THE HISTO RY

O F TH E

PAR IS H AND MAN O R

W O O KEY

BEING A CO NTRIBUTIO N TOWARDS A FUTURE

H I S T O RY

O F TH E

C O U NTY O F S O MERSET.

BY

THO MAS SCO TT HO LME S , M.A

,Vz

'

ca 7f of the Pam'

s/7 .

P R E FA C E .

HE following little work is an attempt to give to the parishioners of

VVookey such information about the place in which they l ive as I have

been able to gather together since I came amongst them . It does not indeed

amount to very much , and yet I venture to think that it may be useful inworking ou t the history ofthe par ishes in the neighbourhood . For as the ir

h istory ,which is recorded in Phelps and Coll inson,helped me to move a step

further in the history ofW ookey, so this advance on the County H istor ians

may help others towards fresh discover ies. W hen I came here,six years

ago , I naturally desired to learn al l I could ofthe past history ofthe place .

My first work was a careful study ofour Registers. These begin with thereign ofQueen Elizabeth, and are continuous down to the present time. I

next copied out the Title Deedsand Lease Indentu res ofthe church endowm ents

,and was by their help enabled to go back from Elizabeth to Richard the

Second ’s time. O n comparing these I found that I had some information con

cerning the fam ilies ofW ookeyfor the last five centuries . I could tel l the names

ofsome ofthose who were living here dur ing that t ime , and that, ofcourse,was something worth the knowing. And in addition I found that therewere evidences here in our Records ofW ookey ofnearly al l the CommonF ields and W aste Lands ofthe parish. Then the Episcopal Registers atW ellsprovided me with information concerning the Church and the Vicars , andthe Cathedral Records gave me the list ofRectors and also details ofone ortwo ofthe Rector ial Leases in the 1 6th century. Then the Close Rolls andPatent Rolls at the Record office, as well as the Bishop

’

s Temporalities ’

Papers and the Lay Subsidy Papers provided me with the lists ofLords ofthe Manor, the sale ofthe Church Lands and the names ofmany more of

the inhabitants at different per iods . The Hutton MSS . at the British

Museum were specially useful in helping me to find several interesting factsconcerning our par ish ,

which facts I afterwards ver ified by studying the

Or iginal Registers themselves at W ells . B ut ofal l the sources ofinformation,

other than those here in VVookey, none were so usefu l as the many Court

Rolls ofthe Manors ofthe Bishops ofBath and W ells,which are now

preserved at theArchiepiscopal Library at Lambeth. The second chapter inthis book will shew towhat a large extent I am indebted to them . Nearly al lthe customs ofthe Manor in the 1 5 th century

,a large number ofthe villeins ,

and a good list offield names I obtained from their study, and with themmy search, practically, came to an end . These were the pr incipal sources

57131 01 97

i i PREFACE.

ofthe informat ion that this work contains. Now it is clear that the history

ofa par ish would be incomplete unless it gave some account ofthe h istory

ofthe lands ofa par ish . W e ought to b e able to say as we stand in any fieldin the p lace whether that field formed part ofthe manor or was glebe land of

the church from immemor ial t imes ; and not only this, but also to say

whether it was part ofthe Common F ields ofthe settlement or ofthe waste

lands, or moors that have been enclosed and apportionedwith in well known

per iods. But th is is not enough . W e ought to be able to trace the history

ofthe owners ofthe land , and the changes ofownership that have taken

place. \Ve ought to be able to state something at any rate generally as to

the tenants ofthe lands from t ime to time. W ho were the villein tenants

in the days ofvillenage ? W ho were the pr incipal leaseholders when the

days ofvillenage had passed away ? Of course we cannot say who occupied

a particular plot of land,for

,except certain well known plots around

a well known house, al l other lands would b e grouped under the head

ofthe common lands. A v illein would have so many half-acre str ips in the

East F ield , and so many in the“fest, and so many in the North Field .

These str ips would be defined as lying between those ofother knownvilleins, The Rector ’

s property in the East F ield is descr ibed simply

as that wh ich lay between two strips ofthe bishop . Naturally in t ime

these str ips would become well known, and each house would have

attached to it a fixed number ofstr ips in each ofthe common fields and

definite r ights on the Lammas Meadows and on the W aste Lands. Bu t,at

first , each set ofstr ips would b e allotted among the . tenants according to

some recognised arrangement, and at one ofthe quarterly hall-motes ofthe

Manor . O n this account we cannot easily say who it was that at any par

ticu lar per iod occupied any definite set offields or str ips oflands bu t our

hall-mote m inutes help u s very mater ially in telling the names ofthe prin

cipal inhabitants from the 1 4th century down to the present time. And the

information we may glean from them is to this effect, that a very large

percentage ofthe present residents ofW ookey is in direct descent from the

tenants ofthe manor , and apparently from those tenants that were in a state

ofvillenage. And this can hardly be otherwise since no great commercial

enterprise has caused any sudden increase ofthe population. W hen men

were l iving in v illenage they had not the power to change their residence,

and when those days ofvillenage were over , if a man was successful in hisfarm ing, there was no reason for him to change, and if he had sunk intopoverty the overseers ofother par ishes took good care that he should notmove away from the p lace where he was domiciled . The information thenwhich I have collected here will shew, 1 venture to think , that the history

ofour par ish is one ofgradual progress from an earlier social state. There

are no blank pages. There are few per iods ofrest or retrogademotion. W e

cannot sever the church from the manor, or the manor from the tenants on

PREFACE. iii

it the church, which , in earlier days, was probably built by the lord ofthemanor

,is in turn enr iched by the offer ings ofhis tenants. The vi lleins ofthe

1 4th century became the Church Trustees and the Church W ardens ofthe

l 6th century. It is this oneness ofour history that I hope will b e evident

to those who read this little book .

O ne remark it is necessary to make on the spelling ofthe names ofthe

inhabitants. In the first ofthe two indices, every name is placed in itsproper position according to its spelling. It must not be supposed that on

this account I regard the var ious spellings as denoting var ious persons. IfI had stopped at some particular time, I m ight have come to some decision

on the spelling,and made that spelling uniform through the book . B ut

this I found to be more diffi cult than I cared to undertake,and especially so

since we go on from ou r earlier notices down to the present day. I havetherefore adhered to this rule , that wherever I quoted a document I gavethe exac t spelling ofthe name in that document, and I leave to the reader theduty ofdeciding whether the contemporary var ieties ofnames belong to one

or to different individuals. In hardly any case will a difficulty arise . It

is vain to regret that my information was not fuller and more perfect. No

one would have rejoiced more than the writer had it been so and yet whatis here recorded proves that even a little country village has a history whichis worth knowing, and therefore worth wr iting.

I have to thank many friends for valuable h ints,and among them I

must mention especially , the Rev . J . T . Fowler , ofDurham,the Rev . H . B .

Hyde , ofSt. Mary, Newington,and Mr. F. H. D ickinson, ofKingsweston.

E RRATA .

Page 33, line 25 , for liberationem read liberacione.

34

39

90

1 22

9, perhaps Clyveclon is the proper reading.

2 7 , for H uchyus r ead H uchyns.

29, for Al lwel l read Attwel l .

1 9, 20, 22,for Dufi

'

e read Lufle.

23, for Were read Weare.

CONTENTS .

CHAPTER I.General History ofthe Parish .

CHAPTER II.H istory ofthe Manor and the Manor House

CHAPTER III .H istory ofthe Church, the Church Plate, Parish Chests,Church Bells , and the Free Chapel ofHenton

H istory ofthe Rectory and List ofthe Rectors

CHAPTE R V.

H istory ofthe Vicarage and L ist ofthe Vicars

CHAPTER VI.An Account ofthe Church Registers and List of Church

wardens, Clerks and Sextons

An Account ofthe Ecclesiastical and Parochial Endowments

CHAPTER VIII.A List ofF ield Names ofthe Parish. with occasional Notes

CHAPTER IX.

Some Notes and Pedigrees offormer W ookey Families

CHAPTER I .

H ISTORY OF THE PARISH .

THE parish of Wookey cannot claim that charter of antiquity

wh ich a reference in King Will iam ’s Great Survey gives to

some of its more favoured but less interest ing companions . But

as we can account for the om ission,there is no very great reason

why we should distress ourselves on that score. In 1 065 Edward

the Confessor gave to Bishop G iso fifty hides of land in the

neighbourhood of Wells as an endowment for himself and the

church of St. Andrew. . These fifty hides of land amount now to

some acres,and include the whole of the present parish

of Wells,with portions of Binegar and Dinder

,and the whole

of the parishes of Wookey and Priddy. But in the time of Giso

much of this consisted of barren hill and moorland, and more than a

thousand acres was wood or forest land, and not one half was good

arable or pasture land . The whole of it was called the territory

or manor of Wells, and in it our parish was hidden. There is,

however,a charter which claims to be original

,and which pro

bably is a copy of an earlier one, which gives the detail s of this

gift of Edward to Griso .1 It records the existence of fifty hamlets

or wicks w ithin the territory of Wells, and mentions six of the

present districts of our parish, viz ., W oky, Henton, Gyrdleg,B ledenhyth, W okyhole and fEbbewyrth. The parish now consists

of acres of arable and pasture land. It derives its name

from the great natural cave in the southern slope of the Mendip

h ills,from wh ich issue the waters of the r iver Axe. The word

Wookey is probably derived from W ocob or W ocov,which is

equivalent to the present Welsh word gogof or ogo,” a cave.2

O n the east and north-east the parish is bounded by the

river Axe,and a straight l ine drawn from the Hole at Wookey

hole northwards towards Priddy Church . This eastern boundary

1 Kemble , Cod . D ipl. 81 6 .2 c . f. W ookey,

”chap. ix.

B

2 HISTORY OF VVO O KEY .

of the parish is worthy of notice, because, as the late Dr.

Guestl conj ectured,it seems for a time to have been the boundary

between the Saxon k ingdom of Ceawlin and the Br it ish kingdoms

of Conmael and Kyndylan. In 5 7 7 Ceawlin conquered these

kings at the battle of Deorham,and se ized all the Mendip land

west of a line drawn from Wookey-hole to Bath,being bounded

on the south by the Axe in its course from Wookey to the sea.

Thus while Wookey was part of the land of the Saxons, W ells

was in the hands of the Br itish,and the river Axe has the

fame of being the border river between the English and the

Welsh from the year 5 77 to 65 8,and in that year Cenwealh

,

by his victory at Pen,extended the boundary of the West Saxon

kingdom to the river Parrett.

As the Axe turns westward and meets the b ishop’s demesne

land near the church, the parish crosses the river and stretches

south to the mill stream . It then crosses over the western half

of Ben Knowle,and skirts the moor as far as Castle

,wh ich is

its southmost limit. It then takes a turn westward,

and

includes portions of the moors south of Henbury and Cal low

hill as far as Beggarly - leaze. Here turning northward,and

clinging to the high ground that looks westward over Bleadon

hay Causeway,it j oins the mill-stream

,and keeps along its

eastern bank until the river Axe is met again in Knowle moor,

near Marchay. Here turning eastward,it follows the southern

bank of the Axe as far as Knowle Bridge and H ornsmead,

where it strikes across the moor north of Barley Batch, and

mounting the high ground above Stroud, dips down again under

Greenland’s Bush and over Marley Mead , northward up the

west side of Ebbor to the neighbourhood of Priddy Church .

These are the present limits ofthe parish , but in the timeof William the Conqueror and Bishop Giso all the moorland was

more or less a swamp and useless,and the land that was capabl e

of being cultivated was to be found only on the slopes of the

hills and the high ground near the church , or above Y arley and

Henley. From Trenley to the river, and as far west as Know le,

there was a waste and swampy moor. Knowle Hill was isolated,1 Guest , Orig. Celt. 2 , 242.

H ISTORY OF THE PARISH. 3

and it was not always easy to get to it over Wet-moor from

Y arley. In the bishops’ t ime, and up to the year 1 5 48, in the

reign of Edward the greater part of this was waste land,

belonging to the bishops as lords of the manor of Wookey

unenclosed,but reserved for him and his tenants to place on it

any of their live stock . The name of Preywater marks the spot

to which once a year the cattle and sheep were brought for

identificat ion ; and marking as it does the eastern lim it of one

of the common lands , it shews how the houses of Wookey were

crowded round the church and the manor house,and were

separated from the hamlets of Wookey hole and Y ar ley by

common fields and waste lands. Oare marks the boundary of

the Y arley hamlet , and from there to the manor house no

other building existed . Lin-moor tells us of the time when

Knowle-moor had not been drained and enclosed,and when

,to

the west ofit the ground was too dangerous for cattle to be

allowed to stray on it. Now when mentioning the common

lands of Wookey, care must be taken to distinguish between

such as was waste land and such as was held in common by

the lord of the manor and his customary tenants. And it

must be borne in mind that the waste lands were gradually

changing into the common pasture, meadow or arable lands.

In title deeds of the l 6th and 1 7th century, belonging to the

church,several of these are mentioned . As far as Wookey was

concerned,these common fields referred to

,are called the West

field,the Northfield

,and the Eastfield. Whether the Eastfield

was one portion of ground , or was the name given to several

plots of common land,I cannot say. But all the southern slopes

of Henley hill were in it,and it extended as far as B uttice lane.

Al l the land in front of Eastcourt House was in it. In 1 438

we find the rectors of Wookey in possession Ofa strip of this

land,v iz .

,that wh ich at present is part of the vicarial glebe

,

and as usual it is described between two s im ilar str ips belonging

to the Bishops of . Bath and Wells,one on either side of it.

Judging from th is one,and supposing all the strips were about

the same size,each strip would conta in about two acres. The

W estfield was bounded by the river on the south,and the road

B 2

4 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

to Knowl hill on the north,and stretched from the village as

far as the meeting point of the river and the road . The North

field comprised all the land north-west of Henley hill,and was

bounded on the east by Hurst batch , on the north by Wurt hill,and on the west by Easton hill . It included the land known

as Marley mead and Gagley mead. These were the common

fields of W ookey. But in add ition to these there were common

fields for the inhabitants of Y arley and of Wookey-hole. For

Y arley there was the land around Worth, which was commonly

cal led Worth field,and on the hill above there were the arable

fields cal led G oarway field and Sheaf field,together with the

greater part of the lord ’s overland. Wookey-hole seems to

have made use of Marley mead. Of course the customary

tenants of the Dean and Chapter of Wells,living as they did

on the other side of the river,had for the most part to find

pasture and arable land in the out parish of S . Cuthbert . In

add ition to these common fields,there were the waste lands for

each hamlet,and into these the tenants would turn their pigs

and stock cattle . The waste land for Wookey was over Trenleyand Rushlands, and probably also the land south of the river.

as far as Oare and Wester’s grave. For Y arley there was Lin

moor,Wet-moor

,and those fields called Mylham ,

near

the bridge at Monksford,which are referred to

,as late as

1 770, as being in the waste ground of Wookey. This system,

by which each house in the manor would have certain strips

of common land attached to it,dates from a very early period

of English history,and was admirably adapted at first for giving

every man an interest in the cultivat ion of the ground. But

practically as early as the 1 4th century the strips in the

common fields,the virgates and half virgates of the customary

tenants , were bought and sold and bequeathed as if they were

freeholds,and without reference to any house in the parish .

O xenleaz e, north-west of Knowl farm ,seems to have been part

of the enclosed land attached to that house. During the 1 7th

century other portions of the waste lands were enclosed ; andamong them we may include those moor lands which are called

H ornsmead, Ash-moor,Beggarly-leaze

,as well as Wet-moor.

H ISTORY OF THE PARISH . 5

The enclosure itself was gradual and inev itable, and began as

early as the reign of Queen El izabeth. The lord of the manor

would have a greater right over the waste lands and moor

lands of the parish than he would over the common fields,

and th is right being more or less undefined, would be purchased

by the leaseholders for a nom inal sum . In 1 782 the final

enclosure took place. The manor had been sold in separate

lots a few years previously, and as there were no customary

tenants , neither was there any lord of the manor. Consequently

a dispute soon arose as to the ownersh ip of the common rights

of the remaining moors within the parish , and,to settle the

dispute,commissioners were appointed by a private Act of

Parliament to apportion and assess the reclaimed land among

the freeholders of the parish . This was not uncommon about

that t ime,and in many parishes the moors were now enclosed

and allotted . Out of the acres of new land,the old free

holders ofWookey got 640 acres . A new road,called Dursden

road,was made from Rodney Stoke to Old Down through that

part of Wookey which was in the old forest of Mendip . The

moors that were then enclosed are now known as Knowle -moor,

B leadeney-moor

,Ash-moor

,Godney-moor

,Beggarly-leaze, Hay

moor,and B owden’s moor.

The river Axe was the source of some wealth to the bishops.

William of Worcester visited this neighbourhood with Symon

S imeon about the year 1 470,and gives a description of the fishes

to be caught in it,and the controversy which had arisen between

B ishop B ekynton and the people of Well s concerning the right

of fishing. He confounds,however

,the Croscombe water

,which

runs past W ells, and past Castle, and j oins the Brue below Meare,with the Axe which runs through Knowle-moor

,and has its own

outlet into the sea a little north of Brean Down. He suume

rates the following fishes as being caught by the Wells people,

and probably the same catalogue w il l answer for both rivers.

They were trout,bull-heads or m il ler’s thumbs

,loach

,small pike

,

perch or sticklebacks,crayfish

,eels and fiounders. r

I he wonders

of the cave at Wookey-hole seem to have especially struck him,

6 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY.

his account of it being as follows Below the parish at Wookey

hole,about half a mile from Wells

,there is a certa in narrow

entrance (into the rock) where at the beginning is an image of

a man who goes by the name of the porter, and it is the duty“of the people who desire to enter the hall of W oky to ask

permission of the porter,and they carry in their hands torches

,

which are called in English ‘shevys of reed- sedge

,

’ for the

purpose of lighting up the hall . The hall is about as large“as Westminster Hall

,and there hangs from the vau lted roof

wonderful pendula of stone . The passage from the entrance

to the hall is about half a furlong long,and is arched with

stones of plane work hanging down from the roof. And there

is a certam broad piece of water between the ‘ tresance ’ and

the hall for the d istance of five stepping stones,which stepp ing

passage is ab out twenty feet wide,and ifa man goes beyond

the stepping stones he falls into the water,which is on all sides

about five or six feet deep .

