. ii. 62.
* Eſc. 8 Hen. V.
* Inq, ad quod Damn.
m Efc.
Cobham.

Keyntham.]
423
COMPTON- DA NDO.
mano', which to
Cobham. 44 Eliz. Sewardſwick belonged to George Young, eſq; and is now the
property of Mrs. Popham.
Part of the hamlet of WOLLARD lies within this pariſh weſtward. It was anciently
the poffeffion of the Lords Botreaux and Hungerford.
Through this pariſh runs that ancient boundary called WANSDIKE, and there is a
field belonging to Mrs. Popham, the lady of the manor, which to this day preſerves
its name.
The church, valued in 1292 at one hundred ſhillings," was appropriated to the priory
of Bath. It is a vicarage in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The biſhop of
Bath and Wells is patron; and the Rev. Mr. Gyllett the preſent incumbent.
The pariſh church, dedicated to St. Mary, conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and north
aile, with a tower at the weſt end containing five bells.
In the chancel are memorials to ſeveral vicars of this pariſh, viz. Richard Davis,
buried June 19, 1637. John Newman, who died Aug. 1664, æt. 40. Nathaniel
Till-Adam, who died Jan. 4, A. D. 1692, æt. 62.
“ A. D. 1727. Mr. John Newman, of the city of Briſtol, plumber, gave to the
poor of this pariſh twenty-ſix pounds, the intereſt thereof to be given in bread on St.
John's and St. Peter's days, yearly for ever, by the churchwardens and overſeers of
this pariſh, to thoſe poor that frequent divine ſervice at this church.'
Conſiderable lands in this pariſh, in Saltford, and in other pariſhes, belong to the
church, for repairs and other parochial uſes.
n Taxat. Spiritual.
F A R M B O R O U G H.
T
HIS village, anciently written Ferenberge, is ſituated on the turnpike-road from
Bath to Wells, eight miles diſtant from the former, and eleven from the latter,
in a vale watered by a little ſtream, formed by a ſpring which riſes in Barrow-Hill near
Clutton, and runs into the Avon near Twiverton by Bath. The land of this pariſh is
chiefly paſture. There is a large coal-work here, about a mile fouthweſt from the
church, called Haygrove, long noted for admirable fuel.
“ The Biſhop of Coutances held the manor of FerenBERGE, and William of the
Biſhop. Edric held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The
si arable is five carucates. In demeſne are two carucates, and five ſervants, and four
villanes, and three cottagers, with two ploughs. There are ſeventy-ſeven acres of
« meadow, and ſeventy-four acres of paſture. It was and is worth four pounds.
« TO

F A R M B ORO U G H.
[Keyntham.
ya
was
ce? To this manor are added five hides. Aluric held them in the time of King
** Edward for one manor, and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates.
“Nigel holds them of the Biſhop. In demeſne are two carucates, with one ſervant,
es and one villane, and five cottagers. There are ſeventy-ſeven acres of meadow, and
« ſeventy-four acres of paſture. It was and is worth four pounds.
In very early days this manor had owners of its name, of whom William de Ferne-
berge was living in the time of Henry II. and then gave lands in Farmborough to the
abbey of Keyníham.
For many ſucceſſive reigns it belonged to the family of Stafford, of Hooke in the
county of Dorſet. Sir Humphrey Stafford, knt. held it with Clutton, 46 Edw. III.
by the ſervice of two knights' fees. Sir Humphrey Stafford, knt. ftiled the elder, or
with the ſilver hand, his ſon and heir, died ſeized of the ſame i Henry V. It was then
held of the King, as of his dutchy of Lancaſter, as of his manor of Trowbridge, by
knight's ſervice.
To him ſucceeded Sir Humphrey Stafford, jun. knt. his ſon and heir, who died 20
Hen. VI. leaving iſſue Sir William Stafford, who died ſeized of Farmborough, 28 Hen.
VI. and was ſucceeded therein by Sir Humphrey Stafford, knt. of Southwick in the
county of Hants; who 2 Edw. IV. was fummoned to parliament as a baron; and 4
Edw. IV. was created Lord Stafford of Southwick; and for his ſervices to the crown
9 Edw. IV. advanced to the title of Earl of Devon. By his will, dated 3 Edw. IV.
he bequeathed his body to be buried in the church of St. Mary at Glaſtonbury, and
appointed the wardens of the grey friars in Exeter, for the ſalvation of his ſoul, to go to
every pariſh church in the ſeveral counties of Somerſet, Dorſet, Wilts, Devon, and
Cornwall, and there ſay a fermon. He did not long enjoy his lands or his title; for
9 Edw. IV. on an expedition againſt the northern rebels, having forfaken the Earl of
Pembroke, and by his defertion occaſioned a victory to the enemy, the King directed
his letters to the fheriffs of Somerſet and Devon, commanding them forthwith to
apprehend the Earl, and put him to death. Whereupon, making ſearch for him, they
found him in an obſcure place near Brent, and carrying him thence to Bridgwater, cut
off his head, Aug 17, 9. Edw. IV.. after which his body was buried according to his
will in the abbey-church of Glaſtonbury, under an arch of the ſouth tranſept.
Upon his death the manor came by a coheireſs to the family of Willoughby; and
after the death of Sir Robert Willoughby, was granted by the King to Percival
Thirlevalle and his heirs male."
By the inquiſition taken after the death of Humphrey Stafford earl of Devon, it
appears that this manor and the advowſon of the church, were held of John Selwood,
abbat of Glaſtonbury."
In the time of Queen Elizabeth it was veſted in the family of St. Loe.
A ſecond manor in Farmborough, anciently called FrYENBORough manor, but now
Barrow-Hill Farm, belonged to St. John's hoſpital without Redcliff-Gate in Briſtol,
2 Lib. Domeſday.
► Lib. Feod.
Eſc.
Harh MSS. 433, 2101,
Eſc. 10 Edw. IV.
and

Keyntham.]
425
FARM BOROUGH
and after the diffolution was granted April 29, 36 Henry VIII. to George Owen, eſq;
fervant to the King, who 3 June, 38 Henry VIII. fold it to John Buſh, of Wiltſhire,
eſq; and his heirs. John Buſh, grandſon of the ſaid John Buſh, 5 Eliz. conveyed the
fame to Matthew Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, eſq; whoſe great grandſon Sir Hugh Smyth,
bart. ſold it with Compton-Dando, in the year 1664, to Alexander Popham, eſq; an-
ceſtor of the late Francis Popham, eſq; whoſe reli& Mrs. Popham is the preſent poſſeſſor
of the manor of Farmborough.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The Rev. Dr,
Gunning is the patron and incumbent.
The church, dedicated to All-Saints, is a ſmall building, and conſiſts of a nave,
chancel, veſtry-room, and porch. A tower at the weſt end contains fix bells.
On a ſmall mural monument near the communion-table is this inſcription:
“ Şubtus jacet Solo: non Pages Gallus, generoſis parentibus ortus Anno Domini
1653, in eccleſiæ reformatæ Caftello Thierenfis regimine, patri fuo Johanni, digniſſimo
et vigilantiffimo paſtori fucceſfit. Anno Dom. 1681. Pro verâ purâque Chrifti fide op-
oppreffus, vigente papifticâ perſecutione fpoliatus, tandemque patriâ exul, in Magnam
Britanniam provectus eſt, ubi faluberrimum portum invenit Anno Dom. 1685. Ad
ſacros ordines eccleſiæ Anglicanæ diac. et preſbyt. admiſſus, vicarius ecclefiæ parochialis
de Old-Windfor comit. Berks inftitutus Anno Dom. 1686. Denique eccleſiæ hujuſce
parochialis de Farmborough rector inſtitutus Anno Dom. 1693. Obijt 31 Oct. Anno
Dom. 1725, ætatis fuæ 72.
« Dans animam cælo; reddidit offa ſolo."
On the north ſide of the chancel wall:-_“Underneath lieth the body of Lucy, relict
of Solomon Pages, late rector of this pariſh. She died O&t. 1, 1745, aged 76 years.”
On a ſmall braſs plate in the floor:- Here lies the body of Mary, daughter of
Solomon Pages, rector of this pariſh, born Jan. 20, 1703, died May 21, 1724.”
On a ſtone adjoining: “Here lieth the body of Anne, daughter of Solomon
Pages, late rector of this pariſh. She died July 3, 1746, aged 40 years.
On another ſtone:-“In memory of the Rev. Mr. Iſaac Pages, A. M. vicar of
Compton-Dando, and rector of Burnet, who died Jan. 6, 1780, aged 70.”
On a flat ſtone to the right of the communion-table:-"H.S. E. Gulielmus
Aris, hujusce parochiæ nuper rector, necnon de Shepton-Mallet fidelis paftor: ob exi-
mium temperantiæ fpecimen; fanaticorum invidia inter eccleſiæ Anglicanæ heroes
invincibilis; inter cathedralis Wellenſis prebendarios lumen maxime inobſcurum; inter
regios apud claffem miniſtros, decus et ornamentum; maritorum chariſſimus; fratrum
amantîffimus; amicorum optimus; obijt Septembris 8, anno Dom. 1693, æt. ſuæ 39."
On another flat ſtone:--" Quæris viator, quis fub hoc marmore jacet? Sunt ex-
uviæ Gulielmi Ambroſe, hujus eccleſiæ parochialis nuper rectoris digniſſimi. In peſ-
fimis temporibus fide, in optimum principem et eccleſiam incuria—a rebellibus fæpe
oppreffus, devictus nunquam; diem obijt 7° Maij Anno Dom, 1683, ætatis fuæ 67º.”
VOL. II.
Iii
MARKSBURY.

[426]
[Keyntham.
M A R K S B U RY.
TH
HIS pariſh lies in the eaſtern part of the hundred, diſtant ſeven miles from Bath,
and twelve from Briſtol, compriſing a village meanly built, and a hamlet called
HOUNDSTREET. About half a mile northeaſtward of the church ſtands Wingsbury-Hill,
a conſiderable eminence, on which formerly ſtood a chapel, long ſince demoliſhed; but
the traces and foundations thereof are viſibie. This pariſh abounds with fine black
and blue, marle, which is much uſed by the farmers on their paſtures, of which the
lands moſtly confilt.
The accounts of this pariſh are of a very early date. In the year of our Lord 926,
King Athelſtan gave to Duke Athelm, his ſon, the maror of Merkeburie, conſiſting of
ten hides, and he afterwards beſtowed it on the abbey of Glaſtonbury. In the Daniſh
wars the abbey loſt poſſeſſion of it; but King Edgar again reſtored it about A.D. 963."
After which the abbey enjoyed it uninterruptedly till the Conqueſt, when the King's
commiſſioners returned the following account:
« The church itſelf holds MERCESBERIE. In the time of King Edward it gelded for
“ ten hides. The arable is eight carucates. Thereof in demeſne are four hides and
66 a half, and there are two carucates, and five ſervants, and fix villanes, and five cot-
tagers, with three ploughs. There are nineteen acres of meadow, and forty acres of
wood. It is worth ten pounds.
« Of this land a thane holds two hides and a half. It is worth twenty ſhillings.
Oſwald held it in the time of King Edward, and it could not be ſeparated from the
$c church."
In 1293 the temporalities of the abbey here were valued at 15l. 10s. The abbot
had a charter of free warren in his lands within this manor by grant of King Edward
the third. The ſame monaſtery continued in poſſeſſion of the manors of Markſbury
and Hunſtreet (which laſt was the two hides and a half held by the thane, mentioned
in the Norman ſurvey) till its diſſolution in the time of Henry VIII. when, by a ſurvey
taken by order of the crown, they were returned as follows:
“ Rentes of affife and cuſtomary tenanntes.
« The rentes of aſſiſe and cuſtomarye tenanntes, apperteyning unto the ſaid mannor,
with the workes and cuſtomes whiche by tenure of theire landes they are bounde to doe,
are of the yerely value of 161. 45. 5 d.
Demaynes.
s6 The demayne landes belonging unto the ſame manour are letton out by indenture
for terme of yeres, for the ſome of 81. 135. 6d.
PIC
b
* Guil. Malmeſ. de Antiq. Glaſton. Eccles.
a Taxat. Temporal.
Ibid.
• Lib. Domeſday.
• Cart. 4 Edw. III. n. 87.
Perquyſites

Keynthem. ]
427
M A R K SBU RY.
گرد
“ Perquyſites of courtes and fynes.
« The profittes comming of the perquyſites of courtes, fynes of landes, and other
caſualties, are this yere anſwered in the bokes of accompts at 41. 4s. 6d.
“ Able men to ſerve the King.
“ Alſo there be within the ſame lordeſhipes able men, to doe the King ſervyce, to
the nombre of 17.
66 Woodes.
“ Alſo there are apperteynyng unto the faide mannor, certayne woodes, called Haye
wood, Newoode, and the Common, ſet with okes and aſshes of dyvers kyndes, the
acres whereof cannot be eſteemed, for they growe in plotts, valued at this ſurvey to be
worth 106). 193. 8d. whereof may be made a yerely wood ſale of 6os,
« Common.
“ Alſo there is a common, apperteynyng unto the fayde lordeſhipe, wherein the
tenanntes may put in their catle, at theire pleaſures, conteynyng i myle.
After the diſſolution the manors of Markſbury and Hunſtreet, and the advowſon of
the church of Markſbury, were granted to Richard Watkins, alias Vaughan, 35 Henry
VIII. and now both manors belong to Mrs. Popham, whoſe ſeat is at Houndſtreet,
where the late Francis Popham, eſq; erected a very large and elegant manſion, which
was not finiſhed before his death. It ſtands on, or nearly on the ſcite of the old manor
houſe of the abbots of Glaſtonbury, which was built by John Chinnock, abbot of
Glaſtonbury, containing a chapel dedicated to the honour of St. Nicholas, a hall, cham-
bers, buttery, kitchen, with a houſe on the ſouth ſide of the hall, called the Yatehouſe,
and a large ſtable, and other proper out-houſes, orchard, barton, &c. The manor-
houſe was environed with a great moat, filled by a rivulet, and ſurrounded on all ſides
with oak pales, containing near two acres in circumference. The park adjoining to
this houſe was deſervedly eſteemed one of the fineſt in the county.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter; the gift is in Mrs,
Popham, and the Rev. Mr. Baker is the preſent incumbent. In 1192, this benefice
was taxed at 100s. The parſonage-houſe has lately been rebuilt; and in digging for
the foundations in 1781, two ſkeletons were found, near one of which was a large glaſs
bead. It commands a fine proſpect to the north.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter, and conſiſts of one aile, and a tower containing
four bells.
In the chancel is a handfome ſtone tomb, inlaid with black and white marble, and
inſcribed on the front as follows: --"To the memory of Francis Popham, eſq; eldeſt
ſon of Edward Popham, one of the repreſentatives in ſeveral parliaments for the county
of Wilts; deſcended from Lord Chief Juſtice Popham, and heir to the fortunes as well as
to the virtues of a family diſtinguiſhed by its attachment to the intereſt of their country.
f Return of the Surveyors printed in Langtoft's Chronicle.
$ Ter. Ric. Beere, Abb. Glaſton. in Joh. Glaſton. Hift. ü. 354. + Taxat. Spiritual.
Iii 2
This

428
M A R K S BU RY.
[Keyntham.
This monument is erected by his widow, in teſtimony of her affection. Ob. 4 Feb.
1779, æt. 45.” Arms, Or, on a chief gules, two bucks' heads caboſſed of the field.
Over the communion-table is a ſtone to the memory of William Counſell, ſome-
time rector of this pariſh, who died April 25, A. D. 1674.
Another monument perpetuates the memory of William Waddon, alſo rector, who
died 1682, aged 55.
P
U
B L
W
I
S a large village, ſituated in a fine rich vale, on the river Chew, over which there is
a ſtone bridge in the hamlet of Wollard, where it divides this pariſh from that of
Compton-Dando. The latter fyllable of this place's name, which uſed to be written
Lawe ſignifies a little hill, and anſwers to the Latin tumulus; both terms being intended
to ſpecify the ſepulchre af ſome great perſons. And conſidering the many notable
tranſactions which muſt have occurred on that ancient Belgick boundary Wanſdike,
which traverſes this pariſh, and the number of people that muſt have periſhed in arms
thereon, it is more than probable, that in theſe parts were depoſited a multitude of
bodies of departed heroes, ſufficient to diſtinguiſh the aſylum of their ſepulchres.
Its name however does not occur in the book called Domeſday, having, with regard
to its landed concerns, been blended and intermingled with other manors. It anciently
was part of the honour of Glouceſter, and Gilbert de Clare, one of the lords thereof,
founded within this pariſh, about the year 1228, a hermitage or cell, which from its
founder was denominated Clarelewe." In the time of King John this place became the
property of the great family of St. Loe, or de Sančia Laudo, lords of Newton in this
county. By which family this manor, with Pensford and Wollard, was held of the
honour of Glouceſter for many ſucceſſive reigns, till it came into the family of
Botreaux, and from them paſſed by an heireſs to the Hungerfords, and afterwards in
like manner to the houſe of Haſtings earls of Huntingdon. In the ſchedule of Mary,
the daughter and heireſs of Thomas lord Hungerford, and afterwards wife to Edward
lord Haſtings, the manors of Publow and Pensford are aſſerted at the yearly value of
431
, 2s. 6d.;' and in the inquiſition taken after the deceaſe of George earl of Hun-
tingdon, ſon of Edward lord Haſtings, 21 July, 36 Hen. VIII. the manors of Pensford
and Publow, valued at 401. are certified to be held of the king, as of the honour of
Glouceſter, by the ſervice of one knight's fee. 13 Eliz. Publow and Pensford were
in the hands of Sir Henry Becher, knt. and they now belong to Mrs. Popham.
The church of Publow is not mentioned in any of the old taxations: it is an impro-
priate curacy in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. Mr. Peter Cox, of Wrington,
is patron, and the Rev. Mr. Adams the preſent incumbent.
d
& MS. Ter. et ap. Cart. Antiq. 1 Lib. Feod. et Rot. Pip.
• Efc. Dugd. Bar. ii. 211.
• Ing. poſt mort. Geo. Comit. Hunt, capt, ap. Crokehorne, 21 Jul. 36 Hen. VIII.
The

Keynſham.]
429
P U
W.
B L
The church is dedicated to All-Saints; and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and two fide
ailes. At the weſt end ſtands a very handſome tower, containing ſix muſical bells.
There is nothing particular in the church.
PE N S F o RD,
(Sometimes called Publow-Saint-Thomas, on account of its being a chapelry thereto,
and the dedication of its Saint)
S a ſmall but ancient market-town, the market whereof is on Tueſday; it is ſeparated
I form the principal para oferece
oblow the mehe eve repof chem, Tukicha y suis acepted
ſtreet, and has over it an old ſtone bridge of three arches.
The town conſiſts of a few ordinary houſes; but is pleaſantly ſituated in a fine woody
vale, almoſt ſurrounded with ſmall hills, well cultivated, and having on their ſides
ſeveral hanging orchards, which form a pleaſing rural ſcene from every part of the town.
About two or three centuries ago it was reckoned « a praty market townlet, occu-
pied with clothinge. Browne of London yn Limeſtrete was owner of it. The towne
ſtood much by clothinge. It has dreadfully decayed ſince that time, and now, bereft
of the benefit of trade, many of the houſes are fallen into ruins.
Dr. Stukely tells us, that its name is derived from two Britiſh words Pen-Iſc, ſigni-
fying the head of the river, being near the ſource of the river Chew. It was a common
uſage with our anceſtors to pay a ſacred reverence to the fountains of rivers, and they
were frequently ſought for on religious occaſions, upon a confiderice that a divinity muſt
neceſſarily reſide where ſo beneficial an element took its riſe.
The church is dedicated to St. Thomas Becket, and is a neat modern edifice, con-
fiſting of a nave, chancel, ſouth aile, and a tower at the weſt end, more ancient than the
reſt of the ſtructure.
There formerly ſtood a chapel at a place called Borough-Bank, which was demoliſhed
in the middle of the laſt century, and its materials appropriated to ſome private uſe.
There was alſo a chantry here founded by one of the St. Loes.
« Mr. William Sage gave ten ſhillings for a ſermon to be preached in this church on
Palm-Sunday, and twenty ſhillings to the poor not réceiving alms, yearly for ever;
payable four days before Palm-Sunday, by the churchwardens of St. James's in Briſtol.
“ Mr. Thomas Maggs gave out of his eſtate called the Farm, ios. for a fermon on
St. Thomas's-day, and ios. to the poor not receiving alms, yearly for ever.
“ Mr. John Silk gave to the poor not receiving alms five ſhillings in bread, payable
on St. John's-day yearly for ever, out of a cloſe of ground called Little-Field.”
* Lelo Itin. vii. 104.
• Itin. Cur. ii. 169.
PRISTON.

[ 430 1.
(Keynlbam
P R I
S
T
O N.
RISTON lies in the ſoutheaſt angle of the hundred, and derived its name from
the Saxon Preort, a prieſt, and ton, a town. Its ſituation is on a riſing ground,
in a woody vale, through which a little brook, riſing on Barrow-Hill, winds its way
towards the Avon. About a mile weſtward from the church is a pleaſing eminence
called Priſsbarrow, from which a fine and extenſive proſpect opens to the ſouth, weſt,
and north, over a richly cultivated country, intermingled with hill and dale, cloſely
veſted with wood.
The firſt account we have of this place commences at a very early period. The
pious King Athelſtan, (whoſe reign is rendered memorable to poſterity by the Saxon
tranſlation of the Holy Scriptures;--a work evincing the character of that monarch, the
learning of his prelates, and the ſoftneſs of the manners of that age, which, though em-
brued in war, was taught to raiſe the ſuperſtructure of conqueſt and of fame on the
baſis of religion) among other charitable donations to the monaſtery of Bath, founded
by his predeceſſors Ofric and Offa, gave thereto the village of Priſton, conſiſting of
ten manfes; a benefaction favoured and countenanced by the ſucceeding monarchs,
both before and after the conqueſt of England by the Normans. In King William's
ſurvey we have the following account of it:
“ The land of the church of Bade.
« The church itſelf holds PRISCTONE. In the time of King Edward it gelded for
« fix hides. The arable is eight carucates. Of which in demeſne are two hides, and
se there is one carucate, and three ſervants, and ſeven villanes, and eight cottagers, with
ſix ploughs. There is a mill of ſeven ſhillings and fix-pence rent, and twenty acres
«s of meadow, and fourſcore acres of paſture. It was and is worth ſix pounds.
In 1293, the temporalities of the prior in this place were valued at one hundred and
ten ſhillings.” Walter, a prior of this houſe, procured of King Edw. I. a charter of
free-warren in all his lands within this manor, and the neighbouring one of Stanton-
Prior, and John de Dunſter had a confirmation of the fame grant."
After the diſſolution this manor fell into the hands of the laity, and it is now poſſeſſed
by William Davis, eſq; in right of his wife, and by Miſs Jenkins, the daughters of
William Jenkins, eſq; who purchaſed it ſome years ſince of Lord Percival.
The church was valued in 1292 at fix marks five ſhillings and four-pence. It is a
rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the patronage of the lord of
the manor. The Rev. Mr. Munton is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Luke, is a neat building of one pace, with a
new-built tower containing five bells.
bد و
2
Excerpt. e Regiſt. Priorat. Bathon. MSS.
• Lib. Domeſday.
• Taxat. Temporal.
a Cart. 5 Ed. I. n. 23.
e Regift. Priorat. Bathon.
f Taxat. Spiritual.
On

Keynlham.]
431
P R I S
T 0 N.
On the north wall is an elegant monument of amber-coloured marble, having thereon
a white tablet, with this inſcription:-“Sacred to the memory of Elizabeth, wife of
William Jenkins, of Priſton, eſq; who departed this life Sept. 28, 1766, aged 54 years.
She was one in whom no guile was found; and filled all the ſtations of life, as daughter,
wife, mother, and miſtreſs, with approved conduct.”
In the church-yard is a remarkably large old yew tree, the body near one and twenty
feet in circumference.
S
A L
T FO
R
D,
on
A
Village ſituated on the north ſide of the road leading from Bath to Briſtol, and
the banks of the river Avon, which divides it from Kelweſton on the eaſt, and
Bitton in Glouceſterſhire on the north. Its name is ſuppoſed to have been derived
from there having been a ford through the river at this place, at a time when the tide
from Briſtol flowed above this pariſh. The lands are in general pretty good, being
a loamy ſand, and a ſtone ruſh. There is plenty of ſtone, wherein many foſſil ſhells
are found of the oyſter, carduum, venus, and pecten ſpecies. The wood is chiefly
elm, and in ſeveral of the orchards between the turnpike road and the Avon, the apple-
trees are loaded with the viſcum, or miſſeltoe, in a very uncommon manner.
The manor of Saltford was one of thoſe many which were originally annexed to the
honour of Glouceſter, and was held thereof in the time of Henry III. and Edw. I. by
the family of Bayouſe, and afterwards by the Baſſets and the Rodneys; which laſt family
poſſeſſed it from the reign of Edw. I. to that of Queen Elizabeth incluſive,
It is now the property of his Grace the Duke of Chandos.
The church, valued in 1292 at ſix marks and a half, is rectorial in the deanery of
Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the patronage of the Duke of Chandos; the Rev. Mr.
Davies is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall ſtructure, dedicated to St. Mary, having one aile, with a
clumſy tower at the weſt end containing one bell.
On the left hand of the communion-table, is a monument of white veined marble,
inſcribed, - To the memory of the Rev. Haviland John Hiley, who was rector
of this pariſh 42 years; and alſo to the memory of Eleanor his wife, both interred near
this place. They were eminent examples of the Chriſtian faith, and exact in perform-
ing their duty to God, their neighbour, and themſelves. He died Sept. 27, 1754
aged 65 years; ſhe Feb. 13, 1770, aged 82.”
There are alſo divers memorials to the families of Richmond, Purnell, Flower,
Hunt, and Browning."
* Eſc, Var.
Taxat. Spiritual.
STANTON-DREW,
2

1 432 ]
[Keynlham.
S T A N T O N - DREW,
(Originally called Stantone, and Stantune, from Stean, a ſtone, and ton, a town, and
additionally Stanton-Drew, from its ancient lords.)
STA
TANDS between Pensford and Chew-Magna, equidiſtant from both; whence the
common proverbial rhyme:
6 Stanton-Drew,
« A mile from Pensford, and another from Chew."
It is ſituated in the ſouthweſt angle of the hundred, in a fine rich, wooded, and well-
cultivated country. The lands are moſtly paſture, and very good, being a reddiſh
ſtrong loam, looſened by a little fand. Elm is the principal timber, which Aouriſhes
here in great luxuriance.
The river Chew waſhes this pariſh, and runs under a ſtone bridge northward from
the church in its way to Pensford. The road to that town from Chew paſſes to the
north of this river, and in the road lies an immenſe ſtone called Hautville's-Coit, (a name
it has ſuſtained for many ages) and is by tradition reported to have been thrown hither
by that gigantick champion Sir John Hautville, from Mays-Knolle-Hill, upwards of
a mile diſtant, the place of his abode. The tump on that hill is alſo affirmed to have
been the cleanings of the ſame man's ſpade; and fo confident are the common people
of the reality of the manæuvre, that a farm-houſe erected of late years near the coit,
was diſtinguiſhed by the title of Hautville's-Coit Farm, which doubtleſs it will pre-
ſerve till records are no more. This ſtone was formerly of vaſt magnitude, being
computed to have weighed upwards of thirty tons; but the waggon loads of fragments
that have been broken from it at different times, for the purpoſe of mending the roads,
have diminiſhed its conſequence as to bulk and appearance, though not as to antiquity
or the deſign of its erection; for it was part of a very remarkable monument of anti-
quity, which has diſtinguiſhed this pariſh for many ages, and has diverted the ſteps of
many a traveller,
It ſtands in an incloſure northeaſtward from the church, and conſiſts of the remains
of four aſſemblages of huge ponderous ſtones, forming two circles, an oblong, and an
ellipſis. The firſt, or largeſt circle, part of which is croſſed by an old hedge-row, is
weſtward from the other parts, and is three hundred feet in diameter, compoſed of
fourteen large ſtones, ſome of which are fallen and lie flat upon the ground; the ſecond
circle eaſtward is eighty-four feet in diameter, and confifts of eight ſtones; the oblong,
conſiſting of five ſtones, ſtands between the two circles, but rather inclining to the
ſouth; and at the ſoutheaſt extremity of all is the ellipſis, which is forty feet in length,
and has ſeven ſtones, one of them placed as it were centrically, and out of the line of
arrangement. The ſtones which form the ſecond or inner circle are the largeſt; one of
thoſe on the weſt ſide being nine feet high, and twenty-two feet in circumference, and
would upon a calculation weigh upwards of fifteen tons. It ſeems to be a compoſition
of pebbles, grit, and other concrete matter, and never to have been hewn from the rock.
This
Keyntham.]
433
S TANTO N.DR E W.
This part, though in itſelf immenſe, and occupying a large extent of ground, appears
to be only the centre of the ſtupendous building. Doubtleſs there were many avenues
to it, and Hautville’s-coit ſeems to have ſerved as part of a portal to one of them
There were alſo other outworks, one of which, conſiſting of three prodigious ſtones,
placed in a triangular form, ſtill remains on a ſmall eminence, in an orchard belonging
to Mr. Fowler, ſouthweſt from the church. Two of theſe ſtones are ſtanding; the
largeſt meaſuring ten feet in height, and ſix feet and a half in width; the one that is
fallen is fourteen feet long, and eight feet wide.
Dr. STUkeley calls this laſt-mentioned monument the Cove; and, with other antiqua-
rians, contends that the whole of this ſingular work, as well as Stonehenge and Abury
in Wiltſhire, was a temple erected by the Britiſh Druids. And Wood, in his account
of Bath, refers it to the Pythagorean planetary fyſtem, adopted by the fame people,
who, according to ſome writers, profeſſed to underſtand not only the form and magni-
tude of the univerſe in general, and of the earth in particular, but alſo the courſes of
the ſtars, and their ſeveral revolutions.
Future antiquaries perhaps will not reſt ſatisfied with either of theſe opinions, and
probably hereafter the pen of ſome able writer, conſidering the vicinity of Wanſdike,
will more minutely trace its origin, and define it a trophy intended to commemorate
fome ſignal victory obtained on that important rampart, where ſo much blood was
ſhed by the arms of Britons and Celtick barbarians. The many camps, rampires,
military ways, and ancient reliques, that we ſee in this part of the country, are ſo many
indications of that contending ſpirit which once animated the warlike inhabitants to
defend their property againſt the invaſions and aſſaults of foreigners. The common
people call this relique The Wedding, from a tradition that as a woman was going along
to be married, ſhe and all her attendants were at once converted into ſtones, and that
it is an impiety to attempt reckoning their number.
There is within the precincts of this pariſh, and at no great diſtance from the ſtones
above deſcribed, an ancient village called BELLUTON; but formerly Belgetone; of which
if we admit the etymology, that it ſignifies the town of the Belga, it will add confi-
derable weight to the conjecture that Stantone aroſe in conſequence of the Belgick
incurſion.
We know but little of the landed hiſtory of Stanton, or its environs, before the
Norman Conqueſt, when it was a part of that huge manor of Keynſham which included
within its juriſdiction ſo many neighbouring villages and hamlets. It then conſiſted
of ten hides.
About this time great part of the place began to be poſſeſſed by a family who de-
rived their names from it; of whom were Roger,' William, and Hugh de Stanton,
who all poſſeſſed it, or at leaſt a conſiderable part of it, ſoon after the arrival of the
Normans. Robert de Stanton accounted for two knights' fees in the time of Hen II."
b
* Notes taken April 9, 1789.
Itin. Curiof. ii. 169. Deſcription of Bath, ii. 148.
See vol. i. p. 170.
e See the Domeſday extract in Keyníham.
* Inquif. Gheld.
& Cart. Antiq.
h Lib. Nig. Scac. i.
VOL. II.
Kkk
and
434
[Keyntham.
S T A N T O N. DR E W.

