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Somerset County Herald ‘Local Notes and Queries’ by Paul Mansfield

July 5th 1919 A challenge to our readers. We have much pleasure in recommencing in this issue our column of Local Notes and Queries which proved such a popular feature of this paper for 20 years, but which we were compelled to discontinue for a time owing to difficulties created by the war. We are particularly anxious that this column should consist as far as possible of notes, queries and replies contributed by our readers themselves, and it will very largely depend upon the assistance we receive from them in this direction whether or not the feature shall be continued. It would of course, be an easy matter for us to get a column of such notes written up each week in our own offices, but this is not our purpose in reintroducing this feature in our paper. We want the column to be almost entirely our readers own column, and if they show by their contributions to it that they appreciate such a feature it will be a pleasure to us to help them in every way we can in making the column interesting and useful. If, on the other hand, the contributions we receive from our readers are so few and far between as to suggest that they take little or no interest in such a column, we shall very soon discontinue it, and insert some other feature in it’s place. We therefore invite any and all of our readers who are in any way interested in such matters to send us short interesting notes or queries on any of the following or kindred subjects relating to the district over which the paper circulates:-

Abbeys Antiquities Architecture Battles Beating Bounds Bells Biographies Birds Birthplaces Books Bridges Buildings Burial Places Camps Canals Celebrities Chantries Charities Churches Churchwarden’ Accounts Clubs Coins Crosses Curiosities Customs Dialect Discoveries Earthworks Education Elections Emigrants Encampments Epitaphs Executions Famous Men Festivals Fires Flowers Folk lore Fossils Games Genealogies Ghosts Gibbets Gypsies “Good old days” Highwaymen Hills Historical Events Hostelries Hundreds Hunting Industries Inns Inscriptions Inventions Judge Jeffreys Landmarks Legends Manor Houses Mansions Manuscripts Markets and Tolls Means of Transport Memorials Mining Monmouth Rebellion Monuments Names Natural History Newspapers Novels Occupations Parish Registers Persons Place Names Poetry Pounds Preachers Press gang Punishments Railways Records Regiments Relics Religious customs Roads Rocks Roman remains Ruins Sayings Schools Shipping Signs Smuggling Societies Sports Stage Coaches Stocks Stones Stories Sundials Superstitions Tokens Tombstones Towers Trades Traditions Travelling Trials Turnpikes Feasts Volunteers Weapons Weather lore Wills Witches Works of Art

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Writers Yeomanry Many of the friends who gave us the most valuable assistance in the days when we first started this column are no longer with us, and we hope that our present readers will do their best to take the places of those who have gone, and that all who are able to send us original matter, or “hits from books” on any of the above or kindred subjects will be kind enough to do so as often as they can.

Notes. “FRIGHTENING ISAAC” – When I was a boy, and came in with rumpled hair, the nurse would reproach me with “you are like a frightened Isaac.” I always thought myself compared to the lad on Mount Moriah when his father bound him and took the knife. But Haysuck is a local name for a hedge-sparrow, and the expression may be a reference to the frightened Haysuck when he ruffles his plumage at the approach of danger.

A STORY – About 1662 a Mr How, minister of Thornfalcon, declared that he would rather be stoned to death than conform to the Act of Uniformity. Afterwards he changed his principles and it is said that a great number of stones were thrown into his house by an invisible hand. He went out to see who threw them, but no one could be found, yet still the stones came in, through windows and chimneys, for several days. What effect this had on the minister is not recorded.

A TRADITION – It is said that Joseph of Arimathea derived his great riches from trading in tin and lead with Britain, that he made several voyages to this country, and on one occasion brought our Lord, then a boy with him. The place where they sojourned near Glastonbury is called “paradise” to this day; and the miners of Mendip (recently extinct) whenever they arrived at a critical moment in the process, used to repeat “Joseph was a tinman as a charm to ward off danger.

GENERAL GORDON AT – Nothing seems ever to have been done to mark General Charles Gordon’s connection with Taunton, although he received his early education at Fullands school (now the residence of Mrs Manderson), and was boarded – his parents being abroad – at 49, Upper High street. Perhaps in designing present war memorials a niche might be found (and would not be resented by the present generation of soldiers) for this great one of the last generation.

DEVIL’S STONE – At , there is by the wayside a big “Sarsen,” known as the Devil’s Stone, because, having come overnight with some big stones on his back, wherewith to pelt the builders of the church which he heard was to be built, against his wish, in that then benighted place, he suddenly saw in the morning the fine tower of the finished church. In his chagrin, he was so taken aback, that he dropped his budget of stones from his shoulder, and this big one remains to this day as a strong (though dumb) witness of the fact.

PEACE REJOICING AND AN OLD BALLAD – Mr Philip Gibbs, the famous war correspondent of the “Daily Chronicle”, wrote a description of the peace rejoicings in London for his paper on Monday, June 30th. In the course of it he says – “I went into the Strand again, or was swept there in the drive of the human tide. A big sergeant-major, with his arm about a frail little wife, was singing an old Somerset

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ballad in almost Saxon dialect. Six sailor boys were yelling out a sea-shanty, swaying to and fro, as though on a stormy passage.”

FIRING THE APPLE TREES – The old superstitious custom was observed on twelfth night (old style). Shots were fired at the apple trees in the various orchards to induce them to bear a good crop next season. The wassailing song, followed by loud cheering, was then sung:- “Old apple tree, apple tree, We are come to wassail thee, To bear and to bow apples enow; Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full. Barnsfull, and a little heap under the stairs, Hip, hip, hurrah.” Afterwards the party moistened their throats with , and, after another song, they moved off to another orchard to repeat the same ceremony. This custom was in use at on January, 1896, according to the “ Free Press” of that date.

THE PLACE NAME – It is now clearly established in my mind by hundreds of documents that the first part of this place-name is “Bridge,” at any rate, as far back as the Domesday record. The idea that it was once “Burgh” is unsupported by any evidence that the place was ever a Saxon burgh. The second part of the name is on all sides regarded as deriving from the name of the Flemish lord, Walter de Douai. Compare Stoke Courcey, , and many other examples in the county. But I have never seen it pointed out that the word “Water” is not a corruption of “Walter,” but is simply another form of the same name. I have seen the name so spelt in a medieval document, and “Wat” is the diminutive. “Wauter” is another form, and, as I think, fixes the pronunciation. For change of “I” to “u” compare French “haut” from Latin “altus”.” T.B.D.

ROOTLESS DUCKWEED – Most of your readers probably know the tiny duckweeds which often cover the surface of ponds and ditches, but the smallest member of the family, the rootless duckweed (Lemna or Wolffia arrhiza), was supposed until recently to be confined to the south-eastern counties. Each plant consists of a single floating green frond, about the size of a grain of sand, but forming large patches on the water. It is always flowering in Britain, the plants multiplying by similar fronds growing out of their edges. About three years ago this species was first noticed in Somerset, being found in a pond at Bathpool, near . A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of finding it at Weare, near , and have since ascertained that it has been recorded near , Shapwick, , , and Edithmead. It appears to be spreading rapidly, and a careful search would probably be rewarded by finding the smallest British “flowering” plant in still other localities. Botanists please note – E.J.Hamlin.

TALES OF WITCHCRAFT FROM . (Told by an old inhabitant) A man called “Old Jimmy” was a wizard that used to have his house so full of earthen pots that you can hardly walk around the room for them. In these pots he kept toads and the noise of their croaking was something awful. He was an ugly old fellow to upset, and he would say the name of anybody he disliked, or was paid to injure, and that he would go over to one of the pots and take out a toad, mumbling something,

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that nobody could make out. While he was mumbling he would kill the toad, and take out its heart and stick it full of pins, and hang it up in the chimney. Then the person he had witched would fall sick and pine away. There was an old woman who used to live in the houses that stood by the church (at Langford), and she would turn herself into a hare, and go out and suck the cows; some of ‘em she’d suck quite dry. Often and often farmers and the people that kept a cow or two on the common had shot at the hare, but never could kill it, however good shots they were. But one day a man that had suffered a lot by her melted down a sixpence, and made a bullet of it, and shot the hare as it was going across the field in front of the village (now the allotments), and he hit it in the foot. It got away and ran towards the churchyard. He went to old Maria’s house, and, as he expected, he found her there sitting by the fire nursing a bleeding foot. She said she had caught it in a snag getting over a hedge while she was out picking sticks, but the man knew better, and he didn’t lose any more milk after that. This old Maria was always out picking sticks and breaking down the hedges, and one day the landlord of the “Crown” as the “public” was called then (now the “Martlet”), caught her, and took her bundle away. “Thee canst take ‘em,” she said, “but they shant do thee no good.” And he never had any luck after that; his cows and pigs and all his stock died off one after another, and he had to give up.

THE HILLS OF MEMORY. In a lovely little volume of verse, entitled “Legends of the Wheel,” published some time ago by Mr Arthur Waugh, a well known author, who is a native of Somerset, appears the following: - Dear hills and vales of Somerset, whose pastures bore and bred me. Once more I lift mine eyelids to the West, And wheresoe’er my truant hopes and broken aims have led me. Your ways are still the ways I love the best. Have I left you, then, to wander – other promises to ponder? Has the siren charm of London held me fast? Yet your recompense is set you, for we live not to forget you. And your children must return to you at last. There is sunlight over Lamdown, where the Beckford tower is gleaming, But the lonely clump on Dunkerton is dark; Every turn among the climbing hill I’ve followed in my dreaming, As the sailor watches landward for the mark. How I love to know and name you! See I come once more to claim you. By the measure of old memories amain! Take and make me what you knew me in the vanished days – endue me With the innocence of boyhood once again. ‘Tis the white coach-road to Old Down, where we used to go a-skating – They have built the outburnt hostelry anew, And it whispers of the midnight mail before its portals waiting, Ruddy host with flickering lamp and steaming brew – Quivering forms of fur and feather over Burnt Wood flee together, As my wheel comes hissing sharply through the sand. Then to climb the crest I rally, and before me in the valley Spreads the glory of my sunny native land! Straight to meet the sky it stretches, like a purple cloth and golden. From the many statued pinnacles of Wells, - From the green and moated palace, with its sudden arches olden.

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Where the iron-armed crusaders beat the bells. Yet the old familiar places are alive with unknown faces, And – oh! comrades of the merry morn and wild, E’en the blithe wings of the swallow find you far too far to follow, Where your tents confront the desert and the wild. But the Tor, the Tor – our Landmark! lifts above the sun and shadow; And I fancy through the mirage and the heat, It must fill your dream-oases, like a monarch of the meadow, As we saw it from the willow road to Street. Those were chivalrous romances that illumed or boyish fancies – Tales of Bedivere, and Arthur, and the sea, - You’ve inherited their labour of the bugle and the sabre, And have left the life of common-place to me. Speed my wheel by sand and pebble, though the road be soft and crumbling. Over , over , and Lyng; Though behind the darkling the sulky thunder’s grumbling, In the valley we can hear the thrushes sing. See the slim, blue Taunton towers in the vale of corn and flowers! Hark, the cricket bat re-echoes to the ball! And my heart springs up to meet them, with a welcoming song to greet them, Like the music that made melody to Saul. Dear hills and vales of Somerset, the silver dusk is falling; The noonday of our pilgrimage is past. Still, howsoever far we roam, we hear your sweet voice calling. – Your children must return to you at last. And when for each tired rover the brief wandering is over, With its shrunken store of benefits and ills. May we rest by one another on the bosom of our Mother. Sleeping dreamless in the shadow of your hills.

Queries. 1 - CHESSELLS - I have notes of three or four fields in Somerset called “Chessells” (variously spelt, Chessels, Chesil). Fields bearing this name are located at , and Whatley (near ), and the Roman remains, including tessellated pavements, have been found within their area. It is a significant fact that at East Coker farm hands were in the habit of calling Roman tesserae (the little cubes of stone or brick making up the pavement) found in the fields chessels, but the term has not been heard recently. In this connection it will be desirable to probe deeper into the meaning of Chesilton and Chesil Beach at Portland, Cheselbourne (also in ), and even (Somerset). I should be glad to know if any of your readers have ever heard of other fields in the county called “Chessells”? H St George Gray.

2 - PENEL ORLIEU, BRIDGWATER – Will any of your readers kindly inform me the meaning of the curious name, “Penel Orlieu,” which is given to a street in which the Cattle Market is situated in Bridgwater? – Curious.

3 - THE HONEST MEN OF TAUNTON – There was published in London in 1733 an octavo booklet by a certain Mark Freeman, entitled “The Dowfal of Bribery, or the Honest Men of Taunton. A new Ballad-Opera performed by a company of players at

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an inn at Taunton, Somersetshire.” Who was Mark Freeman? and what was the reference to Taunton implied in “The Downfall of Bribery”?

4 - THE NAME “SOMERSET” – I have heard that the name Somerset is derived from a tribe called “Someri” or “Somersoetan.” Others say that it comes from “Sea- mere-set.” Or “the settlement by the sea lakes” in allusion to the salt water marshes of the Parret. Which is right?

5 - WHAT IS A “WELY”? – Is the word obsolete or is it still used in Somerset. I have met with it in some building accounts dated 1488. A spade is entered as costing 5d, and iron rake 5d, two barrows 6d (these I imagine to be four-handled for two men to carry), a pail 4d, while a “wely” costs a shilling. This will give some idea of the comparative vale of the tools mentioned. Was a “wely” a pulley? – T.B.D.

6 - HORSEY CHAPEL – What was the dedication of this medieval chapel near Bridgwater? – T.B.D.

7 - SOMERSET BEACONS – Is there any authentic record of the date and purpose of the towers or beacons at Willett and ?

8 - THE CINNABAR MOTH – Has anyone noticed how unusually common the beautiful Cinnabar Moth has become during the past two years? As its larva feeds on the common groundsel, can this be accounted for by the increase of potato growing, which has indirectly assisted in increasing the supply of groundsel, which of course, flourishes amongst potato stalks.

9- QUAKERS BURIAL GROUND – Opposite the old toll house at Bathpool turning, near Taunton, is a field known as the Quakers’ Burial Ground. When and how did it fall into disuse.

Replies to Queries. We hope that any of our readers who are able to do so will be kind enough to send us replies to any of the above queries, and we shall print as many as possible of the replies we receive in our next week’s issue.

July 12th 1919 Notes DEVIL’S STONE AT STAPLE FITZPAINE – It may interest the writer of the note on this subject to know that a paper dealing fully with “The Sarsens, or Greyweather sandstones at Staple Fitzpaine,” appeared in the Somerset Archaeological Society’s Proceedings for 1908 published 1909).

ST , of July 15th fame, has a special interest for Taunton. King Ethelwulf, before his succession was a pupil of Swithan, and when he became king presented Swithun to Winchester as Bishop, there being ceded to Winchester 133 manors in , 8 in and 8 at .

THE NAME BRIDGWATER – If “T.B.D” is not already aware of the fact, he will no doubt, be pleased to learn that the Rev J S Hill in his “Place names of Somerset,” gives the origin of the name Bridgwater as “The Bridge of Walter” instead of the

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“burgh of Walter” which has been frequently given as the origin and he states that there is abundant evidence for the preference of “brug,” i.e Bridge over “Burgh”. He points out that in the first half of the name appears as “Brug” or “Brugis” and not as “Burgh”. In the year 1201 the name appears as Brigg-Walter – Brugie.

A “SOMERSET MAN IN LONDON” – several years ago, a man (presumably an agricultural labourer) and his wife arrived at Paddington Station from Somerset. He asked a porter here the way to the Underground Railway (meaning the Metropolitan as the Bakerloo was not then constructed). The porter pointed at the steps leading to the Bishop’s Road Station at the West End of no 8 platform and said, “you go up there and you will come to it.” The Somerset man did not move, but, with a merry twinkle in his eye, said; “You know, they told oi in Zomerset that you Londoners thought yourself mighty sharp, and look upon we country people as a lot of fools, but I am not such a d- fool as to think we must go upstairs to get underground.” – F.W.B.

ANCIENT WIND-MILLS – In your list of antiquities you have omitted these picturesque and venerable structures, and yet there are few things, once among the most familiar in the countryside, which are disappearing more rapidly. Dating back to the time of the Crusades, the old post-mill of wood, which revolved upon a post supported by several legs, is fast vanishing. A few days ago I photographed one near Lincoln of this type, and the most archaic one I have seen comparing with those carved on bench-ends in , and Churches. A commoner form has a dwarf round house as a granary below the wooden mill. Then came the tower mills of timber, stone, or brick in which only the top cap of the mill revolves to the wind. Most mills now remaining have circular vanes to turn the sails to meet the wind, but in the oldest examples, the miller had to turn it round himself. I much hope that amateur photographers will make pictures of all the old wind-mills before it is too late. I do not know of any now in use in Somerset, and only one or two with sails remaining. The most perfect is Worle Mill, near Weston Super Mare, and I should be very glad to hear of any other, that I may obtain a photograph. County Societies should make a collection of pictures at once, or it will be too late. The picturesque little water-mills, often dating back to Saxon times, are doomed also – Henry Corder, Bridgwater.

Queries 10 - PETER GREVIOUS – Your correspondent’s interesting note on “Frightened Isaac” in your last issue reminds me that my mother and other friends often used to call me “Peter Grevious.” and I have heard the term applied to many other children when in a disagreeable mood. Can any reader of Notes and Queries give the derivation of the name or any information with regard to it – X.Y.Z.

11 - BISHOPS’S HULL MANOR HOUSE – I have been told that from Bishop’s Hull Manor House there is an under-ground passage to Taunton . The passage is about one and a half miles long and people can only go a little way because the air is very bad. A long time ago the people that were in the house would not use two of the rooms, because a man and his wife and three children were killed there, and the blood marks were on the floor. Can anybody tell me if these stories are really true? – James Sydenham, Bradford-on-Tone, aged 11.

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12 - CHURCH CLOCKS – Where were the earliest church clocks in Somerset? Peter Lightfoot’s Glastonbury clock, now partly in and partly in South Kensington Museum were made at the cost of Adam de Sodbury, who was promoted to the abbacy in 1322. The earliest mention I have found of “La Clock” in St Mary’s Bridgwater, is 1393, when the care of it is named among the duties of the chaplain of the chantry of the Blessed Mary – T.B.D.

13 - A DOUBTFUL DOONE DOCUMENT – In a guide-book to Lynton and Lynmouth, published at Ilfracombe in 1905, the author states, anent the Doone traditions, that on the occasion of a visit to the , at , he saw hanging in the hall “a document texted in an ancient hand, and stained with blood, which is claimed to be the warrant held by a certain Jeremy Stickles, and the document suggests itself obviously as being the work of some joker. Can any reader possibly throw a light on its origin, or produce any claims it might have to authenticity? Diogenes.

Replies to Queries 1 - CHESSELLS – The Rev J S Hill, in his “Place-names of Somerset,” says of Chiselborough and Chelstone (in ), as well as of several other similar names, they are “usually derived from Ceosil, a sandbank, as a physical characteristic. Old German is ‘Kisil,’ and modern Kiesel.’ Kieslstein means flint.” The late G P R Pulman, in his “Local Nomenclature,” gives the derivation of Chiselborough as “from ceosel, the Gravel Hill – ceosel being also the origin of Chesil, the Chesil Bank, near Weymouth.” Would it not be reasonable to infer from this that if any Somerset fields owe their names to this root, such names would be very old, handed down through many generations, and for this and other reasons very uncommon?

1 - CHESSELLS – An entymologist would say that “chesil” in a place-name means gravel (Anglo-Saxon) or flint (Teutonic). The word, therefore, well describes the great beach at Portland, and gravely or flinty soils in general. With regard to the occurrence if Roman remains in fields called Chessells, I can add an instance in the of Shipton Gorge, co Dorset, where such objects, including fourth century coins, but not tesserae, have been turned up in a field known as Chisells. But I am far from suggesting that Chisels, or its variants, in a name applied to some localities because traces of Roman civilisation exist there. The place names are probably much older than the finds, although it may be that the countrymen have given the name Chessels to pavement cubes on account of their fancied resemblance to the pebbles or flints whence the name of the locality was originally derived. O.R.

1 - CHESSELLS – The word is no doubt derived from Anglo-Saxon ceosel or ceosl, meaning sand or gravel, as in ceosl-stan, sandstone (Bosworth’s A.S Dict.). From this we have Chesil Bank, the extra-ordinary barrier of pebbles which joins Portland Island to the Dorset coast; also, in . Cheselys – pebbles on the seashore. A kind of sandy earth is called chessom. These are from Halliwell’s Dict of archaic words. He also mentions chesle money as Roman brass coins found in some places in . It seems to me as likely that the connection is through the ornamental floors often seen in summer-houses, and made of variously coloured pebbles, which would appear to the country people as similar to the tessellated pavements of the Roman villas where coins would be found. Fields named “Chessells” would be gravely – H Corder.

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2 - PENEL ORLIEU – As far as my present knowledge goes, the place name appears to originate from two family names:- (1) The family of Peynel or Paynel owned the manor of Bridgwater before it came into Wm Briwer’s hands. (2) The name Ordlof or Orlof was a family name in the in the 13th century. (3) Pynelstret or Penelstret and Orlovstret or Orlouestret occur in the 14th and 15th centuries, “v” and “u” being written interchangeably for each other. (4) The same property is named in two different deeds, one as in Penelstret, in the other as in Orlouestret. Further, in burgess lists of the 15th century, where the names are arranged under the streets, no mention is made of Penelstret; on the other hand, a burgess, who we know lived in that street, appears under Orlouestret. Thus, either they were identical, or Penel-street was merged in Orloue-street. – T.B.D.

4 - THE NAME “SOMERSET” – Your correspondent should read the paper by the Rt Hon Sir Edward Fry, D.C.L., F.R.S entitled “Somerset or Somersetshire,” published in Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeol and Nat Hist Society 1903, Vol. xlix – H St G.G.

5 - WHAT IS A WELY – This may be a mis-spelling or a corruption of the word “willy” given in Jenning’s “Somerset Dialect,” as being a term applied to basket made of willow. A basket would be quite in place amongst building materials – Diogenes.

7 - COTHELSTONE BEACON – There are many stories with regard to the circular tower, but it is not easy to get much definite information. I have heard that it was built as a lodge, and that it was once occupied; it is also said to have been a windmill. A newspaper printed about 140 years ago probably gives the origin of the tower in the following brief statement:- “Cotherston, the place in Somersetshire, where lady Hilsborough has lately raised a small structure for the purpose of prospect, is so much prized for its situation that several gentlemen of the county offered, if her ladyship would have given her consent, to have subscribed £2,000 and laid out the money in a building more conspicuous.” Murray (1899), after speaking of St Agnes’ Well at Cothelstone, says: “Still further up the hill is a round tower, a ‘folly’ of the last century.” From it, Halsdown, by , 30 miles distant, is visible. An ancient round tower, called the Lodge, which is used as a landmark by ships in the Channel, commands on a clear day, and with the aid of a good glass, a sight of 14 counties.” There was, evidently, a beacon on Cothelstone many years before the tower in question was erected, for about the Duke of Monmouth’s time Cothelstone was said to mean Kenning Town Hill, “from a beacon standing on top of it,” but I confess I do not quite follow this line of reasoning. – C3.

8 - THE CINNEBAR MOTH – I think the Ragwort is a far more important food plant of the caterpillar of this moth than is the groundsel. I have seen vast tracts of land covered with the Ragwort, growing to a height of two or three feet, on which every single plant had been stripped bare of every vestige of a leaf by cinnabar caterpillars. It appears to me that, especially in districts where the Ragwort grows freely, the abundance, or otherwise, of cinnabar moths would be very little affected, if at all, by the quantity of potatoes grown or the amount of groundsel in a man’s garden. So far as I have had an opportunity of observing, the cinnabar appears to be less common than usual in this district () this year – M.A.

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8 - THE CINNEBAR MOTH – I had not noticed the abundance of the Cinnebar Moth this season; in fact, I really believe it has been less common than usual here this season than usual. It is usually such a very abundant species that I should be far more likely to notice a lean year than an abundant one. With regard to the increased potato growing being responsible for its abundance, I should think there would be little in that. Usually there is sufficient groundsel in an ordinary garden to provide food for all the young larvae that would be likely to appear. Whether the wet summer and autumn of last year kept down the ichneumon fly, which more or less attacks all caterpillars, I do not know, but this theory is often believed when any insect is particularly common – W.W.M.

9 - QUAKERS’ BURIAL GROUND – This would appear to have been in use in 1822 when Savage’s history was written. He says: “The Society of Friends have a burial- ground near the first mile stone on the road to Bridgwater” – M.

July 19th 1919 Notes GENERAL GORDON AT TAUNTON – For 49 read 42, Upper High street, as the house in which Gordon boarded – M.M.K.

A SOMERSET SAYING – On St Swithin’s day the apples are christened, and after that they are good to eat.

LIGHTING BRIDGWATER STREETS – An old newspaper, dated February 7th 1825, says “The project for lighting Bridgwater with gas, and for bringing a stream of water through the streets, has been abandoned, and it has been determined to increase the number of oil lamps and to establish a nightly watch.”

SOMERSET MILLS – May I suggest that we all try to get together a complete list of the water mills and wind mills either known to have existed or still surviving in this country. If descriptions and locations were sent to Mr Corder, Bridgwater, he might be able to compile a catalogue of these relics of the past and place it in the museum at Taunton – T.B.D.

LANGFORD RED COCKS – In Lackington’s Life, written by himself, he says, “The parish clerk of Langford, near Wellington, was called Red Cock for many years before his death, for having one Sunday slept in church, and, dreaming that he was at a cock-fighting, he bawled out ‘A shilling upon the red cock!’ And behold, the family are called red cock to this day.”

PIXYLATED – A belief very prevalent about forty years ago was that one might have the bad luck to be “Pixylated.” If a person, when out walking at night should lose himself while walking through as field, and could not find the gate or stile, he became pixylated. To break the spell (according to the superstition held by the country people) it was only necessary to turn your left hand pocket inside out and you would find your way out without any further trouble.

LINGUISTS – The two most significant linguists of their time were both natives of West Somerset. Henry Norris, born at Taunton, 1752 kept a school in Canon Street and was proficient in 24 languages. Dr Young, born at Milverton, 1773, was the

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interpreter of the Rosetta Stone, which supplied the key to Egyptian hieroglyphics. When, at the age of 15, he was asked to supply a specimen of his writing, he immediately wrote the sentence in 14 languages.

POT-BOILERS’ DWELLINGS – Is it not strange that in the very days when the franchise was most democratic, and every man in Taunton who “boiled a pot,” whether as occupier or lodger, had a vote, the present open space known as the Parade, was crowded with small and insanitary dwellings? No attempt appears to have been made by the numerous voters to improve social conditions; they were for the most part eager to sell their support to the highest bidder.

CURIOUS SOMERSET PHRASES – I heard the other day of somebody being reduced to “a mere notamy.” This, I imagine is a corruption of the word “anatomy.” I wonder if it is a word in general use in Somerset? Another way of putting the same idea seems to be that the person in question is “terrible pitched away.” A strange peculiarity of the dialect seems to be the addition of “y” to various verbs, such as to go “milky.” An old lady, congratulated on the cleanliness of her house, replied, “Lor, ees, I do moppy and brushy all day long.” From whence, I wonder, came the expression “all of a hitty,” which, with reference to a bush or plant means “all in a mass of bloom?”

STOCKS – These quaint relics of the punishments of the good old days, exposed as they are to the disintegrating effects of our variable weather, must disappear before long. It would be a capital thing, in my idea, to deposit with the Somerset Archaeological Society’s Museum in Taunton, models correctly made to scale, say an inch to a foot, of all the stocks that now exist in the County of Somerset. There are many people with skill in wood-working who would gladly do this if asked: there are classes in manual work at many schools that would find great pleasure in reproducing these mementoes of the past. May I, Sir, through your “Notes and Queries” column ask such people to carry out the idea, and send the models to the Taunton Castle Museum – “Western.”

ANCIENT CLAY PIPES – While rambling over ploughed fields on the hill just overlooking Minehead I have found numerous remains of clay pipes of an old- fashioned stamp. They are of a type apparently popular in the period of the Commonwealth, and it is possible that the fields where they were found may have been the camping site of Parliamentary or King’s troops in those turbulent times when the Minehead district was afflicted with visits from Goring and Hertford. I have found several well-preserved bowls among these remains, the base of one bearing the stamp of a Tudor rose, which was a common emblem of pipes of that time, while another bowl bears the imprint George Webb. Particulars of any other similar find in this neighbourhood would be of interest to the writer – Diogenes.

A STORY Of HARNEM FARM – At a place called Harnem near Hillfarrance, the under-ground cellar of the farm-house was haunted. They say that an old gentleman who lived there left a good bit of money for his servant, but no-one could find it. Every night they heard the things rattling about in the cellar and in the dairy, and something would go upstairs into one of the bedrooms. Mr grandmother told me the person who lived in the house had a servant, and when the servant went through one of the lanes near the house she could see the ghost walking in front of her. A very old

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woman told the servant what to say to the ghost, and she said it, and the ghost told her she had to lift up the stone near the gate, and there she found the old gentleman’s money under the stone. She was never troubled by the ghost again.

POETICAL GEM – The following is an exact copy of an inscription on a sign-board over a shop in James’ Street, Taunton, where vegetables and milk are vended. We have not presumed to interfere with the spelling or punctuation of the original, but have transcribed the elegant effusion verbatim et literatim:- Now good people all I hope you won’t forget to call, For, recollect this is Prews Shop, That every, Article, That, he sell, Shall, be, the Best, that Can be Cot, And that not All For, tis, Prews good, will, to use you well, That you find, if you pleas, To let him Call. Who, after reading this, will pretend to say the poetical genius of our countrymen is on the wane? – “Sherborne Journal,” April 26th 1838.

A QUANTOCK DRAGON – The Rev C W Whistler tells the story of a dragon that lived in Shervage Wood, at the back of the “Castle of Comfort” on the Stowey road between and , and from its hiding place in that cover devastated the country round, as such monsters were wont to do. A poor woodman who must get his living, dragon or no dragon, went into the wood to work one day when no sign of the enemy was to be seen. At dinner time he sat down upon what he took to be the trunk of a fallen tree lying among the fern, but what was in reality the dragon taking a nap. Feeling the woodman’s weight, the beast heaved in its sleep, whereupon the startled man sprang up, crying, “Eh! Her be do you, does her? Thee do movey, do ‘ee? Well den!” With that he struck his axe with all his might into his uncanny seat, and fled. The dragon was never seen afterward, but the children tell of it with bated breath as they gather the “worts” in the place which is haunted.

ENCOUNTER WITH A HIGHWAYMAN - Mr Simon Brown was a Dissenting Minister, and was a native of , in Somersetshire. In 1723, Mr Brown was in charge of Old Jewry Chapel, London, but, accompanied by a companion, went down to the West Country to pay a visit to his old home and friends. When nearing the end of their journey a highwayman or footpad – which is not quite clear from the old record – suddenly confronted the astonished travellers, with a levelled pistol and an order to “Stand and deliver.” Mr Brown was a powerful and fearless man, determined, prompt and resolute. He instantly sprang at the robber, quite regardless of the pistol, hurled him to the ground, and, using all his strength, held him there, kneeling on his chest. Meanwhile, the Rev Simon Brown’s friend ran to the nearest town for assistance, which at length arrived. When the stalwart Mr Brown released his grip of the robber and rose, what was his horror to discover that in his resolution not to let him escape, the force he had exerted had killed the man. We are given to understand from the account in Wilson’s “Dissenting Churches,” that the unhappy preacher never recovered from the effects produced on him by this mischance. He

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became gloomy and despondent, and abandoned even his most cherished hopes and ambitions in his regret at the results of his violence.

THE TOAD MALEDICTION – Following on your correspondent’s note on witchcraft, a story of the present day may be of interest. My informant is a thoroughly competent witness, who lives in the village lying close to Bridgwater, in which the incident occurred. Mrs X was receiving blackberries for the market, among them some from a neighbour, Mrs Z. She remarked to the child who brought Mrs Z’s contribution that they were “picked dirty.” The comment was duly repeated to Mrs Z, who was much incensed and declared that she would “put the toads on” Mrs X. Mrs X heard of the curse, but was not greatly perturbed by it. However, all though the winter misfortune has been with her household, one member of the family after another falling ill and needing the attendance of the doctor, till, at last, Mrs X begins to think there must have been “something in it.” There is no doubt that these old world beliefs still linger in our , though their victims are shy of speaking of them to their more educated neighbours. The best way of dealing with the subject is to take them on their own ground and to try to impress on them the fact the Good is stronger than Evil – Q.P.

Queries. 14 - MEDIEVAL IRONMONGERY – In a bill sent to the priest, who was vicar of from 1465 to 1478, occurs, among other articles of ironmongery, the following item:- “For a skolle to put in a dowbyll bonet price vis. viiid.” Various suggestions of the meaning of these terms have been offered me, but I have not been convinced that any of them were correct. Can anyone help me? – T.B.D.

15 - CLIPPING THE TOWER – I came across an account the other day of an interesting old custom practised at Langford Budville, Somerset, that of frightening the devil away to the neighbouring villages. Can any of your readers tell one if it is still practised? The ritual is said to consist of the formation by the people of a ring round the Church, which advances towards it and breaks on the side opposite the door. The two leaders then go straight to the wall, followed by all the others, somewhat in the style of Sir Roger de Coverley. Then they make their way back to the entrance of the Churchyard, giving three shouts when they get there. This custom is known as “Clipping the tower.” It is said to have been practised at Wellington, but there on Midsummer Day, while at Langford it takes place on the Feast of St Peter and St Paul – E.M.V.

16 - SOMERSET VALHALLA – Could any reader of “Notes and Queries” give me (or tell me where I could obtain) a complete list of the worthies who have been honoured with a place in the Valhalla in the Shire Hall, Taunton? – Devonshire Dumpling.

17 - HOLFORD CHURCH – I have been told that there is no pulpit in Holford Church. Can any of your readers tell me whether this is so? It seems strange, if true – East Reach.

Replies to Queries. 4 - THE NAME OF SOMERSET – There have been many suggestions made as to the origin of the name of our county, and it is impossible to speak with certainty as to its

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real derivation. One of the most reasonable, and one which is accepted by many of our people, is offered by the late Bishop Clifford, who said: “The marshes and lakes between the Parrett and Glastonbury were called in the language of the Saxons, Seo- meres, or Sea-lakes, from Seo, the sea, and mere, a lake. The inhabitants who dwelt in the islands and in the neighbouring county were called the Seo-mere-saetas or ‘dwellers-by-the-sea-lakes.’” The county itself was called Seo-mere-set, ‘the district of the sea-lakes.’ The reasonableness and probability of this suggestion is increased by the discovery of the ancient lake village near Glastonbury, which was not discovered until many years after the above explanation had been suggested by the learned Bishop. In this connection it is interesting to remember that there are many other place names in commencing with “Somer,” and the great majority of them will be found in the fen districts of and other Eastern counties, where “sea-lakes” would naturally abound. The fact that so many place names in these Eastern fenny counties commence with “Somer” would tend to show that there is no connection between the name of our county and the glories of its “summer,” as many people have imagined – Reader.

5 - “WILLY” seems to be used in this district (Bridgwater) for basket. – A.C.H.

5 - WELY – OR WILLY? – Mr F.T., in “The West Somerset Word Book,” gives the following definition:- “Willy – A large basket – of a shape deep rather than flat. The word would not be used for any shallow basket, nor for one having a bent handle from side to side. A willy has two small handles at the upper edge, one opposite the other. There are half-bag willies, quarter-bag willies, and two-bushel willies, made to hold the specified quantities.” I have often seen such baskets attached to pullies, and used by builders for the purpose of conveying bricks and other material from the ground to high platforms where man were at work. – W.S.

11 - BISHOPS HULL MANOR HOUSE – The story about the under-ground passage from the Manor House at Bishops Hull to Taunton Church is a most unlikely one. There appears to be no reason for it. Similar traditions exist about other local buildings. Certain persons still hold that there is a passage from Taunton Castle, under the Mill stream, to the land beyond; but those who should know appear to be quite unaware of it – T.N.

12 - EARLY SOMERSET CLOCKS – Most Somerset people know something of Peter Lightfoot’s clock, now in Wells Catherdral, which, I believe, he made for in or about 1325. But in his “History of Taxation and Duties in England” Mr Dowell asserts that the manufacture of clocks in England was commenced by the three horologists from Delft, in Holland, to whom Edward III granted license in 1368 to come and practise their occupation here. If this statement is correct, Bridgwater must have been – as always – fairly up to date to have had a Parish Church clock of its own in 1393 – READER.

July 26th 1919 Notes. POTWALLOPERS – A great deal of interesting matter dealing with the Potwallopers of Taunton appeared over the initials “F.O.” in the Bristol “Times and Mirror” of August 7th, 1915- W.G.Willis Watson.

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CURIOUS SOMERSET PHRASES – Anent the description of a thin person – a mere ‘natomy – terrible pitched away, &c. – referred to by one of your contributors, I am reminded of a phrase made use of many years ago. A well known lawyer’s clerk living in Somerton was far from portly, so a neighbour described him as “a rasher of wind.” This would be hard to beat – C.S.

INVENTION OF WATERPROOF – The rain-proof material for water-proof coats was invented by John Clark, a member of the well known Somerset Quaker family. He was a bachelor, living in Monmouth Street, Bridgwater. Eccentric and clever, “he looked like a big boy, for he wore a short jacket, and very short trousers.” He sold his invention to Mackintosh for £40, for he was not himself a man of business capacity. He died in 1853 – Q.P.

STOCKS – It may interest some of your readers to know where there are some very good examples of that instrument of punishment so much used in former days – the parish stocks. There are some in the churchyards at Bradford near Taunton, also in the churchyards of and . Those at Churchstanton are on the ground, the unfortunate victim of the village beadle having to sit on the ground, while those at Bradford are raised above the ground, the prisoner having to lean up against the side of the church – E F J Mathews.

STOCKS – I was interested to see the reference to the stocks in last week’s “Herald.” It is more than ten years since I left Taunton, but I well remember seeing the stocks in the churchyards at Trull, Bradford, , Creech and . At the time I left Somerset the remains of the old whipping post also stood by the side of the stocks in the last named churchyard. Perhaps some of your readers now living in the district will be able to say whether all of these stocks still remain – I presume they do – and they could, perhaps, tell us something more about them, and mention other villages in the neighbourhood where stocks may still be seen – S.E. 13.

ATOMY – “She’s nothing but an atomy” Is a common expression in Somerset. I do not recollect hearing the word pronounced “notamy,” but different districts different pronunciations. I am not at all sue we can claim this as a Somerset word. True, we natives still use it, but it is not strictly a provincialism. Plutarch used the word in association with small indivisible bodies, and we in Somerset use it today to describe an abnormally thin person or animal. Shakespeare makes use of this word in several of his works:- “It is as easy to count atomies as to resolve the propositions of a lover (‘As you like it,’ iii., 2). You starved blood-hound. Thou atomy, thou! (2 Henry IV., v., 4) – W.G. Willis Watson.

PIXYLATED – Should not this word be rendered “Pixy-led” or “Pisky-led”? i.e., led astray by the Little Folk. It is noticeable that almost all the pixy tales one had heard or read about have their seat laid in the South of England, and there are pixies in Somerset as well as in and . Have you never heard of the man who, going home one night, lost himself? The farther he went the farther he had to go, until he recollected that he had only to turn his coat inside out as an antidote to being “pixy-led,” and then he had no difficulty in finding his way home. I have done it myself when a child, and have wandered across fields and lost my bearings. In the Launceton district it was customary to put a Prayer book under a child’s pillow as a charm to keep away the piskies (piskey in Cornwall). The number of curious

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transactions attributed to the pixies is remarkable – from threshing corn to acting as midwives. Mrs Bray, who has written much on Cornish Folk-lore, has a good deal to tell us of these strange little people. In some parts of the West of England it was customary for a woman, when carrying a child to be christened, to take with her a piece of bread and cheese to give to the first person she met, for the purpose of saving the child from the pixies. – W.G. Willis Watson.

FAMOUS LOCAL LINGUISTS – The paragraph in your last issue, in which the brilliant talents of Henry Norris, of Taunton, and Dr Young, of Milverton, are referred to, omits the name of one of the most famous sons of Somerset. Edwin Norris, Phil.D., the great Assyriologist. He was born in Taunton October 24th 1795, and died December 10th 1872. The family had been intimately connected with the county town since the early part of the sixteenth century, and one of them, John Norris, represented it in Parliament in 1554. They held land in various parts of Somerset and Devon; but loyalty to the King during the Civil War led to loss of fortune. In 1725, William Norris started the first Taunton newspaper, “Norris’s Taunton Journal,” a copy of which is framed in the County Museum. When Edwin was born, his father carried on the printing and publishing business, and the famous son served some time at it. He subsequently travelled in various part of Europe during several years, as tutor in an English family, and made good use of his opportunities by adding largely to his knowledge of modern languages. In 1825, he obtained a post in the India House, where he did much useful work, and increased considerably to his reputation as a linguist. In 1830 he offered his leisure hours to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and continued his invaluable assistance up to the time of his death. At the in 1851, the Society desired to give the public some idea of what they were doing, and, at the opening, printed slips were distributed about the building, containing translations of portions of Scripture into many different languages. Of these translations into various tongues or dialects, fifty-three were the sole and unaided work of Dr Edwin Norris. In 1852, he laid before the Asiatic Society a partial decipherment of the Scythic version of the inscription of Darius at Behistun, which had been originally copied by Sir H C Rawlinson, and brought to England in the form of paper impressions, accurately recording the state of the stone surface. The memoir on the subject extended to two hundred and thirteen pages of the journal of the Society. This was followed by other papers on kindred subjects. In 1859 the University of Oxford printed his “Ancient Cornish Drama,” which is said to be “one of the most remarkable contributions to Celtic literature that has yet been made,” as it embodies many portions of Biblical history, as preserved in the form of miracle plays in the distinct Celtic dialect of Cornwall. Then he turned again to the Babylonian and Assyrian texts, which he and Sir Henry Rawlinson had been working at for years. For this purpose, all the original bricks, marbles, and cylinders preserved in the were carefully examined. The first volume of the inscriptions was published in February 1861. Two others followed, for Dr Norris continued his work nearly up to the day of his death. In 1866, he retired from the Foreign Office, and from his duties as Secretary of the Asiatic Society, in order to push on with the compilation of an Assyrian Dictionary. Three volumes of this monumental work were issued during his lifetime; as far as the letter N; and the remained was left in such a state that others would complete it. Respecting this, it has been said; “His Cuneiform Dictionary (like the ‘Code’ of Napoleon) is his best monument, and alone suffices to hand his name down with honour to posterity.” An abler writer remarks: - “Dr Norris’s knowledge of languages was so universal that he might more truly have been said to know language

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in every possible form, than to have had merely a sufficient acquaintance with a certain, though with even a large number, of individual tongues.” – M.S.A. ANCIENT WATER AND WIND MILLS.

SOMERSET MILLS – If T.B.D. will consult Kelly’s Directory of Somerset, he will find a record of all the millers in the county, and information as to which mills are driven by steam, water, and wind. – W.G.Willis Watson.

ANCIENT WIND-MILLS – The remains of an ancient wind-mill of considerable proportions stand in the of Pibsbury, near . About fifteen years ago this was more or less, intact outwardly, the “swifts,” or beams, which carried the sails being still in place. Later these disappeared, and two or three years ago the local limestone walls crumbled to such an extent that the tower split almost vertically and half of it fell. All that now remains is about two-thirds of the tower. It was in the lanes round this mill that the concluding stages of the Battle of Langport were fought on July 10th 1645.

SOMERSET WIND AND WATER MILLS – Some 10 or 12 years ago I took quarter- plate snapshots of several old wind-mills in the county, but I made no records, and my memory is not clear on some of the details. I remember mills in very fair condition, and, if I remember rightly, with sails, at , near Magnolia House, between Highbridge and Mark, between and Cossington, and on Walton Hill; and mills in a more ruinous state without sails near the old church at Uphill, on the road between Yatton and , and about a mile S.W. of . A few months after I photographed Walton wind-mill it lost its sails, and I snapshotted it again within a year or so in a sailless condition, the contrast between the two pictures in so short a time being very marked. One of the most picturesque old water-mills I know in the county is the old Castle Mill at , which, I believe, has been for many years a favourite subject for artists and photographers. – Camera.

QUERIES 18 – CHURCH DOOR COLLECTIONS – In the “Taunton Courier” for July 20th 1815, it is stated that “the sum of £29 was subscribed at the church door of St Mary’s Taunton, the fruits of an excellently appropriated sermon preached by the Rev F Clapp, on behalf of sufferers and relatives of those engaged at Waterloo.” Were church door collections general in earlier days? and is there any record of their being taken elsewhere? If so, can anyone say when they were discontinued, or if the church collections, as we now know them, have taken their place?

19 – GRANDFATHER CLOCKS – I have a brass face, one-fingered grandfather’s clock made by Joseph Rew, . Could any reader kindly tell me anything of this man – the period in which he carried on business in Wiveliscombe as a clock- maker, and his reputation as such? – W G Willis Watson.

20 – BISHOP OF BRIDGWATER – Has anyone heard that there was at any time a Bishop of Bridgwater? – T.B.D.

REPLIES TO QUERIES 4 – THE NAME OF SOMERSET – The following is an extract from the Introductory Note to Cuming Walters’ “Bygone Somerset:- “What first strikes one as peculiar and

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exceptional is that etymologists are at variance as to the origin and meaning of the county’s name. As a rule the derivation presents no great difficulty, but in the case of Somerset we have at least three alternatives. First, the name is said to have been the Anglo-Saxon Sumorsoete, or Suth-mor-soet, designating the south moor camp. Originally, however, the name denoted a tribe, not the land, and was applied to the settlers round the Royal town (tun) of Somerton. This has led to the conjecture that the county was called Sumertunset, of which the modern Somerset is a contraction, and parallels can be adduced for this form of nomenclature. Somerton, the town, was a Saxon summer residence, and in the Welsh language Somerset was known as Gwlad-yr-Haf, or the land of Summer, doubtless from its mild climate. This, again, has led to the assumption that Somerset may be the Anglicised form of the Welsh term, but conversely it has been declared that the Welsh term is a twelfth century translation of the Saxon. It is worth noting that in Latin documents the county is spoken of as aestiva region, or Summerland, and the well known Celtic scholar, Professor Rhys, believes that a mythical origin may be sought for the description which afterwards was attached to the locality beyond the Severn, the summer or southern river … This district was a stronghold of early romance and of ancient heroes who passed into myths, and consequently, the ascription of a mythical origin to the name of the region is not lacking in probability. What we know with certainty is that the county was overrun by a valiant tribe who were distinguished as the Sumersoetan. In an old “Topographical and Statistical Description of the County of Soomerset” it is stated:- “Some suppose the name of this county was given to it on account of the mildness, and as it were summer temperature of the air, in which sense it is still called, in the British, Gladorhof, by a word borrowed from our language. Mr Camden is more inclined to think the name is derived from Somerton, anciently the most considerable town in the whole county. Asserius, a very ancient writer, continually calls it the County of Somerton.” –W.A.P.

5 – WHAT IS A “WELY” – I agree with Diogenes that the word wely mentioned in the building accounts, dated 1488, is a basket and not a pully. A “willy” (willow) basket was quite a common expression in my younger days, and when one recalls to mind that the willow from which the baskets were made is Welie, welige in Anglo- Saxon, the suggestion is strengthened – W G Willis Watson.

10 – PETER GREVIOUS – A very similar question to this was asked in these columns some eight years ago by a correspondent who has since passed away, but very little information was forthcoming by way of reply. A correspondent mentioned a poem dealing with the American Independence and the French Revolution, written in Philadelphia in 1796 by “Peter Grevious, Jun.”, which would go to show that the use of the name is not confined to Somerset. It was also suggested by other writers that Peter “means half-witted, as in we have Struwelpeter, or shock-headed Peter. Hence, we now find the cheery, optimistic person getting impatient with a melancholy one, who is, in the other’s estimation, not only depressed, but foolishly and unnecessarily so.” A further suggestion was that the highest and holiest things are sometimes degraded by the basest merely by constant familiarity, as the penitence of Mary Magdalene has given us the word “maudlin.” So it is not difficult to see the association of melancholy with Peter a recollection of the great apostle who went out and wept bitterly.

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16 – SOMERSET VALHALLA – There are still a few copies of “Some Account of the Valhalla of Somerset Worthies in the Shire Hall, Taunton,” by R Arthur Kinglake, to be sold at Taunton Castle Museum. The price is 9d. It was published in 1891, and the recent additions since that date are, of course, not included.

16 – SOMERSET VALHALLA – In 1891 Mr R A Kinglake (to whose influence and efforts the Somerset Valhalla was so very largely due) wrote a brief account of the Worthies whose busts are contained therein. For easier reference I quote the names in alphabetical order:- Admiral , Dr Henry Byam, the Somersetshire loyalist, Henry Fielding, father of the English novel, Dr Wilson Fox, the Queen’s physician, Brigadier-General John Jacob, C.B. Bishop Ken, John Locke, philosopher and statesman, Edwin Norris, linguist and philologist, John Pym, the famous member of the Long Parliament, Captain John Hanning Speke, discoverer of the sources of the Nile, Chas Summers, sculptor, Lord Taunton (Henry Labouchere, for 27 years member for Taunton), Dr Thos Young, the investigator of the laws of light and decipherer of hieroglyphics. A few years later was added a bust of Colonel Chard, the hero of Rorke’s Drift. I have no notes of any additions during the past 20 years. Perhaps the Editor or some of his readers can tell us if any such additions have been made – B.M.G.

August 2nd 1919 Notes STOCKS – Please add to your list of churchyards in which the stocks are still to be seen and – X. ATOMY – The definition given in Elworthy’s “West Somerset Word Book” is as follows:- “Atomies – Old hacks, worn out, wretched creatures.”

THE WESTERN MAN – when he is of Somerset, is half a Celt of the South Irish type, with its faults and virtues, and quality of fascinating rougher men, softened, as he thinks, ennobled by a strain of gentlemanliness as hard to describe as to account for. The Western man is not all he thinks of himself, or all Kingsley thought of him, but he is by far the pleasantest of Englishmen – ANON.

WELLINGTON MONUMENT – A magazine published in connection with the contains the following – “The Wellington Monument, a notable landmark, is a pillar 175 feet high, on a hill 900 feet high, about two and a half miles from the town. It is three sided to represent a bayonet of the period, and was erected in 1818, by national subscription, to commemorate the victory at Waterloo – June 18th 1815.”

CURIOUS SOMERSET PHRASE – The writer of the note concerning “a mere notamy” might refer to F T Elworthy’s “West Somerset Word-Book” where “atomies” are explained as “old hacks, worn-out, wretched creatures,” it being added that a native of Torcross, in Devon, spoke of the caravan-folk who came to the regatta “as a passel of old atomies.” There are also two references to Shakespeare – Wellington.

STOCKS – To the list of stocks in the neighbourhood of Taunton should be added those of Chard, now preserved in the Somerset County Museum at Taunton Castle. The preservation of these local stocks is a matter which calls for early attention. I have already endeavoured to do something in this direction, with the result that the

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Trull stocks have recently been repaired and treated with a solution – H St George Gray.

ST SWITHUN AND THE APPLES – The christening of the apples is a common expression, not only in Somerset, but farther afield. On St Swithun’s Day the apples are supposed to begin to get big, and to mature quickly. Hove, in his “Everyday Book,” mentions the saying: “St Swithun is christening the apples” when rain falls on St Swithun’s day, and , in No 2, 3 S., viii., 146. says he was told by a Huntingdonshire cottager that “unless St Swithun rains upon ‘em they’ll never keep through the winter.” I also read “The Apple Christening Day” is still quite a common folk-name given to St Swithun’s Day in Surrey as well as in Berkshire and Oxfordshire – W G Willis Watson.

PIXYLATED – Some correspondence on this subject appeared in these columns about 15 years ago when a reader wrote to ask if any of the other readers of the paper had ever heard of a person being “Pexelated,” added “I only give the word as I have heard it spoken.” One of the most competent authorities who replied stated, in the course of his article:- “The special belief indicated by the above heading is one of the oldest, and here in the West most common. It is fully expressed by the true form of the word as pronounced – Pexy-laided, that is Pexy-leaded a more forcible expression than Pixy-led. This Halliwell defines as ‘to be in a maze . . . as if led out of the way by hobgoblin.’ The English Dialect Dictionary has Pixy-led, laid, laden, ‘led astray, lost, bewildered.’ The late G P R Pulman gave it as Pexy-laden or Pixy-led, and he quoted from an article by Mr Elias Tozer in the “Devon Weekly Times.” from which the following brief extracts are taken. “When my venerable grandfather came home late at night, as he sometimes did at harvest-time and on other festive occasions – with an unusually red nose and a somewhat thick voice – he was sure to have missed his way “all owing to them beggaring little pigsies.’ against whose mischievous little pranks he had failed to take the infallible precaution of turning his stockings inside out . . . It is commonly related that when a farmer or labourer has indulged in a ‘cup of zider too much’ he is sure to be led a ‘purty dance on going to his home.’ Indeed, he is accustomed to feel his usually steady head spinning round like a mill-wheel, and to hear ‘they little bits of pigsies a-laughing and a-tacking their hands for joy’ at their success in leading him astray.”

THE “OLD DISSENT” IN SOMERSET – Within a few months after the passing of the Toleration Act (1689) a fund was established for the two-fold purpose of assisting Presbyterian and Independent ministers who were in needy circumstances, and of locating preachers in places where there was spiritual destitution. For the due administration of this fund a general “Survey of the Dissenting Interest” was made in 1691, the record of which has been entirely lost sight of until it was accidentally discovered eight or ten years ago. The facts disclosed concerning Somerset may be of some interest. There were in Somerset (including Bristol) twenty dissenting ministers, who were adequately supported by their hearers, or had a sufficiency of private resources. They were located at , Bishop’s Hull, Bridgwater, Bristol (4), Chard, Charlton, Coleford, , , Langport, Shepton Mallet, Stanton, Taunton (2), , and (2). Two others were schoolmasters, in Bristol, and preached in villages around. There were 29 persons, some of them ordained ministers and some candidates, who itinerated among 22 congregations, receiving 5, 7, 8 or 10 shillings for a Sunday’s services. Five needed assistance owing

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to disablement or infirmity; these had all been ejected from benefices in the county, either at the Restoration, or by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. There were:- Rev Timothy Batt, formerly vicar of Creech; Rev Henry Backaller, formerly vicar of ; Rev Jos Chadwick, M.A., formerly minister at Winsford; Rev John Devenish, formerly minister at ; and Rev John Turner, formerly rector of N Cricket. Little is said about the state of the congregations, but the reports from three are interesting: - At they were “a poor people,” who had been embodied ever since the ejectment. There were from 200 to 300 hearers, only two substantial contributors, and “five or six farmers in the country.” The pulpit was supplied in turn by Messrs John Berry, of Barnstaple, Samuel Smith of South Molton, and Richard Towell, of Dulverton. At Glastonbury there was a meeting once a fortnight. The people, very poor, could not guarantee more than £5 a year. One, Mr Adams, who had private means, would settle there if they could raise him £30 a year. At Wiveliscombe there was a meeting house “lately built, not yet wholly paid for.” There were 400 or 500 hearers, mostly from places round about, “the town’s people being mostly enemies to it.” The pulpit was supplied in turn by Messrs Towell, Chr Taylor, and Josiah Woodcock. The 1691 survey makes no mention of Baptists or Quakers, both of which had numerous congregations in the county. In 1717 another survey was made, when it appeared that in Somerset there were between 60 and 70 dissenting congregations. Of these 13 were Baptist, six or eight professedly Independent, and the rest nominally Presbyterian – though, as there was no regular synod or classical presbytery, they also were really Independent. By way of comparison, it may be mentioned that a survey made in 1887 showed 643 Nonconformist congregations in the county, of which 234 represented “the Old Dissent,” i.e Independents, Presbyterians, Baptists and Quakers.

Queries. 21 – THE – Can anyone tell me why this canal was cut? It was the property of the Parrett Navigation Company, and leads from the River Ile to the hamlet of Westport, near Hambridge. It is about two miles long, and seems to lead nowhere. The warehouse, with its crane, over-looking a small dock, is still to be seen, and barges brought coal there within the memory of people still living. But it does not seem clear why the warehouse was not built on the bank of the Ile, or why a canal was needed – M.P.

22 – SOMERSET PLACE NAMES – The remarks are very interesting, but it would be still more interesting if one of your readers was to write an article on some of the “Sea-mere-set” towns, and give what they are derived from – say, Weston-Zoyland, Lytes Cary, , the Currys – North, Mallet, and Rivel, &c., &c. – L.

23 – HASELBURY FORD – A man in the North, who had done homage to the devil, determined to pay a visit to S. Wulfric. He arrived at the ford outside the village of Haselbury, when the devil seized him, saying he would drown him. S.Wulfric learned of this in a vision, and sent his priest Brithric to rescue the man, whom he found on horseback in the river and unable to move from the place. Brithric sprinkled the traveller with Holy water, and released him, and took the man and the devil into the presence of the man of God. Was the ancient Haselbury ford at the place now covered by what is known as Haselbury Bridge on the Crewkerne road? – Beppe.

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24 – SHELDRICKS – In a Plea Roll of 1205, I find the place-name Shiteroc, near Crewkerne. Professor F W Maitland informed me that the modern equivalent of Shiteroc was Sheldricks. Where is Sheldricks? – Beppe.

25 – HOLY WELLS IN SOMERSET – About four years ago, the Rev Father Ethelbert Horne, of Downside Abbey, near Bath, gave a lecture on “Some of the Holy Wells of Somerset.” He specially referred to those at St Alphage, Lansdown, Bath; St Winefred’s Well, Sion Hill, Bath; St Mary’s, Charlcombe; St Anne’s, Brislington; St Julian, Wellow; St , Stoke Lane; St , ; St Mary’s, Glastonbury; St John the Baptist, Wembdon Hill, Bridgwater; St Decumen’s, ; Holy Well, Shapwick; St Agnes, Cothelstone; St Barbara, ; Patwell, Ladywell, and Prior Gilbert’s Well, ; and St Andrew’s, Wells. Can any of your Somerset readers add to the number? H.W.