There is a kitchen in a chamber near the entrance to the

hall of an immense breadth,and roofed in stone. There is

also a chamber called an ost,for the purpose of drying barley

grain to make beer,&c .

,and the figure of a woman is there

clad,and holding in her girdle a spinning distafi

‘

.

“And thence people pass on about a hundred paces,and a

man may go along it with dry feet over the stones. And

then the chamber called the parlour follows,which is a round

apartment built of huge rocks,about twenty paces broad

,and

in the northern part of the said parlour there is what is called

in English a holie-hole,

’and in the said well

,which is fairly

arched over,there is abundance of the clearest water

,the depth

of which water no one i s able to say. Moreover,from the said

W oky-hole comes forth a great torrent

,which runs into the

“mere,near Glastonbury

,for the space of two m iles .”

In addition to this account by W i lliam of Worcester,there

are two more descriptions given by 1 7 th century antiquaries,which are more or less interesting.

HISTORY or THE PARISH .

Camden, in his Britannia, says,“Among these hil ls

,i.e.

the Mendip h il ls, there is a cave or den far w ithin the ground,

wherein are to be seen certain pits and riverets. The place they

call O chie-hole, whereof the inhab itants feign no fewer tales,nor

devise les s dotages than the Ital ians d id of their Sibyl ’s cave in

the mountain Apenninu s. The name no doubt grew of Ogo,

a British word that betokeneth a den

Drayton in his Polyolbion, a poet ical description of

the wonders of England,says

Y et O chie’

s dreadful hole still held herself disgrac’

t

W ith th’ wonders ofthis isle that she should not be p lac’d

Bu t that which vext her most,was , that the Peakish Cave

Before her darksome self such dignity should haveAnd th ’

VVyches for their saltes such dignities should takeO r Cheshire should prefer her sad death boding lakeAnd Stonendge in the world should get so high respectW hich imitating art but idly did erect.

We must not forget to add that Clement of Alexandria

early in the third century, is supposed by some to refer to th is

cave in a well-knownpassage of the Stromata . Writing there

of the thunders of Sinai and the Jewish records of God ’s appear

anecs to Moses and the prophets, he says that these records

were copied by the Greeks,and to prove that God is every

where,he records several mysterious phenomena

,and then says

,

Aé‘yovm. 66‘ Kai ofrd ; !d r oplets avvrafdy evor, dugti T57V Bpe'

r aumm‘

yu ufiaov dvrpov

n br omine /oz! 6pec‘ 67 1 56 1 739 Kopv¢i§s xcicma

'

émrl ‘rr ‘

r our os O GV 7 0 1

“

(iVé/LO U its 1 6

dvrpou, Kai r poapn'

yvvuéuou r at‘

s K6>x7ro¢s 7 00 Opu'

yua‘

r os, KU/LfidAwV er’

zpéO/uws Kpovo

Mvwv fixer éfdxoveafiat.” Ed . Potter . 75 6.

Now it will probably have been noticed that h itherto I have

said nothing about the celebrated witch of Wookey-hole. Neither

Camden or Drayton say anyth ing about her,but Will iam of

Worcester records the existence of a stalagmite w ithin the

cavern,which may be described as the figure of a woman

,clad

and holding in her g irdle a spinning distaff. This natural forma

tion gave rise,I think

,to the legend of the w itch

,and was not

observed after a previous knowledge of that legend. The earliest

record of it that I can find is the poem by Dr. Harrington, of

Bath,which was written by him about 1 748, and first published in

8 HISTORY or W OOKEY .

1 7 5 6 , in a volume called Euthemia,or the Power of Harmony.

A vers ion of it is given by B ishop Percy in his Reliques of

English Poetry,and is as follows

In anciente days tradition showes,A base and wicked elfarose,

The W itch ofVVokey hightOft have I heard the fearful taleFrom Sue, and Roger ofthe vale,

O n some long winter ’s night .

Deep in the dreary dismal cell,W h ich seemed and was ycleped hellThis blear -eyed hag did h ide

Nine wicked elves, as legends sayne,She chose to form her guardian trayne,

And kennel near her side.

Here screech ing owls oft made their nest,W h ile wolves its craggy sides possest,

Night howl ing through the rockNo wholesome herb could there be foundShe blasted every plant around,

And blistered every flock.

Her haggard face was foul to see

H er mouth unmeet a mouth to beeH er eyne ofdeadly leer

She nought devised but neighbour’s ill ,She wreaked on al l her wayward will

,

And marred al l goodly cheer.

Al l in her prime have poets sung ,No gaudy youth , gallant and young,

E’

er blest her longing armes

And hence arose her spight to vex,

And blast the youth ofeither sex,By dint ofhellish charms.

From Glaston came a lerned W ight,Full bent to marr her fell despight,

And well he did, I ween :

S ich m ischief never had been known,

And , since his mickle lerninge shown,

S ich m ischief ne’er has been.

He chauntede out his godlie booke,He crost the water , blest the brooke,Then— pater noster done

,

The ghastly hag he spr inkled o’

er

W hen 10 where stood a hag before,Now stood a ghastly stone.

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1 0 HI STORY or VVO O KEY .

well worthy of research,the answer to which I shall make every

effort to discover. The water from th is stream was used to fill

the moat around the manor house,and therefore the aqueduct is

anterior to the fort ifying of the house . What I know about the

mills I will mention in the history of the manor.

We come then to the second peculiarity of Wookey,which

seemed worthy of notice by l 6th and 1 7th century ant iquaries.

If William of Worcester,in 1 470, and Camden in 1 6 1 0

,and

Drayton in his Polyolbion in 1 6 1 2, are struck with the wonders

of Wookey—hole,Leland

,in 1 5 46

,and William of Worcester also

before him are careful to mention the ancient earthwork at

Castle. In early t imes it clearly was a fortified outpost of the

British or the Saxons . It is an isolated hill,with two peaks

,

the larger one evidently having been scarped and strengthened

by a ditch running between the two peaks,and mak ing the

southern top a sort of citadel or place of refuge whenever the

ramparts of the first should be broken in. It is s ituated about

half a mile from the h igh ground of H embury wood, in the moor

that reaches from Wookey to Meare . W illiam of Worcester

says that “near Wells,abou t a m i le and a half westward

towards the mere,there is a castle called Fenny Castle. It is a

ruin,and had been built of stones

,and traces of the offices of

the house are now visible .”

Leland says “there is a Castelle on an hill in this meadow

about Croscombe water whose ruins are stil l visible. It is

commonly called Fenny Castell e .”

The Croscombe water now runs to the north of it , but

formerly it ran round it east,south and west

,and brought the

hill into the parish. It is now in the out parish of S . Cuthbert.

To the north-east,about a quarter of a mile away, and j ust under

B en Knowl,there is a small field which now goes by the name

of Battlebury, and both at Castle and in this field human remains

have been found . Dr. Guest told us, as I have said before, that

the Axe was the boundary between the Brit ish and the West

Saxon kingdoms from 5 7 7-65 8 A.D. But I think, on examining

the ground of this parish,this statement requires to be somewhat

HISTORY OF THE PARISH . l l

modified. As far as the land between Wookey-hole and B u rcot

is concerned this was poss ibly the case. But when the Axe got

down into the moors, it must have lost itself in a morass, or at

least its banks must have been so low and swampy as qu ite to

prevent it from be ing a boundary l ine from Wookey to Wedmore.

The sou thern l imit of the West Saxon k ingdom must have been

then e ither the l ine of the Mendip h ills as far as Crook’s Peak, or

else it must have crossed the Axe at B urcot, and clung to the low

l ine of hills which, w ith one gap at B leadeney, extends from B en

Knowl to Blackford . Now at Wester ’s Grave there is a narrow

lane which mounts the h il l ju st north of Henbury wood. Th is

lane at the top of the h il l has clearly been deflected from its

or iginal course . For it evidently continued a stra ight course on

top of the h ill until it d ipt down at B leadeney into the moor.

Two facts prove the former ex istence of this lane, even where

now it is hard to trace it. First in the earlier parish map there

is a foot-path marked down exactly in the position that the lane

must have taken : and secondly it was j ust the path that was

necessary to give access to the common fields at the top of the

hill,G oarway fields

,and the Sheaf fields in fact

,it would be

the gore way to one of the common fields . By the side of th is

lane at the Wookey end there are two fields that bear the name

Cold Harbour ; and at the B leadeney end there are three that

open out on to it , which bear the name H arepits and just east

of Barrow hil l there is a field called Cadbury . Barrow h il l

itself is not unlike Castle h il l , and has evidently been partly

severed from the hills to the east of it. At the bottom of

Hudswell,west of Barrow hill

,and at the extremity of th is lane

there was dug out from the moor a short t ime ago a large oak

p ile,wh ich was part of an earlier causeway over the moor

,

parallel to the present road,but somewhat south of it. Th is

causeway stretched out to the western Barrow h i ll,and then

on aga in to Pamborough, in the par ish of Wedmore. The lane

then appears once more , and may be traced on the top of the

hills,through Mudgley as far as Blackford, right across the

parish of Wedmore . And in the line of this path there are two

fields called Harepits, and one called H areacre.

1 2 HISTORY or WooxEY .

We have then, I th ink, sufficient evidence to enable us to say

that there was an ancient road or path,perhaps British

,and

certainly Saxon, running r ight across the parish from Ben Knowl

to B ledeney. And the ex istence in its neighbourhood of Castle

hill and Barrow hill , B attlebury and Cadbury,fall in with the

supposition that it had been a British road,

and afterwards

was.

a Saxon war-path, and for nearly a hundred years was

part of the march lands of the West Saxons. I have found

nothing that would indicate its possession by the Romans,but

the whole range of hills abounds in Saxon and Celto-Saxon names,

a list of which I give in a future chapter.

We return then to the neighbourhood of Castle hill,near

which was a wayside cross in the bishops’ times,the basement of

which is still visible in the hedge in front of Mr. W. Brown’s

house. The cross marked the boundary of the parish in this

direction, and the nearest point of firm land between the Castle

hill and the southern slope of Henbury hill. Forty years ago,

and even later, there was an old house on the same side of the

road,which was then in the possession of Francis Sheppard

,and

was formerly, I think, the house of one of the customary tenants,who looked after the bishop ’s rights on the great southern moor.

In bishop Drokensford ’s Register (p . 25 5 ) at Wells, there is to

be seen an interesting account of the attempt made by certain

commissioners of the bishop to excommunicate some people in

the neighbourhood of Castle . But the document -is very tanta

liz ing from the many interesting details it omits to give. Bishop

Drokensford,being lord of the manor of Wookey

,claimed certain

rights and pr ivileges over the moor there. Perhaps h is prede

cessors did also, but their registers are no longer in existence, and

so we cannot tel l exactly the history of the quarrel . But to

strengthen h is rights bishop Drokensford seems to have erected at

Castle certain embankments and sluices to protect the ecclesiastical

lands from the floods . Whether h is act ionwas understood by the

Wookey people as evidence of his intention to erect a m ill there,

or whether it was h is first step towards reclaiming the land,and

depriving his customary tenants of their rights on the common

0HISTORY or THE PARISH.

moor land,I cannot say. But bishop Drokensford is very much

annoyed to find that certain sons of iniquity ” have invaded

his new earthworks,and irreverently upturned them

,and thereby

have endangered the salvation of their souls . The ir names

unfortunately are not known,or rather I su spect it was found

convenient not to know who did it. However William,the

vicar of Doulting,andWi lliam

,the vicar of Pilton

,received orders

to go and excommunicate them,and cite them to appear on

S . Paul ’s day,June 30th

,1 326

,before the b ishop at Wells . Now

it is only natural that the brothers William would des ire to be

excused from trusting themselves in the neighbourhood of Castle .

If the people had been so wicked as to pull down the bishop ’s

work,they might be inclined

,when the vicars of Doulting and

Pilton,came to curse them with bell

,book and candle from the

h illside of Henbury,to resent their visit

,and do some viol ence

to the ir sacred persons. So attached to the original note in the

register, which , by the way , tells us that the document was

issued from the manor house at Wookey,is an appendix. The

brothers Wi lliam are stil l to excommun icate these sons of wicked

ness,but they are to do it now from the altar steps of the

churches of Doulting and Pilton,and the citation is quietly

dropped . Brother W illiam,vicar of Wookey

,gets out of the

unpleasant duty altogether.

The parish,as far as I can discover

,has no public history

,

but in every century it reflects faithful ly the social and religious

changes that occurred throughout the country . No great battle

of wh ich we have any documentary evidence was ever fought

here. Certainly in a field near W ookey -hole there was dug up

in the time of Henry VIII. a lead tablet, which conta ined the

inscription of a trophy which probably had been fixed up on one

of the neighbouring h ills . The inscription was

TI -OLAvnIvs -OAE .

XVI 'DE 'BRITAN.

and it is supposed to belong to one of the two trophies erected

1 4 H ISTORY or VVO O KEY .

by Claudius to commemorate the defeat of the Cangi by the

propraetor O storius,A.D. 49.

Alfred must have marched along the road on top of Henbury

and Y arley on h is way from Wedmore eastward . The monks of

Glastonbury would make their way past Barrow h ill to their

outlying tyth ing of Nyland . When the church property was

confiscated in Henry VI II .

’S and Edward VI .

’

s time,the manor

goes to a London citizen, W illiam Dunche,and the lands at

Wookey-hole,which belonged to the Friary at Witham

,were

,

it seems probable, granted first to John Smyth,

1and then in

Ph ilip and Mary’s reign to John Waldram .

2 It seems as ifthe

Crown had revoked the grant to John Smith,and hav ing leased

the W itham property to John B u ltings, of Westbury , then

granted the freehold to John Waldran,3 and 4 Phil ip and

Mary,June 2.

The tenement of the hospital of S . John stood on the s ite of

Mrs . Salmon’s cottage,west of the Church Barton

,and as late

as 1 5 87 is spoken of as in the possession of Queen Elizabeth.

When men were complaining in El izabeth ’s reign because the

lords enclosed the common lands , and turned their arable fields

into vast pasture lands,we find here the public spirited rector

,

Mr. Subdean B oureman,leaving money to be lent on easy terms

to the farmers of the place for the purchase of ploughs. When

England was b itterly persecuting the Romani sts in the times of

the earl ier Stuarts,Wookey carefully excludes from all parochial

office the tenant of the rectory,because he is a recusant

,and as

such we find Mr. Robert Godwin paying the usual tax. At the

Reformation and under the Commonwealth we lose our vicars,

and in Edward VI .

’S reign our free chapel of Henton is pulled

down,apparently without any authority, by an enterpris ing

nat ive,who doubtless expected that he would never be called to

account. The changes in the relationsh ip ex isting between the

lord of the manor and h is tenants w il l be cons idered in another

chapter , it is sufficient here to remark that they follow the

1 Particulars ofGrants, Ed . VI. P. and M .

2 Harl MSS. RM. 606, p . 1 28.

H ISTORY O F THE PARISH . 1 5

usual course,which in every age may be noted throughout the

land. It is of interest,however

,to compare the populat ion of

the place from t ime to t ime,and though no defin ite informat ion

is forthcom ing,I am incl ined to th ink that the populat ion was

never so great as during the reign of George III . During the

Commonwealth it was est imated that Wookey consisted of 1 30

famil ies,or about 65 0 people . In 1 822 there were 1 90 inh abited

houses and 223 fam il ies,of whom 1 47 were employed in agri

culture . The populat ion in 1 801 was 740 : in 1 8 1 1 , 85 9; in

1 82 1,

In 1 861 there were inhab itants ; in 1 87 1

the population rose to and at present it cons ists of about

people,but it has been decreasing for some years past

,

and if it were not for the existence of the paper mills at

Wookey-hole,that decrease would be much more marked. The

Lay Subsidy Rolls do not give us a complete account of the

inhabitants,but since they preserve the names of the persons

taxed,they are very valuable as evidence of the existence of

certain families in the place. I have copied four Subsidy Rolls,

which gave the names of those in the parish who were wealthy

enough to be taxed,and one which contains a list of people

here who were too poor,and therefore were certified to be

excused,and these

,I think

,are the only existing lists in which

the names are mentioned. The first1 is the list of the susbidy

granted by Parl iament,1 4 1 5

,Henry VIII . Th is was the

memorable occasion when Wolsey came down to the Commons

and demanded a property tax of twenty per cent., and was met

by a silent refusal on the part of the House of Commons, backed

by its Speaker,Sir Thomas More. It is a tax of a fortieth on

personal property.

In Wookey wefind

W illiam Barrowe W illiam EvansNicholas Boulting Peter Newman

John Chapel l W alter NewmanThomas Clarke John TornarThomas Cu l lock John W ilcocke

John Cuppar W illiam W ilcocke

Walter Edwardes1 Som. Subsidy, 1 4-1 5 Hen.VIII.

1 6 HISTORY or WOOKEY .

I n Yardley TimingW illiam BakerJohn BowlarN icholas BrowneJohn Bu ltyngeJoan Bu ltynge, widowNicholas BurgeysW alter CastelleW illiam CastelleJohn CastelleW illiam ChapelleAgnes Chapelle, widowThomas Churchou seR ichard ChurchouseThomas ClarkeJohn Cu l lockeJohn EdwardsNicholas EdwardsW alter Gylle

The date of the next subsidy is not recorded,but it belongs to

the time of Edward VI .