and after him came Gefferey de Stanton, who had lands in Timſborough, Stowey, and
other places in this neighbourhood, 8 Henry III. One of this family bore the appella-
tion of Drogo, or Drew, de Stanton, and gave it his name by way of diſtinction from
another pariſh in this neighbourhood called Stanton-Prior, and from STANTON-WICK,
a hamlet in this pariſh. Their deſcendants were chiefly reſident here, and at Littleton
in Wiltſhire. 12 Edw. III. Walter Drew is certified to hold half a knight's fee in
Stanton, which William de Stanton formerly held;" and 10 Henry IV. the ſame
moiety, late the property of Roger Drew, was held by John de Montacute earl of
Saliſbury. Theſe Drewes were nearly allied to the Dinhams of Buckland and Corton,
The family of Choke were the ſubſequent poffeffors of this manor.
25 Henry VI.
William Clerke, fon and heir of Robert Clerke, granted to Richard Choke of Stanton-
Drew, and Joan his wife, one meſſage and one yard-land in the village of Stanton-
Drew, formerly in the tenure of John Watkins." And by another deed, dated 28
Henry VI. Richard Clerke of Briſtol, granted to the faid Richard Choke, a meſſuage
in Stanton called Milleplace, with a fulling-mill, ten acres of land, and a meſfuage called
Selyes." This Richard Choke, who was an eminent perſon in his days, had a long fuit
with John Boteler, concerning his right and title to this manor, which terminated 32
Henry VI. by a final releaſe from the ſaid John Boteler to the ſaid Richard Choke, of
all his right in the manor of Stanton-Drew; in a meſſuage there ſituated called Chokes,
another called Prikkes, a third called Milleplace, a fourth called Champneys, and a fifth
called Tiledhouſe, in Playſtrete, with divers other lands and tenements.
This quit-
claim was confirmed 34 Henry VI. by Edith Sampbroke, fiſter of the ſaid John
Boteler. This Richard Choke was afterwards a knight, and Lord Chief Juſtice of
England, and died ſeized of this manor in the reign of Ric. III. Sir John Choke, knt.
grandſon of the ſaid Richard, conveyed the ſame 22 Henry VII. to Giles lord Daubney.
After which it came to the poſſeſſion of Sir John Cooper, bart. who died ſeized thereof;
together with Stanton-Wick, in the year 1631, leaving Anthony-Aſhley Cooper his ſon
and heir. The manor is now the property of Peter Coates, eſq.
The manor-houſe is an old venerable building, and was formerly embattled, and
regularly fortified.
The manor of Belluton or Belgetone, was held by Euſtace earl of Bulloigne, as parcel
of the manor of Keynſham; and of him by Alured.
“ Alured holds of the Earl, BELGETONE. Tovi held it freely in the time of King
<< Edward, and gelded for four hides. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne is
one carucate and a half, with one fervant, and five villanes, and two cottagers, with
“two ploughs. There is a mill of fifteen ſhillings rent, and twenty-two acres of mea-
dow, and twenty acres of paſture. Wood four furlongs long, and two furlongs
« broad. It was worth three pounds, now four pounds.”!
The manor of Belluton was poſſeſſed for a ſeries of years by the Earls of Ormond.
14 Edw. III. Cecilia de la Hay held for the term of her life the manor of Belveton of

* Rot. Claus. 28 Hen. VI.
i Cart. Antiq.
k Lib. Feod. 1 Ibid.
• Rot. Claus. 32 Hen. VI.
* Rot. Claus. 25 Hen. VI.
P Rot. Claus, 34 Hen. VI.
9 Lib. Domeſday
the
Keyndham.] -
435
S T A N T O N - DREW.

the King in chief by the ſervice of the fourth part of one knight's fee, remainder to
James le Boteler earl of Ormond, and Eleanor his wife.' Which James Boteler died
ſeized of the ſame 6 Ric. II. leaving James his ſon and heir of the age of twenty-two
years. Elizabeth his wife ſurviving him had this manor in dower. James Butler,
the fifth earl of Ormond, knight of the garter, and lord treaſurer, was in 1449 created
Earl of Wiltſhire by King Henry VI. But after the battle of Towton, where Lan-
caſter was defeated, he was attainted for high treaſon, and was beheaded at Newcaſtle
in 1461. By which attainder the manor of Belluton came to the crown, and was
granted 2 Ric. III. to Nicholas Baker and Elizabeth his wife, to hold during their
lives, or either of them longer living." In the time of Queen Elizabeth John Biſſe,
merchant of the city of Briſtol, was lord of this manor ; and in the fourteenth year of
that reign, ſold it with Pensford and other lands to Henry Becher, citizen and habere
daſher of the city of London." It now belongs to the Rev. Mr. Adams.
The church of Stanton-Drew was appropriated to the church of Wells by Biſhop
Robert Burnell, and was taxed in 1292 at eighteen marks and a half; a penſion of
twenty ſhillings being paid out of it to the prior of Bromere in Hampſhire. It is a
vicarage in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the patronage of the arch-
deacon of Bath. The Rev. Mr. Price is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and conſiſts of a nave, chancel, north and
ſouth ailes, ſmall chapel on the north ſide, and near it a tower, the belfry under which
ſerves for the principal entrance into the church.
In the ſouth ſide of the chancel is a neat mural monument of ſtone, with this in-
ſcription:-“ In memory of Samuel Prigg, fifty years the worthy vicar of this pariſh,
whoſe truly chriſtian behaviour procured him the affections of his pariſhioners, and the
eſteem of the neighbourhood. He was conſtantly reſident, and ſo zealous a performer
of his duty, that even the extreme ſeverity of the winter in 1739 could not deter him
from perſevering in it though then eighty years old, by which he contracted an illneſs
that put a period to his well-ſpent life, 1739-40.
James Bernard, of Crowcombe in this county, eſq; his grandſon, cauſed this mo-
nument, which is very unequal to his merits, to be erected to his memory, 1777.”
In a chapel on the north fide is an elegant mural monument of white marble, in-
ſcribed, -" To the memory of James Lyde, eſq; who departed this life on the 12th
day of March in the year of our Lord 1731, in the 62.d year of his age. He was the
eldeſt ſon of Cornelius Lyde, eſq; whoſe monument is erected in this aile. He was
bred to merchandiſe in the city of Briſtol, and followed that employment near thirty
years with great integrity, reputation, and ſucceſs. On the death of his father he retired
to his eſtate in this pariſh, where he ſpent the remainder of his days in that tranquillity
of mind and general eſteem, which are the conſequence and reward of an upright con-
duct fowing from a principle of real piety and univerſal benevolence. He married




s Eſc.
T Rot. Fin. 14 Edw. III.
* Licence to alienate.
t Ibid.
u Harl. MS. 433
y Taxat, Spiritual.
K k k 2
Martha,
436
[Keynham.
S T A N T O N - DR E W.

Martha, one of the daughters of Mr. Michael Pope, of Briſtol, merchant, by whom he
had fourteen children; of whom ſix died in their infancy, and are buried in the pariſh
church of St. James's in that city; as alſo their eldeſt ſon Cornelius, who died on the
29th of Jan. 1724, aged 27. Their children who lie buried in this aile were, Mary,
wife of Mr. Thomas Provis, who died Dec. 17, 1730, aged 26 years; James, who
died Dec. 25, 1736, aged 26; Michael, who died Oct. 13, 1734, aged 20; Sarah,
who died Jan. 21, 1737, aged 20; and Eſther, who died Aug. 19, 1734, aged 17 years.
Martha, his relict, erected this monument to his memory in the year 1738.” Arms,
Azure, an eagle with two necks diſplayed, or Lyde; impaling Argent, two chevrons
gules; on a canton of the ſecond an eſcallop or, Pope.
In the fame chapel:"Near this monument lyeth the body of Cornelius Lyde,
of this pariſh, eſq; who departed this life on the 25th of July, in the year of our Lord
1717, aged 77. He was a gentleman of great piety and integrity, and ſerved his
country honourably in the commiſſion of the peace during the whole reign of King
William. Here alſo lyeth the body of Mary his wife, with whom he lived in great
love above fifty years. She died on the 8th day of June 1715, aged 73. She bred up
eight ſons and three daughters, to whom ſhe was very indulgent; and a bright pattern
of virtue and piety.”
On a very neat mural monument of white marble in the ſame chapel, is this in-
ſcription:" Near this place lyeth the body of Anna-Maria, the wife of Lyonel
Lyde, of the city of Briſtol, eſq; who died the 24th of Feb. 1729, aged 30 years. Alſo
the bodies of their fons Benjamin and William.”
In the ſame chapel is another elegant mural monument of white marble, thus in-
ſcribed: “Here is interred the body of Sir Michael Foſter, one of the Judges of the
court of King's-Bench, who was born Dec. 16, 1689, and died Nov. 7, 1763. Dame
Martha his wife, the eldeſt daughter of James Lyde, eſq; is alſo here interred. She
died May 15, 1758, in the 57th year of her age.” Arms, Argent a chevron vert,
between three bugle-horns fable, an eſcutcheon of pretence azure, an eagle diſplayed or.
On the north fide of the middle aile is a mural monument of ſtone, with this in-
fcription:--In memory of Elizabeth Adams, the wife of John Adams, of this
pariſh, eſq; who departed this life Sept. 15, 1768, aged 68. She was daughter of John
Lyde, of the pariſh of Chelwood, eſq; and grandaughter of Cornelius Lyde, efq;
whoſe remains lie interred in this church. She was a perſon of great piety. Alſo Lyde
Adams, ſon of the ſaid John and Elizabeth Adams; and alſo Lyde Adams, and Sarah
Adams, their grandchildren; all died in their infancy.”
In the ſouth aile is a mural monument of yellow marble, bordered with black, and
terminated by an obtuſe cone, on which, under a feſtoon, is a ſmall oval tablet white
marble, containing this memorial:-“ Near this place lie the remains of Elizabeth
Lyde, relict of James Lyde, eſq; jun. who erected this monument to the memory o
his father and mother."
On the tablet of the baſement below, is infcribed," Near this place lie the re-
mains of David Hopkins, eſq; captain in the militia in the reign of King James II.
He
Keynlham.]
437
S T A N T O N - DR E W.

He was hoſpitable to his neighbours, and charitable to the poor. Died Oe. 1, 1730,
Allo Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, relict of the above James Hopkins, who was deſcended
from the ancient and noble family of the Zouches. A ſincere chriſtian; died Sept. 1,
1758.” Arms, Sable, on a chevron between three piſtols or, as many roſes gules,
Hopkins; impaling, Gules, bezantée, a canton ermine, Zouch,
On the chancel floor:-"Here lyeth the body of Madam Penelope Selleck, wife
of John Selleck, of this pariſh, eſq; and daughter of Sir John Newton, bart. who died
the 28th of May 1722, aged 63 years.”
On an adjoining ſtone: Hic jacet corpus Johannis Selleck, arm. filii Johannis
Selleck, facræ theologiæ doctoris, canonis reſidentiarii, et archidiaconi Wellen;. duas
duxit uxores: prima fuit Elizabetha, filia Gulielmi Cooke, de Highnam in comitatu
Gloceftriæ, arm. ſecunda Penelope filia Johannis Newton, de Barr-court in dco comi-
tatu Gloceftriæ, baronetti, obijt 19° die Aprilis, Anno Domini 1719, ætatis fuæ 80.”
On the floor in the middle aile:-" Here reſteth in hope of a happy reſurrection,
the body of William Cox, gent, who departəd this life the 27th day of Nov. 1673.
Here alſo lyeth the body of Anthony Skutt, eſq; who departed this life the 7th day of
January 1587."
Here lyeth the body of the pious Lady Martha Covper, wife of Sir John Covper,
knight, father of Anthony Skutt, eſq; who dyed Nov. 16, -"
In memorie of Major Edward Bull, of Wellow in the county of Somerſet, gent, who
departed this life May the 19th, 1685."
On the floor in the ſouth aile:
“ Þere lieth the body of David Hopkins, gent. (was alſo captain of the
train-band) who died June the 12th, Anno Domini 1697."
Round a flat ſtone:-"Here Iyeth, in hopes of a joyful reſurrection, the body of
Thomas Hyppiſley, gent. who departed this life and was born, to heaven, Auguſt the
IIth, Anno Domini 1678."
On another ſtone near it:
« VNDER : NEATH THIS TOMB; HERE DOTH LY
THE BODY: OF DEBORAH HYPPISLEY,
IN EIGHTY-TO DEATH HER DID CALL
SEPTEMBER THE 20 SHE LEFT US ALL.”
In ſeveral parts of the floor are ſtones, having on their ſurface the worn portraitures
of ancient perſonages.
BenerACTORS to this pariſh.
« Sept. 12, 1772. Mrs. Eliza Lyde, relict of James Lyde, eſq; gave one hundred
pounds in truſt to John Hooper, eſq; of Walcot near Bath, and Peter Coates, eſq; of
this pariſh, and their heirs for ever. The intereſt thereof to be expended in teaching
fix poor girls in this pariſh to read and knit. And if it ſhould be more than fufficient
for
2
S T A N T O N - DR E W.
[Keyntham

for that purpoſe, the ſurplus to be laid out in books for the uſe of theſe poor girls, who
are to be always choſen by the majority of a veſtry. And the overſeers of the poor for
the time being are to ſee that this intereſt money is properly applied to the uſes above-
mentioned. The ſaid Mrs. Eliza Lyde gave alſo by will twenty ſhillings a year for
ever, payable out of her eſtate in this pariſh, to buy pious books for the uſe of the poor
inhabitants of Stanton-Drew, to be diſtributed by the vicar or curate thereof for the
time being.
« Mr. William Sage gave ten ſhillings a year for a ſermon to be preached on Palm-
Sunday; and twenty ſhillings a year to the poor not receiving alms, for ever.
« Charles Chancellor, who died March 16, 1784, and lies buried in the belfry,
under the bell which he was uſed to ring, left ten ſhillings to be diſtributed to the poor
in bread on March 16th, (the day whereon he died) or the Sunday following.”
The parſonage-houſe is a curious piece of antiquity. On a dead window, which has
horrid figures at the corners, are two armorial ſhields cut in the ſtone. On the one are,
Three garbs within a bordure engrailed; on the other, On a feſſe, a mitre, with labels
expanded between three bucks' heads caboſſed in chief, and in baſe as many pheons.
The laſt coat is for biſhop Thomas Beckington.
S T A N T O N-PRIOR
(So called from its having formerly belonged to the priors of Bath)
S ſituated on the eaſt ſide of this hundred, and the confines of that of Wellow, in a
fine woody vale, ſurrounded with gently riſing hills in fine cultivation. The whole
face of the country bears ſtrong traits of antiquity. At a ſmall diſtance northward from
the church is a large and long inſulated knoll, called Stanton-Bury-hill, on which is a
ſpacious camp containing upwards of thirty acres. The principal part of the fortifica-
tions ſeems to have been weſtward; the main rampart runs from the northweſt point to
the length of one hundred and eighty yards, forming a terrace about five feet high, from
which is a fine proſpect of the rich vale of Avon, and the city of Bath at its extremity,
the Wiltſhire, Glouceſterſhire, and Monmouthſhire hills. From the end of this terrace,
eaſtward, runs a trench ſeven feet in depth, dividing the whole hill from eaſt to weſt,
and being one hundred yards in length from north to fouth, where it turns in a ſmall
curve, humouring the ſweep of the hill. The fouthern edge has but little appearance
of fortification; no more has the weſtern, the deſcent on every ſide being very ſteep
and precipitous. It has always been thought that this was an encampment of the
Romans, and their coins have been frequently diſcovered in the valley underneath. But
as it ſtands near Wanſdike, hoſtilities might have commenced on this important paſs
before


Keyntham.]
439
S T A N T ON. PRIOR,

1
before the arrival of the Roman arms; and the Romans might afterwards have uſed
a place ſo well fitted to their hands. It is curious to obſerve that throughout the
length of that old boundary, which has been ſo frequently mentioned, from its en-
trance into this county at Bath-Hampton to its immerſion into the Channel, there are
places, whoſe names and appearance indicate the hand of war, and tranſmit to pofte-
rity the ferocious actions of our hardy forefathers. Hampton on the Avon fignifies the
old fortified town; on the hill above it are feveral old intrenchments. The Barracks
or Barrows, beyond Lyncombe, are very ancient places of ſepulture. Barrow-bill,
betwixt thoſe and Ingliſhcombe is perhaps the largeſt tumulus in the world. At Ing.
liſhcombe is a caſtle of very remote antiquity. The camp at Stanton-Prior follows
next upon the courſe of the ditch. The name of Publow, as we have before obſerved,
is very ancient. The monument at Stanton-Drew perpetuates fome ſignal victory.
Harelane, leading to Mays-knoll, another very ancient fortification, ſignifies the Military
Road; and Hareclive, near Broadfield-Down, is the Military Rock, where probably blood
was ſhed in defending the paſs to the neighbouring valley. In ſo late days as theſe it
would be abſurd to expatiate on conjectures at what exact point of time, or in what
particular manner, the events aroſe which have thus commemorated the places above-
mentioned; but they ſtill remain ſtanding monuments of heroic actions, and poſterity
will ever view them with that pleaſing ſurprize which attends the ſurvey of paſt illuſtri-
ous deeds, reminding us that we have been,
The village of Stanton was poffeffed by the Saxon kings, and ſome time before the
Conqueſt was given to the priory of Bath; it conſiſted, as we are informed by Domeſ-
day-Book, of three hides.
« The church itſelf holds STANTONE. In the time of King Edward it gelded for
«6 three hides. The arable is three carucates. Thereof in demeſne is half a hide, and
" there is one carucate, and five ſervants, and four villanes, and three cottagers, with
“ two ploughs. There are twelve acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture, and
« thirty acres of coppice wood. It was and is worth three pounds,
The prior of Bath's lands in this place were in 1293 rated at forty-ſeven ſhillings and
fix-pence, and 5 Edw. I. he had a charter of free-warren in the ſame. After the
fuppreſſion of that monaſtery, King Henry VIII. in the 31ſt year of his reign, granted
this manor to Thomas Horner, eſq; who 35 Henry VIII. fold it to Gerard Erington,
gent, and he likewiſe 6 Edw. VI. conveyed the ſame with the advowſon of the church
to William Roſewell, efq, 2 Dec. 41 Eliz. the faid William Roſewell had licence to
alienate the manor, with its appertenances, and divers lands in Stanton, to William
Richman. After which it paſſed through a variety of other hands, and is now the
property of William Gore Langton, efq.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter, and in the gift of
the lord of the manor. The Rev. Dr. Phillott is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Laurence. It is a ſmall building of one pace, with
an embattled tower at the weſt end.

a
a Lib. Domeſday,
• Taxat. Temporal.
& Cart, 5 Edw. I. n. 23.
440
[Keyntham.
STAN TON. PRIOR.
In the chancel floor, on a white marble, is this inſcription:-"Here lie the remains
of the Reverend Samuel Purlivent, who departed this life March 7, 1775, in the 66th
year of his age.”
On the north ſide of the church is a lofty mural monument, containing the effigies of
a man and woman in ancient habits, and over their heads, under a circular arch, the
figure of a man deſſed in the habiliments of the church. On the ſides of the monument
are the effigies of a man and woman, and ſeveral children in cloaks. This monument
commemorates Thomas Cox, eſq; who died in 1650; Joan his wife, and ſeveral of
their children.
In a corner near the chancel is a mural monument of marble, inſcribed to the me
mory of Robert Long, eſq; who died in 1697.
This pariſh gave birth in 1598 to Gilbert Sheldon, who, after having been fellow
and warden of All-Souls College in Oxford, was in 1660 made Biſhop of London; in
1663, Archbiſhop of Canterbury; and in 1667, choſen Chancellor of the univerſity of
Oxford, in the room of Lord Clarendon. The theatre there erected by him will per-
petuate his name to poſterity. He died Nov. 9, 1677.

FILTON, ALIAS WHITCHURCH.
T
;
THIS village is three miles ſouth from Briſtol, and in the turnpike-road from that
city through Pensford and Chewton to Wells. Its ſituation is on high ground;
but bounded by ſtill higher on its weſtern extremity, where a lofty ridge of mountain,
extending from Mays-Knoll to Dundry-Brow, overlooks a vaſt extent of country.
The lands of this pariſh are in general a ſtiffiſh loam, with clay at the depth of about
one foot, and are well cultivated throughout. In the weſtern part on the waſte is
found the lapis hæmatites, or blood-ſtone, the powder of which has in all ages been
eſteemed a ſovereign remedy in every kind of hæmorrhage, and in ulcers of the lungs.
Germany, Italy, and Spain, are the countries where it is more commonly produced,
and the fort moſtly recommended is that found here, which is white, tranſparent, and
little mixed with extraneous particles.
A fine ſpring, called Saltwell, riſes on the weſt ſide of the road from this village to
Briſtol, whence a ſmall rivulet emerging runs through Briſlington, and through that
very romantick glen of Newick into the river Avon at St. Anne's.
The wood is chiefly elm, of which there is a tree in a farm barton here, remarkably
large, meaſuring in its body nineteen feet in circumference, and each of its limbs, which
are ten in number, being conſiderable timber.
The firſt name of this place aroſe from a very ancient town, ſeated in the long for-
gotten chace of Filwood, northweſt from the preſent village, whence it had its name,
and

Keynlam.] FILTON, ALIAS WHITCHURCH.
441
and where, in after days, the abbots of Keynſham had a grange, a chapel, and fundry
lands and tenements. But a church having been erected on the more eaſtward part
of the territory where once had ſtood a cell or chapel of St. Whyte, an ancient Britiſh
ſaint, and Filton thenceforth running to depopulation and decay, this diſtrict, by reaſon
of its increaſe of inhabitants emigrating from their priſtine dwellings, came to be deno-
minated ſometimes by one name and ſometimes by the other, and ſtill retains the
indiſcriminate appellation of Filton, alias WHITCHURCH.
At the time of the Conqueſt it was part of the fifty hides of Keyníham, and was
afterwards granted by William de Clare earl of Glouceſter, to the Auſtin Canons
founded by him on his demeſnes in that town. King Edw. II. confirmed the grant,
and it remained with that abbey till its diſſolution, when it was attached with other
lands to the jointure of Queen Catherine; after whoſe deceaſe King Edward VI. in
the fourth year of his reign, granted the manor of Fylton, alias Whitchurch, to Sir John
St. Loe, knt. for the term of ſixty years. Three years after which the ſaid Sir John
St. Loe aſſigned all his intereſt in the manor and the tithes of this pariſh to Edward
St. Loe, efq; his younger ſon. This Edward St. Loe was of - Stanton-Drew, where
the family had a fair manſion, built caſtlewiſe, and ſtrengthened at the angles with
embattled towers. The ſaid Edward, by deed dated Oct. 16, 4 Eliz. aſſigned his leaſe
of the manor of Whitchurch to Hugh Smyth, of Long-Aſhton, eſq. Soon after which
Queen Elizabeth, by patent bearing date 10 Feb. in the 21ſt year of her reign, granted
the manor of Filton, alias Whitchurch, to Edward Downing and John Walker, eſqrs.
The ſaid Downing and Walker, Dec. 10, the year following, conveyed the manor to
Matthew Smyth, eſq; and his heirs; from which Matthew Smyth it has deſcended to
Sir John Hugh Smyth, bart, and Edward Gore, eſq; the preſent poffeffors.
The tithes of Filton, alias Whitchurch, were granted by King James I. in the ſeventh
year of his reign, to Francis Morris and Francis Phelipps in fee; they the 29th day
of January that ſame year granted and fold the ſame to Sir Hugh Smyth, knt, and his
heirs. And 14 June, 3 Car. I. the King confirmed the manor and tithes of Whit-
church to Lady Elizabeth Gorges for life, and after her deceaſe to Thomas Smyth,
eſq; her ſon by Sir Hugh Smyth, knt. her firſt huſband, and his heirs for ever.
A manor called Lyon’s-Court is ſituated weſtward from the village of Whitchurch,
and its manſion is ſtill remaining. It belonged to the family of Lyons (a family diſtinct
from thoſe of the name at Aſhton) ſo early as the thirteenth century, who bore for
their arms Argent, two lions rampant reſpecting fable, and were retainers to the abbots of
Keynſham, under whom they held their territory. From David de Lyons iſſued David,
Robert, Stephen, Ralph, Thomas, (and Roger the brother of Thomas, who died without
iſſue) Thomas, Thomas, and Nicholas; which Nicholas had one ſon Richard, who
died without iſſue, and alſo a daughter, Edith, who inherited his eſtates, and married
Thomas Holbeach, the ſon of David Holbeach, eſq; of the county of Lincoln. Which
Thomas Holbeach by the ſaid Edith his wife had iſſue another Thomas, who married
Agnes, daughter of Thomas Triſtram, and by her was father of John Holbeach, who
married Elizabeth daughter of Richard Bole, deſcendant of the Boles of Lymington
in Hampſhire, and had iſſue by her John Holbeach, whoſe wife was Barbara, the
VOL. II.
L11
daughter

442
[Keyntham,
FILTON, ALIAS WHITCHURCH.
daughter of John Coxwell, of Ablington in the county of Glouceſter; he had alſo a
daughter, Mary, married to Arthur Cam, whoſe progeny were ſeated in the county
of Bedford. The faid John Holbeach, by his wife Barbara, had iſſue Nathaniel
Holbeach, who is ſtiled of Filton, alias Whitchurch, in 1623. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Trevelyan, of Nettlecombe in this county, eſq; and by her had iſſue
three ſons, John, Thomas, Nathaniel; and four daughters, viz. Elizabeth, Margaret,
Martha, and Urith. A monument in the church perpetuates the remainder of this
ancient family, whoſe eſtate here is now poffefſed by Francis Adams, efq.
The living is a perpetual curacy, in the deanery of Redcliff and Bedminſter. The
lords of the principal manor are the patrons, and the Rev. John Collinſon the preſent
incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas. It conſiſts of a nave, chancel, ſouth aile,
a chapel on the north ſide the belfry, another chapel on the ſouth ſide of the chancel,
and a tower containing two bells. The north chapel is very ancient; and in former
times an obit was obſerved in it for Thomas Gay, who was ſteward and treaſurer of
the monaſtery of Keyníham, and lies buried here under a large flat ſtone, inſcribed,
“Hic jacet Thomas Say, qui dedit ad reſuſcitacione iſti' ecclie āple admo:
dū: corpu° que ſuũ cepeliédū in capella Sci Nicolai de Whitchurche. Cui
aie ppiciet. De'. Decimo nono die mês Januarij Anno Dni Mºccccºrrºiiº.”
His anceſtors were of Goldworthy in the county of Devon, where they had an eſtate, and
bore for their arms, Or, on a feſſe ſable, between three eſcallop ſhells azure, five lozenges
argent. The ſouth chapel has been the burial-place of the Lyons and the Holbeach
families; and on the ſouthern wall is a handſome marble monument with this inſcription:
“ This monument was erected for the commemoration of the honourable, as well
as antient family of the Holbeach's, at the expence of Mrs. Sybilla, the daughter of
Thomas Lloyd, gent. by Mary, relict of the laſt hereunder mentioned (one excepted)
John Holbeach, eſq; A. D. 1735.
From David
Thomas
Thomas
Holbeach, eſq;
John
Nathaniel
John
Who had iſſue John and Frances.
The ſaid Mrs. Frances Holbeach was the laſt of the family, who died October the
30th, 1732, aged 63 years.
“Near to this place lies buried the mortal part of the above-mentioned Sybilla
Lloyd, who left this world the ..... day of April 1745, aged 71 years.
“ Near under lieth the body of Elizabeth Evett, of the pariſh of Old-Cleeve in this
county, (to the aboveſaid Mrs. Sybilla Lloyd diſtantly related) who, at the age of 25
years,
John