Replies to Queries. 5 – “WELY,” OR “WILLY” – When I was a lad – a good many years since – I remember a willy basket – it was similar to what the coal merchants now use, only larger, more upright sides, and deeper, and it had a handle either side – L

7 – WILLETT TOWER – In his well known book on West Somerset, published in 1873, Mr Edward Jeboult speaks of “a lofty knoll called Willet Hill, or Tor, on the top of which stands the shell of an hexagonal embattled tower, 80 feet high, erected at the expense of the neighbouring gentry, which is a fine object for many miles around.”

9 – QUAKERS BURIAL GROUND – Some sixty or seventy years ago this piece of land was carefully fenced, but it has now been added to the adjoining farm and cultivated. The local records of the Society of Friends are now kept at the Friends’ Meeting House, Bridgwater, I believe. Enquiries made at Taunton have failed to produce the required particulars as to when and how the burial ground fell into disuse – B.G.

10 – PETER GREVIOUS – My recollection of the use of this word is “Peter-grieving” – a “Peter-grieving cheel”; a child who seems unhappy and whining. I have always associated the phrase with the great apostle – W G Willis Watson.

15 – CLIPPING THE CHURCHES – Brand gives an account of this curious custom (Bohn, 1849, Vol I., p 181), and there is a good deal of information concerning this in no 2, 5th S vi., 308, 456, 530; vii 38 – W G Willis Watson.

15 – CLIPPING THE TOWER – This had not been practised at Langford Budville for many a year; the custom died out with the old “Village Revel.” The Clipping of the Tower, was as stated, done by the villagers making a ring round the church by holding hands, and the break was by the front porch. Then, E.M.V. will be interested to know, the whole ring formed a dance procession to the “Common” (Langford Heathfield), not in the Sir Roger de Coverley way, but in the form of a continuous wavy, in-and- out line. The “Old Inhabitant” of the Langford tales that appear in this column, spoke of it thus:- “They caught hold of one another’s hands, shoulder high, and the last one of the line would let go, and run in between the two in front of that, and so on, right up to the front: after that one had gone a few couples on, the last one would let go and do the same. All that time the line was going on, so it looked very pretty. I can tell ‘ee,

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wi’ people winding in and out. From up on the hill it looked a great snake working its shiny way along a sunny road. They called it “Threading the Needle,” and I’ve took part in it many a time. When we got to the Common, up by Vranch-nit Tree (French nut or walnut tree), we all joined up in the ring again and give three mighty hollers, to frighten the devil, and drive ‘en away from Langford.” – “Western”

16 – SOMERSET VALHALLA - Particulars about the worthies commemorated in the “Valhalla” at the Shire Hall, Taunton, will be found in a paper by Mr Robert Arthur Kinglake, published in the “Antiquary” for January, 1880, and afterwards printed in pamphlet form, with the title “A Valhalla of Somerset Worthies.” There have been one or two additions to the busts in recent years, I believe – Wellington.

16 – SOMERSET VALHALLA – B.M.G. omitted one name – that of Sir George Williams, the founder of the Young Men’s Christian Association, hose bust has also been placed in the Shirehall. Sir George Williams was born at Dulverton in 1821, and died in 1905. the names given, however, do not exhaust the list of Somerset Worthies and there is still ample room at the Shire Hall for more marble busts. One misses such names as Roger Bacon, Admirals Bridport, Hood and Rodney, famous explorers like William Dampier and Sir W E Parry, and several others – V.S.

17 –HOLFORD CHURCH – A new pulpit and chancel rails were provided in 1906 as a memorial to the Rev George Eden Frederick Peake, M.A., rector 1887-97 – H St George Gray.

17 – HOLFORD CHURCH – There is a pulpit in the church. It was put there as a memorial to the Rev Geo. Eden Fredrick Peake, M.A., rector from 1887 to 1896, in the year 1906. Before that date there was no pulpit there – M.Shire.

17 – HOLFORD CHURCH PULPIT – There is now a pulpit in Holford Church. It was erected by the Rev Pearson Strange, on an old font as a foundation. I think that came from elsewhere. The pulpit is of carved oak, and bears the inscription:- “To the glory of God, and in memory of Rev G.E.F. Peake, M.A., rector from 1887 to 1896.” Before that time there was not a pulpit – Alice Corder.

18 – CHURCH DOOR COLLECTIONS – I believe it was formerly quite usual to take collections at church doors and at the exit of other buildings as the audience passed out. Rightly or wrongly, it is generally understood that the reason for now passing the plates or bags to congregations and audiences in their seats is that a larger collection is secured in this way, as fewer people care to let the plate pass without contributing – R.E.

August 9th 1919 Notes. CURIOUS SOMERSET PHRASES – I see in last week’s “Notes and Queries” that a correspondent says that the epithet for a thin person, “a rasher of wind,” would be hard to beat. It is a fairly common one, however, and is surpassed, I think, by the phrase I have heard more than once used to express a melancholy person – “A happorth of God-help-us” –E.V.

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GIFT TO LOUVAIN LIBRARY – We should like to record in this column, in addition to our report in our ordinary news columns, the sympathetic and generous gift by the Somerset Archaeological Society of a complete set of the Proceedings of the Society to the famous Library of Louvan, which was wantonly destroyed by the Germans in the early days of the war.

ROGER BACON – On visiting the shop of a local optician a short time ago, I saw a large card, with an illustration of a monk at work in his cell, on which were the following words in bold letters:- “Roger Bacon, inventor of spectacles. Born 1214 A.D.; died 1294 A.D. The gratitude of the civilized world is due to this monk, scientist, and philosopher. He it was who first discovered the virtues of lenses as helps to failing vision. How many of those who would be almost blind but for his invention know the name of their benefactor?” Readers will remember that Roger Bacon was born at , Somerset – R.B.

WILLETT HILL – Fortunately for us, the war has left no direct trace of devastation in our Western shire, but an indirect injury, which will take years to efface, is the destruction of our woods and plantations. Conspicuous amongst these is the striking change in the appearance of Willett Hill, one of the Brendons, which in its pre-war days with its dome shaped crown of fine fir trees, entirely hiding the tower on its summit, was a well known feature. The felling of these trees has entirely altered the contour of the hill, and at the same time brought into view the tower, which is now a conspicuous feature. Some two or three years previously the well known old Beacon on Cothelstone Hill fell into ruins, thus destroying another well-known landmark.

Queries. 26 – LOCAL TALES AND LEGENDS – Can any of your readers put me on the track of any Somerset tales of legends other than those that have already appeared in book form? It would be most interesting if a list of such could be obtained. Some may have appeared in local newspapers or parish magazines, or even in little-known periodicals – T.L.

27 – BISHOP OF WERNE – Bishops seem to have been plentiful in Somerset in past days. We are well aware of those of Bath, and Bath and Wells, and Bath and Glastonbury. It is suggested there was at one time a Bishop of Bridgwater (vide question No. 20 by T.B.D.). But in a local publication of 1904, I read, under date 1293:- “There was a Bishop near Langport, the Bishop of Werne, before the creation of the See of Bath and Wells.” I suppose if there were Bishops of Bridgwater and Werne these must be looked for among the Bishops of the Sumorsaetan or of Wells. Can any reader enlarge on this subject? Werne is mentioned in “Somerset Pleas” as being in the Manor of Somerton – W.G.Willis Watson.

28 – TOM PAINE AND SOMERSET – The “Imperial Gazeteer of England and ” says “The father of Tom Paine, the author of ‘The Rights of Man,’ was a native of Crewkerne.” I have never been able to obtain any confirmation of this statement. As the assertion is continually being trotted out, I should be obliged if any reader could throw light on the matter. – W G Willis Watson.

29 – SOMERSET LIBERTIES – I read in an old guide book that “Somerset contains 40 hundreds and seven liberties.” I have a fairly clear idea as to what a hundred is, but

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do not understand what is meant by a liberty, and my dictionary does not help me. Can any reader of Notes and Queries enlighten my ignorance, and also name the seven liberties of Somerset? – IGNORAMUS.

30 – HOLY WELLS – The question asked by “H.W.” in your last issue raises another question, viz., what constitutes a Holy Well? I should be glad if any of your learned readers could say what makes a well holy? – EAST REACH.

Replies to Queries. 3 – THE HONEST MEN OF TAUNTON – The reply to your correspondent’s two questions anent this pamphlet may be given briefly as follows: - First, as to the name of the author – Mark Freeman is said to be “of the same town, freeholder and grocer,” but it was, no doubt, a simple nom-de-plume. Secondly, as to what was implied by the reference to Taunton. This is made clear by a few lines on the title-page, which sates that “a few persons at Taunton, who had it in their power to turn the election of a Mayor, lately refused a sum of two thousand pounds for their votes on that occasion.” The so-called Ballad Opera winds up thus:- “May our examples means sufficient prove, For more in the same shining path to move; To stop corruption boldly, let’s essay, Mar bribes, and give fair liberty the day.” The whole thing looks very much like an elaborate electioneering skit. Certain Tauntonians, like people in some other towns, probably had rather an easy conscience as to the use of a vote, and its probable monetary equivalent, but it is hard to believe that any local Mayor, or his personal friends, would spend thousands of pounds in connection with a municipal election – H.M.

7 – SOMERSET BEACONS – There is a reference to the towers of Willet and Cothelstone in Collinson’s “History and Antiquities of Somerset,” which is dated 1791. In Vol. 3 page 525, under the Elworthy heading, we read: “Eastward is a lofty, smooth knowl, called from an adjoining hamlet Willet Hill, on the top of which stands a shell of an hexagonal embattled tower, eighty feet in height, erected a few years since at the expense of the neighbouring gentry, and is a fine object to the country many miles round.” (This description is copies in Jeboult’s “West Somerset.”) In the same volume, at page 252, under the Cothelstone heading, the author says: “Cothelstone Park lies on the eastern side of the parish, and the lodge still remains, standing on a high hill, justly celebrated for commanding one of the finest prospects in this part of the county.” The present park is below the hill, and one wonders whether the county historian was strictly accurate in describing the tower as a lodge. It seems much more like a beacon tower, and was probably erected to follow up the line of Conegar and Willet, as Cothelstone was still further linked up with . Of Conegar tower we are told in “Kelly’s Directory of Somersetshire” for 1910 (under Dunster), page 246, “On Conegar Hill … a shell tower was built by a former member of the Luttrell family in the 18th century. It is now covered with ivy, and, being on the summit of this steep hill, and surrounded by woodland, has a most picturesque appearance from every point of view, and serves as a landmark to navigators of the .” In Collinson’s account of Montacute (Vol. 3 page 309) we read:- “Adjacent to the churchyard rises that noble mount called Montacute and St Michael’s Hill, the base of which contains near twenty acres. It’s form is conical, and its ascent very steep, the top terminating in a flat area of half an acre,

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whereon stands a round tower, fifty-six feet in height, and crowned with an open balustrade. On this tower is a flag-staff fifty feet high, on which a flag is occasionally displayed, floating in the air, and exhibiting a grand and picturesque appearance. The summit of this tower being so highly elevated above the level of the central part of the county, affords a rich and extensive prospect, extending westward to the hills below Minehead and Blackdown, in Devonshire; and north-eastward, over Taunton, the Quantock Hills, , the Channel, and the coast of Wales. To the north, Brent Knoll, the whole range of Mendip, the city of Wells, and Glastonbury Torr; eastward Creche and Knowl Hills, Alfred’s Tower at Stourton, and the high lands about Shaftesbury; and Southward over the Dorsetshire hills to Lambert’s Castle, near Lyme, the whole a circle of above three hundred miles, in which on a clear day eighty churches are distinguishable.” Now whether the towers referred to were beacons or look-out towers, and whether they were erected from patriotic motives in the troublous times of Napoleon, it may be difficult to say. But there can be little doubt that they were capable of serving more than one purpose; and it is just possible that the leading local landlords emulated each other in the matter – S.B.

9- FRIENDS’ BURIAL GROUND – The piece of ground known as the “Quakers Burial Ground” came into the possession of the “Society of Friends” on the 7th of July 1668. John Alloway, of Taunton, soap boiler, and William Allaway, of Minehead, merchant, assigned it to Abraham Dixson and Hugh Beaton, of Taunton, merchants, and to four others in the district, all yeomen, as trustees. The piece of land was then known as “Perry Hay,” otherwise “Weeches Elm.” The “Friends” at Bathpool, as well as Taunton, made use of it – up to 1815, when the burial ground behind their present Meeting House in Bath Place, was made use of. No mention of any interment since 1815 can be traced. Then, in March, 1865, it was sold to John Sparkes for £35, “on condition the ground was not built upon for 30 years.” The tenant’s name was Henry Hine Ball – L.

20 – BISHOP OF BRIDGWATER – I have an idea that some years ago, I heard this title applied jocularly to a legal gentleman named Bishop, who lived in the town – B.B.

22 – SOMERSET PLACE-NAMES – To answer “L.’s” question fully would probably occupy many columns of your paper. If he can buy, borrow, beg, steal, or by any other means obtain access to the Rev J.S.Hill’s volume on “The Place-Names of Somerset,” he will find several hundred pages of the best information it is possible to obtain on the subject. Very briefly, Castle Cary, Lyte’s Cary, Cary Fitzpaine, Cook’s Cary, and , all owe the chief part of their name to the river which rises at the first-named place, and flows through (or near) the others. In the reign of Stephen an important castle stood at Castle Cary, to which the town owes the first part of its name. Lyte, Fitzpaine, and Cook are all family names and denote the former owners of the places so called. Zoyland means sea-land – that is, land which was formerly covered by the sea. The exact derivation of the name Curry appears uncertain, and several origins have been suggested by philologists. Rivel and Malet are the family names of the former owners, and the name Shepton Mallet bears evidence that the former owners of also had possession of Shepton. – ALPHA.

22 – SOMERSET PLACE NAMES – “L” and other students of local place names should obtain “The Place-names of Somerset,” by J.S.Hill, and “A Lecture on the

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Names of Places,” by G.P.R.Pulman. It would, perhaps, not be difficult to “write an article on some of the Sea-mere-set towns,” but one would require first to be convinced that the word Somerset means “Sea-mere-set,” to meet “L.’s” desires. The fact is, philologists are not entirely agreed upon the etymology of Somerset. Hill prefers to adopt the derivation from Somer-saetas, the seat of the tribal Somers. According to Professor Rhys, the well-known Celtic scholar, the present-day Welsh name for the county is Gwylad yr Haf, the “Land of Summer”; another authority believes the name means “The Land of Severn.” There are other suggestions to choose from, but remembering the lie of the land “Sea-mere-set” is probably as nearly correct as either of the others, although I always like to think of my native county as “The Land of Summer,” and, sentimentally, I incline to that derivation. Pulman says is the name of a village and parish in the moorlands, about a mile and a half from Langport, and near the junction of the Ile, the Ivel, and the Tone. Its original Saxon form was Micelen-eg, the Great Island – “large Michelney,” as Drayton calls it – and, in common with , Thorny (Thorn-ig, Thorn Island), Zoyland (sae lond, the Sea Land – the land once sea), Langport (from the Celtic llongborth, a harbour for ships) and many similar names, it conveys an idea of the condition of the broad Somersetshire lowlands in ancient times. Before history began, these lowlands were doubtless covered by the sea, which formed shallow creeks and estuaries up which the tide waves rolled. Hill tells us that Castle Cary, Lyte’s Cary, take their names from the , the river name may be derived from its place of origin, and Cary may be connected with that widely spread root, meaning stone or rock. From this, he adds, it gets the meaning of stronghold or castle, and thus Castle Cary is in significance a doublet. Lyte is a personal name. Pulman derives Curry, (Curry Rivel, Curry Mallet, ) from cerre, bending or turning, and ea, water. Curry Rivel is surveyed in Domesday under the name of Churi. Richard Revel, or Rivel, become possessed of the Manor in the reign of Richard I. The founder of the Mallet family was William Malet, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Hastings under William, and was one of those who were deputed to see the body of Harold decently interred. Hill does not refer to any connection between “Curry” and “Cerre” as does Pulman, but associates the name with St Curig. “L.” will find a most interesting chapter on “Marsh and Moor Names” in Hill’s volume, and in this the “Sea-mere-set” towns are dealt with – W G Willis Watson.

25 – HOLY WELLS – I cannot pretend to add to the list of Holy Wells given by “H.W.” in your last issue, but I have spent an interesting half-hour with the Ordnance Survey Map of Somerset, and have lighted upon a few names which are suggestive, and which may lead to information being sent by other correspondents if you can find room for them. I notice a “Lady Well” near Church, and a “Holy Well” at Edington. Near Thorne St Margaret is a hamlet in Wellington parish names Holywell Lake, and quite close to this is a well: the name of the hamlet would suggest that at one time the well was considered holy. At is a petrifying spring called “Holy Well,” and about a mile S.W. of Milverton appears the name Furber’s Well. The three wishing wells on Cadbury Camp are generally known; two are on the hill itself, and the third at the foot near Sutton Montis Church. There are a number of traditions relating to these wells, one of which is commonly known as Queen Anne’s or St Anne’s well. A hamlet in East Coker parish is called Holywell, or Hewhill, and probably preserves in its name the site of a former holy well, which no longer exists. Can any of your readers say if the name Holwell (or which we have more than one in Somerset) is a contraction or corruption of Holywell? – READER.

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August 16th 1919 Notes. STOCKS still exist in a fair state of preservation on the green of the ancient village of .

SARAH BIFFIN – While looking through an old collection of epitaphs some time ago I came across that which appears hereunder. To my knowledge it has never appeared in print in this district, and it is interesting enough to find a place here perhaps. It is inscribed on a tombstone in St James’ , Liverpool:- Reader pause, deposited beneath are the remains of Sarah Biffin, Who was born without arms or hands, at Quantox Head, County of Somerset, 25th of October, 1784, died at Liverpool, 2nd October 1850. Few have passed through the vale of life so much the child of hapless fortune as the deceased, and yet the possessor of mental endowments of no ordinary kind. Gifted with singular talents as an Artist, thousands have been gratified with the able productions of her pencil! Whilst versatile conversation and agreeable manners elicited the admiration of all. This tribute to one so universally admired is paid by those who were best acquainted with the character it so briefly portrays. Do any inquire otherwise the answer is supplied in the solemn admonition of the Apostle – In perusing such lists as have appeared of the worthies of Somerset, I have never seen the name of Sarah Biffin, who, if the epitaph tells truly, appeared to have notable accomplishments. Some readers of this column may have more knowledge concerning her – DIOGENES.

MORE TALES FROM LANGFORD BUDVILLE [By an old Inhabitant] “That old Maria that I tole ee’ about last time, she that lived up by churchyard, and used to suck the cows, used to witch people’s cattle and pigs, but nobody could ever catch ‘er at it. “One day, though, she was paid out all right, by accident, like, for a man who had been out shooting, and hadn’t had much luck, was coming home, and seed a big hare jump out over the low wall of his pigsty. Well, he knowed hares don’t often visit pigstyes, leastways, not for any good, and he didn’t want any trouble wi’ his little pigs. He knowed, too, that a leaden bullet won’t kill a witch hare, so he slipped a sixpence down the barrel of his gun, and let fly. Mind, he didn’t take so long doing it as I be telling it, but the hare got some way off, and he only wounded ‘en. “Like the other man I told of, he went to old Maria’s house later, and sure enough, there was the old woman bathing a broken ankle. She begged him to send for a doctor from Wellington, she felt that bad, and he said he would ride in his self that evening. ‘Serve thee right, what theest got, old dumman.’ He said. ‘Now don’t thee never come up to they tricks again, or else thee’ll get wuss next time.’ “And the old woman was never knowed to do that sort of thing again as long as she lived.” There was some people who lived in the “Old Vicarage” cottage near the school and somehow they’d offended an old woman that lived by the road towards the Common, and she witched their pigs, and they all took sick. The people went and told Billy the Piper, that lived to Taunton, and they give him a five-shilling piece to tell ‘em what to do, and he said twas a good thing they had come to him, for all the pigs would have died else. “Now they ‘ont,” he daid, “for I’ll see to

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that.” He let ‘em have a little bottle of what looked just like plain water, and they was to sprinkle that all round the pigsty. And he told them they needn’t fear any more trouble like that, for the one that had witched ‘em should never be well again in any part of England. And the old woman they had suspicions of never was well again; she was took ill, and couldn’t keep anything down after that, and she died.

Queries 31 – AND SOMERSET – To those readers who are well versed in the traditions of King Arthur, it may not be news to know that Exmoor formed part of the kingdom of Damnonia, over which Arthur’s sire, Uther Pendragon, reigned. If any can say, however, how much of Somerset, if any, came into this kingdom, and, in the same connection whether King Arthur is associated with that part of the county which lies below Taunton, I should be obliged – DIOGENES.

32 – SOMERSET TITHE BARNS – I should be much obliged if any of your correspondents can add to the following list of tithe barns in Somerset:- Chelvey, Doulting, St ’s, Englishcombe, Glastonbury, Montacute, Mells, Pilton, Preston, Plucknett, Southstoke, , Wells (2) – E.H.

33 – AND – Can anybody tell me where Blue Anchor gets its name from? It seems a queer sort of name to give to a place. “Watchet” will be found in most ordinary dictionaries as a word meaning “pale blue.” Is there any connection between the dictionary word and the name of our Somerset seaport? and is there any connection between the “blue” of Watchet blue and the blue of Blue Anchor? – SANDY.

34 – WATER CONGEALED BY THE MOON – In some of our Somerset quarries, particularly those of the oolite rocks, I have noticed a peculiar formation which had somewhat the appearance of a flow of water frozen; and quarrymen, as well as persons better educated, from whom I have asked for information, have told me it is water congealed by the moon. Can any of your readers give me any further and more satisfactory information? – FOSSIL.

Replies to Queries 16 – SOMERSET VALHALLA – “Devonshire Dumpling” will find some account of Somerset Worthies in a small pamphlet by R A Kinglake, and published by the Wessex Press, Taunton, price 6d. It was however published in 1891 – P.

20 and 27 – “BISHOPS” OF WEARNE AND BRIDGWATER – There is no evidence to show that either Bridgwater, or Wearne, near Langport, had Bishops of their own. The facts point quite the other way. The Diocese of Bath and Wells is almost unique amongst dioceses as being practically coincident in its limits with the ground on which, in remote antiquity, one distinct tribe was settled – the tribe of the Somersaetan, from which the county was named. The Bishopric was founded by Eadward the elder in 909, the first Bishop, , being translated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury in 914. The first thirteen or fourteen Bishops from 909 to 1088 were styled Bishops of the Somersaetan, or of Wells, and throughout that period the See remained at Wells. The next four Bishops over a period of 103 years (1088-1191) were styled Bishops of Bath and Glastonbury, again with the Kings

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consent, the Abbacy of Glastonbury having been conferred on Bishop Savaric, but in 1219 this unison was cancelled, and all succeeding Bishops, beginning with Roger, 1244, to the present date, have been styled “of Bath and Wells.” Therefore, any other Bishops, if they existed, must have done so before 909, when the diocese was included in that of Sherborne. J.G.

21 – WESTPORT CANAL – I think, probably, the canal was made when “Stuckey & Bagehot” (afterwards G & W.B & Co., and then Somerset Trading Co.), had a depot at Westport, which was before the railway from to Yeovil was made (1852). At that time Stuckey and Bagehot had a large depot at Load Bridge, from which place Mr Uriah Burt, Mr Samuel Ralls, my father and others were removed to the depot at Hendford, and, when a boy, I often heard of Westport in connection with Stuckey and Bagehot – J G Williams.

21 – WESTPORT CANAL – I was born at Westport in 1840. the wharf, buildings, &c, were erected by Stuckey and Bagehot, who made the place a distributing centre for the district. I do not think the river was navigable then, and hence the cutting of the canal. I went to in 1842, which was then the terminus of all the waterway traffic – seaward to Bridgwater, thence by barge to Load – and then by horse power for a very wide area, including Yeovil, Sherborne, Crewkerne, , &c., as far as Gillingham. Business was carried on for some years longer at Westport, but, I think, navigation is now impossible – Wm Burt.

24 – SHELDRICKS – In answer to Beppe, I suggest that Shiteroc, or Sheldricks is now represented by the place named Shutteroaks, near Crewkerne. There is not very much change from Shiteroc to Shutteroak. I have consulted “Somerset Pleas,” and read the very interesting record which Simon of Shiteroc is reported to have been taken for the death of John of Cruk (Crewkerne). The bailiff of our lord the King of the hundred of Cruk says that when he took Simon the latter confessed his crime, but Simon sought to accuse Elias, brother of the dead man. The jury found Simon was guilty, and sentence of death was passed. The case was tried at Ilchester in the ninth year of the reign of King Henry III – W G Willis Watson.

25 – HOLY WELLS – Mr Robert Charles Hope, in his “Holy Wells of England,” gives the following for Somerset, with a short description of each:- Brislington, Well of St Anne in the Wood; Ashill, St Nipperham’s; Doulting, St Aldhelm’s Well; Glastonbury, St Mary’s Well; Isle of Thorns; Alford Well; Chew Magna, Bully Well; Bath, King Bladud’s; Wembdon, St John’s Well; Dulverton, Holy Well. Pilgrimages used to be made on July 26th to St Anne’s Well at Brislington, which was used for diseases of the eyes. When it was cleaned in 1878 many coins and tokens offered to it by the pilgrims were found at the bottom. The sick and lame used to be brought to bathe in St Nipperham’s Well at Ashill on the first Sunday in May, on which day the water was agitated by bubbles. Bully Well was good for bad eyes, Bath for leprosy; St John’s Well, Wembdon, cured almost anything, and made incurables whole. The Holy Well at Dulverton wrought miraculous cures on Holy Thursday. St Aldhelm’s Well at Doulting was full of wonder working water. Two springs on the Isle of Thorns were said to have bubbled up after St Peter, who had just been building a church in those parts, had struck the ground with his staff.

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25 – HOLY WELLS IN SOMERSET – I see your correspondent “H.W.” asks if any additions can be made to the list of Holy Wells which I gave in a lecture some four years ago. The list is now considerably extended and includes all those wells given by “Reader” in his reply to the above query, with the exception of a “Lady Well” near East Brent church. I cannot find this on the one inch ordnance map, and I should be glad to know more exactly where it is situated. I hope to publish the list of Holy Wells and other Somerset Wells before long, and I am always glad to receive information about those I have over-looked. Your correspondent “East Reach” asks what a Holy Well is, or, as he puts it, “what makes a well holy?” It must be remembered that from a remote age, wells have received a “cultus,” and that dealt with this heathen custom as it dealt with many others. Instead of abolishing these time honoured customs, the church changed them into higher and better things, and this gently led the pagans from their superstitions to Christianity. Wells which had been dedicated to heathen gods were frequently used as places where the first Christian teachers baptised their converts, and succeeding generations of Christians only remembered them from this point of view. This is only one, among many reasons, which led our ancestors to regard certain wells as “holy.” – Ethelbert Horne, Downside Abbey, Bath.

29 – SOMERSET LIBERTIES – The subject of liberties is an interesting one, and I hope other students of history will enlarge on it. Somerset contains 40 hundreds, but, as far as I can trace, it has but two liberties. They are:- The Liberty of Hampton and Claverton, which include the parishes of Batheaston, Bathampton, Charlcombe, and Claverton; and the Liberty of Mells and Leigh, which includes the parishes of Leigh- on-Mendip and Mells. Very shortly, a Liberty is a place or district within which certain privileges, immunities, or franchises are enjoyed. Franchises, says Blackstone, are a seventh species of incorporeal hereditaments. Franchise and Liberty are used as synonymous terms. A Franchise, in general, is a Royal privilege in the hands of a subject; and may be vested in bodies politic or corporations, either aggregate or sole, or in many persons that are not corporations (as in borough towns, &c.), or in a single person. Franchises are of different kinds; such as the Principality of Wales, counties Palatine, counties, hundreds, ports of the sea, &c. Then there is a Franchise or Liberty having a leet, manor, or lordship, as well as a Liberty to make a corporation, and to have cognisance of pleas; and Bailiwicks of Liberties, the liberty of a forest chase, &c. Fairs and markets, felons goods, goods of fugitives, outlaws, deodands, treasure trove, waifs, strays, wrecks, &c. All these come under Franchises and Liberties. All Franchises and Liberties are derived from the Crown, and some are held by Charter; but some lie in prescription and usage, without the help of any Charter. Acts of Henry III, Edward III, and Henry IV, enjoyed that the Lords, Spiritual and Temporal , should enjoy their Liberties, &c., and the King could not deprive them of any of them. By the statute of Magna Charta, the Franchises and Liberties of the City of London, and all other cities, towns, &c., were confirmed. For contempt of the Kings writ in a County Palatine, &c., and the Liberties may be seized, and the offenders fined. The Bishop of Durham, pretending that he had such a Franchise, that the King’s writ was not to come there, and because one brought it thither he imprisoned him; this being proved upon an information brought against him, it was adjudged he should pay a fine to the King and lose his Liberties. I have been quoting from Jacob’s Law Directory. Many of these points are dealt with by Blackstone, but probably I have said sufficient to briefly explain the meaning of the word Liberty. Now, as to the Somerset Liberties. There are several references in “Somerset Pleas” of King’s officers being excluded

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from Liberties. One refers to the hundred of Bemstan (Bempstone), with which neither the King’s Serjeant nor the Coroners dared to enter the hundred to make inquest, by reason of the bailiffs of the Bishop of Bath. In another case: “The Coroners record that the bailiffs of the Abbot of do not allow them to summon the hundred if Leng’ that they may make inquests, or to make any inquest, and they have no warrant for that.” A case concerning property came before the Judge taking the Assizes at Ilchester in the ninth year of the reign of King Henry, son of King John. The record tells us: “No disseisor comes, and the Sheriff could not attach them, because they were of the Liberty of the Bishop of Winton.” There is an entry concerning Mells. It says: “Concerning suits of the hundred (courts). They say that Melles, a manor of the Abbot of Glaston’, was wont to do suit at the hundred (court) of Kinmersdon’ at the Sherrif’s tourn, and to give 12d at each time. And, moreover, the men of the manor do not allow the King’s bailiffs to enter upon their lands, and now do they come; therefore to judgement.” I have tried to be as brief as possible, but this is a subject which will bear enlarging upon. – W G Willis Watson.

August 23rd 1919 Notes SUGGESTION FOR A NEW DOMESDAY BOOK – A contributor to a London contemporary writes as follows:- “A West Domesday Book is to be compiled, mainly by pupils in the various schools, and the survival of ancient customs and sayings will be noted therein. ‘Make your quest for the names a pleasure, not a task,’ requests the chief compiler; ‘by so doing you will arouse interest, kindle imagination, and stimulate love and respect for home and country.’” I wonder if anything could be done locally on these or similar lines – NDB

SARAH BIFFIN – The epitaph quoted by “Diogenes” was given in these columns in June, 1897, and the correspondent to whom we were at that time indebted for it added the following particulars:- “Sarah Biffen was found in a caravan in St Bartholomew’s Fair in 1799, and assisted by the Earl of Morton. He sat for his likeness to her, and when it was done laid it before George III., and obtained the King’s favour for the artist. After receiving a small pension from William IV, she retired from a life among caravans and ‘got married.’” In our issue for the following week appeared the following short summary of her life, compiled from the Dictionary of National Biography by our London correspondent:- “BIFFIN (or BEFFIN) SARAH, miniature painter, was born at in 1784. She was born without arms or legs, and her height never exceeded 37 inches, yet she contrived to use the pen, pencil, paint brush, scissors and needle. In 1812 she was exhibited; pit seats were 1s, gallery 6d, or which she received £5 per annum, and her conductor the rest. Happily the Earl of Morton became acquainted with her, and introduced her to the Royal Family. For many years she supported herself by her painting, but as she grew old she fell into poverty, and a subscription was raised for her. She died at Liverpool at the age of 66.” – ED., N and Q.

SOMERSET AND THE NAVY – We natives of Somerset are inclined to modesty, While men of Devon are ever prepared to sing the praises of the Shire of the Sea Kings – and they are justified in so doing – we generally wait for strangers to tell the world of the richness of Somerset in history, in tale, in legend, of the bravery and valour of her sons, of the charms of the county, of the lavish manner in which nature has bestowed her gifts upon us. Devon is famous for her sailor men, her adventurers

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across seas, but to-day, when people are so greatly interested in the splendid achievements of our Navy. I wonder how many give a passing thought to the founders of that Navy, to those who laid the superstructure upon which such a mighty force has been raised = “Britain, the mistress of the Seas.” may not have been born in Somerset, but he lived in the county sufficiently long, and performed such deeds there, as to identify his life perhaps more with Somerset than with any other county in England. It was Alfred who – as one chronicler put it – “first taught Britons to repel the invader from their shores, and, by a mode of warfare for which their insular situation was peculiarly favourable. They eventually prevailed, insomuch that at this moment their descendants are in possession of the Empire of the ocean.” And, while they are proud of Alfred, of Athelney and Wedmore fame, some of us give more than a passing thought to William of Wrotham, who, if we are to believe Sir Harry Nicholas, in his unfinished “History of the Royal Navy” was born in Somerset. William of Wrotham lived in the reign of King John, who made him first Lord of the Admiralty, albeit, he was holding the position of Archdeacon of Taunton. We do not forget that John was the first King since Alfred who recognised the importance of a fleet to the English crown and nation. And for the success of his endeavours he was mainly indebted to William of Wrotham, who, his biographer says, “Seems to have been a man of immense activity, and to have organised a Navy such, probably, as was never seen in the British seas since the days of Carausing. He had to assist him Geoffrey de Luttrell, ancestor of the present lords of Dunster, and William de Cornhill, probably his near relations. He regulated and exacted the number of ships each port was bound to provide. He built ships, which belonged to the King, and these were almost certainly fashioned of timber furnished from the of Somerset, Dorset and Devon, which were under his own supervision.” Very early in his reign John is said to have asserted the sovereignty of England over the narrow seas by enacting, or, rather, enforcing, an ancient right, viz. the striking of the flag of any nation to the Royal Flag of England within certain limits. John ordered that any captain refusing to do this, his vessel should be considered a lawful prize, even if the country were at peace with his own. William of Wrotham, a Somerset man, saw that this order was obeyed, he saw ships were built and manned, he saw that “Britain rules the waves,” and today the sons of Somerset can point with pride to the fact that it was men from their own county who founded the British Navy, as it is now seen, while Somerset men, through the long ages, have done a noble part in maintaining the reputation of the English sailor. – W G Willis Watson.

Queries. 35 – ISLAND – I have been told that the Island of Dunball was made in a single night about 200 years ago by some supernatural agency or by some persons who were never discovered, who made a cut through the neck of the isthmus, a distance of at least 40 yards. Can any of your learned readers tell me whether this story has any foundation in fact? – BRIDGWATER.

36 – WORLE’S WAR DRUM FOR LAWYERS – Ward, Lock & Co.’s “Guide to Weston-super-Mare” states that the inhabitants of Worle are said formerly to have cherished a strong aversion to members of the legal profession, and to have assembled at the sound of the “Worle Drum” to hasten, by moral suasion, blows or ducking, the retreat of any lawyer who happened to enter the parish. What was the “Worle drum?” and can any satisfactory reason be given for this pronounced aversion to members of an honourable profession? – WESTON.

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37 – HISTORIC TREES IN SOMERSET – Many years ago I remember reading about some famous old tree in Somerset – associated with the name of the Duke of Monmouth, if I remember rightly; but I cannot now locate it. Some of your readers can probably help me. There may also be other historic trees in the county, which some of us would be glad to hear about – H.T.

38 – ST URITHA – In Nettlecombe Church is a series of four pictures of saints in a western window. Can Dom Ethelbert Horne or other contributors inform me who St Uritha was and why she carries a head, perhaps her own in her arm? I should be glad to know the probable age of the figures and country of origin of these curious works of art. St Lawrence is shown with his gridiron, St John with a book, and St Mary with her initial M embroidered over her dress – H.Corder.

Replies to Queries. 22 – SOMERSET PLACE NAMES – The opening of a discussion on Somerset place names may help to solve a doubt that has long been in my mind. We are usually told that “zoy” in Westonzoyland, , and Penzoy is equivalent to “zee” or “sea”. Why then, one is apt to ask, are the places in whose names this element occurs, in ordinary times hillocks rising above the level of the moor, and islands in time of flood? It seems strange to call an island a sea, and I have yet to be convinced that this is the true etymology. One way, however, it seems possible. Begin with the fact that the manor containing these “zoys” is in the Domesday Book, called “Sowi”. Is this the same word as “zoy?” as I suggest it to be. If so, what does “Sowi” mean? It seems just possible that when it was applied to the whole district, it might mean “sea”, but I am no entymologist, and do not pretend to know. But if it did, I could understand that the name of the whole became an element in the names of the parts, and that in this way we might arrive at the paradox of an island being called a sea! – T.B.D.

25 – LADY WELL, EAST BRENT – This well is a field about 200 yards almost due south of the church. I believe there was formerly a Benedictine Priory at East Brent, founded as a cell to the Abbey of Glastonbury, and would venture to suggest that the well may have owed its and its virtues to the existence of this priory – ANOTHER READER.

25 - HOLY WELLS – Can any reader of this column tell me whether the St Nipperham’s Well at Ashill, mentioned in this column last week, is the same as Skipper Ham Well, which I believe is somewhere in the same neighbourhood? and if so which of the two names is the correct one? Both names are uncommon, and they are so remarkably alike that one would almost suppose that someone whose writing was not very legible had written one name and it had been read as the other. It would be very interesting if someone could tell us who was St Nipperham or who was Skipper Ham?

26 – LOCAL TALES AND LEGENDS – I fear a list of the local tales and legends of Somerset – a country so full of this interesting matter – would occupy more space than is permissible. Many books have been published on the subject, but reams have been written dealing with particular localities which have never appeared between boards, and it is these which your correspondent apparently desires. They can, in the majority of instances, only be obtained from files of the county newspapers, and local

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magazines and lists can only be supplied by those who have collected these local tales and legends, and preserved them in scrap books. So far as my limited library extends, I can name a few subjects. These comprise the following:- “The Legend of Crewkerne,” by Edward J Watson, published in “St Peter’s Magazine,” Vol 1 no 4 1898; “Local Legends of Langport, Somerton, , and Muchelney,” published in the “Herald” Office, Langport; “The Bewitched Hog at ,” (S&D Notes and Queries, 1891); “Remarkable Dream of Earl Poulett” (“Pulman’s Weekly News,” December 2nd, 1912); “The Original Dick Whittington” (“Western Daily Press”); “Legend of Jack Horner” (“Yorkshire Post” and Somerset Papers). The files of the Bristol “Times and Mirror” will reveal the following:- “West Country Legends,” by W M Dunning, December 31st 1910; “Stars and Stones, Stanton Drew,” June 7th 1913; and the following of which I have omitted the dates in my scrap-books:- “West Country Superstition and Proverbs,” “Zummerzet,” and “Glastonbury Legend,” by C.W.; “Legend of Holywell Spring,” by H T Chappell; “Legends of the West.” By The Seagull; “Story of the Bath and Wells Diocese”; while the files of the “Taunton Courier” and “Somerset County Herald,” will, of course, reveal many stories of the character required – W.G.Willis Watson.

28 – TOM PAINE AND SOMERSET – The “Dictionary of National Biography” contains a long and most interesting notice of Tom Paine (1737-1789), author of “The Rights of Man” and “The Age of Reason.” He was born at Thetford, Norfolk, and was the son of Joseph Paine, a stay-maker and small farmer. As the father was a freeman of Thetford, that was probably his native place also, and not Crewkerne, I expect – T.P.

29 – SOMERSET LIBERTIES – Mr Willis Watson has dealt so fully and ably with this subject that there is nothing that can be usefully added to the history of the privilege. He says he can trace only two liberties in Somerset. As a matter of fact there were seven. East Somerset contained Hampton and Claverton, and Mells and Leigh, which Mr Watson names, but it also contained the liberties of Easton and Amrill, Hinton and Norton, East Cranmore, Hillhouse, and Witham Friary. I have never discovered the existence of any liberties in the Western Division of Somerset – Beppe.

20 – SOMERSET LIBERTIES – Has not Mr Watson overlooked Mark Liberty, which lies to the south of the railway line from Highbridge to Glastonbury? In 1316 AD the Dean of Wells was “engaged upon a plea concerning common of pasture in the moor of Mark and Wedmore.” In 1327 the tenants of the Dean’s Manor of Mark were allowed common of pasture in the ’s Morr, called Godenemoor. The word “Liberty” was in constant use at this time. Thus “both parties have liberty to take of the alders there growing.” They have liberty to build and repair their piggeries, liberty to cross by boat from sunrise to sunset. Was not the liberty of Mark a stretch of moor on which the tenants of the Manor of Mark has the right to pasture their cattle? and was Mark Liberty not one of the seven Liberties of Somerset? – C.W.

32 – SOMERSET TITHE BARNS – In addition to those enumerated by “E.H.,” there are tithe barns at , and Dunster. I think the old barn at Martock and one at Crewkerne might well be added. The latter is attached to

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Parsonage Farm, gives its name to a street – Barn Street – and was undoubtedly the tithe barn, although I never heard it so designated – W G Willis Watson.

33 – BLUE ANCHOR – It is not well known at what period this little hamlet began to be known as Blue Anchor. It may be conjectured that it took its name from the Blue Anchor Inn, one of the two licensed houses there, or, what is more probable, from the fact that the cliffs from which Watchet derives its name extend to Blue Anchor, and the safe anchorage, which the bay there offers to vessels caught in a storm. The bay is called in old Ordnance Maps Cleeve Bay, but, if the village ever had a different name, which is thought probable by some persons, it is not to be found in Domesday or other old records, not even in the many manuscripts that have been discovered relating to and its vicinity. In the Churchwardens’ account book of Minehead, Petty Sessions are mentioned as being held at “Blew Anchor” in 1692, but quite possibly this refers to the inn of that name – Diogenes.

33 – BLUE ANCHOR AND WATCHET – I regret I am not able to discover the origin of the place name Blue Anchor. Hill is silent: so is Pulman. It certainly does not derive the name from blue, a colour, as having any association with that part of the coast of Somerset. The ridge of cliffs here are of blood-red conglomerate, which towards Blue Anchor become prettily mottled with veins of alabaster of varying hue. But Hill helps us – as he so often does – when we come to Watchet. He says:- “ is in Cleeve. It is Watchetford in A.D. 1367; earlier, in A.D. 1188, it is Washford. The connection with Watchet seems definitely clear. Watchet, in D.B., is spelt Waced. It is Wachet, Watchet, or Wechet in the reign of Henry III. This is interpreted as the ‘watched head,’ and explained as a look-out place from the headland. The name certainly appears descriptive. Wacet and Wash are Frankish softenings of Wac, as ‘Rich’ is of Ric in Gooderich for Godric. Wac and Wach means a moist place. Wacsan is Anglo-Saxon for to ‘wash’ and the same word. Wak in Lowland Scotch has this meaning. In Norfolk a ‘wake’ is an unfrozen bit of water. As bearing on this meaning we note the local place named Watchfield, in Highbridge; that is Wac-felt. It is ‘the moist or marsh meadow,’ and is no more a watched field than Watchet is a watched headland.” – W.G.Willis Watson.

34 – WATER CONGEALED BY THE MOON – The formation about which “Fossil” enquires is in all probability the mineral called “selenite”. It is really the crystalline form of gypsum or sulphate of lime. The crystals occur in clusters radiating from a centre, falling apart when an attempt is made to excavate them. These clusters are all that remain of fossil shells that have undergone chemical change and passed into this new form. Selenite can be readily split in one direction into slices as thin as paper, but in the other direction it is impossible to force the blade through it. Curiously enough the name “selenite” comes from the Greek word for moon (“selene”), so that the name given by scientists and that given by Somerset quarrymen have something in common.

34 – CONGEALED WATER – Without seeing a specimen it may be rash to hazard an opinion, but in the oolite of Portland there are various interesting forms of more or less crystallised carbon of lime. Some are true crystals, others are stalagmitic, and some take a form like moss, but all are formed by the deposition of the lime dissolved in the water as it runs in underground channels or crevices. In lias rocks the same may be found, and also, I think, the true “moonstone,” or “water congealed by the moon,” which is known for this reason as selenite, and is a crystal form of gypsum, or

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sulphate of lime. The alabaster of Blue Anchor is another variety of the same. Selenite crystals are also common in the Oolitic clays and in London clay. As they were formed underground it is hardly likely the moon had anything to do with it – H.Corder.

August 30th 1919 Notes – has only changed hands once since the Conquest, the Mohuns and Luttrells being the only families which have held it. Dunster is also exceptional in having two churches under one roof, one conventional and the other parochial.

THE MUNICIPAL HALL, TAUNTON – has become a favourite place for assembly. How many realise that it is the old School room of the Grammar School, founded by Bishop Fox in the reign of Henry VII., the present Council Chamber being then the dormitory?

A TRADITION OF THE TYNTES – In the ancient church of , 4 ½ miles S.W. Bridgwater, are several monuments to member of the Tynte family, of whose surname tradition has handed down the following derivation. In 1192, at the celebrated battle of Ascalon, a young knight of the noble house of Arundel, clad all in white, with his horse’s housings of the same colour, so gallantly distinguished himself, that Richard Couer de Lion publicly after the victory that the maiden knight had borne himself as a lion and done deeds equal to those of six crusaders, whereupon he conferred on him for arms a lion arg. on a field gules, between six crosslets of the first, and for motto, “Tinctus cruore Saraceno” (dyed with Saracen blood).

A NOTE FOR SOMERSET MUSICIANS – Mr Harold A Jeboult, a well known Taunton musician and composer, writes as follows to a contemporary:- “Somerset possesses the honour of having the composer of our National Anthem (Dr John Bull, c 1563-1628) as one of its sons; whilst the author of the words of the Doxology was the saintly , from 1685-1691, who is buried at Frome, in the county. As the Doxology might well be termed the sacred National Anthem, surely such a combined record is unique, and it is especially worth remembering at this time when throughout the British Domain these words and music have probably formed part of our national rejoicings everywhere.”

JAMBADOES IN SOMERSET – Swift, writing in 1732, says, “I make a shift to ride about ten miles a day by virtue of certain implements called ‘gambadoes,’ where my feet stand firm as on a floor.” “Gambadoes” or “Jambadoes” were a kind of boot now probably forgotten, but much used by our forefathers in Somerset to protect them from mud, when the roads of the county were infinitely worse than those of which we heard so many complaints in the years “nineteen hundred and war time.” Elworthy, in “West Somerset Words,” says they were a kind of leather shield or case for the legs of horsemen. “They are attached to the stirrup leathers. They were very common within the writer’s recollection.” A pair recently extant stood about 20 inches high, had wooden soles, and were made of a very stiff, hard leather. Inside, towards the top, they were lined with lighter leather, worked in design. At the top were two buckles for attaching the contrivance to the saddle. Their obvious use was to keep clean the top boots of the rider.

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PEXELATED – Probably the most famous instance in the West of England of a person being pixy-led did not occur in Somerset, but on . In the prison ground near Princetown is an ancient well protected by a structure formed of slabs of granite, about three feet high, with a covering stone nearly four feet in length, bearing the initials I.F. and the date 1568. The initials are those of Sir John Fitz of Fitzhead, and the story is told by Miss Cresswell, in the Homeland Handbook on Dartmoor, in the following words:- “He was riding over this part of the Moor with his lady; there was no road in the year 1568 and, mists overtaking them, they were completely ‘pixie led.’ Now, as everyone knows, pixie spells can be broken by turning your clothes inside out, or drinking running water. Either the first charm did not commend itself to the Knight and his lady, or failed. So they looked for water, and presently found a spring, or which they drank. The effect was truly magical; the mist lifted, and they found themselves not very far out of their way. After his safe return home Sir John Fitz built a little cover over the well, which bears his initials and the date.”

Queries 39 – NETTLECOMBE FONT – The panel carvings on the bowl of this font are supposed to represent the Seven Sacraments. Is there any other such in Somerset? – H.Corder.

40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET – A friend recently enquired whether I had met with a rhymed version of this local story, but I had not. Is there one, some of the contributors to this column are sure to be able to say where it can be found – J.W.

41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – When looking through my interleaved copy of the “Resolutions, Rules, Orders, and Regulations of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace of the County of Somerset,” dated 1817, in connection with the discussion re Somerset Liberties (which bears out Mr Willis Watson’s statement that there are two Liberties in the county, namely, (1) Hampton and Claverton, and (2) Mells and Leigh, I found a manuscript note by a former owner naming the three “Peculiars” – Allerton, Ashill and , which are said to be the respective jurisdictions of the Dean of Wells, the Prebendary of Ashill, and the Archdeacon of Taunton. Can any reader make this list of Peculiars complete for the Diocese of Bath and Wells? A “Peculiar” in this sense is a parish or church which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary. By the way, the volume I have mentioned was printed by J W Marriott, at the “Taunton Courier” Office, East street, Taunton – WELLINGTON.

42 – LANGPORT STOCKS – At one time there were some stocks in the space beneath the Town Hall at Langport. An inhabitant who lately called upon me was unable to say where they are now. What has become of them? – W.A.P.

43 – MOUNDS OR HILLS – In the Cheddar Valley (as well as in other parts of Somerset) there are mounds or hills which rise abruptly from the surrounding plain. For instance, Lodge Hill, Westbury, Nyland, &c. Will somebody please give an explanation of the origin of these – W.A.P,

Replies to Queries. 22 – SOMERSET PLACE NAMES – Like “T.B.D..,” “I am no etymologist, and do not pretend to know,” but I venture to suggest that, just because the places in whose

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names “zoy” occurs rise above the level of the moor, and are islands in time of flood, they may well be known as “sea-lands.” – P.N.

25 – HOLY WELLS – In answer to the correspondent who seeks information about St Nipperham (St Nipperham’s Well, Ashill), might I suggest the name is a provincial pronunciation of St Cyprian? W.G.Willis Watson.

25 – HOLY WELLS – I see on the Ordnance Survey Map another “Holy Well” about a mile N.W. of , but I notice the name is not printed in the Old English type usually given to Holy Wells. What is this Chilton Polden Holy Well? – READER.

25 – HOLY WELLS – Horne has a good deal to tell us about holy wells. He says the custom of giving names to wells and fountains is of the most remote antiquity. In bestowing particular names upon inanimate things it is obviously the principal intention to secure or distinguish the property of them. We find in the earliest of writings, the book of Genesis, that wells were a frequent subject of contention (xxi., 31. also xxvi). Abraham observed the custom of naming wells, and the well he recovered from the servants of Abimelek he called Beer-Sheba, or the Well of the Oath, because “there they sware, both of them.” The custom of naming wells was practically heathenish, for the heathens were wont to worship streams and fountains, and to suppose that the nymphs whom they imagined the goddesses of the water presided over them. But if they were superstitious in the earlier times so are we today, and probably ever shall be, and the holy wells will still have their devotees, albeit those who seek relief from sickness by bathing therein, or beauty (from laving their faces, when seeking aid from the supposed virtues of water from “holy” wells, may visit them in a more surreptitious manner than did their ancestors. As a result of medicinal qualities wells were often dedicated to saints. Wells are constantly met with in Somerset – and elsewhere. Many, although, perhaps, not bearing the name “holy,” are still reputed to possess special virtues. One I remember in my youthful days at Crewkerne, known as “Beauty Spring.” I have not the slightest doubt in the days of our grandmothers this was held in far greater veneration than it is in these days of higher education and (supposed) superiority. “Beauty Spring” had its picturesque side, however, although it was embowered amid brambles and sting nettles, for the water was reputed to bestow beauty upon those who bathed their faces therein at sunrise on the first of March. There are also many church wells – there is one at Crewkerne – which were objects of attraction to the afflicted who sought for cures in the supposed miraculous properties of the waters. I might add to the list of “holy” wells already recorded King Arthur’s Well at Cadbury, and St Agnes’ Well, , the latter being a warm spring of water with healing qualities – W.G.Willis Watson.

26 - LOCAL TALES AND LEGENDS – I am greatly obliged to Mr W G Willis Watson for the list he has so kindly given, and venture to hope that “Diogenes” will be able to give the titles and dates of the local items he refers to – T.L.

26 – UNPUBLISHED SOMERSET LEGENDS – I remember a farmer near Wedmore telling me some years ago a couple of local legends which I have never met with in print. He said that many years ago a woodman was working with his axe in when he heard a cracking of twigs, and looking up saw the Devil coming towards him. The man took to his heels and ran for his life, with Satan

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following not far behind. Finding his enemy gaining on him, and seeing no other hope of escape, the woodman made use of his axe to chop an opening in the rocks beneath him, through which he quickly disappeared from sight. Satan, disappointed at the prospect of losing his prey, wildly tore up the ground with his hands and hoofs in a fruitless endeavour to unearth him, and in this way he made . Pointing to a couple of hollow places – it appeared to me more or less imaginary – high up on the hillside above Draycott, my informant told me that hundreds of years ago the low lying moor on which we were standing was under the sea. One day it rained so terribly hard that two huge masses of rock got washed out from the hollows he tried to point out to me, and came floating down the hillside and across the sea covered moor. Now it happened that the Devil was out on Draycott Moor that day, and he saw these two enormous rock masses floating towards him. He took off his hat and hurled at one of them and brought it to a standstill – and that is how Nyland Hill came to be where it is today. But Satan had only one hat, and had nothing to throw at the other mass, which continued to float across the water until it grounded near Burnham, and thus formed what is now known as Brent Knoll. In the neighbourhood I was told that the Devil built the from waste material which he removed from the Mendips, and that on one occasion when he was crossing the moors with a barrow-load of material for the new hills the wheelbarrow upset and spilt the contents on the ground, where they remain to this day in the form of Nyland Hill. – X.

27 – BISHOP OF WERNE – At Wearne, near Langport (evidently the place referred to), is but a small hamlet, it seems difficult to imagine that it ever had an ecclesiastical establishment of any sort. It must have changed very considerably if it had. I have seen it suggested that Bishops were originally summoned to Parliament, not as a representative body, but as local magnates, in much the same way as barons held their seats in the capacity of landowners and earls were summoned as local officers – H.B.

29 – THE LIBERTIES OF SOMERSET – I am much obliged to “Beppe” for his information concerning additional Liberties in the County of Somerset, and for his confirmation of the statement that there were seven. I have made further research, and find that the charter of the foundation of Witham Priory, granted by Henry II, gave to the Monks certain lands “in free and perpetual alms, well and in peace, freely and quietly, wholly, and fully and honourably, with all the liberties, as I (the King) have ever held them.” The Monks were to be untroubled by tolls and other customs due to the King throughout his realm on both sides of the sea, or by attending at the Courts of the shire or hundred, or at any law-suit. And all their lands were to be free from the penalty of murder for ever, and from every other worldly exaction. Foresters and their officers were to leave them undisturbed within their boundaries. The charter, in its original language, is to be found in Appendix i., vol. pt. 1 of Monasticon Anglicanum. Henry III. granted to the religious at Hinton, in A.D. 1239, “all the liberties and free customs that his grandfather had conceded to the Monks of Witham.” I also thank “C.W.” for his reply with reference to Mark, and his comments thereon. I referred to the Liberty of Bompstone. Mark was a parish within that Liberty. The only Liberties mentioned in a recent list of Hundreds and Liberties of Somerset are those I gave. There is little doubt many other parishes had exceptional grants from the Crown in olden times, but it would require a detailed research of the history of each place to reveal these. – W.G.Willis Watson.

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32 – SOMERSET TITHE BARNS – There is an old barn at Taunton – one of the last relics of Taunton Priory. Father Horne could probably tell us whether this was a tithe barn or not – T.B.

37 – HISTORICAL TREES – In a field, not far from the road and church, and quite near the village of , was an immense tree, under which, it was said, that the Duke of Monmouth and his staff camped the night before the Battle of Sedgmoor. It is some 20 or 30 years since I saw it, walked round it, and had a good look at it from all points. A few years later, on making enquiries, I was told that it had been blown down, and when the owner found it was being carried away bit by bit by relic hunters he had it removed. I expect Mr Wm Bond, who in those days lived at Whitelackington, but now resides at Staplegrove, could give your enquirer dates and more particulars as to what became of the wood, &c. There is a wonderful and very old yew tree in the churchyard at . – L.

37 – HISTORIC TREES IN SOMERSET – Probably the tree to which “H.T.” refers is the large chestnut tree, the “Monmouth Tree,” which existed until a comparatively few years ago at Whitelackington. It was of great size and it is said that under its branches the Duke of Monmouth met a large assemblage of his supporters as a preliminary to the opening of his campaign in Somerset. A tree said to be associated with executions following the Monmouth Rebellion stood at the bottom of East street, Chard. It was removed in 1864 to facilitate the making of the railway line between Chard South Western Station and Chard Great Western. Then report has it that a large tree in the centre of the village of was utilised for hanging purposes, while one of the Spekes was hanged to a tree in the Ilminster Market place at the time of Judge Jeffery’s regime. Many yew trees in Somerset may be deemed “historical.” There is one at Winscombe, of which Knight, in “The Heart of Mendip,” writes:- “There are older and larger yew trees than this one, but it is still magnificent, with its girth of 16 feet a yard from the ground, and its branches, which cover 400 square yards. There is one at Dinder with nearly twice that girth.” The Winscombe yew tree is estimated at from 400 to 600 years old – W.G. Willis Watson.

September 6th 1919 WILKIE COLLINS AND WESTON-SUPER-MARE – I think the following cutting from the “Bristol Times and Mirror” of August 23rd 1919, will prove of interest to readers of this column:- “A correspondent who recently contributed to our columns an interesting list of distinguished literary men who had visited Weston-Super-Mare in years gone by, now writes to point out the curious fact that in no article on the town which he has seen has reference been made to Wilkie Collin’s description of it in one of his essays in the charming book, ‘Rambles Before Railways.’ The essay is entitled ‘The Cruise of the Tomtit,’ and was originally written for Dickens’ Household Words in 1855. It is obvious that ‘Mangerton-on-the-Mud’ is Weston-Super-Mare, and the name was invented by Dickens, who had intended to join his friend in this cruise from Weston, but was obliged to give it up as he had to go to Paris. The passengers were Wilkie Collins and Edward Smyth Piggott (‘Mr Jollins’ and ‘Mr Mygott’). The Tomtit was a cutter well known at Weston, and belonged to three brothers (‘Sam Dobbs,’ ‘Dick Dobbs,’ and ‘Bob Dobbs,’ in the article), who were conspicuous and popular figures there. ‘Mr Parler,’ the Port Admiral, and the convivial host, and ‘another long-suffering friend,’ the doctor, were at once recognised at Weston when the article was published. Messrs Jollins and Migott proceeded to Weston from

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Brockley Hall, and are described as having left London ‘with nothing but our clothes, our wrappers, some French novels, and some Egyptian tobacco.’ How they laid in stores is duly related.” W.G.Willis Watson.