1 It is defective,and not nearly so full

as the preceding one. In Enroot we find Will iam Y ebais,Walter

Panter,and John Merifield in Wookey in order of wealth

,

Thomas Clarke,W i ll iam Chappel

,Richard Merifeld

,John

Wilcock,Thomas Stotte

,William Tukkar

,John Turner

,and

Nicholas Ru l ting.

The William Chappel that is mentioned here is the man who

pulled down Henton Chapel .

The next is the subsidy of t.e. 39 Elizabeth . The

neighbourhood is divided into the four districts of -Wookey-hole,

Wookey,Enroot and Y arley.

In Wookey-hole wefind mention of

Thomas Beney W illiam MumfordAgneta Beney W illiam PopleJohn Bou l tinge Johanna W adeW illiam Hopkins David W il cocke

In Enroot

John Brock Cyprian JoanesJohn Callington Richard VowlesAgnes Hipsley Thomas W hitingJohn Hodge Cyprian W hitingEdward Horte

l Som. Subsidy , Edw. VI. 2 Som. Lay Sub zidy 39 Eli z .

W illiam HancockAlicia HancockJohn LoxtoneJohn LydeThomas LydeThomas Merifelde

John Somerton

Thomas StottJohn SmythJohn SmythW alter TornarThomas TornarW illiam TokarJohn TornarRobert VyncentAgnes W yke

,widow

Richard W ylcocke

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1 8 H ISTORY or VVO O REY .

I think,be regarded as a complete list of those whose yearly

rental was assessed under 2os.,and whose personal property

was not above £ 1 0, and whose houses had not more than two

ch imneys,with hearths and stoves in them . These are the

people who,on th is occasion

,t.e. for the subsidy of 1 67 are

certified by the vicar,churchwardens and overseers as excused

through poverty,and whose names are here recorded as a

memorial of the departed poor of our par ish .

Wookey and Yardley

Thomas ArneySusan BrowningSamuel CaryJohn ChappellThe W idow ChalcraftMary Chil lockeAvice ChiumJane ChappellDaniel CaryEdward CollierMary CleavesJohn EllisRobert HuntleyAnthony HellierWm . French

May 1 0, 1 67 1 .

John Gadd , Viear .

J 0 11 1 1 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 David CookeJohn S tott } C/mrchwa7 dens. Richard Brookman } O vp 7 gpe7This is the latest Lay Subsidy Roll wh ich gives us any account

of Wookey and as thirty years afterwards our rate-books begin,

g iv ing us a continuous account of the ratepayers down to the

present time,it is superfluous to record any further l ists of

the parishioners.

The old almshouses in Wells,which were founded by Bishop

B ubwith’

s executors in 1 424,in accordance w ith the instruo

tions they had received from h im,possess many deeds relating

to the ir property. Part of that property was in our parish,

ly ing at Wookey-hole,Marley-mede

,Wookey and Know!

,and

as the deeds conta in the names of many parish ioners,some few

extracts from them may not be out of place.1 Som . Subsidy , 1 670.

Wm . BrowningEdward CottleElizabeth LaneJohn LloydThomas GanfieldAgnes Masters

John Mer imanEdward PooleJohn ShentonJohn StotteElizabeth SwallowAnthony TurnerJoan Tu rnerStephen W eare

John W ills

H ISTORY O F THE PARISH. 1 9

In 1 31 2,John Vuthoukes, of W oky, grants lands to John de

E l lew el le.

1 Hugh atte Chapele is one of the witnesses .

In 1 322,Nov. 30

,Phil ip de Button grants to Wm . Pasturel ,

of G lastonbury,all the lands wh ich Ph il ip de Button had given

h im in W oky.

2

'

In 1 332,Robert W ayfer, of W ynelesle, and Margaret, his

w ife,leaves his lands at Knolle j uxta W oky to Ralph de

Schup ton.

3

In 1 394,John Knight

,of Chewton subter Mendip

,grants to

Thomas Tannere,burgher of Wells

,acres ofmeadow in

Marleymede.

4

In 1 427 , John Alampton,Thomas atte Wode

, clerici,and

Henry Hogge,grant to Richard Knight

,smith

,of Wells

,and

Emeline,his wife

,2 7} acres of Meadow in Marley-mede

,lying

between the demesne of the Bishop of Bath and Wells on the

one s ide, and a d itch and portion of meadow belonging to

Reginald B rydde on the other, being a portion of the g ift of

fcofl'

ment of Isabella,relict of Thomas Tannere

,lately dead .

This is probably one of the first l eases granted by the trustees

of the Almshouses,the earl ier papers naturally being handed

over to them when they purchased the property.

5

In 1 425,Thomas W ayfere leases to Roger W yx, and Joanna,

his wife,a ful l ing m il l at W oky Hole for 47 years.6

In 1 430,Thomas W ayfere leases lands at E stmore to John

Beck,of W oky, and John Edward

,of Y erdeley. This John

Beck was tenant of the house on the east side of the Church

Barton,that used to be called Strechistenement.7

In 1 430,Thomas W ayfere leases to Walter Dylverton,

of

Wells , a ful ling mill at W oky-hole for 92 years . This is

doubtless the one before mentioned . The mill water reached

from Delymakere’

s cottage at the bridge,as far as W okey

-hole.8

In 1 5 31 this m i ll is in possess ion of the Almshouse Trustees,

and is rented of them by Robert Chamberleyne . The other

Almshouse tenants in Wookey are Thomas Clerk,W ill iam

1 A. H . P . 1 6. A. H . P . 28.

3 A. H . P. 38 4 A . H . P. 97 .

5A. H. P. 1 5 5 .

6 A. H . P. 1 43.7 A . H . P , 1 6 1 .

d A. H . P. 1 62 ,

C 2

20 HISTORY or W OOKEY.

Hancock,Nicholas Edwarde for cottages

,and Walter Merchaunt

and Robert Vyncent for lands.

In 1 5 92 the tenants are William Dyrick, William Pyttina,

John Pyttina,Will iam G orway and Edward Horte. Some of this

land was only copyhold, the tenants having to pay a chief rent

to the lord of the manor,in addition to the yearly rent due

to the Almshouses.

When the various bridges in the parish were built I have not

been able to discover,except in the case of some of the modern

ones. That over the Axe at Wookey-hole is referred to in 1 430.

In many cases the path was merely a foot-path at the side of

the road,with a wooden bridge to carry it over the stream

,the

road itself going right through the stream . The bridges at Monks

ford and Peascroft were built in 1 776. At Preywater there was

a bridge sim ilar to the one at Monksford,but in 1 836 some one

knocked it over,and the parish erected a wooden bridge

,which

served as a foot path there until quite modern times. Several

of the bridges be ing the connecting link between two parishes

were the j o int work of both . In 1 786 , when the last enclosure

of the moors took place,ten bridges were built in the new roads

that were made,and over the new sluices that were out . These

are now known as Tudway’s,Pitney’s

,Band ’s

,Barnard ’s

,

Salmon’s Beggarly-leaze,Hay-moor

,Ash -moor

,Herne and

Furrow bridges.

In 1 830 a select vestry was for the first time appointed. It

was evidently an attempt to keep the afl'

airs of the parish in

the hands of a few,and to do away with some manifest obj ec

tions to the publicity of an ordinary parish vestry. The first

select vestry cons isted of James Snelgrove,John Brown

,Wm .

Hill,j unr Thomas Stott

,scur.

,Thomas Clarke

,Richard Adams

,

Isaac Stott,of R ipple ; John Stott

,John Clarke

,Richard

Purnell and George Parsons . In 1 837,two cottages wh ich the

parish had acquired on the Wedmore road,east of Oare

,were

sold to meet in part the parochial charges necessary to pay for

the new U nion-house at W ells . Previously the parishioners had

rented two or three of the cottages in the Barton,which form

HISTORY or THE PARISH .2 1fl

part of the church endowment,and these

,with the two they

owned,together w ith a judicious system of outdoor relief, sup

pl ied all the necessary requ irements of the indigent and feeble.

O ne more remark remains before closing this chapter. The

County historians speak of certain persons of the name of Wookey

as distinguishing themselves in earlier days . In the Somerset

Hundred Rolls of Edward I .,Richard de W oky appears as a

juror. Ph il ip de W yky occurs in the Perambulation of the

Forest of Mend ip in 1 298,and Coll inson refers to a Maurice de

W oky in 1 331,and a John de W oky in 1 408. Certainly the

name occurs in none of the deeds belonging to the parish,

and only twice in the Register,

and then during the time

of the Commonwealth . There was no room for a family of

any great importance to l ive here,as the bishop owned nearly

the whole parish. If the family ever rose to any real import

ance at all , it did so in some other place. The name occurs on

the b ishop ’s manor at Evercreech towards the end of the 1 5 th

century, and in the early days of the 1 7th century a family

named Wookey dwelt in the parish of St. Cuthbert,

one at

Chilcott on the north-east,and one at Wookey-hole on the north

west. But in spite of having searched very diligently,I have

found nothing more concerning them in the past.

22 HISTORY OF VVO O REY .

CHAPTE R II.

THE MANO R AND THE MANO R H O U SE .

U T of the fifty hides of land which King Eadward gave to

Bishop Giso and his church of St. Andrew in Wells,we

find from Domesday that the bishop himself had eight hides in

demesne or in other words,that he cultivated

,or made use of

that amount himsel f,and assigned the rest as an endowment

for the church or for some of its officers . Now what was the

exact acreage of this demesne land,we cannot say ; nor yet

do we know how much of it was in the parish of Wookey.

For since the time of the Conqueror much land in Somerset

has been reclaimed from the moors,and in Wookey alone 640

acres have been added to the lands of the parish during the

last two hundred years . At present Wookey contains

acres,and j udging from the descr iption of the manor in 1 626

,

it is probable that acres consisted of the manorial lands

of the b ishop,l eaving a little more than a thousand acres for

other freeholders . But as we may naturally suppose that some

of the land of the parish was,at the t ime of the Domesday

survey,either marshy or practically worthless

,not only is our

estimate of the b ishop ’s demesne land w ith in the par ish to be

reduced,but also that wh ich remained over and in addition to

it. And hence it is clear that while we have no ev idence

as to the pos ition of the b ishop ’s demesne land within the

Domesday territory of Wells,we may fairly say that at any

rate it included the greater part of the parish of Wookey .

Now the possession of much land in any place involved the

necess ity for a house . For as a landowner u sed not then to

gather h is rents in money,but in kind

,he would either have

to carry them to the place where he usually l ives,or else

periodically settle down with his servants on his various demesne

lands,and consume h is rents at the place where they grew.

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THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 23

And so we soon hear of b ishops ’ houses with in the territory of

Wells . O ne was built by B ishop John de V i llula, the Immed iate

successor of B ishop G iso,probably on what is now the s ite of

the chapter l ibrary at Wells ; and I think that not very long

afterwards a b ishop ’s house was also erected on his demesne land

at Wookey. But unfortunately we have no ev idence concerningth is Wookey house earl ier than the time of

,Bishop Jocelyn

Troteman,1 206- 1 242 . Of him we learn that “Capel las cum

cameris de Well s et W oky notabiliter construxit.”1 “He bu ilt

“chapels and private chambers at Wells and at Wookey that were

worthy of notice .” Now as the house he built at Wells had been

preceded by an earlier one,so also

,I think

,was it the case at

Wookey. In the present Court—farm house,which contains all

that remains of the old Manor-house,there ex ists between the

ruins of the “camera and the chapel traces of an early hall,

which seems to have been bu ilt by some b ishop before the t ime

of B ishop Jocelyn. Th is hall appears to have decided the relative

pos ition of those two bu i ldings,and I think that the three

,viz .

,

the chapel,the hall

,and the “ camera would hardly have been

placed as they were had Jocelyn built upon vacant ground .

This hal l is built of local l ias,and not of Doulting stone

,with

which the chapel and camera were constructed,and I cannot

imagine that Jocelyn would have been so careful about his

chapel,and so careless about h is hall . AS at Wells, so at

Wookey,only a portion remains to be seen . We have to read our

story from the traces of the foundations of the walls,or from the

stones now covered afresh,probably for the hundredth time, w ith

their protection of rough cast. There is one beautiful remnant

which speaks for itself,and tells u s at once that it was bu i lt

by him who erected the west—end of the cathedral . It is

the Early -Engl ish western door of Jocelyn’

s chapel . Now it leads

out of a pantry into a lean-to wash-house,but then lead from a

corridor,between the chapel and the bal l

,into a chapel which

was about 20—5 feet w ide , but the length of which I have not

d iscovered. Probably this corr idor was the northern end of a

C loister, wh ich ran down the interior side of the eastern part of1 Ang. Sac . ,

v ol . 1 , 5 64.

24 HI STORY or W O O RE Y .

the Manor-house. J ocelyn’

s camera was south-west of this

chapel,and d istant from it 5 6 feet. Between these two bu ild

ings was this earl ier one,which certainly was the hall in later

t imes,and wh ich

,I think

,was the hall then. Its length

,as

compared to its breadth,is remarkable : it is 44 feet long, and

only 1 5 feet wide. Al l these three bu ildings run east and west,

and the north wall of the hall was almost on a line with the

north wall of the chapel. But as the chapel was wider than the

hall,naturally the western door of the chapel was south of the

centre- line of the hall. Between them,however

,as I said

before,was this corridor or cloister

,running north and south ,

about 1 2 feet wide,and therefore the want of uniformity would

not appear so striking as would have been the case if the two

buildings had touched each other. Proceed ing westward, then,

through the hall,we come to a door which either led d irectly

into the camera,or else into a clo ister that ran along its

northern Side,and then by a second door on its north wall

into the chamber itself. This build ing,like the chapel , pro

j ected considerably to the south of the hall ; and,indeed

,its

northern wall is almost on a line with the southern wall of the

hall. Hence these three buildings give us the outline of a

quadrangle about fifty feet square,and th is

,I think

,was the

shape of the Manor-house after Bishop Jocelyn had finished his

work. And if this was so,then there was considerable likeness

between the palace at Wells and the Manor-house at Wookey .

Both were built round an inner court,and in both these are

traces of the existence of cloisters. Possibly the servants ’

chambers and the kitchens were to the north of the hall at

W okey, and on the south-east corner of the quadrangle was a

gate-house,connected on the cast

,at any rate , if not on the

south,by a cloister or curtain wall . The camera had a large

eastern window overlooking the inner court,

and probably

neither hall or camera had any chambers over them . The hall,

I think,had a high pitched roof

,and if so

,it contrasted

strik ingly with the flat roofs of the chapel and camera. The

whole group of build ings,which I have tried to describe as they

probably existed in the 1 3th century,stood in the north-east

THE MANOR AND THE .lVIArVUR Houss . 25

corner of a plot of land, about 6; acres in extent and round this

on all S ides ran a deep moat, the water for wh ich was brought

down from the m ill-stream by an underground channel at the

south -east corner. The moat ran close under the walls of the

north side of the house,and about forty feet from the north

wall of the hall,and the waters were kept pure and inoffensive

by a sluice and underground channel,which led out on the west

down to the orig inal bed of the Axe. In the grounds enclosed

by the moat,and south-west of the manor house

,were one or

two fish-ponds,which are ment ioned on several occasions , and

one of which exists at the present time . We have now described

the building as it was in the t ime of Jocelyn,and as it ex isted

probably for the rest of the time that the Bishops of Bath and

W ells possessed it. Bishop B ekyngton,as will be shewn further

on,may have inserted several windows

,wh ich now exist in the

hall and one of the later bishops,at the end of the fifteenth

century or the beginning of the sixteenth century , may have

taken offthe old roof of the hall and placed chambers over it.

But I have found no evidence in any document about this

change,and

,j udging from the style

,it may be as late as the

m iddle of the sixteenth century. Everything,then

,that

happened at the Manor-house,occurred in the building which

I have tried to describe. Here,in the hall and in the chapel

,

happened those scenes in Bishop Ralph’s and Bishop B ekynton’s

times , which are described further on, and in the hall would

meet those villeins and tenants of the manor,from the record

of which hal lmotes I have added a few extracts below. What

is, then, the history of the manor, and what were the fortunes

of the house ? The jurisdict ion of the manorial reeve extended

over the whole of the manorial lands in the parish,and also over

those lands of the bishops which were in the tithing of Enroot,in the ou t-parish of St. Cuthbert. But in the reeve ’s accounts

,

as a rule,four tithings are included

,viz .

,the tithings of Wookey

hole,Wookey

,Y arley and B urcot

,and these divisions are always

observed in the assessments for the purposes of a subsidy. The

tithing of Y arley, then as now ,included Henton and B leadney.

We must bear in mind also,that the bishop

,as lord of the manor

,

26 H ISTORY or VVO O KEY .

would have certain rights over all the common fields and waste

lands,and therefore could occasionally take cognisance of the acts

of other freeholders in the parish,as far as those acts referred

to those fields .