Keynlham.] FILTON, ALIAS WHITCHURCH.
443
years, died the 3d of June 1744.” Arms, on a large ſhield above the monument, on
a hatchment, and in the window on ſtained glaſs; 1. Argent, a chevron engrailed ſable :
Holbeach. 2. Argent, two lions reſpecting each other fable: Lyons. 3. Argent, three
torteaux, a label of three points azure: Triſtram. 4. Argent, three bulls' heads ca-
boſſed ſable: Bole of Lymington. 5. Or, on a chief azure, three lions rampant of the
firſt: Liſey. 6. Argent, on a bend fable three cloſe helmets or: Compton. 7. Or,
on a bend engrailed gules, three croſs croflets fitcheé argent. 8. Gules, a croſs moline
argent between four mullets counterchanged.
On the left hand of the above monument is another of white and Sienna marble
inſcribed, "In memory of James Colſton, of this pariſh, gent. who died 22 Feb.
1786, aged 67.”
Againſt the ſouth wall of the aile is a ſmall mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed as
follows:-_ “Hereunder lyeth ye body of Thomas, the ſon of Thomas and Joane
Whippie, of y Green in this pariſh, who departed this life yº 28th day of June, Anno
Dom. 1699, aged 56 years. Near this place lyeth the body of Hannah, wife of the
above-named Thomas Whippie, of this pariſh, who departed this life the 7th day of
December, Anno Dom. 1708."
At the weſt end of this aile, and under the gallery in the nave, are many other in-
ſcriptions to the family of Whippie, on the floor; as alſo the following memorial:
SARA
LVKYNES,
1599.
Againſt the north wall of the chancel is a neat marble monument with this memo-
rial: “ Near this place lies the body of Richard Goodhind, gent. whoſe anceſtors
for many generations reſided in this pariſh. He departed this life the ad day of May
1754, aged 49. Alſo the body of Ann his only daughter and heireſs: ſhe departed
the 7th day of February 1762, in the 13th year of her age. To perpetuate the me-
mory of an affectionate huſband and dutiful daughter, Mary Goodhind cauſed this
monument to be erected.” Arms, Gules, a feſſe between three fleurs-de-lis or; impaling
argent three greyhounds current ſable. On an ineſcutcheon gules three bezants in pale,
In the chancel floor there are many other inſcriptions, nearly obliterated, to the me-
mory of the ſame family.
Againſt the north wall of the nave, near the door, there is a neat mural monument
of marble, containing the following inſcription: - Beneath a ſtone, at the eaſtward
part of this ile, lie the remains of George Stocker, of this pariſh, eſq; a deſcendant of
the antient family of the Stockers in Chilcompton, who (having by his own induſtry
acquired conſiderable wealth, of which his friends and the poor were partakers) departed
this life Jan' 3", 1776, aged 76. Alſo of John Stocker, gent. (nephew to the former)
and of Katharine his firſt wife. He died 14th Jan 1777, in the 65th year of his age.
She died 18th December 1748, aged 50. In memory of whom George (their only
ſon) cauſed this monument to be erected.” Arms, Gyronny of fix azure and argent,
three parrots vert.
L112
On
1


444
[Keyntham.
FILTON, ALIAS WHITCHURCH.
On the other ſide of the north door is another monument of marble, inſcribed,-
~ Near this place are depoſited the remains of Iſaac Emery, of this pariſh, gent. He
departed this life the 22d April 1761, aged 70 years. Alſo Thomas, his ſon, who
departed this life the 19th Sept" 1761, aged 27 years. Alſo Charity Emery, wife of
Ifaac Emery, gent. Alſo Ann Edols, wife of Richard Edols, gent. and daughter of
Iſaac and Charity Emery, died 24th March 1776, aged 35 years.”
The pews or ſeats in this church, a ſmall number excepted, are built of oak, are low
and open, run at right angles from ſide to ſide, and are nearly coeval with the Re-
formation, when (excluſively of the nobility, patrons, and clergy) people ſat in common,
and without priority or diſtinction.
BENEFACTORS. « Sir John Smith, late of Long-Aſhton, kn' and bar", gave forty
ſhillings to be diſtributed on St. Thomas-day to twenty poor people, ſhare and ſhare
alike, at the diſcretion of the miniſter and churchwarden yearly for ever.
« Mrs. Frances Holbeach, ſpinſter, (daughter of John Holbeach, eſq;) gave thirty
pounds; ten ſhillings of the profits thereof to the miniſter, for preaching a ſermon
Shrove-Tueſday in the morning, and the remainder to be diſtributed to the poor in
bread the ſame day yearly for ever.
“ Mr. Benjamin Tipput gave five pounds, the profits to the poor
“ Mr. William Opie, ſometime ſheriff of the city of Briſtol, gave to this pariſh three
pounds fourteen ſhillings yearly for the preaching a fermon in this church once a fort-
night on Sunday. He alſo gave to the poor of this pariſh twenty ſhillings, to be laid
out in ſixpenny bread and diſtributed on Chriſtmas-day yearly for ever.
« Sir Hugh Smyth, of Long-Alhton, knight of the Bath, and baronet, gave twenty
pounds, the profits to the poor for ever.
« Thomas Jones gave five pounds, the profits to the poor for ever.”
There was a chantry here, endowed with twenty-four acres of arable and paſture
land lying in Whitchurch, 1 Edw. III."
for ever.
a Rot. Fact. Calefs. i Ed. III. m. 10.

uc
THE

( 445 )
THE HUNDR E D
K I L M E R S D ON
L
IES between the hundred of Chewton on the weſt, and that of Frome on the
eaſt; being ſevered from the former by the Roman Foſſe-road, which enters
this hundred at Radſtock, and runs throughout its whole extent towards Ivel-
cheſter. This hundred was anciently veſted in the Norman family of Salignac, de
Saligniaco, or Sulleny, lords of the manor of Kilmerſdon, from which it had its name.
John de Sulleny was living in the time of King John, and was father of Andrew de
Sulleny, who had iſſue Ralph de Sulleny, lord of this hundred 28 Henry III. TO
him ſucceeded Geffrey de Sulleny, who lived at Kilmerſdon in the latter part of the
ſame reign, and was father of Andrew, and grandfather of another Andrew de Sulleny,
who had lands in Babington of the grant of Philip de Albany. There were ſeveral
branches of this family ſettled in Cornwall, Devon, and in Britanny in France, (where
the name is not at preſent infrequent) and they bore for their arms, Quarterly, Argent
and gules. This hundred contains ten pariſhes.
K I L M E R S D O N.
THIS
THIS pariſh ſtands nearly in the centre of the hundred, in a woody vale, about ten
miles eaſt from the city of Wells. Its ancient name was Chenemereſdone; but it
is not diſtinguiſhed as a manor till after the Conqueft, nor do we find any further
account of it in the Norman ſurvey than the following:
« In ChenemERESDONE is half a hide of land. It is worth ten ſhillings. Biſhop
« Peter held it; now it is in the King's hands."
Lib. Domeſday:
In
44.6
[Bilmersdon.
K-I L M E R S DO N.

In the time of King John, John de Sulleny granted to Alexander de Arſick, in free
marriage with Emma his ſiſter, a third part of this manor, which deſcended by heredi-
tary right to Hugh de Tywe; which Hugh gave the ſaid third part to Walter his ſon
in marriage with Emma daughter of Thomas de Whelton, (or Walton, a village in
this pariſh.) After the death of the ſaid Walter de Tywe, Emma his relict married
to her ſecond huſband Adam Nortoft, and they two joined in ſelling this third part of
the manor to Robert Burnel, biſhop of Bath and Wells, who exchanged the ſame for
other lands with William Botreaux, who had a charter of free-warren in all his de-
meſne lands in this pariſh from King Edw. I. From which William Botreaux this
portion of the manor deſcended to William lord Botreaux, and afterwards paffed by
heireſſes to the families of Hungerford and Haſtings.
The other portions of the manor were very early the property of the family of De
Albaniaco or D’Aubeney, lords of South-Petherton in this county, of whom Philip
D'Aubeney died ſeized thereof 22 Edw. I. leaving Elias D’Aubeney his ſon and heir; by
whoſe ſucceſſors it was held till the whole became united in the family of Haſtings,
progenitors of the earls of Huntingdon. 31 Eliz. Henry earl of Huntingdon fold the
manor of Kilmerſdon, with that of Walton, which was a member thereof, to John
Spencer, citizen and alderman of London; from whom it came in proceſs of time to
the family of Goodman, and from them by a coheireſs to Twyford, and is now jointly
held by Samuel Twyford and Thomas Samuel Jolliffe, efqrs.
By the ancient cuſtom of this manor, the widow of a tenant was entitled to all her
huſband's copyhold lands for life, which ſhe forfeited if ſhe remarried, or proved incon-
tinent; but in the latter caſe, if ſhe came into the next court after the tranſgreſſion,
riding aftride upon a ram, and made an open acknowledgment in a certain form of
words before the lord of the manor, or his ſteward, ſhe was readmitted to her lands
without further fine or ceremony." The like cuſtom prevailed in the manors of Eaſt and
Weſt-Enbourn in Berkſhire, Torre in Devonſhire, and many other parts of England,
The hamlets belonging to this parifh are,
1. CHARLTON, where is a good ſeat of Thomas Samuel Jolliffe, efq. Here fora
merly was a chapel, and many large ſtone coffins have been found.
2. COLEFORD, which in the Conqueror's time was parcel of the eſtates of Roger de
Curcelle, and was thus ſurveyed:
“ Aluric holds of Roger, COLFORDE. The fame held it in the time of King Ed.
“ ward, and gelded for three furlongs of land. The arable is half a carucate; but
there is one carucate in demeſne. It is worth two ſhillings.'
3. LUCKINGTON and WALTON were both manors at the time of the Conqueſt; the
former was the property of Alured de Ifpania:
“ Alured himſelf holds LOCHINTONE. Alwi held it in the time of King Edward,
56 and gelded for five hides. The arable is five carucates. In demeſne are two caru-
• Cart. 13 Ed. I. m. 6.
& Blount's Law Dictionary, tit. Free-Bench. Fragmenta Antiq. 266. Dodſworth's MSS. Collections, vol,
e Lib, Domeſday,
b Eſc.
154. fol, 8.
cates,

Kilmersdon.]
447
K I L M E R S D O N.
998
and creation
cates, and three ſervants, and eight cottagers, with one plough. There is a mill of
ten ſhillings rent, and twelve acres of meadow. Wood half a mile long, and three
“ furlongs broad. When he received it, it was worth fix pounds, now three pounds.
Walton was the land of Edmund Fitzpain.
“ The ſame Edmund holds WALTUNE. Elmar held it in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for three hides. The arable is four carucates. There is in
" demeſne one carucate, and one villane, and ſix cottagers, with one plough and a half.
« There are fix acres of meadow, and forty acres of paſture. Coppice wood one
“ furlong in length and breadth. It was formerly worth four pounds, now forty
« ſhillings."
Both the manors of Luckington and Walton were ſometime held by the family of
Botreaux, of the priory of Longleat in the county of Wilts."
4. LYPIAT, where anciently was an eſtate given by a family of that name to the
priory of Bradenſtoke in the county of Wilts.
At NEWBERRY, or NewBOROUGH, a ſpot fouthward from Kilmerſdon, which for-
merly gave name to a family, is a very good houſe belonging to Dr. Paget. On the
hill is an ancient Roman camp.
- The church of Kilmerſdon was appropriated by William de Erleigh to the priory
of Buckland in this county; and in the return made A. D. 1335, by Biſhop Ralph de
Salopia, to the King's writ, directing him to ſend an account of the poſſeſſions of the
prior and brethren of the hoſpital of St. John of Jeruſalem within this dioceſe, this
church is certified to be worth twenty-four marks."
It is a vicarage in the deanery of Frome, and in the patronage of the King. The
Rev. Richard Graves is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and is a handſome edifice, con-
fiſting of a nave, chancel, and north aile, with a ſtately tower at the weſt end.
Along the top of the communion-rails is the following inſcription in gold letters :
« Thvs was the thankfvlneſs of the well-diſpoſed expreſſed for ſtaying the great
plagve 1625."
Here is a charity-ſchool founded and endowed by the Rev. Henry Shute, late of
St. Andrew's, Holborn, this town being his native place.
On the north wall of the chancel is a handſome mural monument of black, grey and
white marble, on the tablet of which is this inſcription:
« Near this place lies interred the body of Mary, one of the daughters and coheir-
effes of Gabriel Goodman, eſq; lord of this manour, and widow of William Hilliard,
eſq. Among many other charitable legacies, ſhe gave 1ool. to the poor of this
pariſh. She died April 20, 1745, aged 77. Ann and Sarah Twyford, her nieces and
f Lib. Domeſday.
Ibid.
h Efc.
i Excerpt, e Regiſt. Wellen.
executrixes,
448
[Bilmersdon.
K I L M E R S D O N.
ver alle on
executrixes, and only ſurviving iſſue of her ſiſter Sarah, erected this monument in
gratitude to her memory.”
Arms, Azure, a chevron argent between three mullets or; Hilliard. Over all, on an
eſcutcheon per pale fable and ermine, an eagle diſplayed or.
On the left hand of the communion-table is an elegant mural monument of
white marble, inſcribed,
“ Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Robert Twyford, M. A. treaſurer of the
cathedral church of St. David's, and lord of this manour; a gentleman of a truly re-
ſpectable character, modeſt, and unaſſuming; his great ambition was to approve him-
ſelf a good man; the ſweetneſs of his temper made him happy in himſelf, and he
employed his abilities, his fortune, and authority, in rendering others fo. And thoſe
many virtues which conſtituted his felicity in this life will, we truſt, through the
merits of Chriſt, make him completely happy to all eternity. He died April 27,
1776, aged 61."
Vooroorlos
Arms, Argent, two bars fable; on a canton of the laſt, a cinquefoil or.
To the right of the communion-table is another handſome monument of white
marble, with this inſcription:
~ Near this place are depoſited the remains of Mrs. Sarah Twyford, one of the
ladies of this manour; whoſe decent piety, unaffected affability, and boundleſs charity,
rendered her life honourable, her death regretted, and her memory revered. She de-
parted this life the 11th of Jan. 1765, aged 86. James Twyford hath cauſed this
monument of his gratitude and her virtues to be erected to his honoured benefactreſs.”
On the ſouth wall of the chancel:-"Near this place lyeth the body of Mrs. Ann
Twyford, late lady of this manour; the eldeſt daughter of James Twyford, eſq; by
Sarah daughter of Gabriel Goodman, eſq; formerly lord of this manour. She died
unmarried March 12, 1765, aged 87 years.”
budou

A
S
H
W
I
с
кейін
Isname has be which is remises have faire de prom. She'quantity of cache
S a pariſh on the Foffe, about three miles north from Shepton-Mallet. Its ancient

trees growing hereabout, Acre in the Saxon ſignifying aſh, and Vic a village. In
that part of the pariſh bordering on Mendip-hills is found a deep, heavy, green, and
indurated clay, frequently in the ſhafts of the coal-pits, of which here are ſeveral.
About the depth of 25 or 30 feet is alſo found a black friable marle, which would be
excellent manure. At about the depth of eighteen feet is a ſtratum of pale yellow ochre
very hard and ponderous, conſiderable quantities of which are raiſed and ſent to the
colour ſhops; but of late years moſtly from another part of Mendip towards the northweſt
near
Kilmersdon.]
449
A S
CK.
H
W I
طور
near the Harptrees. In this and ſeveral other parts of theſe hills are found ſeveral
ſpecies of the Secomia, a kind of ſtone peculiar to Mendip.
On the ſouthweſt ſide of this pariſh, on the hill, and within half a mile of the foſs-road,
is a Roman camp called by the name of Maſbury-Caſtle. It conſiſts of a double rampire
and ditch, about three furlongs in circuit, having two oppoſite entrances, guarded by
oblique turns of the vallum, which is from fifteen to twenty feet deep. William of
Worceſter, from vulgar tradition, informs us, that this caſtle was built by a giant of the
name of Mark; that in his time it was in ruins; but that there ſtill remained on the ſpot
upwards of one hundred thouſand cart-loads of ſtones.
The manor of Aſhwick was parcel of the ancient poſſeſſions of the priory of Bath.
« The church itſelf holds ESCEWICHE. In the time of King Edward it gelded for
a half a hide. The arable is half a carucate. There is one ſervant, and two villanes,
rendering forty-two pence, and twelve acres of meadow, and three acres of coppice
« wood. It was and is worth forty-two pence.
“ The whole of this land belonged to the ſaid church in the time of King Edward,
" and could not be alienated from it.”
The temporalities of the priory here were in the year 1293 valued at fixty-three
ſhillings and four-pence. It continued in the poſſeſſion of that houſe for upwards of
five hundred years, at the expiration of which being diſſolved by Henry VIII. this and
its other lands were taken away, and in the 31ſt of that reign this manor was granted to
Thomas Horner, eſq. 36 Henry VIII. the ſaid Thomas Horner ſold the capital
meſſuage here to John Stidman and his heirs; and 37 Henry VIII. the manor and a
meſſuage called Careſclift to the ſame perſon; from whom it deſcended to Robert
Stidman, probably his ſon and heir. It now belongs by inheritance to Matthew lord
Forteſcue, who bears for his arms, Azure, a bend engrailed argent, cotized or.
Great part of the hamlet of Oakhill lies within this pariſh, ſtanding ſoutheaſtward
from the village. It formerly belonged to the family of Horſey. It is now only
famous for a large brewery carried on with great reputation by Meſſrs. Jordan and
Billingſley, both theſe gentlemen having good houſes here. Mr. Billingſley's is newly
built, and ſtands in a very romantick ſituation, in a fine fruitful vale, richly wooded
with a variety of trees and ſhrubs on either ſide the ſlopes which bound its extent, and
patched with immenſe rocks, which project through the foliage from the lofty brow of
the cliffs. In the garden is an old ſummer-houſe, almoſt covered with ivy, in which
Dr. James Foſter, having embraced the obnoxious tenets of the diffentient difſenters,
and retired hither out of the way of clamour and confuſion, ſtudied and penned many
of his works. A ſmall ſtone placed therein is inſcribed to his memory in the following
words:--“ Sacred to the memory of the celebrated James Foſter, D. D. who in this
humble and retired manſion, fecluded from the fury of bigots, and the cares of a buſy
world, ſpent ſeveral years; and compoſed many of thoſe excellent diſcourſes on natural
religion and ſocial virtue, (with the annexed offices of devotion) which have been read
1
Itin. p. 291.
d Eſc.
• Lib. Domeſday. « Taxat. Temporal.
M mm
VOL. II.
with
450
A S
[Kilmersdon.
H W
I C K.
with univerſal admiration during the laſt and preſent ages; and which, while they exhibit
to poſterity the moſt beautiful diſplay of the divine attributes, and important duties of
human life, will immortalize the name and memory of their learned and pious author.”
Aſhwick is a chapel to Kilmerſdon; the church, dedicated to St. James, contains
nothing remarkable.
B A B
I N
G TO
N
a pariſh ſituated ſouth from Kilmerſdon, in a flat woody country. It is noticed in
I the old recorded on the centralel of Generey bilhew of de ocentesas follows:
wa
“ Azeline holds of the Biſhop, BABINGTONE. Two thanes held it in the time of
“ King Edward, and gelded for five hides. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne
are two carucates, and ſeven ſervants, and two villanes, and two cottagers, with three
ploughs. There is a mill of forty pence rent, and twelve acres of meadow, and
*6 fifteen acres of paſture. Wood fix furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It was
« worth forty ſhillings, now fixty ſhillings.”
In this place reſided a family of its name from the time of Henry II. to that of
Ędw. III. and were people of great diſtinction. Sir John de Babington was lord of
Babington-17 Edw. I. and bore for his arms ten plates. There were ſeveral branches
of this family ſeated in Nottinghamſhire, Derbyſhire, and other counties; but their
arms were different, viz. ten torteaux, ſometimes with the addition of a lion rampant.
Gervaiſe Babington was ſucceſſively biſhop of Landaff, Exeter, andWorceſter, in the
reigns of Queen Elizabeth and James I. and died A. D. 1610.
In the time of Edw. I. the manor of Babington was in the poffeffion of John
Ap-Adam, whoſe heirs are certified to hold the ſame, with the advowſon of the chapel
there, and the hamlet of MIDDLECOTE,° by the ſervice of two knights' fees and a half.
It was afterwards held by the Lords Botreaux, who had a charter of free-warren in their
demeſne lands within the pariſh. 14 Edw. I. William lord Botreaux held a fair in
the village of Babington, and the advowſon of the church of Babington. But the
manor had ſometime before been poſſeſſed by the Chedders, and paſſed by a coheireſs
of Thomas Chedder, 21 Henry VI. to Sir John Newton, and by his ſon Richard
a Lib. Domeſday.
b See Warton's Hift. of Kiddington, p. 38, 39, 40.
Now a depopulated place. It belonged alſo at the Conqueſt to the Biſhop of Coutances :" Azeline holds
** of the Biſhop MillEscote. Two thanes held it of the church of Glaſtonbury, and could not be ſeparated
s from it, and gelded for five hides and a half. The arable is five carucates. In demefne is one carucate and a
"half, and three ſervants, and nine villanes, and fix bordars, and five cottagers, with five ploughs. There is a
“ mill of fix ſhillings and fix-pence rent, and three acres of meadow. Paſture four furlongs long, and two fur-
46 longs broad, and as much wood. It was worth forty ſhillings, now four pounds.” Lib. Domeſday.
coheireſs
Kilmersdon.]
.451
B A B IN
G TO N.
coheireſs, 1 and 2 Ph. and Mary, to Sir Thomas Griffin, knt. It afterwards came to the
poſſeſſion of William Long, eſq; and is now the property of Norton Knatchbull, eſq;
nephew of Mrs. Elizabeth Long.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of Samuel Twyford,
and Thomas Samuel Jolliffe, eſqrs. The Rev. Mr. Batchelor is the preſent incumbent.
The church was built in the year 1750 by Mrs. Long; it is a ſmall neat edifice,
dedicated to St. Margaret.
The manſion of Mr. Knatchbull ſtands near it, in a very pleaſant ſituation, being
ſheltered on the north by a fine wood at about a furlong diſtance; between which and
the houſe is a large piece of water. The pleaſure grounds are prettily diſpoſed.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are annually on an average fix; the burials four.
The expences of the poor here were in 1770, 61l. 155. 7d.; in 1778, 891. 8s. 7d.
BUCK L A N D - D IN HAM
IES eaſtward from Babington, on the borders of the hundred of Frome. Its ſitu-
ation is nearly on the eaſtern brow of a hill, which overlooks ſeveral pleaſant
vales of mead and paſture. A fine ſpring riſes at Moonleigh's, and from it a rivulet
runs into the Frome. Another ſpring iſſues at Barrow-Hill, and forms a brook, which,
after dividing this pariſh from that of Elm, runs alſo into the river Frome. The turn-
pike-road from Briſtol to the town of Frome paſſes through the village, which conſiſts
of a long ſtreet of mean houſes. It formerly was a large and very conſiderable place,
having a market on Tueſdays, a fair for three days, and a very large manufacture of
woollen-cloth. Here was a market-croſs and town-houſe, where aſſiześ were frequently
held. This town aroſe chiefly from the munificence of the Denhams its old lords,
who gave it its name, and many of whom reſided here in a noble manſion long ſince
level with the ground.
That it was in ancient times a very conſiderable manor, appears from the great ſurvey
of William the Conqueror, which ſays,
“ Donno [a King's thane] holds BOCHELANDE. The ſame held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for twelve hides. The arable is feven carucates. There
" are five ploughs, and eleven villanes, and five cottagers, and ſeven ſervants, and forty
acres of meadow, and thirty acres of coppice wood, and half a mile of paſture in
length, and one furlong and a half in breadth, and a mill rendering ſeven ſhillings.
It was formerly worth eight pounds, now one hundred ſhillings."
a
a Lib. Domeſday,
M m m 2
The
452
BUCKL AN D- DINHA M. [Kilmersdon.
The manor of Buckland came to the poſſeſſion of the Dinhams ſoon after the Con-
queſt. Of this family an account has already been given in the deſcription of Corton,
in the hundred of Horethorne,' to which the reader is referred; and it only remains
here to ſay, that both this manor and that were held under the ſame name till diſperſed
by coheireſſes in the time of Edw. IV. After which it was chiefly held in moieties or
parcels. 30 Henry VIII. John lord Zouch and Seymour, ſon and heir of John lord
Zouch, and Joan his wife, one of the daughters and coheirs of John lord Dinham,
held two parts of the fourth part of this manor. 19 Henry VIII. Sir William
Compton, knt. held at his death a fourth part of the ſame, leaving Peter Compton his
fon and heir." 33 Eliz. Henry lord Compton ſold his part to Webb, and he to Hodges.
And 36 Henry VIII. John earl of Bath fold a fourth part of the manor to Thomas
Bamfeilde, eſq. By which, and various other purchaſes the manor became jointly
veſted in the families of Bamfeilde and Hodges; and the ſhare of the former is now
inherited by Sir Charles Bampfylde, bart. that of the latter by Henry Strachey, of
Sutton-Court, eſq.
The church of Buckland-Dinham, valued in 1292 at fifteen marks, is a peculiar and
prebend in the cathedral of Wells. The Rev. Mr. Payne is the preſent prebendary
and rector. The Rev. Mr. Ames is vicar.
The church ſtands in the deanery of Frome, and is dedicated to St. Michael;' it
conſiſts of a nave, chancel, and ſide ailes, with a tower at the weſt end, containing
five bells.
In the north aile, on three ſtones in the floor, lie the effigies of Sir John Dinham
and Joan his wife, with another of the ſame family. On raiſing one of theſe ſtones a
few years ſince a human body was found beneath it in a ſtone coffin, which on being
touched crumbled into duſt. This Sir John Dinham, who lived in the time of Edw. II.
founded a chantry in the church of Buckland, and gave twenty acres of arable land,
two acres of meadow, and paſture for four oxen, with two mills, all in the pariſh of
Buckland, to a chaplain to perform divine ſervice in the church of St. Michael of
Buckland, for the ſoul of the ſaid John every day for ever.
Colonel Warwick Bampfylde gave by will ten pounds per annum for ever to the poor
of this pariſh, who do not receive collection.
There is a ſmall hamlet called MURTREE or MORTRAY.
The pariſh of Buckland gave naine to a very ancient and opulent family, who were
lords of Hemington hard by.
See p. 361, 362, of this vol. e Inq. poft Mort.
a Ing. capt. ap. Yevyll, 22 Jan. 20 Hen. VIII.
e Taxat. Spiritual. f Ecton, by miſtake, ſays St. Mary. 3 Inq. ad quod Damn. 19 Edw. II.
HARDINGTON.
Kümersdon.).
453 ]
H A R D I N G T O N.
a
C MINTONE.
ORTHWARD from Buckland lies Hardington, a pariſh almoſt depopulated,
It belonged to the Biſhop of Coutances at the time that the Norman ſurvey was
drawn up, and in all probability had its name from Harding one of the Saxon thanes,
who poſſeſſed conſiderable property in this neighbourhood.
Ralph holds of the Biſhop, HARDINTONE. Three thanes held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for four hides. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne
are two carucates, and four ſervants, and one villane, and ſeven cottagers, with three
ploughs. There are thirty-ſix acres of meadow, and twelve acres of coppice-wood.
" It was and is worth four pounds. In this manor is one hide appertaining to Ha-
Baldwin holds it, and has common paſture for this manor.
William and Alexander de Hardington were of this place in the time of Henry III.
The heirs of John Le Sore held the manors of Hardington and Wydergrave 9 Edw. II.
by the ſervice of one knight's fee. John de Pederton was afterwards lord of this
manor, and at his death left a daughter, Agnes, married to John Baumfilde, eſq; whoſe
ſon, Peter Baumfilde, poſſeſſed this eſtate, and tranſmitted it to his poſterity; Sir
Charles Warwick Bampfylde, bart. being the preſent owner. The manor-houſe, now
in ruins, ſtood near the church; and there was a fine park ſtocked with deer, extending
to the top of a hill from which there is an extenſive and pleaſing view.
The living is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and in the gift of Sir. Charles
Warwick Bampfylde. The Rev. Mr. Hill is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall ſtructure, fifty feet long, and eighteen wide; a ſmall tower
ſtands at the weſt end.
In the chancel is a ſtately mural monument of white marble, inſcribed,-
memory of the honourable Colonel Warwick Bampfield, late of this place, eſq; who
deceaſed Dec. 6, 1694, aged 72. As alſo of John Bampfield, eſq; his elder brother,
and of Dame Margaret, wife of Sir James Drax, their ſiſter; who, together with her
huſband, were interred in a vault in the pariſh church of St. John Zachariah, London,
which was conſumed in the great conflagration of that city in 1666, and not rebuilt.
And likewiſe in memory of Thomas Bampfield, efq; their grandfather; and alſo of
Thomas Bampfield, eſq; their great-grandfather.” Arms, On a bend three mullets,
a Lib. Domeſday,
b Cart. Antiq.
ç Eſc.
« In
HEMINGTON
[454]
[Kilmersdon.
H
E
M I N
G T
O
N
66
a
S the next pariſh northweſt from Hardington, ſituated on a gentle declivity, in a
country well wooded and watered. This was one of the four manors which Baldwin
de Execeſtre poſſeſſed in this county from the grant of King William the Conqueror.
« Baldwin holds HAMITONE of the King. Siward held it in the time of King
** Edward, and gelded for twenty-one hides. The arable is twenty carucates; thereof
in demeſne are eight hides, and there are four carucates, and eleven ſervants, and
« twenty-ſix villanes, and eight cottagers, with twelve ploughs. There are twelve
acres of meadow, and fifty acres of coppice-wood. Paſture half a mile long, and
es half a mile broad. It was and is worth nineteen pounds. Of this land one hide lies
rs in the common paſture of Hardintone, a manor of the Biſhop of Coutances.'
This Baldwin de Execeftre, whoſe former name had been Baldwin de Brionis, was
Theriff of the county of Devon, an office appertaining to the honour of Oakhampton,
given him by King William the Conqueror. Richard, his eldeſt ſon, who was ſur-
named de Redvers, or Rivers, was by King Henry I. in the firſt year of his reign
created Earl of Devon, and was the firſt perſon that ever enjoyed that honour; to which
a number of manors, not only in Devonſhire, but in this and other counties, were
annexed for its dignity and ſupport. Hemington was one of thoſe manors, and an
inquiſition taken 2 Edw. I. ſets forth, that John de Courtney held the ſaid manor of
the King in capite by barony, by reaſon of its being a member of the barony of Oak-
hampton. And Hugh de Widworthy, Nicholas de St. Victore, and Roger de Moel,
held half a knight's fee of the ſaid John Courtney in the manor of Hemington by
knight's ſervice. In this family of Courtney it continued till the time of Edw. IV.
when Elizabeth one of the daughters and coheirs of Thomas Courtney earl of Devon,
who was taken in the battle of Towton in 1461, transferred it by marriage to Sir Hugh
Conway, knt. From that family it paſſed to Sir William Knevett, knt. and thence
to the families of Buckland and Coppleſtone. 36 Henry VIII. Richard Buckland and
Humphry Coppleſtone conveyed the manor with the rectory and advowſon of the
church of Hemington to Thomas and John Bampfield, eſqrs. in whoſe family it has
continued till this time, and is now the eſtate of Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde, Bart.
Within this pariſh were formerly ſeveral conſiderable villages, having manerial
rights under the lords of Hemington.
HIGH-Church, which ſtands northeaſtward from Hemington, is ſaid to have been
the ſpot where the original pariſh-church ſtood. i Ric. II. Thomas Flory held a
third part of a knight's fee in High-Church. 10 Henry IV. William Burleſton was
owner of this manor.d i Henry VI. Hugh Courtney earl of Devon died ſeized of the
third part of one knight's fee, which William le Prous formerly held in Heigh-Church
juxta Hemington. This place is now reduced to one houſe, which is the ancient
manſion of its lords, and the property of the Rev. Mr. Hill.
a Lib. Domeſday.
c Licence to alienate.
Near
b Eſc.
d Eſc.
e Ibid.
Kilmersdon.] H E M IN G T O N.
455
c In memory
Near High-Church is FALKLAND, another ancient manor, which gave name to a
family. 10 Henry IV. Walter the ſon of John Folkland, who was outlawed for felony,
held one meſſuage and ten ſhillings rent in Falkland of William Burleſton as of his
manor of High-Church. In the time of Henry V. Nicholas de St. Vigore held the
fourth part of one knight's fee here. It now belongs to Sir Charles Warwick
Bamfylde, bart.
A third ancient manor within this pariſh is HUNTMINSTER, a name which ſeems to
imply a church there in the Saxon times. William le Prouz held the village of Hunt-
minſter in the manor of Hemington 20 Edw. I. The ſervice by which it was held was
half a knight's fee. This place is now depopulated.
The benefice of Hemington was valued in 1292 at nineteen marks; and a penſion of
four marks was paid out of it to Henry de Effe, canon of Sarum." It is a rectory in
the deanery of Frome. The lord of the manor is patron, and the Rev. Giles Hill is
the preſent incumbent.
The church, which, according to Browne Willis, is dedicated to St. Mary, conſiſts
of a nave, chancel, ſouth aile, and tower at the weſt end.
On the north wall of the chancel is a mural monument of ſtone,
of Mrs. Elizabeth Hill, daughter of Mr. Stephen Hill, rector of this pariſh; and Mary
his wife, who died at Bath, March 1, and was buried at the entrance into this chancel
March 3, 1725, aged 18 years. In this chancel lies the body of the Rev. Mr. Gyles
Hill, A. M. rector of this pariſh; he died Oct. 29, 1755, aged 63."
Near the communion-table:-"Here lies the body of the Rev. Stephen Hill,
M. A. late rector of this pariſh, who died July 24, 1737, aged 84 years. Alſo Mary
the wife of Stephen Hill died January 9, 1752, aged 87."
On a braſs plate on a tomb in the ſouth aile is the following infcription:-"Here
lyeth the body of John Halkfield, which departed to God full mekely in the yeare of
our Lord GOD 1528, on whoſe ſoul God have mercy. Amen.”
In this aile are ſeveral flat ſtones to the Vigor family.
On a black ſtone in the middle paſſage: • Here lies the body of Adolphus
Darknel, of Folkland, gent. who died June 14, 1710. And of Sarah his wife, who
died Aug. 31, 1711.” Arms, a lion paſſant regardant between three helmets,
On an adjoining ſtone:-" Here lyeth the body of Francis Hales, gent, who de-
parted this life June 1, 1764, in the 84th year of his age.” Arms, Chevron ſable
between three lions rampant. Creſt, a lion rampant.
Againſt one of the pillars in the ſouth aile is a mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed,
“ Siſte viator. Heare by lyeth the bodys of Edward Batchelor, gent, and Katharine
his wife, expecting the joyful day of reſurrection. Katharine departed the 20th of July,
Edward departed the 11th of Dec. 1667. Cum legis efto meinor. He gave 5ol. to
the
poore of five neighbouring pariſhes, sol. to each pariſh; and the reſt he diſtributed
to his kindred by conſanguinity and affinity.”
f Eſc.
& Ibid.
h Taxat. Spiritual,