SOMERSET MUSICIANS – We natives of the “Land of Summer” have ever been too retiring. We allow others to claim our worthies and our beauty spots without comment, until I have heard it said “Somerset has very little to be proud about, and cannot be compared for history, romance, or men to other counties.” Ye Gods! Can any place best us! I look to “Notes and Queries” to tell many dwellers in the outside world that it is a mistake to suppose Somerset is not the premier county in England. Therefore, I welcome the “Note” by Mr Harold Jeboult reminding us that the composer of the National Anthem was a Somerset man; that the author of the words of the Doxology was a Somerset Bishop. I have just been reading a short sketch of John Field, the pioneer of the Romantic School of Music – an Irishman – and that reminds me we had a Field, a son of Somerset, a musician, “whose name is now forgotten.” Why should it be forgotten? He was a wonderful pianist. Born at Bath on the 6th December, 1797, the son of Thomas Field, for many years the organist of Bath Abbey, Henry Ibbot Field showed an aptitude for music at an early age. We are told by his biographer in N.B.D. that he performed in public at 10 years of age, and on the 15th June, 1830, he divided the honours of a duet with Johann Hummel in their performance of the composer’s grand Sonata oeuvre 92. Field was a singularly brilliant executant, so good, indeed, that it was apparently necessary to designate the Irish genius “Russian Field” to distinguish him from Henry Field of Bath. The latter was but 50 years of age when he died, as he did, under tragic circumstances. He was playing Wallace’s “Cracovienne” at a concert in the Bath Assembly-rooms on the 13th May, 1848, when he was suddenly struck down by a paralytic seizure and died six days’ later. To be associated with Hummel, the great German pianist and composer, is sufficient to stamp Henry Field as a musician who can claim a niche among Somerset worthies – W G Willis Watson.

Queries 44 – CURIOUS BUILDING AT NETHER STOWEY – On the right hand side of the road just before entering Nether Stowey from the direction of Bridgwater is a curious building – something like a glorified summer house – fixed on a garden wall. Can anybody tell me what this building is, or anything about it? – N.S.

45 – STAPLEY MANOR – Recently a friend, during the course of conversation, referred to Stapley Manor, Churchstanton, stating that he believed it was at one time occupied by a family named Jennings. From the description given I was of the opinion that the “Manor” was the house now known as “Stapley Farm.” Could any of your readers supply details as to the Stapley Manor, and when it ceased to exist? – L.J.C.

46 – POETICAL SIGNS – Some years ago a sweep at Axbridge advertised his vocation by means of a poetic effusion on his sign-boards. This sign has now disappeared. Can any of your readers supply the wording? – W.A.P.

47 – JEW BOILING AT WIVELISCOMBE – In his “West Somerset,” Mr Edward Jeboult, speaking of Wiveliscombe, said:- “We mentioned the name Jew’s-lane, and we were about to question the residents in that locality as to its singular title; but a

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Milverton friend, who stood by, gave us a timely caution that it would be a dangerous question to ask, and strongly advised us, if we valued our life and limbs, to say nothing about it. We shall, therefore, recommend all those curious in legends and old stories to go to Milverton to hear the story of the Jew’s boiling.” Can any Milverton or other reader supply the story referred to? – CURIOUS.

48 – SOMERSET CENTENARIANS – Can any reader of “Notes and Queries” tell me the greatest age which any native of, or resident in, Somerset has been know beyond dispute to have attained? and also say whether any list of Somerset centenarians has ever been published? – SENEX.

Replies to Queries. 26 – LOCAL TALES AND LEGENDS – Reference, local tales and legends that have appeared in the “Minehead Visitors’ List.” Practically every issue between 1881 and 1896 contained such features, but I have only in my possession the cuttings which have the date attached to them in very few cases. These cuttings, which are form many 5th, 1884); “How the Ghost was Laid” – “Romance of Abbey” (September 5th, 1884); “How the Porlock Ghost was Laid” (July 23rd, 1889); “Story of Mrs Capes” (July 14th 1894); “Unwelcome Visitors to Minehead,” dealing with Lord Goring’s attack on the town (about 1890); “A Tragedy of the Quantocks” (about 1890). “West Somerset Free Press” – “Mother Shipton Interviewed” (June 28th 1879), and “The Witches of Watchet” (July 29th, 1895). Others appeared in this paper about the same period. “Bridgwater Independent” – “Watchet Castle” (January 23rd, 1897). In 1882 a legend of Selworthy Valley “St Agnes’ Fountain,” in rhyme, was published in booklet form by Messrs Co, Soms, & Co., of Minehead. I have also a story of Porlock in blank verse, entitled “Ward III – Dangerous,” by F.E.Weatherley – no date, but I think about 1890. in the year book of the Society of Somerset Men in London there have appeared many interesting tales and sketches, notably in the years 1910-1914 – DIOGENES.

30 – HOLY WELLS – Whether or not the wells named in it are “holy” your correspondent who asked for information may be interested in the following extract from a paper by the Rev H.P.Greswell, entitled “The Quantocks and their Place- names,” which appeared in Vol 46 of the Somerset Archaeological Proceedings:- “There is S.David’s Well, near Quantock Farm, in parish, a Keltic dedication, also S. Peter’s Well, close to Over Stowey Church, which gives us a clue to the dedication of the church. There is S. Agnes’ Well at Cothelston, S. John’s Well at Holford. There was the famous Hunteneswell of King John’s 1204 Charter, which may possibly be Holwell, celebrated for the experiments of Philosopher Crosse; there is Jeffrey’s Well, a boundary in Ramscombe, at the top of Dyer’s Mead; there is Lady’s Fountain in Common, called surely after the Virgin Mary, itself a boundary now, and giving a name to Ladies’ Combe. There is a Witches’ Well in Parlestone-lane in Kilve parish, just below Parleston Common. It might be possible to localise the ealuuylle or Aldwell, and the acuuylle or Oakwell of the West Monkton Charter, also the Piscis fontem (Vishpool or Bishpool?) of the Aethelwulf document, the latter being close to Aisholt. There is a Blindwell in Stowey, and a well famous for its healing influences on the eyes near Quantock Barn in Enmore Park.”

32 – TITHE BARNS – There is a picturesque old tithe barn at Barrow Gurney, and another at West Bradley. The latter is believed to have been erected by Richard Beere,

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Abbot of Glastonbury 1493-1524. There is also a 15th century tithe barn at Selworthy, and I have been told that the chapel at Lynch, about 1 ½ miles N.W. of Selworthy, was originally a tithe barn. – S.H.

38 – ST. – is said to have lived at , Devon. The legend that she was killed by haymakers accounts for the scythe she carries. A Latin poem about her exists – perhaps in the British Museum. The glass appears to be very ancient; exact date and country of origin probably unknown. – C.S.Dupuis.

38 – ST URITHA – This is said to have been born at Stowford, a hamlet in the parish of Swymbridge, , and buried in Chittlehampton Church, about a mile away. This church is dedicated to her memory. The Saint’s name has been spelt in various ways, we are told by the Rev J F Chanter, who had something to tell us about her four or five years ago in a publication associated with the London Devonian Society. He says:- “St Urith is our second Devon Saint of the Iverian race, and her name takes us back to the earliest page in Devonian history, for Iwerydd, pronounced Ewrith or Urith, was the legendary fortress of the Ivernian race, the noblest of whom were proud to speak of themselves as the Sons of Urith. Through the Latin form, Uritha, her name in the 18th century was corrupted with Hieritha, probably a misreading of Huritha in Risdon’s MS, ‘View of Devon.’” Mr Chanter affords the further information that Risdon’s reference to this Saint can now be supplemented from other sources, chiefly a hymn and collect in the common-place book of a monk of Glastonbury, now among the MSS at Trinity College, Cambridge, and documents relating to Chittlehampton Parish at the P.R.O., which he discovered in the early part of 1914. She was a beautiful maiden who, at a tender age, had become a convert to the Christian faith and taken a vow of perpetual virginity. This brought on her the hatred of her heathen step-mother, who instigated the haymakers on the estate to murder her. On July 8th they met her at dawn when going forth for her devotions, and cut her in pieces with their scythes; where her body fell to the ground where burst forth a copious spring of miraculous healing powers, and the bare earth around suddenly blossomed with flowers. Her shrine in Chittlehampton Church was for a long period a famous object of pilgrimages in North Devon, and many miracles are said to have been performed there – W.G.Willis Watson.

38 AND 39 – NETTLECOMBE CHURCH AND FONT – Mr Edward Hutton, in “Highways and By-ways in Somerset,” says:- “Among other interesting things in the church should be noted the font, with its representations of the Seven Sacraments of Holy Church, elaborate sculptures still with colour upon them; and the windows in the aisle north of the chancel, where we see, in the old glass, the figures of St Lawrence, St Margaret, St Urith, St John, St George as Bishop, St Catherine with sword and shield, and St Peter. But the really marvellous and priceless possessions of Nettlecombe Church are the pre-Reformation chalice and paten, said to be the earliest left in England; they date from 1479.” He also says “ was built in the end of the 16th Century by that Trevelyan who married Urith (note the name), a Chichester of Ralegh, in Devon.”

39 – NETTLECOMBE FONT – There appears to be 29 “Seven Sacrament” fonts – all in Norfolk and Suffolk, except Nettlecombe and Farningham, Kent. – C.S.Dupuis.

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41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – “Notes and Queries” is doing excellent work, if only by bringing forward such interesting items as “Liberties” and “Peculiars.” May I venture, with the assistance of “Rogers’ Ecclesiastical Law,” to enlarge a little upon “Wellington’s” description of the term? A Peculiar, in the ecclesiastical acceptation of the word, is a district exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary of the diocese. These are not called exempt jurisdictions, because they are under no ordinary, but because they are not under the ordinary of the diocese, and have no ordinary of their own. Peculiars seem to be generally of three sorts:- 1, Royal Peculiars; 2, Peculiars of Archbishops and Bishops; 3, Peculiars depending upon composition with Bishops, &c. Royal Peculiars, which are the King’s free chapels, are exempt, not only from the jurisdiction of the diocesan, but from the provincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop. Peculiars of Archbishops and Bishops are generally districts which are exclusive of the Bishop of the Diocese where they are situate. The Peculiar jurisdictions in England and Wales, with the Manorial Courts, amounted in number to nearly three hundred, and a commission reported some years ago that these jurisdictions were of several kinds:- Royal Peculiars; Peculiars belonging to the Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Deans and Chapters, Archdeacons, Prebendaries and Canons, and even to Rectors and Vicars, and there were also some of so anomalous a nature as scarcely to admit of accurate description. In some instances these jurisdictions extended over large tracts of country, embracing many towns and parishes, as the Peculiar of the Dean of Salisbury. It is interesting to note that a General Convocation was held at the Church of Wells on Monday, May 8th, 1318, and it is recorded:- “All the Canons were present in person or by proctor in this Convocation except the Prebendaries of Compton, Haselbere, Cudworth, Cumbe 12th, Harptre, Tymbrescombe, Milverton 2nd, and Barton, who did not answer to the summons, and the Prebendaries of Ashill, Easton, Combe 13th, Dinre, Wedmore 4th, Clive, Holecumbe, and Wedmore 2nd, qui fuerunt, extra Regnum or Regimen.” Thus it seems that the last named parishes were Peculiars – W.G.Willis Watson.

42 – LANGPORT STOCKS – We are indebted to Preb. D.M.Rose for the following information: “It is true that the Langport stocks were in existence until lately, and that they were used in good earnest in the 18th century and later. It is only necessary to refer to the Portreeve’s accounts and other papers preserved in the Langport Town Hall. Someone who had no interest in the relics of bygone times burnt them, about a dozen years ago, apparently without having any right or authorisation to do so.”

September 13th 1919 Notes MARTOCK STOCKS – Martock, like other places, had its stocks. £1 was paid “for timber and labour for putting up ye stocks” in 1800. In 1853 Mr Newton was paid £1 10s for stocks. In 1885 they were removed from the Market-house to private care, then included in a job lot at a sale, and eventually put on a bonfire and burnt with “other rubbish.”

POOL FARM near Taunton – is probably a corruption of Paul, and has ancient remains, including a pitched paved way on the W side of the farm buildings. It is believed to have been the site of the ancient founded by the Romans, and dedicated to St Paul, its successor being founded by the Normans about 1125, of which one of the old buildings, the Priory Barn, still remains.

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DUTCH WOODCARVERS IN SOMERSET – In a child’s story book, entitled “The Happy Home, &c.,” by H Lushington (p 146), is the following:- “I have heard that gangs of workmen driven from their homes in the Netherlands by the cruel Duke of Alva, used to go about the country seeking employment as woodcarvers, and that the quantity of old oak carving scattered about Somerset is their work.”

CHEDDAR GORGE – On this occasion I am going to allow someone else to blow the trumpet on behalf of my native county. A Tynesider who had been on a visit to the West of England, writing an article, which appeared a few days ago in the “Newcastle Weekly Chronicle,” says: “After some five hours’ motoring we approached the famous Cheddar Gorge. I have driven through the Pass of Aberglaslyn, near Beddgelert, and tramped two or three times through the Pass of Llanberis and the Derbyshire Peak district, and I have been through some fine passes in the Western Highlands, but have seen nothing quite so impressive as this Cheddar Gorge. The Castle and Pinnacle Rocks are simply stupendous and each turn in the road through the Gorge reveals fresh surprises.” – W.G.Willis Watson.

ANOTHER ARMLESS WONDER – The recent references to Sarah Biffin have reminded me of William Kingston, who was born at Ditcheat, March 25th 1765, without any arms or shoulders. Collinson said of him: ‘He feeds, dresses, and undresses himself, combs his own hair, shaves his beard with his razor in his toes, cleans his shoes, lights his fire, writes out his bills and accounts, and does almost every other domestic business. Being a farmer by occupation, he performs the usual business of the field, fodders his cattle, makes his ricks, cuts his hay, catches his horse, and saddles and bridles it with his feet and toes. He can lift ten pecks of beans with his teeth; with his feet he can throw a large sledge hammer further than other men can with their arms.” On Tuesday, 31st August 1790, Kingston called upon John Wesley, with whom apparently, he had breakfast, for the great preacher records in his Journal that the armless man “took the teacup between his toes, and the toast with his other foot. He likewise writes a fair hand and does most things with his feet which we do with our hands.”

AWAY TO THE QUANTOCKS Away to the Quantocks, come wander with me, As fleet as the wild deer, as blithe as the bee; The heather is blooming on Cothelstone’s creat, The bracken is waving o’er Bagborough’s breast; The dingles of Aisholt are verdant and gay, Nor autumn’s fell finger hath seared e’en a spray; And Ely’s bright brooklets are sparkling along, Meandering so bonnie ‘mid sunshine and song. No monarch stands prouder in purple and gold, ‘Mid courtiers all countless and whorts untold, Than we shall this noontide on Wills-neck’s fair height, ‘Mid gorse and ‘mid heath-bell so blue and so bright! Then point not to Devon, and boast not to me, Our famed southern sister, a rival is she; A brave three-times-three for our county we’ll raise, As “Garden of England” we’ll Somerset praise! Rev J.H.Stephenson M.A.

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Queries. 49 – MADDOCK TREE HILL – The references to Somerset Trees in recent issues of the “Herald” lead me to ask what is a Maddock tree? or what is the origin of the name of Maddock Tree Hill, about four miles from Taunton? – CURIOUS.

50 – FIGURES ON PETHERTON BRIDGE – A few days ago I was cycling between Taunton and Ilchester, and I noticed some curious carved figures built into the wall of a bridge over the river near . I asked a man who was working near if he could tell me anything about them, but all I could get from him was that they were called “Adam and Eve.” I should be glad if any reader of your paper could give me further information. – G.S.

51 – DEDICATION OF CHURCHES – I am profoundly ignorant on such questions as the dedication of churches, and should be grateful if any of your readers could throw any light on any of the following points:- It is necessary that every church should be dedicated either to some particular saint, or to “All Saints,” “Holy Trinity,” “Holy Cross,” or some similar dedication? Who decides to what particular saint a church shall be dedicated? One can understand churches being dedicated to such famous saints as Peter, Paul, John, &c., but why should Somerset churches be dedicated to Dubritius Congar, , Giles, Pancras, Bridget, Ethelreda, Quiricus, Julietta, Benignus, &c. I believe that until about 100 years ago the village which is now called Culbone had always been known as Kitnore, but for the last century or so the name of the saint to which the church was dedicated – Culbone, whoever he may have been – has supplanted the original name of the place, which seems to me rather a curious state of affairs. I understand, too, that sometimes the dedication of a church is changed from one saint to another, but I am at a loss to understand the reason for thus throwing over one saint, and conferring the honour of dedication upon another, after, perhaps, hundreds of years. Is this dedication to saints a survival of the pagan practice of erecting altars to all the gods, known and unknown, which obtained in ancient Athens and elsewhere before the Christian era? – RUSTIC.

52 – ROBERT JENNINGS – I was greatly interested to see in your local “Notes and Queries” that information was asked about Stapley Manor, and I hope some very kind person will be able to give information of the Robert Jennings who lived there about the year 1772 or 1773 before he married from that manor by license 16th October, 1775, one Joan Dyer. He is styled yeoman, but nothing more is stated of him in the license, nor of his father and mother or where he came from or who he was related to, and it is not even known. He was a most mysterious man, and supposed to be the lost Robert. The license was witnessed by Job Starr and Thomas Broome. Would Job Starr be the brother of Edmond Starr, who married Mary Jennings, of Curry Rivel, near Taunton?

Replies to Queries 20 – BISHOP OF BRIDGWATER – Whether or not there was ever a Bishop of Bridgwater is more than I can say, but an act passed in 1535 provided that the towns of Taunton, Shaftesbury, Bristol and Bridgwater (amongst about 20 other towns) “shall be taken and accepted for Sees of Bishops Suffragans to be made in this realme and in Wales; and the Bishops of such Sees shall be called Suffragans of this Realme … Provided always that the Bishop that shall nominate the Suffragan to the King’s

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Highnesse, or the Suffragan himselfe that shall be nominate, shall provide two Bishops or Suffragans to consecrate him with the Archbishop” (26 Henry VIII., c 14).

32 – SOMERSET TYTHE BARNS – There is no tythe barn at Martock today. I doubt if there ever was one. Till recent times there was a barn-like building near the church, called the Pound-lane Chapel, which was used for worship since 1679. The congregation dwindled away, or migrated to the larger Bower Hinton Chapel, and the old Pound-lane Chapel was destroyed, and an interesting link in the history of Nonconformity in Martock destroyed.

37 – HISTORIC TREES – There are other famous trees in Somerset besides those mentioned by your correspondent of last week. Even if the original Holy Thorn of Glastonbury is no longer with us, it has left a number of its descendants in the county, one of them still flourishing in a garden (I believe) at West Buckland. Then there is the St Congar’s Walking Stick in the churchyard at Congresbury, of which the legend is much the same as that of Joseph’s staff at Glastonbury. At four cross-roads between and Stogumber Station is Heddon Oak – marked on most of the larger maps – on which several of Judge Jeffreys’ victims are said to have been hanged. Near Wrington is Branchis Cross Tree, on which tradition says, Jeffreys’ Wrington victims were executed. Close to Lockinghead still stands a portion of a once famous elm tree on which John Plumley, Lord of the Manor of Locking, was hanged after the Battle of . Some years ago this tree was set on fire by lightning, and it burned for two or three days before the fire could be put out. I have been told that the tree was hollow, and that 20 persons have been known to sit together inside the trunk. I might also mention the famous old ash tree near , where it is said Sir Walter Raleigh smoked his first pipe of tobacco, and, being discovered by his servant, was drenched with a bucket of water. There is John Ridd’s Oak, near Simonsbath, from which he tore the branch when pursuing Carver Doone; whilst in the grounds of Mr Snow, at Oare, is a mighty ash, whose lower limbs bend curiously earthwards – a position into which they are said to have been forced by the mighty muscles of Girt Jan Ridd. Other famous trees which have long disappeared have left evidence of their existence in such names as Ludwell’s Elm (near Bruton), Marshall’s Elm (near Street), Catsash, &c. It has frequently been stated that Martock owes its name to a famous oak tree under which the local market was formerly held (Market Oak), but I notice the Rev J.S.Hill says that this is not correct. – X.

41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – Since forwarding my last contribution on this subject I have had a look at Hunt’s “Somerset Diocese,” and I note that with the exception of the jurisdiction of Glastonbury, the whole diocese was, sometime between 1123 and 1135, divided with the Archdeaconries of Wells, Taunton and Bath. As, however, in feudal society, lordship and jurisdiction were necessarily limited, the prebendaries had peculiar rights within their prebends which were exempt from the ordinary jurisdiction of the Archdeacons. They had courts, and had to inflict ecclesiastical penalties. As these rights were the consequence of tenure, they did not pertain to such prebendaries as were paid by pensions. – W.G. Willis Watson.

43 – MOUNDS OR HILLS – The explanation of the origin of the mounds or hills in the Cheddar Valley and in other parts of Somerset is easily given. The diversified surface of the county – its hills and vales, plains and escarpments, winding ravines and bleak moorlands, are but the expression and the result of the varied nature of the

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rock masses which underlie the soil, and which have determined not only the scenery but also the habits and employments of the people and the positions of the towns and villages. Frost and rain and the action of the sea have acted on the earth’s crust to such an extent that there are places where the mountain limestone has entirely disappeared, and where the more ancient old red sandstone stands now at a higher elevation than any existing part of the formation which once lay over it. An instance of this is found at Charterhouse Warren, which, 1,020 feet above sea level, is on the mountain limestone, but Black Down, the highest summit of the Mendip range, is on the older rock. The island knolls referred to would suggest to the most uninstructed eye a retirement of the sea. Of course there is plenty of legend associated with these “islands.” Maes Knoll, it is said, was formed from the scrapings of a giant’s spade! – W.G.Willis Watson.

43 – MOUNDS OR HILLS – An examination of a geological map of Somerset shows that the rock strata of the county are much contorted into a series of wave-like ridges. The in particular form a great arched mass. To the south is a corresponding trough, and a lesser wave rises to a broken “crest” along the Polden Hills. The intervening hollow was an arm of the sea in recent ages, and the “mounds” were islands which had not been washed away. Of these the largest is Wedmore “Island;” the loftiest is Brent Knoll. , the “Isle of Avalon” is only a peninsula, and the earthwork known as Ponter’s Ball was cut to isolate it still further against attack from the main-land. Nyland and Lodge Hill, Church Hill, at Dinder, and several others near by are masses of mountain limestone detached from the main range of Mendip, perhaps, by a fault. Several others in the neighbourhood of are of the later red marl and Penarth beds, and obviously left as “islands” from aqueous denudation. On one are the earthworks of a Norman (!) Castle, and near by are Battlebury, Jilbury and Melsbury – suggestive names. “Pen Knowle” might be written in English as “Hill Hill.” H.Corder.

44 – CURIOUS BUILDINGS AT NETHER STOWEY – This is no doubt a “gazebo,” built on the wall so that a view may be had up and down the road. They are fairly common in Elizabethan and Jacobean domestic architecture.

44 – CURIOUS BUILDINGS AT NETHER STOWEY – I think “N.S.” must be referring to the curious summerhouse, or gazebo, in the grounds of Stowey Court. Fine gazebos, or summerhouses, commanding extensive views, are a feature of the magnificent grounds surrounding Montacute House – W.G.Willis Watson.

44 – CURIOUS BUILDINGS AT NETHER STOWEY – I have often seen the “curious building” at Nether Stowey, and I have always considered it a sort of glorified summer-house, or summer parlour. There are quite a number of such buildings in Somerset. There is one at Poundisford Park, another on the road to Milverton, one or two near Somerton, but I could not say exactly their position, and have no doubt there are a good many others – L.

45 – STAPLEY MANOR – There is nothing that I know of to show that this ever was a Manor, but I have seen in old rate-books the name of Jennings being the occupier, I think, about 160 years ago – Wm Dommett.

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48 – SOMERSET CENTENARIANS – Notes on Somerset Centenarians have recently been appearing in Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries. Good lists will be found in the September (1918), January and May (1919) numbers.

September 20th 1919 Notes Go look on merrie Englande, Of all the shires you there may see, O, the fairest is green Somerset, The flower of the West Countrie. -Old Ballad.

BURTON PYNSENT – In an article on “Legacies to Public Men,” a contemporary, after referring to Mr Carnegie’s bequests of annuities to Mr Lloyd George and others, writes:- “Many English statesmen were the recipients in the past of legacies from those who admired their self-sacrifice for the cause of humanity and the well-being of England. We need only mention Lord Chatham, who received the whole estate of Sir William Pynsent – the last of his race – as a testimony to his integrity of character.” This refers to the estate of Burton Pynsent, in the parish of Curry Rivel. – P.B.

Queries 53 – CREWKERNE’S CHAMPION BRIDE – The “St James’s Evening Post” for Thursday, January 5th, 1738, says:- “We hear from Crookhorn, in Somersetshire, that one Mary Harrison, of that town, aged 102, was last week married to a young man of 27. This is the seventh husband she has been married to.” Can our good friend Mr Willis Watson, or any other reader of “Notes and Queries,” give us any further information with regard to this ancient bride and her matrimonial escapades? – C.G.Harrison.

54 – BEACON FIRES – Has any reader ever found any reference to beacon fires which give an idea of the system by which these were maintained? It is known that there existed a chain of beacons, by the firing of which an alarm or other signal could be conveyed throughout the length and breadth of this country. Somerset included, as happened when the Spanish Armada was proceeding towards our coast, but is there any record of any rules or regulations governing the building and firing of these beacons? Presumably it was the province of someone or somebody to see that the piles were kept ready and set light to when required. It may be that Somerset records contain such information regarding local beacons, and, if any reader has come across such, it would be a useful note for this column. – DIOGENES.

55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – Are any of the village clubs of Somerset still run on the old lines, with the annual club walk, church-going, dinner, and merry-making? If so, I shall be glad to have a list. – C.V.

56 – QUAKERS BURIED IN FIELDS – If I remember rightly, some few years ago a correspondent stated in these columns that it was formerly the custom for Quakers to bury their dead in a corner of an ordinary field or orchard. I should be glad if any member of the Society of Friends could confirm or contradict this statement; and if it is correct, could he kindly say whether the site of any such burials is known in Somerset. – INTERESTED.

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Replies to Queries. 25 – ST NIPPERHAM’S WELL – We are indebted to the Rev M.J.Griffiths, rector of Ashill, for the following reply:- “I regret that I have not been able to glean any information respecting St Nipperham. The well is known locally by a name sounding much like Skipperham, which is evidently a corruption. I know nothing as to it’s derivation. On the first three Sundays in May the local custom is still carried on of the inhabitants resorting to it and drinking and bathing in its waters for their healing virtues. Collinson gives a full analysis of the properties of the waters.”

32 – SOMERSET TITHE BARNS – Although I am not able in this note to add to the tithe barns already enumerated, perhaps the following extract from “The Gentleman’s Magazine” of 1865 (part ii, p. 730) will prove interesting:- “The barn at Pilton is one of the finest in the country; it is lighter than either of those at Doulting or at Glastonbury, and probably, rather later in date, but still in the style of the 14th century, and probably dates from the latter part of it. There is more ornament than usual, and of a very good character; the gables are terminated by finials, consisting of bunches of foliage, well carved. Near the point of each gable is a small window of two lights with pointed heads, but under one semi-circular dripstone and enclosing arch, affording one of the many indications that the form of the arch is no guide whatever to the style or date of a building, but is always dictated by necessity or convenience. The flat arches over the doorways indicate the same thing. Under each of these small windows, a little lower in the gable wall, is a carving in the panel of one of the emblems of the Evangelists, showing that the barn belonged to the church. The loopholes are particularly good, and have rear arches to them, like windows. The roof is also original, perfect, and very good. This old barn is a far finer building in every way than many modern churches.” The Doulting tithe barn dates from the middle of the 14th Century. – W.G.Willis Watson.

36 – WORLE’S WAR-DRUM FOR LAWYERS – The Rev Maurice I Holme, vicar of Worle, kindly writes us as follows:- “I am afraid I cannot enlighten you on the subject of the ancient custom of drumming lawyers out of Worle. I have never heard of any other authority than the guide-book, and can only say the custom no longer exists. I have made some enquiries in Bristol, and have looked up the subject in old books, bit I much regret that I have been unable to find out anything about the custom.”

37 – HISTORIC TREES IN SOMERSET – The old tree in Somerset associated with the name of the Duke of Monmouth, is probably a tree situated in the park near Whitelackington House (Ilminster), occupied by Mr S Creed and Miss Creed. The tree has always been called the “Monmouth Oak,” but it is really a chestnut tree. The Duke of Monmouth is said to have addressed his followers underneath the tree, after having spent the night at Whitelackington House. Some years ago the old tree was blown down during a terrific gale, but the greater part of it remains where it fell, unless it has been removed very recently. – R.A.O.

40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET – I know of only two rhymed versions of this story. The first is given in “Jack White’s Ghost; a true story of Fair, 1877,” Written by William MacMillan. This poem appeared in the “Western Gazette” about 40 years ago, and was reprinted in the Castle Cary Visitor for November, 1915. The

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second version was written by Douglas MacMillan in the Somerset dialect, and entitled “Jack White’s Gibbet: One of Ben Biggen’s Ballads.” This first appeared in the 12th Annual Report (1912-1913) of the Somerset Men in London, and was re- printed in the Castle Cary Visitor for December, 1913. Both of these versions follow the lines of the story as it has been generally told in the Wincanton and Castle Cary district for the past 80 years, but the real facts of the murder and execution differ in many important respects from this traditional form. The actual facts had been lost for the greater part of a century, when they were discovered by the late William MacMillan in 1898, and published by him in the Castle Cary Visitor for April of that year. The popular form of the story appears to have been first printed in the “Republic of Letters” published by Messrs Blackie in 1839, and said to have been written by Geo C Dyke. This form of the story was reprinted by John Davis of Wincanton, in 1841. Several other poems have been written on Jack White’s Gibbet, but, so far as I am aware, none, but the two I have mentioned give any account of the circumstances of the murder and the execution. Some 40 years ago, Mr B.H.Norton, of Bratton, wrote in the local dialect for a local paper a poem, entitled “Jack White’s Ghost,” and about 11 years ago some lines on the Gibbet Corner appeared in the “Three Shires Advertiser.” M.

41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – The following extract is taken from an article on by the Rev C S Taylor, which appeared in Vol 51 of the Somerset Archaeological Society’s Proceedings:- “Banwell Church was a Peculiar under the jurisdiction of the Priory of Bruton, and in 1231-2, Bishop Joceline decided that the Archdeacon of Wells had no right to hold courts in the Banwell Chapel of Churchill. It was singular, therefore, that Bishop Ralph de Salopis sent notice to the Dean of Axbridge that he intended to hold a Visitation in Uphill Church on Saturday, September 25th, 1333, of several churches, including the Banwell Chapel of Pokerston, or Puxton. He had, of course, no right to visit Puxton, which, after its separation from the Mother Church in the eighteenth century, took its place as a Peculiar under the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. Probably, as this was his first Visitation, he was unaware of the exact position of Puxton.”

46 – CHIMNEY SWEEPS’ SIGNS – I regret that I am unable to give “W.A.P.” the wording of the particular sign at Axbridge about which he enquires, but I have pleasure in giving one or two poetical chimney sweeps’ signs from other parts of the county, and it is possible that the Axbridge sign was of a similar character. The following formerly appeared over the door of a chimney sweep at Ilminster:- R- C- liveth here; He’ll sweep your chimneys, far and near, With brush and scraper or machine – He does his work both neat and clean – And if your jacks be wors for wearing, Och! he’s the man for nate repairing. I believe the following lines may still be seen over the door of a sweep at Wincanton. They were certainly there only a few years ago:- Alfred Jordan, chimney sweep and fire defender, do live hear. I’ll sweep your chimneys and charge you not too dear, With brush and scraper and machine I do my work both neat and clean, And if your smoke jacks be the worse for wear

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Send them to me and I’ll put them in repair. The late Mr Geo Sweetman stated that these lines were supplied about the year 1850 to the chimney sweep of that day by a Wincanton lawyer who lived near him and who saw the comic side of everything, but whether the lines were original or not Mr Sweetman could not say. – M.

47 – JEW BOILING AT WIVELISCOMBE – In Hancock’s “Wifela’s Combe” there is a reference to a fatality to a Jew. The town did a considerable trade in wool, and after being woven it was dyed with indigo and washed, racked, and stretched. Some old cottages, which existed until comparatively recent years, not far below the church on the south side of the street, were one of the old dyeing houses, and there is a gruesome tradition that long years ago, a Jew, who carried on the dyeing trade in this house, was one day seized by a number of malefactors and boiled alive in one of his own indigo vats. It seems as if the legend still adheres to the town, which I have seen described as “Wicked Wiveliscombe,” but perhaps this is only an alliterative fancy. – W G Willis Watson.

50 – FIGURES ON PETHERTON BRIDGE – Little or nothing is known of these figures, or how they came where they are. Stukeley saw them there in the early part of the eighteenth century, and says they commemorate two children who were drowned in the river. Mr Norris says he remembers nurses and parents pointing them out to their children as object lessons of disobedience, because the two children had lost their lives in picking blackberries by the river after being told not to. Thomas Gerrard (circa 1633) says they represent the founder of the bridge and his wife. Dr Fryer thinks that they may be members of the de Beauchamp family of Stoke-sub-Hamdon, and have come from the chapel of S.Nicholas, founded in 1304 by that family in that village, c.f. Collinson, iii, 105; Stukeley Itinarium Curiosum, I, 156; Somerset Record Society, Vol. XV.; Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries, Vol. VIII., 241; Somerset Arch. Proceedings, Vol. LXIV. (1918) p 44. – G.W.S.

51 – DEDICATION OF CHURCHES – No church is dedicated to a Saint or any number of Saints. All churches are dedicated to God, for the service of God, in memory of one or more of God’s Saints. Founders of churches seem to have made their own selection, intending thereby to recall the life of such saints to the minds of all worshippers. Some of the names mentioned by “Rustic” are local Saints, names revered in old times in the district or county for holiness of life or greatness of heart or deed. Culbone is probably S.Columba, the Saint of Iona, who may have given his name to S.Columb major and S.Columb minor in Cornwall. Kitnore, the most ancient name of Culbone, according to Savage, means the cavern by the shore (A.S.Cyta, a cavern, and ore the sea-shore). Churches often altered their patron Saints after re- building; sometimes they added to their numbers; sometimes because the Reformation had rendered an old dedication unpopular a more Scriptural Saint was selected. The practise of such commemoration of Saints in the dedication of churches seems to be essentially a Christian practice. The whole subject is a most interesting one, and is dealt with exhaustively in Miss Arnold Foster’s 3 Volumes of “Studies in Church Dedications” and Francis Bond’s “Dedications of English Churches.” – G.W.S.

51 – DEDICATIONS OF CHURCHES – There is certainly a difficulty in arriving at the reason why some churches are dedicated to this or that saint, but there is invariably a local association, although this history may be lost in the mists of

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tradition. Take, for instance, the church of Dubritius or Dubricius at Porlock. As Archbishop of Caerleon and metropolitan of the British Church – circa. A.D. 444 – Dubricius had two large schools of sacred learning on the Wye attended by a thousand or more scholars. What was more probable than that missionaries trained at one of these schools afterwards commemorated the fame and leaning of their teacher by founding churches dedicated to his name? There are several churches named after St Dubricius, three of them on the Wye and others along the West Country coast. These “saints” who were often nothing more than a minister, monk, or hermit, often founded and named churches in memory of themselves or of a relative or friend. Culbone may well have been the name of some ascetic who chose the secluded retreat of Kitnore for his cell. Sometimes after the death of such anchorites the local folk established a chapel or church to their memory, such an example being afforded by St Decuman’s at Watchet. The miracle accomplished by St Decuman in carrying his head to a spring and washing it after his decapitation moved the local inhabitants to build a church over his remains and name it after him. There are various other explanations of dedications to particular saints. In those early days of religious sentiment took the form of special devotion to this or that saint, and therefore men who had come safely through a dangerous enterprise or for other reasons of gratitude would build and endow a church to their particular saint. This again, some men did the same thing as a penance for a crime. Sometimes as religious building was erected to enshrine some sacred relic, while others marked the burial places of local worthies, being, of course, named after them. As a general rule there is a local connection, but it is not easy or possible to trace it always, and such is no doubt the case with Bridget, Ethelreda, Quiricus, &c. – DIOGENES.

September 27th 1919 Notes. THE LOSS OF LOCAL STOCKS – such as those at Langport and Martock, is much to be regretted. At Lynton, the originals which were much out of repair, have been carefully placed under cover and a facsimile duly labelled, has been provided for the original site in the churchyard.

THE GLEANING BELL – is I understand, still rung at Fareham, Essex, to notify the commencement of gleaning. It rings from the parish church tower at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The bell ringer receives a penny from each family gleaning. I wonder if any similar custom is observed in Somerset. I remember when gleaning in this country was one of the joys of the countryside, but I fear that modern machinery has practically put an end to it. – B.G.

DUTCH WOOD CARVERS IN SOMERSET – It may well be that Dutch carvers in wood were itinerant in the county of Somerset. We know for a fact that many craftsmen travelled the country in past days and I think that accounts in a considerable degree to the repetition of figures and such-like one so frequently meets with. May I mention one case? In my own office is a large amount of exquisite carved oak of late 16th and early 17th century. I discovered some time ago an exact reproduction in wood of some of the figures in the front of a church gallery about seven miles away, and a further repetition in stone on a mantelpiece in a house 70 miles distant. I may add experts are of opinion the carving in my office is Flemish work. – W.G.Willis Watson.

Queries.

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57 – GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – Can any contributor to this column kindly tell me where to find a list of the old Grammar Schools in the county, with notes on their history and work? – G.S.

58 – SOMERSET MONUMENTS – As an appeal is being made for the erection of a Somerset County war memorial, it would be interesting if some details could be given about the monuments that already exist in the county. – M.S.

59 – SUNDIALS ON CHURCHES – On the eastern side of Church is a small, rudely outlined, but effective sundial. I understand they are not uncommon in Somerset. I have been told that they were used to fix the hour of the morning mass, and also to mark the hours of commencement and ending of the labour of the masons when building the church. Which is right? – G.Y.

Replies to Queries. 41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – I have an impression that there is, or was, on in the turf-moor district. Some half-century ago an able Welshman (named Edwards, I think) had charge of it, and gave a series of delightful lectures on Welsh Poets and Poetry in various parts of Somerset. He was a good speaker, and read beautifully. I remember hearing some particulars about the living he held at that time, as the term “peculiar” was then new to me. P.S.

43 – MOUNDS OR HILLS – “W.A.P.’s” question is answered by the late F.A.Knight in his little book on “Somerset,” in the Cambridge County Geographies series. He says “The Lias, which was largely formed of the mud and clay resulting from the wearing away of earlier limestone rocks, and was deposited in a shallow sea, occupies a large part of the flat country in the middle of Somerset, together with considerable areas near Bath and Bristol. Some of the conspicuous outlying knolls, such as Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll, are partly formed of this rock, fragments of which have, in these cases, survived, while the rest of the bed of which they once formed part has been washed away.”

44 – CURIOUS BUILDING AT NETHER STOWEY – Miss Beatrice F. Cresswell, in her Homeland Handbook on “The Quantock Hills,” thus describes the building about which your correspondent enquires: “A conspicuously quaint sort of summer house overlooking the road above a garden wall. This is the ‘Gazebo’(please pronounce all the syllables) belonging to Stowey Court, where it is said that the ladies of the family used to sit and watch the Minehead coach go by in those days of our great-grandmothers, when the Minehead coach was a matter of daily importance in the little world of Nether Stowey.”

47 – JEW BOILING AT WIVELISCOMBE – There is not the slightest foundation for this legend, and there was in all probability no Jew in Wiveliscombe within many years of the time when the boiling is alleged to have taken place. The Jews were banished from this country in the year 1290, and did not return until the time of the Commonwealth. One is fairly safe in saying that beginning with the year 1558 and ending with the early part of the last century the parish register of Wiveliscombe does not contain a single entry of a surname of Semitic origin. The estate called Jew’s takes its name from its former owners. Just over 500 years ago this property was owned and occupied by John Jewe, who died in 1415, and at his death it passed to his daughter

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and heiress, who married Sir John Hody or Huddy, Knight, Lord Chief Justice of England. Jew’s-lane in all probability owes its name to the Jewe family. The story of the boiling is said to have been invented by the cloth makers of Milverton when they found the serge trade of Wiveliscombe flourishing whilst their own trade was declining, partly owing to the town having become depopulated by the plague and partly to other causes. – D.S.

49 – MADDOCK TREE HILL – I want to try and answer this question by asking another. What is the shape of the hill? Has it anything to do with the name? We Somerset people know what a mattock or maddock is. The derivation of the word is suggested as from A.S. mattuc, mottuc, meottoc, which Lumner calls a trident, a spade, a shovel, a delving toole, a mattock. Minshaw derives it from Dutch Methaecke, with hooke, from hacken, to hack – ridiculously, says Skinner – who proposes A.S. Meos, mosse or any low herb and togen, to tug or pull, because it (a mattock) pulls or tears up. Froissart (1337-1410) mentions the word in his chronicles:- “In the Kynges hoost ther were a fiue hundred varlettes, with matockes and axes to make evyn the waies for the caryage to pass.” – W.G.Willis Watson.

49 – MADDOCK TREE HILL – Is there any reason for supposing that “Maddock” is the name of a tree? Is it not rather a personal name? I have frequently seen the name of the hill printed as “Maddock’s Tree.” Jeboult gives it as Maddicks-tree. Is not the name on a par with Ludwell’s Elm, Marshall’s Elm, Monmouth Oak, Heddon’s Oak, and other names already mentioned by various contributors to your columns? Maddock, Maddox, or Mattock is by no means unknown as a Somerset surname. I have read that one of the ancestors of the Luttrell family of Dunster married the heiress of Samuel Maddock, this lady’s mother being the daughter of the third Lord Mohun of Okehampton. I am no Celtic scholar, but I believe there was a Celtic saint name Madoc or Badoc, and it seems to me quite possible that both our Somerset Maddocks and Mattocks and Maddoc’s Tree Hill owe their name in the first instance to this saint. Perhaps some of your more widely-read contributors can give us further information. – E.S.

49 – MADDOCK’S TREE – This should be Madoc’s tree. Madoc, Badoc, or Bodoc, for his name is found in all there forms, the changes being due to the difference of ancient dialects, was an early British Saint belonging to the same category as Decuman, Dobritius, Bridget, Cyrig, Congar, &c. Perhaps the “tree” here should be tre, meaning a habitation, in this case used as a suffix, and to be compared with Tre- Madoc, in Wales, where it occurs as an affix. The village of Trull appears in Domesday as Treudle. This is Tre-yu-dol, the habitation in the bend (i.e of the brook). The name of Badoc is to be traced in , Badbury, Bagborough, and other places in our own county, and in St Budeaux and Bude in Devonshire. With reference to “Historic trees in Somerset,” it may be of interest to recall “Gunston’s Ash,” in the parish of Bishop’s Hull, which commemorates Sir Thomas Gunstone, the last mayor of Taunton under the old Charter; and “The Elm” at Staplegrove, where some of the Monmouth rebels are said to have been hung. – N.C.S.

50 – FIGURES ON PETHERTON BRIDGE – Norris, in “South Petherton in the Olden Time.” Says: “Petherton Bridge must have existed at a very early date… I need not tell you that in ancient times bridges were very important structures, and often played a memorable part in the history of a neighbourhood. Petherton Bridge offered

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no exception to this rule. It was destroyed in the Civil Wars of the 17th century, and it was probably when it had undergone but temporary restoration that the two little children whose effigies may still be seen built into the parapet were drowned.” – W.G.Willis Watson.

51 – DEDICATION OF CHURCHES – The point made under this heading, that “No church is dedicated to a Saint, or any number of Saints,” but “all Churches are dedicated to God,” is a good and wholesome thought, though, perhaps, hardly correctly expressed. It is useless to say “No church is dedicated to a Saint,” because we all know that, as a matter of fact, churches are so dedicated. But unquestionably the primary intention of the dedication is not the honour of the Saint, but the glory of God and “the service of God.” We may say that while the church is “dedicated” to a Saint, it is “consecrated” to God and His service. But the point in question, if it seems thus to require a slightly different method of expression, nevertheless contains a valuable thought in its reverent assertion of the Divine supremacy. The origin of dedication varies widely in different cases. That “Founders made their own selection” is, no doubt, true in certain instances, but more often the dedication was due to local circumstances or historical events. The number of dedications to British Saints in Somerset, to which attention has been drawn, is due to the fact that the Pagans of the Somerset coast were evangelised by missionaries from Wales, where there was a flourishing British Church at least as early as the Council of Arles (A.D. 314). This accounts for Dobritius at Porlock; Decuman at Watchet; Bridget at and Bridgwater; Cadoc at Kewstoke; Curig (Latinized as Cyricus or Quiricus), in the frequent Currys, and in the dedication at Tickenham; Congar at Congresbury, Badoc at Badgworth; and others. Ethelreda, being a Saxon Saint, like Pipa at (Pipeminstra in Domesday), or Fyffa at , does not come into this list. Many of these ancient dedications were superceded by others imposed by Roman monks, who wished to put forward the claims of Saints of their own church, and at least had no special regard for the work of the earlier British Church, even if they were not actually desirous of obliterating it. Some ancient dedications are due to the founding of the church having taken place on a particular Holy Day, or Saint’s Day. This will explain such dedications as “All Saints,” “Holt Cross,” “Holy Trinity,” to which reference has been made. In some cases, where the dedication has been changed, the alteration may have been the result of re-building, or restoration upon an older foundation, the new dedication representing the date when the church was freshly consecrated or again made available for worship. Undoubtedly, many churches have received their dedication in consequence of a connection with some other foundation. This was specially the case with daughter churches dependent upon the Monasteries. A very interesting instance of a dedication dependent upon an historical event is to be found in the ancient church belonging to the Priory of Woodspring, near Weston- super-Mare. This was built in expiation of the crime of murdering Thomas à Becket, and was dedicated to his memory, a reliquary, supposed to contain his blood, and now in the Taunton Museum, being built into the wall of the church. The neighbouring headland still retains the name of “St Thomas’s Head.” – N.C.S.

56 – QUAKERS BURIED IN FIELDS – I know nothing about a general custom, but certainly the position of the Friends’ Burial Grounds at Taunton and Yeovil appear to give some support to the suggestion. The absence of the usual kind of gravestones also makes one think that there was no desire for anything in the way of permanent memorial of the departed – B.F.

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56 – QUAKERS BURIED IN FIELDS – It is quite correct that many of the little Quaker communities set aside a small portion of ground as a burying place, as they either disliked, or were not allowed, to be buried in the churchyards. These Quaked burying grounds often consisted of a corner of a field or orchard belonging to one of their own sect and it would have little or nothing to distinguish it from its surroundings, as frequently no headstone marked the grave, and certainly nothing like an elaborate tombstone would ever be found on them. There are quite a number of these little burying grounds scattered throughout Somerset, but they are only known to local inhabitants or to the Quakers, as now there may be no Quakers living within many miles of them. – E.A.L.

56 – QUAKERS BURIED IN FIELDS – It certainly is not correct to say that the early Quakers buried their dead “in corners of ordinary fields and orchards,” but they did do so in small plots of ground set apart for the purpose, properly enclosed by fence or hedge. There are many such plots in Somersetshire still in existence. A few words of explanation may be of interest to “Interested.” In the latter part of the seventeenth century and in the early part of the eighteenth there were scores of places in Somersetshire where the Quakers met to worship. These were frequently at “Friends” houses or in the barns or sheds of the farms. They met in these out-of-the-way and quiet places for several reasons; the principal one, no doubt, was on account of the severe laws against their assembling themselves for such a purpose. As their members died the necessity of a burial place became apparent, and so these plots of ground were used for the purpose. As the families died out or removed, and the farms got into other hands, these plots became absorbed, and all traces of them removed. Still, there are a few that can be traced. If “Interested” is ever in the neighbourhood of Withiel Florey, and would ask for the farm that used to belong to the Lyddon’s, he will there see one of the burial grounds. There are still the headstones, some of which are still legible – all, I believe, are “Lyddon’s.” Their descendants, on both male and female side, are still in this town and the West Country. Amongst the places where meetings were held are Bathpool, Ruishton, Hatch, Ilminster, Chard, and many others. – L.

October 4th 1919 Notes. TOM CORYAT – of (1577-1617), was the subject of an interesting column in one of the London dailies recently, the heading being “A Fool of Quality” and “A Wit and his Walking Tour of Europe.”

A NEW LIFE OF HENRY FIELDING – has recently been published in America. It occupies three volumes, and has been issued by the Yale University Press. As Fielding (1707-1754) was born at Park, near Glastonbury, this work will have special interest for Somerset readers. It has been elaborately reviewed on either side of the Atlantic.

WOODSPRING PRIORY – The answer by N.S.C. on the dedication of churches is most interesting. But he has fallen into one slight error. The reliquary supposed to contain drops of the blood of Thomas à Becket, now in the Taunton Museum, was found in the wall of Kewstoke Church – not at Woodspring, and it is conjectured it was removed to Kewstoke at the dissolution of the Priory. I refer fully to this in my “History of Woodspring Priory,” published by Lawrence, Weston-super-Mare. I

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regret to hear that the old priory is not now open for inspection to visitors – a decided loss to historical students and antiquarians. – W.G.Willis Watson.

FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE “SOMERSET COUNTY HERALD” OFFICE. About three months ago Mr James Porter was kind enough to lend us an old scrap- book containing a large number of interesting election addresses, poetical, and other pamphlets. By far the most interesting item to us was the following “Sketch in Verse, by J.Fred Morrow.” We understand that Mr Morrow was literally lying upon his death bed at the time he wrote these lines, and this circumstance gives them an added interest. They were written about 30 years ago:- No witty sallies now, no sound, nor word, Save the sharp clicking of the type, is heard; Stillness throughout the case-room reigns supreme, The silent working as of some hush’d dream. With black skull-cap and glasses on his nose, An anxious glance the Foreman round him throws; Oft by his side the heap of flimsies views – “Markets” and “Irish Horrors: Latest News” – Then watch in hand with dignity sublime, Spurs on the race of hurrying comps, ‘gainst Time, An hour more to catch the evening post, Woe, woe unspeakable if that be lost! From some far depths below the case-room stairs, Behold at length the Editor appears. With quill in ear and proof-sheet floating wide, He grimly ventures to the foreman’s side. Shows the fond leader of momentous weight (A crushing blow for trembling men of State), With misprint marred and many a doubtful word In graceful beauty on the margin scored! Now comes the struggle, for the hour draws on. The sporting juniors long since home have gone, Or armed with fragrant pipe, or dog or cane, With their fair maidens walk the leafy lane – Powe, Hooper, Rawlins, whosoe’er they be, In youthful meditation, “fancy free.” The white sleeved Hallett, with his nickel stick, And rule oft shifted, now with double click, Keeps up the music of the quiet room, And ceases joking with the solid Froom. With keen, bright bodkin by his hungry case, The quiet Brown once more with sour grimace Takes the score proof and o’er his galley bends, Makes “Mad Dog” “Randolph,” and turns “fiends” to “friends.” Pale Goddard near him twirls some copy o’er, And wistful eyes the ever-opening door, Fearful lest he who search’d for latest pars With “two sticks more” should mount the groaning stairs. His fears are groundless, and the last line set, And reading done, the tied up columns wait,

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Whist Dancing Dicky with a side-stick stands, Now twists his beard, then busy with his hands Slides the last galley with long practised ease, And vows his vengeance on all luckless D’s! The chase well fitting, and the locking done, Gigantic Froom, with muscles all his own, Heaves the huge form with studied care and slow. Then sends it sliding to the depths below. Here soon by sturdy arms in skilful haste The last broad page is on the Bremner placed, The rollers fixed and flier duly down, The great machine starts with a savage groan. With deafening roar the busy wheels fly round, The folder rattles with artillery sound, The news-sheets fly with never ceasing rush To waiting workers who with paste and brush, In wrappers marked with name, address, and stamp, Fix the neat folds, ink-odorous and damp. Bill posting Porter by the “Atlas” stands, And takes the contents bills from Phippen’s hands; And Boobie calm amidst the general roar Blinks through his glasses and then smiles once more, Whilst patriarch Porker, waiting grumbling by, Darts ireful glances from each flashing eye, And boldly swears, nor spares his heated breath, This headlong speed will someday prove his death! The piled up bundles from the office haste, And just in time upon the mail carts placed, The “Herald” flies, and with the morning dews, Greets town and country with the latest news.

POUND LANE CHAPEL, MARTOCK A recent reference to Martock in your local “Notes and Queries” suggested to me that some of your readers might be interested in a short history of the old Pound Lane Meeting-house in that town, which, after standing about 200 years (latterly disused), has recently been demolished. The puritan vicar of Martock, Rev James Stephenson, was instituted in the autumn of 1654, and ejected by the Act of Uniformity in August, 1662. He continued to exercise his ministry in private until compelled by the “Five Mile Act” to remove to Crewkerne, whence he returned after about two years. In 1669 there was a “Conventicle” in Martock having 300 adherents, one Henry Butler being the preacher. On the issue of the Indulgence in 1672 Mr Stephenson obtained a license for his house at Martock, where he continued to preach until his death, which occurred on 15th July, 1685. He was succeeded in his pastorate by Rev Thos. Budd of Lambrook, who was assisted by a Mr Bishop. By 1691 there was a regular meeting- house at Martock in which banns of marriage were published in January 1691, and March 1694, the actual marriage being solemnised in Middle Lambrook meeting house. The register is still preserved at Somerset House; the parties were Anthony Field and Mari Goodden on 2nd February 1691, and William Laurence and Susanna Matravers on 23rd March 1694.

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The date of Mr Budd’s death or retirement is not certainly known; it was probably in 1698. We do not know who was his immediate successor, but in 1717 Mr Hallet, “an ordained Presbyterian minister,” was at Martock with a congregation of 400(this is, of course, estimated adherents). About this time or a little earlier the old Pound Lane Chapel was built. The site had been granted by William Strode on lease to Andrew Westcott in 1679, and by him to his son John Westcott in 1715. John sold the lease to Amos Pittard in 1719, and then purchased the fee simple. Amos, “with the approbation, advice, and consent of the said John,” sold a part to Drury Royse for the trustees “of a meeting house there late erected.” The deed of release in fee, dated 7th March 1722, contains this unusual clause:- “In trust nevertheless for the use, benefit, and behalf of the Presbyterian meeting of Protestant Dissenters there assembling for the Worship of God… and to no other Use, Intent, or purpose whatsoever; which Meeting should it be suppressed by the Laws of the Realm, or by any other cause whatsoever be discontinued, the house shall never be converted into a Mansion or Dwelling House, or let to any Tenant to use and occupy the same for any Trade, Work, or Merchandise whatsoever.” At the same time one of the trustees, William Judoe, executed a deed of rent charge on four acres of arable land of forty shillings for the behoof of the teacher of the Presbyterian congregation at Martock. This appears to have been paid until 1862, but an attempt to recover it in 1903-4 failed, the owner of the land pleading the Statute of Limitations. In 1760 another small rent charge of thirty shillings was granted on five acres of meadow had in Martock Mead and Southey, by John Westcott. This was not paid after 1870, and as the land could not be identified was irrecoverable. Mr Hallet ministered at Pound Lane for upwards of thirty years. The date of his resignation is not specified. After his removal a Mr Lane occupied the pulpit, apparently as “supply.” Then, sometime before 1754, a Mr Baker was chosen pastor. He was still there in 1774, by which time the interest had seriously declined. The attendance is reported as “upwards of 100, and about 20 communicants.” At this time some preachers of Lady Huntington’s connexion came into the neighbourhood, one of whom settled at South Petherton, and attracted many of Mr Baker’s congregation. Soon after this time Mr Baker removed, and the records for the next few years are, it is feared, irrecoverably lost. Rev Nicholas Shattock, from Daventry Academy, was minister 1780 to 1784, then came Rev S R Pittard, but dates are uncertain. Long before this time almost all the old English Presbyterian societies had become either Congregational or Unitarian. The Somerset Congregational Union was formed in 1796, and its meetings were held at Pound Lane in 1799, 1809 and 1824. The successive ministers after Mr Pittard were Jas Buck, “here in 1815;” Jas Trego, left 1824; Ebenezer Smith, 1824-28; William Croome, 1828-32; Mr Pittard again, 1832-34; P H Hannaford, 1834-73; Wm Hyde, 1837-42. He seems to have been the last regular minister. Meanwhile the congregation steadily declined. As far back as 1773 or 4 Rev Christopher Hull, who had seceded from the Countess of Huntingdon’s connexion, took up his abode in Martock, preaching in cottages, barns and fields. He gathered the religious society which in 1791 built the chapel at Bower Hinton, and which still flourishes there. This attracted many who were repelled by the strict Calvinism which had a home in Pound Lane. After Mr Hyde’s removal two Baptist ministers occupied the pulpit, Mr Price, who was also pastor at Montacute, and Mr Geo Paul, who relinquished about 1877. For nearly thirty years longer the pulpit was supplied by a succession of strict Calvinists, mostly lay brethren, but no church organisation was kept up nor sacraments

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administered. By 1906 the attendance had dwindled to six or eight, and the services were discontinued. An attempt was made by the trustees, in conjunction with the minister at Bower Hinton, “to revive this ancient interest,” but it was concluded that the dilapidated building, for the renovation of which no funds were available, was really not needed as a centre of Christian work or worship, and the trustees reluctantly decided on its demolition. There is a detailed history of Pound Lane Chapel, with prints of both exterior and interior, in the Transactions of the Congregational Historical Society, vol iii, pp 244- 50. – T.G.C.

Queries. 60 – THE ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY – Last week the Somerset papers contained reports of ceremonies at Downside Abbey to mark the Jubilee of Abbot Ford, who, said the reports, “is the Abbot of Glastonbury.” The monks at Downside claim unbroken line of descent from the Benedictines who came to England in 597, built Glastonbury Abbey, and survived there for nearly 1,000 years. Abbot Ford was the first of Downside, and “on his resignation in 1907 he became the Abbot of Glastonbury by the election of the community and privilege of the Holy See.” It has always been understood that the last Abbot of Glastonbury was Abbot Whiting, who was miserably done to death on Tor Hall at the Suppression. When was the title resumed, by whom, or whose authority? – G.