Now we must clearly understand what is meant by the

manor lands of Wookey ; for w ithin the parish lived several

people hold ing lands belonging to the manor under very different

cond itions . Domesday tells us that the bishop had twenty

villeins,and fourteen cottagers and six slaves . At that time

there was no church here,and therefore no parish priest. But

gradually the bishop granted portions of the manor to various

persons as endowments for particular services. First he prov ided

indirectly for the parish priest,and gave him a certain amount

of land as h is freehold . Then he leased out the land at Knowle

on condition that the tenant should perform m il itary service for

him . Then he assigned rent charges on portions of his manor

to certain offices in the cathedral,and ultimately we find within

the manor freeholders absolutely independent of the b ishop ;leaseholders independent

,except for the serv ice under wh ich they

held their land v il leins who,while they had farms were obl iged

to work on the lands of the b ishop,and could not leave the

manor without permission of the lord ; and cottagers who, living

in their own houses,seem to have been mere serv ile labourers

working for their lord. And lastly,during the earlier t imes,

the slaves who held no land,

and had no political rights

whatever . Al l these,with the exception of the last two

classes,would have certa in rights on the common lands of the

parish,they would possess cla ims to certain strips in the common

arable fields and meadows,and also enj oy the priv ilege of turning

out on the then waste lands so many head of cattle, sheep , or

pigs . The tenants therefore of the rectory glebe lands , or of

the vicars choral,hold ing

,as theydid from freeholders , other than

the bishop , although they enj oyed certain privileges in the

manorial common lands,would not appear as the tenants of the

manor at the quarterly hal lmotes . The ev idence , therefore,

wh ich we glean from these manorial court rolls,refers s imply

to those tenants that held d irectly of the bishop , and chiefly

TH E MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 27

to the villeins hold ing farms of half a v irgate in extent . But

occasionally it will be found that some of these lands have been

sold or bequeathed,and are in the possession of freemen. Such,

for instance,are the lands in Marley-mede and elsewhere, which

belonged to Thomas Tannere, of Wells, and which his executors

gave to the Wells almshouses , and such probably were the lands

that came into the possess ion of the prior of the Charter House

at Witham,and the prior and convent of St. John the Baptist

at Wells . How these lands ceased to be the holdings of villeins

I cannot always say,but of course

,even after they had been

given to other corporations, they had to pay certain chief rents

or dues to the b ishop as lord of the manor,and ultimately we

find that all the lands were in the possession of freemen,who

held them on leases of three lives,and were bound to pay certain

dues by way of yearly rent,or occasionally

,by way of a heriot.

As therefore the villeins and the v irgate,or half virgate

,holders

are more intimately connected with the manor than those free

men who enj oyed certain privileges on the common lands,but held

land in the parish more or less independently of the b ishops,it will

be most convenient to give all the information I have been able

to gain concerning these latter,distinct from the private accounts

of the villeins recorded in the Court Rolls . The earl iest record

cons ists of an inspex imus of a lease of a farm at Knowl . When

Jocelyn became bishop,he naturally asked to see the leases which

the tenants held of former bishops,and the Abbey of Bath and

Chapter of Wells as guardians of the temporalities of the see

during a vacancy,would claim their right of supervision of all

leases, lest the bishop should grant any lease to the future

damage of the see . The following is an inspeximus by Thomas ,prior of Bath from 1 228- 1 25 8

,of

(

an inspex imus by Jocelyn ,b ishop from 1 205 - 1 242

,of a confirmation by Robert

,who was

bishop from 1 1 36- 1 1 65,to Walcher

,son of Ralph de la Cnol le ,

of all the land at Knowle which his father had formerly held .

The deed is now in the possess ion of the trustees of the Wells

almshouses, because they possess some of , the land wh ich formerly

belonged to this estate,and it must have been wr itten between

the years 1 228 and 1 242 . It gives us evidence of the existence

28 HISTORY or W O O RE Y .

of the road from Wookey to Knowle and it mentions Nottlelake,

wh ich is now the rhine,called Nottlich B lakep el , now Black

pool ; and B erlegh, now Barley-batch and Hydeclud, which I

have not yet identified.

Omnibus Christ i fidelibu s ad quos praesens scriptum pervenerit

Thomas prior Bathoniae et conv entus ejusdem loci sal utem,Sciatis

venerabilis patris domin i Joscelini ep iscopi nostri inspeximus in

his verbis Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos praesens scriptum

pervenerit Joscelinus Dei gratia B athoniae episcopu s salutem

cartam felicis recordationis Roberti quondam Bathoniae Episcopi

p redecessoris nostri inspex imus in his verbis Robertu s Dei grat ia

Episcopus B athoniae universis sanctae matris ecclesiae filiis tam

praesentibu s quam sera procitate su ccedentibus salu tem Quia filii

Dei v ocabuntur pacem v olentes et unitati insistentes confirma

vimus W achero filio Radulfi de la Cnol l et heredibus suis totam

terram pertinentem a la Cnol l quam pater ipsius tenuit silicet

dimidiam hidam terrae cum omnibus pertinenciis l ibere quiete

pacifice et integre in pratis in pascuis in boscis in semitis in

pasturis in viis in exitibu s et in omnibus aliis consu etudinibus

lib eris salvo Domini Regis servicio quantum ac tantum terrae

pertineat Preterea et firmavimus praedicto W achero et heredibus

suis unam virgatam terrae quae jacet juxta eandem terram

Reddendo inde nobis ipse et heredes sui annuatim tres solidos ad

quatuor anni terminos ad Pascham novem denarios ad Nativitatem

Sancti Johannis Baptistae novem denarios ad festum Sancti

Michaelis novem denarios et ad Nativitatem Domini novem

denarios pro omni servicio Praeterea et firmavimus p raedicto

W achero et heredibu s suis totam moram quae jacet versus partem

au stralem et partem occidentalem silicet inter fontem de Barlegusque a la Nottelake et usque caput viae tendentis a la Cnol l

perpetuam relaxationem communis pasturac hosoi sub E stun

habendam indefensum Hanc quoque nostram donationem et scripto

affirmavimus et sigillo nostro coroboravimus cujus rei testes sunt

Ivo Deeanns W el lensis Robertus Archidiaconus Reginaldus

Cantor et totus conventu s W el lensis,G oddefridus de Dinre

,

Thomas de Ebberwurth,Mattheus de H orningdean, Ricardus

de Straton,Jchannes de Ken , Radulfus filius Senebaldi et

‘mu lti

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H ISTORY OF WOOKEY.

episcopo et su ccessoribus su is totum jus et clameum quod habui

vel habere potui in commune pastura morae de \Vestbury quae

jacet ex austral i parte parci de Westbury inter domum meam et

parcum praenominatum ita quod nihil j uris poterimu s de cetero

ego nec heredes me i aliqu o unquam tempore vendicare nobis in

eadem. In cuj us rei roboratione et testimon io present i scripto

s igillum meum duxi apponendum H i is testibus Willelmo de

Stratton,W altero Camerar io

,Philippo de W ik, Gafl

'

redo de

W udeford, Will elmo de Camera, Thomas de W udeford,Willelmo

Bucher, Gaffredo de Brideport, et aliis. Nos itaqu e p raedicti

Thomas prior Bathoniae et ejusdem loci conventus praedictis con

cessionibus et scriptis JosceliniEpiscop i nostri nostrum adhibemu s

assensum et hac praesenti carta nostra protestamur .

1

In the printed epitome of the Close Rolls of Edward III .,

Edward confirms B ishop Ralph’s grant to William de Cammel,

canonicus,and Walter de Gammel

,servitor

,for the ir lives

,and

one year more,of all the lands and the tenement in La W orthe

,

in W oky, wh ich Petronilla de Northom held,paying annually

eight marks ; also of the tenement which Henry de la W orthe

held next to that of Petronilla de Northom ; also of fifteen

shillings and eightpence of yearly rent accruing from certa in

fulling mills also of four acres of land which Margaret,the wife

of Peter le Moners holds ; also of a close of land from the

demesne land called Merlegh, in the manor of W oky, on con

dition that the said William and Walter do not cut down the

oak trees there .

Again,Edward III . allows Ralph to grant certain lands in

W oky by way of an endowment to the brethren of the hospital

of S. John the Baptist in Wells ; and perm iss ion is also given

h im to assign to the vicars of the cathedral a certain rent charge

on lands in W oky and Conoresby.

3

In Ralph ’s register we learn more about th is grant to the

vicars choral . It was granted at Banwell on October 3l st,

1 331,

and amounted in all to a yearly payment of £ 1 0, a

1 W ells Old Almshouse Papers, No. 1 .

1 Abb. Rot. Orig. 2 , 273.

3 Abb. Rot. O rig. 2 , 204.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOP SE . 31

hundred sh ill ings from rents of lands at La Pulle , in Congresbury

manor,and a s im ilar amount from rents of lands at La W orthe

,

in Wookey manor, to be pa id yearly as long as the v icars l ive

together,and eat the ir meals in the common hal l .

O n February 4th, 1 35 2, we find the same b ishop grant ing

to Else de Corscomb , and Margery h is wife, all that m ill , w ith

the water—course belonging to it,s ituated w ithin the manor of

Wookey,on a yearly payment of fifteen sh ill ings and eightpence .

This must be the corn m ill at B leadney, as it is the only one

of such antiqu ity with in the manor, except that at W ookey-hole,

wh ich was not w ithin the manor, and had a different historv .

In 1 31 5 we have a patent roll, granting permiss ion to the b ishop

to exchange with Walter de Rodney the advowson of the church

of West Harptree,for certain lands in Worth

,which the latter

held in soccage.

Aga in,in 1 402

,we find that John W ykyng and Isabella

Tanner,of Wells

,and others have g iven to the Prior and Convent

of the Charterhouse at Witham certain lands in W oky and

Y erdeley, wh ich were held in ch ief from the Bishop ofBath and

Wells as parcel of the manor of W oky.

We come now to those references which refer more especially

to the economy of the manor,and the history of the villeins that

worked upon it. These references are nearly all derived from

bailifs’ accounts and court rol ls

,either in the Record Office or

the Archb ishop ’s l ibrary at Lambeth . It will be seen that the

bishop derived a money income from many of the tenements,in

addition to the labour wh ich the v illeins performed on his lands,

in return for their houses and half virgates of land ; and th is

proves that as early as the time of Edward III . there was ris ing-up on the manors

,s ide by S ide w ith the villeins

,and gradually

to take their places,that free yeomanry which in the 1 7th

century, began to play so important a part in the h istory of the

land . The names of these free tenants are seldom recorded ,but

in order to give examples of these bailifs’ accounts , one is givenbelow in the orig inal

,together with a translation

,and a transla

tion of a second is printed in ful l,because of the information it

contains concerning the manor house itself.

32 HISTORY O F VVooxEY .

In the Charter Rolls of Henry III. the bishop is declared in

possession of a free warren in W oky.

1

In a Court Roll of 6 Ed. I . ,1 278, the fol lowing names occur

in W oky-hole— Walter Castle and John Chamberlyn. In

Yardley (Y erdlegh)— Henry Boules, John Srute, Hugh le Deygh,

Margeria Rodde,Adam Maynard

,John atte H eghelme. In

W'

oky Henry atte Watere, Gilbert atte Wyk , John le

Felaghe, and Adam le Tailler '2

In the Somerset Hundred Rolls of Ed. I .,Richard de W oky

being one of the jurors, it is declared that the Hundred of Wells

Forum is the manor of the bishop, for which he has a royal

charter.

O n May 9th, 1 322, Bishop Drokensford d ied,and the tem~

poralities of the see fell into the hands of Edward III., and the

bailifs return the fol lowing account

RedditU S E t iidem reddunt compotum de 508 de

redditibus ad terminum Nativitatis Sancti Johannis

Baptistae.

P

age’

s“$1

1? Iidem reddunt compotum de lx8 de firmamolendini

de G ledeneye3aquatici de term ino Nat. S . J. B . et

xiiis ivd de firma molendini aquatici bladi de Lichlegh

de termino predicta et de v3v‘i de firma molendini

ful lonici de Lichlegh.

Nulla est piscatura ibidem.

Exit

ggir

fwnu Iidem reddunt compotum de xx

s de Vacris alneti

venditi in mora vocata Asshemore et de xviiid de

ciriceto in gardino vendito.

Ven

gi

lmipas Iidem reddunt compotum de iis de herbagio in

gardino et de iiS de pastu ris inter boscas de Merlegh

et de V8 dc pasturis de Baggerewaye et de ii8 de pasturis

de O xenleaz e.

E t iidem reddunt compotum de xns de viii acris

prati in Codbugmor pretio acree xv i ii‘1et de xiiiis de vii

acris prati inMartynesheymede pretio acras iis de xix8 vi ‘1

de vi acris dicti prati in H ornesmede pretio acrze iiis et

1 C . Rolls, 5 B en. III . Lambeth MSS . ,1 098.

3 B ledeney.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 33

de xiiSJ de vi acris in B encroftes et de xxxiiis de xi acr is

prati in Silverlakemede pretio acras iiiset de iiB de 1

acra prati in Mer leghmede et non plus respondent

de prato vendito qu ia non plus falcare potuit ante

liberationem temporalitatum electo supra dicto .

“1 1

121

31

33OPe

' Iidem reddunt de viiiis iiii‘1 de liiii arruris de ix

custumariorum tenencium dimidii virgates terrae quorum

quilibet arrabit semel qualibu s quadrenis a dicto decimo

die Ma ii in festum Nat. S . J. B .

Nihil reddunt de operibu s manualibus quia cu stu ‘

marii sunt ad gabulum et tantam habuerunt al locanciam

pro operibus suis si fecerint opera quantum haec opera

valent in denario de consuetud ine.

RecognifioneS E t iidem reddunt de xls de recognitionibus villanorum.

Pemfi

‘

ges

éfae 91 Iidem reddunt de xiiiiS1 ivd de perquisitis legalibu s

de be llagio termino hokked et xi” V(1 dc chevagio

garcionum et de v is vi iid de fine Phil ippi at te Bergh et

de xxviis vi‘1 de finibu s Overland et v i’él iv d de perquisitis

unius curiae habitae die Jovis in festo C orporis Christi

et de x“de uno bove proveniente de heriot Adami atte

Watere.

Inde computant in aquietancia unius ipsius1 vi‘1 de

redditu pro termino Nat . S . J . B .

Empoio b lad i E t in iii bushels 1 peck frumenti emptis in libera

cionem messori pro liberacione sua per dicta tempora

iis viiitdpretio bushel x

d. In iii bushels 1 peck ordei

emptione in liberacione eadem pro d icta l iberacione sua

xiii‘1 pretio bushel iiid. In stipendio cujusdam messoris

per aestatem xviiid .

Saf°1ati° b ladi' In cxxi acr is de b ladis sarclandis x5 1 1

dsilicet

pro acra

Autumpnus In p raedictis cxxi acris dioti pro operibu s custu

mariorum Ep iscop i huj us manerii bladis mercendis

ligandis et col ligendis de v3 pro acra. In stipend io

unius hom inis pro blado tassando in campis in Mu l loni

1 S ic in MSS .

D

34 H ISTORY or WOOKEY.

bus iii“. In dicto blado carriando viis vid . In dicto

blado in grangiam tassando iiid . In vadiis a stipendio

unius ripereni in autumpno vis in grangiam per loca

vetera discooperta recooperienda cum stramine xivd

Summum £iv et 3VII.

I venture to add,for the benefit of those who may find the

above Latin somewhat difl‘icu lt,a translation of this interesting

account.

Rents.

Farms ofthem i l ls.

Outgoingsofthe Manor.

Account of John de Clynedon et Gilbert de

Borowik , 3 Ed. III.,up to the 22nd day of June

,

before the restoration of the temporalities to Bishop

Ralph,of Shrewsbury.

And the same return an account of £2 1 0s. 6éd .

from rents,up to the time of the festival of the

Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

The same return an account of £3 from the

farming of a water mill at G ledeneye (t.e. B ledeneye),from the Nativity of St. John the Baptist ; and

1 3s . 4d. from the farming of a water m ill for grain

at Lichlegh from the aforesaid date ; and of 5 s. 5 d .

from the farming of a fulling mill at Lichlegh.

There is no fishery there.

The same return an account of 20s. from five acres

of willow,sold in a moor called Ashemore and of

l s. 6d. from herbs,sold from the garden.

The same return an account of 2s. from herbage inthe garden,

and 2s. for the pasturage between the

trees at Marley ; and of 5 s . from the pasturage of

Baggerway ; and of 2s. from the pasturage of Oxen

leaze.

And the same return an account of 1 2s . from

eight acres of meadow in Codbugmoor , at l s. 6d. an

acre and of 1 4s. for seven acres of meadow in Martins

hay-mead at 2s. an acre ; and of 1 9s. 6d . from six

acres of the said meadow in H ornsmead , at 35 . 3d .

an acre ; and of 1 2s . from six acres in B encrofts and

Sale ofWorks

Recognitions.

Acquittances.

Purchase ofcorn.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOU SE. 35

of 33s. from eleven acres of meadow in Silverlake

mede,at 3s. an acre ; and 2s. from one acre of

meadow in Marleymede,

and they make no further

reply concerning the sal e of meadow grass,because he1

was not able to mow any more before the delivery of

the temporalities unto the aforementioned elect.

The same make a return of 8s. 4d . from fifty-four

arrurae,” from n ine customary tenants of half a virgate

of land , of whom each wil l plough once a fortnight,from the said tenth day of May to the festival of the

Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

They make no return from manual labour,because

the customary tenants are at gavel,and they have

such allowance for their labours,if they do their

works,as much as the works are worth in money

,

according to custom .

And the same return, 4os. ,from “recognitions of

villeins.

The same return 1 48. 4d. from legal perqui

sites from Hallage from last Hock-day,and 1 1 8 . 5 d .

from chevage of the men servants and of 65 . 8d . from

the fine of Philip de atte Bergh ; and of 278 . 6d. from

the Overland fines,and 6S . 4d. from the perquisites of

one court, held on Tuesday,being the festival of Corpus

Christi ; and 1 0s. from one 133 11, which came from

the heriot of Adam atte Water.

The same reckon in acqu ittance of one man,6d.

for rent,from the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

day .

And in the purchase of three bushels one peek of

corn,in payment to a reaper for h is wages for the

said time 2s 8 at l 0d. a bushel . In purchase of

three bushels and one peek of barley in the same pay

ment,for h is own payment l 3d .

,at 3d . a bushel . In

wages for a certa in reaper through the summer,1 s. 6d .

1 i.e. the Messor.

D 2

36 H ISTORY or VVO O K EY .

In a hundred and twenty-one acres for cooking the

wheat,1 0s. lad ,

viz.,at a penny an acre.

Autumn dues. In the aforesaid hundred and twenty-one acres,for

the works of the customary tenants of the said bishop

of th is manor,for gathering and tying and collecting

together the wheat at 5 s. an acre. In payment of one

man for cooking the wheat in the fields in Mylhams,3s.