On
& 56
Kilmersdon.
H E M I N G T O N.
On the ſouth wall of the ſouth aile is a mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed,-
~ Near this place lies interred the body of Samuel Vigor, gent. who died Sept. 14,
1711, in the 71ſt year of his age; who gave for the relief of two poor labouring men,
each not having above four in family, two cottages, and 5l. 45. per annum for ever.
And 20s. per annum to be diſtributed to the poor of this pariſh in bread on the 25th
of Dec. yearly for ever. Alſo sos. per annum for the ſchooling of two poor children
of this pariſh, and two poor children of the pariſh of Weđmore, for ever.”
On a frame againſt the north wall: The honourable Col. Warwick Bampfield,
of Hardington, (who dyed Dec. 6, 1694) by his laſt will gave 20l. a year for ever, out
of the old rents and profits of Hemington, to the poor of this pariſh.”
In the church-yard are many grave-ſtones, but nothing of conſequence appears on
them.
H
O L
со
M
Β Ε
2
S a pariſh weſt from Babington, ſituated in a country interſected with deep vallies;
whence its name. The foil is moſtly red, very rich, and abounds with coal; the
lands are chiefly paſture. The manor was the property of Roger de Curcelle ſoon
after the Conqueſt, and had this deſcription:
“ Alward holds of Roger, HOLECUMBE. He himſelf held it in the time of King
" Edward, and gelded for one virgate of land. The arable is two carucates, In de-
s meſne is one carucate, and two ſervants, and one villane, and five cottagers, with half
a plough. There is a mill of ſixpence rent, and ſeventy-five acres of paſture, and
sus fifteen acres of wood. It was and is worth ten ſhillings."
This manor was held of the honour of Glouceſter, under whom its chief lords after
the Conqueſt were the family of Palton. William de Palton held at his death, 28
Henry VI. the manor of Holcomb, of the heir of John Wyke, together with the ſeveral
manors of Paulton, Timſborough, Corſcomb, Wick, Bourbache, Camerton, Withi-
comb, Elworthy, Brompton-Ralph; and lands in Paulton, Timſborough, Cameley,
Chewton-Mendip, Camerton, Clutton, Dunkerton, Midſummer-Norton, Kilmerſdon,
Durcot, Holcombe, Whitchurch, and Hinton-Blewet. Theſe lands deſcended to
Joan the wife of John Kelly, and Agnes the wife of Nicholas St. Loe, his couſins and
and heirs. This manor became afterwards the property of the Horners.
The abbey of Keynſham had property in the village, and preſented to the benefice,
which is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, and now in the gift of Thomas Horner, of
Mells-Park, efq. The Rev. Dr. Biſhop is the preſent incumbent.
i Lib. Domeſday.
Eſc.
Thc
Kilmersdon.)
457
H O L C O M B E.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Andrew, is romantically ſituated in a circular
hollow, on the brow of a very deep valley to the weſt. It is a very old building,
having a fine Saxon arch at the entrance of the porch on the ſouth ſide, and other
marks of ancient architecture.
In the year 1770 this pariſh paid to the poor 1441. I 3s. 5d.; in 1778, 1531. 55. 5d.
R
А.
DS S T
C - K
S a village ſituated eight miles ſouth from Bath, in the turnpike-road from that city
to Wells, and upon its interſection with the old Roman Foſſe-road, from which it is
denominated; Rad, in the Saxon language, ſignifying a road, and Stoc, a village.
This road for about a quarter of a mile is viſible almoſt in its original ſtate, being
raiſed high above the ſide-dikes, about ſix feet broad, and having a convex ſurface.
As this is not at preſent a publick road, it may poſſibly remain a monument of anti-
quity for many ages to come.
Although from its name the Saxons ſeem to have been acquainted with the place;
yet no mention is made of it in the ſurvey taken of their lands in the time of King
William the Conqueror. It was given by King William II. to Robert Fitz-Hamon
earl of Glouceſter, and held of his ſucceſſors Earls of Glouceſter for ſeveral centuries.
11 Edw. I. it was found by an inquiſition that the tithings of Radſtock, Babington,
Hardington, and Holcombe, which belonged of old to the hundred of Kilmerſdon,
had in the time of Henry III. been withdrawn therefrom by Richard earl of Glouceſter,
by reaſon of their being of the fee of the ſaid Earl. About this time Henry de
Mountfort was meſne lord of this manor, and was ſucceeded therein by Reginald de
Mountfort his ſon and heir, who held the manor, with the advowſon of the church, by
the ſervice of one knight's fee, 7 Edw. II. He was alſo lord of Wellow. 13 Edw. III. .
Philip de Welleſleigh held the manor of Radſtock of Hugh Diſpenſer, reverſionary
after his death to William Baniſter and Elizabeth his wife. 19 Ric. II. William
Baniſter held the manor, with the advowſon of the church, of Lord le Diſpenſer,
by knight's ſervice and ſuit of court, as of the honour of Glouceſter. He died that
ſame year, leaving one daughter, Joan, to inherit his eſtates. Which Joan was mar-
ried to Robert de Alfoxton, of Alfoxton in the pariſh of Stringſton, whom ſhe ſurvived,
and had to her ſecond huſband Sir John Hill, knt. by whom ſhe had iſſue Robert
Hill, who was of Spaxton in this county. He died 4 Henry VI. leaving John his
ſon and heir; to whom ſucceeded a ſecond John, whoſe ſole daughter and heireſs was
married to Sir William Say, knt. Having no iſſue, the manor reverted to Elizabeth
ſiſter of the laſt-mentioned John Hill, the wife of John Cheyney, eſq; whoſe ſon John
left four daughters his coheireſſes, one of whom being married to Edward Waldegrave,



c Lib. Feod.
d Eſc.
a Cart. Antiq.
VOL. II.
• Ex bundel. Eſc.
Nnn
eſq;
458
[Kilmersoon
RA
K.
D S T O C

eſq; transferred this manor, with other eſtates, to that family, in which it ſtill continues,
being now the poſſeſſion of John Earl Waldegrave, Viſcount Chewton.
The benefice of Radſtock is rectorial, in the deanery of Frome, and in the patronage
of Lord Waldegrave. The Rev. Mr. James is the preſent incumbent. The prior of
Bath received from the parſonage a yearly penſion of four marks.
The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is a ſmall plain ſtructure, and contains no-
thing remarkable.
A coal-work has of late years been opened in this pariſh, and is carried on with
great ſucceſs.
• Taxat. Spiritual.
S T R A T T ON ON
THE FOSS E.

THIS place, lying ſouthward from Radſtock, obtained its original name from its
ſituation on the ſame old ſtreet, the Foſſe, (as its modern appellation more
plainly expreſſes it) running in a ſtrait line to the ancient town of Ivelcheſter. There
are other places in various parts of England called by the ſame name, and for a
ſimilar reaſon.
King Edgår gave this manor, conſiſting of fix hides, to the abbey of Glaſtonbury,
of which in the time of King Edward the Confeſſor it was held by Alwold, one of the
Saxon thanes. But William the Conqueror, taking this among other lands belonging
to that monaſtery into his own poſſeſſion, beſtowed it upon his favourite prelate and
affiftant the Biſhop of Coutances; and we find it thus recorded in the general ſurvey:
“ The ſame William holds of the Biſhop, STRATONE. Alwold held it in the time
“ of King Edward of the church of Glaſtingberie, nor could it be ſeparated from it,
« and gelded for three hides. The arable is three carucates.
In demeſne are two
carucates, and three ſervants, and five villanes, and ſix cottagers, with a plough and a
“ half. There is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and twenty acres of meadow. Paſture
« four furlongs in length and breadth. Wood three furlongs long, and two furlongs
« broad. It was worth fifty ſhillings, now four pounds.
" To this manor is added one hide and a half in Picote, (now called Pitcott.)
“ Wlmar held it in the time of King Edward, and could go where he would. The
" arable is one carucate. There are two villanes, and two cottagers, with one ſervant.
“ There is a mill of forty pence rent, and ſeven acres of meadow, and two furlongs of
pafture, and one furlong of wood. It was and is worth twenty ſhillings. William
" holds it of the Biſhop,

ادر
- Johan, Glaſton. Hift. de rebus Glaſtonien. i. 139.
Lib. Domeſday.
The
Kilmiersdon.] STRATTON ON THE FOSSE.
459

20
The manor of Pitcott is thus further ſurveyed:
" The ſame [Edmund] holds PICOTE. Iadulf held it in the time of King Edward,
«c and gelded for three hides and a half. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne are
« two carucates, and two ſervants, and three villanes, and eight cottagers, with two
ploughs. There is a mill of fifty pence rent. There are eight acres of meadow,
«s and twelve acres of paſture, and fifty acres of wood. It was and is now worth four
pounds.
The Gournays were the lords of Stratton, till it became affixed to the dutchy of
Cornwall, whereto it now belongs, in the perſon of the Prince of Wales.
The living of Stratton is a rectory in the deanery of Frome, valued in 1292 at nine
marks. The Prince of Wales is patron; the Rev. Philip Dart the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Vigor, conſiſting of a nave, chancel and north aile
newly built by Mrs. Knatchbull, who alſo new pewed the church in 1782 with neat
pannelled deal. The chancel was rebuilt (all but the eaſt wall) at the expence of the
Rev. Richard Hughes, rector.
с
Lib. Domeſday,
d Taxat. Spiritual.
W R Ι Τ Η L Ι Ν G Τ Ο Ν
I
yra
S a ſmall village, containing about fourteen houſes, and ſituated on the northeaſt
ſlope of a hill eaſtward from Radſtock. Its ancient name was Writelinetone, under
which it is noticed in the Norman ſurvey, as follows:
“ Brietoward holds WriteLiNCTONE. Brictwold held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for ſix hides. The arable is five carucates, and in all there are
eight villanes and three cottagers. There are twelve acres of meadow, and twenty
“ four acres of paſture, and twelve acres of coppice-wood. It was heretofore worth
“ one hundred ſhillings; now four pounds.”
This manor is now the property of William Moore, of Charlton, eſq.
The church is a prebend in the cathedral of Sarum; the preſent rector is the Rev.
Mr. Trickey, of Saliſbury. In 1292 it was valued at eight marks.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary-Magdalen, is a ſmall and humble pile, ſtanding
in a pictureſque ſpot under the hill; in the bottom of the vale below it are rich meads
watered by a ſtream riſing at Stone-eaſton, and running through this pariſh and Rad-
ſtock into the Avon near Bath. It is built of ſtone, and conſiſts of the naye, one ſmall

b
a Lib. Domeſday.
• Taxat, Spiritual.
Nnn 2
aile,
460
[Kilmergdon.
WRIT HLING TO N.
aile, chancel, and porch. Its length from eaſt to weſt is 52 feet, width 22 feet, the
roof coved and cieled, being 22 feet high. At the weſt end is a very ſmall low tower
containing two little bells.
On the ſouth ſide of the chancel is an ancient mural monument of grey marble, with
the following inſcription:-
-"H. I.I. Maria vxor Thomæ Coxeter, A. M. hujus
eccles, rect. filia Johan. et Mariæ Deacon de Burford in agro Oxon. gen"i ob. 5tº die
Junij, A. D. 1727, ætat. fuæ 60. Maria relicta J. Deacon, predict. ob. 5° die gbris,
A. D. 1710, ætat. fuæ 84. Richardus, Sara, Benjamin, infantes & proles T. & M.
Coxeter predict. Richardus, ob. Jan 17, A.D. 1697, imº menſe ætat. fuæ. Sara ob.
14° Maij A. D. 1705, 1" menſe ætat. fuæ. Benjamin, ob. imº die Feb. A. D. 1710,
ætat. fuæ 2º. Omneſq; reſurrectionem felicem expectant.”
In the north aile is a mural monument of ſtone, with the following inſcription:
“ To the dear memory of Bridget, wife of Jo. Salmon, of Writhlington, gent. and
daughter of William and Bridget Eyre, of the city of New-Sarum, who died Jan. 4,
1691, aged 26."
On a black tablet of marble beneath this monument is the following inſcription :
“Neer this place reſteth the body of Bridget Eyre, relict of William Eyre, of the city
of New-Sarum, clerk; her firſt huſband was Thomas Flower, of Melkſham in the
county of Wilts, gent. and ſhe was daughter of John Mitchell, of Calfton in the faid
county of Wilts, gent. She died, in the aſſured hope of a joyful reſurrection to ever-
laſting life, the roth of February, 1692, aged 68.”
On two ſtones in the chancel Aoor:-_"Mary Deacon, 1710. Richard Coxe,
1697. Mary Coxeter, 1727. Sarah Coxeter, 1705."
On a ſtone in the ſouth aile:-“Mrs. Bridget Eyre, died the roth day of Feb.
1692, aged 68. Mrs. Elizabeth Salmon, died Dec. 6, 1719, aged 63."


Che
[ 461]
The Liberty of Mells and Leigh,
T"
(HIS diſtrict, conſiſting of two pariſhes, is contiguous to, and was formerly
part of the hundred of Kilmerſdon, under the juriſdiction of whoſe lords it
continued till the time of Henry III. when it was, at the inſtance of the monks
of Glaſtonbury, releaſed from all ſuit and ſervice to the hundred court, by Ralph de
Sulleny, then lord of the manor and the hundred of Kilmerſdon.a
Thomas Horner, eſq; is the preſent lord of this Liberty.
a Regiſt. Abbat. Glafton. Joh. Glaſton. Index Chartar. 400.
M
E
L
L
S.
TH
\HIS is a large and populous pariſh, three miles weſt from Frome, and thirteen
eaſt from Wells. The fituation of the village is very beautiful and pictureſque,
the ground being full of hill and vale pleaſingly intermingled with wood. To the eaft
of the church is a romantick narrow valley, called Wadbury or Modbury Vale, which
extends in a winding direction to the extremity of the pariſh, and is afterwards continued
through that of Elm and into Frome, where it finally ends, its length being nearly
two miles:" it bears evident marks of having been formed by the violent effect of an
earthquake, the projecting rocks on one ſide anſwering to the indentures on the other.
It is about ſixty yards in breadth at the bottom, where a river, at ſome ſeaſons not
inconſiderable, flows over a rocky channel, in which, from the inequality of the ſurface,
many bold caſcades are formed. The margin of the ſtream is thickly overhung with
ſhrubs and oak trees. The ſides of the vale are from fixty to one hundred and fifty
feet high, nearly perpendicular, and clothed with fine hanging coppices, through
which vaſt rocks project with amazing grandeur. On the top of the rocks are the
veſtiges of ſome very ancient encampments, the works on each ſide the valley oppoſite
to each other. On Newborough, or Newbury hill, is Wadbury camp, of a ſquariſh form,
ſurrounded by a ſingle ditch: this, though ſmall, muſt have been a ſtation for horſe,
as there are evident remains of a road, made at immenſe labour, for the cavalry to go
down the rocks to the river. On the ſummit of a hill, not far diſtant, to the northeaſt,
was another ſmall encampment, to this day called “the Bulwarks ;” it had three
b It is worthy of remark, that in this fequeftered vale there are two iron forges, which at this period are
carrying on a trade, little inferior, in point of extenſion, to thoſe in the northern part of this kingdom. All the
weſtern counties are ſupplied at theſe manufactories with every iron implement of huſbandry, and their con-
nexions extend to the European and American continents.
ditches,
462
(The Liberty of
M M
S.
E
L
L
ditches, one within the other, and was well calculated for a poſt of obſervation, com-
manding a view of the country to a great extent. At a ſmall diſtance ſouthward from
the church is an eminence called Tent-Hill, where many human bones have been diſco-
vered in digging for lapis calaminaris. And on the ſummit of the down, called Kings-
down, there is a ſquare area, ſurrounded by a foſle nearly obliterated, with an entrance
on the north, in which, tradition ſays, was formerly fought a bloody battle, great
numbers Nain, and in particular two kings; from which circumſtance the down derived
its name. The bodies of the Nain were ſaid to have been interred in a large adjacent
tumulus, which being levelled fome years ſince, in making the turnpike-road from
Frome to Radſtock, diſcloſed a vaſt quantity of human bones corroborative of the
tradition.
There are ſeveral coal-works in this pariſh, in ſome of which is a ſtratum of clay
equal to the Stourbridge in the manufacture of crucibles: lead, manganeſe, pipe-clay,
and fuller's-earth, are alſo found here. In a hill called Vobſter-Tor, from the hamlet
of VOBSTER, is a vein of aſh-coloured marble, ſtreaked with red.
In many old records in the pariſh cheſt, and in divers deeds in the poſſeſſion of the
lord of the manor, this pariſh is ftiled Parochia Mellis, the pariſh of honey; and not
unaptly ſo; as bees, if the expreſſion may be allowed, ſeem almoſt indigenous here;
there being many places among the rocks and in the trunks of old oak trees where they
have continued time immemorial. It occurs very early in the monaftick records.
About A. D. 942, King Edmund I. gave to Earl Athelſtan the whole village,
conſiſting of twenty hides, and ſoon after the ſaid Earl beftowed the fame on the Abbey
of Glaſtonbury, in which the firſt donor was interred.
" The church itſelf holds Mylle. In the time of King Edward it gelded for twenty
“ hides. The arable is twenty carucates. Thereof in demeſne are ten hides, and there
are two carucates, and two fervants, and eight villanes, and ſeven bordars, and five
cottagers, with three ploughs. There is a mill of five ſhillings rent, and fifteen acres
" of meadow, and twelve acres of paſture. Wood one mile long, and two furlongs
" broad. It is worth to the abbot ten pounds.
“Of the land of this manor Godeve holds of the abbot one hide. Her huſband
* held it in the time of King Edward, and it could not be feparated from the church.
“ It is worth ſeventy-eight pence.
- The Biſhop of Coutances holds of the King five hides and a half belonging to this,
Two thanes held it in the time of King Edward, but could not be ſeparated
« from the church. Azeline holds it of the Biſhop."
Soon after the Conqueſt one Harding, the ſon of Eadnoth, a lawyer and a powerful
man in his days, by ſome falſe and unjuſt pretence, diſtrained this manor and that
of Leigh from the monaſtery, and took them into his own hands ;, this occaſioned
a long litigation: but at length Abbot Herlewine wreſted them from him, and re-
ſtored them to his houſe, which (after ſome other contention with Roger de la Mare
in the time of Abbot de Blois) retained poſſeſſion of the ſame till the reign of Henry
VIII. The revenues of the abbot in this place were in 1293 valued at 161. ris.
• Adam de Domerh. Hift. i. 73. Lib. Domeſday: Joh. Glaſton. Hift. i. 164.
d Taxat. Temp.
Geffrey
manor.
orb
d
Belis and Leigh.]
463
M
S.
E
L
L
Geffrey Fromont procured it a charter of free warren;' Walter Monington, a market
and a fair; John de Taunton built a ſumptuous grange upon the manor; and John de
Selwood, whoſe father had large poſſeſſions in the pariſh, intended to have rebuilt the
town in the form of a croſs," but finiſhed only one ſtreet, which is in
part
ſtill ſtanding.
In the time of Edward I. a writ of quo warranto was brought againſt the abbot of
Glaſtonbury, to fhew cauſe for his retaining two ſhillings accruing from the ſheriff's
attendance and aids at Modbury in the manor of Mells. The abbot not being able to
defend his right, the two ſhillings were adjudged to the King; but afterwards remitted.!
The manor coming into the hands of the crown, by the diffolution of the monaſtery
of Glaſtonbury," was purchaſed, (as we are informed by Leland)' by Mr. Horner,
whoſe ſeat was then at Cloford, and in whoſe family it has continued ever ſince.-
To Thomas Horner, eſq; who was living 31 Henry VIII. fucceeded Sir John
Horner, knt. of Cloford, who was ſheriff of this county 6 and 15 Eliz. and died 24
Sept. 29 Eliz. leaving Thomas his ſon and heir, who was then forty years of age.
This Thomas was knight of the ſhire 27 Eliz. and ſheriff of the county 4 Jac. and
died about the roth of that reign. John Horner his ſon and heir was a knight, and
was ſheriff of this county 14 Jac. I. alſo knight of the ſhire 2 Car. I. and again in 1654.
He married Anne daughter of Sir Geo. Speke, of White-Lackington in this county,
knt. by whom he had Sir George Horner, knt. who alſo 12 Car. II. was knight of the
ſhire for this county, and was ſucceeded by George his eldeſt ſon and heir, who married
Elizabeth daughter of Robert Fortefcue, of Filleigh in the county of Devon, and by
her had iſſue Thomas and John. Thomas the eldeft married Suſannah the daughter
of Thomas Stangeways, of Melbury in the county of Dorſet; and aſſumed thence the
name of Strangeways Horner. He was knight of the ſhire for this county in 1713, and
again in 1727; he died Nov. 20, 1741, and left iſſue a ſole daughter and heireſs, Eli-
zabeth, wife to Stephen Fox, eſq; afterwards created Earl of Ilcheſter. John the ſecond,
ſon of George Horner, and grandſon of Sir George, married Anne daughter of Edward
Phelips, of Preſton-Plucknet, eſq; by Anne his wife, daughter and coheireſs of Sir
Edward Phelips, of Montacute in this county, knt. and nad iſſue one ſon, Thomas

e Cart. 4 Ed. III. n. 87.
f Regift. Abbat. Glaſton.
Adam de Domerham. Hift. ii. 5733
n Lel. Itin. vii. 106. i Joh. Glafton. Hift. i. 2502
* The following ſurvey was then taken of this manor, viz.
66. THE MANNOUR OF MELLES.
« Rentes of Afife and Cuſtomary Tenannts. The rentes of aſſiſe and cuſtomary tenanntes there, apperteynyng
unto the faide mannour, with the workes and cuſtomes, whiche they are bounde ta doe by tenure of there
landes, are of the yerely, value of 371. 185. 4 d.
« Rentes and Fermes. The fcyte of the ſaide mannour, with the demaynes apperteyning unto the ſame, are:
letton by indenture for the ſomme of 61. 6s. 8d..
“ Perquiſites of Courtes and Fynes. The profittes of the courtes, fynes, and other caſualties, are anſwered
to the King's-Highneſs this yere at 271. 38. 3d..
" Able Menne to ſerve the King. Alſo there are of able menne, belongyng unto the ſame, able to doe the
King ſervyce, to the nombre of 30.
« Bondemen. Alſo there be within the fayde lordeſhip certayne bondemen, to the nombre of 1."
Langtoft's Chron. ii. 354.
Itin. vii. 106,
Horner,
4.64
[Che Liberty of
M
S.
EL
L
Horner, who is the preſent poffeffor of this manor. The family arms are, Sable, three
talbots paſſant argent, 2 and 1.
The ſeat, called Mells-Park, a park of high antiquity, is delightfully ſituated; the
plantations are of large extent, the gardens fine, and the whole environs laid out with
great taſte.
The living of Mells is rectorial, and in the deanery of Frome; the lord of the manor
is the patron; and the Rev. Dr. Biſhop the preſent incumbent. It was anciently ap-
propriated to Glaſtonbury-abbey, and valued in 1292 at thirty-five marks."
The church is a handſome ſtructure, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and two ſide ailes.
At the weſt end is a lofty tower, containing a clock and fix bells.' In the north aile is a
large vault belonging to the Horner family; to whoſe memory are ſeveral monuments.
In the ſouth aile, -- "Here lyeth interred Sir John Horner, knt. who dyed the
25th of Oct. 1659. Alſo Dame Ann his wife, the daughter of Sir George Speke, of
Whitlackington in this county, knight of the Bath, who died March 22, 1665."
« This is ſet up in remembrance of Elizabeth, who dyed April, 22, 1680; Ann, who
dyed June 2, 1682; Suſanna, who dyed April 28, 1684:—the daughters of George
Horner, eſq; by Elizabeth his wife, the daughter of the Honourable Colonel Robert
Forteſcue, of Filleigh in the county of Devon, eſq.”
In the north aile is a ſtately mural monument of white and grey marble,
Inſcribed by Thomas Horner to the pious memory of his father George Horner,
(who died the 11th of March 1707) and Elizabeth his wife, (who died the 5th of Sept.
1693) daughter of Robert Forteſcue, eſq; of Filleigh in the county of Devon; and of
one brother and four ſiſters near interred.
“ And 20 Nov. 1741 died the abovewritten Thomas Strangeways Horner, eſq; and
was buried in the vault underneath, with two of his ſons, which he had by his wife
Suſanna Strangeways Horner, of Melbury-Sampford in the county of Dorſet. The
Right Hon. the Lady Ilcheſter is their only ſurviving child.” Arms, Horner; impaling
Azure, a bend engrailed argent, cotiſed or: Forteſcue.
Ona monument of white marble againſt the north wall, is this inſcription:-'.To
the memory of Anne the eldeſt daughter of Sir George Horner, this is erected by
Baldwin Malet, eſq; to whom ſhe was married Jan. 3, 1677, and by whom ſhe had
iſſue five ſons, and one daughter, whereof four ſons were only living at the time of her
death, which was on the iſt day of Auguſt 1689.” Arms, Malet impaled with Horner.
In the chancel is a handſome monument of white and Sienna marble, with an elegant
and juſt inſcription to the memory of the late worthy rector, Thomas Paget, S. T. B.
who died A. D. 1783, aged 78.
Taxat. Spiritual.
"E o The chirch (dedicated to St. Andrew) is faire and buildid yn tyme of mynde ex lapide quadrato, by the
hole paroche. One Garlande, a draper of London, gave frely to the building of the veſtiarie, a fine and curioſe
pece of worke. One ....
a gentilman dwelling there yn the paroche made a fair chapelle in the north fide of
the chirch. There is a praty maner-place of ſtone harde at the weſt ende of the chirche. This be likelihod was
partely buildid by Abbate Selwodde of Glafteinbyri. Syns it fervid the fermer of the lordeſhip.”
Lel. Itin. vii. 106.
LEIGH
wells and Leigh.]
[ 465 )