61 – FIRE BEACON – The question asked by “Diogenes” (No 54) suggests another question. I have read that Mr Phelps designed ornamental towers for Dunkery, , Fire Beacon and Coneygar, but the last named was the only one of the four that was ever erected. Where is “Fire Beacon?” and is any reason known why one Somerset hill above all others should be distinguished by this name, when there were many other hills in the county which were used as fire beacons – probably many of them more generally known? – G.D.

62 – STOCKS – I see you have had a lot in the “Herald” lately about Stocks. Can you tell me when the stocks were last used about these parts? – J.Webber.

63 – A SOMERSET GIANT – The following paragraph appeared in the “Western Flying Post” for May 15th 1820: - “Lately, as some workmen were employed in excavating Knightstone Rock, at Weston-super-Mare (an island lately purchased of Mr Howe, of Bristol, for the construction of hot and cold baths), the skeleton of a man of enormous stature was discovered a few feet below the surface, and near it an antique earthen vessel, containing bones of smaller size; the urn and skull of the larger skeleton were, unfortunately, broken to pieces by the carelessness of the workmen, but many of the bones are preserved in the hands of the curious. Conjecture is very busy as to the antiquity of these remains, and the character of the gigantic personage whose frame they once held together. Some suppose they belonged to one of those giants, who, old historians assert peopled this country before the invasion of Caesar; but as there is an old encampment hard by, which, from its construction is probably of British origin, there is little doubt but they are the remains of an aboriginal soldier of distinction. Persons conversant with anatomy infer, from the size of the bones, that he must have been nearly nine feet high.” Can any reader of this column say whether anything further is known with regard to these bones? – READER.

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Replies to Queries. 7 – COTHELSTONE TOWER – which was recently referred to in this column, is about to be rebuilt, thanks to the generosity of the owner of the estate, Mr Esdaile, and certain friends. Mr St David M Kemeys Tynte, of Bath is a member of the Halswell family), had written to a Somerset contemporary, stating that the original tower was erected by Lady Hillsborough, who owned the Cothelstone property (probably between 1768 and 1780). Her ladyship was sole daughter and heir of Edward, fourth Lord Stowel, of Cothelstone – T.C.

35 –DUNBAL ISLAND – In the Gough MSS., at the Bodleian, under Somerset, there is an allusion to a “new cut” in the River Parret, 1677, “By which means Sir John Moulton gained by making a cut in the river, about two miles below Bridgwater, 150 acres of land which, in 10 or 12 years, was near level with the other lands.” Collinson, the county historian, alludes to this cut as done secretly (Vol III. 75). But he does not tell us exactly where “Dunbal Island” was. From time to time it may have been a varying quantity. It was probably the “Ila” of Domesday, part of the land of “Alured de Hispania,” as his successors seem to hold it, together with and Downend. In Emanuel Bowen’s map (c 1720), Dunbal Island and Slab Island appear low down the Parret, off . The Parret is constantly shifting its course in Paulet (Gaunt’s Hospital MSS.). But I expect the original Dunbal Island was the land enclosed by the loop of the Parret, running up to Crane Bridge; in Domesday described as lying “inter duas aquas,” i.e two arms of the Parret – William Greswell, F.R.G.S.

40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET – The late Mr George Sweetman, in his “History of Wincanton” (dated June, 1903), says:- “Our chief legend for many years was that of ‘Jack White’s Gibbet.’ A highly colourful story was written in 1841 giving a description of a fratricide said to have taken place in 1727. It had its foundation in fact, as Mr William Macmillan, of Castle Cary, has shown in the ‘Castle Cary Visitor.’ Jack White was a Wincanton man who, in a drunken row over a woman, murdered a man named Gilbert, for which he was hanged in chains at Bratton crossroads on 19th August 1730. The reader is referred for the details to the Cary Visitor for 1898, and for the original story to the publishing house of this history.” WELLINGTON.

46 – CHIMNEY SWEEPS’ SIGNS – A friend sends the following from Axbridge:- “The sign and the business have gone, as John Say died years ago. The sign was:- John Say the sweep lives here, Attends to orders far and near; With brush and scraper and machine, Will sweep your chimneys well and clean.” - L. - 46 – CHIMNEY SWEEP’S SIGN – We are indebted to the Rev Henry Toft, rector of Axbridge, for the following reply:- “I have much pleasure in sending you the wording of a sign over the doorway of a living house in Axbridge, where a chimney cleaner formerly lived. It ran:- “John Say the sweep, lives here, He’ll sweep your chimneys far and near, With brush and scraper and machine, He’ll make your chimneys nice and clean.”

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49 – MADDOCK TREE HILL – A story which was commonly believed 50 years ago was that a man was once hung from a large elm at the top of this hill for some serious crime, and in protesting his innocence he took an oath and stuck a maddock stick in the ground, and it afterwards grew after the manner of Joseph’s staff at Glastonbury. I presume that a “maddock stick” would be the handle of the implement known as a mattock. – READER.

51 – CHURCH DEDICATIONS – “N.C.S.” writes: “It is useless to say no church is dedicated to a Saint, because we all know that, as a matter of fact, churches are so dedicated.” Is this so? Or is it merely a popular idea? S.Augustine writes: “To the Saints we appoint no churches, because they are not unto us as Gods, but memorials as unto dead men.” Hooker: “Churches were dedicated unto none but the Lord only,” bur for distinction’s sake each came to be connected with the name of “some memorable thing or person.” Bingham: “The naming of a church by the name of a Saint or martyr was far from dedicating it to that Saint or martyr, though it served as a memorial to him among the living, and so far was an honour to his memory, though dedicated only to God and His service.” To say then that a church is dedicated to any Saint is just a loose way of saying that it is dedicated to God in memory of such a Saint, and this is borne out by the fact that no Churches are dedicated to the first person of the Trinity – it being a tautology to say that the church was dedicated to God the Father in memory of God the Father. Dedications are connected with:- (1) Holy Sites. The Church of the Anastasis and Crux at Jerusalem on the site of the Resurrection and Crucifixion. (2) Sites of martyrdom. The Church of S. Cyprian at Carthage, S. Alban’s Abbey, and S. at . (3) Names of founders. S. Guthlac at Crowland, St Oswald at Oswaldkirk, St Paul’s Church at Lincoln. In these cases the original dedication of the founder had probably been changed in honour of the founder’s own. (4) Old associations. S. Augustine dedicated to the memory of S. Peter and S. Paul, the Saints of Rome, and Rochester Cathedral to the memory of S. Andrew, making his connection with S. Andrew’s Convent at Rome. (5) Connection with foreign religious houses. Hence S. Barbara, S. Wandregisilus, S. Julian, S. Denis. To study the dedications of churches is to study many pages in church history, and is full of interest and inspiration. – G.W.S.

54 – BEACON FIRES – Beacon or signal fires on the coast and on conspicuous positions in the inland country, intended to give notice of the approach of an enemy or of other danger, have been used from times of antiquity. They are mentioned in Jeremiah vi, 1, and by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus in his “Agamemnon,” as conveying the intelligence of the fall of Troy to the Greeks. In England the beacons were formerly piles of faggot wood, but afterwards poles were erected, to which iron pots were attached filled with pitch and other combustibles. According to Stowe, beacons were set up by Edward II when the landing of Mortimer and Queen Isabella was expected. They were regularly used at stated places along the line of the Borders, to give warning of raids of the Scots. Lord Coke says that regular beacons, “pitch boxes as they now be,” were established only after the reign of Edward III. In the reign of Elizabeth, lines of beacons were erected on the head-lands and hills on the south coast to signal the approach of the Spanish Armada. Inland beacons were erected by the Sheriffs at the expense of the country; beacons on the coast were originally under the superintendence of the Lord High Admiral, and, subsequently, by 8 Eliz., chap. 13, transferred to the Corporation of Trinity House. The names of the

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following beacons in Somerset occur to me:- Hurley Beacon, Corton Beacon, Dunkery Beacon, Fire Beacon Hill, Dundon Beacon and Bossington Beacon. – W.G.Willis Watson.

55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – With the termination of the war there has been an attempt to revive the glories of the village clubs in some parishes this year. Tintinhull Club, founded in 1843, and held up to 1912, on the anniversary of the old village feast day, a relic of very ancient times, died a natural death with the coming of the Insurance Act. From its ashes rose a branch of a local organisation known as the Independent Order of Blue Marines, which held festivals up to 1914 and ceased with the war. This year the festival was revived on the traditional date with the usual “walk” and dinner. The bells were rung, but no service held in church, only owing to a misunderstanding. Men’s Friendly Society re-commenced its annual festival this year, after a war lapse, on the usual date, the second Tuesday in June. This club is still carried on in the old way – relief of sickness and a division of the funds at the end of seven years. Montacute Provident Mutual Benefit Society held its festival (the first since 1914) on the old date, the second Tuesday in June. All the old features were observed – the Club “walk” with a band; the church service, bell-ringing, and a dinner. – G.Y.

56 – QUAKERS BURIED IN FIELDS – The only example I know of members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) being buried in a field in this county is a very curious one. It is on Swansea Farm, in the parish of Withiel Florey, on Brendon Hill. In this isolated district, and in the garden adjoining the farm, roughly fenced off by a wall, are five or six well marked graves. It seems that in the 17th century on William Lyddon became convinced under the teaching of the early followers of George Fox, and endured some persecution as an entertainer at his farm (presumably Swansea) of members of the Society travelling in the ministry. Also that later a dispensation was obtained from the Bishop of Bath and Wells, which enabled members of the Society to hold meetings in the parish of Withiel Florey in various farmhouses. If does not appear that a meeting house was ever established. This curious old burial ground is an evidence of that independence of thought and action which won for the Society of Friends the right to worship, to rear up their children, to marry their members, to bury their dead, and to give evidence in law courts, without following a course of action contrary to the dictates of conscience. Before this was accomplished, however, members of the Society all over the county of Somerset suffered severe persecution, forfeiture of their goods, numerous incarcerations in prison being their lot, an imprisonment from which some never emerged. Times have changed since those far- away days, and the fact that the last “Quaker burial” which took place in this quaint burial place was that of an old gentleman, a Lyddon, and owner of the farm, who played the bass viol in the Parish Church, shows that a kindlier and better relationship had been established since the old bitter days of persecution. That Quaker lads, and thousands of others, have again known the inside of the prisons of this land, and that even sentence of death has been passed on them, for being faithful to the law of God, as they understood it, is a testimony to the fact that the old Quaker spirit has not died out amongst us. It will, indeed, be an evil day for the world should this ever be the case. – W.Brown.

October 11th 1919 Notes.

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STOCKS AT AXBRIDGE – I believe the old town stocks of Axbridge are still preserved in the Town Hall, together with the apparatus formerly used in bull baiting, and a money changing table dated 1627. – J.W.

A TINY STATION – Under the heading of “A Station that Defied the Strike,” the following paragraph appeared in the “Daily Chronicle” of Tuesday last: “, the smallest station on the Great Western system, if not in England, could have been little affected by the strike. It has a platform 24 yards long, the lamp attended to by a platelayer, and a tiny waiting room, but no staff. The guards of the few trains calling make note of the passengers taken up, who are ‘excessed,’ while passengers booked for Wanstrow are usually required to travel in the carriage next to the guard’s van, and must deal with their luggage without the aid of a porter. Formerly trains stopped at Wanstrow only when the driver saw passengers waiting on the platform or when there were some to be set down there.”

THE GAME OF FIVES – The thought has just occurred to me that most of the old fives courts which existed in the county have disappeared. They were frequently found in connection with country and public houses. I have a recollection of one at South Petherton, and some idea that a court existed at one of the inns at . This was at one time a game in which Somerset men excelled, as is evidenced in the fact that in 1591, when Queen Elizabeth was entertained at Elvetham in Hampshire, by the Earl of Hertford, “after dinner, about three o’clock, ten of his lordships servants, all Somerset men, in a square greene court before her Majesties’ windowe, did hang up lines, squaring out the Forme of a tennis court, and making a cross line in the middle; in this square (they being stript out of their dublets) played five to five with handball at bord and cord, as they tearme it, to the great liking of her Highness.” Fives was a modification of this game of hand tennis – W.G.Willis Watson.

THE “OLD DISSENT” – There are throughout Somerset many congregations of “Quakers” or “Friends” in the reign of Charles II and James II., but these were chiefly gatherings at private houses of members of that community, and the book “Ye ffirst Publishers of Truth” gives such at Street, Hollowtrow, , Bridgwater, Venice Sutton, Chard, Inksback, Berington, Alford, Puddimore, East Liddford, Shepton Mallet, Burnham, , Trent, , Crookhorn, Gregory Stoake, Kingsbury, Minehead, Withell, Dulverton, Axbridge, Martock, and Brewton, with names of those who thus served the cause, among them being W. Alloway and Jo Alloway, mentioned in the recent reply as to the Burying Ground at Taunton. The account continues:-“At most of whose houses meetings were kept especially before the great Meeting houses were built at Gregory Stoke and Ilminster abt ye year 1670, and one at Portshead abt ye same time (when informers grew hott) & at Clevedon 1674, Puddimore, Weston, and Wellington about 1688, Taunton, Glassenbury, Belton, and Sidcot about 1690.” WESTERN.

THE WAR CRY OF THE RED DEER – Mr Tickner Edwardes has for some time past been contributing a series of delightful little articles to the “Daily Chronicle,” under the title of “A Country Calnedar.” The following appeared on Monday last, and applies to the red deer of Exmoor, as well as those of the Scottish Highlands:- “No one chancing to be in the neighbourhood of a deer-forest during the early weeks of October, and hearing for the first time the war-cry of the red deer, will fail to be

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startled by the sound. In the Scottish Highlands this is known as ‘the time of the roaring,’ but the word conveys very little of the idea of the intense, vindictive savagery which the red deer can put into his deep call at this season, when all the stags in the forest have gone raging mad with love and the fury of battle. It is the design of each stag seemingly to gather about him the entire herd of hinds, while driving away every other of his sex; and this plan gives rise to incessant conflicts, which are often duels to the death. While the fight lasts, the bellowing of the two stags and the thunderous clashing of their antlers may be heard literally for miles; and during the battle some other stag, who has been watching his opportunity from afar, will frequently cut in and drive away the meek multitude of waiting hinds. Otherwise, the deer who is vanquished slinks off into the forest, and the victor remains king of the herd, until in his turn he is ousted by a stronger rival.”

AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY “GHOST.” – A short time ago there was a reference in the “Notes and Queries” columns to the “Life” of James Lackington, who was born at Wellington, in Somerset, in 1746, and afterwards became a famous London bookseller. The following extracts from the 1792 edition of Lackington’s “Memoirs” will be interesting to the general reader:- “I must not forget an odd adventure that happened when I was about 12 years of age. I had one day walked with my father to Holywell Lake, a village two miles from Wellington, where, meeting with some good ale, he could not find it in his heart to part with it until late at night. When we were returning home by the way of Rockwell Green (commonly called Rogue Green, from a gang of robbers and house-breakers who formerly lived there), having just passed the bridge, we were met by several men and women who appeared to be very much frightened, having been in great agitation. They informed me that they were returning back to Rogue Green, in order to sleep there that night, having been prevented from going home to Wellington by a dreadful apparition which they had all seen in the hollow way, about a quarter of a mile distant; adding, that a person having been murdered there formerly, the ghost had walked ever since; that they had never before paid much attention to the well known report, but now they were obliged to credit it, having had ocular demonstration. My father had drunk too large a quantity of ale to be much afraid of anything, and I (who could not let slip such an opportunity of showing my courage) seconded matters for the poor, terrified people to return with us; and as I offered to lead the van, they were prevailed on to make the attempt once more; but said that it was rather presumptuous and hoped that no dreadful consequence would ensue, as all the company, they trusted, were honest hearted and intended no harm to any person; they moreover added, that ‘God certainly was above the devil.’ I then advanced, and kept before the company about fifty yards, ‘whistling aloud to bear my courage up.’ But when we had walked about a quarter of a mile, I saw at some distance before us in the hedge the dreadful apparition that had so terrified our company. Here it is! (said I). ‘Lord have mercy upon us.’ ! replied some of the company, making a full stop; and would have gone back, but shame prevented them. I still kept my distance before, and called out to them to follow me, assuring them that I was determined to see what it was. They then fell one behind another, and advanced in single files. As I proceeded I, too was seized with timid apprehension, but durst not own it, still keeping on before, although I perceived my hair to heave my hat from my head, and my teeth to chatter in my mouth. In fact, I was greatly agitated at what I saw; the object much resembled the human figure as to shape, but the size was prodigious. However, I had promised to see what it was, and for that purpose I obstinately ventured on about thirty yards from the place where I first had sight of it. I

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then perceived that it was only a very short tree, whose limbs had been newly cut off, the doing of which made it much resemble a giant. I then called to the company, and informed them, with a hearty laugh, that, they had been frightened at the stump of a tree.” – WELLINGTON.

PLANT LORE – Country folk have long held a sturdy belief in the wonderful healing virtues of plants, or “yarbs,” as they are locally called, and this, perhaps waning, has revived since the war began. Most people realise now (for a while) the need of having our own supplies of hyoscyamine and digitalis and other drugs at hand, and a desire for a closer knowledge of our native herbs has become apparent. Many were the quaint beliefs and superstitions attached to the plants of olden times. The herb, to be efficacious was to be gathered at certain times of the moon “in the growing” or “at the full;” or “at Honiton Fair,” or some such fixed date. The hairy St John’s wort, for instance was to be “gathered upon a Friday in the hour of Jupiter, and hung around the neck to drive away phantastical spirits.” Some people hung this particular plant in their windows “for good luck,” while the May blossom must not be brought into the house for fear of dire consequences. Of the garden herbs, parsley must never be transplanted, as that would entail a death in the family during the year. But of the white thorn, Sir John Mandeville says, “It hath many virtues; he that beareth a branch on him thereof, no thunder nor no manner of tempest may harm him; nor in the house that it is in may any evil enter.’ The foxglove was reputed to be good for the ague, and was locally much in favour. An old herbalist, Ray, says: “Digitalis herba emitica est. Somerseti Angliae rustica turba hujus docoto febrictantibus purgatorius et interdum superpurgationes et vomitiones humidioribus alvo molitur.” Persons in deep consumption and given over by physicians,” says another, “have by the use if this plant been completely recovered and so perfectly as to become fat again.” Of the elder a writer in the “Daily Express” of July 1st says:- It is a magic plant go where you will, and everywhere the peasant folk have an aversion to cutting it down, so that in midland lanes one comes upon great clumps of it left untouched in the hedgerows. An old hedge cutter told me that of one cut down an elder bush bad luck was sure to follow. There is an old superstition that Judas Iscariot hanged himself on an elder tree, which, perhaps, accounts for this, and there is a fungus growth of rather a dark and loathsome looking nature which sometimes appears on the elder tree, which was originally called Judas’ ear. This fungus was believed by our grandmothers to have great curative powers for neuralgia, toothache, ague, and kindred ailments. In Warwickshire it is said that toothpicks made of the wood of the elder will prevent the user from ever having toothache. If, however, an elder stick was used to whip a child it was believed it would check its growth, and I well remember an old dwarf who mournfully ascribed his short stature to the fact that when he was ‘a little ‘un’ his mother flogged him with an elder rod. Another superstition runs that the cross was made of elder, and the tree gipsies are most careful on this account never to burn elder wood in their fires. Oxfordshire peasants say that the elder never grows straight because of this reason, although poor mothers will make a little cross of elder wood and hang around the necks of sickly children, believing they will then grow strong and tall.

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Queries. 64 – SOMERSET EPITAPHS – Can any reader of “Notes and Queries” tell me whether Mr William Adlam ever completed and published the complete list of every epitaph and tombstone inscription in this county, on which he was engaged some 30 years ago? I understand that he had at that time taken complete records from over 200 churchyards. If the work was never completed, does anyone know what became of Mr Adlam’s M.S as far as it went? – QUERIST.

65 – THE OLDEST CLOCK IN ENGLAND – Some weeks ago you had some correspondence in your columns as to the oldest clock in England. I am under the impression that a former Rector of Porlock (I believe the Rev Preb Walter Hook, but I am open to correction) claimed this distinction for the clock in the tower of Porlock Church. Can any of your readers give me any further information with regard to Porlock Church clock and its claim to such great antiquity? – TEMPUS.

66 – CONQUEST FARM. BISHOPS LYDEARD – I see that you answer in your paper questions about places in the neighbourhood. I should like to hear something about Conquest Farm. I have been told that a battle was once fought there, and also that there was formerly a mint there. Could you tell me if this is true, or tell me anything of interest about the place? – B.L.

Replies to Queries. 25 – STOGUMBER WELL – A tradition is said to exist in the village of Stogumber that a man named Harry Hill was cured of leprosy in the 16th century by the waters of this spring, which still goes by the name of “Harry Hill’s Well.”

37 – MONMOUTH TREE – Some interesting particulars with regard to this tree will be found in “Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries” for 1897. We are there told that the tree, which was a sweet chestnut, was blown down during the great storm on Ash Wednesday, March 3rd, 1897 which well-nigh wrecked the celebrated Cedar Lawn at Hinton House, and uprooted one of the fine old Vicarage elms at South Petherton, chronicled in vol 37 of the “Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological Society.” The chestnut, under which the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth was said to have banqueted during the summer of 1680, was estimated to have been about 800 years old at the time it fell a victim to the gale, and its dimensions were as follows:- Diameter at foot, 12ft 3in.; girth at mid-trunk, 25ft.; girth at top of trunk, 25ft.; height from bole to top of trunk, 17ft.; total height of tree, 49ft.

40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET, - Many stories have been told and written about Jack White. I remember about forty-five years ago, when the late Mr Clinker was proprietor of the “Western Gazette,” he wrote or published a long account about it, that Jack White was ostler of the Castle Cary Town’s End public-house called the Waggon and Horses. One evening a stranger came to the inn, and showed some foreign coins, and seemed ot have a lot of money about him. He left rather late to go to Wincanton, and Jack White followed him with the intention of robbing him, and in the end murdered him, and when found was taken to Wincanton and laid in the church porch. A few days afterwards Jack White was seen to possess a lot of money, and suspicion was aroused that Jack was the murderer. He was taken to Wincanton and compelled to touch the corpse, and blood immediately showed under the pressure, and Jack White confessed the crime, and it was proved that the man was Jack’s own

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brother, who had been abroad for many years. Jack was convicted, and ordered to be gibbeted in the wood near, a little way from Tender Box Corner, on the Wincanton- road, as you go from Mapperton to Castle Cary. I was born about four miles from the place. I can remember hearing an old man say he had many times seen the post that the gibbet was fixed on. I don’t know if there is any record in the “Western Gazette” Office; if so, it would be interesting to publish it again, and if there is any reader that ever lived near the spot, I should like to hear of it. – A Sheppard, Wrantage.

41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – I understand that a good list of Somerset Peculiars is given on pp 456-457 of vol. i. of the “,” published by the Record Commission in 1810.

41 – SOMERSET PECULIARS – In vol vii of “Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries” appeared an article on the Royal Peculiar of Ilminster, in the course of which the writer (Mr John Batten) said “Peculiars, in ecclesiastical law, were parished or churches exempt, to a certain extent, from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of the Diocese, but their powers were generally limited to matters matrimonial and testamentary. In the diocese of Bath and Wells there were 55 Peculiars, 50 of which were official, four in private hands and one only – that of Ilminster – a Royal Peculiar, but on what ground it acquired that distinction it is difficult to explain.”

48 – SOMERSET CENTENARIANS – Here are the names of a few Somerset centenarians:- Mrs Honor Coleman, died at Cleve, February, 1907, aged 106; Mrs Mary Stockham, , died October 1st, 1912, aged 100; Mrs Thomas Scowles, Coleford, died April 12th 1912, aged 103; Mrs C Cooper, Weston-Super-Mare, died January 7th, 1914, aged 100, Miss Ann Hutchings, Wellington, died January, 1914, aged 103; Mrs Harriet Light, Weston-Super-Mare, died January 10th,1914, aged 100; Mrs Eleanor Patteson, Bath, died July 17th, 1919, aged 100; Frederick William Stabbins of Worle celebrated his 104th birthday on the 18th July, 1919, and is still living, so far as I know. I cannot say the greatest age to which any native or resident of Somerset has attained, but I fancy Honor Coleman’s record will take some beating. – W.G.Willis Watson.

48 and 49 – SOMERSET CENTENARIANS AND MADDOCK TREE HILL – It will, no doubt, interest your readers to know that under “Deaths” in the “Taunton Courier,” 27th April 1809, the following appears:- “Thursday last, at Mattock’s Tree near Taunton, Mary Coleman, at the advanced age of 105.” This is, no doubt, Maddock’s or Mattock’s Tree, in the parish of Thornfalcon. John Mattuck (Mattock) was a constable of the Borough of Taunton in 1655 and Mayor in 1657. As the latter he signed the record, dated 26th September, 1657, given by the Mayor of Taunton and others to the executors of Robert Blake for a legacy of £100 bequeathed by him to the poor of Taunton. The receipt is framed and shown in Taunton Castle Museum. – H. St George Gray.

49 – MATTOCK’S TREE HILL – In the answers to the question concerning Mattock’s Tree Hill, I do not see a well-known local legend about the origin of the name. The story runs that a man was arguing with another, while digging with a mattock on the spot. As his word was doubted, he became angry, and seizing his mattock he struck the handle into the ground, saying that if he was not speaking the

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truth then the handle would grow. And the handle of the mattock grew. Hence the name. – N.R.Whittaker.

51 – DEDICATION OF CHURCHES – I am afraid there is a great deal more to be said about the subject of the dedication of churches than can be compressed into one brief “note.” It is an interesting theme, and dates back to the very early times. When paganism ruled supreme annual festivals were celebrated in honour and memory of their gods, goddesses and heroes. The people on these occasions resorted together to their temples and tombs, and as the Jews constantly kept their anniversary feast of Dedication, in remembrance of Judas Maccabaeus, their deliverer, so it hath been an ancient custom among the Christians of this land to keep a feast every year upon a certain week or day in remembrance of the finishing of the building of their parish church, and of the first solemn dedicating of it to the service of God, by committing it to the protection of some guardian saint or angel. The Greeks dedicated their altars, temples, and statues with sumptuous sacrifices, and the Romans did the same with feasting, plays, and public largesses. The custom came down from the Jews, who provided numerous sacrifices. It was also common, when any person had finished a house and entered into it, to celebrate it with great rejoicing and to keep a festival to which his friends were invited, and to perform some religious ceremonies to secure the protection of heaven. There are many Biblical references to dedications. The title of 30th Psalm is “A psalm and song at the dedication of the house of David.” When the second temple was finished, the priests and Levites, and the rest of the captivity, kept the dedication of the House of God with joy, and offered numerous sacrifices (Ezra vi., 16). We read in the New Testament of the feast of the dedication appointed by Judad Maccabaeus in memory of the purification and restoration of the temple of Jerusalem after it had been defiled and laid in ruins by Antiochus Epiphanes, and celebrated annually to the time of its destruction by Titus, by solemn sacrifices, music, songs and hymns to the praise of God, and everything that could give people pleasure, for eight days successively. This was customary even among private persons (Deut. Xx., 5). It was characteristic of British Christianity to adopt as patrons for its churches not departed saints but the living men who founded them. Some churches have been dedicated to saints who were soldiers. St Maurice, who was the commander of a Roman legion – the Theban – in the time of the Emperor Maximian, about the year 290, was the patron saint of the church at Plympton, in Devonshire, afterwards dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury. The Celtic church in Somerset has left its mark in the names of various churches. St Dubritius is the patron of Porlock, a chapel dedicated to St Columban once stood at Cheddar, and the ammonites of were believed to show forth the victory of St Cenen over the snakes that once infested the place. In the same way the ecclesiastical connection with Ireland is pointed at in the Glastonbury stories of the Irish saints and by the dedications of Brean and Chelvey of St Bridget. But I am afraid I have exceeded the limit of space. – W.G.Willis Watson.

57 – GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – The Grammar School in Martock was founded by William Strode, of Barrington, in 1662. The school building still standing was originally the Court House. It was endowed with £12 a year, and the rules of the school were published in S & D N & Q., Vol. xv., pt 120, and Vol. xvi., pt 121. It was at first very flourishing, but later, owing to insufficiency of endowment and the growth of neighbouring schools, declined, until in 1872 the Charity Commissioners formulated a new scheme, and the school ceased to exist – G.W.S.

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57 – GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – “Paton’s List of Schools” contains probably the most complete list of schools in the country, but I do not think one would derive much historical information from this source. The only real Grammar Schools I can now recall to mind are those at Bruton, Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster (boys and girls), King Edward’s Grammar School, Bath, Langport Free Grammar School, Shepton Mallet, and Wells. Crewkerne is, I expect, the oldest of the group, having been founded in 1499 by John de Combe. An admirable history of this school has been written by the Rev R C Bartelott, an “Old Crewkernian.” The book is published at the “County Mail” Office, Crewkerne. – W.G.Willis Watson.

59 – SCRATCH DIALS – If “G.Y.” will refer to Vols. 61,62,62, of the Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, he will there find three very interesting articles on Somerset scratch dials, with a list of the churches where they are to be found. The articles are well worth reading. I.

59 – SUNDIALS ON CHURCHES – These are better known as scratch dials and can be found with a little looking on many churches. Dom Ethelbert Horne wrote a small book on them in 1917; published by Barnicott & Pearce, at Taunton. The author is inclined to call them Mass markers, but there is no reason why they should not have been used to mark hours of work, as suggested. The idea is a new one to me. Both may have been right. – G.W.S.

59 – SUNDIALS ON CHURCHES – There are several instances of sundials on Somerset churches. The subject is dealt with by Dom Ethelbert Horne in a book published by Barnicott & Pearce, of Taunton. At there are three scratch dials, described in S and D “Notes and Queries” by the Rev E S Percival. There is also one at . On the arch of the north porch of Uphill old church is a rude sundial, and another carved on a stone over the little south Norman window of the tower – W G Willis Watson.

59 – SUNDIALS ON CHURCHES – In addition to the three most interesting papers on “Scratch Sundials” that have been published in the proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological Society, there has been a book “Primitive Sundials, or Scratch Dials,” by Dom Ethelbert Horne,” also published. Mr G W Saunders, in his review, says – “These curious dials have attracted attention since 1888, and have generally been called Saxon sundials. Father Horne has practically settled the question that they are not proper sundials, but rather service markers, especially mass markers, and were in use from the time that the Saxon sundial went out of vogue, and before the clock came into general use.” – L.

59 – SUNDIALS ON CHURCHES – The sundial referred to by G.Y., in your last issue, appears to be one of a considerable series to be found in Somerset, which were fully described by Dom Ethelbert Horne, in a book published in 1917, entitled “Primitive Sun Dials or Scratch Dials.” There has been much controversy as to their use, because they are found on various parts of churches (not always facing south), and cannot, therefore, be intended to mark the time of day as the ordinary sundial does. In his concluding remarks, Father Horne says: “Village life in the revolved round the Parish Church to a very great extent, and its feasts and services fixed the date and set the time for things temporal as well as spiritual. In most country

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places the church services were undoubtedly regulated by these scratch dials, and so, from this point of view, they played a not unimportant part in their day.” S.C.

October 18th 1919 Notes. THE GAME OF FIVES – A Fives Court still remains at Lethbridge Arms Inn, Bishops Lydeard. – G.F.

THE BLAKE CHEST – A very beautiful chest belonged to Admiral Robert Blake who was born at Bridgwater, has been presented to the Royal United Service Museum, London. It was fully described in the August number of “The Connoisseur.”

BRIDGWATER’S FORMER WATER SUPPLY – A Topographical Description of the County of Somerset, published early in the last century, speaking of Bridgwater, says: -“It has a spacious hall, and a high cross, with a cistern over it, to which water is conveyed by an engine from a neighbouring brook, and carried from thence to most of the streets.

THE GLASTONBURY THORN – is the subject of an illustrated article in the “British Workman” for October. It says “There is a particularly fine specimen in Hyde Park, not far from the Marble Arch and there is also another in Clissold Park North London. The tree has been visited by more than one expert, and it has also been specially mentioned in the Linnaean Society.” The articles also include a quotation from Collinson’s on the subject.

SIR HENRY IRVING IN A NEW CHARACTER – Mrs Clement Scott has recently published a most delightful volume, entitled “Old Days in Bohemian London,” in which she gives her recollections of many theatrical and other celebrities with whom she and her husband were on terms of intimacy. Most of us think of the late Sir Henry Irving as a brilliant actor and theatrical manager, and that, too, of a most generous disposition. But Mrs Clement Scott shows us another side of his character. She says: “A diplomat to his finger-tips, Sir Henry Irving ought to have been a great Statesman. In subtle wit I compare him with a modern Richelieu, in sly humour to a Tallyrand; in dominant will to a Cardinal Manning. Born to rule, he possessed more the power of creating submission than the power of begetting love. ‘Young and old, rich and poor, you must all succumb and be swayed by me,’ he seemed to say to himself, ‘and if I cannot rule you by affection, then let it be by fear, for rule I must and will.’ “HENRY FIELDING” – At Sharpham Park, near Glastonbury, was born, on April 22nd 1707, Henry Fielding, the famous English novelist. He was educated, first at Eaton, and then at Leyden University, but, owing to parental extravagance, he was forced, at the age of 20, to return to London and earn his own living. Here he subsisted by writing plays, but as they brought neither great fame nor money, and, owing to his extravagance, he was always in debt. In November, 1734, he married a Miss Craddock, who possessed a fortune of £1,500, and, on the strength of it, Fielding went to reside at East Stour, Dorset, where he led the life of a country gentleman. Within two years he had spent his wife’s fortune, and he returned to London, where, for a time, he opened a small theatre, but, making no great success, he studied law. In 1740 he was called to the Bar, but, as his practise was small, he tried to earn his living by the pen. About this time appeared “Pamela,” a novel written by Samuel Richardson, and its success inspired Fielding to write a novel on the same lines, but

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with more vigour. This novel was “Joseph Andrews,” for which he received £200. He nest wrote “Jonathan Wild,” and for a time edited a small paper. His first novel, “Joseph Andrews,” won for him the patronage of Lord Lyttleton, who obtained for him, in 1748, the paid position of Justice of the Peace for London and Middlesex, where he rendered most valuable services. Soon after his appointment appeared his novel, “Tom Jones,” and in 1751 he wrote “Amelia”; for this he received £2,000. This novel is most interesting, as the chief characters are supposed to represent Fielding and his wife. Early excesses had undermined his health, and he was advised to go to Lisbon on October 8th, 1754, and was buried in the English cemetery there.

CREWKERNE MAN’S THEFT – Some time since I made a note from “Odd Ways in Olden Days Down West,” a book published in Birmingham, about 40 years ago, dealing with witchcraft. It interested me greatly, as an old Crewkernian, because it set me wondering who Robert Baker was, and what were the contents of the “great book of his master’s which had great circles in him.” The extract will, perhaps, interest some readers of this column. “The Act V., Eliz., cap. 16, enacted that persons exercising witchcraft, conjuration, or enchantment, whereby any person shall be killed or destroyed, shall suffer as felons, without benefit of clergy. The Bishop’s Commissary, Mr Williams, was occupied Aug 20, 1560, in cross-examination of John Welsh, who, if his own evidence is believed, had been within a hair’s breadth of indictment for this offence. Being demanded of his habitacion, he saythe that he dwellythe in a parishee called Metherbery [Netherbury] in Dorsett; next, whether he were ever Sir Robert of Dreaton’s man - he was reteigninge to hem by the space of vii. yeres; thirdly, whether he do practise both for the Pisikes and the agues; next, whether he dyd it by art or naturally, or by any other secret or privy means; herbes- whether hot or cold- he knew nothing of; as to a familiar, he answered utterly that he had none about hem, neither in any place of the world, ether above ground or under; as to whether any man is wicked: “he knewe yt partlye by the feres, and that there be three kindes of ferishes – whit, grene, and blacke, which, when he ys dysposyd to use, he spekythe wilhe upon hilles where is grate hoes of erthe; namely, yn Dorsetshere, and between the houres of xii and i., at norme, and at mydnyghte. He had had a great book of his masters which had great circles in him, but this book had been stolen from him by Robert Baker, of Crokehone (Crewkerne).” – W.G.Willis Watson.

ORDEAL BY TOUCH – When Mr Sheppard told us last week that when Jack White was made to touch the corpse of the man he had murdered “blood immediately showed under the pressure,” he was referring to a very ancient superstition, firmly and generally believed by our countrymen until within comparatively recent times. King James I, in his “Daemonology” says “In a secret murder, if the dead carcass be at any time thereafter handled by the murderer, it will gush out of blood, as if the blood were crying to Heaven for revenge of the murderer.” The Rev Wm Hunt, in his Diocesan History of Bath and Wells, says “As late as 1745 one Jack White was put to the ordeal of touching, in Wincanton Church porch, the corpse of a man he had murdered.” This statement, however, is not correct. Jack White was executed on August 19th, 1730, fifteen years before the date mentioned by Mr Hunt, and the ordeal of touching the corpse of his victim never took place at all, although it forms an important and dramatic part of the story of Jack White’s Gibbet as generally told and believed. A very interesting story of the operation of this Ordeal by Touch is told in “The Autobiography and Correspondence of Sir Simonds D’Ewes, Bart, during the reign of James I, and Charles I” – a work published in two volumes in 1845. Sir Simonds

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D’Ewes was born at Coaxden, in the parish of Chardstock, December 18th, 1602, and the following is a brief summary of events which he sets out at considerable length in his story as having taken place in 1613. One Master Babb made love to a rich widow living at Kingston, near Taunton. She rejected him, and his love seems to have turned to hate, for he attacked her with a knife, inflicting upon her no less than 15 wounds, of which three were mortal. He then placed one of her own knives in the dead woman’s hand, thrust it into the deepest wound, and made his escape from the house without having been seen. The servants and neighbours – and also the Coroner’s jury – finding nothing stolen, concluded from what they saw before them that the widow had taken her own life, and the body was given the usual burial of a suicide. Master Babb congratulated himself that he was absolutely safe from suspicion. But Mr Warre, of Hestercombe, a Justice of the Peace for Somerset, happened to hear the story, and, after weighing the circumstances, made up his mind that it was not possible for the poor woman to have given herself so many wounds of which several were mortal, and felt convinced that her vital spirits and strength must needs have failed before she received one half of them. He felt sure, therefore, that a foul murder had been committed, and after the body had lain three days in its dishonoured grave, he had it taken up, and commanded that everyone living within three miles of the scene of the murder should come and touch the corpse. Amongst others came Mr Babb, who asked why the body of the widow who had killed herself had been thus dug up. “The other answered him that it was now generally suspected she had been murdered, and that everyone there present was to come to the dead body and to touch it, and that when the murderer touched it it would bleed.” ‘Well,’ answered Babb, ‘be it how it will, by business requireth haste, and I cannot stay,’ or words to that effect, and so immediately hastened away.” Mr Warre, hearing of this, sent men to bring him back, but Babb fled and made his escape. The matter preyed upon his mind however; he realised that he had brought suspicion upon himself, and that the officers of justice were searching for him, and he finally gave himself up and confessed his crime. He was brought up at the next Assizes, which were held at Chard, was found guilty, and condemned to death, and was shortly afterwards hanged on the common gallows near that town with a number of other criminals. This belief which proved the undoing of Mr Babb was formerly very widespread, and possibly remains with us to some extent to the present day. Mr Henderson, in his Folklore of the Northern Counties, says “Durham peasants, apparently remembering the old belief, still expect those who come to look on a corpse, to touch it, in token that they bear no ill-will to the departed.”

Queries. 67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – In his Exploration of Exmoor, Mr J. Ll. W. Page says Betty Muxworthy (in Lorna Doone) was drawn from life, and known to many, and that plenty of her school are still to be found (1895). She boasted that the following prayer alone had been sufficient for her throughout her earthly pilgrimage:- “Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on.” Have any of your readers ever heard this prayer used, and if the two lines quoted are not the full prayer, can anyone kindly complete it for me? – LORNA.

68 – BULL BAITING IN SOMERSET – The reference to bull-baiting in your last week’s paper leads me to ask whether any of your readers can tell me anything about bull-baiting having been practised in the neighbourhood of Taunton. – H.C.

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Replies to Queries. 26 – TALES AND LEGENDS – The following tale from dear old Somerset was culled from a newspaper published in the late period of the 18th century. The scene is laid at Claverton, a village near Bath. The husband of an old woman in that parish being extremely ill, she affectionately tramped over to Bath to seek advice of an eminent physician, who patiently heard her husband’s case, remitted the fee, and gave her a prescription for a box of pills, in idoneo vehiculo sumenda. This the old lady took to a druggist, who, having dispensed it, wrote on the label a literal translation of the direction “to be taken in a proper vehicle.” Returning to her cottage, she produced her treasure, and, putting on her spectacles, perused the mandate annexed to the pill- box. All was perfectly unintelligible save the word “vehicle,” which entirely transcended her knowledge of the English tongue; so she referred to a neighbour, who advised her to consult the venerable and classical sexton of the parish. “A vehicle,” he said, “is quivis vehiculus, a phaeton, a landau, a curricle, or a wheelbarrow.” Whereupon the good dame repaired homeward to the sick man’s room and said to her husband, “Come, John, thee must uppy.” “What vor?” answered the husband. “Come, come, don’t ye make no words, but let me dress thee; thee must only take doctor’s stuff, and then thee shall go to bed again.” So saying she whipped downstairs to prepare the “vehicle.” At the cottage door she placed the husband in the wheelbarrow and made him swallow the pill whilst being conveyed in the wheelbarrow round the garden, and then promptly restored him to bed again! – W G Willis Watson.

40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET – I fancy Mr Sheppard is not quite correct when he states that about 45 years ago the late Mr Clinker wrote or published in the “Western Gazette” a long account of the story of Jack White’s crime and punishment. So far as I can trace the only account of the story which appeared in the “Western Gazette” was on December 27th, 1878, when a column was devoted to a lengthy poem by the late Mr Wm Macmillan, of Castle Cary, entitled “Jack White’s Ghost,” which was referred to in my note in these columns on September 20th. This poem was described by the author as “A true story of Yarlington Fair, 1877,” and was not so much an account of Jack White’s crime and punishment in 1730 as of a local character who imbibed too freely at Yarlington Fair nearly 150 years later and found himself under the influence of drink at Bratton cross-roads at midnight, where he imagined he saw the ghost of Jack White, who gave him a brief account of the murder and execution of a century and a half before, and warned him against his drinking habits. Just over 50 years ago the story of Jack White appeared in the “Dorset County Chronicle,” and a very incorrect version was published in the “Bath Chronicle” of August 20th, 1896. All these versions, like that given by Mr Sheppard, follow the lines of the story as it has been told in the Wincanton and Castle Cary district for over 75 years past, as mentioned in my pervious note, but they differ very widely indeed from the actual facts as unearthed by the late Mr Macmillan in March, 1898: and the various versions also differ from one another in many respects. Briefly, the traditional form of the story is that Jack White was ostler at the George Inn, Castle Cary (not the Waggon and Horses, as stated by Mr Sheppard), when one dark and stormy night there called at the inn a stranger who showed a pocket well filled with Spanish gold, who insisted, in spite of the landlord’s warning, in pushing on to Wincanton the same night. Jack White is stated to have followed him, to have overtaken him at Bratton cross-roads, about 3 ½ miles from Castle Cary and 2 ½ from Wincanton, and there murdered and robbed him. Next morning the body was found and carried to Wincanton, where it

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was laid in the church porch and where people from far and near came to see it and to prove their innocence by touching the corpse. The landlord of the George was amongst those who came, and he insisted upon his ostler accompanying him and also upon him touching the body. Immediately he did so some blood oozed out from the dead man’s wounds, and everybody then knew that Jack White was the murderer. He was confined in an iron cage suspended from a post erected at the scene of the murder, and left to starve to death. No doubt Mr Sheppard has heard many of the stories which are told of the wretched man having gnawed the flesh off his hands and of his ravenously eating a pound of candles given him by a woman who passed on her way from market. There is not a word of truth in this part of the story. The tradition goes on to state that the murdered man proved to be Jack White’s own brother, who had left home many years before and had been lost sight of; but the various versions do not agree as to his Christian name. One gives it as Joseph, another as William, and I have also heard one or two other names given to him. The story has been dramatized and very few travelling theatrical companies of the type that make prolonged stays in one place remain in the Castle Cary or Wincanton district any length of time without producing the play of Jack White’s Gibbet. I remember it being played in Jarvis’s Field, Taunton, on several occasions, bills announcing the performance being exhibited in the town. The story has also been made the subject of a novel by Mr Walter Raymond, who gives his own version of the tragedy and the events leading up to it in his book “No Soul Above Money.” All of the versions I have mentioned are very far from the truth, and I hope to give the actual facts in a future note. For the present it may be interesting to add that 20 years ago there were still old men and women living in the district of Wincanton and Castle Cary who remembered seeing in their early days the remains of the gibbet post still standing in what is now an enclosed copse. Many of the country people visited this post and cut or broke off pieces of it to carry in their pockets as a charm against or cure for toothache. – M.

47 – JEW BOILING AT WIVELISCOMBE – Prebendary Hancock’s interesting and valuable history of Wiveliscombe, entitled “Wifela’s Combe,” contains the statement that “some old cottages, which existed until comparatively recent years, not far below the church, on the south side of the street, were one of the old dyeing houses, and there is a gruesome tradition that, long years ago, a Jew, who carried on the dyeing trade in this house, was one day seized by a number of malefactors and boiled alive in one of his own indigo vats!” There is an estate named “Jewes” in Wiveliscombe parish – the ownership of which is traced by Prebendary Hancock from the families of Jewe, Cappes, Hawley, and Dyke, to Boucher – and that would perhaps explain the name Jew’s lane, and even give rise to the Jew-boiling “tradition.” – WELLINGTON.

50 – FIGURES ON PETHERTON BRIDGE – The pair of carved stone figures on the Bridge at South Petherton are the subject of a local legend related to the writer when once he enquired as to their origin. It was that they were the effigies of a boy and girl, children of a well known old-time family who were drowned in the river after falling in while playing on its banks. There is no evidence to support this. On the contrary, Mr Alfred C Fryer, F.S.A., in an exhaustive paper on “Monumental Effigies in Somerset,” contributed to the Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological Society, considers it a not altogether unlikely surmise that these figures originally came from the chapel of St Nicholas, founded in 1304 for the great mansion built by John De Beauchamp at Stoke-under-Ham. Mr Fryer does not support the theory that these effigies were ever intended to be demi-figures, and it seems to him more probable that

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they were originally full length. It is not known whether they were broken before they were brought to Petherton Bridge, or whether they were wantonly cut away at the bottom so as to fit them into the parapet of the bridge. Mr Fryer identifies them as part of a group of seven Ham stone effigies of civilians of the XIII or XIV centuries, the work of figure sculptors, who were plying their craft in the West as early as 1240. In support of Mr Fryer’s theory it may be pointed out that a field-gateway in carved and inscribed stone at Tintinhull church is considered to have come from the Chapel of St Nicholas when it was demolished. – J.G.

53 – CREWKERNE’S CHAMPION BRIDE – I thank Mr Harrison for his extremely interesting note about the Crewkerne bride of 102 years of age. I regret I am unable to give him any further information concerning this wonderful old lady. I have made enquiries of the Vicar of Crewkerne, who, with a friend of mine, has made a careful search of the registers, but without succeeding in confirming the report. I may add that the registers of Crewkerne Church date from 1585. – W.G.Willis Watson.

54 – BEACON FIRES – Although I cannot answer the question he asks, it may interest your correspondent to know that an official advertisement appeared in the “Western Flying Post” for December 26th, 1803, giving a list of Fire Beacons in the Western District, on the firing of which the Forces are to assemble at their places of Rendezvous.” Only two Somerset beacons appear in the list, viz., Fire Beacon at Castlene Roche (sic), six miles from Taunton, and ditto at Burrow Chapel, near .

55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – The Women’s Club at Nether Stowey is still kept up, and the annual meeting, with church going, tea, and merry making is carried out each year the Friday before midsummer day. The club was founded 113 years ago by Mr Tom Poole, and is believed to be still flourishing. – S.

57 – GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – In 1818 Mr Nicholas Carlisle, F.R.S., F.S.A., published “A Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales.” Those described under the Somerset heading were – The Grammar Schools at Bath, Bridgwater, Bruton, Crewkerne, Frome, Ilminster, Langport, Martock and Taunton. The particulars given occupy thirty-two pages of letterpress. But a much more recent and interesting descriptive list is that by the late Rev Chancellor T Scott Holmes in the second volume of the Victoria History of Somerset. This article extends to more than thirty pages of that grand work. – S.G.

58 – SOMERSET MEMORIALS – There are several monuments in our county. The Pynsent monument, near Curry Rivel, was erected by the elder Pitt, to the memory of Sir W Pynsent, who left him his estate there. The Athelney Monument marks the site of King Alfred’s Abbey. The Wellington Monument was raised to the memory of the Iron Duke. The Grenville Monument, Lansdown, Bath, commemorates the battle in which Sir Bevil Grenville was slain by the Parliamentary Forces under Sir William Waller, who then held Bath. The Hood Monument, overlooking the woodlands of Butleigh was raised to the memory of a notable native of the county. There is a monument to Blake at Bridgwater. Then, of course, there is the Orchardleigh Cromlech, the only known monument of the Stone Age within the bounds of Mendip, and the Caractacus stone on Exmoor. – W.G.Willis Watson.

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61 – FIRE BEACONS – In answer to is “G.D.”, Fire Beacon Hill. is near Bicknoller. A popular guide book says:- “Not far beyond the hill (Thorncombe Barrow) is a ridgway track. That in a good mile takes us to the pole on the top of “Fire Beacon Hill (1,000 feet), from which a half-hour’s walk straight on leads to the end of the ridge. – W.G.Willis Watson.

62 –STOCKS LAST USED – I cannot say when the stocks at Martock were last used, but the “Sherborne Journal” for June 2nd, 1859, contained an account of a chimney- sweep having been confined in the stocks in the Market-place for four hours on the previous Thursday for insulting two ladies whilst in a state of intoxication, and failing to pay the fine of 8s imposed on him. The lock belonging to the stocks being missing, the policemen had the pleasure of keeping guard over him. The paragraph states “the stocks were erected some six or eight years since, and this is the first time of their being used.” The man who spent four hours in them said he would rather sweep a dozen chimneys than go to the stocks again.

64 – SOMERSET EPITAPHS – I cannot say whether Mr W Adlam ever completed the list of Somerset epitaphs, but I know that some of his collections relating to the county were given to the Society of Antiquarians, and can be seen at Burlington House. – E.S.

October 25th 1919 Notes. STOCKS AT CURRY RIVEL – I have copies from the Churchwardens’ accounts at Curry Rivel the following: 1762-3 – Paid for making the stocks, 4s 8d; paid for timber for the stocks, 5s 6d; paid for paint, 1s 1788 – Paid Joseph Stacey for making ye new stocks, 19s 6d; to carrying the timber from Brick Hill to make ye stocks., 2s. 1790 Paid Mr Ilett for timber for the stocks, 10s 8d. 1827 Paid John Salway and James Hann for assisting to put disorderly boys in the stocks, 3s. There are no stocks in existence now in this parish. – G.W.Saunders.

FIRST HARVEST FESTIVAL – Who was the originator of the Harvest Festival, which was celebrated in many churches last Sunday? It is commonly supposed to date from the General Thanksgiving ordered by in 1854, but Archdeacon Denison held a harvest festival in his church at East Brent, Somersetshire in 1843, and the famous poet-preacher, Hawker of Morwenstow, held a similar service in his Cornish Parish Church that same year. The most popular of all harvest festival hymns, too – Dean Alford’s “Come ye thankful people, come” – was written some years before the Queen’s Proclamation. – “Birmingham Weekly Post.”

FLIGHT IN SOMERSET – Somerset as a county has a long an honourable connection with the science of flight. The great pioneer, , was a native, and many interesting aviation matters are known relating to the county. But Somerset can claim connection with one of the earliest and most interesting records of aerial projects. Roger Bacon of Ilchester, born about 1214 at that place, and who died in 1292, in an address to the King of England, says:- “An instrument may be made to fly withal; if one sit in the midst of the instrument and do turn an engine, by which the wings, being artificially compose, may beat the ayre after the manner of a flying bird.” A most extraordinary and realistic forecast.

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LOCAL DRAGONS – In addition to the Quantock dragon, described by the Rev C W Whistler, there is a tradition of one connected with the Aller Hills, near Langport. The story was well told, some years since, by Mrs Spillsbury, who reduced it to something like local history by telling us that:- “From Arthur’s tent the dragon waves on high, Lit with the splendour of the sunset sky; Sign of the great Pendragonship, the crest Which Cedric from the king would gladly wrest; Cedric the Saxon! Who, with haughty will, Plants the same standard upon Aller Hill, Making incursions on the country round, And ravaging each hide of conquered ground.” -L.D.

WILLIAM DAMPIER AND ROBINSON CRUSOE – In the course of an interesting article on “Dover’s Powder,” the children’s newspaper for last week had something to say about the famous buccaneer and explorer, William Dampier, who was born at East Coker, near Yeovil, in 1651 or 1652. It spoke of him as “pirate, buccaneer, tyrant, scholar; the greatest of unscientific scientists, the untaught master of magnificent English – this is he, writing up his adventures day by day, his observations on winds and currents, on bird and fish, and beast and reptile, writing descriptions to which we have to refer even now, two centuries after his death.” It further described his as “a strange, lean figure, hard and relentless, yet with something of the poet’s romantic fervour dominating his mind and actions in his widest excesses. And this man, amid the strife and peril, the hubbub and the triumph, is always writing; writing on the ship and on the shore, and in woods and in the cabin, writing a diary that is for everlasting.” But someone may ask what has this to do with “Dover’s Powder”? The article went on to explain that James Dover, the doctor who first made this powder and gave his name to it, was the discoverer of Robinson Crusoe, who – as we know – was Alexander Selkirk, of Largo, Fifeshire, who was marooned on the Island of Juan Fernandez from one of Dampier’s ships in the course of a disastrous voyage of piracy and exploration, and was left on his island for over four years. But when James Dover, the doctor, set out with two ships, as pirate and explorer, Dover was in command of one of the vessels and Dampier was his pilot; and by chance they called at Juan Fernandez, attracted there by the fire Robinson Crusoe has kindled. Dover, the pirate-doctor, rescued Crusoe, and dosed him with powder, and brought him home in a ship which carried plunder worth £200,000. Thus we see that for the story of Robinson Crusoe we are very largely indebted to our Somerset circumnavigator, Dampier, who, in the first instance, marooned Alexander Selkirk on his lonely island, and who, four or five years later, took part with Dr Dover in his rescue. Selkirk received £800 as his share of the plunder from the ship which brought him home, but Dampier died before the plunder was divided. His death took place in London in 1715, but the place of his burial is unknown.

THE GAME OF FIVES – Fives was a common game in Somerset villages, and was often played against the lowest stage of the Church towers, where the blank wall and the side buttresses formed an excellent court. This soon became a public nuisance, and steps were taken to prevent the playing of the game against Church walls, and so the local inns supplied the want.

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In the Martock registers under 1740 there is an entry “for beating up ye fives places 6d”; and on 26th April, 1754, there is an order of the vestry that “The Churchwardens take care that the Church and Churchyard be kept cleaned, and in a more decent order than it has been, and in order to do it they may hire such person, or persons, to do it as they shall think proper besides the sexton, and that effectual care be taken to prevent people going up into ye Lids, and to prevent fives playing in ye south side of ye church.” The order did not stop the abuse. The players evidently had gone over to the north side, where they could not so well be seen, and so on June 7th, 1758, a vestry was called “to consider the more effectual was to put a stop to or prevent fives playing in the Churchyard; it having been found to be the occasion of much mischief being done to the windows of the Church, and also to the leads and walls of it, and also of much wickedness, carousing, swearing, quarrelling, and fighting in the Churchyard, and so forth.” The decision of the vestry was :- “Considering the 88th Canon, we do order and allow that whereas a man has had his skull fractured by a stone falling on his head by another climbing up into the leads for a ball, that the Churchwardens endeavour to put a stop to the playing fives in the Churchyard by digging a ditch across ye fives place or any other method they shall think proper.” This was done, for in the accounts of 1758 there are entries: - 1758 – Paid for digging up ye fives place, 3s 6d; paid the sexton for rooting docks and nettles, 3s. But the mark has been left upon the Church to the present day. At the north west corner there is a much dilapidated buttress. Footholds have been cut out of it to form a ladder up to the roof, evidently for the purpose of getting balls, and a large piece of stone has been knocked off one of the set-offs, probably the piece that fell and broke the fellow’s skull. Later the corners of this buttress were chamfered off to improve its appearance and the footholds “stopped.” But those who do not know its history would take it to be an Early English buttress, and be much puzzled to find it amid late Perpendicular work. A very good example of a fives court is to be seen behind the Fleur-de-Lys Inn at Stoke-sub- Hamdon. This is a reproduction of the lowest stage of a church tower with shallow buttresses at each side. There was, and there still may be, another such court at Curry Rivel behind the Bell Inn. – G.W.Saunders.