For carrying the said grain, 7s. 6d. For heaping together

the said grain into the said grange,3s. In the Open

fields,by payment of one thatcher in autumn, 6s. For

covering with straw certain places in the grange that

had been for a long time uncovered,1 s. 2d.

Total , £4 7 s. 0d.

The above amount was only for a portion of the year. The

customary tenants had to plough once a fortnight all the year

round. So during these two months they had only accompl ished

36,and redeemed 5 4

,out of the total

At the Hal lmote at W oky, on S . Michael ’s Day,1 343

,Hugh

de Somerton is fined 1 0s . if he does not repair a path near

Knycheswode2 before the next court day ; and he also makes

certain claims against the bishop concerning some land at

Merlegh wood . Walter de Middleton comes into full court,

and does homage for the lands he holds of the lord at W oky,

and Edmundu s de Beauchamp does the same for lands at O nol l .

John Frankelyn and Walter Duke are the reeves .3

At a Hallmote , in the next year, Richard atte Naysch is

the reeve. Adam Tailler,Thomas White

,John Duke

,Hugh de

Henton,John de Henton Will iam de H eighelme, and John le

1 The following notes may be u seful

Hal lage was a certain payment made by the tenants on the goods theysold , or for the r ight offree sale.

Chevage was a kind ofpoll -tax paid to the lord ofthe manor for hisprotection.

Recognition was generally an arbitrary payment, enforced by the lordon the customary tenants, as acknowledgment oftheir villenage.

2 Knightswood.3 Lambeth MSS . ,

1 1 76.

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38 HISTORY OF WOOKEY .

though it is in the parish of St. Cuthbert’s,Wells

,is

included in the manor of Wookey, as far as such hal lmotes are

concerned. Reginald Brid and Walter Dekene are made de

fau lters ; t.e. they have not done their work as vil leins on the

estate,nor have they paid the fines laid on them at previous

hal lmotes. Robert Lumbard, a villein, is accused of not residing

on his tenement , and is ordered to do so under a penalty of 20d.

Philip Drake,a villein

,is made a defaulter. The cadav eratores

announce the death of one steer and one sheep on the moors.

Phil ip atte Bergh pays a fine,and enters on two acres in the

Overland,formerly of John Bu l lockhurd . William Bishop

returns into hands of the lord one cottage of “ancient auster of

Agnes White,and Agnes White is allowed to enter on payment

of two fines in one year, and to hold it in villenage. 1

Nine years afterwards,at the St. Michael ’s hallmote of 6

Rio. II . Reg inald B rydd andWilliam Bishop are made defaulters

in rent. William W hite,I sabel Drake

,William Jackes

,and

El ie W ylcocke are mentioned. Alice Hert returns into the hands

of the lord a messuage which John Hert formerly held,ad opus

W. Dekne, and then W . D . comes and pays 5 3s. fine,and gets it

back and unam cameram ex parte oriental i de la W eynyate,”

one acre of land near W aterletewey, half an acre of land above

Prestesmore, half an acre at Stokeslynchesham,and three roods

of meadow in Merlymede for his life.2

At the next S . Michael ’s hallmote,in 1 384

,Cristina Hamme

and John Jeol are mentioned . Thomas Clements pays a fine of

5 3s.,and enters upon one messuage andfardel l of land

,of ancient

auster,

” which John H erox formerly held— “ita quod ducit in

uxorem Alice que fuit uxor dioti Johannis. This is crossed

out,and re- entered as being returned by William Dekne

,who

prob ably was the decennariu s of that year. John Drake holds

a messuage and fardel l of land,lying near the Overland

,with

Walter G entilman.

3

At the “Purification Hallmote of the next spring , 8

Rio. II. , Henry Pente, and Andrew,his son

,are mentioned in

1 Lambeth MSS . , 1 1 80.

2 Ibid. ,1 1 8 1 .

3 Ibid . , 1 1 82 .

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOU SE . 39

reference to a certain watercourse at Silverlakemede,but the

document is much mutilated .

1

In 1 4 Rio. II. , S imon Greve, at Enroot , is made a defaulter.

John W illcas is accused of obstructing the watercourse atMarchesymede to the lord ’s injury. The sale of alders is announced

in Ashmore,Rowelmore

,and at B ercroftes

,near Castleburg.

John Bek is adm itted into a cottage,and John Smith to one of

the church cottages,lately in the occupat ion of John Compton

,

of W oky.

2

At the “Purificat ion Hallmote,1 8 Rio. II .

,1 395 -6

,More

cock,otherwise Carter

,is admitted to one messuage

,with curtil lage.

E ighteenpence is obtained from the pasturage of the W estfield,

and 1 s . from the w inter pasturage of Merly. The names of

Edward Beauchamp,Richard Potter

,and John atte B arwe

occur.3

At the Hockday Hallmote,9Henry V .

, 1 422 -3, John Yeman

is at the B urcot mill . The Y erdeley decennarius presents that

Henry Wehbe is a defaulter,and that John Porter unjustly

,and

aga inst the peace,has insulted Thomas Counsel l

,and h it him one

blow,and that Thomas Counsel l has wrongly taken and enclosed

some land belonging to the common road near his house . Henry

Mu lward,John Edward

,junr . , John Turnor, Thomas Clerke and

Juliana Basset are accused and fined for sel ling furze to a certain

man for cider,and are placed at the lord ’s mercy and complaint

is made against John Yeman for excessive charges at the mil l.

The W oky decennarius presents John Porter, Will iam Brugger,John Mody

,Adam Hond

,William Joel

,and John H uchyus,

Senr .,for selling furze for c ider

,and they are fined . E ightpence is

recorded from w inter pasture inW estleyeland. Entrance is granted

to Thomas Clerke,and Isabella

,h is wife

,to a messuage

,with

curtillage and virgate of land,called La W orthe, wh ich Walter

Peynte formerly held. Notice is given also to the tenants of the

leasehold lands of S ir Thomas Broke,viz .

,John Tenor

,R ichard

Sprotte,and to the Prior of the Charterhouse at Witham for

the lands wh ich formerly belonged to Thomas Tanner, that they

1 Lambeth MSS . , 1 1 83.2 Ibid . , 1 1 84.

3 Ibid. , 1 1 85 .

40 HISTORY O F WOOKEY.

must come and do homage and fealty to the lord of the manor for

their lands . The cadavatores report that one sow was found dead

on the moor,but no one was to blame. 1

At the St . John the Baptist Hallmote , 2 Henry VI., seven

shillings is accounted for from the sale of plaster of Paris. The

bai liffy ields up the messuage of the late Nicholas Moure,which

his widow,Christina

,claims to hold and also a certain workshop

,

called Smythchou s, which John Smyth, of Westbury, formerly

held . TVilliam Hunt is ordered to repair his house.2

At a Hallmote,1 0 Henry VI.

,1 432

,Wil liam Thomas

,of

B urcot, is accused of excessive charges at the mill . The W oky

decennarius presents Walter H u chynes, ofW oky-hole

,for penning

up the watercourse between Stonmede and Merlegh. The names

of John Churchouse, Thomas Barnard, Adam Honde , Thomas

Clerke,Richard Smith, John H uchyns and Walter Lovell also

occur.3

At the St. John the Baptist Hallmote, 1 8 Henry VI., 1 440,John B ultynge comes for the homagers, and presents that Juliana

Dekyn,who held amessuage andfardel l of land, of

“ancient auster,

”

is dead,whence there comes to the lord as heriot 6s. 8d .

,wh ich

is paid,and Nicholas Dekyn enters on the tenement . Sales of

plaster of Par is,and straw, are mentioned, and of pasture at

H ornesmede, and the chase in Knol lemore and As shmore.

Isabella Dekyn pays 6s. 8d . to the lord for licence to marry.

Ph il ip Dekyn yields a messuage and different virgates of land,of ancient auster,

”and John Clerke pays the heriot fine

,arising

from the death of Nicholas North, who held land ad Opus

Johannis Clerke . Phil ip Dekyn is to have two acres of arable

land from John Clerke, lying below the close, and in le Garston,and one acre at 1a Stok, and some lying in B rodemede. Thomas

De la Hay does homage for lands he holds at Knoll from the

lord for m ilitary service,and wh ich he enters upon in right of

h is w ife Agnes,s ister

,and heir of John Tonour .

John Rodde,nativus dom ini, aged 1 3, is placed for the year

in the care of William Counsel l , the bailif.4

1 Lambeth MSS . ,1 1 86.

2 Ibid 1 1 87. 3 Ibid . , 1 1 88.4 Ibid. , 1 1 89.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 4 1

In 1 461 -2 we have the following Reeve’s account, and as it

is the only complete one that I have found , and conta ins much

that is interesting concerning the customs of the place, I give

a translation in full .

Account of the Reeve of W okey. 1 and 2 Edward IV. The

account of John Stott,the bailiffthere , from the Festival of

S . Michael , in the first year of the reign of King Edward IV .,

to the same date,then next following in the second year of the

said king, and in the 1 9th year of the consecration of Thomas, 1

B ishop of Bath and Wells .

Assiz ed Rents — And he returns 28s. 6d. from assized rents

of seven free tenants,for each quarter 7s. 1 5d ,

less 1 5 s. from

the rent of one messuage,and 1 07 acres of land and meadow,

formerly of W illiam Cammel , which came into the hands of the

lord as an escheat,and is placed to the lord ’s use below2 Overland

,

concerning which he has allowance in further accounts,under the

head of loss of rent. And 5 4s. of assized rents of nine half

virgate holders yearly, ,viz .

,for each quarter

,1 3s. 6d. And

65 s. l id. for assiz ed rents of twenty-seven fardel holders to the

feasts of Christmas,Easter

,and S . John Baptist- day

,viz .

,to each

date 2 1 s. 8 1 d ,and 5 6s. 6 1 d . for assized rents of the said fardel ls

to the feast of S . Michael ; and 1 4s . 4 1 d. of assized rents of

fourteen coterel li,to the feasts of the Nativity of our Lord ;

Easter,and the Nat ivity of St. John the Baptist

,to each date

48 . 8%d . and 4s. 8 of assized rents of the same tenancies to

the feast of S . Michael,and 1 4s . 9d. for larder duty of the said

tenancies to the feast of S . Martin. And 5 s. l oéd. of assized

rent of various tenancies, called gavelerthe, to the feast of

S. Michael,and 4s. 5 d. for the tribute penny of Peter to the gule

of August. Total, £ 1 2 88 . 1 1 d .

3

1 Bekynton.

2 t.e. in the account under heading Overland .

3 A m istake has been made here in reckoning the assized rents ofthe

coterel li deduct 2d . , and the ac count comes r ight. The coterel liwere thecottagers who had no arrurae to perform , bu t were obliged to performmanual labour for the lord .

Gula Augusti is the first ofthat month,vide Jacob ’s Law Diet .

A gavelerthe tenancy is one where a money rent only is made , such as

was the case in the fardel l holdings .

42 H ISTORY OF WOOKEY .

Rents ofthe O ver land — And he accounts for 47 s . from rent

of the lands there of the Overland,as is fully set forth in the

account for the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Henry VI .

from 35 acres of land in W aterlete,8 acres in B uryfurlong,

5 acres in W alfurlong, a lias Radepole. Seven acres lying fallow

produce no rent. E ight acres in Pysfurlong, 45 acres in

H ighenbury, 6 acres in W alfurlong, a lias Radepole ; 3 acres in

Carpeshylle, one acre in Culverhylle, nothing because they are

sown w ith wheat,oa ts

,and peas . Concerning four acres byfore

theway, 5 acres at B encroft, 5 acres at Culverhylle, and 28 acres

at Langdowne there’

is no return,because they lie fallow (quia

jacent friscae). Total, xlvii8.

1

Rents ofPastu re — And he accounts for 1 d . for a stych of

land at Palmersham,and for 2d. from Thomas Counsel l ’s rent of

half an acre in Asshemore,and for 6d. from Peter G entylman

’

s

rent for three roods of pasture in Al lered,and for 66s. 8d . for

rent of the pasture called Merley, w ith e ight acres of meadow in

Merleymede,and 1 s . 4d . from the rent of the pasture called

B remelham no return is made,because it i s below the lord ’s

barton,and there is no rent for the pasture of Langstring,

because it has been fed down by the lord’s oxen. Concerning

1 38 . 4d . for the pasture cal led B agerweylese no return is made

in this year,because it is not made in other years. Total

,

lxviiS v 1 ?

Rent ofMeadows — From 1 7 acres of meadow in H ornsmede,

1 4 acres in Langstring, 5 acres in W orthemede,5 acres in

Laverham ,2 acres in Syndermore

,6 acres in B encroft

,acres

in Merleymede there is no rent, because they have been mown

for the lord ’s use,as is stated below. And he accounts for 6d.

from Wm . Counsel l’

s rent for a portion of meadow in Lydeham ,

the other Sixpence hav ing been paid to the Reeve of Westbury .

There is no rent from 20 acres of meadow in O xenleaz e,because

they were mown for the lord ’s use,as is stated below. There is

9s . from Walter Stott’s rent of three acres in Fermeryham,and

1 s . 6d . from half an acre from the same Walter in la Rede, with

1 This is r ight. 2This is right .

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 43

the fishing,and 9s. 6d. from Thomas Combe’s rent of three acres

of meadow in Pylwaterhouse, and l 0s. from Walter Stotte ’s rent

of five acres in Lyttulnye, and 1 S . from John Potter for one acre

in Syndermore, near O ldclyfie, and 3s. from John Edward for one

acre there and 9d . from William Clerk for one acre there and 3d.

from Thomas Phelps for one parcel of meadow there and 8s. from

W ill iam Stotts for 1 0 acres in Martynesmede,w ith “le lagge ;

and 6s. from W ill iam B rownynge for s ix acres there and 2s. 4d.

from John Tounere for one acre in W orthemede,called Hulk

acre and 3s. 8d . from Thomas Felpes for two acres in Tyrlake

mede . Total lv“vid .

1

Farming ofLand in la Wor tlte.— And he accounts for 1 2d.

from John Warner’s rent for one cottage , with curtil lage ; and

Is. 6d . from John Edward,Senr

’

s,rent for one cottage and

curtil lage there and 2s. from Wi lliam Stodelman for one parcel

of land near Strodewode and 5 s. from John Rumbold’

s rent for

one grange,and one close of pasture of five acres ; and 2s. 8d .

from John Chywe’

s'

rent for one cottage and curtillage, and half

an acre of meadow ; and 5 38 . 4d . from Nicholas White for a

tenement there , formerly of W i ll iam B ou ltynge, with all that

belongs to it. Total lxv8 vid .

2

Farm ofMills.— And he returns l l 3s. 4d . from John

Edward ’s rent for the corn mil l at B ledeney. Concerning

1 6s . 8d . for one m ill called Monerysmille, there is no rent,

because it is totally lost ; and 1 s. from John Smith for one m ill

stone ; and 1 s . from John B rownyng’

s rent for the fishing of

Martynesey. Total,cxv8 iv‘1 .

Revenu es ofthe Manon — There is no rent th is year from the

pannage3 of swine. He returns 4s. from a colt,coming as a heriot

of John Bernard,at St . M ichael ’s Court and 1 3s. 4d. from a bull

,

as a heriot of R. Wh ite,at the Purification Court ; and 6s . 8d .

from a steer,as a heriot of Richard Smith

,at Hockday Court ;

1 This is right. For the position ofthese meadows c .f. chap . viii.2 This is correct.3 Pannage is the feed ofswine in the woods, such as the mast ofbeech

and acorns.

44 HISTORY or WOOKEY.

and 68. for 24 geese at 3d. each ; and from 300 eggs ; and 2d.

from the new rent of Nicholas Wh ite for half an acre of reed

held of the lord ; and 8s. 4d . from 2 1 acres of reed, sold at 38 . 4d.

an acre and 2 1 s. 8d . for 1 30 cocks and hens,at 2d . each. There

is no revenue from six acres at B encroft,because they have been

eaten down by the lord ’s oxen and 2s. de rewanno in Oxen

leaze sold th is year. There is nothing from the sale of stones,or for firewood this year. Total lxiii8 iid.1

Sa le ofCorn and S trata — No wheat was sold this year. There

was 26s. from 1 3 quarters of oats,sold at 2s. a quarter

,and £ 1 0

for four score loads of hay, at 2s. 6d. a load. Total £X1 — Vls.

Sa le ofPloughings (arru rae) and Manu a l Work — And he

accounts for 25 s. 6d. from 1 36 arru rae,sold at 23,-d. each ; and

for 48. 1 d. from 98 manual works at 1 d. each ; and 1 6d . for

1 6 works of harrowing, sold at 1 d . each ; and £6 1 3s . 2d . from

34 fardel l holders, to relieve them from their manual work,according to the agreement made with the lord

,payable at the

four quarter days , in addition to their assized larder rent and

circset previously accounted for , viz . , 3s. 1 1 d . each,with all the

works of John B rownyng, mentioned in the previous account at

1 6%d. ; and 5 s. 1 d from one half-virgate of land,granted to

Richard Stotte.for his manual work

,of wh ich he is yearly relieved

,

beyond GS . of assized rent,6d . from larder rent

,and 1 d . from the

tribute pence of Peter,and 3s. 9d . allowed as not paid under the

head Ofdeficiencies of rent. Total £vii xixB iid.

2

Perqu isites ofthe Cou r t, with Fines — H e returns l s.

”

2d. from

the perquisites of St. Michael ’s Hallmote and 4os. from John

Bernard’s fine at the same Hallmote and 20s. from John Turner’s

fine,and Edith , his w ife, at the same Hallmote and 1 s . 8d . from

the perquisites of Hock -day Hallmote and 20s. from John

Edward, j unr.