L
E
I
G
H.
a
THIS
HIS village ſtands at a ſmall diſtance, nearly ſouthweſt from Mells. The old
name thereof was Lantocai, as appears by the ancient records of Glaſtonbury,
which inform us, that in the year of grace 681, Hedda biſhop of Wincheſter, with
the conſent of the kings Kentwin and Baldred, gave Lantocai, now called Legh, con-
fiſting of fix hides, to the monks of Glaſton; which donation was confirmed by King
Cedwalla, who, although a pagan, ſubſcribed to the deed the ſign of the croſs with his
own hand.
This Hedda, or Headda, ſucceeded Eleutherius in the biſhoprick of Wincheſter, and
was eſteemed a pious and juſt perſon, one who worthily exerciſed his epiſcopal charge,
in teaching and directing his flock, being enabled thereto more by the love of piety
engrafted in his heart, than by the advantages of ſtudy or of learning. This pre-
late, to whom many miracles were attributed, died July 7, A. D. 704, or, according to
others, A. D. 705.
The village of Leigh ſeems to have ſomewhat ſuffered by the ſeveral depredations of
hoſtility which intervened betwixt this period and the Norman invaſion; for in the
account given thereof in the record of William the Conqueror, it is ſet down at no
more than four hides, whereas fix were its valuation at the time of its being beſtowed
on the abbey. The account given of it is as follows:
« The church itſelf holds LEGA. In the time of King Edward -it gelded for four
“ hides. The arable is ten carucates. Thereof are in demeſne two hides. One of
« them was thane-land, but could not be ſeparated from the church. In demeſne are
“ four carucates, with one ſervant, and ſeven villanes, and ten cottagers, with five
ploughs. There are thirty-five acres of meadow, and thirty acres of paſture, and
« fix acres of wood. It is worth eight pounds."
Very little further mention is made of this manor till the time of Henry VIII. when,
after a poſſeſſion of upwards of eight hundred years, the abbey parted with it to the
After which it paſſed with Mells; to which, with regard to eccleſiaſtical mat-
ters, it is a chapel.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Giles, is a lofty Gothick ſtructure, conſiſting
of a nave, two ſide ailes, chancel, and porch, all covered with lead. At the weſt end
ſtands a ſtately tower, embattled, and containing fix bells.
This pariſh paid to the poor in 1770, 1861. 6s. 3d.; in 1778, 2281. 2s. 1od.
ud
crown.
* Adami de Domerham Hift. i. 50, 51. Joh. Glaſton. Hift. i. 91.
a Godwin de Præſulibus, 205.
• Bed, Hift. Ecclefiaft. lib. 5. c. 19.
á Lib. Domeſday,
Vol. II,
ооо
THE
[ 467 ]
THE HUNDRED
OF
K I N G S BURY - E A S T.
T
HIS Hundred is ſcattered into ſeveral parcels; that which contains the pariſh
of its name, and alſo that of Eaſt-Lambrook, lies between the hundreds of
Bulſton and Martock. A ſmall portion, containing the pariſh of Huiſh-
Epiſcopi, lies near Langport; and two other parts, divided by a ſtrip of South-Petherton
hundred, and containing the reſt of the pariſhes, are ſituated in the extreme part of the
county ſouthward, on the borders of Devon. This whole hundred formerly belonged
to the Biſhops of Bath and Wells.
Κ Ι Ν
GS S BU
RY
S a pariſh ſituated on the river Parret, running hence to Langport northward, and
on
was Chingeſberie, and its ancient poffeffors were the Biſhops of Wells:
« The ſame Biſhop [i. e. Giſo] holds Chingesberie. He alſo held it in the time
« of King Edward, and gelded for twenty hides. The arable is twenty-four carucates.
« Thereof are in demeſne ſix hides, and there are two carucates, and four ſervants, and
« fixteen villanes, and four cottagers, with eleven ploughs. There are two mills ren-
dering thirty ſhillings, and one hundred acres of meadow. Paſture one mile long,
« and three furlongs broad.
« Of the ſame land of this manor three knights and a clerk hold eight hides. It
« is worth on the part of the biſhop twelve pounds. On the part of the knights, eight
pounds."
• Lib. Domeſday
O 002
41 Henry
wa

468
KINGS BURY. [Kingsbury-Eat.
41 Henry III. the Biſhop had a charter of free-warren in this manor; and in 1293
the temporalities thereof were valued at forty-five pounds. From its thus early
belonging to the ſee of Wells it obtained the additional title of Epiſcopi, being in old
records ſtiled Kingsbury-Epiſcopi, to diſtinguiſh it from other lordſhips of the name.
The Earl of Berks was ſome time lord of this town, and it now belongs to the
Honourable James Everard Arundel.
The rectory of Kingſbury was anciently appropriated to the chancellorſhip of Wells,
erected A. D. 1135, and in this dignity it ſtill continues. 2 Oct. 1447, the Biſhop
confirmed the ordination of the vicarage of Kingſbury, made by Biſhop Walter
Hafelſhaw in 1302, when Henry Huſee was chancellor of Wells, and rector of this
parish, by which the vicar was allotted a houſe and curtillage with eleven acres of arable
land in the demeſne fields of the rector, and one acre of meadow lying near the vicarage
garden. The vicar and his ſucceſſors to have all kinds of oblations and mortuaries
contingent to the pariſh church, and oblations contingent to the chapel of the bleſſed
Mary Magdalen in the court-houſe of the rector; as alſo the tithe of lambs, calves,
chicken, geeſe, pigs, pigeons, eggs, wool, fax, honey, cheeſe, milk, butter, apples, and
pears, accruing as well from the pariſhioners as the court-houſe of the biſhop irt the
village of Kingſbbury; and the third part of the tithe of hay coming from the pariſh-
ioners, and all the tithe of hay coming from the biſhop's demeſnes in the manor of
Kingſbury. The vicar and his ſucceſſors to pay the rector a yearly rent of two ſhil-
lings due from the vicarage-houſe, and in conſideration of a certain ſpace of ground
granted by the rector for the enlarging the vicarage court; to maintain at their own
expence a chaplain and a clerk, to officiate for them in the ſaid church; to give holy
water to any proper clerk, who ſhall frequent the ſchools in work days; to officiate
themſelves on fabbath days and feſtivals in the the faid pariſh church; and moreover to
provide and ſupport proper and uſual lights in the chancel of the ſaid church; but to
be charged with no other burden. The Rev. Mr. Perkins is the preſent incumbent.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, is a large and ſtately Gothick ſtruc-
ture, built of the Ham ſtone, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, two ailes, belfry, porch, and
veftry-room. At the weſt end is a very magnificent tower, one hundred and twenty
feet high, of excellent maſonry, and adorned at the top with twenty Gothick pinnacles
of curious workmanſhip. Againſt this tower are eleven ſtatues of kings, &c. placed in
Gothick niches, ſome ſitting in armour, croſs-legged, but many of them much muti-
lated. Their coats are carved in ſtone on the fouth front, but time has defaced the
bearings.
The nave is divided from the chancel by a curious, ancient, open-work ſcreen of
five arches, with a large projecting cornice curiouſly carved; over which there was
formerly a rood-loft. Above the ſcreen the arch is filled up with a painting of the
royal arms, with St. Peter and St. Paul.
The fide ailes are divided from the nave by eight pointed arches, ſupported by
octangular columns.

Cart. 41 Hen. III. m. 5.
Taxat. Temporal.
• Excerpt. e Regift, Wellen.
In

Kingsbnry-Eaſt.] K IN GSBURY.
469
In the chancel, and at the eaſt end of the north aile, the windows are ornamented
with beautiful painted glaſs. The ſubjects are, kings, biſhops, faints, and armorial
ſhields of ſeveral biſhops of the dioceſe, and of the chancellors of Wells, with a ſcroll
Johes Storthwayt cancell. Wlell. hanc feneftram fieri fecit.”
There is an inſcription to Judith, the wife of John Gould, of Southay in this pariſh,
gent. who died June 17, 1758, aged 57. And in the church-yard is a tomb to James
Gould, who gave fifty pounds to five poor widows of this pariſh, and the like ſum to
as many poor widows of Ilminſter. A worthy example! He died Feb. 25, 1750.
There are ſeveral hamlets in this pariſh, as TIMBRIDGE, BURROW, SOUTHAY, and
Thorney, which laſt was one of the three iſlands belonging at the Conqueſt to the
abbey of Muchelney."
Here is a large moor, or common, called WEST-Moor.
e See Domeſday, under Muchelney, in Pitney Hundred.
E A ST. L A M B ROOK.

name.
the ſouth of King bary lies Eaſt-Lambrook, fituated on the little ftream of
Lambrook, which denominates the pariſh, and divides it from South-Petherton.
It is called Eaſt-Lambrook, as being eaſtward from another village or hamlet of the
The landholders here have an unlimited right of common in Weſtmoor.
At the time of the Conqueſt this place was parcel of the manor of Kingſbury-
Epiſcopi, and therefore does not occur in the Norman record; nor indeed are there
any memorials of curioſity in any ſubſequent documents to diſtinguiſh this place in
hiſtory. The manor is partly veſted in the dean and chapter of Wells; to whom it
was affixed by Queen Elizabeth; and partly in the Hon. Mr. Arundel.
The living is a rectory and peculiar in the deanery of Crewkerne, and in the pa-
tronage of the dean and chapter of Wells. The Rev. Joſeph Good is the preſent
incumbent. The living has been augmented with Queen Anne's bounty, 200l.; and
the private donations of the Rev. Mr. Bowyer of Martock, 1301.; and the truſtees of
Mr. Pyncombe's will, 70l.
The church is a finall ſtructure, containing nothing remarkable.
HUISH
[ 470 ]
[Kingsbury-Eat.

HUISH-EPISCOPI, or BISHOP's-HUISH.
T'
C
HIS is a large pariſh, adjoining to Langport on the northeaſt ſide of that town,
and waſhed by the river Ivel, which, coming from Ivelcheſter, here joins the
Parret, near a wooden bridge ſupported by four ſtone piers. It contains the hamlets
of COMBE, PISBURY, and part of WEAR NE, the reſt belonging to the tithing and pariſh
of Pitney. Moſt of the lands are paſture and meadow, in which vaſt numbers of
cattle are reared and fatted for the London market.
The manor of Huiſh, which is not diſtinguiſhable in the Domeſday record, was
anciently, and ſtill is, parcel of the revenues of the biſhoprick of this dioceſe, although it
has ſeveral times, by ſome means or other, been alienated from it. The lands of the
bilhop in this place were rated in 1293 at twenty pounds, and a charter of free-warren
was granted for the ſame by King Henry III."
The little village of Piſury, was formerly ſometimes written Epſe and Epiſbury, and
was thus ſurveyed at the Conqueſt:
Ralph [de Limeſi] himſelf holds Epse. Ulward held it in the time of King
« Edward, and gelded for half a hide. The arable is one carucate.
There is one
o villane, and ſixteen acres of meadow. It is worth three ſhillings.”
Of the manor of WEARNE notice will be taken in the hundred of Pitney, to which
it properly belongs.
The church of Huiſh, valued in 1292 at 100 marks," is a prebend in the cathedral
of Wells, and is annexed to the archdeaconry of Wells in perpetuum. The vicarage
is united with Langport, and the preſent incumbent is the Rev. Mr. Michell.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a good edifice, conſiſting of a nave,
chancel, and two ſide ailes. At the weſt end is a very fine lofty and ſtately tower, the
top of which is beautifully ornamented with eight Gothick pinnacles, each ſurmounted
with a ſpear head, the iron being more than two feet in length above the ſtone-work.
At the eaſt end of the chancel is an old black ſtone mural monument, inſcribed :-
“ Heere under was Elizabeth the daughter of Thomas and Frances Court, buryed ye
5th of May, Anno Dom. 1672. Heere lyeth the body of Thomas Court, who de-
parted this life the 4th of Feb. 1677, who dedicated this memorial, ætatis ſuæ 37."
Arms, Paly of fix, or and azure, on a chief of the firſt an eagle diſplayed fable.
In the north aile:-- George Effexe, eſquyre, and Margery his wife, were both
buried in this place, May 23, 1588.” Arms, Quarterly or and gules, a faltire fretty,
counterchanged.
Near the pulpit, on the north wall, ſtands a handſome monument of grey and white
marble, with this inſcription:--In memory of Thomas Keat, A. M. rector of
Aſhington and King's-Weſton in the county of Somerſet. A gentleman of a humane
deportment, great candour, and ſtrict intëgrity; whoſe regard for the miniſterial func-

a Taxat, Temporal.
• Cart. 41 Hen. III. m. 5.
· Lib. Domeſday.
• Taxat. Spiritual.
tion
Kingsbury-Eatt.] HUIS H - EPISCOPI.
471

tion was very confpicuous in a faithful diſcharge of it. To the advancement of learn-
ing a ſteady friend, and in every relation of life truly exemplary. He died Aug, 5
1750, aged 60 years."

C
H
A
R
D.
HIS ancient town was in the Saxon and Norman days denominated Cerdre, which
ſeems to ariſe from Cerdic, a famous Saxon general, who was active in theſe
parts in encountering the native Britons.
It is ſituated in the ſouthern extremity of the county, on high ground, twelve miles
ſouth from Taunton, eight weſt from Crewkerne, and twelve eaſt from Honiton in
Devonſhire. It conſiſts principally of two ſtreets, interſecting each other, of good
width, pitched with flints, and containing many good houſes. There is alſo a long
row of houſes, called Crow-Lane, from a fine ſpring of water which riſes near the
church, and runs into the river Ax, turning ſeveral griſt and fulling-mills in its courſe.
At the weſt end of the principal ſtreet riſes a very fine ſpring, from which leaden pipes
are conveyed to four conduits, which ſupply the inhabitants with excellent water, and
the ſurplus forms ſmall ſtreams of about two feet wide, on each ſide of the principal
ſtreets between the carriage road and foot-way. It is obſerved by the annotator on
Camden's Britannia, that the ſtream from theſe ſprings may be eaſily turned north or
fouth, either into the Severn or South-Sea. This is a real fact, and hence it appears
that this is the higheſt land between the vales which communicate with either fea.
Both the Channels may be ſeen from a fpot called Boundslane, and from Snowden-hill
a vaſt proſpect diſcloſes the Welch lands beyond the Severn.
At the angle where the two ſtreets meet ſtands an ancient Gothick building,
formerly a chapel, but now uſed as a town-hall; another publick edifice ſtands near
the middle of the principal ſtreet, which ſerved formerly for an aſſize-hall; and
now occaſionally for a market-houſe. The market is held on Mondays," and great

a Copy of a letter publiſhed reſpecting the market at Chard: "Whereas ſince the determination of Mr.
Baron Price, on the late trial concerning the borough of Chard in the county of Somerſet, the market there is
begun to be held on Mondays as formerly: And whereas certain perſons, falſely pretending themſelves to be
Mayor and Burgeſſes of the ſaid borough, here lately ſet up a Tueſday's market by virtue (as they pretend) of a
charter from King Charles the Second. And to all ſuch perſons as repair to the Monday's market; This is to
give Notice, That by advice of Council ſuch grant of a Tueſday's market is in itſelf void, and the ſaid charter
long ſince determined: And that the market of the ſaid borough will, as legally it may be given by the faid
pretended Mayor and Burgeſſes to the contrary. And we the members of the old corporation of portreeve and
burgeſſes, do hereby, as formerly, engage all coſt and damage that may accrue unto them by reaſon of their re-
pairing unto the ſaid Monday's market. Dated the ad day of January 1704.
66 Nath. Pitts, John Pitts, Fohn Chapman,
Richard Ivery,
George Selwood,
Richard Legge,
Fohn Newcomen, John Smith, Fohn Slater, George Strong."
Dr. Stukely mentions a market kept formerly here on Sundays. Itin. Curiof. i. 156,
quantities
4.72
[Kingsbury-Eat.
C
A R
H
D.

8
2
quantities of corn and cattle are brought thereto. It is alſo the largeſt market for
potatoes in England; thirty waggon-loads being brought on a market-day frequently
during the ſeaſon, and ſeldom leſs than twenty. There is a range of ſhambles, one
hundred and twenty feet in length, and twenty feet in breadth, covered with a roof of
tile, and ſupported by brick pillars. Three fairs are held here, May 3d, Auguſt 5th,
and November 2d.
This town was formerly a borough, and ſent members to parliament from 28 Edw. I.
to 2 Edw. III. viz.
28 Edw. I. John Benedict, Thomas Havill.
6 Edw. II. Peter Clerk, William Sopere.
7
John Langefarr, Stephen de Legh.
John Benedict, Thomas Havill.
15
William Sopere, John Benedict.
16
- William Sopere, John Benedict.
19
Henry Corton, Henry Fabri.
1 Edw. III. John le Smyth, Richard le Dykere.
John le Smyth, Richard le Dykere.
This privilege, however, has for many years been loft, by reaſon of a diſuſe and a
neglect of the charter, originating from ſome publick and popular diſpute. The town
is now governed by a portreve (who is annually choſen at a court-leet, out of the
burgeſſes) and two bailiffs. The portreve, beſides his other offices, has the govern-
ment of an hoſpital endowed with two eſtates by a Mr. Harvey, for the uſe and benefit
of old and infirm pariſhioners, who have generally been choſen by the ſaid portreve
and burgeſſes. Here is alſo a work-houſe.
It has already been ſaid, that the whole of this hundred belonged formerly to the
biſhops of this dioceſe; and this manor of Chard was conſequently part of their
poffeffions:
“ The ſame Biſhop holds CERDRE. He alſo held it in the time of King Edward,
“ and gelded for eight hides. The arable is twenty carucates.
The arable is twenty carucates. Thereof in demeſne
are two hides, and there are two carucates, and eleven ſervants, and twenty villanes,
“ with fourteen ploughs. There is a mill yielding thirty-pence, and twenty acres of
“meadow. Wood two miles long, and four furlongs broad, and as much of paſture.
« Of the ſame land a thane holds two hides, which cannot be ſeparated from the
“ church. The whole is worth ſixteen pounds.”
41 Henry III. the biſhop procured a charter of free-warren in all his demeſne lands
within this pariſh,“ which were rated in 1293 at 321. 38. 4d. The manor is now
leaſed out to Earl Poulett.
The pariſh of Chard, or as it has uſually been called Chardland, contains five tith-
ings, viz.
1. OLD-CHARD, in which ſtands the church.
او و
1993 3
Lib. Domeſday.
· Cart. 41 Hen. III. m. 5.
Taxat. Temporal.
2. CRIM-
Kingsbury-Eat.]
473
C
D.
H
R
A
manure.
2. CRIM-CHARD, north of the town. 4. FORTON, ſituated fouthward.
3. SOUTH-CHARD.
5. TATWORTH, fouthward alſo.
In which tithings are the following hamlets :
1. LANGHAM, in Crim-Chard tithing, where is a manor and farm belonging to Sir
hn Smith, of Sidling in the county of Dorſet, bart. in whoſe family it has been for
many generations. He bears for his arms, Sable, a feſs cotiſed between three martlets
or: Creſt, a greyhound ſejant, collared of the laſt.
2. Chorley, in the ſame tithing.
3. Turnham, in the tithing of Old-Chard.
4. CHelson, in the tithing of South-Chard. And,
5. PERRY-STREET, in the tithing of South-Chard.
The greater part of the lands in this pariſh are paſture and meadow, ſome of the
latter very rich. The arable is moſtly ſtone-ruſh and marle, which laſt is uſed for
Here are ſeveral quarries of ſtone; ſome freeſtone, and others a coarſe kind
of agate or flint, which takes a fine poliſh, and contains ſpar and ſhells of various kinds.
The great tithes of this pariſh are leaſed out under the Dean of Wells, the rectory
being annexed to that dignity. The benefice
The benefice is vicarial, in the patronage of the
biſhop of the dioceſe. The Rev. Mr. Alford is the preſent incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and ſtands in the deanery of Crewkerne, being
a large handſome edifice, one hundred and twenty feet in length, and forty-fix in
breadth, and conſiſting of a nave, chancel, north and ſouth ailes, a north and ſouth
tranſept, and tower at the weſt end, containing a clock and five bells.
At the northeaſt corner of the ſouth tranſept is an antique and ſtately mural monu-
ment of various kinds of marble and porphyry. The middle diviſion contains two
arched receſſes, in which are the effigies of the perſons to whoſe memory it was erected,
kneeling at an altar face to face, their hands in a fuppliant poſture, reſting on the altar.
Behind the man are ſix fons, behind the woman five daughters, all kneeling in the
ſame attitude. They are all in black robes and large ruffs; the woman's robe comes
over her head like a modern calaſh. On each ſide theſe receſſes is a round column
with a Corinthian capital gilt. Theſe pillars ſupport the cornice, at the corners of
which ſtand obeliſks; between them is a divided femicircular pediment, on the ſides
of which recline two angels with golden hair, one holding a dolphin, the other a dove
and palm branch. In the interval are the arms, Gules, two bends wavy or. Under-
neath is this inſcription:-“Hereby lieth interred (expecting their Saviour) the
bodyes of William Brewer, of Chard, phiſitian, and Deanes his wife, who, living forty
years in happy wedlock, in full age departed this life; ſhee dying 8° Nov. 1614, and
hee 24 July 1618, having iſſue only ſix ſons and five daughters, all men and women
growne, and all comforts to them.
VOL. II.
Рpp
« LECTORI.
474
[Kingsbury-Eat.
H
.
A RDR
« LECTORI.
« Mourn not for us, whom death tranſlates to glory,
But for thyſelfe-whoſe lif's a dying ſtorye.
Gazers muſe not, now you theſe ſtones behold,
Viewing theſe fable lines in-ſet with gold;
It's not to keepe alive the memorie
Of thoſe whoſe aſhes heere interred lye,
Whoſe godlye lives yet live, and ſhall for aye
When theſe hard ſtones are moulder'd quite away.
Their children's zeale well weighing parents' care,
And Chriſtian love to all while breathing ayre,
With grateful harts moſt thankfully erect,
Vnto their aſhes dear, this monument."
At the ſouth corner of the ſouth tranſept is a mural monument of black marble, on
which is a white tablet with this inſcription:
:-“In memory of John Lane, gent.
who ſerved in his Majeſty's own regiment of horſe upwards of fourteen years, under
the command of three colonels, John Lord Viſcount Irwin, Richard Lord Viſcount
Cobham, William Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. To the troop of the two
laſt noblemen, quarter-maſter. Afterwards had three commiſſions in the firſt regiment
of Tower-hamlets, commanded by Charles Earl Cornwallis. He retreated to the place
of his nativity, and died in the borough of Chard, Jan. 24, 1767, aged 79."
In the north fide aile is a handſome mural monument of white and grey marble,
inſcribed -- “ Sacred to the memory of John Eveleigh, of Crim-Chard, who died
April 26, 1767, aged 32 years. An exemplary member of the church of England;
being of ſtrict probity and integrity, humane to his dependants, beloved by his equals,
and an example of conjugal affection. His diſconfolate widow, greatly regretting her
loſs, has cauſed this monument to be erected as a teſtimony of the love ſhe bore him."
Arms, Per pale or and ſable, a chevron between three griffins paſſant, counterchanged.
In this church were formerly ſeveral gilds, fraternities, and chantries, viz.
1. The fraternity of the Bleſſed Virgin Mary. William Atkyns and others, wardens
of this fraternity, were recorded for having purchaſed burgages in the town of Chard
without the King's licence, 19 Ric. II.
2. The chantry of the Holy Trinity. Robert Strange gave a rent and burgage in
Chard to the uſe of this chantry, 19 Henry VI.'
3. William Pears, the laſt incumbent of a gild here, was in 1553 allowed a penſion

of 51.
In the town of Chard, in the rebellion of the laſt century, the Royaliſts, under the
command of Colonel Penruddock, who here proclaimed the King in perſon, ſuffered
a ſevere defeat, and ſeveral of their leaders, being taken to Exeter, were there impri-
ſoned and put to death.
e Ing. ad quod damn.
f Pat. 19 Hen. VI. p. 3. m. 23.
& Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii, 201.
John
Kingsbury-Eath.]
475
CH
R
A