WITCHCRAFT IN DEVON AND SOMERSET IN STUART TIMES – In Scott’s “Demonology,” it is stated that at the Assizes in Exeter (1676, or thereabouts), Lord Chief Justice North, presiding at the Crown trials, with another Judge, left for execution a poor old woman accused of witchcraft under a statute of James I., condemned, as usual, on her own confession, and on the testimony of a neighbour, who deposed that he saw a cat jump into the accused person’s cottage window at twilight one evening, and that he verily believed the said cat to be the devil, on which precious testimony the poor wretch was accordingly hanged. As late as 1682, three unhappy women, Susan Edwards, Mary Trembles, and Temperance Lloyd, were hanged at Exeter for witchcraft. This is believed to be the last execution of the kind in England under form of judicial sentence. In Somerset persons accused seem in some cases to have been more fortunate than their Devonshire neighbours. A pragmatical Justice of the Peace, Mr Hunt by name, commenced a course of enquiry after offenders against the statute of James I., and, had he been allowed to proceed, might have gained a name as renowned for witch- finding as the renowned Mr Hopkins (who, in 1645 and 1646, assumed the title of Witchfinder-General, and travelled through the Eastern Counties pretending to find

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witches and examining them by torture, and procuring their execution). However, this gentleman was stopped from higher authority, the lives of the poor people arrested (twelve in number) were saved, and the country remained quiet, though the supposed witches were suffered to live. The examinations attest some curious particulars, for amongst the usual string of forward, fanciful, or, as they were called, afflicted children, brought forward to club their startings, starings, and screamings, there appeared also certain remarkable confessions of the accused, from which we learn that the Somerset Satan enlisted the witches, like a wily recruiting sergeant, with one shilling in the hand, and twelve in promises; that when the party of weird-sisters passed to the witch meeting the used the magic words “Thout, tout, throughout and about,” and that when they departed they exclaimed “Rentum, Tormentum.” We are further informed that his Infernal Highness, on his departure leaves a smell, and that not a pretty one, behind him. “This,” according to Mr Granville, seems to imply the reality of the business, those ascititious particles which he held together in his sensible shape being loosened in his vanishing, and so offending the nostrils by their floating and diffusing themselves in the open air.” How much are we bound to regret that Mr Justice Hunt’s discovery of “this hellish kind of witches,” in itself so clear and plain, and containing such valuable information, should have been smothered by meetings and opposition and discouragement from someone then in authority!

Queries. 69 – PRIOR’S CHAPEL AT RUISHTON – In Vol. 25 of the Somerset Archaeological Society’s proceedings (1879), page 67, is the following:- The King Henry VII – was received by John Prowse, the prior, on 4th October, 1497. Prowse’s standing or wealth had procured him from Pope Alexander VI, the dignity of conferring orders, and the privilege of giving his blessing with two fingers; which he recorded by the image of a prior in this attitude of benediction, carved on the quoin- stone of the Prior’s Chapel at Ruishton. Is this chapel a part of the church? If so, could any reader say where the stone is to be found?

70 – PENANCE STOOLS IN CHURCHES – I have heard that in West Pennard Church there is a “penance stool” in the centre of the nave, where any member of the congregation who did not know how to behave elsewhere was brought out by the churchwardens to sit in full view of the congregation until he could behave better. Can any of your readers tell me whether such penance stools are found in other Somerset churches, or whether this West Pennard specimen is unique in the county?

Replies to Queries. 11 – MANOR HOUSE, BISHOP’S HULL – Twenty-one years ago a correspondent wrote in this column, “There is a tradition in the village that there was formerly an underground passage communicating with the old Castle, and that it was made use of by the Royalists during its siege by the Parliamentary forces, but there are difficulties in the way of its acceptance, and, although there may have been some means of escape from the Manor House, it does not follow that it led to the Castle.”

20 – BISHOP OF BRIDGWATER – The origin of this query of mine was a communication from Mr J Meares, a quondam resident of Bridgwater. He has found in “A Tudor Book of Arms,” being Harleian MS. No. 2,169, the arms of the “Byshoppe of Brygwater.” They are described as Sable, 3 Mitres, or between 2 piles arched in point out of dexter and sinister base argent. Both Powell and Jarman, in

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their histories of the borough, refer to the proposal to appoint a Suffragan Bishop of Bridgwater, but without reference. Your correspondent in your Replies to Queries of 13th September, gives a fuller account than they do, and I should be grateful to him if he would say where the information is to be obtained in order that I may know what other towns were selected for the honour. In the case of Bridgwater I have found no evidence of the appointment being made at any time. – T.B.D.

29 – SOMERSET LIBERTIES – Bacon’s county map of Somerset for cyclists shows Mark Liberty as a considerable stretch of moor land lying south of the S. and D.J.R., between Highbridge and Edington Stations.

50 – FIGURES ON PETHERTON BRIDGE – In Dr Norris’s “South Petherton in the Olden Time” there is the following reference to Petherton Bridge:- “It was destroyed in the Civil Wars of the seventeenth century, and it was probably when it had undergone but temporary restoration that the two little children, whose effigies may still be seen built into the parapet were drowned.” – S.P.

56 –QUAKERS BURIED IN ORCHARDS – As the descendant of an Essex “Quakeress” who was buried in her orchard, I may, perhaps, speak with some authority! My great-great-great-grandmother, Ruth Marriage, was in 1772 so buried at her farm, Postridge Green, near Broomfield, Essex. I have duly made my pilgrimage to the spot and taken a photograph of the simple tomb erected over her grave in after years. I have just read in Wm Stradling’s description of his “Priory” at Chilton-Super- Polden, that in 1689, one, Edward Champion, of that parish, died, leaving £4p for the “second poor,” and was buried in his favourite flower garden. Many years afterwards his tombstone was discovered under a fallen turf shed, this inscription being upon it:- “Heare lyeth the Body of Edward Champion, who dyed the last day of the tenth month of the year of our Lord God, 1680.” The local tradition that this man was a Quaker is borne out in the words “tenth month” instead of “October.” – H.Corder.

55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – Some years ago I made a list of such clubs in Somerset as came within my knowledge. The following were for the benefit of male members:- Aller, Ashill, Axbridge, Barrington, , Bath, Bishops Hull, Broadway, , Crewkerne, Curry Rivel, Dinnington, , , , , Farrington Gurney, Fivehead, Frome, Glastonbury, Halse, High Ham, Holcombe, Horsington, , Keinton Mandeville, Kingsbury, Langport, Lydford, Mells, Merriott, Milverton, Montacute, , North Curry, , Norton-Sub-Hamdon, Odcombe, , Shepton Mallet, , Somerton, South Petherton, , Stokecourcy, Street, Taunton, , , Tintinhull, Wellington, Wells, West Charlton, , West Pennard, Wincanton and Yeovil. The following also had clubs for women, or Female Friendly Societies, as they were officially called:- Curry Rivel, Fivehead, High Ham, Ilminster, Kingsbury, South Petherton and Wellington. I have omitted the full title of the various clubs, as there was a strong family likeness about many of them, and it would have led to much useless repetition. In some towns and villages there were several societies, and they were open to various classes of the community. As so many of these organizations have ceased to exist, there must be a considerable lessening of social gatherings and rural jollity, as the festivals had many interesting features, and brought together friends of all classes, from far and near, at Whitsuntide, a bright and joyous time of year. The late Mr G P R

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Pulman, of Crewkerne, gave graphic sketches of some of them. One of his articles was re-published in his volume of “Rambles, Roamings, and Recollections, by John Trotandot,” under the heading of “Our Club Day.” Still later, Mr Walter Raymond, of Yeovil, the Somerset novelist, has given us a very delightful picture of “Sutton Club Walking,” in his book on “English Country Life.” It is indeed, most fortunate that such records have been preserved for us, and for those who many years hence will read with pleasure about the pleasant doings of the past. If any of your readers can add to the list of Somerset clubs given above I shall be grateful. – C.V.

57 – GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – Your correspondent might consult Leach’s “Schools of Medieval England” (Methuen), where he will find a strong case for the antiquity of English Grammar Schools set forth. Incidentally may be mentioned that the date of is pushed back to 1293, and that of Bridgwater School to 1298. Mr Leach contends that “as local records come to be examined by more than the single pair of eyes which have lit on these notices, with as much attention to the evidence as to living educational institutions as has hitherto been paid to dead monasteries and chantries, the number of schools which can be traced to the 13th Century or earlier will be indefinitely increased.” T.B.D.

65 – PORLOCK CHURCH CLOCK – The Rev W P Holmes, rector of Porlock, kindly writes us as follows:- “I have made some enquiries, and find that the clock to which you refer, and which was claimed as one of the earliest of church clocks, is no longer in use. It was replaced at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee by a new clock. The old works are still preserved in the church here.”

65 – PORLOCK CHURCH CLOCK – In his “Exploration of Exmoor,” Mr J. Ll. W.Page, speaking of Porlock, says:- “In the tower, too, is the clock believed by the Rector to be the oldest in England. In the course of some humorous remarks, on the occasion of the visit of the Somersetshire Archaeological Society in 1889, he informed us that it did not go with anything like regularity, and when it did it struck at the wrong time, and was neither useful nor ornamental.” I have referred to the Society’s Proceedings for the year mentioned, but cannot find that the Rector made any claim with regard to the age of the clock. – J.B.

65 – THE OLDEST CLOCK IN ENGLAND – I understand that this distinction is claimed for the clock in the tower of Porlock Church, but I wish “Tempus” had given us the date of its erection, so as to have enabled one to verify the statement. It is alleged that a clock was made for the tower at Cartmell Church, Lancashire, in 1625-6. But this is doubtful. It is given on authority that the first pendulum clock was set up at Venice in 1649. There is, however, a story of a clock with a long pendulum having been set up in the Church of St Paul’s, Covent Garden, by one Harris in 1641. Some maintain that clocks were invented in Boethius early in the 6th Century. Striking clocks were known in as early as the latter part of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th Century. - W.G.Willis Watson.

65 – PORLOCK CHURCH CLOCK – We are indebted to the Rev A J Hook, M.A., vicar of Hambridge, for the following reply – “I do not think that my father, Prebendary Hook, ever claimed that the old clock in Porlock Church was the oldest in England. He certainly was of opinion that it was very ancient, but he had no expert knowledge of clocks, nor, as far as I know, did he ever get any expert opinion on the

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matter. The clock is still, I believe, somewhere in the tower of the church, though it is not in use. It used to stand in a kind of rough cupboard on the ground floor of the tower. It was mounted on a shapeless block of wood, was made throughout of iron – except, perhaps, for one brass wheel, but I cannot be certain about that. The weights were rough stone from the sea-shore and I remember the winding of it very well. Of course it had no face. It used to go very well and kept good time, and gave no trouble. As far as I know, nothing is known as to the history of the clock or where it was made.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – The following verse was very common in country districts when I was a child. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed that I lie on, Four corners to my bed, Four angels round its spread, To carry me when I am dead. L.J.C.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – The following is the version I learnt and used when a boy. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed that I lie on, Four corners to my bed, Twelve angels round it spread, Two to head and two to feet, Two to make my winding sheet, Two to watch and two to pray, And two to bear my soul away, And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. T.B.A.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – My wife is pure-bred Somerset. She tells me that when a very little child, the prayers she was taught to repeat every night were The Lord’s Prayer, “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” and “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.” When the weather was stormy and boisterous, she was taught to pray for those in peril on the sea. This was a pretty lengthy devotion, but her granny, especially, was punctilious about her devoutly repeating the whole, and especially “Matthew, Mark.” This is my wife’s version of the prayer:- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed that I lay on; Six angels round my bed, Two at feet and two at head, And two to carry me when I’m dead, When I’m dead and in my grave, And all my bones are rotten, I hope the Lord will receive my soul, When I am quite forgotten.

I find in the “Castle Cary Visitor” a variant of this as follows:-

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Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed that I lie on; Four corners to my bed, Six angels round my head; Two at head, Two at feet, And two to keep my soul asleep.

Here is still another variant:- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, God bless the bed that I lie on; And if I die before I wake, I hope the Lord my soul will take.

I have a recollection of still another variation. I think it appears in Pulman’s “Rustic Sketches,” but I have not the book by me to refresh my memory. – W.G.Willis Watson.

November 1st 1919 Notes THE GAME OF FIVES – I might add to Mr G.W.Saunders’ interesting note on the game of fives, that it is recorded that in 1813 a fives court was built at the foot of the tower on the south side of West Pennard Church. Games and secular business were forbidden in churchyards by the Synod of Exeter, A.D. 1287, but in spite of this, and of Acts of Parliament, games continued to be regularly played there down to the early part of the 19th century. W.G.Willis Watson.

THE OLDEST SOMERSET FAMILY – The announcement of the death, on October 16th, of the 2nd Viscount Portman recalls to my mind a statement made to me by the late Prebendary E.H.Bates-Harbin, that the Berkeleys (of which the late Viscount was the representative, the surname Portman having been adopted only two centuries ago) were, so far as he knew, the Somerset family who could trace their descent back farther in the main line than could any other of our country families. Mr Bates-Harbin was probably the best authority on that subject then living. – WELLINGTON.

LINES ON BURNHAM OLD LIGHTHOUSE – A writer in “Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries” vol vii., gives the following lines which were found written on one of the white legs of the old wooden legged lighthouse which stood on the sands at Burnham some time about 1844-5. They are supposed to have been composed by a local wit named Burnett – Nine legs to keep me from running away, White breeches to keep my legs cool while I stay, A white scaly jacket to keep my shirt clean, Two eyes not to see with, but for to be seen, A hat made of glass to keep my head warm, A cock perched a’top to wake me at morn, Last of all I have got an upright crooked nose, Through which I’m to sneeze when I’m smoking.

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FLIGHT IN SOMERSET – The note concerning Bacon’s forecast of flying machines is most interesting, but, as a matter of historical accuracy, I feel bound to point out that the great pioneer of the science of flight, John Stringfellow, was not a native of Somerset, but of Yorkshire. He came to Chard in the early forties. There he met , a young engineer. The two men became intimate friends. Both were enthusiastic about aviation, and it was in John Stringfellow’s house, in High-street, Chard, that the world famed aeroplane was planned. In 1847 they took their model to Bala Down, not far from Chard. The experiments were unsuccessful. Henson afterwards withdrew from the experiments. Stringfellow struggled on alone. He set to work on the small model, upon which, for all time, his fame will rest as being the first engine driven aeroplane to fly. It was completed in 1848. Next Stringfellow set about making a triplane. It was exhibited at in 1868. The aeroplane of 1848 is preserved for the nation in the Albert and Victoria Museum. The triplane and engine are in the museum at Washington. Stringfellow died at Chard in 1883, and a monument to his memory stands in the Cemetery, and to this, in 1912, a bronze wreath was attached with the following inscription:- “This wreath from friends and the inhabitants of Chard. A tribute to the memory of John Stringfellow, inventor of the first flying machine carrying its own motive power.” W.G.Willis Watson.

HARVEST FESTIVALS – The following paragraph appeared in our Notes and Queries column in September, 1904:- “The West Country is undoubtedly entitled to the credit of having instituted the harvest thanksgiving service, now almost universal in Protestant places of worship. Sixty years ago the ‘Militant Archdeacon of Taunton’ (as Mr Morley calls him in his ‘Life of Gladstone’), the Rev George Denison, the vicar of East Brent, Somerset held special services to celebrate the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and in the same year (1843) the author of ‘The Song of the Western Men,’ the Rev R.S.Hawker, vicar of Morwenstowe, Cornwall, began similar services. Dean Alford’s ‘Come ye thankful people come,’ without which no harvest festival is now complete, was first printed in 1844, and as the Dean was a Somerset man, it is very probable that he wrote the hymn for the service at East Brent. The decoration of churches with flowers and fruit is of later origin, and began with the general thanksgiving for harvest ordered by the late Queen in Council in 1854.” “The Illustrated London News” for September 25th 1858, contained the following reference to the subject:- “We learn from the chroniclers that the practice of celebrating harvest home as a public festival has been observed in more than one place with all the accessories of a grand gala. Archdeacon Denison, a name so well known to the public, has had the merit of being the patron and conductor of one of the most successful and most original of these. The ancient character of the celebration was much altered. The proceedings commenced with services in the church and terminated with after-dinner speeches introducing or acknowledging toasts, which have the peculiarity of being drunk without drink of any kind.”

HARVEST FESTIVALS – I am not going to attempt to assert who was the originator of harvest festivals, such as are now celebrated in our churches and chapels. It would, probably, be somewhat difficult to prove, but we Somerset folk like to think the thanksgiving services for the ingathering of the crops were initiated by the Ven. Archdeacon Denison of East Brent. The writer in the “Birmingham Weekly Post” does not tell us the month in the year 1843, in which the festival took place at East Brent, but it was not until October of that year that Hawker, of Morwenstow, held his.

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Baring Gould, in “The Vicar of Morwenston,” says:- “Now there is scarcely a church in England in which a harvest thanksgiving service is not held. But, probably, the first to institute such a festival in the Anglican Church was the Vicar of Morwenstow, in 1843. In that year he issued a notice to his parishioners to draw their attention to the duty of thanking God for the harvest, and to announce that he would set apart a Sunday for that purpose.” As a matter of fact, it was fixed for the first Sunday in October. Dean Alford’s hymn, “Come, ye thankful people come,” was first published in his “Psalms and Hymns,” 1844, No. 116, and, subsequently, after revision, in his “Poetical Works,” 1865, and his “Year of Praise,” 1857. In 1861 the compilers of hymns “Ancient and Modern” included an altered version in that collection, and I learn from Julian’s “Dictionary of Hymnology,” that this was repudiated by the author, but still retained by the compilers of hymns ”Ancient and Modern,” with an explanatory note in the preface in some of the subsequent editions. The revised text in Alford’s “Poetical Works,” 1865, is the authorised text, and that usually given in modern hymnals. – W.G.Willis Watson.

INSCRIPTIONS ON BELLS – About two years ago at a time when we were compelled to suspend our Notes and Queries column on account of the war, Mr R.R.C.Gregory, of Eltham, kindly sent us the following extracts from “Curious Church Customs,” a book published by William Andrews, of Hull. At Ashill, Somerset, a bell says:- “I call to wake you all.” The “death bell” at Axbridge, Somerset, states:- “For homesoever this bell doth toll, The Lord have mercy on that sole!” At Backwell a bell says:- “I sound to bid the sick repent, In hopes of life when breath is spent.” A bell at Bagborough has:- “Bouth owld and young did agree full well, To pay for casting of this bell, Because a true tale it should tell.” One at Berrow, Somerset, is more brief:- “My treble voice Makes hearts rejoice.” Brent has a bell with:- “When I doth toll pray mind your souls, And in God put your trust, As may be well with you at last, When you come to doust.” Bruton has a re-cast bell saying:- “Once I’d a note that none could beare, But Bilbie made me sweet and clear.” At Churchill, Somerset, a bell has the following inscriptions:- “Although my waiste is small I will be heard amainst you all, Sing on my jolly sisters.” At Combe, a bell says:- “My sound is good, my shape is neat, ‘Twas Bayley made me so compleat.”

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Many Somerset bells have the following or similar:- “I to the church the living call, And to the grave I summon all.”

Queries. 71 – HILLCOMMON – I am told that this hamlet has entirely sprung into being within comparatively recent years, and that it owes its existence to an old privilege, which provided that anyone who could build a house in one night, and sleep in it, could claim the freehold of the land on which it stood. I should be glad if any of your readers could tell me how far this story is correct. – G.S.

72 – OLD TIME BRIDGWATER VOTERS – In an old book published more than 100 years ago I read “Bridgwater sends two members to Parliament. The right of voting is vested in the inhabitants paying scot and lot.” Could any of your readers kindly tell me what this means? – WALTER.

Replies to Queries. 40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET – In the note I wrote to you I only stated what I read in the “Western Gazette.” I never asserted that it was a true story, although I lived in the neighbourhood the first 20 years of my life, and it was generally believed that Jack White murdered his brother. In my teens I passed the place many times, but I never saw the supposed post where the cage was supposed to have been fixed. But an old man told me that he had seen the post there just inside the copse. As to which Inn Jack White was supposed to have been ostler I won’t argue (because I was not there). I have heard the tale about the pound of candles, but not the yarn about Yarlington Fair, or a chip from the post to cure toothache. I think your correspondent “Ordeal by touch,” was a little too sweeping. He states the date when Jack White was executed, but says the version of touching the corpse in Wincanton Church porch never took place. But he does not prove that statement by saying he lived near the church at that period. If he had said he questioned if it ever occurred I should have been his side. I think in newspaper correspondence people should not be too sweeping in their statements – A.Sheppard.

40 – JACK WHITE’S GIBBET – John White was born at Wincanton in 1690 to honest and industrious parents, and for more than 25 years he lived honestly and soberly. After that he took to drink. It was in August, 1730, that Jack White was passing the Sun Inn in Wincanton, when the landlord, Mr Gilbert, stood at the door and invited him in, saying that a messenger bearing the latest newspapers and a document of importance for a gentleman in the neighbourhood was resting inside, and could give all the latest news. This messenger, Robert Sutton, was himself under the influence of drink, and as Jack White entered the inn Sutton offered him drink to go part of the way with him to show him the road. Jack agreed, and on the way they met two women, one of whom Jack White kissed. His attempt to serve her companion in the same way was stoutly resisted, and in his drunken fury he struck her, and attempted to knock her down. Bob Sutton gallantly took the woman’s part and from that moment Jack’s manner completely changed. For a time the quarrel between the men waxed furious, but in the end Sutton practically compelled Jack to continue the journey against his will. On reaching the cross-roads to Bratton and Holton, they sat down to rest, and Sutton was overcome with drowsiness. White, still smarting with anger, was seized with the devilish impulse to rid himself of his companion, and to

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secure whatever money he might have. With a stake from the hedge, he savagely attacked poor Sutton, beat out one of his eyes, ran the stick in at his mouth and out through the neck, and otherwise mangled his victim. The whole countryside rang with the news of this most barbarous murder, and it was not long before the miserable White was taken, and safely lodged in Ilchester Gaol. He was tried by Mr Baron Thomson at the Assizes held at Bridgwater on Thursday, August 6th, 1730, and was sentenced to be hung in chains on the spot where the murder was committed. He was hanged at the Bratton cross-roads on Wednesday, August 19th, and his dead body was placed in an iron cage, made by a neighbouring blacksmith, and exposed there for months (possibly for years) as a warning to all the neighbourhood. Such is the true story of “Jack White’s Gibbet,” as reported in newspapers published at the time, and as given in his own dying confession, which was printed and published shortly after his execution. These contemporary accounts had been lost sight of for nearly 100 years, when some residents of Wincanton wrote up and published about 80 years ago their fanciful version of the tragedy, which old inhabitants at that time described as “a pack of lies.” But this printed imaginary account was sold in large numbers , and as the oldest inhabitants died off the new version of the story gradually became accepted as correct, and was generally believed until the late Mr Macmillan, of Castle Cary, discovered in 1898 the original newspapers printed at the time of the tragedy in 1730, containing a full account of the actual facts, with the murderer’s dying confession. The scene of the tragedy will be found marked on any large scale map, and is a favourite meeting place for the local packs of hounds. M.

54 –BEACON FIRES – The method adopted for firing the beacons in bygone times is shown in the following extract from the Rev John J Daniell’s “History of Warminster,” a Wiltshire town situated within a very short distance of the Somerset border:- “In anticipation of the invasion of England by the Spaniards, beacons were erected on all commanding elevations. There was one on Cley Hill for giving the alarm to Warminster and the neighbourhood. Instructions were issued to the Constables of the Hundred to provide that the beacon on Cley Hill ‘be well and sufficiently furnished with good and dry wood, and a barrel in which pitch hath been, beside 5 or 6lbs of pitch;’ a watchman was to be appointed, who should be an able man, both of body and discretion, to look well after the beacon; and Mr Carr, the elder, of Corsley, Mr Blake, of the Ashes, Richard Holwey and Christopher Daniel, or Norridge, Mr Hobbs, of Bugley, and others of the meetest persons thereabouts, were ‘to look after the watchmen and see that the beacon was well and orderly watched, and fired only on just cause, nor without making the Justices of the Peace and Constables privy thereto.’” Cley Hill is in the parish of Corsley, and though an elaborate history of that parish, by the late Miss M.F.Davies, was published a few years ago, with the title “Life in an English Village,” it adds nothing to the above information concerning the beacon on the hill, an elevation which is visible over a considerable part of East Somerset. I should like to know whether the arrangements for lighting beacons were confined to the Armada period. Perhaps some other contributor to these columns could throw light on that point. – WELLINGTON.

55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – Here are a few more places in Somerset where village club days were the days of the year:- Misterton, North Perrott, Hinton St George, . – W.G.Willis Watson.

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55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – The following clubs held festivals in the year 1913-14, an some have revived them this year:- Crewkerne, , Tintinhull, Dowlish Wake, , Drayton, Muchelney, East Chinnock, Fivehead, Langport, Ashcott, West Chinnock, High Ham, Curry Rivel, Long Sutton, Wincanton, Hardington, Mandeville, and Churchingford.

57 – GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – I know of no list of Grammar Schools, but if the querist is making a list he may add Yeovil to it. In 1573 a chantry was converted, at the request of the parish, into a school, and continued, the only school in the borough, till 1846, and after that till quite recent years. Then the scholarship endowments which had come to it were incorporated in others now, given to the Yeovil County School. Further particulars can be given if so desired. – J.G.

65 – CONQUEST FARM. BISHOPS’S LYDEARD – The Rev F Warre and the Rev Prebendary Scarth have given some interesting information about the site referred to by B.L. From this I gather it is probable that a Roman legion was stationed there; and that, in consequence of the large number of Roman coins found there in a perfect state of preservation, it is also probable that a mint had been established there. Collinson (vol 2, p 493), under the Bishop’s Lydeard heading, says:- “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 four sure pounds weight of Roman coins, of the Emperors Claudius, Nero, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, Antonine, Septimus-Severus, Tacitus, Gallienus, Tetricus, and a great number of others. The common tradition is, that Conquest had its name from a final victory obtained there over the Danes by the Saxons, under the command of King Alfred.” – F.C. 68 – BULL BAITING – A very similar question was asked in these columns about 22 years ago, when one of our oldest and most regular readers favoured us with the following reply:- “Bull-baiting was at one time a popular form of amusement in Taunton. There used to be, until recently, at the rear of the premises occupied by Mr Tazewell, butcher, of East-street, Taunton, a ring where the bulls used to be placed for baiting purposes. I can recollect myself, many years ago, of course, seeing a bull baited in Silver-street, near where the Alma Inn now stands. Silver-street in those days was not surrounded with houses as it is now. Bull-baiting contests also frequently took place at the Halfway House Inn on the same road, where the Harp Inn now stands. Shrove Tuesday and public holidays were the red-letter days for these events. They were very largely attended, not only by the general public, but also the sportsmen among the upper class were also partial to this kind of sport. The dogs were specially-trained for these fights, and one, Sam Singer, who used to keep the Golden Lion Inn, East Reach (a famous place for cock-fights), and a man named Higgins, who lived in Fore-street kept dogs trained on purpose to bait the bulls. It was at one of these exhibitions at Silver-street that old Bob Palmer’s dog was severely tossed by a bull and disembowelled. The baiting would continue all day, and the excitement at times among the spectators would be intense. The dog which out of a certain number of tries succeeded in holding the bull by the nose more often than the others was adjudged the winner. That dog was considered the best trained which, when tossed into the air, uttered no cry, and which, after such lively treatment, in sporting parlance “came up smiloing.” Bradninch, near Exeter, was a celebrated place for the training of these dogs, and many used to be sent from there to take part in the Taunton fights. Wiveliscombe was also noted for its bull baiting scenes and revels.

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67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – The prayer of Betty Muxworthy was :- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on, Four corners to my bed, Four angels lie asp read; Two at foot, and two at head, Four to carry me when I’m dead. - G.Davis.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – Betty Muxworthy’s prayer is a well known one. I often heard it repeated by old people when I was a little child. In extension it runs:- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Bless the bed that I lie on, Four corners to my bed, Four angels round my head – Amen. J.O.Halliwell-Phillips, in his “Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales,” states that the first two lines were in use at the time of Queen Mary I, at least, according to Ady, in his “Candle in the Dark,” 1656. Halliwell gives the later conclusion thus:- Four corners to my bed, Four angels round my head, One at head and one at feet, And two to keep my soul asleep. Other versions I have heard run thus:- Two at my feet and two at my head, And all to watch me while I sleep.

There is a further version running:- Two at my feet and two at my head. but I cannot trace the conclusion of the couplet. I believe Robert Louis Stephenson refers to the rhyme, although at the moment I cannot recollect the reference. I fancy, also Horace W C Newte mentions it in “The Home of the Seven Devils.” Robert Browning, the poet, writing from Casa Guili, on January 7th 1858, to his intimate friend, the Rev W J Fox, refers to a variant of the rhyme. Wishing he could have Fox in Italy, he says it would be:- “The realisation of the children’s prayer of the angels at the corner of your bed (i.e sofa), ‘one to read and one (my wife) to write, and both to guard you thro’ the night. It is certainly noteworthy that in ecclesiastical symbolism both Matthew and Mark are usually represented as writing, whilst Luke and John almost invariably read. E.VIVIAN.

70 – PENANCE STOOLS IN CHURCHES – I have not met with instances of penance stools in studying Somerset history, but I learn that the penitential system of punishment for the correction of morals formed a portion of King Ina’s laws. In 1338 the Rector of , sitting as the Bishops Commissary at Banwell, sentenced one Alice of Blackford to walk twice round Banwell Church bare footed for incontinence. Roger Warmville in the same year, was found guilty of riot, and he was placed under the necessity of walking, on three several occasions, bare-headed and bare footed round Ilchester Church, in front of the procession made on Sundays and feast days,

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holding a candle, which he was to present to the altar during mass, while a chaplain declared his sin to the congregation in the vulgar tongue. Warmvill had also to be flogged thrice on Market Days at Ilchester, Wells, Bath, Glastonbury, and Somerton, to pay a fine of £20, and make a pilgrimage to Canterbury in honour of St Thomas the Martyr. This, to use a vulgarism, was “some” penance. A case of penance was recorded at Barrow Gurney, between 1754 and 1784. In 1805, it is stated a woman did penance in a sheet at Littleham Churchyard, near Exmouth, and Andrew’s, in his “Antiquities and Curiosities of the Church,” records that “the somewhat too notorious church at East Clevedon in Somerset was the scene of a public penance so recently as in 1882.” Andrews adds that an actual wooden stool of primitive design, with three or four short legs, was to be found in many of the churches is not denied, but the word came to be figurative, and the “stool of repentance” was just as likely to be a pew, the top of a flight of stairs, a gallery, or conspicuous place before the altar. The main object was to have the offender well in view of the congregation.” – W.G Willis Watson.

November 8th 1919 Notes. BIDDING AGAINST THE SAND GLASS – The ancient custom of selling the Chard borough market tolls by bids during the time for the sand in a glass to run out was observed on Tuesday, October 28th. Alderman Townsend (chairman of the market committee) acted as the auctioneer. Mr F Stooks, the present lessee, started with £50, and this was followed by Mr Hoskins offering £60. The bidding then ran between these two, and as the sand ran out of the glass Mr Stooks’ bid of £92 10s was accepted – this being £32 10s more than paid by the same purchaser for last year’s tolls.

THE HUTTON GIANT – The following extract is taken from the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” 1798, under ‘Deaths’: -Jan 10, at Hutton, Mr William Beaucless or Bookless, Schoolmaster, who measured from the crown of his head to his heal, 7 feet 8 inches. His coffin was 8 feet within the boards; and his head and toes, pressed downwards touched both extremities of it. His breadth was in proportion to his length; but he was not athletic, nor upon the whole healthy. He died under 30 years of age, and a bachelor. Till within these few last years he appeared ashamed of his height, and contrived to stoop, that the disparity might not be seen.” - L St George Gray.

THE GAME OF FIVES – I believe that in days gone by the game of fives was played in many of our Somerset churchyards. The late Mr George Sweetman, of Wincanton, once told me that churches and church towers were favourite places for the game, as the conditions there were favourable – high walls and but little disturbance. On the south side of Wincanton church are holes cut out of the freestone of the porch by nails in the boots of the players, who, when they lost a ball on the lead roof, clambered up to recover it. I believe that in the walls of North Church, near Bruton, may still be seen by the side of the windows the iron hooks on which were formerly hung the shutters which protected the windows from injury whilst the villagers played fives against the church walls on Sunday afternoons. It would therefore, appear that the church authorities at North Brewham permitted, even if they did not actually encourage the playing of the game in their graveyard. On the other hand, at West Buckland there are trees growing quite close to the church tower, and tradition says that they were planted there in order to prevent the church wall being used for the

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game of fives. I have also heard that the tower of Montacute Church was formerly used as a fives court. – READER.

CURIOUS SIGNS – Perhaps your querist, re poetical signs, as well as your regular readers, will be interested in the following, which the writer copied some 60 years ago from one of the original circulars:- “A West of England Circular. – Roger Giles, sugon, parish clark and skittle master, reforms ladys and gentlemen that he drase teeth, without waiting a moment , blisters on the lowest terms, and phisker for a penny a peace. He sells godfathers cordels, kuts, korns, and undertakes to keep everybodys nayles by the year or so on lowest terms. Young ladys and gentlemen teached their grammar language in the purtiest manner, also girt care taken of their morals spelling and also zamm zinging teaching the base vial and all sorts of phancywork – Queerdrills – pokers weezles and all other contrary dances tort at home and abroad at perfekshun perfumery and snuff in all its branches. As times be cruell bad he has just begun to sell all sorts of stashinary ware, kox hens foles chisx poultry blacking bauls herrings couls skrublin brushes takel gimblets mice traps brickdust and whisker seed and all sorts of sweetmeats, including taters sassages and other garden stuff, also phrute, hats, zongs, hoyle, Latin buckets and other eatables, korns and bunyard zames and all hardware, he also practices phlebotomy (bleeding) on the shortest notice and fathermore he has laid in a large assortment of trype dogs meat lollipops an all other pickles such as hepsum zalts hoysters Winzer zoap and old rags bort and sold here and no where els. New laid eggs every day by me Roger Giles.” – L.

INSCRIPTIONS ON BELLS – I have long been in the habit of collecting Somerset bell inscriptions, and I venture to add some to those given by Mr R C Gregory. BAGBOROUGH Bouth owld and young did agree full well To pay for casting of this bell, Because a true tale it should tell. BANWELL Ring to the praise of God. I to the church the living call, And to the grave I summon all. BATH All you of Bathe that hear me sound Thank Lady Hopton’s hundred pound. BRADFORD Be meeke and loly to heare the word of God. BRIDGWATER I call the living, mourn the dead, I tell how days and years are fled, For joys, for griefs, for prayer, and praise, My tuneful voice to heaven I raise. Though my fortings are bin small, I am tet maid mid you all. BRUSHFORD Come let us ring for Church and King. BURLESCOMBE Follow me when I call.

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CAMERTON Let us ring and sing for peace. No. 1 – I lead the melodious round, No. 2 – From hills to vales my pleasing notes rebound. CHURCHSTANTON I was made in hope to ring At the Coronation of our king. 1660. CHURCHILL My sound is good, right understood, For Thomas Belbie casted me plainly doth appear. CLOFORD At thy departure I shall sound, And ring to bring thee underground. EAST BUCKLAND Prosperity to those who love bells. EAST COKER Religion, death, and pleasure make me ring. HUTTON When I do call com serve God all. LANGPORT Faith, hope, and grace, Attend this place. LOCKING I to the church the living call And to the grave I summon all. MARK Come here, brother founders, and here you may see, What sort of a workman young Belbie may be, He’ll challenge all Ingland for casting a bell, Who will be the workman can be but dou well. MARTOCK My sound and servis all and some Is to invite you for to come To serve the Lord, to love your friend, And to be mindful of your end. SHEPTON BEAUCHAMP Hand me right and ring me well They’ll hear me sound at Hambdon Hill. SOUTH PETHERTON I was given by Mistris Glasy, An in remembrance aloud doe cry.

Nothing unto the poor they give To see in what state they live.

I calle the living to repent That thaye maye live when breath is spent. UPHILL (Same as Locking)

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WELLINGTON On earth, Peace, Amen. Fear God, Honour the King. Draw nigh to God. WEST BUCKLAND (Same inscription as Bradford). WESTON-SUPER-MARE May the Church of England flourish and its enemies decrease. WICK ST LAWRENCE No.1 – I am the first, although but small, If I will be harde above you all. No. 2 – I in this place am second bell, I will surely doe my peart as well. No. 5 – I sound to beed the sicke repent, In hope of life, when breath is spent. WILTON, TAUNTON I dance and ring for George our King, Little and loud, short and proud, Despise not the day of small things. WIVELISCOMBE No. 2 (original treble) – I lead in the melodious round. No. 3 – From hills and dales our pleasing notes resound. No. 4 – Health, pleasure, and peace to this neighbourhood. No. 5 – Health and delight good ringing yields. No. 6 – From lying lips and slandering tongues, Good Lord deliver us. No. 7 – Attendite populi. No. 8 – By winter’s gift I measure time for all, To mirth, to grief, to church service call. The seventh bell before it was recast bore the following:- Me resonare jubent Pietas Mors atque voluptas. Give thanks to God, Success to Admiral Hawke.

W.G.Willis Watson.

Queries. 73 – TAUNTON BREAD RIOTS – I have heard my grandfather speak of bread riots in Taunton. Can any reader of your paper tell me when these took place and anything about them? – THOMAS.

Replies to Queries. 20 – BISHOP OF BRIDGWATER – I am afraid I can add nothing to my previous note beyond giving the names of the towns for which T.B.D. asks. They are:- “Thetford, Ipswich, Colchester, Dover, Gilford, Southampton, Taunton, Shaftesbury, Molton, Marleborough, Bedford, Leicester, Glocester, Shrewsbury, Bristol, Penrith, Bridgwater, Nottingham, Grantham, Hull, Huntingdon, Cambridge, and the townes of Perith and Barwick. S.German’s in Cornwall, and the Isle of Wight, shall be taken and

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accepted for Sees of Bishop Suffragans to be made in this realme and in Wales. . . &c.” (26 Henry VIII., c 14).

33 – BLUE ANCHOR AND WATCHET – Mr G.F.Luttrell, in his Presidential address to the members of the Somerset Archaeological Society at Minehead in 1906, said:- “Talking of Blue Anchor, Sir Robert Purvis, in conversation with me, suggested a possible derivation of the name. Blue Anchor Bay is, and, probably, always has been, a favourite anchoring ground for vessels waiting for the tide to go into Watchet Harbour. Watchet is an old word meaning blue, often used by the early poets: thus you have Watchet, or blue anchorage. Why Watchet was called blue I cannot say – certainly not from the colour of the sea there, excepting under the principle of derivations of the old Eton Latin grammar – of lucus a non lucendo.” The Rev C.H.Heale, commenting upon Mr Luttrell’s reference to the name Watchet, said the old word was a Saxon one, Wacet, meaning pale blue, and his explanation of it was that Watchet derived its name from the blue lias on which it stood.

35 – DUNBALL ISLAND – The story of the forming of this island is told by Collinson in the following words:- “A small island is formed in the course of the Parret, which is called Dunball Isle, which in the beginning of the present century was (as it is said) so made by some unknown persons making a cut of forty yards across the then isthmus; this was done in one night, and the operators were never discovered.” A question with regard to the story was asked in these columns 22 years ago, when a correspondent made the following suggestion as a possible explanation of the mystery:- We know that in 1698 an Act of Parliament (10 Wm. III., Cap. 15) was obtained for draining Sedgmoor, but by some means its operation was entirely frustrated. In 1791 another Act was passed, and Commissioners appointed, who met at Bridgwater, and “set themselves to discover a convenient place of discharge lower down the river by which a more rapid descent might be gained.” An old sluice called Dunball-Clize presented itself as the desired spot, and the work of cutting from the Dunball sluice to the moor, a distance of two and a half miles was commenced. “It is impossible to describe the ridicule which this undertaking excited. Nothing could be more unpopular. Every obstacle which prejudice and ignorance could suggest the promoters had to encounter. 4,063 claims for compensation were made. Some thought the Commissioners mad, and destruction was openly threatened to those who supported such a measure.” May we not reasonably conclude that the cutting to which Collinson refers was that of the “old sluice called Dunball-Clize,” that it was made by men employed by the promoters of the Act of 1698, probably Marshall Bridges and William Bridges, of Weston, that it was done by night for fear of the destruction which was openly threatened, and that the operators were never discovered because they were brought from a distance? – R.W.M.

37 – SOMERSET TREES – Although, perhaps, not strictly an answer to your correspondent’s enquiry, it is interesting to note that in an address given to the Somerset Archaeological Society at its first annual meeting in 1849, the Dean of Westminster, Dr Buckland, said:- “The moment they came to Dunster Castle and Nettlecombe, where the soil was red and the climate mild, they found the finest oaks in England, which were sent for from Liverpool to make the stern posts of the largest vessels, and purchased at immense prices, for they must have them. It was a geological cause which made these oaks worth a hundred guineas each.”

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48 – SOMERSET CENTENARIANS – “Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset” for September, 1918, contains and article on this subject written by the late Prebendary E.H.Bates-Harbin, of Newton Surmaville, Yeovil. It occupies three full pages, and gives many interesting details. But the following extract will probably partly answer the question asked by “Senex,” especially as great pains had evidently been taken to authenticate the ages given: - Mrs Sarah Thring, of Alford, died in September, 1891, having entered on her 102nd year; Mrs E Ritso, Bath, died February 28th, 1915, aged 103 years and one month; Sibilia Hore, of Nettlecombe, died in 1580, aged 120 years; Rev Canon F.Beadon, of Wells, died 10th June, 1879. aged 101 ½ years; Elizabeth Broadmead, Taunton, died 10th March, 1784, aged 118 years; John Hacker, died 29th January, 1593, aged 106 years; Mrs Gillard, Yeovil, died December 23rd, 1890, within a fortnight of completing her 108th year. This article was followed by another in the issue of the same periodical in January , of the present year, the writer being Mr H St George Gray, curator of the County Museum. He gives the following:- Henry Parkar, , died 10th February, 1708, aged 110 years; Elizabeth Miles, Bishops Lydeard, died 30th January, 1858, aged 104 years; James Hartnell, Bridgwater, died February 26th, 1866, aged 102 years; Honor Coleman, Cleeve near Yatton, died 23rd January, 1908, aged 107 years; William Adlam of Taunton, died February 22nd, 1891, aged 106 years and 11 months; Henry Sully, Taunton, died October 15th, 1865, aged 102 years. Mr Gray gives various particulars relating to each of the persons he names, and carefully discusses the claims of some of the other older folks who were supposed to be Somerset centenarians. Indeed, both he and Mr Bates-Harbin appear to have taken great pains to ensure accuracy. The Nettlecombe entry was copied from the register of that parish by Preb Bates-Harbin, who quotes it in full, thus:- 1580: Sibila Hore sepulta erat 28 Mercii in anno aetatis eius 120, per me Edwardum Milburne, Rectorem. – C.S.

49 – MADDOCK’S TREE HILL – With regard to Mr H St G Gray’s note to the effect that this should be “Mattock’s” Tree, from a certain Mr Mattock, who owned the neighbouring property, it is interesting to observe that a similar sort of statement has been made about the town of Tremadoc in Wales. There it seems to be the actual fact that the present site of the town was re-claimed from the sea by means of an embankment made by a Mr Maddock in 1813. But generations before this the name Tremadoc belonged to a rocky knoll, near by – once an island, but now some way inland – whence the old British Saint, Madoc, is said to have sailed in quest of unknown lands. Thus the name Tremadoc was there before Mr Maddock built his breakwater, as was Maddock’s Tree Hill before the gentleman referred to by Mr H. St G Grey. – N.C.S.

50 – FIGURES ON PETHERTON BRIDGE – Your correspondent may, perhaps be interested in the following letter and verses which appeared in the “Western Gazette” for February 8th, 1867:- To the Editor. Dear Sir, - Tradition holds that the catastrophe alluded to in the following elegy happened about three centuries ago. The sculpture relating to the affair is still to be seen at the undermentioned bridge, near South Petherton. Having no doubt but many wayward travellers have often wondered what the sculpture referred to, I have just sent the elegy, which, if not interesting to your readers in general, must prove so to them at Stoke and South Petherton. – B.B.

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PETHERTON BRIDGE. An Elegy, Inscribed to the Rev Mr Bean, of Stoke-sub-Hambdon, Somerset.

Oh, Bean! Whose fond connubial days, A beauteous infant race attend; Say, wilt thou once more aid my lays, And join the patron to the friend?

But not o’er bright Aonian plains, Enraptured as we used to roam: The muse each joyous thought restrains, And called her winged ideas home.

The wedded pair for children pray; They come – fair blessings from the skies: What rapture gilds the halcyon day! What joys in distant azure rise!

But oh! enamoured as they view The smiling, hopeful, infant train; Unseen, Misfortune marks his due; Unheard, he threats the heart with pain.

Had sad disaster ne’er ensnared The soft, the innocent, and young; The tender muse had gladly spar’d The little Heroes of her song.

See’st thou the limpid current glide Beneath you bridge, my hapless theme; Where brambles fringe its verdant side, And willows tremble o’er the stream?

From Petherton it takes its name, From whence two smiling infants stray’d; Led by the stream they hither came, And on the flow’ry margin play’d.

Sweet victims! Must your short-livd day So soon extinguish in the wave; And point the setting sun his way, That glimmered o’er your watery grave!

As each, by childish fancy led, Cropt the broad daisies as they sprung; Lay stretch’d along the verdant bed, And sweetly plied the lisping tongue!

Lo! from the spray deserted steep, Where either way the twigs divide,

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The one rolled headlong to the deep, And plunged beneath the closing tide.

The other saw, and from the land, (While Nature imag’d strange distress), Stretch’d o’er the brink his little hand, The fruitless singal of distress.

The offer’d pledge without delay, The struggling victim rose and caught; But, ah! in vain – their fatal way, They both descended swift as thought.

Short was the wave-oppressing space; Convulsed with pains too sharp to bear, Their lives dissolved in one embrace; Their mingled souls flew up in air.

Lo! there you time-worn sculpture shews The sad, the melancholy truth; What pang the tortured parent knows, What snares await defenceless youth.

Here not to sympathy unknown, Full oft the sad mute wand’ring near, Bends silent o’er the mossy stone, And wets it with a willing tear.

56 – QUAKERS’ BURYING GROUND – Near the village of , on the Polden Hills, in a corner of a field near the road leading from Shapwick to Catcott village, is a Quaker burial ground, which I have several times visited, containing about half a dozen graves. On my first visit, some thirty years ago, the place was in a very neglected condition. The hedge enclosing the graveyard was broken down, a few fir trees that had been planted years before were in a very sorry state, and the enclosure was overgrown with rank weeds and other vegetation, almost hiding the small grave- stones which marked it as a God’s Acre. Some years later, on re-visiting the spot, I was pleased to see that a transformation had taken place, the enclosure had been cleared, the hedge repaired, and headstones erected and newly lettered. I was told that this had been done by the Society of Friends at Bridgwater. Whether it is still as neatly kept I do not know. In times gone by there were many Quakers living in and near Minehead, and it was said that they had a burial ground at the back of The Butts, now Selbourne place, but, though houses have been erected near, no trace of such has ever been revealed. About seven or eight years ago, a garden, off Market-house-lane, and behind the present fire engine-house, was being levelled to lay the foundations of a new smithy when several skeletons were found. Upon enquiry it was ascertained from a local history that the site had been a Quakers’ burial ground, and the bones were accordingly collected and re-interred in the churchyard. At Alcombe, near Minehead, the Wesleyan Chapel stands in a Quaker’ burial ground, and in the wall of the yard is a stone bearing the date 1717. In 1846 the Society of Friends in Bridgwater granted a portion of the ground, which had been out of use for many years, to the

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Wesleyan Connexion for the erection of the chapel, or “school,” as it was then called. – K.

62 – STOCKS – We are indebted to Mr Ackerman, of Trull, for the following reply to Mr J.Webber’s query on the above subject! – “The stocks in Trull Churchyard were used for the last time in December, 1852. On a Sunday morning I was present in Trull Church when Tom Trout a mason, and Joel Hartnell came in, in their working clothes. They had been drinking, and after waiting a short time one of them observed:- ‘Long time, idnt he, before ‘e make a beginning?” In the middle of the sermon Tom Trout, who had been asleep, woke up, and, before realising where he was, shouted, ‘Hi, Missus, bring in another quart. Joel’ll pay for it. Look sharp, cause I’m dry.’ For this behaviour they were sentenced to be put in the stocks, and a fortnight later Constable George Hayes, on a bitterly cold morning, there being a hard frost and the ground covered with snow, fetched Tom Trout from his bed and put him in the stocks, where he remained from 10:45 a.m. until two p.m. Whilst Trout was in the stocks a Mrs Millett gave him a jug of broth, an ounce of tobacco, a pipe, and matches, and someone else gave him a Prayer-book, whist small sums brought 3s.” Mr Ackerman worked with Trout for some years after the above incident. Hartnell eluded the constable, and consequently was not placed with his friend in the stocks.

67 –BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – The form of this as given in Pulman’s “Rustic Sketches” is: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on, Zix angels roun’ my bed; Two ta voot, an’ two ta head, An’ two to car’ me when I’m dead.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – The following form of the prayer was copied a few years ago from a rustic’s family Bible, and I believe at that time the prayer was still used by some country people’s children:- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; God bless the bed that I lie on; Four corners to my bed, Four angels lie a spread – Two at foot and two at head; Four will carry me when I’m dead; Ring the bell or make it toll; The Lord of Heaven receive my soul. May the Lord be with me – Now and for evermore. Amen.

68 – BULL BAITING IN SOMERSET – I have often heard my father, the late Dr James H Pring, of Taunton, say that he had seen bull-baiting, and also cock-squailing, in a field in Silver-street, now covered by Mr Thomas’s Posting Establishment and the houses on the north side of Alma-street. This would have been about the year 1825. – D.J.Pring.

70 – PENANCE STOOLS IN CHURCHES – There is a good example of the “Stool of Repentance” in Church. It is hinged to one of the bench ends about

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half-way down the nave, and when required for use is let down into position. I have a photograph of it set up, but have not been fortunate enough, as yet, to get a snapshot of it in actual use! One might turn the question (No. 62) on the last use of the stocks into “When was the penance stool last used in the county?” – H.Corder.

70 – PENANCE STOOLS IN CHURCHES - Your correspondent, Mr W.G.Willis Watson, has fallen into slight error in stating that the penance of Roger Warmwell was carried out in Ilchester Church. Rogers was tried at Ilchester – more than probably in the Church of St Mary Major – by a Commission over which Hugh Courteney, Earl of Devon, presided, but his offence related to the besieging of Bishop Ralph in the Parish Church of Yeovil in the year of Grace 1348, and the part of his penance as relating to the church services was made in Yeovil Church. “From the time of which there was no longer memory,” so the jurors found at Ilchester in 1219, the “tenement” and Lordship of Yeovil had been the property of the Church of S John Baptist, the profits of it to be devoted to that church. For many years there had been dissatisfaction in the town, presumably at the way the town affairs were administered, and there is evidence of an attempt to seize the markets of town in 1366, which failed against the successful defence of Robert de Sambourne, the Rector, who was the builder of the present church at Yeovil. Anyway, the dissatisfaction culminated in the besieging of the Bishop in the Church for many hours, priests and his servants being attacked and some blood shed. Roger Warmwell, the then owner of the estate of Newton Surmaville, Yeovil, as the ring-leader, was tried and sentenced, and for three successive Sundays headed the procession in Yeovil Church with his wax candle, one pound in weight, which, bare-headed and bare-footed, he offered at the altar, what time the chaplain declared his sins to the congregation in “the vulgar tongue.” – J.G.

November 15th 1919 Notes. DEATH OF AN OLD LADY AT ILCHESTER GAOL – in the obituary columns of the “Gentleman’s Magazine” for 1824, the following occurs:- “Oct. 23. At Ilchester, aged 77, Mrs Rebecca Lane, a widow, of high respectability, whose suffererings have been most severe. She had engaged in a lawsuit last spring, the costs of which proved very large; half of them she paid in May last; for the remainder she was arrested and conveyed to Ilchester Gaol about five weeks since, while suffering from the effects of two paralytic seizures and an almost broken heart. On arriving at the prison she was carried to a bed, from which she never more arose. The Rev Mr Whalley, one of the visiting magistrates, an amiable daughter, the Chaplain, and other officers of the gaol, paid her every possible attention.” – L. St George Gray.

A SOMERSET ACROSTIC – Those who know, and love, Winsford, claimed by many to be the prettiest village in England, will appreciate the following lines written by the Rev Preb W.P.Anderson, a former vicar of Winsford, who resided there for over 50 years. It will be noticed that the initial letters of the lines spell the name of the delightful spot described:- Where the swift Exe, by Somerset’s fair hills, In curving eddies, borders pastures deep, Near ferm-fringed slope of lawn, where babbling rills Sing sweetest music, mid thich foliage peep Five bridges and thatched roofs. The grey Church Tower O’er all looks down on groves of oak and pine;

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Red deer, red Devons, ponies on the moor, Delight the traveller in this home of mine.

OLD SOMERSET FAMILIES – A local contemporary recently published the following interesting contribution from a correspondent: - The family of Leach has been connected with West Monkton since 1714, as Mr Leach, of Bathpool, can testify, Cornet James Leach, gazetted 1794, being for many years a prominent officer in the West Somerset Yeomanry. The family of Heale has been associated with from 1564, the Pyne family with Lyng from 1680, the Winscombe family with and the surrounding parishes from 1638, the Jennings family with Hillfarrance since 1590, and the Richards family with since 1560, and the Atkins family with from 1600. A still more remarkable case of long association is the case of the Somerset family of Dudderidge. The family has been at Stogumber since 1501, Crowcombe since 1522, Taunton 1538, Bridgwater 1638, Hillfarrance 1784, Kingston 1678. In some Somerset parishes where they are no longer represented the name has been traced back to the period of the Plantagenets.

A LOVER OF SOMERSET – Canon Newbolt has been writing his recollections in “The Treasury,” under the title of “Years that are Past.” Dealing with his early days at Somerton, where he was born, he writes:- “The town stands on high ground, looking over a green valley, through which the little river Cary runs, now spanned by the viaduct of the Great Western Railway express line to the West. In front are wooded hills and an old alabaster quarry. At the end, seeming to block the valley, is the wooded Dundon Beacon, at the foot of which lies the tiny little village of , remote, it would seem, from all life and movement. It was here that an old man, who had spent his days in those quiet and lovely surroundings, found himself called upon to quit them in the supreme moment of death. The parish priest tried to comfort him and prepare him for his departure, by recounting to him the joys of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the glorious city with its gates of pearl and its streets of gold. The old man only looked up and said, ‘All that be very good for you, zur, but give oi Compton Dundon.’”

FIVES COURTS – I have been examining the walls near the tower of Martock Church, where the game of Fives used to be played. On the north side of the tower are two series of small and deep holes, arranged O O O O O And another series arranged O O O O O O O O And on the south side, low down, a series O O O O O O These seem to be scoring boards or tallies, and wooden pegs would be inserted into the holes to record the score. A game was 20 up, and at the end of each series of five, tally one, two, three, or four, as the case might be, was called by the scorer. When the game was forbidden against the church towers, courts were often built behind the inns,

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and the back wall of these courts still continued to be called the “tower.” One of the finest of these courts now existing is that behind the Fleur de Lys Inn at Stoke-sub- Hamdon. It was the great meeting-place in the Forties of all the local champions, and the match against Bath, when John Palmer and Frederick Fane, the Stoke players, won, is still remembered. The court was surrounded by a grandstand in tiers, and as much as £60 was taken “at the gate” to watch the matches. It was John Palmer who hit a ball on to “the tower,” which bounced back on to the roof of the Fleur de Lys Inn – a distance of at least 38 yards! The Stoke court consists of a very high back wall or tower, finished off at the top with a curve, and supported on each side by a ball ornament. “The tower” is about 20 feet in width, and is flanked on each side by a buttress in two stages set at a wide angle to “the tower.” The lower stage of the buttresses is two feet 10 ½ inches deep. The court is built entirely of the local Ham stone. - G.W.Saunders.

THE BROADRIBBS OF SOMERSET – The death of Mr Henry Broadribb Itving is worth notice in this column, because of the fact that his illustrious father was a native of Keinton Mandeville, and also because the Broadribbs were a Somerset family, which took its name from the village of , which lies at the foot of the Polden Hills on the main road between Glastonbury and Bridgwater. We are indebted to Mr A.L.Humphreys for a good deal of information about this family, and from a paper he contributed some seven years ago to “Notes and Queries,” we learn that in 12 Henry II. Robert be Baketerpe held lands in Bawdrip of Henry Lovell. In 26 Edward I Adam de Baudrip has lands in this parish and in . In 33 Edward III., John de Baudrip was lord of the Manor. In 37 Henry VI., William Baudrip, son of Thomas Baudrip, released to John Wroughton, of Broad Hinton, Wilts. his rights in the Manor of Bawdrip (Collinson’s “Somerset,” iii., 91). The Broadribbs were chiefly of the yeoman class. Sir Henry Irving was connected with the yeoman branch. From the village of Bawdrip the family appears to have moved eastward towards Bristol, and it is between Bawdrip and Bristol that Broadribbs have chiefly lived. There were Broadribbs at Street, Glastonbury, Ditcheat, Lottisham, Keinton Mandeville, Clutton, High Littleton, South Mapperton (in Dorset, but on the fringe of Somerset), Berrow, Cossington, Horsington, Pennard (East and West), Shepton Mallet, and Wells. Mr Humphreys says:- “The principal branch of the family lived in the 16th and 17th centuries at South Mapperton, near Beaminster, and the most important contribution to their history with which I am acquainted is found in Hutchins’s Dorset.” There is given the descent of the Broadrepps, of South Mapperton, from Richard Brodrepp, of Huntspill, near Bridgwater, showing connections with the Strodes; , , the Mohuns, and others. In the 17th century, William Broderip was organist of Wells Cathedral, and a John Broderip, organist of Shepton Mallet and of Wells Cathedral. Details of the boyhood of the crowning genius of the Brodribbs, Henry Irving, alias John Henry Brodribb, are found in Mr Austin Brereton’s “Life of Henry Irving.” Samuel Brodribb – Sir Henry’s father – died in Bristol on the 20th June, 1876. With much loving care he kept a book from 1866 to 1874, in which he recorded every incident of note in connection with his son’s career. This book subsequently came into the possession of Mr H B Irving, who has recently died. The Rev R G Bartelot, who is an old Crewkernian, says the Brodrepps of Mapperton came from Huntstile, in the parish of Goathurst, and not from Huntspill, as stated by Hutchins. In the muster roll for the defence of the county of Somerset, in the time of the Armada, William Brodribbe, of the town of Glastonbury, supplied “a pair of breast-plates, seven bows, seven sheafs of arrows, one sword, a dagger, and twelve

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bills. It will be noticed that the name has been spelt in a variety of ways. – W.G.Willis Watson.