’s,fine at that Hallmote ; and 2s. 6d. from the

perquis ites of St. John the Baptist’s Hallmote and 4s. from the

1 There appears to be an omission ofthe pr ice ofthe eggs. If it was1 s. this account is correct.

2 These 34 fardel holders consisted probably of27 villeins and 7 freemen. There seems to be something wrong in this account ; probably theallowance to R. Stotte should be 28 . 1 d,

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46 H ISTORY or W ooxEY .

5 6 acres,3 perches

,of meadow grass beyond 1 4 acres done by the

customary tenants at 1 0d. an acre,47s. 31 d. and for reap ing six

acres of oats,at 6d . an acre

,3s. and for cutting 3 acres of reed

for the repair of the Manorial houses and B ledeney m ill at 1 s . 8d .

an acre,5 s. ; and for Walter Stotte ’s wages for two days

,for

carrying the hay from the lord ’s meadow,2s ; and for John

H ow leg and Edithe Felpus’ wages

,to each of them for six days

for stacking (pro mu l lonibus faciendis), as well in the grange as

in the lord ’s barton,to each of them 4d. a day

,48 . Total

,

lxi’5 iiiéd.

Threshing, Winnowing and Sale ofGrain — And for threshing

six quarters of wheat,at 3d. a quarter

,1 s . 6d and for threshing

eighteen quarters,two bushels of oats

,at 2d . a quarter

,3s . and

for winnowing the whole of the said grain of the lord,at 1 d . for

every three quarters,8d. and for six bushel s of peas

,at 4d. a

bushel,2s Total

,viis iid

S cou ring and Embanking. (Clausura.) And for twenty

ropes of rhine at B encroft,for d igging and scouring at 2d. a

rope,5 s. 1 0d . and for scouring 35 ropes at H ornsmede

,and 40

ropes at O xenlease, there is no charge, because they were cleansed

by the servants of the lord. Total, v 8 xd .

1

Cost ofManagement.— And for mending ploughshares

,coulters

,

iron chains and other unavoidable breakages during the year, 28 .

and for the purchase of eight tacks, 1 s . 4d . and for making one

new harrow,with the iron of one old harrow from the store

,

231 d, and for two new carts, 1 2d. : and for two new hinges,

8d. and for one new iron chain, 1 s . 2d . and for the purchase of

grease for the use of the waggon yearly, 8d. and for one pair of

wheels,8s.

,and in tying of the same by weight, 27 2 lbs . , at 1 d .

a pound,22s . 8d. and for the pasture of eight of the lord ’s oxen

in Merleymede,at 20d . for each oxen, 1 3s. 4d. ; and for the

pasture of one bull and eight oxen of the rector, according to

custom,1 3s . 4d . and for the pasture of six oxen of the Reeve

,

1 A rope , I believe , to be 2 1 feet. Clausura may mean keeping therhines clean and deep , and so keeping the cattle on the moor ; or else theenclosure offresh portions ofthe moor by means ofrhines.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 47

according to custom,1 0s. and for pipying of one wheel

,8d .

and for one axle for the waggon,4d . and the shruddings of one

waggon,6d. Total

,£iii xviis Rid

Exp enses ofthe Cardena — Bou ltyng’

s wages for 45 days,John Leke’s for 4—1 days, Nicholas Wh ite for 4 days, at the lord

’s

table,for d igging and cleaning the chapel garden there

,to each

of them 2d . a day,2s. 2d . The wages of Robert H ow leg,

Thomas Taylor, W il liam Clerk, John B oul tyng, John Lock

,

W ill iam H icks,Richard Bryce

,Edward Went

,John Wylcocks,

John Edward and John Grove,to each of them for three days for

digging and thinning of “crocus for the table of the lord,to each

of them 2d . a day,5 s. 6d . And in payment of John Grove

,

Richard Bryce,Robert H owleg, John Boulting, Roger Gyes ,

Thomas Taillor,and William Hicks

,to each of them for six days

and a half,for d igging and setting of crocus of Edward W ent

,

John Lone,W illiam W ylcocks, John Galwey, to each of them for

five days and a half of William Courte for four days,and John

Edward for two days,to each of them 4d . a day, 22s. 4d. And

in parying fourteen pannae of garden“crocus

,

” at 20d. a panna,23s. 4d. And for cutting the said garden

,l s. 4d .

,and to William

Hicks for levelling the said crocus-bed,l s. 2d. total

,lv B xd .

2

Rep airs.— John Burgh ’s wages for eleven days

,38 . 8d. John

Chapell for a week,l s. 6d . Walter Bale for one week

,1 s. 6d.

Robert Bernard for two weeks and two days,38 . 6d . Walter

B alstaff,for two weeks and two days

,38 6d . Thomas Hylle

,for

one week,1 8 . 6d. and Walter Burgh for four days

,1 s. doing car

penter’

s work and making le sperys in the hal l for the lord’s table

,

with 9d. for their lodgings , 1 6s . 1 1 d . and for seven oak boards,

bought for the same,3s. 6d. ; and for seven walshbords for the

same,1 s. 31 d . and for the purchase of sp iks for the same

,1 d .

total,2 1 8 . 95d . and for making the . gate of the crocus garden,

4d . and for two hinges for the same,with fastener

,8d . and for

1 This amount does not seem r ight. Concerning the rector ’s oxen, c .f.

Sale ofmanor , 1 5 53. I do not understand the clause in shrudacione uniusplaustr i vid .

”

2 This seems to be wrong by one man’

s wages for six and a half days.

48 H ISTORY or W ooxEY .

1 50 laths,1 0d. and for tiles, 5 s. and for 5 00 lath nails

,

7d . and the wages of John Tyler,senr ., and John Tyler, junr. ,

covering the roof of the camera and bakehouse, for two days, to

each of them 5 d. a day,1 s. 8d. and to a servant for them for the

aforesaid time,8d . and to John Hicks

,the carpenter

,for two

days,for mending the door of the grange and the dovecot

,at 4d.

a day,8d. and to the same John H icks for making the racks in

the kitchen,2d ; and to Walter Stott for the carriage of four

loads of stone from Cheddar to B ledeney mill, in addit ion to six

cart carryings of the Reeve,and servants of the lord to the said

mill,at l s. 4d. a load, 5 s. 4d. and to making1 of the said mill

,

26s. 8d.

Exp enses ofthe Hall2 there — And for lbs. of lead bought

for it ; lbs. of Poklode at 3s . 2d. a hundred,more in all

,

38. 4d. lbs of lead of Myndsplede, at 4s. 6d . a hundred,

less in all,2s. 1 5 s. 1 1 d. And of John Heyman

,of Stoke

,

for the carriage of lbs . of lead from Bristol to W oky, with

l s. 6d. for delivery at Bristol,l 1 s. And to Richard Wele , for

four weeks and three days,and to Walter Bale

,for two days

and a half,carpenters

,for scraping the lead- lath

,and buying

stone for the hall,of whom each took 5 d. a day

,1 2s. 35d . and

to John Baker and Thomas Pegyn,for sawing 87 5 led- laths and

O nysbord, at 1 s. a hundred, 8S . 9d. and for 2 1 boards of walnut,

for les Fimbrel ls,3s. 1 0d . and for led-nail s and hacche

nails,bought at the same

,at 2s. 6d . a thousand

,less in all

,5 d .

1 1 . 1 d . and Thomas Pyerson,for bordnails

,4s

,and to

John Smith,of W oky, for seven pounds of iron made into cram

pons,for binding of the stonework of the hall

, 7d . and to John

Plummer,

senr .,for 5 weeks and 1 day

,and to Richard

Plummer for 5 weeks and 21 days , and to John Plummer, of

Bristol,for 1 week and 5 % days, to each of them 3s. a week and

to John,the son of John Plummer , for 1 week and 5 days

,at 2s.

a week for melting the lead for roofing of the hall there,41 s . 2d.

and to John Horts for 7 weeks and 1 4 days , and to William

1 1 1 Making must mean repairing.

2 t.e. at \Vookey Manor House.

TH E MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE. 49

Lang for 4 weeks and 2 days,for laying the lead of the

hall,and for serving on the said plumbers, to each of them at 28 .

a week,23s. 2d. and for 5 5 0 lath-nails

,bought at 2d . a hundred

,

1 1 d . and for one hundredweight of wedges , 8d . and to William

Hyne,for mak ing le lateys for Is fimbrel ls of the hall , for 5 5

days,at 4d . a day, 1 8 . l 0d. and to John Stowell

,the stone

cutter,for mak ing the lavatory under the cupboard

,and to

W illiam Warou , plasterer, for 5 days for fix ing the said lavatory,

and for bemefil lying and parj ecting1 of the said hall

,who

rece ives da ily 5 d.— 2s. and for twelve bushel s of lime, with one

bushel of l imestone,for the sa id hall

,6d . and to John Tyler

,for

one l ay laying on tiles over the cloister there , 5 d . and to John

Synyer , of Congresbury , for collecting and sifting the said lead

scrap ings,27 . cwt. , at 6d . a cwt.

,1 3s. 6d . ; and for six quarters

of coals,bought for the same

,at 6d. a quarter, 38 . Total

expenses of the hall,£24 1 5 8. 85d.

Total, £xxiv 1 1

8 ix‘1 2

Wages ofthe Servants — In payment of two domestic servants,

to each yearly 1 0s ,20s

,and for their sustenance

,at 4 qrs .

2 bus . of barley, to each of them 2 qrs 1 bus. yearly,at 4d. a

bushel,1 1 8 . 4d. Total

,£i. xi‘s iv“.

3 Cu stoms ofthe Villein8 .— And for the custom called the

“gust ” of the villeins at the feast of St. Martin,1 8 . 2d. total

,

is iid .

Payment ofrll oney8 .—And paid to Master Richard Swan

,

into his hands,for the stables of the lord ’s hostel as for money

thirteen quarters of oats and 3d. a bushel,and four score loads

of hay,at 28 . 6d. a load ; £ 1 1 68 . 0d . Total

,£xi vi“.

Sum of the total expenses and charges,£5 4 1 38 . 91d , and so

there is due to the lord 788 . 5 d .,which the receiver paid on

the account,and so it is settled .

1 B emefillying was the fill ing up between the ends ofthe roof timbers,after they have been placed on the top ofthe wall.

Parj ecting— Rough -casting.

2 These totals do not seem to tally.

3 The gustus vil lanorum was probably a money payment, made in lieu of

the entertainment on S. Martin’

s Day, which the lord was accustomed to

make to his customary tenants.

E

50 H ISTORY or W ooxEY .

t eat. 1 — And about 6 qrs. of wheat, received from the total

outgo ings of the grange,and 9 bushels of wheat received from

circset , to the Feast of S . Mart in total , 7 qrs . 1 bus .

From wh ich in payment of a half-virgate,granted to R ichard

Stotte at a fixed rent,1 bushel

,and for seed over six acres of

land,in W alfurlong, a lias Radepole, three acres of land at

Combedyche, three acres at Carpeshyl le, four acres at High

Henbury,one acre at Cu lverhyl le, 2 qrs. 6 bus . of wheat, so that

it took one bushel one peek of wheat an acre,and on the whole

three peeks more. And in the keep of two servants there yearly,to each of them 2 qrs . 1 bushel ; 4 qrs . 2 bushels. Total amount

ing to above .

O ats — And about 1 8 qrs . 2 bushels of oats received from the

total outgoings of the grange total,1 8 qrs . 2 bushels .

Of which in seed over seven acres of land in Pisfurlong, seven

acres in B uryfurlong, three acres in W alfurlong, a lias Radepole,

4 qrs . 6 bushels,taking two bushels an acre

,and four bushels

more on the whole and for the keep of two servants yearly,four

bushels,and sold to the stables of the hostelry for one tallage

1 3 qrs total amounting to above .

Rod a — And 6 bushels of peas received for sale total 6

bushels .

For seed for one acre of land in W alfur long, a lias Radepole,

two bushels,and for the sustenance of the lord ’s dovecote in

winter,four bushels total

,6 bushels .

Geese — And from 24 geese,coming from customary tenants

rearing geese this year ; total , 24 geese, and sold below,and so

accounted for.

Cocks and Hens — And from 1 30 cocks and hens coming from

circset to the feast of St. Martin,from 26 customary fardells of

land,the tenants of which each pay one cock and four hens ;

total,1 30

,and sold below

,and so accounted for.

Eggs— And from 300 eggs

,com ing from the collection of the

Messor at Easter ; total , 300 eggs, and sold below,and so

accounted for .1 W hat follows is on the back ofthe preceding account, and is probably

the account ofthe Messor. The word “ i nfra ”is used generally for any

other place in the account.

TH E MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 5 1

Hay— And 1 1 0 loads of hay from last year

,and 1 6 loads

from 1 4 acres of meadow at Langstring and 6 loads from 5 acres

in Lav erham ; and 23 loads from 1 7 acres in H ornesmede and

1 0 loads from 5 acres in W orthemede and 1 2 loads from 6 acres

in B encroft and 2 loads from 2 acres in Syndermore ; and

2 loads from 1 acre 3 perches in Merleymede and 30 loads from

30 acres in O xenlese total,2 1 1 loads of hay.

Of which 30 loads were used for the keep of 8 oxen and

1 cow during the winter,and 80 loads were sold for the tables

of the hostelry total,1 1 0 loads

,and there rema ins 1 01 loads .

Reed — And 6 acres of reed this year total,6 acres .

Of this half an acre was sold to Nicholas NVhite as appears

above,and in repairing the manorial houses and the m il l at

B ledeney, 3 acres, and for sal e below 2 1. acres ; total equal to

above,and so it is settled .

C raser the and Cu tferme.—And from 1 8 arrurae

,coming from

nine half-virgate holders,of whom each will plough once w ith

the lord for two days at the sowing time of wheat. From the

fardel l holders there is nothing,because it comes below in the

rent ; total, 1 8 arrurae.

From which in allowance of one half-virgate,as above

,two

arrurae,and in ploughing the lord ’s land at wheat sowing time

,

1 6 total as above .

Armame — And from 225 arrurae, coming from nine half

virgate holders,of whom each will plough with the lord once a

fortnight through the year,one plough more being deducted on

account of three weeks’ festival,so from each of them twenty-five

arrurae,at the price of 2 1 d. an arrura total

,225 .

From wh ich,in allowance of one half-virgate as above

,25

arrurae ; and for wheat sowing on the lord ’s land,1 6 arrurae ;

and for oat sowing,1 6 arrurae ; and in turning up the fallow

ground of the lord,and plough ing it the second time

,1 6 arrurae

and in carry ing the lord ’s hay from the meadow,1 6 arrurae and

for sale below,1 36 total as above .

Manu al Works — And from 25 2 manual works coming from

mne half-v irgate holders , of whom each w ill work once a week

52 HISTORY O F WOOKEY .

one work,

- and for the second week three works between the

feasts of St. John the Baptist and St. Michael , so from each

there will be 28 works and from 24 manual works aris ing from

1 2 cottage holdings,of whom each w ill sow grass seed in the

lord ’s meadow for two days and from 4 works com ing from

one cottage holding,now in possession of John G entylman from

24 fardel l holdings there is nothing,as it is below in the cash

account total,280 works.

From which,in al lowance of one half-virgate holding, as

above,28 works ; and in mowing

,scattering and carrying 1 4

acres of meadow,over and above six acres three perches in cash

account , four score works ; and in reaping, tying and collecting

29 acres of wheat,at two works an acre

,5 8 works

,over and

above six acres below in cash account and for reaping the lord ’s

wheat, 1 6 works and for sale below,96 works total as above.1

IIam‘

owing.— And from 1 8 works of harrowing

,coming

from nine half virgate holders,of whom each will harrow for

two days for seed of wheat. From the fardel l holders nothing,

because it is below in the cash account total , 1 8 works .

Of which,in allowance of one half-virgate as above

,two

works and for sale below,1 6 works total as above.

Woky— The account of the reeve there

,ending on the morrow

of St. Michael , the second year of Edward IV.

The above account gives us some information concerning the

customs of Wookey. When we compare the portion of the

account for the year 1 329 with this of 1 462,it appears that

the free tenants remain the same in number— i.e. seven. The

half-virgate holders seems to have been in a lower state of

villenage than the fardel l holders,fqr while the former have to

perform their fixed number of arru rae and manual works,the

latter always compound for them by a fixed payment in money.

During the above period a change seems to have taken place,

for in the former account the customary tenants only perform

their ploughings,and pay a fixed sum in lieu of their manual

1 This is probably correct, and previous account wrong by two worksovercharged on John Gentylman.

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5 4 H ISTORY OF IVO O K E Y .

seems once to have been at Knowle and this is probable,if the

Knowle estate fell into the hands of the bishop .

The demesne land,or home farm

,as we would now call it

,

seems to have been about 1 1 5 acres, i.e. much about its present

s ize.

There were three officers of importance in the manor. The

Decennarius, or tithing man,who appeared at the hal lmotes at

the head of the homagers. The Praepositus, or bail iff, who took

the place of the bishop in h is absence, and the Messor who was

the harvestman who looked after the lord ’s harvest. There was

also a mil l bailiff,or elected overseer

,whose duty it was to watch

the mill both for the lord and his tenants,lest there should be

any cheating or carting of grain to other mills.

At the St. John the Baptist hallmote, held on June 25 th,

4 Ed . IV .,1 46 1 , William Clerke, in the name of al l the homage,

presents that John Barnard , junr., son of Barnard,

a nativus of the lord by descent, is staying at Shyre, in the

county of Surrey, without permission, and his nearest of kin,

promises that he shall be present himself at the next hallmote.

Also that William,the son of John Hycks, a nativus of the lord

by descent,i s staying at Mere with his mother without permis

sion. A steer and two colts are reported by John Moleyns as

having been impounded for straying,and are now in the custody

of the bailifl’

. The Messor comes and presents 7d .,coming to his

office from small attachments,as appears from h is accounts. 1

Walter Pyers has, to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, to

repair his house well and sufficiently,under a penalty of 208 .