John Sanford, ſon of Richard Sanford of this place, was entered a commoner of
Baliol-college in Oxford, in 1581, and afterwards was made one of the chaplains at
Magdalen-College in that univerſity, where he contracted an intimacy with Sir John
Digby, and accompanied him as his chaplain in his embaſſy to Spain. He at length
became prebendary of Canterbury, and rector of Ivychurch in Kent. He publiſhed
ſeveral books on a variety of ſubjects, being a perſon of great learning, a ſolid divine,
well ſkilled in ſeveral languages, and a tolerable Latin poet."
Simon Every, created a baronet in 1641, was a native of Chard, and a great ſufferer
for King Charles I. He married the eldeſt daughter and coheir of Sir Henry Leigh, of
Egginton in the county of Derby, knt. whereby he became poſſeſſed of that eſtate,
and where his poſterity were thenceforward feated.
Athen. Oxon. I. 540.
COMB E-S T.-NICHOL A S.
ORTHWEST from Chard lies Combe-St.-Nicholas, a very large pariſh, di-
vided into four tithings, viz. Ham, CLAYHANGER, WADFORD, and BETHAM.
There is alſo the hamlet of Sticklepath, and the ancient, though now depopulated village
of Waſton, in which tradition relates was formerly a nunnery.
The manor of Combe belonged before the Conqueſt to one Azor, or Arſer, a perſon
employed in the court of King Edward the Confeſfor, of whom it was procured by
Giſo biſhop of Wells, together with the manors of Worminſter and Lytton." We
find the following notice of it in the Norman record:
" The fame Biſhop holds Cumbe. Azor held it in the time of King Edward, and
gelded for twenty hides. The arable is ſixteen carucates. Of that in demeſne are
eight hides, and there are three carucates, and twelve ſervants, and fifteen villanes,
« and thirteen cottagers, with twelve ploughs. There are twelve acres of meadow,
6 and half a mile of paſture in length and breadth, and one mile of wood in length and
56 breadth. It was worth ten pounds, now eighteen pounds.
A.D. 1234, Joceline biſhop of Bath, having finiſhed the ordination of the provoſt-
ſhip in the cathedral of Wells, endowed that office with this manor and rectory, as alſo
with the manor and rectory of Winſham, and the rectory of Chard and Wellington,
charged with the payment of the ſalaries of the fifteen Combe prebendaries, to each
61. 138. 4d. After this ordination, the biſhop decreed in what manner, and with what
bدر
a Godwin de Præſulibus, 366.
o Lib. Domeſday.
• The buſineſs of the provoſt was to take care and keep an account of the goods and chattels which were
poſſeſſed in common by the canons.
Ppp 2
ſtock,
476
COMBE-ST.-NICHOLAS. (Kingsbury-Eaſt..
ſtock, the ſaid manor ſhould be tranſmitted to ſucceſfion. And then he ſhall leave to
his ſucceſſor in the ſaid provoftſhip a hundred and ſeven acres ſowed with wheat at
Combe, and a hundred and forty-nine acres ſowed with oats, and ſeventy-eight acres and
a half of fallow. And of ſtock in the ſame place, forty oxen, or five ſhillings in lieu of
each ox, if ſo be that ſo many oxen ſhould not be found there. Alſo two hundred
Sheep; the price of each ſheep twelve-pence.-At Winſham he ſhall leave the demeſnes
in a proper ſtate of cultivation without any fixed number of acres or meaſure; and of
ſtock ſixteen oxen, the price of each ox three ſhillings and fix-pence, and one plough-
horſe, value three ſhillings; fix fows and a boar, the price of all four ſhillings; ewes and
rams in all one hundred and thirty-two, the price of each ewe or ram five-pence, and
fifty-three lambs, value of each two-pence halfpenny. At Chard he ſhall leave the
demeſnes tillaged, without number or meaſure, in the ſame manner as at Winſham,
and the fallow without any ſtock. At Wellington he ſhall leave nothing in culture."
The value of the vicarage of Combe in this inſtrument is five marks.
King Edward III. in the ſeventeenth year of his reign, granted a charter of free-
warren in this manor, which continued in the provoſtfhip till its abolition, and was then
annexed to the deanery, whereto it now belongs. By a ſurvey taken the 8th day of
October in the 16th year of Queen Elizabeth, the manor of Combe-St.-Nicholas, with
the rectory, parcel of the revenues of the Dean of Wells, was rated at 61l. 45. 2 d.
The living is a vicarages and peculiar in the deanery of Crewkerne, and in the patro-
nage of the Dean of Wells. The Rev. Chriſtopher Tatchell is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a large handſome building, in length one hundred and fourteen feet,
and in breadth fifty feet; conſiſting of a nave, chancel, north and fouth aile, with a
ſquare embattled tower, containing five bells at the weſt end.
On the north wall of the chancel is a very elegant mural monument of white and
Sienna marble, inſcribed, —“To the memory of Henry Bonner, eſq; of Wafton in this
pariſh, who died in Dec. 1680, and in the 65th year of his age: Of Henry Bonner, eſq;
his ſon, who died the ad of Auguſt 1717, and 73d year of his age: And of Mary
f
d Excerpt. e Regiſt. Wellen.
e Cart. 17 Ed. III. n. I.
f Ecton's Theſaurus, p. 56.
E- Omnibus ad quos &c. Jocelinus Dei gratia Bathon. Epiſcopus, ſalut. Cum venerabilis frater Stephanus
Waterford Epiſcopus eccleſiam de Comba ad præpofituram de Comba pertinentem in honore fancti Nicholai
in vigilia beati Laurentij 1239 de mandato noftro in præſentia noftra dedicaverit, ipſam ecclefiam de Comba in
hunc modum dotamus, viz. quod contulimus ipfi præpofituræ nomine diétæ eccleſiæ advocationem vicariæ
eccleſiæ de Cherde cum juriſdictione archidiaconali ejufdem parochiæ. Et cum ipſa vicaria de Cherde effet
onerata in 40s. prædicto præpofito annuatim folvendis, de ipfius præpofiti conſenſu---Vicariam ipſam ab obli-
gatione ipſa foluturam eſſe inperpetuum ex certa cauſa pronunciamus. Et ne mutulari videatur præpoſitura per
aliquod factum noftrum & prædiéti præpoſiti conſenſum, prædictæ præpoſituræ in recompenſationem prædictor.
4os. dedimus molendinum de Fordyngton cum manfo & terra. Item molendinum de Horneſbowe cum manſo &
terra-& molendinum de South-Cherde cum manſo & tenemento-habenda & tenenda de nobis & fuccefforibus
noftris reddendo inde [de hoc ultimo nominato molendino] fingulis annis 2os. Dat. apud Comb. per manum
magiſtri Walt. de Maydeneſton in vigil. fancti Laurentij pontificatus noſtri 34. Confirmatur hoc per capitulum
Well. & Tho, prior. & conv. Bath.”—Ex Regiſtro Joh. de Drokensford, Ep. B. & W.
the
Kingsbury-Eañ.] COMBE-ST.-NICHOLAS.
477
>
of his age.
the wife of the ſaid Henry Bonner, eſq; and daughter of Robert Strode, eſq; of Slape
in Dorſetſhire, who died 2d of June 1729, and 76th year of her age: As alſo of other
the anceſtors and deſcendants of the Bonner family, who for many generations have
been buried in this place; was this monument, with a truly filial and affectionate eſteem,
erected by Eliſabeth daughter of the above Henry and Mary Bonner, Anno 1757."
Near the above is another very neat mural monument of grey, white, and Sienna
marble, on the tablet of which is this inſcription:-"On the north fide of this
church lies the body of the Rev. Mr. Joel Smith. The celeſtial part is fled to heaven;
living, he was beloved; now dead, lamented by all. He was remarkable for humanity,
good ſenſe, true friendſhip, and for enduring the tortures of a lingering diſtemper with
Chriſtian patience. If the pious wiſhes of a large circle of friends could have availed
any thing, he had ſtill continued among us; but heaven determined otherwiſe. John
Collins erected this monument of his grief and affection to the memory of his dear
departed friend; and as a teſtimony of his gratitude to him for many obligations. He
died at Hatch-Court, 13 Jan. 1758, in the 36th year
“ Reader, if thou haſt a tear,
Shed the precious tribute here.”
On a flat ſtone in the chancel floor: “ Between this ſtone and the north wall lies
the body of Thomas Meacham, (ſon of James Meacham, gent. late of Betham in this
pariſh, and Dorothea his wife) who died July 18, 1749, aged 14 years. And under-
neath, among the remains of ſeveral of her anceſtors, lieth the body of the ſaid Dorothea
(daughter of John Pike, gent. and late wife of John Pitts, eſq; of Chard) who died
Jan. 13, 1764, aged 55 years.”
On another ſtone:
“bere Iyeth the body of Elizabeth the wife of benry Sydenham, eſq. who
was buried June 7, 1631. Here lyeth alſo the body of the ſaid henry Syden-
bam, eſq. who was buried Jan. 30, 1671."
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are annually on an average 17; and the burials 18.


WINSHAM
[
(Kingsbury-Cag
478 ]
W
I
N
S
H
А.
M

I
S a conſiderable pariſh on the borders of Devon, from which it is divided by the
ſeparated into two tithings, viz.
1. WINSHAM tithing, containing about one hundred houſes, which form three ſtreets
round the church; it includes alſo two hamlets, Purtington north, and Amer am ſouthweſt.
2. STREET and Leigh tithing, conſiſting of twenty-one houſes. In this tithing is a
gentleman's ſeat, the reſidence of James-Benedictus Marwood, eſq.
A conſiderable manufacture of narrow cloth is carried on in this pariſh, and employs
moſt of the poor.
The manor of Winſham had long before the Conqueſt been veſted in the church of
Wells, but by ſome ſiniſter practice or other was alienated from it, and fell into the
hands of one Elfi, a Saxon, whom Biſhop Giſo compelled to reſtore it to its proper
owners.” It was thus ſurveyed at the Conqueſt:
“Oſmund holds of the Biſhop, WINESHAM. Elfi held it in the time of King
Edward, and gelded for ten hides. The arable is fixteen carucates. Thereof in
“ demeſne are four hides, and there are three carucates, and twelve ſervants, and fifty
« villanes, with nine ploughs. There are two mills of twenty ſhillings rent, and fix
“ acres of meadow. Wood half a mile long, and a furlong and a half broad.
as worth ſix pounds, now ten pounds.'
After which the manor was diſpoſed of as the preceding one of Combe-St.-Nicholas,
being firſt veſted in the provoſtíhip, and afterwards in the deanery of Wells, in which
laſt dignity it ſtill continues.
A charter of free-warren was granted for this manor by King Edw. III.S
The abbot of Ford in Devonſhire had a large eſtate in Winſham, it being valued in
1293 at 221. IIs. 8d.
The manors of Leigh and Street were given by William the Conqueror to William
de Moion:
It was
b
« Robert holds of William, LEGE. Sirewald held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for three hides. The arable is four carucates.
In demeſne is one caru-
" cate, with one ſervant, and five villanes, and two cottagers, and eight acres of mea-
• dow. Wood two furlongs long, and one furlong broad. It was formerly worth
" thirty ſhillings, now twenty ſhillings."
a Godwin de Præfulibus, 366.
• Lib. Domeſday,
c Cart. 17 Ed, III. n. 1.
& Taxat. Temporal.
Lib. Domeſday.
“ Roger
Kingsbury-Eaß.] W
479
I
A M.
N S
H

fدر
was
1
Roger holds of William, STRATE. Huſcarl and Almar held it in the time of
King Edward, and gelded for one hide and a half. The arable is two carucates.
“ There are three villanes, and one cottager, with one plough, and one acre and a half
« of meadow. Paſture five furlongs long, and two furlongs broad. It was and is
« worth fifteen ſhillings.
The laſt-mentioned place derived its name from the Roman Stratum, or Street,
called the Foſſe-Road, which runs through it in its way to Devon, the ancient Danmonii
of that people, who carried their arms from one end of the kingdom to the other, and
left their reliques in almoſt every part of the Itinera by which they paſſed. In the
year 1684, an urn containing many Roman coins was found betwixt this village and
Winſham. The manors of Street and Leigh now belong to Henry Hoſt Henley, of
Norfolk, eſq.
The manor of Purtington was alſo the property of the Mohun family, and was held
of them for many years by the Cheynes, by the ſervice of one knight's fee; but it
does not occur in the Norman record. A ſpring riſes in this hamlet which forms a
brook, and turns three griſt-mills. It lies north from Winſham.
The lands of this pariſh are moſtly paſture; the country woody, and the roads
narrow and flinty.
The church is a Gothick edifice, in length ninety-four feet, in width twenty-two
feet, conſiſting of a chancel, nave, porch, and belfry covered with tiles. Between the
nave and chancel ſtands an embattled tower, with a clock and five bells.
The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Crewkerne, ana the patronage thereof
belongs to Lord Francis Seymour, as Dean of Wells. The Rev. Mr. Royſe is the
preſent incumbent.
This church contains two mural monuments on the eaſt wall of the chancel, viz.
1. An antique monument of white and black marble, on the tablet of which is this
inſcription:-“Sacrum memoriæ Roberti Henley, (fil. natu max. Henrici, nepotis
Roberti Henley de Leigh in agro Somerſetenſi armigeri; et hujus comitatus unus præ-
poſitorum) qui epidemica graffante febre hinc demigravit. Elizabetha conjunx ejus
fideliffima, prior e folis natabus Edmundi Lamberti de Boyton in campo Wiltonienſis
armigeri et Dulcibellæ filiæ Richardi Swaine de Blandford in comit. Dorſet, armigeri,
certa reſurrectionis fauſtæ fpe freta, hoc poſuit mnemofynon, A. D. 1639.” Arms,
Azure, a lion rampant argent within a bordure of the ſecond, charged with eight torteaux.
2. A neat monument of white and other veined marble, infcribed, -_“ In memory
of Mary Royſe, wife of Nathaniel Royſe, vicar of this pariſh; who, to the graces that
adorn a Chriſtian, added the engaging converſation of a friend, the affectionate duties
of a daughter, and the truth and tenderneſs of the beſt of wives. Theſe merits, which
entitled her to the eſteem of all that knew her, conſtituted her happineſs here, and will
perpetuate it to all eternity. She died Auguſt 10, 1747, aged 37. Alſo near the

f Lib. Domeſday.
: Eſc, 20 Ed. II, et alibi,
fame
4.80
M. (Kingsbury-Eatt.
W I
A
N S
H
ſame place lies interred Tryphena Royſe, wife of William Royſe, vicar of this pariſh,
who died Aug. 2, 1741, aged 65;--a ſincere Chriſtian.”
On a ſtone in the chancel floor:-" Here lieth the body of Thomas the ſon of
Thomas Hillard, of Hayne in the pariſh of Otterford, in the county of Sumſett, gent.
who died Nov. 27, A. D. 1680, anno ætatis octavo."
On a tomb in the church-yard:-"Here lies the body of Adam Abraham, of
Purtington, gent. M. A. of Wadham-college, Oxon, who departed this life Sept. 12,
1709. Atkins Abraham, of Purtington, gent. lieth here; who departed June 21,
1764, aged 75."
One of the Henley family left a benefaction of 31. 1os. per annum, for the ſchooling
of poor children of this pariſh, which is now advanced to five pounds.

THE

[ 481 )
THE H U N D RED
K I N G S B U RY. WE S T.
T:
THIS Hundred, lying weſtward from the former, and from that circumſtance
thus denominated, is divided into two parts; the firſt of which is ſituated
contiguous to Devonſhire, between the hundreds of Taunton-Dean on the
eaſt, and Milverton on the weſt, and contains the pariſhes of Wellington and Buckland;
the other lies on the northweſt ſide of Milverton, adjoining to the hundred of Williton
and Freemanors; and contains the pariſhes of Wiveliſcombe, Fitzhead, Biſhop's
Lydiard, and Afh-Priors.
W E L L L I N G T O N

S a large and ancient market-town, on the borders of the county of Devon, being
principal one of which is called High-ſtreet, and is full half a mile in length, being
for the moſt part wide and ſpacious, and contains many good brick houſes. The
market is on Thurſdays, and well ſerved with moſt ſorts of proviſion: there are alſo
two fairs, one of which is held on the feaſt of the nativity of St. John the Baptiſt; and
the other on the tenth day of November. Both the market and fairs were originally
procured of the crown by the biſhops of Wells, who for many centuries poffeffed this
manor. They alſo cauſed the town to be erected into a borough, and it anciently
enjoyed many privileges from the grants of different kings.
The earlieſt hiſtorical account we find of it, commences with the reign of King
Alfred, who gave the inanors of Wellington, Buckland, and Lydiard, to Affer, the
tutor of his children; which Affer was afterwards advanced to the fee of Sherborne,
VOL. II.
0.99
and
482
WELLINGTON. [Kingsbury-Weft.

and died in that dignity A. D. 883. After his deceaſe, and the inſtitution of the
biſhoprick of Wells by Plegmund archbiſhop of Canterbury, the manors abovemen-
tioned were conferred by the King on Aldhelm, the firſt biſhop of this dioceſe, for the
fupport and maintenance of his epiſcopal honour. To him ſucceeded Wifelinus,
Elfeth, Wlfhelm, Brithelm monk of Glaſtonbury, Kineward, Sigar, Aldwyn, Bur-
wold, Leoning, Ethelwyn, Brithwyn, Merewith, Dudoca, and Giſo, ſucceſſive biſhops
of this dioceſe, and owners of this manor, before the Norman Conqueſt. It was then
by order of King William ſurveyed by commiſſioners, whoſe report was as follows:
" The ſame Biſhop [i. e. Giſo] holds WALINTONE. He alſo held it in the time
of King Edward, and 'gelded for fourteen hides. The arable is thirty carucates.
“ Thereof in demeſne are three hides, and there are four carucates, and thirty-one ſer-
« vants, and fifty-three villanes, and ſixty-one cottagers, with twenty-five ploughs.
« There are two mills of fifteen ſhillings rent, and one hundred and five acres of
" meadow. Paſture one mile long, and half a mile broad. Wood three furlongs
" long, and as much broad.
« Of the land of this manor John holds of the Biſhop two hides of the villanes' land.
as The whole is worth twenty-five pounds.
" To this manor is added one hide, which Alvera held in the time of King Edward
cc for a manor.
The arable is three carucates, and there are with it eight villanes,
“ and four cottagers, and one ſervant. There are five acres of meadow. Wood three
“ furlongs long, and as much broad. It is worth thirty ſhillings."
Biſhop William Button obtained of King Henry III. a charter of free-warren for his
manor of Wellington;' and in the time of Edw. I. the lands belonging to the biſhoprick
in Wellington and Buckland were valued at ſixty pounds. This manor continued in
the poſſeſſion of the biſhoprick till 2 Edw. VI. when Biſhop Barlow granted it, toge-
ther with the borough of Wellington, with lands there and divers other appertenances,
to Edward duke of Somerſet, and his heirs, to be held of the King as of his manor of
Muchelny in free focage by fealty only. In the MS. ſchedule of the ſaid Duke, the
manor of Wellington is valued at 371. os. IId. and the borough at 61. 7s. 11d.' Upon
the Duke's attainder it came to the crown, where it continued till the 22d of James I.
when it was granted in fee to Sir James Fullerton and James Maxwell, who in the
fame year granted it to feoffees in truſt for Sir Francis Popham, ſon of Sir John Popham,
lord chief juſtice of England, whoſe heirs enjoyed it for ſeveral deſcents. The manor
of Wellington is now the property of Herbert Sawyer, eſq; and that of the borough
belongs to Thomas Harriſon, eſq. Courts leet and baron are held for both.
The benefice of Wellington is a vicarage in the deanery of Taunton, and in the
patronage of Procter Thomas, eſq. The Rev. William Jeſſe is the preſent incumbent.
In 1292 it was rated at twenty marks.:
a Godwin de Præſulibus, 332. This account does not altogether agree with King Ina's charter, nor with
Camden's aſſertion that Edward the elder (who was the ſon of King Alfred) gave Wellington, which was the
land of fix tenants, and Lediard, which had twelve tenants, to the Biſhop of Sherborne. See Britannia, i. 57.
• Lib. Domeſday.
· Cart. 41 Hen. III. m. 5.
• Taxat. Temporal,
. Licence to alenate,
fMS, Valor. & Taxat. Temporal.
The



Kingsbury-Cateff.] ] 483
WELLINGTON
.

The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptiſt, and is a ſtately Gothick edifice,
one hundred and ten feet in length, and fifty in breadth, conſiſting of a nave, chancel,
north and ſouth ailes, two ſmall chapels, a veſtry-room, and porch, all covered with
lead, except the chancel, which is tiled. At the weſt end is a handſome embattled.
tower, decorated with twelve Gothick pinnacles, and a turret on the ſouth ſide.
This tower is one hundred feet high to the battlements, and contains a clock and
eight bells.
In the chapel on the ſouth ſide of the church is a magnificent tomb, ſurrounded
with a palliſado of wood and iron, on the table of which lie the effigies of Sir John
Popham, and that of his lady. He is dreſſed in his judges robes, chain, and ſmall
ſquare black cap; and placed with his head toward the weſt. On the lower baſement,
at the head and feet, are four other ſmaller figures of two men and two women, kneel-
ing face to face. On the north ſide of the ſame baſement are five boys and eight girls,
dreſſed in black, kneeling in a row. And on the ſouth ſide are nine women kneeling
in the ſame manner. Over Sir John and his lady is a ſuperb arched canopy, orna-
mented with the family arms, roſes, paintings, and obeliſks; the whole ſupported by
eight round columns of black marble, five feet high, with Corinthian capitals green
and gilt. On the weſt ſide of this canopy is the following infcription:
“ Sir John Popham, knighte, Lord Chief Juſtice of England; and of the honourable
privie counſel to Queen Elizabeth, and after to King James; died the roth of June
1607, aged 76, and is here interred.”
This Sir John Popham was a native of Huntworth in this county, where his an-
ceſtors reſided for many generations. He was educated principally at Baliol college
in Oxford, and from thence removed to the Middle Temple, where he became a bar-
rifter, ſummer or autumn reader in 1568, ferjeant at law ſoon after, folicitor-general in
1579, attorney-general two years after, and likewiſe treaſurer of the Middle-Temple.
In 1592 he was made lord chief juſtice of the King's-Bench, (an office he executed
with remarkable ſeverity, but impartial juſtice) and that fame year received the ho-
nour of knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, being one of her privy council. In this
town of Wellington he built a large and ſtately houſe wherein he reſided ſeveral years,
and during that time greatly enhanced his fortune by the purchaſe of ſeveral valuable
eſtates in this county and that of Devon. In the time of the great civil war, this houſe
was by ftratagem taken poſſeſſion of by one Bovet of Taunton, who converted it into
a garriſon for the uſe of the parliament army, and defended it for a conſiderable time
againſt Sir Richard Grenville, who came to its reſcue; in which conteſt it was ſo
ruined, that it never after was re-edified. Sir John was a great patron and benefactor
to Wellington, and in purſuance of his will, bearing date 21 Sept. 1604, an hoſpital
was erected at the weſt end of the town for the maintenance of twelve poor and
impotent or aged people, whereof fix to be men, and fix women; and for the education
of two poor men's children. The preſident of this hoſpital has a ſtipend of one
fhilling and fixpence per week, and the other five men, one ſhilling each. The matron
of the women has alſo one ſhilling and fixpence per week, and the other five women
one fhilling each; and eight-pence to each of the two children; and ſuch clothes yearly
Q.992

as
484
WELLINGTON. (Kingsbury-Taleit.

as by the will are directed. An eſtate of land is veſted in the governors of the hof-
pital for ſecuring the endowment.
Againſt the eaſt wall of the ſame chapel wherein the Lord Chief Juſtice lies interred,
is a braſs plate with an inſcription to the memory of another of the ſame family:-
“ Maria Alexandri Popham, de Huntworthy comitatu Somerſet, generoſi, uxor tertia
Tho. Gatchell, de Clawſey, armigeri, filia natu maxima; caſta, pudica, pia; fuis
blanda, omnibus benigna: beatæ reſurrectionis fpe, hac [haud] æterna domo (relietis
Thoma & Alexandro filiis) adquiefcit. Ob' 18 die Octobris, A. D. 1717, ætat. 49."
Arms, Argent, on a chief gules, two bucks' heads caboſſed or, Popham; impaling
ermine, a garb azure, on a canton of the ſecond an annulet or, Gatchell.
On a braſs plate in the chancel floor:-“Here lyeth the bodies of three worthy
gentlemen, ſucceſſively poſſeſſors of the manſion-houſe of Nowers in this pariſh.
Firſt, William Gifford was here buried Nov. 5, 1581. Next, William his ſonne was
here interred Dec. I, 1626. To him ſucceeded John his ſonne, who dyed without
iſſue, and was here buried June 4, 1675."
In the ſouth aile is a plain mural monument of black and white marble, inſcribed,
“In memory of Edward and Mary Jeſſe, ſon and daughter of the Rev. William
Jeſſe, vicar of this pariſh. Edward died Sept. 24, 1765, aged 25; Mary died Dec.
27, 1766, aged 24 years; and are both buried in a cave in the church porch.”
On a black frame againſt the ſouth wall:
" James Goddard, gent. by his deed dated 7th of October 1589, gave for the uſe
of the poor of Wellington twenty ſhillings yearly, payable out of the eſtate called
Lancocke, on our Lady's-day, for the term of three thouſand years.
John Greenſlade, gent. gave by his will, dated 29 Aug. 1620, for the uſe of the
poor of Wellington, five ſhillings yearly, payable one month before St. Andrew's-
day, for the term of three hundred years.
“ Thomas Rowe, of London, factor, gave by his will, dated 19th of July 1658, to
the poor of Wellington, the uſe of fifty pounds for ever.
George Hawkins, gent. gave by his will, dated 10 Jan. 1621, to the poor
of
Wellington five ſhillings yearly out of Peaſchay for the term of one hundred years.
John Ware, of Columſtoke, Devon, gent. gave to the poor of Wellington the
uſe of five pounds for ever. 1683.
“ Edward Hickman, of Exon, gent. gave by his will fifty-two ſhillings yearly,
payable on Chriſtmas-day, to ten poor people of Wellington (who have no relief from
the ſaid pariſh) for the term of nineteen hundred and ninety-nine years, and his dwel-
ling-houſe in Exon is bound for the ſame.”
On the north wall:
“ John Parſons, merchant, late of Samford-Arundel, by, his will bearing date Jan.
26, 1702, gave the uſe of ten pounds for ever to ten ancient poor people of this pariſh
who do not receive relief.

« John

Kingsbury-Wiel.] W E L L IN G T O N.
485
“ John Perry, of Perry, gave by his will the uſe of five pounds for ever to five poor
perſons of this pariſh who have no relief.
« Thomas Marſh, ſen. of this town, tallow-chandler, by his will dated the 21ſt of
April 1703, gave the uſe of five pounds for ever to five ancient people, at the church-
warden's diſcretion.”
John Salkeld, ſtiled by King James I. (who converted him to proteſtantiſm) the
learned Salkeld, was ſometime vicar here, and publiſhed two treatiſes, one of Angels,
1613; the other of Paradiſe, 1617. He died 1652...
There was a ſervice in the church of Wellington, whereof John Spycer was the laſt
incumbent, and was allowed in 1553 a penſion of 31. 75. 5d.
By an accurate ſurvey taken 1784, the number of houſes in the town and the ſeveral
hamlets of the pariſh of Wellington, was found to be as follows:
In the Town
At Rockwell-Green, commonly called Raw-Green
93
Payton, lying weſt of the town
14
Holywell-LAKE, commonly called Holway-Lake, weſtward alſo
26
PLEAMOOR's-Cross, commonly called Plymouth's-Croſs, and 7
33
WRANGWAY, ſouth of the town
WESTFORD, ſituated weſtward
STANDLE, and OLDWAY, ſouth
23
FORD, ſouth
17
Farm-houſes and other ſcattered dwellings
ra
462
l'ora!!!
24
1
48
Total 749
n Athen. Oxon. ii. 242.
i Hift. of Abbies, ii. 203.
W E S T - BU
BUCK L A N
L . D

TANDS two miles eaſtward from Wellington, and ſeven ſouthweſtward from
Taunton, on the north ſide of the ridge of Blackdown-hills. In this pariſh are
three hamlets:
1. Ham, a mile northweſt from the church, containing twelve houſes.
2. STERT, or Silver-ſtreet, half a mile northeaſt, ſix houſes.
3. CHilson, a mile weſt, fix houſes.
The reſt of the houſes lie ſcattered about the church, and towards Blackdown. The
whole number being about eighty; ſome of which are farms; but moſtly cottages, one
compoſed

486
.
WEST-BUCK L A N D. [RingsburyWett-

compoſed of reddiſh mud walls, covered with thatch. - The lands are in general rich,
pretty equally divided between paſture and tillage, and worth on an average twenty-
five ſhillings an acre. In the hamlet of Chilſon are about one hundred acres of
common land, on which the inhabitants in general turn cattle, although the right is
confined to the copyhold tenants. In that part of the pariſh which lies on Blackdown,
riſe many ſprings, the waters of which unite in a little rivulet which turns a griſt-mill,
called Rugging-Mill, and falls into the river Tone. Another ſtream runs by the
common, and has over it a ſtone bridge of two arches. The roads in this pariſh
are very narrow, deep, and ſtony; the banks on each ſide high, and the hedges meet
in an arch above head.
The manor of Weſt-Buckland was heretofore beſtowed as Wellington, and has been
for many centuries the property of the biſhops of this dioceſe.
Weſt-Buckland is a chapel to Wellington. The church is dedicated to St. Mary,
and is a conſiderable edifice of Saxon and Gothick architecture, conſiſting of a nave,
chancel, north and ſouth ailes, with a well-built tower at the weſt end, eighty feet high,
and containing five bells.
In the foor of the chancel there is, among a few others, this infcription:-“Sub
hoc tumulo jacet corpus Malachæ Thurſton, Medicinæ Doctoris: pauperibus fuit mu-
nificus, omnibus gratus, infirmis falus. Obijt focius Sidneij Cantabrigienſis, tertio die
Junii, Anno Domini 1701, ætat. fuæ 73,"
Richard Blackmore gave twenty pounds to the poor of this pariſh, the intereſt
thereof to be diſtributed to ſuch as have no relief, at Chriſtmas for ever.
The chriſtenings in this pariſh are annually on an average 9; the burials 7.
W IV E L I S C O M B E.
T
To this place, which was called by the Saxons Pipeliscombe, various etymologies
have been given: ſome have imagined that it derived its name from the number
either of weevils (or grubs, Perl being the Saxon term for that infect) or of weaſels,
with which the combe or valley might formerly have abounded: others, laughably
enough, have conjectured, that the name Wiveliſcombe, or (as they call it) Wifeleſs-
combe, originally aroſe from the circumſtance of the place being in former times inhabited
chiefly by prieſts, who, during the celibacy of the clergy, lived here in common, and
officiated in the neighbouring pariſhes. Another conjecture may yet be hazarded, that
the name is compounded of the Saxon words Vepels, which implies a cloſe covering,
and Lombe, the uſual name in that language for a valley; whereby the word Wivelif-
combe will be made to fignify, the cloſe, or incloſed valley, which indeed is really the caſe,
the


Kingsbury-Tel.] WIVEL IS COM BE487
B
.

the ſpot being on every ſide, except a ſmall opening towards Taunton, ſhut in by lofty
hills, covered with rich and very beautiful woods.
It is a large market-town, eleven miles weſt from Taunton, and ſeven northweſt
from Wellington, being ſituated in the ſecond diviſion of the hundred we are deſcribing,
and ſevered from the former by part of the hundred of Milverton. It conſiſts of
ſeven irregular ſtreets and lanes, one of which, leading from the church to the market-
place, where four ſtreets meet, is very ſteep. Here were formerly two markets, the
one on Tueſdays, the other on Saturdays; but the latter only is retained. There is a
market-houſe for the corn, and a long row range of old ſhambles. Three fairs are
held annually for ſheep, cattle, and pedlary ware, viz. May 2d, Trinity-Monday, and
the 25th of September.
The town is governed by a bailiff and a portreve, annually choſen at a court held in
May. The portreve is always elected out of a part of the town called the Borough;
and at the court, ale-taſters, and examiners of weights and meaſures, are appointed.
A conſiderable woollen-manufacture has for more than two centuries been carried on
in the town, and ſtill flouriſhes. The goods moſtly made are blanketings, knap-coat-
ings, kerſey, and other coarſe cloths; ſtrouds, ermine, and baize. Many of theſe are
ſent to London, Briſtol, and Exeter, for home conſumption, and for exportation to
Spain and Guernſey.
Within this pariſh there are about five hundred acres of common land, near four
hundred of which are on Main-Down, a hill about a mile weſtward from the town,
on the top of which is a good race-ground nearly two miles in circumference, on a
fine ſtrong turf. From the plain on this hill there is an extenſive view of the coun-
try, particularly to the eaſt and ſoutheaſt, over the vale of Taunton and the moors,
to Mendip-hills, and Hum-hill near Yeovil. On the eaſt ſide of this hill is a fine
ſpring, which ſends a ſtream to the town, where it is received into a reſervoir in Weſt-
ſtreet, and thence is diſtributed by pipes to moſt of the houſes. On another part
of
the hill is a pool of water, called Meer-Pool, which is never dry, although it has no
viſible ſpring.
The river Tone, riſing in the adjoining pariſh of Clotworthy, bounds this pariſh on
the weſt, dividing it from Huiſh-Champflower, and Chipſtaple. Many other excellent
ſprings riſe in this pariſh, and turn four or five mills, three of which are in the hamlet
of FORD.
The woods in this pariſh are eight in number, and in contents about ſeventy-two
acres, chiefly crowning the ſummits, or clothing the ſlopes of the hills. The wood is
moſtly oak and beech.
The ſoil is various; but for the moſt part a red loam mixed with ſtone-ruſh. There
is a vein of yellow clay or ochre, much uſed by the tanners and fellmongers in dreſſing
their leather, and for that purpoſe it is carried to a conſiderable diſtance. There is
alſo great plenty of blue lime-ſtone, and ſome of a whitiſh kind, called Popple. The
lands are nearly one third arable, and bear remarkably fine crops. The fields are in
general large, divided by good quick fences, well planted with trees.