BURTON PYNSENT – THE CHATHAM URN – The following are extracts from a very interesting little volume, entitled “Topographical and Statistical Description of the County of Somerset,” by George Alexander Cooke, under the Curry Rivel heading:- “On the north side of this parish is a bold ridge of hills, rising with a steep ascent about 400 feet from , the slope being finely waved, indented, and clothed with hanging woods. “Within a cove, open to Sedgemoor, at the very top of this ridge, is Burton Pynsent, formerly the seat of the Earl of Chatham. The estate had been lately sold, and the mansion house pulled down. “To the illustrious father of the late possessor of this estate, the Dowager Countess of Chatham erected an urn of white marble with the following inscription, viz:- (On the front of the pedestal.) “Sacred to pure affection, this simple urn stands a witness of unceasing grief for him, who, excelled in whatever is most admirable, and adding to the exercise of the sublimest virtues the sweet charm of refined sentiment and polished wit, by gay and social commerce rendered, beyond comparison, happy the course of domestic life, and bestowed a felicity upon her, whoso faithful love was blessed in a pure return, that raised her above every joy but the parental one – and that still shared with him. His generous country with monuments has eternalised his name. – This humble tribute is but to soothe the sorrowing breast of private woe.” (On the back.) “To the memory of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, this marble is inscribed by Hester, his beloved wife, 1781.” This elegant and delicate token of conjugal affection stands at the end of a narrow walk in the park, shaded with laurels, the urn supported by a square pedestal and surrounded by a festoon. In the north-east part of the grounds is a noble column of white stone, 140 feet high, erected by the late earl, at £2,000 expense, to the memory of Sir William Pynsent. It bears this simple inscription, viz:- “Sacred to the memory of Sir William Pynsent: Hoc Saltem fungar inani munere.” The house was a large irregular building, situated on the northern ridge of the hills, and overlooking West Sedgemoor, as above-mentioned. The book is not dated, but was probably published about 1810. The urn was removed to Stowe, and has since found another resting place.

Queries. 74 – CHURCH BELLS AND THE FIFTH – On reading a report of “The Fifth” in your last issue, I notice that at Stoke St Gregory “merry peals were rung on the church bells for the first time at this season for some years.” Is this an old custom revived, a sort of thanksgiving for the delivery of the House of Parliament from the Gunpowder Plot, and are the bells rung elsewhere? Perhaps some of your readers can enlighten us? – PUZZLED.

75 – DOVE COTES – It would be interesting to collect a list of the places in Somerset where ancient dove cotes still exist, or existed within living memory, for they are fast being destroyed or falling into ruin. The dove cotes in question are not the mere loft over the stable or barrel pigeon houses on a pole, or a cluster of boxes

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against a wall. The dove cote proper is a substantial tower-like building, the direct descendant of the Norman columbarium. It is built from the ground, and the whole structure is devoted to the raising of pigeons, although in later examples they were often made in two storeys, the upper one only being used by the birds and the lower room being put to some other purpose. The nesting-hole is also worth noticing. It is generally about 6 inches square, and runs back into the wall about 12 to 14 inches. It then turns at a right angle, either to the right or left, and enlarges somewhat. This is to give the sitting bird room to turn round. These nesting places are generally about 20 inches apart, and are placed in tiers round the building. There is frequently an alighting ledge of stone under each, or each alternate row of holes. Dove cotes answering more or less to the above description may be found in Somerset at Kelstone, South Stoke, Hinton Charterhouse, Witham and Pilton. I should be glad if any of your correspondents can add to the list. – Ethelbert Horne.

76 – TANTRY BOAMER – I remember the late Mr George Sweetman, of Wincanton, asked on several occasions for information with regard to Tantry Boamer, whose name was used in that neighbourhood in the following connection. A would say to B “I know how long I shall live.” B would ask “How long is that?” to which A would reply “As long as Tantry Boamer, who lived till he died.” Only quite recently I have met with the following in Mr F T Elworthy’s Dialect of West Somerset:- “TANTARABOBUS:- Name for the devil – usually preceded by ‘old’ (very common). It is also used very often as a playful nickname for any boy or man. A frequent saying in reply to a question as to the age of anyone lately deceased is – ‘Oh! I reckon he lived same’s Tantarabolus – all the days of his life!’ The close resemblance between the two names, and more particularly the connection in which they are used, make it very evident that “Tantry Boamer” and “Tantarabobus” have a common origin, but I fancy Mr Sweetman had no idea that the name referred to the devil, nor is it easy to understand why the name of his satanic majesty, who is supposed to be still very much alive, should be used proverbially for one who “lived till he died.” Have any of your readers ever heard this expression used as quoted above? Or can anybody give any further information with regard to “Tantry Boamer” or “Tantarabobus?” – EAST SOMERSET.

Replies to Queries. 48 – A Taunton Centenarian – A local paper in October, 1858, reported that as the Militia were marching in that month along the Wellington-road to the field where they usually repair for field exercise, a woman well-known in the town was observed to be walking after them with manifestations of pleasure of the sound of the martial music. She was dressed in black, and wore shoes of the last century pattern, fastened across the instep with large bright buckles, and her general appearance, though denoting great age, was remarkably healthy. She was reported to be 104 years of age, and her faculties exceedingly good. Can anyone give the name of this remarkably young old lady? – J.L.

54 – BEACON FIRES – The beacons of Somerset were thought much of long after Armada days, for our fathers and grandfathers expected an invasion by the French, under Napoleon Buonaparte, and arrangements were made for the use of beacon fires for the purpose of giving notice of their landing. The beacons were also in use at the time of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, when one was able to realise the possibility of their usefulness before the days of steam, the electric telegraph, and the telephone. – F.B.

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55 – VILLAGE CLUBS – May I add to the list of these old-time friendly societies the names of the following places, at all of which, in days gone by, I have attended village clubs:- Minehead, Williton, Old Cleeve, Stogumber, , Nether Stowey. At the last names there is still a women’s club, which, “walked” this year, and is in a flourishing condition. It dates from the time of Coleridge, who wrote a motto for it, and the banner on which the motto is emblazoned is still carried. Some of these clubs were noted for the huge garlands of flowers which were carried at the club-walks. Timberscombe, near Dunster, has been mentioned in a previous list, and the club walks I have seen there were certainly more picturesque than any I ever attended, for, besides the club flag, garlands of a huge size and of very elaborate structure, standing sometimes nearly 20 feet high, were carried in the procession. Generally, there were three, varying in size, and all flower decorated with infinite patience and skill. The form was that of a letter A, with the top out off, the inside bearing various designs made of bent sticks and covered with flowers, neatly and closely tied on to the frame-work. Each of these big structures were carried by four men, one at each of the legs of the A and two others with supporting poles at the back. The effect was very picturesque. Add to this that every member of the club wore a big posy and carried on the top of his club-staff a huge bunch of flowers, and one can readily understand that it was a real “floralia festival” for the village. All the old clubs that I have known, here and elsewhere, had “Divine service” as one of the features of the annual walk. – K.

57 –GRAMMAR SCHOOLS IN SOMERSET – The following extract relating to Bridgwater is taken from “The Schools of Medieval England,” by A.F.Leach, the work recently referred to by your contributor “T.B.D.” :- “In 1282 , Bishop of Bath and Wells, appropriated to St John the Baptist Hospital at Bridgwater, the rectory of Wembdon, and in 1280 that of Morwenstow, in consideration of which Geoffrey Prior of the Hospital, covenanted in 1298 with Burnell’s successor William of Marsh, to maintain within the walls of the hospital thirteen poor able scholars for instruction in grammar, and also to provide daily dinners from the hospital kitchen for seven of the poorest scholars sent by the schoolmaster (rector scolarum) of the town of Bridgwater. The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1533 shows fourteen scholars still being maintained out of the revenues of the two rectories.” – S.S.

60 – THE ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY – On November 21st, 1607, the last monk of Westminster Abbey, Dom Sigebert Buckley, was in the Gatehouse Prison, where he had been kept previously by Queen Elizabeth some 44 years. As he was the last of the long line of monks that had originally come to England in A.D. 596, in him centred all the rights and privileges of the English Benedictines. It was for the sake of perpetuating the Order that had done so much for our country that on the afternoon of the above-mentioned day two Englishmen, Fathers Sadler and Mayhew, made their way into the prison, and were “clothed” and “professed” by the old man just before his death. In this way the line of the old English Benedictines was saved, and hence the community now at Downside, have come down in unbroken succession from the days of St Augustine. On their resuscitation the Benedictines almost at once began to keep up the titles of their ruined Abbeys and Cathedral Priories, giving the titles as honorary titles to certain of their members. In this way an “Abbot of Glastonbury” still exists to-day, although the Abbey is in ruins, and in the hands of others than those for whom it was built. – P.T.

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62 – STOCKS AT CHARD – I cannot say when the stocks at Chard were last used, but the following instance, reported in “Pulman’s Weekly News” of June 30th, 1857, under the heading of a “Revival of Stocks,” was probably one of the last cases:- “Those obsolete custodiers, as we are apt to regard them, were brought into use on Wednesday week, when two men, as we understood, who had been fined, with expenses, 12s for a brawl, were sentenced, in default, to six hours’ confinement. We do not pretend to say what effect the punishment might have had on the delinquents but no doubt they thought it was easier to sit for six hours in the shade than to work six days in the sun for the 12s fine.”

67 – BETTY MUXWORHTY’S PRAYER – The late Mr F T Elworthy in his “West Somerset Dialect” gives the following version:- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie pon, Vower corners to my bed (baird), Vower angels guard my head (aird), Two to voot, and two to head, And vor to car me hon I be dead (daird).

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – About 20 years ago I heard of a West Somerset mother who still taught her family of eight to repeat the following lines every night as part of their evening prayers:- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on; Four corners to my bed, Four angels there are spread, Two to foot and two to head; God send me to heaven when I am dead. God go by sea, God go by land, The Lord guide me by his right hand; He is the brach and I am the flower; God send me a happy hour.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER AND BOOK INSCRIPTIONS – There appear from your columns to have been many variants of the prayer, differing, principally, however, in the number of watching angels and their duties. In Mrs Willis Watson’s version I think she has unwittingly introduced some lines on quite another subject, viz., a book inscription common among children in the middle part of the last century. Books were then scarcer and more cherished by a child than now, and one would often see on the fly-leaf, after the name and date, the following, as, for instance:- William Williams is my name, England is my nation; Taunton is my dwelling place, And Christ is my salvation. When I am dead and in my grave, And all my bones are rotten, Take up this book and think of me, Lest I be quite forgotten.

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Sometimes was added, if the fly-leaf was large enough, and the child’s calligraphy could be kept within bounds:- Steal not this book, for fear of shame, For here you’ll find the owner’s name; And if you do the Lord will say, “Where is that book you took away?” And if you say, “I do not know,” The Lord will say, “Go down below.”

A faulty memory leads to most of the variants in folk-lore songs and sayings. An old man whom once I knew, illiterate, but brimful of folk-lore sayings, songs, and customs, made two funny mistakes on his wife’s tombstone in Minehead Churchyard, through an erring memory. One inscription on the stone was the Muxworthy prayer, the latter part which ran:- “Four angels round me spread, Two to watch and two to pray, And two to bear my soul away.”

He had forgotten that six angels would be required for the purposes mentioned. Another inscription on the stone ran:- God go by land, God go by sea, God guide me by his right hand.

The arrangement of the first line is evidently wrong, and to rhyme with the second line should run:- God go by sea, God go by land, God guide me by his right hand.

It is a well-known couplet. K.

68 – BULL BAITING – Your correspondent who enquires about bull-baiting may be interested in the following paragraph which appeared in the “Dorchester, Sherborne, and Taunton Journal” for June 21st, 1821:- “The often, but vainly denounced practise of bull-baiting presented another of its shocking exhibitions on Monday last at Rumwell, near Taunton, where a bull was in the afternoon taken to the stake and bound, but it appears not securely enough for the intentions of his persecutors, for having endured the savage ferocity of the dogs, and their no less savage masters, for some time, he broke loose and gored and tossed some of the bystanders in so serious a way that we have heard they will have reason to recollect a bull bait for the rest of their lives. Not satisfied, the followers of this sport afterwards succeeded in leading the poor animal to the scene of his torture two or three times in succession, whence, on each occasion, he escaped, causing considerable mischief to eight or nine individuals, and to one young man in particular, a recruit, who had his leg most severely broken and splintered” – E.S.

71 – HILLCOMMON – I know the houses along the roadside at Hillcommon, but those at present existing there are substantial buildings, and would not have been so hastily built, although some predecessors may have been. The same story (whether true or false I cannot say) is told about certain houses in other parts of the country.

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There are several such in Wagg Drove, near Langport, which would give much more colour to the suggestion that folks “could build a house in one night,” if by so doing they could claim the freehold of the land on which they were built. But they are of a much inferior class to those at Hillcommon. – C.H.

71 – HILLCOMMON – I believe the facts are very much as stated by “G.S.” I understand that at one time the site of this hamlet was nothing more than a large tract of common land, which nobody claimed. But there was an edict attached to this land to the effect that anyone could obtain a certain portion of it provided they could put up a house upon the part required in one night, and also sleep in the same! For years this was thought impossible, till Mr James Hayes, son of Mr Wm and Grace Hayes, of , solved the difficulty by building a house of turf in one night and likewise sleeping in it. Having thus fulfilled the conditions he claimed the land, no-one disputing his right. Soon after he took down the turf house and built a substantial brick and stone residence, making his life’s abode there. Others in the neighbourhood, seeing this, followed Mr Hayes’ example, and in a short time, the common land was nearly built over. One piece, however, was left to be dedicated to religious purposes. The people of the hamlet collected enough subscriptions to build a chapel upon this, the erection of which was superintended by Mr Aaron Hayes. The chapel is one in connection with the Bible Christians, and was built, as a stone outside says, in the year 1842. On the death of Mr James Hayes his property passed to his son Aaron Hayes who died in 1896, and this part of the estate then came into the possession of Mr Walter Hayes. – P.B.

72 – OLD-TIME BRIDGWATER VOTERS – “Scot and Lot” is an old legal phrase embracing all local assessments. In many towns municipal privileges were vested in those who paid “Scot and lot:” that is those who bore their rateable proportion in the payments levied for local and national purposes. – T.B.

November 22nd 1919 Notes. AN UNROMANTIC MARRIAGE – The following entry occurs, I am told, in the marriage register at , Somerset, under date June 15th 1737: - “Thomas Govier and Betty Saunders, both of this Parish, were married here with Banns, being led with a rope to Church.”

DEATH PENALTY FOR THEFT OF CHURCH PLATE – We read in the “Western Flying Post” of 21st August 1809, that at the Bridgwater Assizes of August 14th 1809, Sarah Crocker, aged 22, was sentenced to death for stealing the sacramental plate from the Parish Church of Butcombe, . On reference to “The Church Plate of Somerset,” by Prebendary Bates-Harbin, it is recorded that Butcombe still has an Elizabethan cup, 6 ½ inches high, with the date-mark for 1571. – L.St George Gray.

JOHN LOCKE’s TOMB – The following is a translation of the Latin inscription placed over the tomb of John Locke, the philosopher (who was born at Wrington, Somerset), on the south wall of the Parish Church at High Laver, in the county of Essex:- “Pause wayfarer; hard by lies John Locke. If you ask what sort of a man he was he replies ‘One who was satisfied with his own mediocrity.’ – Bred as a scholar, he devoted his learning simply to the cause of truth. Learn this from his writings: they will portray what remains of him to you with greater fidelity than the questionable

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inscription of an epitaph. His virtues, if he had any, were at least less than such as he would hold up to himself for commendation, or to thee for thy guidance. Let his imperfections be buried with him. As to an example of living, if you seek that, you have it in the Gospel. (Of vice, would that you had nowhere an example.) Of mortality, certainly (and may it profit thee) you have an instance here and everywhere. This tablet, itself, too, destined ere long to perish, records that he was born August 29th, A.D., 1632, and that he died on October the 28th, A.D., 1704.”

OLD SOMERSET RECTORIES – The October number of “The Treasury” contains a most readable article on “Some Ancient Rectories,” admirably illustrated. The following is extracted therefrom: “Stanton Drew Rectory, in Somerset, is largely of the fifteenth century, and still bears the sculptured arms of Bishop , of that period; while that of Chew Stoke is of a similar date, with octagonal angle-turrets, bearing, among other heraldic shields, the arms of St Loes. But, perhaps, the most interesting of the ancient Somerset Rectory-houses is that of Congresbury (locally called ‘Coomsbury’). It is both ancient and comparatively modern, and forms an important block of buildings. On the right, viewed from the spacious lawn, you see the venerable fifteenth century building, now internally degraded to the condition of kitchen and outhouse; and on the left is the imposing eighteenth century mansion, built when rectorial personages were very much of the country gentleman and often sporting order. Their magnificence has been the burden of the Rectors of today, and many such as living as this of Congresbury has been declined over and over again, on account of the liability for dilapidations and maintenance which these great houses impose. It was, perhaps, a concession that when the great Rectory-house of Congresbury was built the old one was not demolished. They stand side by side as the most piquant contrast imaginable between the ideals in life and architecture of the fifteenth and the eighteenth; the one religious in the gothic style, and the other almost, we may say, pagan. A very quaint figure of an angel is sculptured on the gable of the old building, and is in a good state of preservation. It represents the angelic personage of a young man. Excepting the Arch-angel Gabriel, we are accustomed to see angels represented as feminine. This reminds one of old Hawker, of Morwenstow, who used to say that he imagined angels to represent curates.”

BURTON PYNSENT – Burton Pynsent has been a chosen subject of some of the local posts, as well as many prose writers. In 1791 there was published in Bath a quarto volume of about sixty pages, the principal part of which was occupied by “Burton Pynsent: A Poem; inscribed to the Rt Hon. Countess Dowager of Chatham.” It was printed in bold type, with ample margin, and was written in a flowery, classic style. It described the place, its associations, and its surroundings; and had many references to the Chathams and members of their family. There were various interesting foot-notes, one of which thus refers to the famous urn – “This beautiful urn is the design of that eminent Statuary, Mr Bacon, to whom we are indebted for that noble monument to his lordship’s memory in Westminster Abbey.” There is also a reference to Burton Pynsent in the volume entitled “Somerset with the Severn Sea: A Poem, with Historical and Miscellaneous Notes,” by John Draper. The lines are as follows: “The sun had passed its zenith, when we came, Through elm-embower’d fields to that proud height, For ever link’d with Chatham’s glorious name; Where oft his noble spirit would delight,

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When’er, contending for his country’s right, From listening senates he awhile could flee; Exchanging place and power for the sweet sight Of flocks and herds, and children sporting free, With rural peace, pure love, and home society.

Here, raised to friendship, still unscath’d doth stand, With emblematic flame aspired to heaven, That noble monument, upon the land By private wealth to public virtue given:- Though o’er its head the threatening storm hath driven, And Avarice would barter it at will: Long may it be by lightning’s shaft unriven, And patriot conservers guard it still; Memorial of the Men who dwelt on Pynsent’s hill!

From that bold steep, far rising to the west, The Towers of Taunton dimly meet the sight; Through whose broad vale, with fruitful bounty blest, The gentle Tone glides murmering with delight, Far spreading to the south lies Sedgmoor’s field; Recalling to the mind that fatal fight, Where Valour’s sons, misled, were forced to yield; When Victory stained her crest, and Mercy dropped her shield!”

INSCRIPTIONS ON BELLS – I have read with interest the inscriptions sent by Mr Gregory and Mr Willis Watson, but I find in “Bygone Somerset,” Mr Cuming Walters gives a number of interesting inscriptions which have not been quoted by either of your correspondents. From them I select the following:- BACKWELL, No 4. Bilby and Boosh may come and see What Evans and Nott have done by me, 1758. . The third bell has evidently been re-cast. It bears the name of Bilbie, and the date 1719, and its legend is:- My sound is good which once was bad, Letts sing my sisters and be glad. CREECH ST MICHAEL. Drawe neare to God, 1614. G.P. DUNKERTON, No 2. Before I was a-broke I was as good as any: But when that Cokey casted I near was worth a penny. Thomas Bilbie cast all wee. Mr Thomas Harding and Mr Thomas Fowler Churchwardens, 1732. DUNKERTON, No 5. Hark how the chirping treble sounds so clear While rowleing Tom com Tumbleing in the Reare. Mr Thomas Harding and Mr Thomas Fowler Churchwardens. Thomas Bilbie cast all wee 1732.

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ILE ABBOTS, No 3. I will not fayle to singe mi part, According unto music art, With my side mates I do agree, In perfet shape and harmony. KEYNSHAM No. 1. I value not who doth me see, For Thomas Bilby casted me Althow my sound it is but small I can be heard amongst you all. NETHER STOWEY, No 1, dated 1749. The gift of the principal inhabitants. PUDDIMORE, No 3, dated 1633. Repent, I say, be not too late Thy self at all times Redy make. , No 5. I sound to Beid the sick repent In hope of life when breath is spent. SOMERTON, tenor, dated 1714. Frind Wroth and Night, for all your Spite, Ould Edw. Bilbie me rund. Pull me round and hear me sound, Frind such work you never done. SOMERTON. Hang me right, and ring me well, They’ll hear me sound at Hambdon Hill. ST. CUTHBERT’S, WELLS, No. 1, dated 1683. When I was made People freely gave. ST. GEORGE’S, WHATLEY, No. 1, dated 1717. Gifts free bought me. YEOVIL. At Yeovil is to be found a bell declaring its own weight, and otherwise speaking forth its praise, and advertising the indefatigable founder Bilbie:- “Take and weigh me right for I am near five thousand weight. Sing praise to God. T.B.F. Mr Andrew Everton and Mr George Butcher churchwardens. When I was new cast September 26 the year 1723 Stephen Hopper and his wife Joane was the Doner. Alone come Let us sound out ile keep my place no doubt you Wrath and Wright Pray speak the right, come and see how I am Run. Twas young Bilbie that cast me, such work you never done.

Queries. 77 – MEDAL OF 1770 – Could any of your readers tell why a coin, medal, or token was struck in the year 1770? The following is the description. It is about the size of an old halfpenny; on the front is a coat of arms and the following on the outer edge, ‘4th Nov., 1770, Prince of Wales Elected.’ On the other side of a triangle, with the words ‘Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty,’ around St Lux Futt (?). – S Shepherd, Verne House, Mansfield road, Taunton. 78 – A SOMERSET CROSS – A fellow-townsman of mine has asked me whether there is, amongst the ancient crosses in the churchyards of Somerset, any particular

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example that may be looked upon as “A Somerset Cross.” He is a stone and marble mason, and has been invited by customers to make a suggestion for memorial crosses in connection with the great war, and some of them ask that it should be “A Somerset Cross.” Any information on this subject will be most gratefully received. – S.C.

79 – GLASTONBURY THORN – In the “Times” for November 15th is an account of a visit paid by the Prince of Wales to Mount St Alban’s, the site of Washington Cathedral. While there he “was presented by Bishop Harding with a blossom from a thorn-tree in the Cathedral grounds, grown from a cutting of the original Glastonbury thorn. The blossom, the only one left on the tree, was enclosed in a silver box, according to a custom which still obtains at Glastonbury when a member of the Royal Family visits the Abbey.” Does anyone know when this “custom” was in use in England, and where any record of it may be found? – E.H.

Replies to Queries. 54 – BEACON FIRES – The following order issued by the Government in the year 1560, when invasion was feared, explains how the beacons were used to give warning ot the approach of an enemy before the invention of wireless telegraphy, &c.: - “There shall be set three beacons upon the white cliff, in the east part of the Isle of Wight, at St Helen’s point, and three other beacons in the west part of the island upon one other such hill. Burning but one of them upon the said hills shall be taken for warning to the sea coast in the shire to call some help to them without firing of beacons. Burning two beacons together upon one of the said hills shall be warning to the shires next adjoining to fire one of their two beacons, which single beacon so fired shall warn all the beacons of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, and Sussex to fire a single beacon to call all these shires together with speed. Burning of three beacons together upon one of the said hills of both shall be warning to the shires next adjoining to fire two beacons to call Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Somersetshire to the places appointed to aid the other shires. And if so great a fleet of strange ships shall fortune to be seen to draw to the coast without any fire made in the Isle of Wight, so as the number of them shall be deemed too strong for the shire to defend, then to fire two beacons where the ships shall be seen, as the other shires may do the like to repair to the places appointed. The beacons shall be presently furnished with wood sufficient ready to be fired on any occasion, and wood laid by for maintaining the fire, and the beacons shall be watched in the day time by two honest and substantial persons, and in the night with three at the least, and that they shall not be fired at any time without the consent of some Justice of Peace or some other gentleman or honest discreet man next adjoining.” If only beacons were used in this way to-day the Boy Scouts would be having a joyous time watching them at night, as the honest and substantial persons used to do.

66 – CONQUEST FARM – Your correspondent who enquires about this farm may be interested in the following extract from Jeboult’s “West Somerset,” if he does not already know it:- “Roman coins have been found from time to time, particularly at Conquest, and at Holway, a little beyond Taunton, at both which places large deposits of money have been discovered – those at Conquest in such numbers, and in such a perfect state of preservation, as to render it probable that a mint existed there; in confirmation of which, some years ago, several large balls or lumps of metal resembling lead, probably the debased silver so often used in the Roman coinage, are said to have been found there, though I have not as yet succeeded in tracing any of

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them.” From another source I learn that “Conquest is said to derive its name either because the Roman finished conquering the Britons there, or from the fact that King Alfred gained a great victory over the Danes on the same spot. The family of Conquest came, it is said, at the time of the , from Le Conquet, a town near Brest in Brittany. Conquest is a word of Norman-French origin, which means the acquisition of land other than by heirship, and it was used in the same sense in Scottish law.” – READER.

67 – BETTY MUXWORTHY’S PRAYER – The full version of this song or prayer is given by the Rev S.Baring Gould in his “Songs of the West,” and reads as follows – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless this bed that I lie on; Four angels to my bed, Two to bottom, two to head; Two to hear me when I pray, Two to bear my sould away.

Monday morn, the week begin, Christ deliver our souls from sin; Tuesday morn, nor curse nor swear, Christes body that will tear; Wednesday, middle of the week, Woe to the soul Christ does not seek.

Thursday morn, St. Peter wrote, Joy to the soul that heaven hath bote; Friday Christ died on the tree To save other men as well as me; Saturday sure, the evening dead, Sunday morn the Book’s outspread.

God is the branch, and I the flower; Pray God send me a blessed hour. I go to bed, some sleep to take; The Lord he knows if I shall wake. Sleep I ever, sleep I never, God receive my soul for ever.

According to copious notes on this song at the end of the book, some sixty years ago this was the only, or almost the only, prayer used by village children, and it was said or chanted far more extensively than the Lord’s Prayer, but the children had, however, cut it down to one verse.

67 – VERSES IN BOOKS – Your correspondent “K” has opened up a most interesting subject in quoting some of the verses written in books by Somerset school boys of a generation or two ago. I remember quite well meeting frequently with both the examples he gives, but as a rule I found the last two lines of the first example read Take up this book, and in it look, And see I’m not forgotten.

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Another form of the same verse was

William Williams is my name And England is my nation; Taunton is my dwelling-place, And Christ is my salvation. When this you see remember me And bear me in your mind; Let all the world say what they will, Speak of me as you find.

Another version of the second example quoted by “K,” which I remember used to be very general in East Somerset when I was a boy, read

Steal not this book for fear of shame, For here you see the owner’s name; And if he catch you by the tail, He’ll lodge you safe in Shepton jail. Or He’ll clap you into Shepton jail.

Another common inscription was

If you wish my name to see, Turn to page One hundred and three.

To turn to the given page was to find the intimation “You are a fool for looking” – or other words to the same effect.

A much more interesting inscription to be found on the fly-leaf of older books ran as follows:-

William Williams, his book; God gave him grace therein to look And not to look, but understand, For learning is better than house or land. For when house is gone and money all spent, Learning is then most excellent.

It would be interesting if any of your readers who remember any other forms of these old verses in books would be kind enough to send you copies of them for insertion in “Notes and Queries.” – AVALON.

68 – BULL BAITING IN SOMERSET – In 1590, two of the Horners – says Hunt in “The Somerset Diocese” – forcibly took a bear from the bear keeper of Taunton at midnight and “did, by the space of three howres, with dogges and other devices, and whips and wheel barrows, bayt the said beare and did not tye the said beare, but in this manner bayted him lose.” Bulls were baited within the Cathedral precinct at Wells, and the sport was enforced by law, for it was considered that it made the flesh more wholesome. Accordingly we find that in 1612 a Wells butcher was summoned

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before the city magistrates for having slaughtered a bull “Not first bayted.” James I forbade the baiting of bulls and bears on Sundays, but insisted that the people should carry on other sports on that day. On March 19th, 1742, John Wesley was invited by several godly people to preach at Pensford, on the green outside the village. A crowd of people had been engaged in baiting a bull, and they tried to drive the worried and tortured beast against the table on which the preacher stood. After an hour spent in disgusting cruelty, they finally upset the table by pushing the dying bull by main force against it, and so broke up the congregation. – W.G.Willis Watson.

70 – PENANCE STOOLS IN CHURCHES – I regret being led into perpetrating an error by stating that the penance of Roger Warmwille – for so the name is spelt in Bishop Ralph’s Register – was carried out in Ilchester Church. I was quoting from Hunt’s “Somerset Diocese.” Roger was a somewhat desperate character, but I have no desire to suggest that he had to undergo penance for more than one offence. “J.G.” refers to a riot at Yeovil in 1348 but the date of the outrage on Bishop’s own Register, is November 11th, 1349. On the 25th November, 1349, before Master John de Sydenhale, canon of Wells, commissary of Ralph, Bishop of Bath and Wells, specially appointed in this behalf, sitting as a tribunal in the cemetery of the conventual church of Taunton, Roger de Warmwille of the parish of Jevele, in the presence of William Cammell, Canon of Wells, public notary, Master Simon de Fareway, Sir John Sambroke, rector of Merkesbury, John Sprengehuse, Richard Bardolf, and others, publicly confessed that he would go through the punishment underwritten which the said commissary enjoined on him for his excess and grave injuries done to the said father and his servants in the parish church of Jevele. Then follows the punishment. After a glance at Bishop Ralph’s Register, I’m bound to come to the conclusion that Hunt has made a slip; and that he should have written Yeovil for Ilchester. The name Warmwille occurs only once in the index, and then only in connection with the Yeovil outrage, while I cannot discover anything about a similar disturbance ever happening at Ilchester. – W.G.Willis Watson.

71 – HILLCOMMON – We are indebted to Mr W S Hayes, of Taunton, for the following interesting facts:- My grandfather, James Hayes too in about 1 ¼ acres of common land. The method they adopted was to peg out what land they required (a man by the name of Saunders took in about the same quantity at the same time), and then erected a mud hut. This they put up in the night, put some kind of roof on, and threw a bucket of water up over it. I never heard they slept in it. They then put up a cob building each, both helping one another. My father was brought from Hillfarrance when two years old, and lived there the whole of his life, and died there in 1896 at the age of 74, so that would be about 94 years ago. Of course it would have taken some time from the time they took in the land before the house would be built. The writer bought the house erected by James Saunders, and pulled it down and put up two modern cottages, leaving the two built by my grandfather standing (he built another after), but those have since collapsed. Several sites were taken up in the same way. I have heard my father say they were threatened with a lawsuit from the lord of the manor, but nothing came, and they were left in undisturbed possession.

72 – OLD TIME BRIDGWATER VOTERS – The right of voting was frequently invested in those inhabitants paying “Scot and lot.” “Scot and lot” was a customary contribution laid upon all subjects according to their ability. To pay “scot” – a tribute or tax – and “lot” – the portion allotted – therefore meant to pay the ordinary tributes,

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and also the personal tax allotted to one. Blackstone, in his Commentaries, uses the expression “They may also assess such rates or scots, upon the owners of lands within their district as they shall judge necessary, and … they may sell his freehold lands (and by the 7 Ann., c. 10., his copyhold also) in order to pay such scots or assessments.” We all know what “scot-free” means – untaxed, unhurt, free. “Pay your scot” is a frequent expression: “Free from scot” or payment. (A.S. scot, sceot, cog with German schosz) – sceotan, to shoot, to throw down as payment. Shakespeare, in Henry IV., Act 5, Sc., 4, uses the word “Twas time to counterfeit or that hot termagent Scot had paid me scot and lot, too.” “Scot” also appears in Froissart’s Chronicles. Another authority, also deriving the word from A.S. sceot – literally that which is shot into the general fund, a contribution – says in old law it meant a portion of money assessed or paid, a customary tax or contribution laid on subjects according to their ability; also a tax or custom paid for the use of a sheriff or bailiff. When persons were taxed not to the same amount, but according to their ability, they were said to pay “Scot and lot.” Macaulay, in his “History of England,” ch. Xxiv., says “The right of voting at Westminster was in the householders paying scot and lot.- W.G.Willis Watson.

November 29th 1919 Notes. IN PRAISE OF EXMOOR – “Tender and dreamy is the faint blue of October skies, a filmy haze floats above the hills. In the meadows shimmering gossamer threads catch the sunlight like a fairy’s wing, and then drifts away into nothingness. Aloft the buzzard wheels like a great moth in widening circles till he, too, disappears into the empyrean. And then comes twilight, and the blue rim of moors – Robin, Howe, Dunkery, Rowbarrow, Luccott Moor, and Hawkcombe Head – stands out like a knife- edge against a sky whose strands are gold and rose and pale carmine, the nearer ridges hang grey elfin veils across the blue, blending into dun haze as darkness deepens. The owls begin their ghostly colloquy. Bats flitter in the lanes with a whisper of soft whirring wings; lights wink from cottage windows. Silence falls; only little lost winds croon across the pine-tops.

For pines are gossips the wide world through, And full of runic rhymes to sigh or say.

Rabbits rustle in the hedgerows; a fox barks in the gorse, and here and there a dead leaf falls pattering.” Ernest Blake, in “Bristol Times and Mirror.”

PROMPT WAR NEWS IN 1685 – Whatever may have been the devious ways in which the West and other parts of England received the news of the end of the ill- starred expedition of Monmouth at Sedgmoor, the people of London got a more or less accurate account through the columns of the “London Gazette,” and that, for the times, very promptly. The fateful year of 1685 knew not the modern telephone and telegraph, the express train or the rotary press, yet the “London Gazette,” in its issue of July 9th, 1685, published a detailed despatch of the Battle of Sedgmoor fought on the 5th. This was headed:- “Whitehal, July 8. Yesterday morning His Majesty received the news of the entire defeat of the Rebels; of which we have the following account:- …” and it said towards the end:-“His lordship (Feversham) hearing that the late Duke of Monmouth was fled with about 50 horse, the greatest number of the Rebels that were left together, he sent out several parties in pursuit of him.” An addition brought

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up the narrative to the 8th, with the announcement of the capture of Lord Grey, and shortly before going to press the story was completed with the following momentous information:-“Whitehall, July 8, at 12 o’clock at night. His Majesty has just now received and account That the late Duke of Monmouth was taken this Morning in Dorsetshire hid in a Ditch, and that He is in the Hands of my Lord Lumley.” Such prompt publication of important news, 243 years ago, shows that our forefathers were not so behindhand with information as the very uncertain means of communication then prevailing lead us to imagine.

SOMERSET AND THE WOOLLEN TRADE – While making a search for certain information concerning the county of Somerset, I have met with some references to Chard and Taunton, which I think may prove interesting to readers of “Notes and Queries”. I find that in 1572 a commercial treaty was entered into with the French King, and considerable correspondence thereon took place between Commissioners in London and the Society of Merchant Adventurers in Exeter. The Merchants determined to leave no stone unturned to relieve themselves from the oppressive exactions of the French Customs and they entered upon a suit, which extended over two years, and entailed much trouble and expense, but it may be inferred this was carried out to a successful issue. In April, 1583, the company met respecting a new customs duty, and among the strangers present at the Court were Robert Henley and Thomas Ffisher, of Taunton, and Phillibert Selwood and Harry Samwayes, of Chard. It was decided only to pay under protest. A further Court was held on the 11th June, and continued open until the 14th following, and this was attended by Thomas Pope, the elder, and John Pope, the younger, of Taunton, and Phillibery Selwood and Harry Samwayes of Chard. Thomas Pope was chosen to be their Attorney and Deputie to “prefer and folowe the saide suyte, as well to the Queenes hignes and her most honourable Counsell: as also unto the Ffrenche Kinge.” He was to be paid reasonable charges and expenses, as the Merchants of Exeter and other towns and places aforesaid (Taunton, Totnes, Chard, and Tiverton) shall think good. Pope prosecuted his task and at a Court, on the 3rd December, 1583, submitted an account of his stewardship, and gave the Court to understand that “hee had not as yet gone through with the said suite, but had good hope the same maye be obteyned very shortly if it be followed.” It was ordered that he be paid £60, but it seems the total expenses incurred amounted to £67, and, at a Court on the 12th November, 1584, Pope’s acquittance in respect of Exeter and Totnes was brought in, and no doubt, the balance was forthcoming. Exeter, Totnes and Lyme division each found £29. The Merchants of Chard, in April, 1586, “adventured” the sum of £37 10s, with “Mr Adrian Gilbte and Mr John Davies in a voiage for the discovery of China,” and Symon Saunders, of Taunton, “adventured” £12 10s. It is said the object of the merchants was to open a legitimate trade with China and India in the cloth for which the West of England was celebrated. At a Court, held on the 24th November, 1597, a letter was read from William Edney, of Taunton, touching the removal of trade from Morlais, in Brittany, to Breste, “by reason of some hard dealinge used to our merchauntes by the townsmen of Morlais.” Mr Edney was empowered to follow a suit for removing the said trade from Morlais to Breste, to continue for the space of two, three or four years “at the pleasure and good likinge of oure merchauntes.” Chard and Taunton paid £6 13s 4d each towards the expenses of this mission. In October, 1585, a letter was written by the Exeter Merchant Adventurers to the Merchants of (inter alia) Taunton and Chard with reference to the proposal to form an incorporation to bring trade to Guernsey and Jersey,”which the companie do not doubte but to obtayne with small charge with the

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helpe and furtherance of the Right Wo. Sir Ames Poulett and S’ Thomas Leighton, Knights Captaines of the saide islandes.” Chard and Taunton merchants sent letters to a Court held on the 22nd December, 1587, concerning losses and injuries sustained by the King of Spain and his subjects. On the 18th September, 1600, the Court agreed to appoint Mr John Sampforde, of Exeter, and Mr William Dare of Taunton, to become humble suitors to the Lord Treasurer and the rest of the Privy Council “not onelie for the revocacion of a certeine edict for English Wollen clothes in Ffraunce, but also to drawe them to a shorter time for the finishing thereof if it maie be obtained.” The company agreed to pay £20 towards the expenses of the two gentlemen, Chard having to subscribe 20s and Taunton 40s. Two years later trouble was caused by “divers wrongs offered by the Dunkarkes to the merchauntes of this westerne partes,” and the opinions were asked of the merchants of Taunton and Chard and, later, representatives were sent to the Privy Council to place the grievances before them. As usual, the expenses were to be paid and equally shared. These extracts show how interested Chard and Taunton were in the woollen trade in these days. – W.G.Willis Watson.

FIRST AND LAST LOTTERIES – In view of the discussion which is now taking place with regards to the advisability of issuing Premium Bonds, it may interest some of your readers to know that the first lottery which took place in England began to be drawn on January 11th, 1569, at the West Door of St Paul’s Cathedral, and lasted till May 6th. This lottery was first announced in 1567, and was described as:- “A verie rich Lotterie Generall without any blanks, containing a number of good prizes as well as of ready money as of plate and certain sorts of marchaundises having been valued and priced by the comaundement of the Queene’s most excellent majestie by men expert and skilfull; and the same lotterie is erected by her majesties order, to the intent that such profit as may chaunce to arise thereof may be used towards repairing the havens and strength of the Realm and towards such other public good works. The number of lots shall be 400,000 and no more and every lot shall be the sum of 10s and no more.” On October 15th, 1568, the Mayor of Wells and his brethren, “with the consent of all the burgesses, hath fully agreed that every occupation within the town aforesaid shall make their lots for the lottery according to the Queen’s Majesty’s proclamation.” Sir George Speake, of White Lackington in Somerset, bought No 193066 in this lottery. He was not allowed to send in his name, but had to forward a motto with his subscription of 5s 10d. It was:

“What chance to me befall I am content withall.”

The last State Lottery in England was drawn on October 18th, 1826. It was originally intended that State Lotteries should “terminate for ever” on July 18th of that year, but within a few days of the date of the drawing the Lords of the Treasury extended the period for a further three months – until 18th October, 1826. An advertisement in the “Western Flying Post” for July 15th of that year commenced (in large display type):- “In a few days the Lotteries end for ever! There will be no opportunity of getting a LARGE FORTUNE for a SMALL SUM after NEXT TUESDAY: on that day the very last Drawing to be allowed in this kingdom, will take place. SIX MATCHLESS PRIZES of £30,000 will be drawn 18th this month, NEXT TUESDAY, the last and only drawing that will be allowed in this Kingdom, after which all Lotteries are prohibited by Act of Parliament.” The following names appeared as those of agents

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for the sale of tickets in Somerset:- J.Poole, Bookseller, Taunton; S.Poole & Son, Booksellers, Bridgwater; Jacob Player, Chymist, Druggist and Bookseller, Frome; S.Jolliffe, Druggist, Crewkerne; J.Percy, Bookseller, Somerton; J.E.Lewis, Printer, Wells.

TAUNTON ACROSTICS – The following is a selection of verses sent by the prize- winners in our recent competition, in which our readers were invited to send some poetical acrostics on Taunton on the lines of the Winsford example which we printed in this column a fortnight ago:- Through the fair vale of Taunton Deane Ambrosial meads and orchards spread, Until the city lifts her head: Nursed by these fertile fields so green The town is comely, vigorous, strong, Old-historied and far-famed in song, No county boasts a fairer queen. Miss Daisy MacFarlane.

The waters still, thy pastures green Are still the charm of Taunton Deane, Under the far-spread circling hills No blight may dwell, no bleak wind chills, Thy fame is graceful as thy spires, O Mother of sons of worthy sires No dearer home one’s heart desires. Miss Daisy MacFarlane.

The Taunton men in days of old, Accomplished much by daring: Under Young Monmouth’s flag were bold, Nor of themselves were sparing. Their spirit still prevails to-day, Our lives to fill, our strength and stay, Nor need WE be despairing. Mr Wm. Brownscombe.

Time-honoured City of the West, Alluring the historian’s quest, Unspoilt by Vandal’s cruel hand, Now as of old thy temples stand. Thy motto “Defandamus” speaks Of virtue every Briton seeks, Nor seeks in vain, who trusts in God. Rev J.C.Whiting.

Taunton, thou humble little western town Art mightier in thy past than cities proud. Upon the page of History thy renown Never shall be forgot. Great mem’ries crowd Through all thy streets. Each stone could tell some deed.

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Of Ine, Monmouth, Blake; but of thy sons Nine out of ten pass on and take no heed. Mr J.F.Wilkins.

The ancient town beside the , A centre now of busy rural life, Unites in pleasing contrast all its own ‘Neath Castle Hall past hist’ry graved in stone, The Mart outside with modern commerce rife. On ev’ry hand its progress we may trace, New times, and old, find here a meeting place. Mr W.S.Price.

Thou beauteous Vale of Taunton Dene! A gem enshrined by ‘circling hills, Upon whose Combes of living green, New beauties glow, as o’er the scene The sunshine plays; while sparkling rills Oft ripple by past shady bowers. Neath Castle Walls and village towers. Mr W.S.Price.

Taunton! Thou ever fair gem of the vale, Apposite blending of present and past, Union of glories that will never fail. Nature and Art; schools where wisdom’s amass’d. Towers, quaint houses, old castle, clear river, Overseas sons of thine long for thee ever! Ne’er shall life’s changes our hearts from thee sever! Miss B.Masey.

Thine the fair fame, that thou’st for freedom stood, And shed for Truth and Country martyrs’ blood; Undaunted by the might of tyrant kings of yore; No longer now the scene of fratricidal strife, The modern pioneer of Light, the life Of Wessex centres here; and bounteous store Nature provides of beauteous scene, no fairer England o’er. Mr F.W.Mathews.

Queries. 80 – HOLY WELLS – Can any of your readers give details about the following wells? The position as regards the Parish Church, any building at, or round the well, the name of the well, for what purpose the water is thought to be useful, &c.:- (1) St. John’s well at Holford; (2) A well at Crewkerne, near the church(?); (3) Furber’s Well, Milverton; (4) Jeffrey’s Well, Ramscombe (?); (5) A holy well at Dulverton. – Ethelbert Horne.

81 – JOHN DE COMBE – Does any one of your many readers know anything of the family history of the late John de Combe who founded the Crewkerne Grammar

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School in 1499? If so I should like to know through your columns something about it. I know he was a native of Crewkerne, and entered the church and became a great dignitary in Exeter Catherdral, Precentor, Canon, or something of that sort, but I should like to know something more about him and his family for reasons which I may explain further on in your paper. – John M Crocker.

82 – WEST COUNTRY HUMOUR – Some years ago I heard an old man say to a would-be smart youngster: “Ah, thee be’est so sharp’s the gurt aind o’ the hood bettle” (wood beetle). Could some of your readers give a few examples of similar caustic wit that have come under their notice. – WESTERN.

83 – A CURIOUS BURIAL – I have been told that many years ago a man was buried in Norton Fitzwarren Churchyard the wrong way about – that is to say with his head towards the East instead of his feet – and that some of the older inhabitants can point out the grave. It is said that the reason for burying the man in this unusual way was that he died in debt, and that it was customary in old days to bury debtors in this way. Can any of your readers say how far these statements are correct or give any further information on the subject? – HARD-UP.

84 – PLOUGHMEN’S CHANTIES – Can any reader of the “Notes and Queries” columns remember the words of any of the chanties, or songs, used by the drivers of oxen, in Somerset, and some of the adjoining counties, years ago? If so, they would be well worth recording. I have heard my mother (probably seventy years since) repeat the words she had heard sung by the ploughmen as they guided their oxen across the fields, when she was visiting friends in the Quantock district, but I forget them. Several oxen were yoked to each plough, and each had a name – such as Daisy and Pretty Boy, Cherry and Merry, and others more or less poetic. These names were worked into a kind of rugged rhyme; and the words were loudly chanted by the drivers as the work went on. The quality of the beef was supposed to be greatly improved by the working of the oxen, while there was also a considerable saving of horse labour. – C.P.

Replies to Queries. 29 – SOMERSET LIBERTIES – Was there not a Liberty of Taunton? A work on “The Customs of the Manor of Taunton” mentions the various law-days, courts, &c., “for the said manor, , and liberty.”

66 – CONQUEST FARM – Professor F.Haverfield, in his paper on “Two Hoards of Roman Coins found in Somersetshire in 1666,” states:- “Writers on the Roman antiquities of Somerset commonly state that a large hoard of Roman coins belonging to all periods of the Empire was found in 1666 at Conquest Farm, in the parish of Bishop’s Lydard, three miles north of Taunton, and close to Norton Fitzwarren. The find has been used to support various theories about the Romano-British occupation of Taunton, and these theories have gained some currency. An examination of the evidence for the find has, however, shown me that both the place where the coins were found and the character of the coins themselves have been seriously misdescribed.” The paper is a short one, and is published in “The Archaeological Journal,” Vol. lix., 1902, pp 342-345, and can be seen in the library at Taunton Castle. – H.St George Gray.

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67 –VERSES IN BOOKS – In an old Bible, dated 1743, I read the following. The owner said it once belonged to the eccentric Parson Creswell’s family:- Steal not this book for fear of shame, For underneath there is my name; Turn down no leaves, and keep it clean, For there’s nothing worse, and look so mean; And when you’ve seen all you require, Return it quickly from whom you hire. J.Creswell.

This is as near as I could copy the rhyme, as the ink was much faded and the covers soiled.

71 – HILLCOMMON – Some 25 or 30 years since, or it may be more, the writer, who was trustee for a small estate, had to get some sort of security for a debt to the estate from one of the house-holders at Hillcommon. He had no title deeds or anything to show that he was the owner, so the solicitor who went with me said, “We will soon alter that; you give the trustee a mortgage on the house, and that will be good enough.” This was done; since then the house had changed hands once, if not twice. Have the other house-holders any deeds, or anything to prove they are the owners except being in possession? – L.

73 –TAUNTON BREAD RIOTS – A very similar question to that asked by “Thomas” was asked in these columns 22 years ago, and the following reminiscences from an old Tauntonian were amongst the most interesting of the replies received:- “I do not remember the exact date of these riots, but it was about 1847. Bread and provisions generally were very dear. The rioting commenced on a Saturday in the market. The butter dealers had their butter taken from them, and the rioters sold it themselves at what they thought was a fair price. A troop of the West Somerset Yeomanry was called out and quartered at the Barracks for the day. In going up High-street, and the Barrack-street they were pelted with stones by the rioters. On Monday morning the rioting was again continued, most of the bakers’ shops in the town being besieged. The Riot Act was read about mid-day by Mr John Roy Allen, of Lyngford, who was the Chairman of the Taunton Bench of Magistrates (and the grandfather of the present Captain T Allen, of the West Somerset Yeomanry), in front of Mr Matthew’s baker’s shop at the top of East Reach Hill. There were hundreds of people in the street at the time. Many of the tradesmen of the town were sworn in as special constables, and served out with staves. The old pensioners of the town and district, who met at Taunton once a year for training, were called out, and took up a position on the Parade, and shortly after charged the crowd, who at the time numbered several thousand: One or two arrests were made, and they were afterwards charged with rioting, and received different sentences. At this particular time my wife paid 6s 8d for a peck and a half of meal. I think the ordinary price for the same quantity would be about 2s. – H.C.

74 – CHURCH BELLS AND THE FIFTH – It was a very common custom to ring the bells on November 5th in memory of the failure of the gunpowder plot. Payment to the ringers for ringing on November 5th will be found in many books of churchwardens’ accounts. In the Curry Rivel accounts, under the date 1727-1728, there is an order signed by Sit William Pynsent, that no money be given to the ringers upon any

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holiday, chargeable to the public, but on the 5th day of November, and then not exceeding 5s. In the Martock accounts we find frequently s d Beer to ye ringers ye 5th Day of November… 6 8

At Owmby, in Lincolnshire, one of the bells is inscribed Let us remember the 5 of November. - G.W.Saunders.

75 – DOVECOTES – There is a circular dovecote in the churchyard at Norton-sub- Hamdon, and another at Stogursey; an almost square one at Bruton; and at Ivythorn Manor, near Street, is a rather larger one, which is oblong in plan. A chapter on “Church Pigeon Houses” will be found in “Church Lore Gleanings,” T.F.Thiselton Dyer. – G.W.Saunders.

75 – DOVE COTES – There is a dove cote at Bruton, on the hill on the south side of the church. Another at , connected with the Manor House, which is thus described in the Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological Society for 1875:- “It is a square building of the Elizabethan era, and is in fine preservation. It is entered by a low door, and has one small window. The walls are pierced inside with a great number of square holes, for the nests of the pigeons.” There is still another at Stoke- sub-Hamdon, which is thus referred to in the same Society’s volumes for 1886, page 56:- “The Dovecot, in a field at the back of the house was visited. It is circular, and entered by a low door. There are recesses in the wall for 500 pigeons, or more. It is now in a dilapidated condition, the decayed roof having been only recently removed.” –C.D.

75 – DOVE COTES – There are ancient dove cotes at Bruton, Norton St Philip, Norton-sub-Hamdon, Stoke-under-Ham, Dunster, , Toomer Court (Henstridge), , , Shapwick, Holbrook (near Wincanton), Halswell, West Bower, Chard’s Farm (Long Sutton), Hurcot’s Farm (Somerton), Godminster (near Bruton), and in many other places in the county. One of the most interesting of our Somerset dove cotes is that at West Bower, near Bridgwater, of which Mr C R Barrett in his “Somersetshire, Highways, Byways and Waterways,” writes as follows:- “It is not, I believe, generally known that the columbarium at West Bower is perhaps the most remarkable specimen in the county. It is circular in shape, of large size, and, with the exception of its thatched roof, built entirely of mud. The nesting niches number nearly nine hundred, and are formed in the mud wall, which is actually more than three feet in thickness.” The dovecote at West Camel is a circular building with a ventilator in the apex of the roof. There are 600 pigeon holes. The Toomer Court specimen has 350 holes. A photograph of the pigeon house at Godminster forms the frontispiece to Vol. 4 of “Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries,” whilst Mr Chas Trask, in his work on Norton-sub-Hambdon, gives as his frontispiece a photograph of Norton Church, showing the pigeon-house close to the church tower. – READER.

December 6th 1919 Notes.

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HOSE-COLD OR HOARSENESS – Some years ago a strange clergyman arriving at on the Saturday found the sexton walking up and down the river. He said he was trying to get “a bit of a hose” as he was to sing bass in church the next day!

A PITMINSTER STORY – About 60 years ago the old sexton, names Oaten, who had acted in that capacity for a great many years, died after a short illness, and strange to say, the passing bell was found to be “crazed” on another person going to the belfry to toll it to announce the sexton’s death. It is said that no-one had been in the belfry since the previous Sunday, so that the bell had not been meddled with in any way by anyone, either for mischief or to make a mystery. – C.B.

A VERY ANCIENT FAMILY – There was a brief announcement yesterday of the death in London of Mr William Robert Phelips. It was followed by an equally curt notice that the funeral would be at Montacute. The notice did not trouble to say whether Montacute was in Devonshire or in Yorkshire. As a matter of fact it is in neither. It is in Somersetshire, near Yeovil, and the house is among the most wonderful in England. Yet the man in the street and the man in the car know little or nothing of Montacute, and the ancient family of Phelips. They are just a family of proud, quiet commoners, who own a habitation that a king would gladly live in. Its story anyone can find in a few minutes in a reference library. Yet it is a story known to very few. At the present time Lord Curzon of Kedleston is the tenant of this house. – “Daily Chronicle.” Nov 26th, 1919.

ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE – We are indebted to Mr F.W.Mathews, of Bradford, for the following interesting extracts relating to Somerset, taken from the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle:- A.D. 495 – “Then succeeded Ina to the kingdom of the West Saxons.” 577 – This year Cuthwin and Ceawlin fought with the Britons, and took from them Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath. 652 – Kenwal fought at Bradford by the Avon. 710 – Ina (a more notable king than the one of 495) and his relative Nun fought with Grant, King of the Welsh. 715 – Ina and Ceolred fought at Wanborough. 728 – Ina went to Rome, and there gave up the ghost. 845 – Alderman Eanwulf, with the men of Somersetshire, and Bishop Ealstan and Alderman Osric, with the men of Dorsetshire, fought at the mouth of the Parret with the Danish Army, and there, after making a great slaughter, gained the victory. 876 – The Army (that is, the Danes) stole into Wareham, a fort of the West Saxons, and in 877 – from Wareham into Exeter, whilst the Navy sailed west about, and they met with a great mist at sea, and there perished one hundred and twenty ships at Swanwich (Swanage). Meanwhile, King Alfred with his Army rode after the cavalry as far as Exeter, but he could not overtake them before their arrival in the fortress, where they could not be come at. 878 – About mid-winter, the Danish Army stole out to Chippenham, and rode over the land of the West Saxons where they settled , and drove many of the people over sea, and of the rest the greater part they rode down, and subdued to their will; all but Alfred the King. He, with a little band, uneasily sought the woods and fastness of the moors. And in the winter of this same year the brother of Ingar landed in Wessex, in Devonshire, with three and twenty ships, and there was he slain, and eight hundred

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men with him. In the Easter of this year King Alfred with his little force raised a work at Athelney; from which he assailed the Army, assisted by that part of Somersetshire which was nighest to it. Then in the seventh month after Easter he rode to Brixton by the eastern side of Selwood, and there came out to meet him all the people of Somersetshire, and Wiltshire, and that part of Hampshire which is on this side of the sea; and they rejoiced to see him. Then within one night he went from this retreat to Iley, and within one night after he proceeded to Heddington, and there fought with all his Army and put them to flight, riding after them as far as the fortress, where he remained a fortnight. Then the Army gave him hostages with many oaths that they would go out of his kingdom. They told him also, that their king would receive baptism. And they acted accordingly, for, in the course of three weeks after, King Guthrum, attended by some thirty of the worthiest men that were in the Army, came to him at Aller, which is near Athelney, and there the king became his sponsor in baptism; and his crisom-leasing was at Wedmor. He was there twelve nights with the king, who honoured him and his attendants with many presents. 894 – The king went westward towards Exeter, and whilst he was busy there the Danes went upward by the Thames, till they arrived near the Severn. Meanwhile assembled Alderman Ethered, Alderman Ethelm, Alderman Ethelnoth, and the king’s thanes, who were employed at home at the works, from every town east of the Parret, as well as west of Selwood. When they had sat many weeks on both sides of the water (at Buttington on the Severn) then were the enemy weighed down with famine. They had devoured the greater part of their horses, then went they out to the men that sat on the eastern side of the water, and fought with them, but the Christians had the victory. 918 – Came a great naval armament over hither south from the Lidwiccians; they went about till they entered the mouth of the Severn. And the King (Edward) had contrived that a guard should be set against them on the south side of Severn mouth, west from Wales, eastward to the mouth of the Avon, so that they durst nowhere seek the land on that side. Nevertheless, they eluded them at night by stealing up twice; at one time to the east of Watchet, and at another time at Porlock. There was a great slaughter each time, so that few of them came away, except those only that swam out to the ships. Then sat they outward on an island, called the Flat Holms, till they were very short of meat, and many men died of hunger. Thence went they to Dimmet, and there on to Ireland. 955 – This year died King Edred, on St Clement’s Day mess. at Frome. He reigned nine years and a half, and he rests in the old minster. 987 – This year was the port of Watchet plundered. 997 – The Army (the Danes) went about Devonshire into Severn-mouth, and equally plundered the people of Cornwall, Wales north of the Severn sea, and Devon. Then went they up at Watchet, and there much evil wrought in burning and manslaughter. 1001 – The Army came to Exmouth. Then they went through the land, and did all as was their wont; destroyed and burnt. Then was collected a vast force of the people of Devon, and the people of Somerset, and they came together at Pen (another version, Pin-hoo, i.e., Pinhoe, near Exeter). And as soon as they joined battle, then the people gave way; and there they made great slaughter. 1013 – King Sweyne went over Thames westward to Bath, where he abode with his army. Thither came Alderman Ethelmar, and all the western thanes with him, and all submitted to Sweyne, and gave hostages. 1015 – King Canute went into Wessex, until he came to the mouth of the Frome; and then plundered in Dorsetshire, and in Wiltshire, and in Somerset. 1033 – Bishop Merewhite died in Somersetshire, who is buried at Glastonbury.