He is given another day,at the request of John Lyde

,William

Clerke and Walter Stotte.

John Turner is placed “ in misericordia because he has not

repaired his ruinous tenement,and in the name of the homage

he is bidden to do so by next moot day,under a penalty of 40d .

A certain ditch is to be viewed at B ledeney, between the

tenements of Walter Pyers and Peter B rownying. Also at the

suggestion of the lord a view is taken of a certain ditch on the

1 Lambeth MSS 1 098, A.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 5 5

south side of Fermeryham , which now lies suffocated, to peoples’

inj ury,because John Sawyer, junr. , John Chapell, John Gbuwe

and Robert H owlegge hold the scouring, as it is sa id, and enqu iry

is to be made by the next hallmote whether the scouring of the

said ditch is for the advantage of the lord and his tenants or not .

The presenters of the homage and the nearest relations are

ordered to produce,by the next hallmote, Thomas, the son of

Nicholas Dekyn, a nativus domini , attached to his manor of

W oky, now stay ing at Hyghworth,near Faryngdon.

To this hallmote Will iam Clerk, and Alice,his wife

,comes

and returns into the hands of the lord one messuage and one

fardel l of land of anc ient auster, at B ledeney, for the use of

John Clerk,the ir son

,and Edith

,h is wife ; and there is a

heriot fine,according to custom (1 3s. 4d). And on th is

come the same John and Ed ith , and g ive to the lord for fine

1 38 . 4d .,for the position of holding the said messuage and fardel l

of land,to be held and had by them as anc ient auster in

v i llenage,according to the customs of the manor

,for the

customary rent and service thence first due. And so,then

,

they have seisin,and do fealty to the lord .

In 1 5 1 4 John Tupper is accused of excessive charges at the

B urcot mil l. John Taylor is appointed decennarius of the B urcot

tithing,and admitted by William Taylor. At Y erdlegh, Nicholas

Browne,carpenter

,and Richard Churchouse are mentioned

,and

at W oky Peter Nywman,carpenter and John Tupper is admitted

decennarius by Nicholas B ou ltyng. This reeve ’s account is much

faded,and hardly legible. 1

At the St. John the Baptist hallmote, 31 Henry VIII .,

R ichard W ylcock, John Atwyl l , W il liam Burg and John Chyme

are mentioned,as also Knoll Bridge and Lake Mewth.

2

John Tailler,als Buxton

,W i ll iam Trym

,Thomas M ilward

are presented for the office of reeve,and John Ta iller is adm itted

to it also John Somerton,W i lliam Trym and John W ylcock for

the office of harvest overseer , or Messor , and W ill iam Trym is

admitted.

1 Lambeth MSS . ,1 1 90.

2 Ibid. ,1 1 91 .

56 HISTORY or W OOKEY .

Edward Hyppisley and John Hort, in the name of the whole

homage of Burcot come and declare that all 1 8 well there up to

that day.

This is the last hallmote account at Lambeth . The other

bundles of manuscripts contain hallmote accounts of bishops ’

manors but W oky is no longer among them ,as it has passed into

the hands of the Dunche family.

We must distinguish between these minutes of hal lmotes and

the reeve’s accounts. The former would contain the not ices of

the fines,and the authority for certain acts and the latter would

give us the total receipts from the fines,and the expenses incurred

in carrying out the repairs or improvements ordered,and also

the details of the revenues of the lord.

There are five valuations of the manor of Wookey previous to

the death of Henry VIII . O n the first occas ion it is reckoned

with Wells in Domesday,1 086

,as worth £30 a year. Two

hundred years after,in 1 291 , we find, for the purposes of the

taxatio of Nicholas IV.,the manor of Wookey alone assessed at

£25 1 s. 3d. a year. Aga in,in 1 426

,during the re ign of

Henry VI .,when John Stafford was bishop

,Wookey manor is

reckoned as worth £39 l l s. 4d . a year. In Henry the E ighth ’s

time Wookey was twice appraised ; once when Hadrian de

Castello was b ishop,i.e. 1 5 04- 1 5 1 8, on which occasion it was

reckoned as worth £5 0 5 8 . 4d. yearly and on the second occasion

during the episcopacy of William Knight, when it was surveyed

for the purposes of the general spoliation of the Church,and the

account of which is preserved in the Valor Ecclesiasticus,1 5 41 .

Th is last I give briefly in English .

In assised rents , as well of free tenants, as of customary dues

yearly,in addition to the fee of 1 8s. l aid ,

due to

W. Churchouse, the bailiff, there is a clear rent of

£46 1 68 . 6d .

The perqu isites of the Manor Court,and other casual pay

ments,average about £ 1 38 . 4d .

And the average of fines on the leases of land, £ 1 .

So that there is a clear income of £48 1 98 . l 0d.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOU SE . 5 7

At the time of the Valor Ecclesiasticus the manor was

leased out to Thomas Clerk,

and the terms and cause of

the lease I have found recorded in the Chapter Records at

Wells . The deed is dated April 6th ,Thomas Clerke

,

of Wookey,arm iger

,had been granted by h is brother

,b ishop

John Clerke,1 5 23- 1 5 41

,a lease for sixty -three years of three

closes of land under Wells Tor,and within the b ishop ’s park

,

and on condition that he gives up this lease,bishop Knight

grants him a lease of the manor of Wookey . The indenture

is made out in the names of Thomas Clerk,and Anthonia

,his

w ife,and the property is l eased to them for their lives

,and

one year afterwards,at a yearly rental of three shillings and

fourpence . The amount of the fine is not stated . The place i s

described as consisting of the house,or mansion

,with all the

houses,buildings

,barns

,stables

,dovecots

,sheds

,gardens

,orchards

,

waters,pools

,fish -ponds and pastures. The property was

bounded on the north Side by the running water,i.e. the Axe

,

that flows between the parish church of Wookey and the house,

or mansion,as far as B oltyng Bridge, and from there to the road

that j oins the high road from Wedmore to Wells on the west,

and then on the south by the h igh road to Wells as far as the

great entrance gate,and so back to the river Axe . Thomas

Clerke is forbidden to take away lead from the roof of the hall,the

chapel,the large camera

,and the other buildings

,and he is not

allowed to cut down any of the large trees . In addition to this

he receives the lease of twelve acres of land on the meadow called

le Maris, below the said manor, which was lately in the tenure

of Walter Serger and W i lliam Chappell is the bishop ’s attorney

to give seisin. Should Thomas Clerke require any stones for the

necessary repair of the build ings,they will be provided from the

bishop’s quarry,in the park at Westbury.

This brings us down to the time when Wookey ceased to

belong to the b ishops of Bath and \Vells but to make the account

more perfect, there yet remains the few references I have been

able to find concerning the mills within the parish,and the

occasional notices in the bishop ’s registers of events that occurred1 Ledger D .

5 8 HISTORY OF. VVO O KEY .

in the Manor—house itself. The one mill that,without any doubt

belonged to the manor, was that at B leadney. At the time of

the Domesday Survey,four mills are recorded as in the possession

of the bishop,within the territory of Wells . Of these

,two

certainly were in the parish of Wells,the O utmil ls and the In

mills probably one was at Wookey-hole. But it is imposs ible to

say whether the m i ll at B urcot,

1 or the m ill at B leadney, was

included,because we have no evidence as to the time when the

m ill stream from Henley to B leadneywas made. The mills, how

ever,are divided into corn mill s and cloth mills. It will have

been noticed above,that during the vacancy after the death of

Drokensford,1 329

,the bailifreturns rents from the water-mil l

at B ledeneye, and a corn m i ll and a fulling mil l , both at

Lichlegh.

On February 4th,1 35 2

,as has been mentioned before

,

bishop Ralph grants to Else de Corscomb,

and Margera,

his wife,

and their lawful heirs , all the mill, with its water

course in the manor of Wookey, at a yearly payment of fifteen

sh illings ..This is probably the mill at B leadney or Lichlegh .

After this comes two references to m ills at Wookey-hole,which

were within the parish,but not exactly parcel of the manor.

In 1 425,Thomas and Anderna W ayfere lease to Roger and

Joanna Wye a full ing mill at Wookey-hole for forty-seven

years,and five years afterwards Thomas W ayfere leases to

Walter Dylverton a fulling mill at Wookey-hole

,which capit a

ponte ex opposito cotagii Roberti Delymakere usque ad W oky

hole .

On August 24th,

bishop Clerke leases to William Bell,

and Anna,his wife

,and James, their son

, all the water-mill at

B leadney, and one close of meadow in G osc land , in the pool below

the manor of Westbury from the Overland,3 paying yearly to the

b ishop and his successors th irteen sh illings and fourpence , and

when any stones for repairs , or fresh mill- stones were required,

the b ishop would find them .

1 W e must bear in mind that the t ithing ofBurcot was included in themanor ofW ookey , though it is not in the par ish ofW ookey.

2 Probably the Overland ofthe manor ofW estbury.3 Chap. Doc. ,

Ledger D ,

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . ‘

5 9

There is one more reference to the mills during the lifetime

of Thomas Clerke . It is not quite intell ig ible,because it was at

a time when the manor had ceased to belong to the b ishops but

as it occurs in the bailif’s account of the b ishop’s temporal ities at

the time of bishop Barlow ’s fl ight,and before b ishop Bourne’s

arrival,and during the reign of Ph i lip and Mary , it may point

to an intended restorat ion,which the brevity of Queen Mary ’s

re ign frustrated. W alter Paynter, 1 of Bu rcot, pays seven shillings

rent for a water-mill and a cloth-mill,and Thomas Clerke pays

forty shillings for one water-m ill in Enroot,and fortysh il lings

for another water-m i ll in Wyke,i.e. Wookey-hole

,and twenty

four poundsfor the farming of the four mills,called the Out-mills

and the In-mills .

Now as places are interesting by reason of the events that

took place within them,the history of the Manor-house would

not be complete without a reference to some of those events

which are recorded as having occurred there. Of course what

ever happened there had reference to the bishop and the diocese.

The Manor-houses in Somerset were distinctly private residences

of the bishops up to the time of bishop B ekynton. They were

houses where the b ishops retired for rest and quietness,and they

continued as such until the latter half of the fifteenth century.

And as long as we find the bishops acting as bishops within the

diocese,so long do we find them in personal occupation of their

Manor-houses . But when they began to make use of Commissary

Generals and Bishops in partibus for the performance of the

necessary ep iscopal duties in the d iocese,then they began to lease

out their Manor-houses,and confine the ir residence to Wells

,or

Bath, or London. When the Manor-house at Wookey was last

inhabited by a b ishop,I cannot say

,but I do not think that

it was often visited by its owners after the death of B ekyngton.

In the fourteenth century it was often visited by b ishop

Drokensford and bishop Ralph . Here,

on June 6th,1 324

,

Drokensford issues h is commission to the v icars of Doulting and

Pilton to proceed against the sons of iniqu ity,

” who had pulled

down the embankments at Castle. Out to the Manor-house at1 Bishops’ Temp . 2 RM. 47a. Record Office.

60 HISTORY OF WOOKEY.

Wookey , the dean of Wells1 (Walter de London) has to come in

1 339,to present to bishop Ralph as he sits in h is camera

,the

new statutes of the cathedral,that they may be confirmed and

again on May 31 st, of this same year, about vesper time, come

R ichard de Tychemersh and Ph il ip de Bristol,vicars in the

Cathedral of Wells,and acting as Commissaries of the Dean and

Chapter,and present to the bishop a loaf of bread

,a p ig

,and one

skin ful l of wine,being half of the annual rent due from the

Abbot and monastery of Glastonbury to the b ishop,and the

bishop at once orders them to be distributed to the poor.

Bishop Bubwith,1 407- 1 424

,seems to have been especially

fond of Wookey,and when in the neighbourhood appears to have

spent more time here than at the palace at Wells . Here,on

September 6th,1 4 1 2

,he ordains Hugo Ford and John Croft

,and

on September 9th of the same year he grants an indulgence of

forty days to all the parishioners and others who,having con

fessed and received absolution, shall also contribute to the repair

of the causeway from B leadeney to Parnborough. O ne would

judge that Bubwith had taken to heart the bad roads of Somerset

in h is time, for by his will he left a thousand marks for the

reparacion and amendment of unsafe and miry ways w ith in the

County of Somerset.” Liv ing much at Wookey,he would

natural ly know the state of the parish church, and to him I th ink

we may fairly ascribe the building of the aisles and tower.

Certa inly the ru inous state of the chancel attracted his not ice,

for on July 5 th, 1 423, he issued his comm ission for the repair

of the chancel , and sequestrates Mr. Sub-deanMockyng’

s revenues

to pay for the restoration of that which he had allowed to get

into such a d ilap idated state. And here,on October 27th, 1 424,

the good old bishop d ied .

In the publ ished correspondence of bishop B ekynton, three

of his l etters are dated from Wookey, on August 3oth, 1 445 ,September 2 l st

,1 45 2 , and Apri l 1 8th, 1 447 . O n August 23rd

,

1 446,a remarkable scene took place in the chapel of the Manor

house . John Forest, dean of Wells, was just dead , and there

had been some attempt to foist upon the chapter a stranger.

1c .f. Reynold ’s H istory OfW

'

ells Cathedral.

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62 H ISTORY or \VO O KEY .

On the next day,i.e. August 23rd

,the events of the previous

day are recorded to bishop B ekyngton by R ichard Cordon,doctor

of laws,and with him apparently are the su b-dean and the

succentor. B ekyngton is in his chapel at Wookey, and together

with the three ambassadors of the chapter come seven witnesses

as to the fitness and the good l ife of the dean elect,Nicholas

Carent. They prove to the bishop ’s satisfaction that he is of an

honest life,and in priest’s orders. The witnesses are Al exander

Hody,armiger

,John Godewyn

,gentleman

,and Thomas Lyte

,

gentleman,of Lytescary, John Pedewell and John B ekyngton,

priest vicars,and Thomas Chrewe and John Haydon. Soon after

wards Nicholas Carent comes and makes h is profession of

obed ience, and on the 27th B ekyngton issues from Wookey

letters to the sub-dean and the precentor to instal l the new

dean.

Now this election would be a very ordinary affair but for the

notes of Gascoigne1 on the action of John de la Bere . De la Bere

was Lord High Almoner to Henry VI .,and had given fourteen

hundred marks as a bribe to pope Eugenius IV.,that he m ight

be made dean of an English cathedral without consulting the

wishes of the chapter. O n the death of Dean Forest he had

obtained letters from Henry VI . to the chapter of W ells to instal

him as dean by virtue of his papal provision . The chapter man

ful ly resisted him ,and refused him admission into the cathedral

,

and brought down excommunication upon them . This,however

,

was soon taken away,when Henry gave de la Bere the vacant

see of St. David ’s . He was clearly unfit for the post , both on

account of his age and his attainments,for on this account

,after

he had been made a bishop,he is excused from attending

parliament.

We must now return to the history of the manor,and we

arrive at a difficult time,between the time when the bishops were

undoubtedly in possession of the manor,and those days when the

fam ily of the Dunches possessed it. O n October l 0th,

bishop Barlow receives from the Crown,probably on account of

a prev ious cession of the episcopal manor of Chard , the manor of1 Loc i e L.V . p . 25 . Pat . Roll. 2 Ed . VI. , pt. 7.

TH E MANOR AND THE MANOR HOU SE. 63

Wookey for himself and his heirs,and with a license to sel l. O n

February 4th,1 5 49

,Barlow makes Edward

,Duke of Somerset

,

a gift of this manor of Wookey. In 1 5 5 2,after the attainder

and execution of Somerset, it would seem as if Barlow had got

back the Deanery-house and the manor of Wookey,and then

exchanged them for the palace at Wells,and the manor and

hundred of Wells with Edward VI. But as Wookey is not

mentioned,there is no evidence to prove that it ever got back

into the bishop ’s hands,except that in the Chapter Records

(ledger E . 67 ) there is a certain barganiz atio et venditio of

Wookey,to Ed. VI .

,in Feb. 1 5 5 2

,and in 1 5 5 3 the manor

of Wookey is sold by the Crown to William Dunche, gentle

man,ofLondon . As the particulars of the valuation are given

in the deed of sale,it is worth while to record them . There

are two accounts,the one being rather descriptive of the property

and in English,and the other a summary of the rents.

Parcella terrarum 1possessionum Edwardi nuper Ducis Somer

setse de fellonia attincti ac quondam Ep iscopi Bathoniee et

W el lensis.

Manerium de W oky.

Valet in Redditibus assissis tam liberorum quam custumario

rum tenementorum ibidem per annum solvendis ad festos

ibidem usuales £23 1 1 8 . 4d .

Firmis terrarum dominicalium ibidem cum capital i domo

manerii per annum, £ 1 6 98 . 1 d.

Firmis molendinorum ibidem cum xxi(1 de firma piscarii aquae

de Marsesheye per annum ,£5 1 4s . 4d.

Exitus manerii ibidem per annum,£ 1 1 1 8 . 7d.

Venditio arundinum ibidem per annum, 7 s. 6d.

Venditio bladi videlicet vii mod : frumenti pro le mod

hoc anno,8s. 9d .

Perquisites curiae ibidem communibus annis, £ 1 68 . 8d .

total,£49 98 . 3d.

Then on the back of this sheet is an account which has been

carefully corrected by Henry Lake,auditor

,who examined it on

January 27th,

He allows a yearly payment made to the1 Particu lars ofGrants, 7 Ed . VI . 2 i.e. 1 5 5 2.

64 H ISTORY O F VVO O REY .

rector and the church of Wookey for the pasturage of one bull

and eight oxen, as it was an ancient custom ,bu t he obj ected to an

annuity to Thomas Clerk of 1 38 . 4d.,which had been granted to

him and h is wife for their lifetime by letters patent of the late

bishop of Bath and Wells,and he disallows certain wages or

allowances made to the bailifl’

,viz .