IN

488
WIVELIS COMB E. [Kingsbury-Cuett.
In the year 1777, the number of houſes in the town of Wiveliſcombe was 359, and
of inhabitants 1533. Beſides which there are ſeveral hamlets, as,
1. CROFORD, or Crowford, one mile eaſt, which contains twenty houſes, moſtly
thatched cottages.
2. FORD, about a mile northeaſt, ten farms, and ten cottages.
3. LANGLEY, a mile north, eight farms, and ſix cottages.
4. WHEATFIELD, a mile and a half north, eleven farms, and four cottages.
The reſt of the houſes, about ſixteen in number, are moſtly farms, and ſtand ſingly
about the pariſh. The whole number of houſes is about 444, and of inhabitants
nearly 1900. Freeholders reſiding in the pariſh about 30.
Wiveliſcombe was a place of ſome note in the time of the Romans, although it is
not diſtinguiſhed in their annals as a ſtation or military poſt. In the earlier part of
their tranſactions in this iſland they had a large caſtrum or encampment on a hill about
a mile eaſtward from the town, which ſtill is called the Caſtle. Its ſummit contains
about twelve acres; and although it is moſtly covered with coppice-wood and buſhes,
the veſtiges of fortifications, and the foundations of buildings, are ſtill diſcernible on its
ſurface. Part of the foffe, which is very deep, and is extended round the hill, has been
deſtroyed by the working of a quarry. Near the centre of the area, ſeveral Roman
coins, chiefly of Trajan, Antoninus Pius, Tacitus, and Gallienus, were diſcovered in
the year 1711. At another time an urn, filled with money of the ſame people, was
dug up in the neighbouring valley: The number of coins contained therein was
one thouſand fix hundred, moſt of them the ſize of a halfpenny, and were all of
copper; but there were not above half a dozen among them that were of different
forts. The legends on the obverſe were, “Imp. Diocletianus Aug. Maximianus.
Conftantius nobil. Maximinus. T. C. Val. Severus nobil. Imp. Conſtantinus Aug.
On the reverſe of all was the figure of Mars, with this legend “Genio Populi Romani.”
The Danes availed themſelves of this caſtle during their inroads into theſe parts ;
and after they withdrew, the Saxons, beginning to recover their tranquility, tranſplanted
themfelves to the neighbouring vale, and gave the ſcite of their new-built habitations
the name of Wiveliſcombe.
Henceforward the place became of conſequence, conſtituted a large lordſhip, and
was always held by the Saxon kings, till Edward the Confeffor granted all his lands
here to the church of Wells. The extent of thoſe lands appears in the Norman ſurvey:
“ The ſame Biſhop holds WIVELESCOME. He held it alſo in the time of King
“ Edward, and gelded for fifteen hides. The arable is thirty-ſix carucates. Of that
“ in demeſne are three hides, and there are four carucates, and eight ſervants, and ſixteen
“ villanes, and three cottagers, with feven ploughs. There is a mill of fifty-pence rent,
s and thirty-four acres of meadow, and two hundred acres of paſture, and fourſcore
acres of wood.
“Of the land of this manor three knights hold of the Biſhop nine hides, and have
" there fixteen ploughs. This land is of the demeſne of the biſhoprick, and cannot be
« alienated
>
Kingsbury-welt.] WIVELISCOMBE.
489
a
« alienated from the biſhop. It is worth to the biſhop ten pounds, to the knights
o fifteen pounds.”
Biſhop Button, A. D. 1256, obtained of King Henry III. a charter of free-warren for
himſelf and his ſucceſſors, in this and other of his manors;" and John de Drokensford
either raiſed from the ground, or rebuilt, a ſtately palace adjoining to the cemetery,
which his ſucceſſor in the ſee, Ralph of Shrewſbury, greatly improved. A. D. 1331,
in the time of the laſt-mentioned biſhop, Simon Mepham, D.D. archbiſhop of Can-
terbury, then viſiting the dioceſe of Bath, kept his birth-day at this palace;' and it
feems to have been a favourite ſeat of every prelate from John de Drokensford who
died here, to Thomas Godwin, who, out of neceſſity and not by choice, parted with
this manor for the term of ninety-nine years, to purchaſe peace and quiet. The other
epiſcopal palaces in this county were at Wells, Banwell, Chew-Magna, Evercreech,
Twiverton, and Claverton. The palace of Wiveliſcombe is now in ruins; and a work-
houſe, erected in the year 1735, occupies part of the ſcite of the ancient edifice.
The manor, with that of Fitzhead, is held under the preſent biſhop by the Hon. John-
Bulkeley Coventry-Bulkeley. There is alſo another manor, which is included in
Queen Elizabeth's charter to the Dean and Chapter of Wells, under whom it has long
been held by the Lords Stawel.
There is a third manor within this pariſh, called OAKHAMPTON, of which the Dean
and Chapter of Wells are alſo lords paramount, and which is held under them by Sir
William Yea, bart. This alſo is included in Queen Elizabeth's charter. By an in-
quiſition taken 3 Edw. III. it was found that John de Drokensford, biſhop of Bath
and Wells, died ſeized of one meſfuage and three virgates of land in the hamlet of
Oakhampton, within the manor of Wiveliſcombe, which tenements were held of the
biſhoprick of Bath and Wells, by the ſervice of the fourth part of a knights fee. And
the ſaid biſhop was thereby certified to have obtained the whole hamlet aforeſaid
Sir John de Clyvedon, knt. paying yearly to the faid John, for the life of James
Trivet, 40l. per annum. And the fame John de Clyvedon obtained the ſaid meſfuage
and lands to himſelf and his heirs of the ſaid James Trivet.
The church of Wiveliſcombe, valued in 1292 at forty marks," is a prebend belong-
ing to the cathedral of Wells. A vicarage was ordained 7 kal. Nov. 1 262, conſiſting
of the following portions, viz. in all the alterage obventions of the church of Wivelif-
combe, and the chapel of Fitzhead, and in all ſmall tithes of the whole parilh, except
the tithes of all ſorts of ſheaf growing in the curtilages; and in the tithes of hay at
Fitzhead only; and in the tithes of mills and fax throughout the pariſh; as alſo in
mortuaries, or firſt legacies of the whole pariſh, faving from the tenants of the ſaid
church. The vicar alſo ſhall have a houſe with curtilage at Wiveliſcombe, uſually


с
Lib. Domeſday. b Cart. 4i Hen. III. m. 5. Excerpt. e Regift, Wellen. .
à Anon. Hiſt. Edvardi tertii, ap. Walt. Hemingford Chron. 399.
f Lel. Itin. iii. 125.
* Sir John Harington's Nuge Antiquæ, p. 132. Athen. Oxon. i. 710. Biog, Dict. &c.
& Eſc.
h Taxat. Spiritual.
VOL. II.
Rrr
appropriated
490
W I V E L IS.COM BE. [Kingsbury-Wett.
appropriated to the officiating miniſter, and another at Fitzhead, with curtilage, which
the chaplain uſed to occupy.' The Rev. Mr. Dowring is the preſent incumbent of
the vicarage.
There was a chantry in the church of Wiveliſcombe, and the laſt incumbent of it,
Thomas Inarpone, received in 1553. a penſion of 41."
The church is dedicated to St. Andrew, according to Browne Willis; but to the
Holy Trinity, according to other authority. It conſiſts of a nave, north and ſouth
ailes, and at the weſt end a tower and ſpire, with a ſet of chimes, a clock, and fix bells.
In the ſouth aile is an antique mural monument of various kinds of marble, much
defaced by time. In front are three ſmall round detached columns with Corinthian
capitals gilt. The centre one divides the monument into two parts, in which are two
arched receſſes containing black tablets, with theſe inſcriptions:
“ To poſterity. Heere reſt in aſured hope of a joiefull reſurrection, through Chriſt
Jeſus, the bodies of Humphrey Windham, of Golden-Hill in the pariſh of Wivelif-
combe in the county of Somerſet, eſq; third fonne of Sir John Windham, of Orchard
in the ſame county, knight, (long ſince deceaſed) and Margery his wife, eldeſt daughter
and coheire of John Stevenſon, of Hodſdon in the countie of Hertford, eſq; who lived
together above forty-three years, having iſſue a ſonne and one daughter; which fonne
dying young, Elizabeth their ſole daughter and heire married John Colles, of Barton
in the county of Somerſete, eſq; by whom hee hath had iſſue, at erecting of this monu-
ment, ſix children, a ſonne and five daughters; which ſonne dyed an infant, and lyeth
in this vault. The ſaid Humphrey Windham departed this mortal life the 29th day
of May 1622, aged 84 and upward. Margerie his wife died the ift of Sept. 1620,
aed 72. Valete, pares incomparabiles! Feſtinantes fequimur.
" To the eternal mēmorie of Humphrey Windham, eſq; and Margerie his wife:
“ Here lies a pair, who for their equal loves
Let after ages terme the turtle doves:
A hee and ſhee whoſe like this weſtern foile
Shall hardly match, nay ſcarce again ovr iſle.
That fame herſelf adores the memorie
Of Humphrey Windham, and his Margerie,
His matchleſs wife, whoſe heav'n-bleſt ſkill and coſt
Cur'd fundry (whom the ſurgeon held for loft)
Of dangerous wounds, dim eyes, and feſter'd fores,
Sent maymed cripples crutchleſs from her doors.
To fowerſcore fower of yeares hee did aſpire,
A counſellor, a juſtice, and a ſquire;
Hence was hee wiſe to judge, and juſt to doe,
Religious, good, and nobly-minded too;
The orphan's father, and the widow's friend,
Learned, wiſe, ſincere, and conſtant to the end.

* Excerpt. e Regiſt, Wellen.
* Willis's Hift. of Abbies, ii. 203.
Yet
Kingsbury-welt.] W I VELISCO MBE.
491

2
Yet from this noneſuch couple did proceed
But one ſole daughter, fair, and heire indeed
Both of their virtues and eſtates, who lives,
And in her life their ſecond being gives.
Here only doth their earthly pawne remaine,
Which at Chriſt's coming muſt be fetcht againe."
Under this monument are their effigies in ſtone lying on a tomb.
On a braſs-plate in the chancel north wall:-" Here lyeth William Crowther, M.A.
and vicar of Wiveliſcombe, who dyed June 8, 1617.” Arms, A bend dexter wavy.
On a ſtone in the chancel floor:-"Here lyeth the body of Richard Wood, late
miniſter here, buried April 2, 1645."
On two black tables are the following benefactions:
“ John Perry, of Gerbefton, gent. 1582, gave to the inhabitants of this pariſh two
ſeveral ſums of twenty pounds, to be lent to eight honeſt laborious men, two years
gratis, towards keeping them on work, and from becoming chargeable.
Henry Story, gent. 1648, gave unto David Story and others of this pariſh, a
meſſuage containing two burgages, ſituate in Golden-hill, for one thouſand years, upon
truſt that they ſhould yearly pay all the rents and profits thereof unto the churchwardens
and overſeers of the poor, to be by them diſtributed amongſt indigent perſons for their
better relief on the feaſt-day of St. Thomas in every year.
“ John Hutchines, gent. anno 1589, gave to Robert Story, and John Yea, and their
heires, one cloſe of land containing three acres, lying at Croford-hill-head, upon truſt
that they ſhould yearly for ever diſtribute the profits thereof among the poor of the
pariſh, fourteen days before Eaſter.
« Samuel Bird, of London, gent. anno 1647, gave to the poor of this pariſh two
hundred pounds for the purchaſing ſome land for the uſe of the ſaid poor, with which
money certain lands lying at Poleſhill in Milverton were purchaſed.
« William Bowerman, vicar of this pariſh, anno 1562, gave unto the churchwardens
and other inhabitants of this pariſh twenty pounds, to be by them lent to four honeſt
clothiers of this pariſh for two years gratis, that ſhould employ the poor people in ſpin-
ning, weaving, &c.
« Elizabeth Coles, widow of John Coles, efq; and daughter of Humphrey Windham,
did, by the direction of the ſaid Humphrey Windham, and John Coles, eſqrs. erect an
almshouſe for the ſettlement of eight poor aged people; and did alſo order the charity
of one ſhilling and fix-pence a week to be for ever paid unto every and each of the ſaid
poor people; which money is, by a decree made in the high and honourable court of
chancery, charged on the manor of Wiveliſcombe.
“ Thomas Holway, gent. gave unto ſeveral inhabitants of this pariſh the inheritance
of thoſe ſix burgages ſituate in Golden-Hill, (part whereof is a certain parcel of ground
now called the Pariſh Cloſe) in truſt that they ſhould yearly for ever, at the feaſt of
Rrr 2
Eaſter,
492
WIVELISCOMBE. [Kingsbury-uttett.
Eaſter, pay all the rents and profits thereof unto the churchwardens and overſeers of the
poor, to be by them yearly for ever applied towards repairing the church and main-
taining the poor."
Here is an hoſpital founded by Sir John Coventry, for twelve poor people.
There is alſo a poor-houſe near the church, called the Church-houſe, in which live
eight families. A private donation has alſo furniſhed ſeventeen ſmall cottages for
needy and diſtreſſed families.

F I TZ
H
E
A

A ,
DJOINS to Wiveliſcombe on the northeaſt. It has been written Fivehead, and
in which manor it was included at the time of the Conqueſt.
The country about this little village is thickly wooded, and pleaſantly intermixed
with hills and vallies. The lands are moſtly in tillage, and a conſiderable quantity of
fax is raiſed here. There are no foſils, and very few other natural productions; divers
forts of ſcarce moffes clothe the banks of the incloſures, and the ſides of the roads,
which are narrow, and overhung with hedges.
The church is a curacy and peculiar in the deanery of Dunſter. The Rev. John
Farthing is the preſent incumbent. It is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, is a ſmall
Gothick edifice, of oné pace, with a tower at the weſt end, containing a clock and
five bells.
On the north wall of the chancel is a neat mural monument of black and white
marble, on which is inſcribed, - Under three tombs in the church-yard are interred
the bodies of Simon Cannon, eſq; and of Jane his wife. Of John Southby, eſq; and
of Mary his wife, (who was daughter. and coheir to Simon Cannon ;) alſo of Jane and
Robert Southby, their ſon and daughter. And in the vault under the family ſeat in this
chancel, lie interred the bodies of Cannon Southby, efq; (who died July 7, 1768) of
Betty his wife, and of Jane their daughter.”. Arms, Sable, a chevron between three
croſs-croſslets, or.
On the nave ſouth wall is an antique oval monument of marble, with this inſcription:
“In memory of Robert Cannon, ſon of Simon Cannon, fen. and Jane his wife,
who died on St. John's-day 1690, aged 15 years.”-Arms, Argent, on a fefle gules
between three croſſes patée fable, as many martléts of the firſt.
On a braſs-plate in the middle paſſage:-"Here lyeth the body of Richard
Cannon, who deceaſed April 29, 1603.”
In the church-yard is a very fine yew-tree, 16 feet round with a very large ſpread.
There is alſo an old croſs.
BIHOP's

02

Kingsbury-Wett.]
[ 493 ]
BISHOP's-LYDIARD, or LYDIARD-EPISCOPI.
TH
HIS large pariſh lies at the very northeaſt extremity of this diviſion of Kingſbury-
Weſt, and contiguous to Taunton-Dean. Beſides ſeveral hamlets, ſome of which
are within that hundred, it compriſes a ſmall town; but which was in former times
much more conſiderable and populous than at preſent, having the advantage of a
market and fairs obtained to it of the Kings of England, by the intereſt of the biſhops
of the dioceſe, who were its ancient lords, and from whom it received the name by
which it is at this day diſtinguiſhed.
This diſtrict may boaſt of great antiquity. There is within its precincts a place
called CONQUEST, or CONQUEST-FARM, near which, in the year 1666, a very large urn
was dug up by a labouring perſon, containing no leſs than fourſcore pounds weight
of Roman coins, of the Emperors Claudius, Nero, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan,
Antonine, Septimius-Severus, Tacitus, Gallienus, Tetricus, and a great number of
others. Another urn of nearly equal weight, was about the ſame time found in the
pariſh of Stogumber. From the circumſtance of theſe diſcoveries, the different ages
of the coins, the immenſeneſs of their quantity, and particularly the name of the place
CONQuest, near which they were found, a writer, whoſe reſearches are rather more
curious than critical, has in a long Treatiſe endeavoured to prove, that in ſome place of
the valley, which extends from the weſt ſide of Quantock, from Taunton to Lydiard,
Stogumber and Watchet, the Romans compleated the conqueſt of ſo much of Britain
as is now called England; and that they, throughout many ages afterwards, continued
a legion or part of one here, which they paid with ſuch money as this, to prevent in-
ſurrection by land and invaſion by ſea.
The common tradition however is, that CONQUEST had its name from a ſignal vic-
tory obtained there over the Danes by the Saxons, under the command of King Alfred,
which might have been the caſe, although the other likewiſe ſhould be ſtrictly true.
Certain it is that King Alfred at that period poffeffed all the lands of Lydiard; and
when he emerged from the troubles in which the Danes had involved him, and began
to advert to the concerns of domeſtick life, he gave this manor, with thoſe of Wel-
lington and Buckland, to Affer the preceptor of his children, as a reward for his care
over them. But a ſhort time after, the fame diſpoſal which attended Wellington,
attended this manor alſo; and the firſt biſhops of Wells became poſſeſſed of this large
and valuable territory. Its ſtate about the time of the Norman Conqueſt may be learnt
from the following record:
« The fame Biſhop holds LIDEGAR. He alſo held it in the time of King Edward,
« and gelded for ten hides, wanting one virgate. The arable is fixteen carucates.
16 Thereof are in demeſne three hides, and there are two carucates, and five ſervants,
- See the Diſcourſe publiſhed by Hearne (who aſcribes it to Gibbons) in Peter Langtoft's Chronicle, p. 441.
6 and

494
BISHOP's - LYDIAR D. [Kingsbury-Tieft.
bدر
" and twenty villanes, and twelve cottagers, with ſix ploughs. There is a mill render-
ing thirty-one pence, and thirty acres of meadow. Paſture one mile long, and three
« furlongs broad, and as much wood.
“Of this land of the manor two knights hold three hides of the villanes' land, and
“ have there three ploughs. The whole is worth thirteen pounds.
King Henry III. in the 41ſt year of his reign granted to the biſhop of the dioceſe a
charter of free-warren in all his lands in Lydiard and other places;º and King Edw. I.
granted a charter for a weekly market to be held here on Monday, and two fairs
yearly, viz. on the feaſt of the Nativity, and the Annunciation of the Bleſſed Virgin
Mary, to continue for ſix days;" which charters received the confirmation of other
fucceeding kings. A. D. 1293, the epiſcopal temporalities in this place were rated at
201. The laſt biſhop that poſſeſſed the manor was biſhop Barlow, who in 1548
exchanged it away with Edw. VI. for other lands, and thus coming either by grant or
purchaſe through a variety of poſſeſſors, it is at length enjoyed by John Lethbridge, eſq;
whoſe feat, called Sandhill-Park, is ſituated at the diſtance of about half a mile weſt-
ward from the church.
To the eaſt lies LYDIARD-PINCHERTON, or PunchARDON, a hamlet and manor,
which in the time of Henry II. was held by Hugh de Punchardon, by knight's ſervice,
of the caſtle of Dunſter.' William de Punchardon, ſon of this Hugh, was living here
in the time of Henry III. and then bore for his arms a croſs cercelée voided, as appears
from a feal affixed to a deed ſtill extant. This William at his death left ſeveral
daughters heirs to his eſtates; of whom Aubrea married Sir Hamelyn de Deaudon, of
Deaudon in the county of Devon, by whom ſhe had a ſon named Thomas, who died
without iſſue, and two daughters; Mabil, wife of Sir Baldwin Malet, of Enmore, and
Joan, the wife of Roger de Claville. Mabil had for her part the manor of Lydiard-
Punchardon; and 14 Edw. I. ſhe and Thomas de Pin are certified to hold half a
knight's fee here of John de Mohun. i Edw. IV. Hugh Malet, ſon of another Sir
Baldwin Malet, a deſcendant of the former of that name, granted to John Wadham
the elder, eſq; William Ronyon, eſq; and others, this his manor of Lydiard-Punchardon,
for ſix years to raiſe fortunes for his daughters; and afterwards further granted the ſaid
manor to Walter Bluet, William Montague of Henley, John Wadham the younger,
&c. for the term of life, and to the uſe of Thomas Malet his ſon and heir, and Joan
his wife, daughter of John Wadham." 27 Henry VII. it appears that William Malet
veſted this manor and others of his inheritance in Lord Fitzwarren, Sir Amice Poulet,
Sir Nicholas Wadham, &c. The preſent owner thereof is Lady Harriet Acland.
Another manor in this pariſh, called Week,' is the property of Richard Croſs, of
Broomfield, eſq. Several ſmall hamlets, unnoticed in hiſtory, are likewiſe included
within its limits.
• Lib. Domeſday. · Cart: 41 Hen. III. m. 5.
f Lib. Feod. mil, caftri de Dunſter.
6 Ex Autog.
& Cart. 19 Edw. I. n. 45.
• Taxat. Temporal.
h Sir William Pole. i Lib. Feod.
k Ex Autog
' For the neighbouring manors of Eaſt-Bagborough, and Eaſt-Combe, fee under Weft-Bagborough, and
Combe-Flory, in the adjoining hundred of Taunton-Dean.
The

-Drawni Engravd by F. Ronnon
LILL
1
bar
SANDHILL PARK.
The seat of Tohn Lethbridge Eq? to whom this Plate is inscribed by his Obliged Servant,
COZZIVSON
$
ICH

Kingsbury-utett.] BISHOP's - LYDIARD.
495
The living of Biſhop's-Lydiard is a vicarage and peculiar in the deanery of Taunton,
and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Wells. The Rev. Mr. Bowen is the
preſent incumbent. It was given A. D. 1239 to the canons of this cathedral by
biſhop Joceline.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is large and handſome, conſiſting of a
nave, chancel, and ſide ailes, all covered with blue tile. A large ſtately tower, one
hundred feet in height, ſtands at the weſt end, and contains a clock and eight fine bells.
On the north wall of the chancel is a mural monument of ſtone, inſcribed, " In
memory of Mrs. Mary Bathurſt, firſt wife of John Palmer, Doctor in Phyſick, late
warden of All-Souls college; afterwards of Dr. Ralph Bathurſt, dean of Wells, and
preſident of Trinity college, Oxford; the only child and heir of John Triſtram, of
Baunton in Devon, eſq; by the Hon. Mary Ley, daughter of James earl of Marlbo-
rough, Lord High-Treaſurer of England, who died at Conqueſt-Farm in this pariſh,
April 14, 1690, in the 73d year of her age. And alſo of John Palmer, eſq; her ſon,
who died there March 15, 1689. Her only ſurviving child and executor Elizabeth
wife of George Baynard, of Cliffe-houſe in the county of Dorſet, efq; erected this mo-
nument as a teſtimony of her duty and affection.”
On the ſouth wall is a plain neat mural monument of fine white marble, with this
inſcription:---"M. S. Elizabethæ Cannon, viri honorabilis Hugonis Somerville,
Honoratiſſimi Domini Jacobi Baronis Somerville, filii natu ſecundi, dilectiſfimæ ſimul
& amantiſſimæ uxoris, Chriſtopheri Lethbridge, de Weſtaway, in agro Devoniæ, armi-
geri, et Mariæ uxoris, fobolis unicæ. Quæ puerperii caſibus fuccumbens, propinquis
æque ac amicis flebilis occidit. Fuit inim (fi alia quæpiam) valdè amabilis, oris placidi,
ſermonis fuaviſſimi, integritatis priſtinæ, ſed virtutes fuas, non eſt hujus marmoris
annumerare: quæ et quantæ fuerunt dies ſupremus indicabit. Obijt die quarto Octo-
oris An. Sal. 1765."
On the wall of the north aile is an elegant mural monument of white and Sienna
marble, inſcribed as follows: “ In the vault near this place lyeth the body of
Elizabeth Periam, relict of John Periam, of Hill, eſq; and daughter of John Southey,
of Fitzhead, eſq; a kind and affectionate wife, whoſe virtues were conſpicuous; in
piety truly Chriſtian, in charity liberal, in friendſhip ſincere, benevolent to all. She
lived beloved, and died lamented May 14, 1767, aged 63.” Arms, Gules, a chevron
engrailed between three leopards' heads or, Periam: impaling Gules a chevron between
three croſs-croflets argent, Southey.
On a braſs-plate againſt the eaſt pillar of the ſouth aile,-" Here lie entombed the
bodies of Nicholas Grobham and Eleanore his wife. He died Aug. 7, 1585, and ſhee
Sept. 27, 1594; levinge iſſue behind them three ſonnes, Richard, John, and George;
and two daughters, Johane, and Grace."
On the ſouth aile wall in a niche ſtands a ſmall monument of ſtone with a wreathed
Auted urn, and the following inſcription:-" H. S. E. Vir vere reverendus, Georgius
Farewell, A. M. qui in hac ecclefia vicarii munere per 36 annos, fideliter functus,
ob. II June 1774, ætat. 67."
On
>
496
BISHOP's - LYDIARD. [Kingsbury-Wett.
23
On a flat ſtone under the communion-table: Here lyeth the body of Henry
Poulett, eſq; brother to the Honble John Lord Poulett, baron of Hinton-St.-George,
who departed this life the 8th of May --."
On another ſtone: -"Here lyeth the body of Malet Poulett, ſon of Henry
Poulett, eſq; who lyeth here by; the ſaid Malet was buried Nov. 23, 1672, aged 38.
Alſo the body of Margaret, daughter of the ſaid Henry, and ſiſter of the ſaid Malet,
who dyed Oct. 24, 1683.”
On the next ſtone: -"Here lyeth the body of Mr. William Moore, ſen. fellow
of New-Col. in Oxon; who lived fifty yeares vicar of this pariſh; and died the 24th
day of May, Anno Dom. 1665, ætat. vero ſuæ 82."
In the church-yard is a large handſome tomb to the memory of Thomas Hamilton,
of Bath, gent. ſixth ſon of John Hamilton, efq; of Neelſtone near Glaſgow in Scotland,
who died June 7, 1779, aged 49.
There is alſo a fine croſs eighteen feet high, with three rows of ſteps. The pedeſtal
is octangular, and contains ſixteen ſmall ftatues, two in each compartment. Another
ftatue ſtands in a nich on the eaſt ſide of the pillar.
Here is an almshouſe, founded and endowed with lands, &c. by Grobham Howe,
eſq; for the maintenance of ſeven poor people who do not receive any relief of the
pariſh. Theſe are paid two ſhillings and four-pence a week each, and have ſeparate
rooms and gardens. Prayers are read twice a week in the alms-houſe.
Here is alſo a charity-ſchool founded by John Dyke, eſq; about the year 1740, for
clothing and ſchooling of twenty poor children. This charity is at the diſpoſal of the
churchwardens for the time being.
Here is alſo another charity, given by John Daw, of about eleven pounds a year,
for ſupplying eight poor men with coats of kerſey cloth; and eight poor women with
drugget jackets, every year. For this charity fix truſtees are appointed, and the lives
filled as they drop.