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1051 – Oddy was appointed earl over Devonshire, Somerset, Dorset, and Wales. 1052 – Harold (son of Godwin) went out from Ireland with nine ships, and came up at Porlock with his ships to the mouth of the Severn, near the boundaries of Somerset and Devonshire, and there plundered much. The land-folk collected against him, both from Somerset and from Dorsetshire, but he put them to flight. 1053 – Aylward, Abbot of Glastonbury, died, and Aylnoth succeeded him. 1060 – Dudoc, who was Bishop of Somersetshire, died, and the priest was appointed in his stead. 1067 – This year went out Githa, Harold’s mother, to the Flat Holm, and there abode some time, and so departed thence over sea to St Omer’s. 1083 – A great tumult at Glastonbury betwixt the Abbot Thurstan and his monks. It proceeded first from the Abbot’s want of wisdom that he misgoverned his monks in many things. One day the Abbot went into the chapter-house and spoke against the monks, and attempted to mislead them (that is, by teaching them a new fangled chant), and sent after some lay-men, and they came full-armed into the chapter-house upon the monks… A rueful thing happened on that day. Three there were slain to death, and eighteen wounded. 1106 – At Easter was the King at Bath. On the night preceding the Lord’s supper, that is, the Thursday before Easter, were seen two moons in the heavens before day, the one in the east, and the other in the west, both full, and it was the fourteenth day of the moon. 1122 – And the eighth night before the calends of August was a very violent earthquake all over Somersetshire and in Gloucestershire.

Queries. 85 – CREWKERNE BELL-RINGING RULES – In a diary and account book kept by a Castle Cary man 130 years ago is an entry stating the following lines appeared on a board in Crewkerne Church. There is no music played or sung, Like to fine bells that are well rung; Then ring them well as e’er you can; Silence is best for every man. Be sure in ringing make no slurs, Take off your hat, also your spurs; And if a bell you overthrow, You shall pay sixpence ere you go. Can Mr Willis Watson or any other reader say whether these lines are still preserved in the church or belfry? – INTERESTED.

86 – LIAS – Can anyone give an early use of this term used for our locals stone? It is usually said to be a quarryman’s word and to refer to the “layers” in which the stone is found. – H.Corder.

87 – BLACKBROOK CORPORATION – In the Council Chamber at the Municipal Buildings, Taunton, stands an old chair, which I understand was formerly the chair occupied by the Chairman of the Blackbrook Corporation, a hamlet some two miles from Taunton. Surmounting the lion and the Crown is the letter “J.R.” and the words “Blackbrooke Corporation.” On the side of the Crown is “A.D.,” and on the other “1215.” Beneath the Crown is the inscription:- “Bis Vivit, Qui Bene.” The chair also bears the following inscription:- “Presented by Edward Jeboult, A.D. 1882, in

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remembrance of his father and other ancestors. Recorders of the Corporation.” Apparently the chair is little valued by the Taunton Corporation, and is at present used as a receptacle for loose papers. Can any of your readers furnish records of the Blackbrooke Corporation? – TAUNTONIAN.

88 – THE FIRST WOLLEN FACTORY – I read in an old magazine that the first woollen manufactory in England was established at Taunton. Can any reader supply the date or any other details? – N.R.Whittaker.

Replies to Queries. 26 – A LOCAL LEGEND – Tuckerton Hollow, near North Petherton, is said to be haunted by a corpse with a coffin, and horses as well as humans are afraid to go through there after dark. A man driving to Petherton got a clear road, but on his return could not get his horse through the Hollow. Some time later he appeared again in Petherton, white, with a trembling horse, and declared that there was a coffin across the road with the corse sitting on it. Many other tales of this coffin seen after dark are about. It is authentic that many years ago a horse fell into the Hollow from the orchard above and broke its neck; perhaps the present-day horses, with their keen sight, see the spirit of their unfortunate relative.

67 – VERSES IN BOOKS – I remember reading in books in Stoke St Gregory Church the following, which I do not think have been quoted in your “Notes and Queries”:- Steal not this book for fear of shame, For in it is the owner’s name, And when you die the Lord will say, Where is that book you stole away? And if you say you do not know, The Lord will say “Go down below.” When I am dead and in my grave, And all my bones are rotten, Look in this book and think of me, When I am quite forgotten. -NATIVE

69 – PRIOR’S CHAPEL, RUISHTON. – The figure of the Prior is in a small niche cut out of the S.W. angle of the chapel which forms a south transept to Ruishton Church. – H.Corder.

70 – PENANCE STOOLS IN CHURCHES – I find on reference to the Churchwardens’ Accounts of Wiveliscombe that in 1682 sixpence was paid of the “length of a sheete of several p’sons that did does penance in the church.” In 1683 Elizabeth Boddy does penance and sixpence is again paid for the sheet she used. – W.G.Willis Watson.

73 – TAUNTON BREAD RIOTS – I have some recollection of the riot referred to by H.C., but, like him, I cannot remember the exact date. So far as my memory serves the trouble began in the wheat market, which was then held under the eastern arcade. Local farmers in a small way of business and a number of corn-dealers at the time sold their corn on Saturdays by the peck or the bushel to the wives of labouring men,

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some of whom carried their supply to the mill, in North-street, the same day, and waited while it was ground, in order that they may have the flour quite ready for making their bread on the following Monday. The corn was brought to the market in sacks, but was poured out into wooden tubs, from which it was measured out to customers. The women were enraged by the high price asked, and one of them upset one of the tubs. There was a scramble for the wheat. Other tubs were turned over and a scene of riot and disorder ensued, during which some of the dealers were roughly treated and greatly alarmed. Much corn was stolen. Then the rioters rushed off to the butter market, which was held under the old Assembly rooms, and helped themselves to the contents of the baskets. A visit to the adjoining meat market followed, but here there was a check, for the butchers, armed with their cleavers and knives, vowed that they would defend their stalls against all comers. So the angry crown rushed down North-street to Mill-lane but the owners of the mill had been warned. So they had closed their doors and barricaded as far as they could in the time. Moreover one of the millers stood at one of the doors of an upper floor with a gunn or rifle, and threatened to shoot any person who should attempt to break into the mill. The few then in the town were by this time able to obtain assistance, and put in an appearance, and the local magistrates appealed to the authorities at the Barracks to back them up as far as they were able. So things gradually cooled down for the day, but the fire still smouldered, and the outbreak on the following Monday has already been described in your last issue, so I will not repeat. – R.B.

74 – CHURCH BELLS AND NOVEMBER 5TH – In reply to this enquiry, the Rev. H.F.S. Gurney, vicar of Stoke St Gregory, kindly writes us as follows:- “It was stated in your paper by someone in the parish that the bells were rung on November 5th after having not been rung for a long time. It has always been a usual practise here to ring the bells on November 5th in celebration of the deliverance from the gunpowder plot. It also usually began the autumn practise on the bells. During the war it was not kept owing to the difficulty of getting ringers, I believe. It was commenced again this year, and there was ringing last Wednesday evening again. This was for practice only on the bells. As to the custom in other parishes in respect to ringing on November 5th, I do not at all know what is done elsewhere. I don’t think it is a common practice, but it has been usual to do so here.”

74 – CHURCH BELLS AND THE FIFTH – Hancock, in Wifela’s Coombe,” says that yearly the Wiveliscombe people were careful to have the bells rung on November 5th and May 29th. To keep alive the remembrance of the Gunpowder Plot., and in contemplation of its anniversary, in 1826, a printed quarter-sheet was published in London, “price one penny coloured and one halfpenny plain.” It consists of a rude wood-cut of “a Guy,” carried about by boys, and the title “Quick’s New Speech for the Fifth of November on the Downfall of Guy Fawkes.” Then follow three verses – the chorus of the latter running :-

Then hollo boys! hollo boys! shout and huzz. Hollo boys! hollo boys! keep up the day, Hollo boys! hollo boys! let the bells ring. Down with the pope, and God save the King. Huzza, huzza, huzza.

Another rollicking song had the chorus:-

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My brave lads remember The fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot, We will drink, smoke, and sing, boys, And our bells they shall ring boys. And here’s health to our King, boys, For he shall not be forgot.

I read in an old chronicle that on Bonfire day in London “large parties of butchers from all the markets paraded the streets, ringing peals from marrow bones and cleavers so loud as to overpower the storms of sound that came from the rocking belfries of the churches.” Evidently bell-ringing and “The Fifth” have been long associated, and, if I am not mistaken, when I was a lad and Crewkerne young and old, celebrated “Bonfire-day,” the bells used to ring out from the old church tower.- W.G.Willis Watson.

75 – DOVECOTES – A very perfect example of a genuine columbarium exists at West Bower, just beyond Bridgwater, on the way to Enmore. It is built of mud, and has nests for 900 pigeons. The house itself is also of interest as the reputed birth-place of Jane Seymour. – Elsie Lansdowne.

75 – DOVE COTES – I do not remember any other examples than those already given, excepting that at Long Sutton there were, a few years ago, two examples – one a perfect one of oblong plan at the Manor Farm, probably the one mentioned, and another in a ruinous condition behind the old Court House, forming part of a range of farm premises. I was informed that what one might call the “manorial rights” were entirely in the hands of the Lord of the Manor, and were of much value in the curing of the leather used in the glove industry. As far as I could see, the nesting holes in the round tower at the Priory Farm, Stoke Courcy, have been filled in, and I am told the same fate may happen to those in the fine example at West Bower, which would be a great pity. The tower at Dunster Priory has a very interesting revolving ladder in it. – H.Corder.

76 – TANTRY BOAMER – It is possible that the first part of this name owes its origin to “Tantra,” which is a religious treatise in Sanskrit literature teaching magical formulas for the worship of gods, the attainment of superhuman power, and the four modes of union with the supreme spirit. The fact that the name is used to describe one who “lived till he died” might not unreasonably suggest one who practised magic arts for the attainment of superhuman power, but who none the less went the way of all flesh. I can remember when “Fakir of Oolu” was quite a common expression amongst Somerset schoolboys, and if “Fakir of Oolu” find its way into our Somerset dialect, why should not “Tantra” do so from the Sanskrit literature? – G.S.

77 – MEDAL OF 1770 – This is not correctly described, it is not a medal, but a masonic token. Your correspondent would find a full description of it in “The Tradesmen’s Tokens of the Eighteenth Century,” by James Atkins. Mr Atkins describes the type as follows:- “Obverse: the Freemasons’ arms, supporters crest, and motto. Prince of Wales elected G.M. 24th Nov 1790. Reverse: A cupid and Masonic emblems, within a triangle, Wisdom, strength and beauty. Sit lux et lux fuit.”

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There are more than a score of varieties of this token, the description of which occupies nearly a page and a half of the book. The tokens are of no real value, and are frequently offered by dealers for a few pence. – M.T.

80 - POPLE’S WELL – We are indebted to the Rev H.Durbin Lewis, vicar of Crewkerne, for the following reply:- “There is a well at the bottom of the hill, on the west side of the church, just outside the wall of the property known as the ‘Abbey.’ Within this wall, up to 1846, stood the old Parsonage House, popularly called ‘The Abbey.’ The well is known as ‘Pople’s Well,’ and is said to provide the best water in Crewkerne. I have come across the name ‘Pople’ in the old registers, so probably the well was named from some person so called, who owned the land, or resided near the well. The water now runs from a pipe into a pit, approached by steps, but the masonry is quite modern.”

80 – HOLY WELLS – There is a well at Crewkerne near the church but I never heard it designated as a “holy well.” Traditionally the water is considered to be very pure. I don’t know what a chemical analysis would reveal – but I do know that forty years ago Dr Cox, who lived in Church-street, used to have water fetched daily from “Pople’s Well” for his use. We Grammar School boys in the ‘seventies used to patronise the well in considerable numbers after our games and previously to entering school, although we were sometimes warned by alarmists that they would not drink the water “because it rose among the bodies in the churchyard,” which stands on the high ground above “Pople’s Well.” The Poples were an old Crewkerne family, and the well probably took its name from them. The well is situate to the north-west of the church, and is distant about 200 yards. – W.G.Willis Watson.

81 – JOHN DE COMBE – Your correspondent John M Crooker will find a full account of John de Combe in “The History of Crewkerne School,” by R.C.Bartelott, published at the “County Mail” Office, Crewkerne. – W.G.Willis Watson.

81 – JOHN DE COMBE – All that could be discovered in connection with the founder of Crewkerne Grammar School and his family may be read in “The History of Crewkerne School” by Rev R.Grosvenor Bartelot, the present vicar of Fordington, Dorchester. The book was locally printed in 1899. A copy, I believe, could be obtained from the Headmaster, W.V.P.Hexter, Esqr. – H.Durbin Lewis.

81 – JOHN DE COMBE – The founder of Crewkerne Grammar School was a Canon of Exeter. On March 14th, 1472 , he was instituted vicar of the parish church of St Bartholomew, Crewkerne. In 1486 he was appointed treasurer of the cathedral church of Exeter, and in 1488 he became precentor. In 1496 he resigned Crewkerne, and died on April, 15th, 1499. I do not know anything about his family. – C.J.

82 – WEST COUNTRY HUMOUR – It is a little difficult, on the spur of the moment, to recall illustrations of rural wit and humour, although many could be found in Professor John Read’s dialect stories, in Raymond’s novels, which are so delightful to the Somerset native, and in other publications. Here is one – also about a wood beetle – which had its origin in the neighbourhood of Chard: It was suggested that a job should be allotted to a certain man. This met with the remark: “Oh! Thee’st want a biddle and wedges to drave it into his gurt nog-head.” – W.G.Willis Watson.

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December 13th 1919 Notes. THEFTS FROM SOMERSET CHURCHES – According to the “Western Flying Post,” of 11th April, 1831, “the Parish Churches of Ashill and Broadway, in this county, were both robbed on the night of Tuesday, March 29th, the former of the Communion plate and two cassocks, and the latter of the clergyman’s gown only, the plate having been previously removed to be cleaned.” It is not known whether the whole of the Ashill plate was stolen and afterwards recovered; but at the present time Ashill possesses a handsome Elizabethan cup and cover dated 1574, and a salver on three feet with the date letter of 1769. – L.St George Gray.

INSCRIPTIONS ON BELLS – To the lists of inscriptions which you have previously printed please add the following:-

BALTONSBOROUGH No 6 When men in Hymen’s bands unite, Our merry peals produce delight, But when death goes his dreary rounds, We send forth sad and solemn sounds.

BERROW No 2 My sisters all now sing with me when I do ring.

ST. MARY’S, BRIDGWATER No 6 From lightning and tempest Good Lord deliver us.

BROMPTON RALPH Gabriel is mi name In me sholle find no blame

BRUTON Pray ring the bells and praise the Lord With tuneful notes and sweet accord.

DINDER No 4 Repent I Say By not too late Thyself At Al times Redy Make. R.A. 1646

FROME No 4 I AM HEE FOR IOHN LOTT MADE MEE +ANNO DO MI NI 1624

MARKSBURY, No 1 Rd. Hill. churchwarden. My treble voice makes hearts rejoice.

MIDSOMER NORTON. No. 3. Twas Charles the second our gracious King Was the chief cause we eight bells ring.

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T.B.F. 1750.

MIDSOMER NORTON. No 7. John Harris Lamsdown and Richard Batt, churchwardens, 1793. Repent I say be not too late. This life at all times ready make. Thomas James Bilbie, Chewstoke, fecit.

NORTH CURRY. No 1. May all whom I shall summon to the grave The blessing of a well spent life receive.

PRISTON has six bells, one of which is very interesting, having the following inscription in 15th century capitals with crown stops – HELPOVS ANDRV WE BIDDI THYE EVRE BY FORYE TRINITE.

RODNEY STOKE The four bells in this church are inscribed:- St. Mary pray for us. St Katharine pray for us. Be al prais to God saint luce pray for us.

STAPLEGROVE No 3. YOUNG MEN ARE WEE IN ESTEEME BUT SMALL BUT WILLING. I.P.C.W. 1653.

TRULL, No 2. Bee meeke and loly to heare the word of God.

TWERTON I to the Church the living call And to the Grave do summon all.

“WELLINGTON” writes:- To those interested in the church bells of the county I would point out that the inscriptions on all the bells are given in the quarto volume entitled “The Church Bells of Somerset,” written by the Rev H.T.Ellacombe, which was published in 1875. The inscriptions on particular bells as printed elsewhere do not always agree with those given in this work, and unfortunately one cannot take Ellacombe’s versions to be correct as a matter of course, for he did not personally examine the Somerset bells, as he did those in an adjoining county for his book on the bells of Devon. As an example one might compare Ellacome’s transcript of the inscription on the third bell at Kilmerton Church with what is given in Lord Hylton’s history of that parish. Ellacombe also wrote a small volume, bearing the title “Practical Remarks on Belfries and Ringers,” in which he mentioned that belfry rules in doggerel verse “were very common a century and more ago” (the third edition of his book is dated 1871), and he gives what he described a s a fair specimen, which contains lines to the same effect as those quoted by “Interested” as having formerly existed on a board in Crewkerne Church. A good many references to the inscriptions on Somerset church bells appear in “The Sea-Board of Mendip” and the other charming books which we owe to the late Francis A Knight.

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CALENDAR OF CUSTOMS, SUPERSTITIONS, SAYINGS, &C. Commencing with the New Year we hope to publish in our “Notes and Queries” Column week by week the most complete records we can obtain of all superstitions, customs, sayings, &c., connected with the County of Somerset, and relating to particular days, months, or seasons of the year. For instance, during the month of January we should hope to deal with customs and superstitions relating to New Year’s Day, Old Christmas Day, Twelfth Night, including the Ashen Faggot, Wassailing, Blessing the Apple Trees, &c. In February we should hope to deal with Candlemas, Valentine’s Day, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, &c., and so on for the other months of the year. May, of course would give us all the May Day customs (including Hobby-horseing at Minehead), the celebration of the raising of the siege of Taunton on the 11th, Oak Apple Day, and a number of other interesting subjects. In addition, we shall hope to give many of the most popular proverbs, sayings, scraps of folklore, &c., relating to each month, including those having reference to the weather, to gardening and farm-work, to plants and flowers, to local fairs and fixtures, &c., &c. Particulars of village club walkings or revels would be very acceptable. In many cases village revels and fairs were originally held on special Saints’ days – old style – and in a number of instances there are interesting stories connected with their origin. We should be very glad to hear from any of our readers who can tell us of such stories. We fully recognise that our only hope of carrying out this idea successfully lies in our securing the help of every reader of this paper who is at all interested in such subjects, and we trust that everyone who can do so will not only himself assist us in making our Calendar as complete as possible, but that he will also do us the favour of obtaining the co-operation of any of his friends who are willing and able to add to the store of information which we are anxious to collect. If our hopes in this direction are realised we should propose before distributing the type to reprint the whole of the matter in book form, and should have pleasure in presenting bound copies to the friends who had given us the greatest assistance in compiling the information. We are especially anxious to have particulars of any old customs which are still kept up in any of our Somerset towns and villages, such as the ringing of the pancake bell or the curfew, old festivals, interesting religious ceremonies in connection with Saints’ Days, &c.; and should also very much like to hear from any of our older readers who remember some of the customs and superstitions if a generation or two ago, which have since died out.

Queries. 89 – TAUNTON MAYORS – In Dwelly’s Hearth Tax of Somerset, Taunton Hundred, 1664-5, under the heading of “Taunton Burgus, Fore Streete,” appears the following:- “Wmi. Gill, Maior.” Thus I presume that Wm. Gill was mayor of the Borough at that time, and it was fitting that he should be, for he evidently occupied the largest house in Fore Streete, as his Hearth tax for the year was 28s, whereas no other occupier paid more than 22s, most of the occupiers paying less than 10s. Only two other “burgus” paid higher sums, viz.: - James Cridley, North Streete, 30s, and Henry Pullen, East Streete, 46s. Is it possible to procure a list of Mayors under the 1st Charter? _ L.

90 – THE PASSING BELL – I notice in the Pitminster story printed in last week’s “Notes and Queries” mention is made of the “passing bell.” I understand the passing bell was originally tolled when a person was believed to be dying, in order to serve as a warning to the healthy, and to invite their prayers on behalf of the sick person, and

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also as a call to the minister or curate to visit and comfort the party about to die; but that Church law decreed that the tolling of the bell should cease at once if the person died. Nowadays the general custom appears to be to wait until the person is dead before tolling the bell. It would be interesting to know if there are any places where the passing bell is still tolled in accordance with its original purpose and with the canon related to it, or when and why the former practise was given up and the present custom came into use. I believe there are several curious customs connected with the tolling of the knell, and I should be glad if any of your readers could enlighten me as to these. – J.C.

Replies to Queries. 29 – MARK LIBERTY – Does not Mark Liberty, which is marked on the map to the south of the railway line from Highbridge to Glastonbury, form part of the extensive Manor of Mark, which in the time of Edward VI., comprised 40 messuages, 40 tofts, a water mill, a dovecote, 40 gardens, 6,000 acres of arable land, 1,000 acres of meadow, 2,000 acres of pasture, 100 acres of wood, 100 acres of sedge and heath, and 600 acres of marsh? It was sold in 1554 for £800.

67 – VERSES IN BOOKS – There is a considerable number of verse inscriptions for books, although among them many variations of one theme will be found. Here are a few I recollect:-

John Coleman is the owner’s name And England is his nation, And if you steal his (or this) book away You’ll surely know damnation.

Another: Steal not this book for fear of shame For in it is the owner’s name; And when you’re dead the Lord will say, “Where is that book you stole away?” And if you say “I do not know,” Down to the flames you’ll have to go.

Another familiar one is: Small is the wren, Black is the rook; Blacker the sinner Who steals this book.

A more common variant of this is: Black is the crow, black is the rook; Blacker is he who stels this book.

Predictions of evil for theft of books was the common theme of inscriptions. This book is one thing, The halter for gallows is another; He that steals the one Must be sure of the other.

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If you this precious volume bone, Jack Ketch will claim you for his own. Steal not this book mine honest friend For fear the gallows be thine end.

He who doth this book borrow, And doth not bring it back, Certain he shall have sorrow, And comfort he shall lack.

It was a common practice to track unwary readers with an inscription such as the following: If any man should see this book, He should on page one hundred look.

Then on page one hundred he would find written: “Aren’t men inquisitive?” or a similar uncomplimentary phrase. Of course the writer would substitute for the word “man,” “girl,” “boy,” “maid,” &c., at pleasure. Sometimes the person to whom the book was lent would write an inscription, such as the following, anent the owner:

Rachel Roberts is her name, Single is her station; Happy is the little man Who makes the alteration.

Occasionally the comment was on the book itself, as in the following example:

If there should be another flood, Hither for safety you should fly; However high the waters rise, This book will ne’er be aught but dry.

Some of these inscriptions are of considerable age. One of the above, I believe, has been found dated 1576. Memory may not be serving me aright, but I fancy there is a book inscription quoted in that old classic “Mrs Leicester’s School.” – E. Vivian.

75 – DOVE COTES – There are a good many buildings in Somersetshire arranged for doves or pigeons that could hardly be called “Cotes.” Many barns and sheds have holes pierced just under the eaves to allow the doves or pigeons to go in and out. There is one at Hartrow Manor, and others that the writer has seen but cannot just now remember where. The writer has also seen large casks with holes cut in the sides, fixed on the top of a pole. These no doubt would be called cotes. – L.

76 – TANTRY BOAMER – Mr A. Sheppard, of Wrantage, writing in this column in June 1914, said “When I was a little boy the name of Tantery, or Tanteny Bomer used to be often used to frighten children ‘You must not stay about or perhaps old Tantry Bomer will have you.’ As far as I could understand he was supposed to be some

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eccentric individual, and used to dress in a queer garb. I have heard people say when seeing a rough looking fellow ‘He looks like old Tantry Bomer.’”

78 – A SOMERSET CROSS – Wile perhaps there is no design that has been exactly followed in any large number of the remaining stone crosses in this county, yet there is certainly a family likeness. Anyone who turns over the pages of Pooley’s “Stone Crosses of Somerset” cannot help feeling this. The cross still to be seen at Stalbridge (although not in Somerset) is a thoroughly typical example of a good design. To secure the beauty of one of these crosses, the old proportions of part to part should be exactly followed, and the modern dumpy top should be avoided. – E.H.

78 – A SOMERSET CROSS – It seems to me this query is fully answered in a report of the restoration of the Yatton churchyard cross which appeared in a local paper a day or two ago. It there states that “adjacent to the south porch of Yatton Church there stood the remains of a cross erected about 400 years ago, and designed in a style which is peculiar to Somerset.” This erection consists of red stone steps with the Calvary at the top. The shaft, in a monolith form has a canopied head containing four panels. Surmounting the canopy is a plain spiral head. The Vicar remarked at the service that the Dean of Wells had fully placed his great skill and knowledge at their disposal in order that “their cross should be of the true Somerset type.” This is evidence that amongst the ancient crosses in the churchyards of Somerset there are examples that may be looked upon as “Somerset Crosses.” An illustration of the Yatton Cross appears in the Bristol “Times and Mirror” of the 6th inst. It is proposed to erect a churchyard cross, with similar shaft and lantern at Cheddar, in memory of the local men who fell in the great war. – W.G. Willis Watson.

78 – SOMERSET CROSSES – I make no claim to be an authority upon Somerset crosses, and I write simply as a man in the street. I should doubt whether it is possible to point to any particular example and to say “That is the Somerset Cross.” This county has always been particularly rich in crosses, and they vary much in design and detail. I would suggest that the mason who is seeking a cross to adopt as a type of the county should get round on a bicycle or by other means to some of the best specimens to be found in his own district. Your correspondent gives no hint as to the town in which he lives but assuming it to be here in Taunton, why should he not utilise the design of the Burmese memorial on the Parade, which was erected in 1889 to commemorate the officers and men of the Somerset Light Infantry who fell in the Burmese campaign of 1862. This is a fine type of cross, designed for the very purpose which the mason on whose behalf the enquiry is made has in view. If he wants something simpler I remember being greatly impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness of a cross which I saw some years ago in Over Stowey Churchyard erected to the memory of the son of Mr E J Stanley, of , who lost his life in South Africa during the Boer War. Here again is a cross erected for the very purpose described by the enquirer. If, however, he is thinking of the older Somerset crosses, I don’t know where he would find a finer specimen than the 14th century cross in Bishop’s Lydeard churchyard. Then there is the “exquisite 14th century cross” at Crowcombe which Mr Edward Hutton described as “the most graceful of all our Somerset crosses.” Amongst many other specimens within easy access of Taunton I might mention Thorn Falcon, North Curry, Drayton, Muchelney, Spaxton, Bicknoller, Stogumber, Holford, Fitzhead (a modern head), Staple Fitzpaine, and a fine memorial cross erected within the last year at Halse. If amongst these and the many other

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crosses in the same district the querist cannot find one to meet his requirements he must be hard to please indeed. – TAUNTON.

80 – HOLY WELLS – There are several well known springs of water which if not “Holy” are well known as curative. Those at Bath, one at Capland, and another at Stogumber. The latter was boomed aby a firm of brewers in the 50’s – and the Stogumber ale was considered by many as a cure all. No doubt there are many such springs in Somersetshire. There was a well in Flook Terrace that the writer has an idea was considered of some use in certain complaints. – L.

81 – JOHN DE COMBE – We are indebted to Mr W.V.P. Hexter, M.A., Headmaster of Crewkerne School, for the following reply: - The “History of Crewkerne School,” edited by Rev R.G. Bartelot, and published in 1899, records the fact that “John de Combe, the founder of Crewkerne School, was born at Combe St Reigne. His ancestors have for many years owners of Combe Farm, even right back to the days before the fixity of surnames, and they had adopted the place-name as their surname. Hugo de Combe lived there in 1327, and his name occurs in the Subsidy Roll of that year as paying xiid. He witnesses also a deed in the possession of Crewkerne School, dated at Crewkerne, the Sunday next after the Feast of St Katharine, 14 Edward III, (1340).” Possibly he was of the same family as Sir John Combe, Knt., who purchased two-thirds of the Manor of Bawdrip, co. Somerset, and lands in “Waldepull,” and “Wecheford” in the same county, and whose inquisition post-mortem, held “on Thursday after the Holy Trinity Day,” 46 Edward III. (1372), states that he died 19th June, [?] 36 Edward III., leaving a son and heir, John Combe, a minor, who married “without the King’s permission one Emiline, daughter of Robert Partrich, before he came of age.” There is a good deal more about the private history of J de Combe on p.p. 7,8,9,10 and 11 of the History, a copy of which is, I believe, in the Library of the Taunton Museum.

83 – A CURIOUS BURIAL – The man who is said to have been buried “wrong way about” at Norton Fitzwarren Church because he died in debt was treated similarly to many in olden days, some of whom might possibly have also died in debt. And who does not? A custom existed in earlier days of assigning to the clergy a method of interment distinct from that adopted by the laity – and the martyr, bishop, saint, and even the priest occupied in their sepulchre a position the reverse of the secular dead – with their feet westward and their heads to the rising sun. Philip Gibbs, writing of the war during 1915, tells of a British soldier from a rural district (could it have been Somerset?) burying a German face downwards! His explanation was “If the beggar begins to scratch he will scratch his way to the devil.” Much has been written about curious burial customs. – W.G. Willis Watson.

84 – PLOUGHMEN’S CHANTIES – Is there any hope whatever of recovering the words of the old oxen songs? And were there in many cases any distinct words at all? I take the following extracts from some notes on Ox Teams in the “Devon Agricultural Magazine” for 1834:- “A man and a boy attend each team; the boy chants that which can scarcely be regarded as any distinct tune, but which is a very pleasing succession of sounds, resembling the counter tenor in the service of the Cathedral. He sings away with unworried lungs, as he trudges away almost from morning to night, which every now and then the ploughman, as he directs the movements of the team, puts in his lower notes, but in perfect concord. This chanting is said to animate the

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oxen somewhat in the same way as the musical bells that are so prevalent in the same county. Certainly the oxen move along with an agility that would be scarcely expected from cattle; and the team may be watched a long while without one harsh word being heard, or the goad or whip applied.” Amongst the duties of oxherds as described about 670 years ago was “He pleaseth them with whistling and song to make them bear the yoke with the better will for liking of melody of the voice.”

87 – BLACKBROOK CORPORATION – The chair referred to has, I believe, very little real value. It is understood to have been made by the late Mr Edward Jeboult as a suitable seat for the “Mayor” or “Recorder” of the so-called Corporation of Blackbrook. Years ago there was a document, kept in a long round tin case, which was said to be the charter of the said Corporation. This was retained, during their term of office, by certain local gentlemen who were elected as Mayor or Recorder. I have often seen the case, but not the document. The late Mr Joseph Darby, auctioneer, held it not long before his death. What has become of it I cannot say. There used to be a periodical dinner – at the Blackbrook Inn, if I remember rightly; but it appears not to have been held for some years past. I doubt whether there are any records worthy of the name. – C.B.

88 – THE FIRST WOOLLEN FACTORY – There are records of the woollen trade at Taunton as early as 1242-3 A.D., for in that year certain persons residing in the town were fined for selling cloth not made in accordance with the “Assize of Measures” as laid down by the Crown authorities in 1197. Your correspondent can find more about this in Vol XI of the Somerset Record Society. But manufacturers at Bridgwater, Crewkerne and Ilchester were fined by the Justices at the same time for a like offence; so this does not settle the question as to which town was first in the field. – F.W.

88 – THE WOOLLEN TRADE IN TAUNTON – According to Savage’s History of Taunton the woollen manufacture was introduced into this town in 1336. The credit is due to King Edward III., to whose wise counsels belong the glory of first bringing the woollen manufactories into this kingdom. Flemish manufacturers were tempted by various inducements to transport themselves and their art to England. “Royal protections were granted to encourage their settlement. One was given by the King at Lincoln, the 23rd July, 1331, to of Flanders, a weaver; and a like protection was afforded by the King, at Westminster, the 3rd of May, 1336, to fifteen weavers of Zealand, who came here to exercise and teach their art.” Savage also quotes from Dunsford’s History of Tiverton, which says “Bristol was one of the first towns in the West, where the woollen manufacture had been encouraged. Some of the Flemings settled in Taunton in 1336. A staple for wool was fixed at Exeter in 1354. From Taunton the woollen manufacture was probably introduced into Tiverton.”

88 – THE FIRST WOOLLEN FACTORY – I have never previously heard Taunton suggested as the locale of the first woollen manufactory in England. The spinning and weaving of wool is an art which the British Isles owes to the Romans, who established a wool factory, whence the occupying army was supplied with clothing. Norfolk is said to have been the chief seat of the manufacture in those early days, and the art spread into the West of England, and specially into Somerset. Although the manufacture of wool was introduced into England by the Romans, it did not become an important staple until the era of the Conquest, when some Flemish weavers started here under the patronage of the Queen. The Winchester looms established a reputation

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abroad, it being remarked that “The wool of Britain is often spun so fine that it is, in a manner, comparable to a spider’s thread.” The Flemish weavers who came here at the time of the Conquest were established at Carlisle, but subsequently they removed to Pembrokeshire, and, in time, were to be found in different parts of the country. Bristol, it seems was first engaged in the wool trade in the second year of Henry III. – W.G.Willis Watson.

December 20th 1919 Notes. AN OLD-TIME CHRISTENING – The following paragraph appears in a newspaper dated 1765:- “We hear from Wells that on Tuesday last eight children were christened there by the names of Usher, Head Scholar, Bonniface, All Sorts, Hie, Steven, Tom and Killicrankie. They all promised to make good Christians, each being about seven years of age. Their schoolmaster being present, there was a jovial christening, a cold supper of upwards of one hundred dishes, seven dozen of claret, ninety one gallon bowls of punch, &c.”

ROMAN REMAINS AT STOKE-UNDER-HAM – For many years it has been thought that “Stanchester,” in the parish of Stoke-under-Ham, on account of its suggestive name and its proximity to the was the site of Roman buildings. The late Prof Haverfield last year in his presidential address to the Somersetshire Archaeological Society mentions the site with the comment that no Roman remains seem to have been found on the precise spot.” Dr Hensleigh Walter had attempted on several occasions to controvert this dictum, but without success. “Stanchester,” in common with other pasture land recently came under the plough for the first time for a generation and early in the present year Dr Walter was enabled to find fragments of Roman tile, pottery and tesserae. The field being then sown with barley, any further exploration had to be postponed until after the harvest. Lately limited tentative digging was carried out, leading to the discovery of a well-laid foundations, a concrete floor, with numerous tesserae scattered over it, portions of roofing tiles of various forms, fragments of painted wall plaster, pottery and brick, giving definite evidence of the existence of a Roman villa of some pretentions. The relics found have been presented to the County Museum at Taunton Castle.

ANCIENT BELFRY ARTICLES AT MILVERTON – The reference to Bell ringing rules in your last issue leads me to send you the following copy of what are known as “Belfry Articles,” which are beautifully written in illuminated text, and hung in an oak frame in the belfry of Milverton Church. They are believed to have been presented to the church many years ago by a Devonshire lady, and are said to be a copy of similar articles to be seen in the belfry of the Church of St Lurges, Clyst, Devon:-

He that in ringing takes delight, And to this place draw near, These articles set in his sight Must keep if he rings here.

The first he must observe with care, Who comes within the door, Must if he chance to curse or swear,

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Pay expence to the poor.

And whoever a noise does make, Or comes his glass to fill, Must sixpence to the ringers take, To help when they are ill.

If any like to smoke or drink, They must not do so here, Good reasons why – just let them think, This is God’s House of Prayer.

He that his hat on’s head does keep Within this sacred place, Must pay his sixpence ere he sleep, Or turn out with disgrace.

If anyone with spurs to’s heel Rings here at any time, He must for breaking Articles, Pay sixpence for his crime.

If any overthrow a bell, As that by chance he may, Because he minds not ringing well, He must his sixpence pay.

Or if a man of noble mind Comes here to ring a bell, He must a fee of shilling find, To keep as when unwell.

If any should our parson jeer, Or wardens’ rules deride, It is a rule of old most clear, That such shan’t here abide.

And we should keep the Sabbath day, As well as ring the chimes, We’ll enter Church to sing and pray Or never share the fines.

Since fines for sickness we intend, Kind friends, thine aid impart; Twill much an invalid befriend, And cheer the ringer’s heart.

Then when we cease those bells to ring, And death’s dread hour is come, May God preserve the Church and King,

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And guide us safely home.

EARTHQUAKES IN SOMERSET – A correspondent writes:- For some time past I have been making a note of any records of Earthquakes felt in Somerset which have come under my notice, and the earthquake recorded in the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” mentioned in your columns last week leads me to send you the following list which I have compiled, in the hope that it may be of interest to a number of your readers, and also in the hope that amongst your contributors to “Notes and Queries” there may be some who may be able to add other dates, or help to make my records more perfect in other ways: A.D. 534 An earthquake in this year is said to have done great damage in the county. 543 “Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates” says in this year an earthquake was felt by nearly the whole world. 974 An earthquake was recorded in Somerset. 1081 An earthquake shock was felt on Christmas-day. 1089 “Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates” records an earthquake felt throughout England. 1122 The “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” says:- “There was a very violent wind on the 22nd of March, after which many spectres were seen and heard. And on the night of July 25th there was a very great earthquake over all Somersetshire and in Gloucestershire. 1185 On April 15th “chanced a sore earthquake through all parts of this land such as has not been heard of in England since the beginning of the world, for stones that lay fast couched in the earth were removed out of their places.” 1199 In this year “persons were thrown from their feet in some places” by a shock of earthquake felt principally in Somerset. 1200 “In this same year there was a great earthquake in the town, which is called Montacute and for seven miles round, lasting for nearly two hours, so that the seats in the Monks’ choir were seen to shake, and the Monks themselves trembled and were stupefied.” – ANNALES WINTONI. 1201 A shock of earthquake was recorded in this year. 1248 On December 21st an earthquake about Bath and Wells shook and overthrew some buildings and did much damage to Wells Cathedral. “The tops of houses were shaken and thrown down, walls did cleave, and the heads of chimnies and towers were shaken.” 1271 “Murray’s Handbook of Somerset” states that the pilgrimage chapel of St Michael on Tor Hill, Glastonbury, was shattered by an earthquake or landslip in 1271, but other authorities fix the date a few years later. 1274

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Friar Capgrave wrote in his chronicle for this year:- “A gret church of Seynt Michael, which stood on a hil fast by Glasconbury, the erdqwave threw it fer away, and left the ground pleyn.” And another account tells us that “On St Nicholas’ even there chanced such an earthquake with lightning and thunder, and a blazing star called a comet, that the people were brought into no small fear upon consideration thereof.” “Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates” also records that Glastonbury was destroyed in this year by an earthquake, which was felt throughout England. 1275 “Kelly’s Directory” states that the Chapel of St Michael on Tor Hill was destroyed by a land slip on September 11th, 1275. An old record states that on this date the Church of St Michael on the Mount without Glastonbury fell to the ground and pieces of many churches in England fell by force of the same earthquake.” 1276 Mr S.G. Jarman, in his “History of Bridgwater,” says under date 1276 – A great earthquake visited the neighbourhood and threw down several buildings and houses. Glastonbury Abbey suffered severely, as did St Michael’s Church on the Tor Hill, close by. 1318 An earthquake on November 14th, 1318, is described in Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates” as the greatest known in England. 1680 On January 4th of this year, about seven o’clock in the morning, there was an earthquake at Bridgwater, Chedzoy, and for some miles around. It shook the houses pretty much, and was attended with a noise resembling a sudden gust of wind, or, as others imagined, the shock and noise was not unlike that of some great thing thrown upon the ground. 1692 On September 8th of this year a Londoner was dining in Cheapside, at the sign of the Haunch of Venison, at two of the clock. According to his own account, “As we were at table, which before was fast, and of the chair and of the whole room, I was in my duty, and therefore, I relied on Providence for protection. This was an earthquake that shook most, if not all, London. It was felt from Portsmouth to Cambridge, and at Bath, and even in Flanders, and at Paris, Cologne, and in .” (to be continued)

Queries. 91 – LEGEND OF THE DUN COW – Miss Nella R Whittaker sends us the following extracts from the “Autocar” of August, 1916, and asks if any of our readers can give any further information with regard to the legend about these Dun Cows:- I gather, from an acquaintance with the many ribs and other relics of the “Dun Cows” which “once upon a time” – as the fairy tales say – roamed the land, that there must have been, shall we say, a breed of these terrible cattle. Let us be thankful that they are extinct, for, although they appear to have been sometimes kindly creatures, like that other famous Dun Cow which supplied all Bristol with milk, they were occasionally of a sort which seems to have demanded the armed intervention of valiant knights, who, scorning all danger, attacked and slew them, after terrific combats. The inquisitive stranger when at Bristol can easily see the famous “Dun Cow Rib” there, by repairing to the great church of St Mary Redcliffe, where it will be found in the north-west angle of the north aisle. The legends vary. According to some, this is a relic of that generous cow which supplied all Bristol with milk, while,

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according to others, it is a rib of the ferocious cow which Guy slew in Warwickshire. Plain matter of fact persons, however, are prone to think this the rib of a whale brought home by John Cabot, the great Bristol navigator, from Labrador, when he discovered North America. It occupies a place of honour against one of the pillars of the church, and is supported by a curiously sculptured corbel in the shape of a man’s head, from whose mouth issues a mass of foliage.

92 – SEDAN CHAIRS IN TAUNTON – The “Taunton Courier” for May 11th 1859 reported the following death:- “May 1st, at High-street, Taunton, after a long illness, James Johnson, aged 73 years. He was an old ‘Pot Waller,’ and voted on Saturday week, when he was taken to the poll in a Sedan chair.” Can any reader say when Sedan chairs were last used in Taunton? J.C.

Replies to Queries. 76 – TANTRY BOAMER – This word is a provincialism in Somerset, Devonshire, and Cornwall. It appears in the following forms:- Tantarabolus, Tankerabogus, Tantarabobs, Tantrabobus, and Tantrumbolus, and represents a name for the devil; a bogie. I have, however, met with another variant of the word – Tanterboming, meaning crooked, out of place. “A.S.” (Mr A Stansell, Taunton), in a contribution to the Devonshire Association Proceedings in May, 1899, says: “This word was used by an old man at Churchstanton, who became shy when questioned about it, but he admits that the word is in common use in Churchstanton and the neighbourhood. I first heard it from his son who is in my employ, about six or seven years since. He had fixed a stone in my garden, and I made him alter it, after which he said that “it did not look so tanterboming,” meaning that it was not so much awry. The word is also said to have been in common use among the middle and lower classes in the Tiverton district. It is applied to anything which happens to be faulty, or in any way not as it should be. Although this meaning can scarcely be associated with that adopted by Elworthy, there is a similarity between the words which is interesting. – W.G. Willis Watson.

83 – CURIOUS BURIAL AT NORTON – The following strange story – which may or may not have some connection with the case mentioned by “Hard up” – appeared in these columns in July, 1898, having been contributed by a particularly well informed correspondent, who signed himself “Paradise Burland.” He was writing with regard to a Mr John Dudderidge (popularly known as “Black Jack”), who died at the age of 65, and was buried on the south side of the tower of the Parish Church, Norton, on March 2nd 1819, in the grave of one James Cornish, who had died and been buried there some 25 or 30 years before. Our contributor then related the following story, which he said used to be told by the late Mr Joseph Shattoc, with regard to this James Cornish – the original occupant of the grave:- “He was a man who had a profound belief in the ‘resurrection of the body,’ and accordingly left strict instructions that when he died he was to be placed in his coffin head downwards on his face, so that when the trumpet call sounded he might be able to jump up at once in response to it, and nor be rolling about as all his friends would be. At his death his wish was carried out, but his arms and hands being cold and stiff had to be tied under him to keep them in place. This was, therefore, done with a piece of red ribbon. When, however, his grave was opened for the reception of the body of Mr John Dudderidge it was discovered that all the remains of James Cornish had decayed away leaving nothing

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but his skull and the scarlet ribbon, which still retained its bright red colour and was seen and verified among others by the late Mr Shattock!

84 – PLOUGHMEN’S CHANTIES – Mr Cecil J Sharp, whose name is so well known in connection with the excellent work he has done in collecting Somerset Folk Songs kindly writes us:- “I have heard and noted the Oxen Ploughing Song several times in Somerset and Devon. Mr Baring Gould has published a typical version of it in “Songs of the West.” 2nd Ed., No 57. In a note to the song Mr Baring Gould points out that a very similar song is found in France with a refrain in which, as in the English forms of the song, the names of the oxen are recited. The song naturally lost its vogue when oxen were no longer used for ploughing.

84 – PLOUGHMEN’S CHANTIES – In January, 1901, a correspondent sent us the following extract from an old diary of which the date was some time between 1820 and 1830:- June 21 I was much amused by a rural scene exhibited in a field just beyond the inclosure of the Bishop’s garden (at Banwell). Two men were engaged in breaking up the large projecting knobs of rock which had obstructed the course of the plough: two boys were carrying away the couch grass in a large basket hung on a pole, and supported by their shoulders, while a lad conducted two yoke of oxen, which drew a double harrow over the ploughed field. The youth had a long stick in his hand, probably containing a goad at the extremity, but he did not seem to use it, for the docile animals were conducted apparently entirely by his voice, as he chanted a kind of monotonous song while they plodded slowly along the field. When he wished them to turn round, or quicken their pace where the draft was more heavy, he quickened this tone, and elevated his voice. The slow tone has this character of words: - Ereward, Hereward bos; Ereward, Hereward bos; Ereward, Hereward bos. Quicker tone:- Ricker ley; ricker ley; cratheley bos. They resumed their plodding pace. The slow tone was again sung. I once before heard a similar song executed by a lad driving a team of oxen near Woodspring Priory, in this neighbourhood. I wish I had only the exact words.

85 – THE CREWKERNE BELL RINGING RULES – are extremely interesting. I regret I am not able to reply definitely to the query. I have been exiled from Somerset and my native town of Crewkerne for 25 years. I knew the belfry well, but I cannot recollect ever having seen the lines given displayed on the walls. Perhaps the Rev H. Durbin Lewis can give some information. – W.G. Willis Watson.

86 – LIAS – Lias by some is considered a corruption of the English word layers, or lyers, referring to the visible stratification of rocks. But Mahn and Skeat think that the French liais – the rocks in question – was the origin of the English word. Littre, on the other hand, derives the French lias from the English term, though saying that some consider it to have come from Bas Breton liach-dolmen. The English word lias was first a provincial one, adopted by geologists, who gave it universal currency. – W.G. Willis Watson.

87 – BLACKBROOK CORPORATION – During the period (from 1792 to 1877) that for the second time since the year 1627, the Charter of the Borough of Taunton was in abeyance, some of the chief residents of the town founded a mock Corporation at the Blackbrook Inn, a hostelry two miles from Taunton on the Ilminster road. Here this self-elected body met every year, electing a Mayor, and holding a feast. For this

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purpose of adding dignity to “His Worship” my late father, Mr Edward Jeboult, gave a chair for the Mayor, making the condition that when time and circumstances resuscitated the lost charter of the town of Taunton, the chair should be given to the Corporation of the town; and failing their acceptance it should return to the donor’s family. Apparently the Corporation accepted the chair (although its present neglected condition does not convey much value); but when it came into their possession I am unable to say; or when the Blackbrook Corporation ceased to meet. Even after the granting of the new Charter to the town in 1877, the “Blackbrook Corporation” carried on its annual custom for some years. – Harold A Jeboult.

88 – TAUNTON AND THE WOOLLEN TRADE – A Bridgewater correspondent kindly writes us as follows:- In “Collins’ History of Somerset” the date of the first woollen factory established in Taunton is given as 1336, but there were certain Roman factories in England e.g. at Winchester. In the reign of Henry I there were guilds of weavers at Winchester, Oxford, Lincoln, and York. I don’t see how Taunton could claim the distinction since it was not in existence in Roman times. The first mention of Bristol’s woollen trade is 1217. (Proceedings Somerset Archaeological Society).

89 – TAUNTON MAYORS – There is a printed list of the Mayors of Taunton in the hall at the Municipal Buildings, Taunton, from 1627 to 1783, but it is not complete, as there are about a score of names missing. I am rather puzzled about the Wm Gill, 1664-5, because in the list referred to, there is a note as follows:- “Charter taken away by Charles II, who attached Boroughs by Writ quo Warrant on the ground of abuse of their privileges. He then granted fresh Charters, but excluded ultra loyalists.” This note follows the date 1660, when William Gill was Mayor; and is followed by the entry:- “1661 to 1677: No Charter.” So, no names are given for that period. It would be interesting to know whether the said Wm Gill continued to act during the kind of interregnum. The dates for which the names of Mayors are wanted are:- 1641 to 1656, with the exceptions of 1642, 1646, and 1650; and 1784 to 1792. If any reader of this column can fill in either of the blanks, the information will be most acceptable. A note at the end of the printed list reads thus:- “Powers of Charter of Charles II lost through failure to elect Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors. The Charter is preserved at the Municipal Buildings.” The present Charter was granted in 1877, and there is a list of the Mayors from that time to the present, painted on a large board in the hall. The following is a list (so far as they are known) of the Mayors under the first Charter, which was granted 2nd March 1627:- 1627, Andrew Henly; 1628, William Lechland; 1629, Roger Prowse; 1630, John Trowbridge; 1631, Hugh Godsall; 1632, Hugh Pitcher; 1633, Roger Hill; 1634, Philip Lyssant; 1635, Jasper Chaplin; 1636, William Lechland; 1637, Roger Prowse; 1638, John Trowbridge; 1639, Robert Magridge; 1640, John Sarle; 1642, George Powell; 1646, Thomas Nicholas; 1650, George Powell; 1656, John Gorges; 1657, John Mallock; 1658, William Chaplin; 1659, Hugh Gunston; 1660, William Gill. – T.N.

90 – OLD CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH BELLS – You ask in your “Notes and Queries” for instances of the survival of the curfew, &c. There used to be a custom at Stoke St Gregory – now, unfortunately, discontinued – of tolling a bell at eight o’clock every Sunday morning. The bell commenced a few minutes before the hour, and finished by striking the hour. I do not think this was ever connected with a service, and always understood it to be a survival of the curfew. In the same village it is

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customary by tolling the bell once, twice, or three times at the conclusion of the “death bell,” to denote whether the deceased was a child, woman or man respectively. After a Burial Service the age of the person is denoted by tolling the bell – one stroke for every year. In the case of adults, a pause is made after each twentieth stroke. – NATIVE.

December 27th 1919 Notes. A CRYING MURTHER – In the British Museum there is a curious little pamphlet, printed in 1624, entitled “The Crying Murther: Containing the cruel and most horrible Butchery of Mr Trat, Curate of old Cleave, who was first murthered as he travailed upon the Highway, then was brought home to his House, and there was quartered and imboweld, his quarters and bowels being afterwards perboyld and salted up, in a most strange and fearefull manner. For this fact, the Judgement of my Lord Chief Baron Janfield, young Peter Smethwick, Andrew Baker, Cyrill Austen, and Alice Walker, were executed this last Summer Assizes the 24th of July, at Stone Gallows neere Taunton, Summersetshire.”

LOCAL SAINTS FORMERLY COMMEMORATED IN SOMERSET – January 29th – S. Gildas, monk, historian, and reputed prophet; spent some time as a hermit on Steep Holm, 6th century. February 6th – SS. Indract and Dominoa; pilgrims on their way to Rome, killed by robbers at Shapwick, 689 (?) March 17th – S. Joseph of Arimathea, conspicuous in the Glastonbury legend (most probably fabulous); 1st century. May 19th – S. Dunstan; Abbot of Glastonbury and Abp. of Canterbury; 10th century. August 10th – S. Gerran, otherwise Geraint and Gerontius; king of Cornwall, killed in battle at Langport, 522. August 24th – S. Patrick, or Padrig, of Gower; teacher at Glastonbury, about 460. August 27th – S. Degman, or Decuman; hermit, near Watchet, killed by a robber. October 8th – S. Keyne, Cenen, or Ceinwen; Virgin recluse at Keynsham. (Also associated with Abergavenny, and places in Cornwall). November 7th – S Cungar, otherwise Docuini; hermit at Congresbury, 711 (?). November 9 – S. Beneen, or Benignus; pupil of St Patrick in Ireland, afterwards teacher at Glastonbury; 5th or 6th century. The anniversaries of the following are forgotten, or have not been observed:- Conoglas; Bishop, said to be buried at Glastonbury; perhaps the prince of that name who was rebuked for his sins by Gildas. Mawron; Bishop of Somerset, about 600. – T.G.C.

SUNDIAL MOTTOES – A few weeks ago I was cycling between Glastonbury and Bridgwater, and when going up Ashcott Hill I looked for the sundial which I had frequently seen there in days gone by. I was sorry that I could not see it and presume it has been removed, to the best of my recollection the lines upon it are:-

Be the day weary, be the day long, Soon it will ring to even-song. I can but mark time, you can use it.

Amongst other sundial mottoes formerly to be seen in the county were the following:-

AT BATH I speak but not to the blind.

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AT Umbra sumus (We are a shadow) and Pereunt et inputantur (The hours perish and are reckoned).

AT BURNHAM In the church are the words “Labuntur Anni” (The years glide away) and “Ne Quid Pereat” (Let nothing be lost).

AT CHARLTON KINGS Our days on earth are as a Shadow, and there none abiding.

AT CHEW MAGNA On the Manor House:- I am a shade, a shadow too art thou, I mark the time – say gossip, dost thou roe?

AT CHURCHILL I am writing from memory, but I believe the following is a correct copy of the motto on the pillar which supports the sundial in the gardens of the beautiful Homes of Rest at Churchill –

With warning hand I mark time’s rapid flight From life’s glad morning till its solemn night; Yet, by the dear God’s love, I also show There’s light above me by the shade below.

AT COMBE DOWN The hour past cannot be recalled.

AT There was in a garden from 1695 to 1861 a dial with the inscription “The hour of death hastens on the last day to be looked for by each one. Light is the shadow of God . Whilst thou lookest I fly. Thou canst not hold, thou canst not destroy a day.”

AT HORTON A much to be laid at heart truth, quaintly praised:- Post est occasion calva (Opportunity is bald behind.)

AT MARSTON MAGNA On the Church Farmhouse, 1613:- As shades so man speedeth.

AT RUISHTON There used to be an inscription on the tower of the church “Cancitu gradu” (With hurried step), apparently the inscription of a worn out dial, but it is now quite defaced.

AT SUTTON MONTIS

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In the Rectory garden, placed there by the Rev Edmond Barton in 1607 in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, reading:-

All things are but a shadow, Oir days pass as a shadow Time passes so do’st thou.

The following is said to be copied from a dial in Somerset. Perhaps some of your readers can give the exact locality, and also supply other mottoes from Somerset sundials:-

Remember, ye that mark my face, That death’s behind you pace by pace, Whence ye are come ye do not know, Nor whither afterwards you’ll go.

Queries. 93 – BONE SHAVE – What is a Bone Shave? – R.

94 – A CLERGYMAN PREACHING NAKED – Over 30 years ago I saw an article in a Somerset paper, referring to the history of Somerset churches (I believe, by Jarman, of Bridgwater), that many years ago a clergyman was fined for preaching naked in North Petherton Church. Can you or any of your readers give me any further particulars as to the truth of this through Notes and Queries? – LONDON READER.

95 – THE OLDEST BELL IN SOMERSET – A correspondent informs us that he believes the oldest bell in Somerset is at Thurlbeer. Can any of our readers confirm or correct this statement, and give any further particulars?

96 – SIN EATING – Can any correspondent give any instance or instances of this custom in Somerset? In some places poor people were sometimes paid to take upon them the sins of the deceased. When a corpse had been laid out and placed on a bier, a loaf of bread was delivered to the sin-eater over the corpse, and also a bowl of beer, which he drank, and sixpence in cash in consideration of which he took upon himself all the sins of the defunct, and thus freed him from walking afterwards. – R.

Replies to Queries 67 – INSCRIPTIONS IN BOOKS – One of the most usual 40 or 50 years ago was the following:- - - is my name, England is my nation, - is my dwelling place, And Christ is my salvation. When I’m dead and in my grave, An all my bones are rotten, Take up this book and think of me, When I am quite forgotten.

This was often found written on the flyleaf of Prayer-books, Bibles, &c., left in the pews at church, and in boys’ school books. – W.S.P.

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73 – TAUNTON BREAD RIOTS – The following paragraph which appeared in the “Times” for May 25th, 1847, may be of interest to your correspondent who asked for information about the Taunton Bread Riots:- “On Monday morning the multitude again collected at the Taunton town mills, alleging that they had been promised on Saturday night that they should have their wheat at 10 shillings instead of 14 shillings the bushel. Their demand not being complied with, a large party of them proceeded to a Mr Matthew’s, where they commenced breaking the windows. A numerous body of magistrates and special constables were, however, soon on the spot; the Riot Act was again read, and two of the most active among the ringleaders were taken into custody, and, after a desperate resistance and attempt at rescue near the Guildhall, were committed to prison. Nearly all the shops were closed during Monday, and the military pensioners were stationed with fixed bayonets on the Parade. On Monday evening a body of men, armed with bludgeons, marched into the town by the east- gate; they were, however, soon overpowered, and several of them were committed to gaol. Several troops of Yeomanry having also marched into the town, through the active measures taken by the magistrates, with the armed pensioners, and the various recruiting parties in the town, tranquillity has been happily restored.”

74 – BELL-RINGING ON NOVEMBER 5th – It was apparently a common custom to ring the church bells on November 5th, and also on May 29th. I notice in the Rev Preb Hancock’s “Minehead” that in 1732 the cost of ringing the bells on all sorts of occasions had become so excessive that the April vestry in that year decided that for the future ringing should only be paid for five anniversaries, of which November 5th and May 29th were two. In 1765-66 it was further decided that the ringers should be paid “for ringing on 5th November and 29th May yearly, and on no other day at ye expense of ye parish.” In Dr Olivey’s “Notes on North Curry,” I read that on 5th November (gunpowder plot) and May 29th (the restoration of King Charles II) the bells were always rung, and a fee allowed, sometimes for refreshments, beer, &c., but that these ringing days were discontinued in 1868 by a resolution of the vestry. – G.