ASH

Kingsbury-Talet.]
497 )
A SH - PRI O R S
L
IES a little to the ſouthweſt of Biſhop's-Lydiard, and is a ſmall pariſh ſo called
from the Priors of Taunton, who in former times poſſeſſed the manor, and had
here a court, or manor-houſe.
In the time of Edward the Confeſſor it was a part of the manor of Biſhop's-Lydiard,
and then conſiſted of three hides and one yard-land, according to the Danegeld valu-
ation, and was held by biſhop Giſo; but it was afterwards taken from the church by
Harold earl of Kent and Weſſex, afterwards king, and at his deceaſe became veſted in
William the Conqueror, in whoſe hands it remained till given to Roger Arundel his
attendant into England. The compilers of the Norman ſurvey at the end of their
recital of the lands belonging to the church of Wells, obſerve that Roger Arundel holds
Aiſſa of the King injuſte. They likewiſe give the following further account of this
territory:
“ Roger himſelf holds Aixe. Ailric held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded
< for two hides. The arable is four carucates. In demeſne is one carucate, and three
« ſervants, and five villanes, and five cottagers, with two ploughs. There are eight
acres of meadow, and ten acres of wood. Paſture two furlongs long, and one fur-
long broad. It is worth twenty ſhillings.
“ To this manor is added Aixa. Sawin held it of the Biſhop of Wells in the time of
King Edward, and it could not be feparated from him, and gelded for one hide, and
“ one virgate of land. The arable is three carucates. In demeſne is one carucate,
" and the villanes have two carucates and a half. It was and is worth thirty ſhillings.
Roger holds it of the King, and Givold of him.”
This Roger Arundel was the ſon of Roger de Montgomery, lord of Montgomery,
a town of Normandy, lying ſouthward from Liſieux. When he came into England
with William afterwards ſurnamed the Conqueror, that King, beſides a number of
manors and eſtates lying chiefly within this county, conferred on him, in the ſecond
year of his reign, the earldom of Shrewſbury, the barony and caſtle of Arundel, with
the title of Earl, and the county of Suſſex appendant. From him the town and
county of Montgomery in Wales derived their name. He had ſeveral fons, of whom
Robert was furnamed Robert of Belleme, a town of Perche, where he had great pof-
ſeſſions. He was a benefactor to many monaſteries in Normandy and in England;
and the priory of Auſtin-Canons in Taunton lying near this his lordſhip, he gave the
ſame conſiſting of two hides, together with the church and appertenances, in perpetual
alms to that monaſtery.
. Lib. Domeſday.
• Ibid.
• The word Diſam in the charter of King Edw. III. printed in the Monafticon, tom. ii. p. 83, ſhould be cor-
rected Aiſlam.
The
VOL. II.
Sss

498
[Kingsbury-Triet.
A S H - PR I OR S.
The temporalities of the prior of Taunton in this pariſh were in 1293 valued at
100s. There was a houſe in the village belonging to the priory, the ruins of which
were of late taken down.
After the diffolution, King Henry VIII. in the thirty-fifth year of his reign, granted
the manor and rectory to John Leighe, from whom it deſcended to Sir John Leigh,
knt. whoſe daughter and heir Agnes Leigh was married to Edward Fitzgarret, eſq.
Which Edward Fitzgarret and Agnes his ſaid wife, 9 Eliz. joined in conveying the
fame to John More and John Boſtock. The manor and patronage of the living are
now.veſted in John Lethbridge, eſq; who inherits them from his uncle the late John
Periam, eſq.
Another manor is denominated ASH-HERBERT.
The church of Aſh-Priors was valued in 1292 at twenty ſhillings.' It is a curacy
in the deanery of Taunton. The Rev. Mr. Luxſtone is the preſent incumbent.
The church is a ſmall building, conſiſting of a nave, chancel, and north aile, with a
tower at the weſt end, in which are three bells.
At the northeaſt corner of the aile is a ſtone monument, inſcribed to the memory of
Robert Blake, gent. who died Nov. 29, and of Mary his wife, who died Oct. 25, 1704,
with the obits of ſeveral of their children, and the arms, Argent, a chevron between
three garbs ſable.
& Taxat. Temporal.
e MS. Carew.
f Taxat. Spiritual.

END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

HITI
[ 499 )
INDEX
OF PLACES
IN VOLUME II.

A.
PAGE
PAGE
ADBEER Nether, in Trent?
}382, 383
I
16
315
58
41
268
me
59
21
202
393
1
478
244
497
498
236
348
Over, in ditto
Alcombe, in Dunſter
Aldwick, in Butcombe
ALFORD
Allerford, in Selworthy
Allermore, in Glaſtonbury
ALMSFORD
Almsworthy, in Exford
Alſton-Maris, in Huntſpill
Ameram, in Winſham
Andredſey
Ash-PRIORS
Herbert
ASHTON-LONG
Alexander
Boure
Dando
Lions
Meriet
Philips
Theynes
ASHWICK
avalon
Avill, in Dunſter
B.
BABCARY
BABINGTON
BACKWELL
Bayouſe -
Sores
BALTONSBURY
BARROW-GOURNAY
BARROW-Minchin
310
NORTH
62
BARROW-SOUTH
63
Hill, in Farmborough 424
BARTON-DAVID
64
BECKINGTON
198
BEDMINSTER
280
Belluton, in Stanton-Drew
433, 434
Beokery, in Glaſtonbury 265, 268
BERKLEY
BERWICK
337
Betham, in Combe-St.-Nicholas
475
Bickham, in Timberſcombe
44
Bigfold, in Compton-Martin 133
Billerica
Birt's, or Abbot's-Hill, in
Pendomer
Biſhopworth, in Bedminſter
284
Blacker's-hill, Camp in
I 27
Chilcompton
Borough-Bank, in Pensford
429
Bofington, in Porlock
37
Bowden, in Henftridge
364
B0W-Ditch
Bradford Bridge, in Marſton-Bigot 216
BRADLEY
Brandy-Street, in Selworthy
41
Bratton, in Minehead
31
BRISLINGTON
4II
BROCKLEY
I20
Brockwell, in Wotton-Courtney
49
Brook-Lavington, in North-Cadbury 65
Brown, in Treborough
BUCKLAND-DINHAM
451
BUCKLAND-
288
289
304
290
291
297
296
295
4
1
}
1
B
448
96
240, 269
15
271
60
450
305
} 306
46
269
308
(500)

#AGE
PAGE
BUCKLAND-WEST
485
Buckſhaw, in Holwell Page 369
BURNET
415
Burrow, in Kingſbury-Eaſt 469
Wotton-Courtney 49
Burwall's-Camp, in Long-Aſhton 289
BUTCOMBE
313
Thrubwell
314
C.
CADBURY-NORTH
65
SOUTH
71
Camalet-Cattle
CAMEL-QUEENS, or Eaſt
74
56
do
CAMELY
124
36
I
2
200
:}
51
3
189
471
472
Camp-ancient, in Porlock
CARHAMPTON Hundred
Pariſh
CASTLE-CARY
CATAsh Hundred
Cayford, or Keyford, in Frome
CHARD
Old
Crim
South
CHARLETON-HORETHORNE,
or CAMVILLE
QUEENS
in Kilmerſdon
Charter-houſe, on Mendip
Chatley-Houſe, in Wolverton
Chelſon, in Chard
CHILCOMPTON
I 26
Chilfon, in Weſt-Buckland
485
CHILTON-CANTELO
Page 339
CHINNOCK-EAST
327
MIDDLE
328
WEST
329
CHISSELBOROUGH
330
Chorley, in Chard
473
Church-Crofs, in Long-Aſhton 304
Clanvill in Caſtle-Cary
Clapton, in Maperton
86
in Crewkerne
159
in Midſummer-Norton 149
in South-Cadbury
73
Clarelew Cell, in Publow
428
Clayhanger, in Combe-St.-Nicholas 475
Clifford-Houſe, in Beckington
Clink, in Frome
186
CLOFORD
205
CLOSWORTH
346
CLUTTON
103
Cockhill, in Caſtle-Cary
Codfend, in Cutcombe
Cold-Harbour, in Dundry
105
COKER-EAST
340
North
343
WEST
344
Coleford, in Kilmerſdon
COMBE-ABBOTS, or PORTER
Temple, in ditto
in Huiſh-Epiſcopi
470
ST. NICHOLAS
475
COMPTON-DANDO
421
MARTIN
131
PAUNCEFORD
76
in Midſummer-Norton 151
Conqueror's-mead
214
Conqueſt
493
CORTON-DINHAM
361
Craft-Warre, in Hinton-St.-George 166
CRANMORE, Liberty of
EAST
207
WEST
CREWKERNE
56
6
473
$
355
446
417
446
235
225
473
359
CHELVY
316
419
CHELWOOD, or CHELWORTH
Eaſt
Welt
CHERITON-NORTH
South, or Churton
Chew Hundred
MAGNA
STOKE
CHEWTON Hundred
MENDIP
Keynſham
360
372
93-
94
IOI
}
115
}
405
210
[ 501 ]
PAGE
PAGE
488
-
}
CREWKERNE Hundred
fayrore, in Berkeley
203
Pariſh
159
Felton, in Winford
320
Croford, in Wiveliſcombe
Filton, alias WHITCHURCH 440
Crowthorne, in Sutton-Montis
88 FITZHEAD
492
CULBONE, or KITNOR
3 Ford, in Wellington
485
CURRY-North Hundred
Wiveliſcombe
488
Pariſh
177
Forton, in Chard
473
Currylode, in Stoke-Gregory 181
Friggle-ſtreet, in Frome
186
CuTCOMBE
5 FRome Hundred
185
Mohun
Pariſh
6
Raleigh
Fryenborough, or Barrow: 7
424
hill, in Farmborough
D.
Furland, in Crewkerne
Dover-Hay, in Luckham
23
159
Downend, in Puriton
396
G.
Downſide, in Backwell
co 307
Galhampton, in North-Cadbury 65
Norton-Midſummer
149
Gatecombe, in Long-Aſhton 302
Dummer, in Caſtle-Cary
56 GLASTON TWELVE HIDES
237
DUNDRY
104 Glaſtonbury abbey
240
Eaſt
Thorn
105
265
Wef
Tor
264
Dunkery-Beacon
5
Town
262
DUNSTER
7.
Water
266
E.
GOATHILL
363
Eaſtbury, in Carhampton
Godney, in Mere
273
Eattham, in Crewkerne
Greenaleigh, in Minehead
26
Eaſt-Street, in Weſt-Pennard 275
Greenoar, on Mendip
Edgecut, in Exford
Greenway, in Thurlbeer
183
Edgarley, in Glaſtonbury 265
H.
Eggford, in Frome and Whatley 189, 230
Hadfpen, in Almsford
59
ELM
206
Hallatrow, in High-Littleton
North, in Chew-Magna 95
Ham, in Combe St. Nicholas
475
EMBOROW
134
Street, in Baltonbury
270
EXFORD
in Weſt-Buckland
19
Exmoor-Foreſt
485
HARDINGTON-BAMPFYLDE
453
F.
MANDEVILLE
347
Fairy-ffield, in Nemnet
319 Hardiſtone-Point, in Porlock
35
Slatts, in Chilcompton
128
HARECLIVE and BEDMINSTER
279
Falkland, in Hemington
455
Hundred
Farley, in Backwell
307 Barelane
279, 439
FARMBOROUGH
423 HARPTREE-WEST
140
FARRINGTON-GOURNAY
137
batel
93
in Babcary
61 HASELBOROUGH
331
Voy. II.
Itt
HATCH-


2
160
116
21
148
1
[502]
PAGE
PAGE
284
}
more
78
LD?
}
HATCH-WEST
I 80
Hatherley, in Maperton
86
Hazlegrove, in Queen’s-Camel 74
bautville's Coit
107, 352
HEMINGTON
454
Henley, in Seaborough
174
HENSTRIDGE
354
Hethmore, in Glaſtonbury
268
Hewiſh, in Crewkerne
159
Highbridge, in Huntſpill
389
bigh-Church, in Hemington 454
Highridge, in Dundry
105
Hillend, in North-Curry
178
Hillhouſe, Liberty and Manor 206
Hindon, in Minehead
31
HINTON-BLEwet, or Cold-)
HINTON
144
ST. GEORGE
165
HOLCOMBE
456
Holnicot, in Selworthy
41
Holton, in South-Cadbury
73
HOLWELL
369
in Cloford
Holywell-Lake, in Wellington 485
Honeywick, in Almsford
59
Borelham-Croſs, in Long-Aſhton 304
HORETHORNE HUNDRED
351
Horner, in Luckham
HORSINGTON
371
Marſh
Horwood, in Horſington
372
HOUNDSBOROUGH, BERWICK,
and COKER Hundreds
323
poundsborough-Croſs
boundton, in Odcombe
323, 325
Houndſtreet, in Markſbury
426, 427
HUISH-EPISCOPI
470
Hultemore, in Glaſtonbury
268
Hummer, in Trent
383
Huntham cum Slough
buntminder, in Hemington
455
Huntſgate-Mill, in Wotton-Courtney 49
205, 216
HUNTSPILL, CUM PURITON
Hundred
389
Pariſh
Cogan
390
De la Hay
393
Moreys
392
Verney
393
Hydon-Charterhouſe, or Temple 236
1.
Inyn's-Court, in Bedminſter
K.
kencot-Croſs, in Long-Aſhton
Hamlet
304
KENTON-MANDEVILLE
Keyford, in Frome
189
KEYNSHAM Hundred
399
Pariſh
400
KILMERSDON Hundred
Pariſh
445
KING-WESTON
80
KINGSBURY-EAST Hundred
Pariſh, or KINGSBURY- 467
EPISCOPI
Regis, in Milborne-Port 353
West Hundred
481
KINGSTON-SEYMOUR
Knap, in North-Curry
Knolle, in Bedminſter
Chew-Magna
95
Selworthy
41
Kynnyard-More
268
L.
LAMBROOK-EAST
469
Lamington, in Long-Aſhton
304
Lancelly-Hills
276
Langham, in Luxborough
25
Chard
473
Langley, or St. Algar's, in Frome 189
in Wiveliſcombe 488
Laverley, in Weſt-Pennard
275
LAVERTON
Laymore, in Crewkerne
159
Le
1 22
22
178
284
372
5
3
179
1
2II
[ 503 ]
PAGE
PAGE
1
259
465
}
3
1
478
205
179
145
105
360
21
MILBORNE-PORT
352
Wick
MINEHEAD
26
MISTERTON
165
odbury
461, 462
wonktham, in Marſton-Bigot 216
in Exford
Moordon, in North-Curry
179
Moorlands, in Stoke-Gregory 181
Moorſide, in Backwell
307
Moreton, in Compton-Martin
133
Murder-Combe
206
Murtree, or Mortray, in Buck-?
land-Dinham
452
82
-
21
Le Salliz, in Glaſtonbury
LEIGH
in Winſham
Leighton, in Cloford
Lilliſdon, in North-Curry
LITTLETON-HIGH
in Dundry
Lotterford, in North-Cheriton
LOVINGTON
Lower-Mill, in Exford
Lubbon, in Baltonſbury
LUCKHAM
Weſt
Luckington, in Kilmerſdon
Ludwell- Bridge, in Cutcombe
LULLINGTON
LUXBOROUGH
LYDFORD-WEST
LYDIARD-BISHOPS
Pincherdon, in ditto
Lynch-Weſt, in Selworthy
Lyons-Court, in Whitchurch
Croſs, in Long-Aſhton
Lypiat, in Kilmerſdon
270
22
Buck-}
446
6
N.
212
24
83
318
447
179
275
493
494
268
}
NEMNET
Newborough, in Kilmerſdon
Newport, in North-Curry
New-Town, in Weſt-Pennard
Northmore, in Glaſtonbury
Northover, in Glaſtonbury
North-Town, in North-Cadbury
NORTON-HAUTVILLE
MALREWARD
MIDSUMMER
UNDER-HAMDEN
NUNNEY
41
341
304
447
65
106
108
149
334
216
85
-
180
426
16
O.
Oakhampton, in Wiveliſcombe
Oakhill, in Aſhwick
Oaktrow, in Cutcombe
489
449
6
213
374
OARE
M.
MAPERTON
Mare-Green, in Stoke-Gregory
MARKSBURY
Marſh, in Dunſter
MARSTON-BIGOT
MAGNA
Parva
Marteneſey, in Mere
Martin-Street, in Baltonſbury
Wasburp Cattle
Ways-Knoll
Mells and LEIGH Liberty
Pariſh
MERE
MERRIOT
middlecot
Midghill, in Chelvy
274
270
ODCOMBE
Old-Down
Oldford, in Frome
Oldway, in Wellington
ORCHARDLEY
33
324
127, 154
186
485
222
449
108
} 461
1
272
169
450
P.
Pamborow
PARRET-NORTH
PAULTON
Payton, in Wellington
244
335
152
318
485
PENDOMER
[ 504

PAGE
PAGE
200
1
-
PENDOMER
348
PENNARD-WEST
275
PENSFORD
429
Periton, in Minehead
31
Perry-Street, in Chard
473
Piſbury, in Huiſh-Epiſcopi
470
Pitcott, in Stratton on the Foſſe 458,459
Pleamoor's-Croſs; in Wellington 485
POINTINGTON
375
Pool-Town, in Luxborough
24
PORLOCK
34
Weſt
37
Poflebury, in Cloford
205
PRISTON
430
PUBLOW
PURITON
Purtington, in Winſhain
479
R.
8
1
1
428
396
Sewardswick, in Compton-Dando 422
Seymour's-Court, in Beckington
Sharpham-Park, in Glaſtonbury 286
Shutwood-Green, in Weſt-Hatch
I 80
Slatterford, in Maperton
86
Snaile-Hill, in Weſt-Chinnock 329
Southay, in Kingſbury-Eaſt 469
Southmore, or Allermore
268
South-Town, in Weſt-Pennard 275
Southwood, in Baltonſbury
270
SPARKFORD
86
Sparkſbay, in Porlock
37
Staeth, in Stoke-Gregory
181
STANDERWICK
227
Standle, in Wellington
485
STANTON-DREW
432
PRIOR
Bury-Hill
Wick
434
in Dunſter
15
STAWEL, or STOWEL
379
Stert, in Babcary
6
Weft-Buckland
485
Sticklepath, in Combe-St. Nicholas 475
Sticklinch, in Weſt-Pennard
Stiveleigh, in Mere
274
Stoford, in Berwick
337
STOKE-GREGORY
180
PERO
42
Beauchamp
319
438
-
438,439
321
275
186
2
296
RADSTOCK
457
Ranſcombe, in Wotton-Courtney 49
Rayene’s-Croſs, in Long-Aſhton 304
Regil, in Winford
ROAD
223
Rockwell-Green, in Wellington 485
RODDEN
225
Roddenbury-Hill, in Frome
Rodehuiſh, in Carhampton
Rownam- ferry and Herini-?
tage, in Long-Aſhton
Rowndham, in Crewkerne
159
S.
St. Anne's, in Briſlington
413
Troſs, in Chew-Stoke
Catharine’s-Hoſpital, in ?
282
Bedminſter
Rana-bill, in Crewkerne 165
SALTFORD
431
SANDFORD-ORCAS
377
Sandhill-Perk, in Biſhops-Lydiard 494
SEABOROUGH
171
Selwood-Foreſt
195
SELWORTHY

289
I 80
153
1ΟΙ
2
}
Aſhton
Stoley's-Green, in Weſt-Hatch
STONE-EASTON
in Chew-Magna
STOWEY
STRATTON-ON-THE-Fosse
Street-Eaſt, in Weſt-Pennard
in Winſham
SUTTON-BINGHAM
MONTIS
Biſhops, in Chew-Magna
North, Knighton, or Mi-
litis, in ditto
95
IIO
458
275
479
349
88
95
40
Sution-

[ 505 ]
PAGE
228
PAGE
95
20
1
481
56
1
89
228
III
488
41
366
440
264
364
-
Sutton-Wick
WANSTRAW
Symonfbath, in Exmore
Warmoor, in Stoke-Gregory
I 80
T.
Wiadton, in Combe-St.-Nicholas 475
WAYFORD
175
Tatworth, in Chard
473
Tedbury-Camp
206
265
Wiearyall-Hill, in Glaſtonbury
Temple-Cloud, in Camely
Wedding, ancient monument ſo
I 24
called, in Stanton-Drew
433
Tent-Hill, in Mells
461
WELLINGTON
Theyne’s-Croſs, in Long-Aſhton 304
Welton, in Midſummer-Norton
150
THORN-FALCON
181
Weft-Town, in Backwell
307
in Caſtle-Cary
in Baltonſbury
270
Thorney, in Eaſt-Kingſbury 469
Weſtbury, in Odcombe
324
Thrubwell, in Butcombe
314
Weſtford, in Wellington
485
THURLBEER
182
Weſthay, in Mere
273
Tillam-ſtreet, in Baltonſbury
270 WESTON-BAMPFYLDE
TIMBERSCOMBE
43
Little, in ditto
Timbridge, in Eaſt -Kingſbury 469
in Wanſtraw
TIMSBURY
WHATLEY
230
Tivington, in Selworthy
Wheatfield, in Wiveliſcombe
Toomer-Park, in Henſtridge
WHITCHURCH
Torr, in Glaſtonbury
in Henſtridge
TREBOROUGH
45 Wichanger, in Luckham
23
TRENT
380
Wick-North, in Chew-Magna 95
Trudoxbill, in Nunney
217 Widcombe-North, in Chewton 118
Turnham, in Chard
473
South, in Hinton-Blewit 145
Tytherington, in Frome
186
Wilkinthroop, in Horſington 472
WINFORD
U.
WINSHAM
476, 478
Uallis, in Frome
188
Witcombe, in Corton-Dinham
UBLEY
155
WITHAM-FRIARY Liberty
Venn, in Milborne-Port
354
232
Parith
Vobſter, in Mells
461
WITHYCOMBE
47
Uineyard, in Glaſtonbury
WIVELISCOMBE
486
in Pamborough 244
Wollard, in Compton-Dando 423
W.
WOLVERTON
224
Wladbury, or 99 odbury Camp,
Woodhill-Green, in Stoke-Gregory 180
in Mells
Woodhouſe, in Odcombe
324
Vale
Woodlands-Eaſt in Frome
Wadford, in Combe-St. Nicholas
475
Weft, in ditto
Wales, in Queen's-Camel
74
in Weſt-Pennard 275
Walley, in Chew-Stoke
Woodſton, in North-Cadbury
Walton, in Kilmerſdon
447 Woolminſton, in Crewkerne
159
Wiansbike, 279, 423, 433, 438, 439 Worminſter-Hill
276
VOL. II.
Uuu
WOTTON-


320
1
362
}

244, 268
461
188, 194,
IOI
65
[ 506 ]
PAGE
PAGE
48
WOTTON-COURTNEY
Ford, in ditto
NORTH
Worthy, in Porlock
Wrangway, in Wellington
Wrantage, in North-Curry
WRITHLINGTON
394
49
276
37
485
178
459
Y.
Panleigh, in Long-Aſhton
Yarnor, in Porlock
Yeanſton, in Henſtridge
- Priory, in ditto
Pnlwytryn
304
37
364
365
240

HUNDREDS
AND
L I B E R T I ES
CONTAINED IN VOLUME II.
PAGE
PAGE
I
Catalh
YARHAMPTON Hundred
Cataſh
51
Chew
93
Chewton
115
Cranmore Liberty
207
Crewkerne
159
Curry-North
177
Frome
185, 211
Glafton Twelve Hides
237
Hareclive and Bedminſter
279
Hillhouſe Liberty (part of) 205
Horethorne
351
Houndſborough, Berwick, & Coker 323
Huntſpill cum Puriton
389
Keynſham
399
Kilmerſdon
445
Kingſbury-Eaſt
467
Weſt
481
Mells and Leigh Liberty
461
Witham-Friary Liberty
232

-
1
3
ADDITIONS
AND
CORRECTIONS
TO VOLUME II.
PAGE
45.
3. line 2. after vicarage, read and a peculiar.
7. 1. 4. for rectory, r. vicarage.
32. 1. 18. r. Alexander Fownes Luttrell.
43. 1. 22. for rectory, r. curacy; 1. 23. r. the Rey. Nathaniel Blake Price.
1. 7. for Knyphton, r. Knyfton.
46. 1. 33. This manor became afterwards parcel of the poſſeſſions of the abbey of Cleeve; and on
the diffolution thereof, Henry VHI. 31ſt of his reign, granted it to John Windham and Eliza-
beth his wife, in whoſe family it continued till the preſent century, when it was ſold to Sir John
Trevelyan, bart.
56. 1. 33. for Taylor, r. Turner.
61. title, r. Catalh; I. 22. 1. the Rev. John Whicher.


ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO VOL. I.
507
PAGE
84. 1.
63. Barrow-South, 1. 7. f. nas, r, has; 1. 9. f. rectory, r. curacy and a peculiar; 1. 10, r, the Rev.
Thomas Charles.
65. 1. 4. f. rectory, r. curacy.
73. 1. 29. r. the Rev. Mr. Whitehead.
81. 1. 24. f. vicarage, r. rectory.
83. 1. 5. after curacy, r. and a peculiar; 1. 6. r. the Rev. Rees Thomas.
29 after rectory, r. and a peculiar.
85. Maperton, 1. 3. after Can, r. or Cale.
94. 1. 11. f. characteriſticſk, r. characteriſticks.
92. 1. 2. f. Goldſborough, r. Goldeſbrough.
From 96 to 105 the pages are miſnumbered.
93. [101] 1. 32. r. the Rev. John Butler Barber.
96. [104] 1. 10. r. the Rev. James Howell.
105. 1. 4. f. taining, r. containing.
109. laſt line, r. the Rev. John Butler Barber.
112. 1. 29. r. the Rev. William Brudenell Barter.
118. laſt line. Queen Elizabeth, by letters patent bearing date the 27th of April, in the 18th year
of her reign, granted to Roger Manners the priory, rectory, and church of CHEWTON under
Mendip, with all the rights, members, and appertenances in the county of Somerſet, late be-
longing to the diffolved monaſtery of Sheane in the county of Surrey, and the advowſon and
right of patronage to the vicarage and pariſh church of Chewton aforeſaid, and the chapels
of Emborough, Stone-Eaſton, Farrington, and Paulton, thereunto annexed. The ſaid Roger
Manners afterwards granted the fame to Sir George Kingſmill, one of the judges of the
common-bench; and the ſaid rectory and right of patronage are now in Robert Kingſmill, eſq;
of Sidmonton-place in Hampſhire. The ſite of the priory was ſome years ſince granted over
to Richard Jenkyns, eſq. See p. 120.
129. 1. 4. It was ſold in 1720 by the Stockers to Mr. Hawes, one of the directors of the South-ſea
Company, from whom it was taken and ſold by act of parliament.
Ibid. & paſſim, for Lord Weymouth, r. Marquis of Bath.
134. 1. 3. r. the Rev. John Hoſkins Abrall.
136. 1. 7. f. rectory, r. curacy; 1. 8. f. Ston-Eaſton, r. Stone-Eaſton.
139. 1. 32. f. 1405, r. 1406; 1. 38. f. vicarage, r. curacy.
145. 1. 6. It is now the property of the Rev. Mr. Brookes.
153. Title, f. MIDSUMMER-Norton, r. PAULTON.
162. 1. 24. inſert, The living is a curacy, the Rev. Robert Aſhett is the preſent incumbent.
165. 1. 4. f. St. Ranus, r. St. Reyn; ibid. f. his, r. her,
175. 1. 9. r. The Rev. George Gibbs.
179. 1. 15. f. lies, r. is a peculiar; l. 16. f. Canon, r. Robert.
200. A manor in this pariſh belonged to the monaſtery of Maiden-Bradley in the county of Wilts,
and after its diffolution was granted by King Henry VIII. in the 37th year of his reign to
Auguſtin de Auguſtinis, M. D. who fold it with the advowſon of the church of Beckington to
Thomas lord Wriotheſly, and he i Edw. VI. conveyed the ſame to Thomas Compton, gent.
and his heirs. 24 Eliz. Joſeph Compton ſold the ſaid manor, with meſfuages in Beckington,
Ridge, Berkley, and Standerwick, to Thomas Webb and Margaret his wife, and Robert Webb
their ſon. MSS. Sydenham and Carew.
206. I. 15. Hill-HOUSE, from which ſprang the Liberty of that name, anciently ſtood in a field of
CLOFORD Farm, on the eaſt ſide of the turnpike-road from Frome to Brewton, and about five
miles and a quarter from the firſt-mentioned town. A few old pollard trees, and the irregula-




rity

508
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO VOL. II.
PAGE
rity of the ſurface of the ground, ſerve to point out its fite. The annual court for this Liberty
is held at Coleford, at which four peace-officers are choſen; one for the Liberty at large; one
for the pariſh of Holcombe; one for the tithing of Edford; and the other for the tithing of Allis-
Street, within the pariſh of Cloford.
212. f. rectory, r. curacy.
215. 1. 25. The new church was conſecrated in Sept. 1789.
227. 1. 2. r. is a curacy in the deanery of Frome; the Rev. John Rogers is the preſent incumbent.
229. 1. 37. r. The Rev. Robert Wells.
263. 1. 34. The livings of Glaſton St. Benedict and St. John are curacies; the Rev. Matthew
Hodge is the preſent incumbent.
273. 1. 29. The living is a curacy in the juriſdiction of Glaſtonbury; the Rev. John Bowen is
the preſent incumbent.
275. Weſt-Pennard, 1. 16. r. The living is a curacy in the juriſdiction of Glaſtonbury; the Rev.
Henry Hopkins is the preſent incumbent,
311. laſt line, r. The Rev. Mr. Fallowfield.
326. 1. 26. f. notwitſtanding, r. notwithſtanding.
336. 1. 4. r. Williain Morton Pitt.
339. 1. 28. r. The Rev. Thomas Tomkins.
342. 1. 6. for Mr. r. Dr.
343. 1. 32. f. ſon, r. deſcendant.
344. Weſt-Coker, 1. 15.r. The Rev. John Jeremy.
352. 1. 34. f. a market, r. one hundred and one merchants.
359.
1.
33. r. The Rev. Thomas Fox.
360. l. 29. after patron, r. and incumbent.
370. note ', for Excheq. r. Eſc.
374. 1. 2. dele this pariſh. Laſt line, r. The Rev. John Williams is the preſent incumbent.
376. 1. 33. r. The Rev. Francis Woodforde.
378. 1. 16. after marks, r. The Rev. George Hutchins is the preſent incumbent.
379. 1. 26. r. The Rev. John Palmer.
396. laſt line, after chapel, r. dedicated to St. Paul and St. Auguſtine.
400. Note 6 laſt line, for ay, r. day.
416. 1. 18. So in the original, but r. “ Plurimna; nunc regnat junctus uterque Deo."
418. 1. 12. r. The Rev. Dr. Ireland.
479. I. 22. after vicarage, r. and a peculiar.
482. f. Alvera, r. Alveva.
488. 1. 7. This manor belonged to William de Monaſteriis in the time of Henry II. and came by
his daughter to William de Witefield, who was lord of WHEATFIELD 1 Ric. I. and 3 Joh.
Lib. nig. ſcac. & Rot. pip.
494. laſt line, After limits, r. of which NONINGTON gave name to an illuſtrious family, whereof
was Sir Baldric de Nonington, a knight and lord of this manor temp. Edw. I.


END OF VOL. II.

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