74 – NOVEMBER 5TH AT STOKE ST GREGORY – I have no knowledge as to bell- ringing customs on November 5th, but I happen to have a copy of Mr H.P. Olivey’s book on North Curry and Stoke St Gregory, and I was sufficiently interested in this question to see whether Mr Olivey makes any reference to any such custom, as your correspondent describes. I cannot find that he does so directly, but the following extracts taken from the entries he quotes from the Stoke St Gregory Church Books between 1741 and 1800 will go to show that in those days, at any rate, the villagers apparently had gay doings on November 5th – 1744 – Gave the Ringers in Syder and expences the 5th November 0 15 3 1746 – Gave the Ringers the fift November half hogshead of sider and bread and backey 0 11 07 1772 – Half Hoxhead of Cyder 5th November 1 1 0 Meat bread and chees for the same 0 9 10 1775 - A Hogshead of Cyder the 5th Nov 0 14 0 1776 – At ye 5th November pd one hogs head of Cyder and Beef and Bread and Chees and fireing to ye same 1 2 6 1782 – For Cyder 5th November and carriage 0 17 0 1 Chees to the same 0 2 3 6 Loaves of Bread to the same 0 4 0

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1792 – for Sider Beef Bread and Cheese And Garden mores at ye 5th Novr. 1 3 4 ½ - Almost the only other date which appears in the extracts given by Mr Olivey is 29th May, and it would appear that the ringers and inhabitants of Stoke St Gregory enjoyed themselves on King Charles’s Day in much the same way as they seemed to have done on Guy Fawkes’ Day – READER.

75 – DOVE COTES – Mr J Ll W Page in his “Exploration of Exmoor” in speaking of the few remains of the ancient Priory of Dunster, writes as follows:- “The most prominent objects are the monk’s barn and dove cote. The latter contains a pivot to which is attached a ladder. So that when the monk wished to feed the birds or collect the eggs, he had but to mount the ladder, and travel round the walls, which are honey- combed with nests.”

80 – HOLY WELLS – Dr G F Sydenham of Dulverton, who is a doctor of 35 years standing in the town, kindly sends us the following reply:- “I know of no holy well here. I suppose every parish had one at an earlier date. There is a dip well here, quarter of a mile from the church, which has reputed healing properties, commonly called Bath water. I send people there to bathe their eyes – I think with good effect. The water contains lime and iron. I know no history connected with the well, although I have tried to find out.”

87 – BLACKBROOK CORPORATION – In “Jeboult’s West Somerset,” on page 127, under Ruishton, is the following:- “In the parish is the noted old hotel called ‘Ye Blackbrook Inn,’ where the Mayor and Corporation annually ‘meet for the discussion of divers and weighthy and urgent matters.’ The antiquated body dates its charter from the reign of King John, and is supposed to represent the members of the Taunton Corporation.” Savage says in his history:- “Taunton was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1627, but it was taken away by Charles the II, 1660.” The writer does not quite see how it represents the Taunton Corporation. As to the chair given by Mr Edward Jeboult (no doubt when he was the Mayor), it may or may not be an antique one, but the date and, perhaps, the carving are undoubtedly fakes. The writer hopes at a later date to give your readers a copy of an invitation to the Mayor’s dinner. He had seen someone who assisted at a great many such “functions” (his own word), and who is going to give him the names of the Mayors and any other information that he remembers. He says he assisted at the last one that was held. – L.

92 – SEDAN CHAIRS IN TAUNTON – An excellently preserved example of a Sedan chair is exhibited in the Somerset County Museum, which is said to be of the eighteenth century, but it may be later. It was purchased at a sale, in January, 1887, at Hatch Court, near Taunton, and was presented to the Museum by the late Mr Alfred Maynard. – H St George Gray.

OLD SOMERSET GHOST STORIES

COLLECTED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES.

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Most readers enjoy – and expect – a good ghost story at Christmas time, and we have thought it well to reduce this week the amount of space usually devoted to our local “Notes and Queries” in order to give a few of the most famous of our Somerset Ghost Stories. Undoubtedly the best known of these is that of Mrs Leakey.

THE WHISTLING GHOST OF MINEHEAD – which was sufficiently notorious to be mentioned by Sit Walter Scott in his notes on “Rokeby.” Moreover a commission of enquiry, consisting of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Paul Godwin, and Sir Robert Phelipps, was appointed to investigate the story, and they solemnly took the depositions of a number of witnesses who claimed to have seen the ghost, including the curate of Minehead. They ultimately issued a report, which they all three signed, and which concludes with these words:- “And for these reasons wee are yet of opinion and doe believe, that there was never any such Apparition at all, but that it was an Imposture devised and framed for some endes., but what they were wee know not.” The document was endorsed by Archbishop Laud, as being received February 24th, 1637, and is among the State Papers in the Public Record Office. The following extract from a quaint old record gives and interesting account of some of Mrs Leakey’s alleged performances after her death: At Mynhead, in the county of Somerset, in the year of our Lord 1636, or thereabouts, there lived an ancient gentlewoman, the widow of one Mr Leakey; of what quality her husband was I cannot tell; but his and her only son was a merchant in that town, that drove a considerable trade betwixt it and Waterford, and some other ports in Ireland, and was reputed worth about £8,000, or £10,000 estate. This gentleman had but one child by his wife, of both which we shall hear news enough by and by. Mrs Leakey, the old gentlewoman, was of a very free, pleasant, and cheerful temper, exceedingly good company, and would render herself by her carriage and discourse, by her expression and conversation, exceeding acceptable and delightful to all sorts of persons, insomuch that they would often say to her, and to one another, that it was a thousand pittys such an excellent, good natur’de gentlewoman should die. And in the midst of all theier mirth, she would ordinarily tell ‘em, as pleasing as my company is now to you, you will not care to see and converse with me, when I am dead; tho’ I believe you may. However, die she doth, and being dead and buried, sometimes after she is seen again by night, and at last by noon-day, in her own house, in the town and fields, at sea and shore. I shall give you some eminent instances. A doctor of physick, who lived at Mynhead, having bin in the country to visit a patient, he returned home towards the evening, meets in the fields travelling on foot to the town, an ancient gentlewoman. He accosts her very civilly, falls into discourse with her, and coming to a style, lends her his hand to help her over, but finds and feels it to be prodigiously cold, which makes him eye this gentlewoman a little more wistly than he had done before, and observes that in speaking she never moves her lips, and in seeing, never turns her eye-lids, nor her eies. This and some other circumstances affright him, and suggests to his fearfull mind that it might be Mrs Leakey, of whom there was a general talk in the town, that she was dead and yet walked again, and was seen of many. Whereupon when he comes to the next style he passeth over, but never turns back to pay her his former ceremony and respect of the hand, which so incensed this old hag, that she grew as froward and sullen as the Doctor, and kept silence, and gave him no more mouth speech, since he was become as mute as a fish towards her; and when they came to the next style she got before him, and sate just in the middle of it, so that when he came to it his way was blockt up. Hereupon he turns aside, and goes to a geat, thinking to crosse over that into the highway, but when he comes thither she

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sitts astride over that also. But yet somehow or other he got over, and comeing to the town end the spectrum gives him a kick on the breeche, and bids him be more civill to an ancient gentelwoman next. But this was a pettey and inconsiderable prank to what she played in her son’s house, and elsewhere. She would at noon-day appear upon the key at Mynhead, and cry “A boat! A boat! Ho! A boat! A boat! Ho!” If any boatmen or seamen were in sight, and did not come, they were sure to be cast away, and if they did come it was all one, they were cast away. It was equally dangerous to please and displease her. Her son had severall ships sayling between Ireland and England. No sooner did they make land, and come in sight of England, but this ghost would appear in the same guarb and likeness as when she was alive, and standing at the mayn-mast, would blow with a whistle; and though it were never so great a calme, yet immediately there would arise a most dreadfull storme, that would break, wrack, and drown ship and goods; onely the seamen should escape with their lives. The divel had no permission from God to take them away. Yet at this rate, by her frequent apparitions and disturbances, she had made a poor merchant of her son, for his fair estate was all buried in the sea, and he that was once worth thousands, was reduced to a very poor and low condition in the world. For whether the ship were his own, or hired, or he had but goods aboard it to the value of twenty shillings, this troublesome ghost would come as before, whistle in a calm at the mayn-mast, at noon-day, when they had descried land, and then ships and goods went all out of hand to wrack. Insomuch as he could at last get no ships wherein to stow his goods, nor any mariner to sayle in them; they knowing what uncomfortable and fatall, and long voyages they should make of it, did all decline his service. In her son’s house she hath her constant haunts by day and night. But whether he did not or would not own if he did see her, he always professed he never saw her. Sometimes when he hath bin abed with his wife, she would cry out “Husband, look “there is your mother!” and when he would turn to the right side then she was gone to the left, and when to the left side of the bed then she was gone to the right. Onely one evening, their onely child, a girle of about five or six years old lying in a truckle bed under them, cryes out “O! help me father! help me mother! for Grandmother will choak me.” And before they could get to their child’s assistance she had murdered it; they finding the poor girle dead, her throat haveing bin pinchit by two fingers, which stopt her breath, and strangled her. This was the sorest of all their afflictions. Their estate is gone and now their onely childis gone also. You may guess at their grief and great sorrow. The rest of her story, showing how the spectre looked over the shoulder of her daughter-in-law while dressing her hair at a looking-glass; and how Mrs Leakey the younger, took courage to address her, and how the beldam despatched her to an Irish prelate, famous for his crimes and misfortunes to exhort him to repentance, and to apprize him that otherwise he would be hanged; and how the Bishop was satisfied with replying that if he was born to be hanged he should not be drowned – all these, with many more particulars, may be found at the end of one of John Dunton’s publications called “Athenianism” (London, 1710), where the tale is engrossed under the title of “The Apparition Evidence.” A copy of the witnesses’ evidence and of the Commisioner’ report will be found in Rev Preb Hanccock’s “History of Minehead,” and a copy (together with a copy of Mrs Leakey’s will and other interesting information) appeared in the West Somerset Free Press” of December 7th, 1889. Another famous West Somerset Ghost story is that of

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MASTER LUCOTT OF PORLOCK – It is said that near the old church at Porlock there lived an old buccaneer named Lucott, who was of a very unscrupulous nature, a great boaster and bully, and was heartily disliked by his neighbours, and consequently when he died no tears were shed over him. But the neighbours found that they had not seen the last of Master Lucott, for, after he had been buried in Porlock Churchyard about a week, he appeared at , as impudent and insulting as ever. The neighbours were greatly alarmed and appealed to the parsons in the district to lay the ghost. As the old buccaneer was regarded as a violent character and a difficult case, it was considered wise to get no less than 12 parsons to assist in laying his ghost, on order that the work might be well and truly done. The courage of one of the parsons failed him at the last moment, but the other eleven met in Porlock Church and cursed the restless spirit to the utmost of their power; then looking up they saw the pale face of the deceased buccaneer grinning at them with great delight and amusement, and a moment later the spectre was seen to be coming towards them.. At once the eleven holy men balted helter skelter out of the church, leaving the ghost in possession. In consequence of this failure it became necessary to obtain further clerical aid, and the villagers were fortunate in securing the assistance of the Vicar of St Decuman’s, who, on learning of his bretheren’s discomfiture undertook to perform the task alone. He went boldly up to the ghost, and pulling out a little round cake from his pocket invited him to eat. The ghost took a bite from the biscuit, but in a moment he was trembling like a leaf and spluttering out the mouthful he had taken as if it was poison; for the “biscuit” was the holy wafer that had been used in the Mass at St Decumen’s on the previous Sunday, and the effect of it was to rob the spectre of his power for evil and to leave him no choice but to obey the priest’s commands. Like a lamb he mounted a horse and rode side by side with the parson as far as Doniford where he noticed a man staring at him. The ghost of the old buccaneer summoned up all the strength he had left and knocked the man’s eye out with a sudden blow. But it was his last effort. Too weak to resist, the parson compelled the helpless ghost to enter a little box which he was carrying, and which he immediately closed and hurled into the sea and Master Lucott has never troubled the neighbourhood since. A short distance off the main road between Minehead and Porlock lies Selworthy, which also has its ghost story, but which is not so generally known as the two related above. The following account of

THE SPECTRE OF BUDLEIGH HILL – is taken from Mr Thornton’s “Reminiscences of an Old West Country Clergyman.” Early one morning Mr Thornton heard that Mrs Stenner, of Selworthy, had seen a ghost the night before. Highly delighted, he ran unceremoniously into the kitchen of the farmhouse near the church, where he found Mrs Stenner, a woman of perhaps 35 years of age, stout, ruddy, and free from fancy, but in a state of collapse. After a while he succeeded in getting from her the following account of what she had seen:- “I hadn’t left Budleigh Hill by two gunshots, when there it was, the nasty thing, running along by my side. Twas awful. It had four legs, and it was black, and had great fiery eyes as big as saucers, and it ran on until it came to where the water crosses under the road, and they things, of course, never can abide running water, so it just couldn’t get across, and off it went up in the air like a flash of fire. I screeched – oh I screeched, surely be down the hill to me, and they from Budleigh would come upwards.” Mr Thornton says: “I was young then, and so I made a mistake by remarking that no doubt it was her sheep-dog that had come down to meet her – come ‘against her’ as

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they say in Somersetshire, and given her a start. That suggestion, however, would not do at all, and I had to beat a hasty retreat. Presently I met the sexton, John Hobbs, and made eager enquiries again.” “I know all about it” said John, “Tis exactly twenty-five years since we were bringing the corpse of – from Horner Mill to Selworthy, and the handle of the coffin against the head came loose, just exactly to the very spot where Mary Stenner met with the ghost lst night. I picked up a stone and knocked it in again, and no doubt it went into the brain and let the spirit out. Oh, yes! I know all about it.

The following story of

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD – is taken from “Pneumatologia, a Treatise of the Soul of Man, by John Flavel, Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, late of Dartmouth, London, 1685” :- “Much to the same purpose is that so famous and well attested story of the apparition of Major George Sydenham to Captain William Dyke, both of Somersetshire, attested by the worthy and learned Dr Thomas Dyke, a near kinsman of the Captain’s and by Mr Douch, to whom both the Major and Captain were intimately known. The summ is this. The Major and Captain had many disputes about the Being of a God, and the immortality of the Soul, in which points they could never be resolved, though they much sought for and desired it, and therefore it was at last fully agreed betwixt them, that he that died first should the third night after his Funeral come betwixt the hours of twelve and one, to the little house in the Garden adjoining to Major Sydenham’s house at Dulverton in Somersetshire. The Major died first, and the Captain happened to lie that very night which was appointed in the same chamber and bed with Dr Dyke; he acquainted the Doctor with the appointment, and his resolution to attend the place and hour that Night, for which purpose he had got the key of the Garden. The Doctor could by no means divert his purpose, but when the hour came he was upon the place, where he waited two hours and a half neither seeing nor hearing any thing more than usual. About six weeks after, the Captain and Doctor went to Eaton, and lay again in the same Inn, but not the same chamber as before at Dulverton. “The morning before they went thence, the Captain stayed longer than was usual in his Chamber, and at length came in to the Doctor’s Chamber, but in a visage and form much differing from himself; with his hair and eyes staring, and his whole body shaking and trembling; whereat the Doctor, wondering, demanded, What is the matter, Cousin Captain? The Captain replies, I have seen my Major, at which the Doctor seeming to smile, the Captain said, If ever I saw him in my life, I saw him but now: adding as followeth, This Morning (said he) after it was light, some one came to my Bed side, and suddenly drawing back the Curtains calls Cap. Cap (which was the term of familiarity that the Major used to call the Captain by) to whom I replied, What, my Major? To which he returns, I could not come at the time appointed, but I am now come to tell you, That there is a God, and a very just and terrible one, and if you do not turn over a new leaf, you will find it so. This stuck close to him, little Meat would go down with him at Dinner, though an handsome treat was provided: these words were sounding in his ears frequently during the remainder of his life: he was never shy or scrupulous to relate it to any that asked him concerning it, nor ever mentioned it but with horrour and trepidation: they were both men of a brisk humour and jolly Conversation: of very quick and keen parts, having been both University and Inns of Court Gentlemen.”

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THE GHOST OF LOCKING MANOR – Traditon says that the garden at the back of Locking Manor House, near Weston-Super-Mare, is haunted by the ghost of the widow of the ill-fated John Plumley, who was lord of Locking Manor in 1685, and who joined the Monmouth Rebellion. The late Mr F A Knight, writing in 1902, said that no-one living at that time was known to have seen the phantom, but the former parish clerk – who had died at a great age a few years previously, had many tales to tell of its appearance. The story goes that John Plumley, whose two sons were killed on the field of Sedgmoor himself escaped from the scene of the battle and remained for a time in safe hiding at various places among the Mendips. It is quite possible that Plumley’s Den in received its name from the fact that he found shelter there. After a while he returned to his native village and hid himself in a little wood, which was long known as Plumley’s Copse, of which but scant traces now remain. Whilst he lay there in hiding a party of soldiers were quartered a short distance away at Lockinghead Farm, and were engaged in searching for rebels generally and for John Plumley in particular. He might, however, have escaped them but for the fact that his favourite dog discovered him and barked in its delight at having found its master again. The barking brought the soldiers on the scene, and they dragged the unfortunate man from his hiding place and hanged him on a hard by. The remains of the tree still stand, but it was struck by lightning some 20 or 30 years ago, and burned for two days. Overwhelmed with horror and despair, the victim’s widow took in her arms the dog which through its devotion to its master had been the innocent cause of his death, and threw both it and herself down one of the wells in the garden. And the story was long current in the neighbourhood that the figure of a lady in white, carrying a dog in her arms, was sometimes seen in the twilight, gliding down the Ghost’s Walk at the back of the Manor House, and vanishing between two yew trees by the mouth of a long-disused well.

THE HEADLESS BEAR OF DITCHEAT – In the year 1584 was published a pamphlet bearing the following title “A true and most dreadfull discourse of a woman possessed with the devil: who in the likeness of a headless beare fetched her oute of her bedde, and in the presence of seven persons, most straungeley roulled her thorow three chambers, and down a high paire of stairres on the fower and twentie of May last, 1584. At Ditchet, in Somersetshire – A matter as miraculous as ever was seen in our time. Imprinter at London for Thomas Nelson.” The story was thus told in more modern language in the “Castle Cary Visitor” for June 1897:- Stephen Cooper of Ditcheat, was an honest farmer, but strange things happened in his home as long ago as 1584. He was a man of means and had a farm in Gloucestershire also, and when he fell sick he sent Margaret his wife to this other farm. She was not away long, but came back with all the symptoms of having been “overlooked.” She talked and looked strange and wild and had “a sad and staring countenance.” Things got so bad that she shook frightfully, and they could scarce hold her down in bed. Her talk was mainly of a headless bear, which she said had followed her from Gloucestershire. Her friends exhorted her to pray, but the devil still got the better of her. The candle would go out suddenly while she cried lamentably. “Forthwith they heard a noise in the street as it had been the coming of two or three carts, and presently they in the chamber cried out: “ and well they might, for “a thing like a bear, only that it had no head and no tail,” came up to the bedside. The husband struck at the animal with a stool, but it took no notice of him – it wanted Margaret. Then followed the exciting performance so graphically quoted in the title of the pamphlet. The headless bear fetched Margaret out of bed in the presence of seven

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persons, thrust her head between her legs, and “so rolled her in a rounde compasse like an hoope, through three other chambers, down an high paire of staires.” The frightened spectators durst not go downstairs , but remained about weeping pitifully, and praying loud and fervently. Then there was an evil smell, and fiery flames darted about till Margaret cried out “He is gone” and quickly rejoined her husband, apparently none the worse for her adventures; but wonderful to tell after being put to bed, and the clothes held down by four women praying fervently, she was again snatched away in some marvellous manner, and there was another vision. And “lowe they espied a thing like unto a little child, with a bright shining countenance casting a great light in the chamber.” And then the candle ceased to burn dim and blue, and they all gave thanks to God for Margaret Cooper’s deliverance from the headless bear! Such is the rubbish our ancestors believed in, and even quoted in proof of the efficacy of fervent prayer.

THE SIDCOT CONJURER – This story has often been told, but probably never better than by the late F.A.Knight in his “Heart of Mendip,” from which the following account is taken:- The cottage, which was divided from the Old Meeting House by a narrow lane, was the residence of one George Beacham, a man who passed in the district not only for a cattle doctor, but a conjurer. Tradition even credits him with the possession of a wizard’s staff and magic books. As he lay dying, he enjoined his wife to bury him, not in consecrated ground, but in his own garden; or as a variant of the legend says, at the adjoining four crossroads, so that, as he lay in his grave, he might have the amusement of watching the passers by! “If ‘ee don’t,” said the old man, “I’ll trouble ‘ee!” His request was not complied with, however, and on “July ye 27, 1788,” as he recorded in the Parish Register, his ashes were deposited in Winscombe Churchyard. A year went by, And then, one Wednesday morning, the 22nd July, twelve months to the day after the wizard had departed this life, the Sidcot Friends were sitting in Meeting, in the quaint little building over the way, when the solemn silence was broken by the voice of a terrified woman crying – “Oh neighbours, do ‘ee come! Here be all Widow Beacham’s things a valling about the vloor! !” Two friends at the head of the Meeting, John Benwell and Charles Strode, got up, walked quietly out and crossed the lane to the widow’s cottage. And there, so the tale continues, they saw chairs and tables, pots and pans, dancing about the room, and the kneading trough which the mistress of the house used in making the cakes which she sold in her little shop, rocking to and fro, as if it moved by invisible hands. More than that, the astonished onlookers beheld the dead man’s boots clattering slowly downstairs into the kitchen. The two sedate, elderly Friends looked and wondered. They could find no solution of the mystery. The disturbance had not ceased when the Meeting broke up, and other Friends came across to see what was happening. Among these was John Benwell’s daughter Hannah who subsequently married Arnee Frank. Long afterwards she used to describe how, as she entered the cottage kitchen, she had to move out of the way to avoid a large and heavy armchair that was slowly moving across the room. Hannah More, whose labours among the Mendip miners began in the very year when this happened is said to have driven over from Cowslip Green at Wrington to enquire into the circumstances; and the “favourite Mr Jones” of Mendip Annals, then curate and afterwards rector of , who taught French in John Benwell’s school, also visited the Widow Beacham’s cottage. But neither they nor

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any other enquirers could determine whether the disturbance was caused by the unquiet spirit of the disappointed necromancer, or whether it was merely the result of trickery. Trickery there may of course have been, but there was no evidence of it; nor does it appear that there would have been any object in trickery. There was no Physical Research Society in those days to take the matter up and no explanation was then or at any later time forthcoming. Jone Beacham, as her name is spelt in the Burial Register, survived her husband six years. But he did not “trouble” her again. It was the Conjurer’s last trick. The strange performance seems never to have been repeated.

A QUANTOCK HILLS GHOST STORY – The following story appeared in Vol 2 of “Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries” (1891) having been sent by a correspondent, who appended the following note – “The above is the copy of a M.S. to which there is no date; nor do I remember the handwriting so as to recollect who wrote it, but judging from the time I have had it, Miss W.’s adventure must have occurred about 1850. There are places on the map called ‘Walford’s Gibbet,’ near or in ‘Skerage Wood,’ not very far from Danesborough Camp; possibly that is the Gibbet and Wood referred to.” Miss Williams of Over Stowey, was returning home from Watchet late in the evening, and near – her pony fell and hurt his knee so badly that she was obliged to walk. After proceeding some distance, finding it was growing dark, and being still seven or eight miles from home, she engaged a young countryman at Putsam to accompany her. It soon became very dark, and as they were passing through a thick wood and the ground was very wet, and she felt very tired, she again mounted her pony. They had not gone very far thus, when she found her pony became suddenly very restive, trembling exceedingly, and trying to push sideways through the hedge as if to avoid something. Every effort to make him go on was useless. After a little while, a crashing sound was heard, lasting only a second or two (a kind of clatter like the trucks in Bristol loaded with iron rods). After a few minutes the noise was repeated, still more loudly. The pony was now so ungovernable that Miss W. was obliged to ask the man to hold him by the head. On being asked what the noise was the man seemed much frightened and said he had never heard anything like it. The noise was repeated a third time, and with such an overwhelming crash that Miss W felt unable to bear it, and stopped her ears. The man was perfectly overpowered with alarm, and sunk on the earth in an agony of fear. Miss W. then observed something black approaching which passed close to her, having the appearance of a hearse drawn by four horses, but no man with them, and not the slightest sound. On Miss W. asking the man what he had seen, he described exactly the same. After this they neither heard nor saw anything, and the pony went on freely, indeed seemed to hurry homewards. In about half a mile they came to the public-house called the “Castle of Comfort,” where several men were sitting outside the house smoking. Miss W. asked if they had seen anything pass. They said they had not, though they had been sitting there more than an hour, and that there was no other way through the wood. They reached Over Stowey about eleven, and the young man declared nothing should induce him to pass through that wood again at night, so he remained till morning. The story soon got wind and some of the older people of the neighbourhood “wondered how Miss W. could venture to pass through that wood at night,” it was so noted for extraordinary noises, &c., ever since a dreadful murder of a woman by her husband, who was hung on a gibbet near the spot.

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A FAMOUS DULVERTON GHOST – The following good old fashioned ghost story is taken from “The Blackmore Country,” by Mr F.J.Snell:- Major Sir George Sydenham, another brother of Sir John Sydenham, of Brympton d’Evercy, and a knight-marshal in the Army of Charles I., had married his cousin Susan, daughter of George Sydenham of Combe, and whilst staying with his wife at her father’s house, received an urgent summons to accompany his brother on some public occasion. Nothing more was heard of him until one night, as his wife was sleeping peacefully, he appeared to her in his military dress, but deathly pale. Starting up in affright, she exclaimed that her husband was dead, and announced her intention of joining him. Accordingly, the next morning she set out and on the way was met by a messenger, who, unluckily, confirmed her presentiment, saying that her lord had died suddenly. Ever since then the spirit of the Major has had an uncomfortable trick of turning up at unexpected hours in the mansion in which he made his first apparition. One day, Mrs Jakes, a tenant of the family, was ascending the stairs, when she met a strange figure coming out of one of the rooms and according to her account, motioned as if he would snuff the candle for her. She was not alarmed because Sir George looked so kindly on her, and it was only later that she remembered the story of the ghost. More extraordinary were the circumstances of another visit. When the late Rector of Brushford was a young man, he invited a college friend to stay with him. The evening of his arrival was spent in the usual way, with plenty of fun and pleasantry, after which the party broke up for the night. The following morning the guest came down in the same good spirits, but he had a tale to tell. “You fellows thought you were going to frighten me last night,” he observed. Everybody disclaimed such an intention, and begged to know what he meant. There were signs of incredulity on the part of the collegian, and then he was induced to explain that an old cavalier arrayed in a wide cloak and Spanish hat had presented himself at his bedside. The spectacle however, had given him no concern, as he had taken it for a practical joke. I have not yet done with the Sydenham phantom. As may easily be supposed, the countryside has its legends of these great people, who, it is averred, drove a carriage with six or eight horses shod with silver. Amongst the legends is one that narrates the laying of Major Sydenham’s ghost, whose visits became so frequent and inopportune that the family at Combe resolved on serious measures to prevent their recurrence. They communicated with the Vicar of Dulverton, desiring him to perform the rite of exorcism, and accordingly that divine, attended by his curate, proceeded to the large upper room still known as “the chapel,” where, as we have seen, the “silver-tongued” Sydenham had so often read prayers under the Commonwealth. At the conclusion of the service the man-servant was ordered to lead a handsome watch-dog to Aller’s Wood, on the border of the present highway to Dulverton, and there release him. Particular instructions were given him on no account to hurt or ill-use the animal, but these he seems to have disobeyed. The result was a sudden flash of lightning, followed immediately by a loud clap of thunder, in the midst of which the dog disappeared. On returning to the house the terrified emissary reported the occurrence, but the opinion was expressed that the spirit had been effectually laid.

A HAUNTED HOUSE NEAR TAUNTON – The Rev D.W.G. Gwynne, M.D., was a physician in Holy Orders. In 1853 he lived at P- House, near Taunton, where both he and his wife were made uncomfortable by auditory experience to which they could find no clue, or, in uncommon English, they heard mysterious noises. “During the

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night,” writes Dr Gwynne, “I became aware of a draped figure passing across the foot of the bed towards the fireplace. I had the impression that the arm was raised, pointing with the hand towards the mantelpiece, on which a night light was burning. Mrs Gwynne at the same moment seized my arm and the light was extinguished. Notwithstanding, I distinctly saw the figure returning towards the door, and being under the impression that one of the servants had found her way into our room, I leaped out of bed to intercept the intruder, and it was not until I had found the door locked, as usual, that I was very painfully impressed. I need hardly say that Mrs Gwynne was in a very nervous state. She had seen the same figure, but, she writes, ‘I distinctly saw the hand of the figure placed out the night-light, which was at once extinguished.’ Mrs Gwynne also heard the rustle of the tall, man-like figure’s garments.” – “Dreams of Ghosts” (Lannerman, Green and Co).

Index Act of Uniformity, 2, 21, 60 Adlam, 69, 79, 98 Adam de Sodbury, 8 Aisholt, 43, 46 Adams, 21 Alfred, 126

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Alfred’s Tower, 26 Bathpool, 3, 6, 26, 58, 103 Allen, 124 Batt, 21, 134 Aller, 80, 83, 127, 160 Batten, 70 Alloway, 26, 66 Battle of Sedgemoor, 48 Alma Inn, 91 Battle of Sedgmoor, 41, 118 Alured de Hispania, 63 Battlebury, 49 Amrill, 35 Beacham, 158, 159 Anderson, 102 Beadon, 98 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 126, 143 Beaton, 26 Ashcott, 3, 91, 148 Beauchamp, 53, 78, 83 Ashill, 30, 34, 38, 39, 45, 51, 83, 88, Bede, 20 133 Beere, 43 Athelm, 29 Benignus, 47, 148 Athelney, 32, 33, 78, 127 Benwell, 158 Atkins, 103, 131 Berrow, 88, 104 Atomies, 19 Berry, 21 Austen, 148 BETTY MUXWORTHY, 75, 85, 92, Axbridge, 3, 42, 52, 63, 66, 83, 88 101, 108, 115 Babb, 75 Bicknoller, 20, 79, 139 Babcary, 26 Biggen, 52 Backaller, 21 Bilbie, 88, 112, 113, 134 Backwell, 88 Bishop, 60 BACKWELL, 112 Bishop Clifford, 14 Bacon, 23, 24, 79 BISHOP OF WERNE, 24, 40 Badbury, 56 Bishop of Winton, 32 Badgworth, 56, 57 Bishop Ralph, 102 Bagborough, 46, 56, 88 Bishop’s Hull, 7, 20, 56 BAGBOROUGH, 94 BISHOP’S HULL, 82 Baker, 61, 148 Bishops Hull, 14, 83 Ball, 26 Bishops Lydeard, 7, 73, 98 Baltonsborough, 102 BISHOPS LYDEARD, 69 Banwell, 52, 92, 146 Blackbrook Inn, 140, 147, 152 BANWELL, 94 Blackdown, 26 Baptist, 21, 22, 61, 102, 107 Blackford, 92 Baptists, 21 Blackstone, 31, 118 Bardolf, 117 Blagdon, 92 Barnstaple, 21 Blake, 19, 70, 73, 78, 90, 118, 122 Barrett, 125 Blue Anchor, 29, 36, 37, 97 Barrington, 71, 83 Bond, 41 Barrow Gurney, 43, 93 BONE SHAVE, 150 Bartelot, 104, 132, 139 Bowen, 63 Bartelott, 72, 132 Bower Hinton, 61 Barton, 150 Bradford, 7, 15, 96, 126 Barton St David, 83 BRADFORD, 94 Bates-Harbin, 86, 98, 110 Bratton, 52, 63, 76, 89 Bath, 22, 76 Brendon Hill, 65 BATH, 94, 149 Brendons, 24 Bathampton, 31 Brent Knoll, 3, 26, 40, 49, 55 Bathealton, 38 Bridget, 47, 54, 56, 57, 71 Batheaston, 31

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Bridgwater, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, Calvinism, 61 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 30, 37, 42, 43, Calvinists, 62 47, 57, 63, 66, 73, 78, 82, 84, 89, 90, Camden, 18 96, 97, 98, 100, 103, 104, 107, 110, CAMERTON, 95 121, 125, 131, 140, 144, 148, 150 Cammell, 117 BRIDGWATER, 3, 5, 6, 10, 17, 26, 29, Capes, 43 33, 47, 73, 82, 89, 94, 96, 110, 117, Caractacus stone, 79 133 Cary Fitzpaine, 26 Bridport, 23 Castle Cary, 21, 26, 27, 52, 63, 69, 76, Brislington, 22, 30 86, 90, 128, 157 Bristol, 9, 14, 20, 25, 35, 41, 47, 51, 52, Castle of Comfort, 12, 159 55, 62, 83, 96, 104, 118, 138, 140, Catcott, 100 141, 144, 147, 159 Ceawlin, 126 Bristol Channel, 9, 25 Ceolred, 126 Briwer, 9 Chadwick, 21 Brixton, 127 Champion, 83 Broadmead, 98 Chanter, 44 Broadribb, 104 Chard, 19, 20, 41, 58, 66, 72, 75, 87, BROMPTON, 94, 133 93, 108, 119, 125, 132 Broome, 47 Chardstock, 75 Brown, 12 Charlcombe, 22, 31 Brownscombe, 121 Charlton, 20, 83 Brushford, 160 CHARLTON KINGS, 149 BRUSHFORD, 94 Charterhouse Warren, 49 Bruton, 22, 48, 52, 72, 78, 88, 93, 125 CHATHAM URN, 105 BRYMPTON, 149 Cheddar, 38, 39, 46, 48, 71, 138 Brympton d’Evercy, 160 CHEDDON FITZPAINE, 95 Buck, 61 Chedzoy, 34, 144 Buckland St Mary, 83 Chelvey, 29, 71 Buckley, 107 Cheselbourne, 5 Budd, 60, 61 Chesil Beach, 5 BUDLEIGH HILL, 155 Chesilton, 5 Bull, 37 CHESSELLS, 5, 8 BULL BAITING, 76, 91, 101, 109, Chew, 30, 111 116 CHEW MAGNA, 149 BURLESCOMBE, 94 Chichester, 44 Burlington House, 79 Chilton Polden, 39 Burnell, 107 Chilton-Super- Polden, 83 Burnham, 40, 66, 86 Chippenham, 126 BURNHAM, 86, 149 Chiselborough, 5, 8 BURNHAM OLD LIGHTHOUSE, 86 Chittlehampton, 44 Burrington Combe, 157 Churchill, 52, 88, 149 Burt, 30 CHURCHILL, 95, 149 Burton Pynsent, 50, 105, 111 Churchingford, 91 BURTON PYNSENT, 50, 105, 111 Churchstanton, 15, 42, 145 Butcher, 113 CHURCHSTANTON, 95 Butcombe, 110 Cinnabar Moth, 6 Butler, 60 CINNEBAR MOTH, 9, 10 Byam, 19 Clapp, 17 Cadbury Camp, 27 Clark, 15

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Claverton, 31, 35, 38, 76 Cucklington, 22 Cleeve Abbey, 36, 43 Cudworth, 45 CLERGYMAN PREACHING Culbone, 47, 53, 54 NAKED, 150 Cumbe, 45 Clevedon, 17, 66, 93 Curry Rivel, 17, 27, 47, 50, 78, 79, 81, Clinker, 69, 76 83, 91, 105, 125 CLIPPING THE CHURCHES, 22 Cuthwin, 126 CLIPPING THE TOWER, 13, 22 Damnonia, 29 CLOFORD, 95 Dampier, 23, 80 Coleford, 20, 70 Danesborough Camp, 159 Coleman, 70, 98, 136 Darby, 140 Coleridge, 107 Dare, 120 Collinson, 25, 46, 51, 53, 63, 73, 91, Davies, 90, 119 97, 104 Davis, 52, 92 Combe, 123 Delft, 14 COMBE DOWN, 149 Denison, 79, 87 Combe St Nicholas, 21 Devenish, 21 Compton, 45 Devil’s Stone, 2 Compton Dundon, 103 DEVIL’S STONE, 2, 6 COMPTON MARTIN, 112 Dinder, 41, 49 Conegar, 25 Dinnington, 83 Conegar tower, 25 Ditcheat, 27, 46, 104, 157 Congar, 47, 48, 56, 57 Ditchet, 157 Congregational, 61, 62 Dixson, 26 Congresbury, 48, 57, 111, 148 Dobritius, 56, 57 Conquest Farm, 69, 91, 123 Domesday, 3, 7, 27, 32, 34, 36, 56, 57, CONQUEST FARM, 69, 91, 114, 123 63 Cook’s Cary, 26 Donyatt, 83 Cooke, 105 Doone, 8, 48, 75 Cooper, 70, 158 Douch, 156 Corder, 7, 8, 10, 23, 34, 37, 38, 49, 83, Doulting, 22, 29, 30, 51 102, 128, 129, 131 Dover, 80 Corsley, 90 Dowell, 14 CORYAT, 58 Dowlish Wake, 83, 91 Cossington, 17, 104 Downend, 63 Cothelstone, 6, 9, 22, 24, 25, 46, 63 Downside, 22, 31, 62, 107 COTHELSTONE, 9, 63 Downside Abbey, 22, 31, 62 Coverley, 13, 22 Draycott, 40 Creech, 15, 21, 103 Drayton, 27, 91, 139 CREECH ST MICHAEL, 112 Dubricius, 54 Creed, 51 Dubritius, 47, 54, 71 Cresswell, 38, 55 Dudderidge, 103, 145 Creswell, 124 Duke of Monmouth, 9, 34, 41, 51, 69, Crewkerne, 20, 21, 22, 24, 30, 35, 39, 119 60, 72, 74, 78, 83, 91, 121, 122, 123, Dulverton, 21, 23, 30, 66, 122, 152, 128, 131, 132, 135, 139, 140, 146 156, 160 Crocker, 110, 123 DULVERTON GHOST, 160 Crookhorn, 50, 66 Dunbal Island, 63 Croome, 61 Dunball, 33, 97 Crowcombe, 48, 103, 138 Dundon Beacon, 65, 103

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Dunkerton, 4 Flemish weavers, 141 DUNKERTON, 112 FLIGHT IN SOMERSET, 79, 87 Dunster, 17, 25, 33, 35, 37, 56, 97, 107, Ford, 62 125, 131, 152 Fowler, 112 Durston, 30 Fox, 65, 92 DUTCH WOODCARVERS, 46 Freeman, 5, 25 Dyer, 47 Frome, 5, 37, 78, 83, 121, 127 Dyke, 52, 77, 156 Fry, 9 Ealstan, 126 Fryer, 53, 77 Eanwulf, 126 Fullands school, 2 earthquake, 128, 143, 144 Furber’s Well, 27, 122 East Brent, 27, 31, 34, 79, 87 General Charles Gordon, 2 EAST BUCKLAND, 95 GENERAL GORDON, 2, 10 East Chinnock, 83, 91 Gerrard, 53 East Coker, 5, 27, 80 Gibbs, 2, 139 EAST COKER, 95 Gilbert, 63 East Cranmore, 35 Gilbte, 119 EAST HARPTREE, 149 Giles, 47, 94 East Quantoxhead, 32 Gillard, 98 Edington, 27, 83 Gillingham, 30 Edithmead, 3 Gladorhof, 18 Edney, 119 Glastonbury, 2, 8, 14, 21, 22, 24, 26, Edred, 127 29, 30, 34, 35, 44, 48, 49, 51, 55, 58, Edwards, 55, 81 62, 64, 71, 73, 83, 93, 104, 107, 114, Elworthy, 14, 19, 25, 37, 106, 108, 145 128, 136, 144, 148 Englishcombe, 29 GLASTONBURY THORN, 73, 114 Enmore, 43, 131 Gloucestershire, 8, 114, 128, 143, 157 Esdaile, 63 Goathurst, 37, 104 Ethelmar, 127 Godenemoor, 35 Ethelreda, 47, 54, 57 Godminster, 125 Ethelwulf, 6 Godwin, 128, 153 Evercreech, 83 Golden Lion Inn, 91 Everton, 113 Goodden, 61 Exeter, 9, 81, 86, 91, 119, 123, 126, Goring, 11, 43 127, 132, 140 Gould, 88, 115, 146 EXMOOR, 118 Govier, 110 Exmoor Forest Hotel, 8 Gray, 98 Exmouth, 93, 127 Greinton, 5 Fane, 104 Greswell, 43, 63 Fareway, 117 Griffiths, 51 Farrington Gurney, 83 Gunstone, 56 Ffisher, 119 Guthrum, 127 Fiddington, 103 Gwlad-yr-Haf, 18 Field, 42, 61 Gwynne, 161 Fielding, 19, 58, 73 Hacker, 98 FIRING THE APPLE TREES, 3 Halfway House Inn, 91 Fitzhead, 15, 38, 139 Hallet, 61 Fivehead, 57, 83, 91 Halsdown, 9 Fives, 66, 73, 80, 103 Halswell, 63, 125 Flavel, 156 Hambridge, 21, 84

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Hampton, 35, 38 Hore, 98 Hann, 79 Horne, 22, 31, 34, 41, 72, 106, 122 Hannaford, 61 Horner Mill, 156 Harding, 112, 114 HORSEY CHAPEL, 6 Hardington, 91 Horsington, 83, 104 HARNEM FARM, 11 HORTON, 149 Harptre, 45 Hull, 61 Harry Hill, 69 Humphreys, 104 Hartnell, 98, 101 Hunt, 74 Haselbere, 45 Huntspill, 63, 104 HASELBURY FORD, 21 Hutchings, 70 Haverfield, 123, 141 Hutton, 44, 93, 138 Hawker, 79, 87, 88, 111 HUTTON, 93, 95 Hayes, 101, 110, 117 Hyde, 61, 73 Haysuck, 2 Ilchester, 24, 30, 32, 47, 79, 90, 93, Heale, 103 102, 117, 140 Heddington, 127 Ilchester Gaol, 90, 102 Hendford, 30 ILE ABBOTS, 113 Henley, 119 Ilett, 79 Henstridge, 48, 125 Ilfracombe, 8 Hereward, 146 Ilminster, 20, 41, 51, 52, 58, 66, 70, 72, Hertford, 11, 66 78, 83, 147 Higgins, 91 Ilton, 83 High Ham, 65, 83, 91 Ina, 92, 126 Highbridge, 17, 35, 36, 83, 136 Independents, 21 Hill, 8, 26, 48 Irving, 73, 104 HILLCOMMON, 89, 109, 110, 117, Isle of Avalon, 49 124 Isle of Thorns, 30 Hillfarrance, 11, 103, 117 Ivythorn Manor, 125 Hillhouse, 35 Jack White, 52, 63, 69, 74, 76, 89 Hillsborough, 63 JACK WHITE’S GIBBET, 38, 51, 63, Hinton, 35, 40, 48, 66, 69, 104, 106 69, 76, 89 Hinton St George, 66, 90 Jacob, 19 Hobbs, 90, 156 Jarman, 83, 144, 150 Hody, 56 Jeboult, 22, 25, 37, 42, 56, 114, 129, Holford, 12, 13, 23, 43, 122, 139 140, 147, 152 HOLFORD CHURCH, 13, 23 Jennings, 42, 47, 49, 103 Hollowtrow, 66 Jevele, 117 Holme, 51 Jewe, 56, 77 Holmes, 78, 84 Jilbury, 49 Holwell, 27, 43 John Ridd, 48 HOLY WELLS, 22, 25, 27, 30, 31, 34, Johnson, 145 39, 43, 122, 132, 139, 152 Jordan, 52 Holywell Lake, 27, 67 Joseph of Arimathea, 2, 148 Honiton, 68 Judge Jeffery, 41 Hood, 23 Judoe, 61 Hook, 69, 84 Julietta, 47 Hope, 30 Keinton Mandeville, 3, 83, 104 Hopkins, 82 Kelstone, 106 Hopper, 113 Ken, 19, 37

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Kenning Town Hill, 9 Lydeard St Lawrence, 110 Kewstoke, 57, 58 Lympsham, 3 Keynsham, 71, 148 Lynch, 44 KEYNSHAM, 113 Lyng, 5, 103 Kilve, 43 Lyngford, 124 Kinglake, 19, 23, 29 Lynmouth, 8 Kingsley, 19 Lynton, 8, 54 Kingston, 46, 75, 103 Lyte’s Cary, 26, 27 Kinmersdon’, 32 Lytes Cary, 21 Kitnore, 47, 53, 54 MacFarlane, 121 Knight, 157 Mackintosh, 15 Knightstone Rock, 62 MacMillan, 51 Lackington, 10, 67, 120 Maddock, 47, 56, 70, 98 Lackington’s Life, 10 Maddock Tree Hill, 47 Lady Huntington’s connexion, 61 Magnolia House, 17 Ladywell, 22 Manderson, 2 Lambert’s Castle, 26 Mandeville, 68, 91, 104 Lambrook, 60 Mapperton, 70, 104 Lamyatt, 72 Mark, 17, 35, 40, 83 Lane, 61, 102 MARK, 95 Langford, 4, 10, 22 Marriage, 83 Langford Budville, 13, 22 Marriott, 38 LANGFORD BUDVILLE, 3, 28 Marsh, 107 Langport, 17, 20, 24, 27, 29, 35, 38, 40, Marston Magna, 55 45, 54, 72, 78, 80, 83, 91, 110, 148 MARSTON MAGNA, 149 LANGPORT, 38, 45, 95 Martock, 35, 45, 48, 54, 60, 61, 66, 71, Lansdown, 22, 78 78, 79, 81, 103, 125 Laurence, 61 MARTOCK, 45, 60, 95 Leach, 84, 103, 107 Masey, 122 Leakey, 153, 154, 155 Mathews, 15, 122, 126 Leigh, 31, 35, 38 Matravers, 61 Leighton, 120 Matthew, 124 Lethbridge Arms Inn, 73 Mells, 29, 31, 35, 38, 83 Lewis, 121, 132, 146 Melsbury, 49 Liberty of Bompstone, 40 Mendip, 2, 26, 31, 41, 49, 79, 135, 158 Liberty of Hampton, 31 Mendips, 40, 157 Light, 70 Middlezoy, 34 Lightfoot, 8, 14 Miles, 98 Littleham, 93 Milverton, 10, 16, 27, 43, 45, 49, 56, Lloyd, 50, 81 83, 122, 141 Load Bridge, 30 Minehead, 3, 11, 26, 36, 43, 55, 66, 97, Locke, 19, 110 100, 107, 109, 135, 151, 153, 154, LOCKING, 95, 157 155 Lockinghead, 48, 157 Misterton, 90 Lodge Hill, 38, 49 Monksilver, 107 Lottisham, 104 Monmouth rebels, 56 LOUVAIN LIBRARY, 24 Monmouth Street, 15 Lucott, 155 MONMOUTH TREE, 69 Luttrell, 25, 33, 56, 97 Montacute, 25, 29, 49, 61, 65, 83, 94, Lyddon, 58, 65 126, 143

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Morlais, 119 Parkar, 98 Morrow, 59 Parlestone-lane, 43 Morwenstow, 79, 88, 107, 111 Parret, 6, 63, 97, 126, 127 Morwenstowe, 87 Parrett, 14 Moulton, 63 Parrett Navigation Company, 21 Mount Moriah, 2 Parry, 23 Muchelney, 27, 35, 91, 139 Patteson, 70 N Cricket, 21 Patwell, 22 Nether Stowey, 12, 42, 49, 55, 78, 107 Paul, 61 NETHER STOWEY, 42, 49, 55, 113 Paulet, 63 Netherbury, 74 Peake, 23 NETTLECOMBE, 38, 44 Penel Orlieu, 5 NETTLECOMBE FONT, 38, 44 Penelstret, 9 Newbolt, 103 Penzoy, 34 Newte, 92 Percival, 72 Newton, 45, 98 Perry Hay, 26 Newton Surmaville, 98, 102 Peter Grevious, 7, 18 Nicholas, 33 PETER GREVIOUS, 7, 18, 22 Norris, 10, 16, 19, 53, 56, 83 PETHERTON BRIDGE, 47, 53, 56, Norris’s Taunton Journal, 16 77, 83, 98, 99 North Brewham, 93 Peynel, 9 North Cadbury, 7 Phelipps, 153 North Curry, 7, 27, 83, 139, 151, 152, Phelips, 126 156, 160 Phelps, 62 North Perrott, 41, 90 Pibsbury, 17 North Petherton, 104, 129, 150 Pilton, 29, 51, 106 Norton, 35, 52, 83, 123, 125, 139, 145 PITMINSTER, 126 Norton Fitzwarren, 83, 123, 139 Pitney, 35 Norton St Philip, 125 Pitt, 78, 105 Norton-sub-Hamdon, 125 Pittard, 61 Norton-Sub-Hamdon, 83 Pixylated, 10 Nyland, 38, 40, 49 PIXYLATED, 10, 15, 20 Nyland Hill, 40 pixy-led, 15, 38 Oake, 110 Player, 121 Oare, 48 Plucknett, 29, 90 Oaten, 126 Plumley, 48, 157 Odcombe, 58, 83 Polden Hills, 40, 49, 100, 104 Old Cleeve, 43, 107 Ponter’s Ball, 49 Old Dissent, 21 Pope, 119 Old Jimmy, 3 Porlock, 43, 54, 57, 69, 71, 84, 127, Olivey, 151, 152 128, 155 Ordlof, 9 Porter, 59 Orlouestret, 9 Portland, 5, 8, 36 Orlovstret, 9 Portman, 86 Osric, 126 POT-BOILERS, 11 Othery, 5 Potwallopers, 14 Over Stowey, 43, 138, 159 Poulett, 35, 120 Paine, 24, 35 Poundisford Park, 49 Palmer, 91, 104 Pound-lane Chapel, 48 Pancras, 47 Powell, 83, 147

168

Presbyterian, 20, 61 Saunders, 72, 79, 81, 86, 104, 110, 117, Presbyterians, 21 119, 125 Preston, 29 Savage, 10, 53, 140, 152 Price, 61 Savaric, 30 Priddy, 91 Say, 63 Prior Gilbert’s Well, 22 Scott, 73 Prowse, 82, 147 Scowles, 70 PUDDIMORE, 113 SCRATCH DIALS, 72 Pulman, 8, 20, 27, 35, 36, 84, 86, 101, Sedgemoor, 105 108 Selwood, 119, 127 Puriton, 63 Selworthy, 35, 43, 44, 155, 156 Puxton, 52 Shaftesbury, 26, 47, 96 Pym, 19 Shapwick, 3, 22, 100, 125, 148 Pyne, 103 Sharp, 146 Pynelstret, 9 Sharpham Park, 58, 73 Pynsent, 50, 78, 105, 111, 112, 125 Shattock, 61, 146 Quaker, 15, 58, 65, 83, 100 SHELDRICKS, 22, 30 QUAKERS, 6, 10, 22, 50, 57, 58, 65, Sheppard, 70, 74, 76, 89, 138 83, 100 SHEPTON BEAUCHAMP, 95 Quakers’, 6, 100 Shepton Mallet, 12, 20, 26, 66, 72, 83, QUANTOCK DRAGON, 12 104 Quantocks, 43, 46 Sherborne, 12, 30, 79, 109 Quiricus, 47, 54, 57 Shervage Wood, 12 Ralls, 30 Shipham, 159 Ramscombe, 43, 122 Shipton Gorge, 8 Rawlinson, 16 Sidcot, 66, 158 Raymond, 84 SIDCOT CONJURER, 158 Rew, 17 Simonsbath, 8, 48 Richards, 103 Singer, 91 Ritso, 98 Sion Hill, 22 River Ile, 21 Skerage Wood, 159 Rockwell Green, 67 Skilgate, 103 Rodney, 23 Slab Island, 63 Roger, 30 Smethwick, 148 ROOTLESS DUCKWEED, 3 Smith, 21, 61 Rorke’s Drift, 19 Snow, 48 Rose, 45 Society of Friends, 10, 22, 26, 50, 65, Rowbarrow, 118 100 Royse, 61 SOMERSET CENTENARIANS, 43, Ruishton, 6, 58, 82, 129, 152 50, 70, 98 RUISHTON, 82, 129, 149 SOMERSET VALHALLA, 13, 19, 23, Rumwell, 109 29 Salway, 79 Somerton, 15, 18, 24, 35, 49, 83, 93, Sambroke, 117 103, 121, 125 SAMPFORD ARUNDEL, 113 SOMERTON, 113 Sampforde, 120 South Cadbury, 66 Samwayes, 119 South Molton, 21 Sarah Biffen, 32 South Petherton, 47, 56, 61, 66, 69, 77, Sarah Biffin, 28, 46 83, 98 SOUTH PETHERTON, 95

169

Southstoke, 29 Taunton, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, Sparkes, 26 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, St Alphage, 22 29, 33, 35, 37, 38, 41, 45, 47, 48, 56, St Decuman’s, 29, 54, 155 57, 58, 66, 70, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 83, St Nipperham, 30, 34, 39, 51 84, 87, 91, 96, 98, 101, 103, 106, St Nipperham’s Well, 30, 34, 39 108, 109, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, St Swithin’s day, 10 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 128, 129, ST SWITHUN, 6, 20 135, 138, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, ST URITHA, 34, 44 147, 148, 151, 152, 161 St Winefred’s Well, 22 TAUNTON BREAD RIOTS, 96, 124, ST. URITH, 44 129, 151 Stabbins, 70 Taunton Castle, 7, 11, 14, 19, 70, 124, Stanton, 20, 35, 111 141 Staple Fitzpaine, 2, 6, 139 Taunton Courier, 17, 35, 38, 70, 145 Staplegrove, 41, 56 Taunton Deane, 6, 121 Stapley Manor, 42, 47 Taylor, 21, 52 Starr, 47 Tazewell, 91 Stenner, 155, 156 Templecombe, 83 Stickles, 8 Thomas, 101 Stockham, 70 Thomas à Becket, 57, 58 Stogumber, 29, 48, 69, 103, 107, 139 Thorne St Margaret, 27 Stogursey, 70, 125 Thornfalcon, 2, 70 Stoke Courcey, 3 Thornton, 155, 156 Stoke Lane, 22 Thring, 98 Stoke St Gregory, 19, 105, 129, 130, Thurlbeer, 150 147, 151, 152 Thurloxton, 103 Stoke St Mary, 6 Timberscombe, 83, 107 Stokecourcy, 83 Tintinhull, 28, 65, 78, 83, 91 Stoke-sub-Hamdon, 53, 81, 104, 125 Toft, 63 Stoke-under-Ham, 78, 125, 141 Torcross, 19 Stone Gallows, 148 Towell, 21 Stooks, 93 Townsend, 93 Stourton, 26 Tozer, 20 Stowel, 63 Trask, 125 Stowey Court, 49, 55 Trego, 61 Stowford, 44 Trembles, 81 Strange, 23 Trevelyan, 44 Street, 5, 48, 66, 83 Trout, 101 Stringfellow, 79, 87 Trull, 15, 20, 56, 101 Strode, 61, 71, 158 Turner, 21 Stuckey & Bagehot, 30 Tymbrescombe, 45 Sully, 98 Tynte, 37, 63 Summers, 19 Unitarian, 61 SUNDIALS ON CHURCHES, 55, 72 Uphill, 17, 52, 72 Sutton, 27, 66, 84, 89, 91, 125, 131 UPHILL, 95 Sutton Montis, 27 Wagg Drove, 110 SUTTON MONTIS, 150 Walford’s Gibbet, 159 Swansea Farm, 65 Walker, 148 Sweetman, 53, 63, 93, 106 Walter, 141 Swymbridge, 44 Walter de Douai, 3

170

Walters, 17, 112 Weston-Super-Mare, 41, 70, 157 Walton Hill, 17 WESTON-SUPER-MARE, 41, 96 Wanborough, 126 Westonzoyland, 21, 34 Wanstrow, 66 Weston-Zoyland, 21 Warminster, 90 Westport, 21, 30 Warmville, 92 WESTPORT CANAL, 21, 30 Warmwell, 102 Weymouth, 8 Warre, 75, 91 Whalley, 102 Washford, 36 Whatley, 5 Watchet, 29, 36, 43, 54, 57, 97, 127, WHATLEY, 113 148, 159 Whistler, 12, 80 Watson, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, Whitelackington, 41, 51 27, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, Whitestaunton, 39 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, Whiting, 62, 121 56, 57, 59, 65, 66, 70, 71, 72, 74, 76, Whittaker, 71, 129, 144 78, 79, 84, 86, 87, 88, 90, 93, 96, WICK ST LAWRENCE, 96 102, 105, 108, 112, 117, 118, 120, Willett, 6, 24 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 138, 139, WILLETT TOWER, 22 141, 145, 146 Williams, 23, 30, 74, 108, 116, 159 Waugh, 4 Williton, 22, 107 Weare, 3 WILTON, 96 Webb, 11 Wincanton, 30, 52, 53, 63, 69, 74, 76, Wedmore, 17, 33, 35, 39, 45, 49 83, 89, 91, 93, 106, 125 Weeches Elm, 26 Winchester, 6, 141, 147 Wellington, 10, 13, 19, 23, 27, 28, 45, Winscombe, 41, 103, 158 66, 67, 70, 78, 83, 106 Winsford, 21, 102, 121 WELLINGTON, 19, 38, 63, 68, 77, 86, Witham Friary, 20, 35 90, 96, 134 Witham Priory, 40 Wellow, 22 Withiel Florey, 58, 65 Wells, 22, 26, 29, 83, 141 Wiveliscombe, 17, 21, 42, 53, 55, 77, WELLS, 113 92, 129, 130 Wells Cathedral, 8, 104, 143 WIVELISCOMBE, 42, 53, 55, 77, 96 wely, 6 Woodcock, 21 WELY, 6, 9, 14, 18, 22 Woodspring, 57, 58 Wembdon, 19, 22, 30, 107 Woodspring Priory, 59, 146 Wesley, 46, 117 Wookey, 49 West Bower, 125, 131 Woolavington, 17 West Bradley, 43 Worle, 7, 33, 34, 44, 51, 70, 97, 98 West Buckland, 8, 48, 93 Worle Mill, 7 WEST BUCKLAND, 96 Wrington, 48, 110, 159 West Coker, 5 Wroughton, 104 West Monkton, 15, 43, 103 Yarlington Fair, 51, 76, 89 West Pennard, 35, 82, 83, 86 Yatton, 17, 98, 138 West Somerset Free Press, 3, 43, 155 Yeovil, 20, 30, 57, 80, 83, 91, 98, 102, Westbury, 38 113, 117, 126 Westcott, 61 YEOVILTON, 96 Weston Super Mare, 7 Young, 10, 16, 19, 23, 73, 94, 121 Weston-super-Mare, 33, 57, 59, 62

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