,8s.

,and the messor

,v iz.

,8s.,

and he states that there rema ins a yearly rental of £47 98 . l od .

But this seems again to have been corrected,and valued at

£48 1 1 8 . 2d .

,by allowing Clerk ’s annuity

,and 8s. to the bailif

,

ultimo die Januarii Anno,VII . Regis E dwardi pro Willelmo

Dunche. This is the end of the original Latin account,and

probably it is the account which was made either at the time

that Barlow handed over the manor to Somerset,or by some

clerk or official of the court after Somerset’s attainder,

and when an Inventory was taken of the traitor’s possessions .

When W. Dunche applied for the property in 1 5 5 3,it would

appear that the old valuation was used the second or third time,

with some further notes and corrections in English. The last

note on the first runs thus

The clear yearly value of the said manor is £48 1 1 8 . 2d.,

Which reckoned at twenty—six years’ purchase is£1,262 1 38 . 4d.

To be paid within twenty days .

To this is attached two other pieces of parchment, on the first

of which is the fol lowing This b il l made the first day of

March in the seventh year of the reign of our sovereign Lord

Edward VI . by the grace of God , king of England, France and

Ireland,defender of the faith and of the Church of England and

Ireland in earth the Supreme Head , witnesseth that we William

Dunche, esquire, and Mary Dunche do require to purchase of

the King’s Majesty by virtue of His Grace’s commission for the

sale of lands the Manor,messuage

,lands, tenements , rents , and

hereditaments,contained and specified in the particulars and

rates hereunto annexed being of such clear value as in the same

particulars and rates is mentioned . In w itness whereof to this

b ill we have put our seals and subscribed our names the day and

the year aforesaid .

Per me William Dunche.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 65

Then again , on another sheet, is the following The Manor

of Wookey,in the County of Somerset, parcel of the possessions

of the B ishop of Wells.”

H emberyWood conta ineth 28 acres , whereof 1 6 acres being

well set w ith underwood of five years ’ growth,valued at 98 . 6d .

an acre,9 acres be ing th in set w ith underwood of l ike age ,

valued at 5 8 . the acre,and three acres

,the residue being for the

most part spoiled,valued at 38 . the acre

,wh ich

,at the several

rates aforesa id,amounteth to the sum of £ 1 0 68 . The soil of the

sa id 28 acres,valued yearly at 6d. an acre

,cometh to the sum of

1 48,wh ich

,at 20 years ’ purchase

,amounteth to the sum of £1 4.

In the hedgerows and in the closes of the tenements belonging

to the said manor,be grow ing elms for the most part

Shredde,which suffice for hedge-bote

,plough-bots

,fire-bots and

house -bote for the Manor-place and 62 tenements there,and

valued at 1 28 . the year,and at 6d . the year

,and 300 residences

at 4d. the year, 1 wh ich , at the several rates aforesaid , amounteth

to the sum of £7 1 08 the total, £34 1 08 . 8d .

The king1

to d ischarge the purchaser of all incumbrances,

excepting the leases and the covenants of the same,and also the

repairs above remembered .

The purchaser to have the issues from the feast of St M ichael,

the Archangel .

The purchaser to be bound for the value of the woods .

R OB ERT B O W IS, W ALTER MILDMAY E

,

TH OM. NO RW IO EN,

2 J OHN G O SNO LD.

It is imposs ible to describe all the correct ions in these

documents,or to understand the arithmetic . In the Patent Rolls

7 E d . VI .,pt. 4

,is the conveyance of Wookey to Will iam

Dunche,and the sum mentioned there is 38 . 1 1 d . O ne

of the leases to wh ich W ill iam Dunche would be bound was that

of the Manor-house itself,wh ich was then in the occupation of

Thomas Clerke . Thomas Clerke d ied two years afterwards,on

March 2md, 1 5 5 5 , and whether h is wife ava iled herself of the1 I do not quite understand this descr iption .

2 These were the Commissioners for Survey ofK ing ’s Courts, and

payments ofrents and revenues.

F

66 HISTORY OF WOOKEY.

terms of the lease which bishop Knight granted,I ca nnot tell ;

but there is no evidence of her burial here,and therefore I am

incl ined to suppose that she gave up the house and went to live

elsewhere. There is some uncertainty as to the possession of

the manor in the next reign, for in the Bishop’s Temporal it ies

Papers,2 Phil ip and Mary, there occurs the following Ex itus

Manerii. E t d e ii id de toto homagio de Wyke pro redditu vocato

le W ynearde Sylver soluto ad terminum Hock et xxiid et obolo

de toto homagio de W okey pro quodam redditu vocato le W yn

earde Sylver soluto ad terminum Hock non reddit hic eo quod

oneratur in compotu praepositi de W okey sieut continetu r

ibidem .

”

Now this yearly fee for vineyards,payable on the second

Tuesday after Easter Week, would naturally be pa id to the lord of

the manor,and as far as Wookey was concerned

,and not Wookey

hole,th is lordsh ip was

,at the t ime of Philip andMary

,in the pos

session of Will iam Dunche. But if th is was the case,I cannot

explain this extract from the accounts of the b ishop ’s Temporal it ies .

I have only one supposition to make,and no evidence with wh ich

to support it. B unche was a very strong Protestant,and in the

next reign was an active agent of Cec il ’s . It is j ust possib l e

that he was not seized of the manor before Edward died,and had

therefore to wait unt i l the end of Queen Mary ’s reign ; and

in the meanwh ile b ishop Bourne so far made good his claim as

to make it possible for such an account to be reckoned in the

payments due to the bishop of the see. At any rate whatever

may have been the fate of the manor in Queen Mary s reign,it

was certainly sold to Will iam Dunche,of London,

’

by Edward VI .,

and is found in h is possess ion in the second year of Queen

El izabeth . O n May 1 2th,1 5 5 2

,W. Dunche obtains an annu ity

for life of 1 00 from Edward VI . In the same year he obtained

a grant of the manor of Lytle Wyth am,

1 in Berkshire,which had

been parcel of the Monastery of Abingdon. During the reigns

of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. he was aud itor of the M int,and

during the reign of Queen Elizabeth he was for some t ime M.P. for

Wallingford . He d ied in 1 5 97 , and on February 22nd, 1 5 97-8 ,1 Little W ittenham.

THE MANOR AND THE MANOR HOUSE . 67

Edmund Dunche obtains l icence to enter upon the manor of

Wookey. W illiam Dunche had two sons,Edmund andWalter. The

latter was a counsellor of Gray ’s Inn,and an M.P . for Dunwich

,

temp . El iz . He d ied in 1 5 94,leav ing a second son W ill iam to

succeed to h im,or rather it would appear that the son Will iam was

born in the year of h is father’s death. We have now to gather

together the threads of our evidence . O n July 1 6th , 27 Eliz.,Walter Dunche is granted a lease for twenty-one years of the

manor of Avebury. In a t itle deed,1 6 1 4

,of the church lands

of Wookey,Edmund Dunche is Spoken of as Firmarius of the

manor of Wookey during the infancy of W i ll iam Dunche,of

Avebury . In 1 622 there is another deed wh ich speaks of

W ill iam Dunche as Dom inus Manerii de W okey. It seems clear,

then,that W ill iam Dunche

,the elder

,left the manor of Little

W ittenham to his eldest son Edmund , and the manor of \Vookeyto his second son Walter. But as Walter had died three years

before h is father,Edmund Dunche

,the e lder

,acts as guardian for

h is nephew W i ll iam ,the only surviving son of Walter. Th is

W i ll iam would be under age in 1 6 1 4,but would be over it in

1 62 2. It was during th is period,and in the reign of Queen

El izabeth,that the Manor-house lost much of its former beauty .

The chapel wh ich Jocelyn had bu i lt was standing when Thomas

Clerke took the lease,and we may be quite sure that it existed

and was probably used by h im to the time of h i s death in 1 5 5 5 .

Who the next tenant was I am not quite sure . But I think

Mr. David Trym was the tenant in the early part of the 1 7th

century. He d ied in 1 663 at the advanced age of eighty-eight.

His son Valentine , who was baptised at Wookey in 1 6 1 3,i s

spoken of as belonging to Wells,and d ied two years before his

father . Valent ine held a lease for 99 years of the Manor-house

of Evercreech . W e now come to the second sale of Wookey

manor. O n September l st,1 626

,W ill iam Dunche obtains a

l icence to al ienate the manor of W okey and all its appurtenances

w ith in the county of Somerset to Samuel Rolle . The l icence

was as follows“Rex, quibus ad quos, &c .

,salutem . Sciatis quod nos de

grat ia nostra speciali ac pro duodecim libris solutis virtute

F 2

68 HISTORY or W O O KEY .

literarum patentium concessimus et licenciam dedimus ac pro

nobis heredibu s et su ccessoribu s nostris quantum in nobis est

per presentes coricedimus et l icenciam damus dilectis nobis

W illelmo Dunch Arm igero et Margaretae1 uxori eju s quod ipsi

manerium de W oky a lias Wookey cum pertinenciis ac decem

messuagia, decem cotagia, duo molendinas,unum columbarium

,

viginti gardina, viginti pomaria, centum et viginti acras terrae,

quadringentiacras prati, centum et viginti acras pasturae et bruere,

quingenti acras morae decem et novem solidos decem denarios

reddentes, libertatem piscaturae et l iberam warennam cum per

tinenciis in W oky, Wookey-hole, a lias Wookey-hole,Godney

,

Worth,Henton

,Castle, Yardley, Ripple a lias Ripley

,et E lead

ney,in comitatu nostro Somersetae

,quae de nobis tenementa in

capite ut dicitur dare possint et concedere et alienare aut cog

noscere per finem vel per recuperationem in curia nostra coram

j usticiariis nostris de Banco aut aliquo al io modo quocumqu e ad

lib itum ipsorum W illelmi et Margaretas dilecto et fideli nostro

Samueli Rolle m iliti et dilectis nobis H ugoni Fortescue armigero

Henrico Rolle armigero et Johanni Rolle generoso Habendum et

tenendum eisdem Samu eli Rolle H ugoni Fortescue, Henrico et

Johanni ac heredibu s et assignatis su is ad opus et usum ipsorum

Samuelis et Hugonis,Henrici et Johannis ac heredum et assig

natorum suorum in perpetuum . In cujus rei testimonio,&c.

,

apud W estmonasterium . Sept. 1 .

This shews us that the lands of the manor were reckoned at

l east as at twelve hundred acres,

and it is evident that the

common fields had by this time been enclosed and allotted . The

underwood probably refers to the plantations north ofMarley

mede,as H embury wood had been cut down a few years

previously . The manor remained in possession of the Rolles

from 1 626 to 1 7 69,and as far as I can gather was held by

trustees for five members of that fam ily, viz . , Samuel Rolle,

1 626 ; S ir Franc is Rolle, of Shapwick, 1 678 ; Samuel Rolle, of

Shapw ick,circa

,1 7 1 0 ; John Rolle, son of Samuel Rolle

,1 733

1 7 5 0 ; and Denys Rolle, of Shapwicke, until h is death in 1 7 68,when the manor was sold in plots to many of the former lease

1 This Margaret was the daughter ofS ir John CO Oper, ofRockborne.

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70 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

occasionally a money payment. It would be interesting to know

the names of those copyhold tenants who then bought the free

hold oftheir farms . The follow ing fam il ies, I th ink , certainly

bought their hold ings then,v iz.

,the Averys

,Bands, Barnards,

B uttens,Churchouses, Clarkes, Cooks, E lvards, Denbes

, H ills ,

Laxes,Lydes, Pitneys, Salmons , Sheppards , Stottes and Weares ,

and Mr. Clement Tudway bought the Manor-house and - home

farm . But w ith the disappearance of the Manor courts the

interest of the manor dissol ves into an interest in the general

history of the parish .

Some day,perhaps

,I may be able to add to the above

account some more informat ion concerning the manor ; but that

w i ll depend very much on those in the parish,who possess O ld

l eases and title deeds,and have not as yet allowed me the

privilege of looking over them .

The following additional notes on some of the mediaeval words

in this chapter may be useful

Caclavatores were villeins appointed to look after the moors and wastelands, and see that none ofthe lord’s cattle turned ou t there came to any

harm through the neglect ofany ofthe tenants ofthe Manor .

Cap ilage.— As the holdings on a manor could not be increased in

number , naturally there grew up a number ofv illeins,whose labour the

lord did not want and towards the end ofthe fifteenth century these men

became a source oftrouble to the lord and to the government. “7herepossible the lord let these superfluous hands ou t to any employer whoguaranteed to produce them when called upon.

C’ircset, or churchset , was a certain measure ofwheat which every man

gave on St . Martin’

s day to holy church . Afterwards it was compoundedfor , and a money payment was made .

H a llmote was the moot or meeting ofthe villeins ofthe Manor intheManor -hall, under the presidency ofthe lord , or his deputy the steward .

H edge-bole and house-bole denote the r ight ofthe tenant to u se timber

growing on the farm for the repair ofthe fences and the farm buildings.

THE CHURCH. 7 1

CHAPTER III .

T H E C H U R C H .

flHAVE not yet found any definite information concerning the

build ing of the Church . No mention is made of its erect ion in

Drokensford ’

s Register,and when the first institution of a v icar

occurs there,it seems clear that the church and the Vicarage

had existed for some t ime. We must look then to the twelfth

or th irteenth century for its erection,and in all probability a

church was first bu ilt here during the’ episcopacy of B ishop

Robert,1 1 36- 1 1 66. He was the first to give separate estates

to certa in d ignitaries of the cathedral,and having founded the

Deanery,endowed it w ith the Church of Wookey . In the Liber

Ruber of the cathedral we read how Robertu s episcopu s

ecclesiam de W oky decano dedit.”1 Certainly there was a church

here in Joscel in’

s time,for he effects an exchange between the

dean and the subdean,making the subdean rector of Wookey,

and charging the rectory with the payment of a vicar in Wells

Cathedral. This exchange took place between 1 209 and 1 2 1 3,

though some such plan had already been decided upon in

Savaric’

s t ime,1 1 92- 1 205 . Now in exam ining the present

bu ilding it is ev ident that the oldest port ions are the eastern

window of the chancel,with the east and north chancel walls

and the font. None of these portions present any marked

features of a style,but certainly they are later than the twelfth

century,and seem to speak of a late thirteenth century arch itect,

influenced by the tastes which afterwards developed the Geo

metrical or Decorated style . The east w indow is a triple lancet,

w ith fa int attempts at tracery in the head,either pla in crockets

or cusps. Now as this w indow is not unl ike, as far as it goes,

the west window of B urnel l ’s Chapel in the Palace at Wells, it is

poss ible that it was erected about the same time, and if so, then

it dates between 1 27 5 - 1 292. During the next hundred and fifty

1 L . f. 1 3.

72 HISTORY OF VVO O K E Y .

years the rest of the church was bu ilt,except the south-east

chapel but there is no trace of the former nave,or any ev idence

as to the size of the first church ; and so honeycombed is the

nave with vaults that I fear no trace ever will be d iscovered .

There is nothing remarkable about the present build ing . The

p itch of the roof is low,and both aisles and the nave are under

one wide roof. The cap itals of the pillars on the south are a

little earl ier than those on the north,and at the east end of

both aisles were altars,and through the corners of the chancel

walls are two long squints. At the s ide of the north squint

is the staircase to the rood loft,and as on the south the eastern

wall has been taken down to give access to the south-east chapel,

the squint gives the appearance of great weakness to the southern

arm of the chancel arch. But th is is only in appearance,because

the thrust of the central arch has been prov ided for by an arch

and external buttress on the south-east of the aisle. The chancel

was thoroughly repaired in 1 423 by bishop Bubwith,and in all

probability the flat—headed window in the south of it was

inserted at this time,as well as the small door on the south .

In 1 437 an interesting event occurred concerning the festival

of the dedication of the Church . It appears that it was dedi

cated on the octave ofthe Nativity of the Blessed V irgin,i.e.

September 1 6th,but as this was an inconvenient time of the

year,being harvest time

,the Dedication Fest ival was changed by

permission of b ishop Stafford,and at the request of the rector

,

vicar and parishioners,to the Sunday next after St. Jerome’s

day,i.e. September 30th.

1 2

The south-eastern chapel is usually supposed to have been

built as a mortuary chapel for the rema ins of Thomas Clarke,

who died at the Manor-house in 1 5 5 5 . H e left 6s. 8d . for the

Church,and desired that he should be buried in it . As the date

1 Harl . MSS . 6966. Sept. 1 1,1 439. Festum dedicationis ecclesiae de

W oky in honorem sancti Matthaei ad p etitionem rectoris, vicari i et

parochianorum ejusdem mu tatur ab octavo Nativitatis Marize ,quod fuit

tempus messis , ad dominicam diem proximam post festum sancti Hieronymiet XI dierum indu lgentia concessa est qui in illa ecclesia v el cimiter ioO rationem Dominicam cum Salutatione Angelica dixerit mente pia.

c .f. S tafford ’s Register,f . clix. 6

TH E CHURCH. 73

of h is death is on his monument w ith in th is chapel, and a b lank

is left for that of his wife Anthony, she may have bu ilt it during

her l ife time,putting her name on the stone, and leaving a blank

space for the date of her death . There is no evidence however

that she was buried here,and I th ink her orig inal intention was

never carried out.

The Church then consists of a nave of three bays, and a chance!,

north and south a isles, a south porch , a south-east chapel,extend

ing as far east as the wall of the chancel , a lean-to vestry on the

north chance l wall,and a small tower containing five bells . O n

the north-east of the tower there is a sp iral staircase running

up into a pinnacle at the top,about s ixteen feet above the

roof of the tower. The dimensions are as follows z— Chancel,

23ft . 6in. x 1 4ft 4in. ; nave 40ft. 6in. x 1 8ft. 9in. ; aisles,9ft. 2in. x 9ft. Sin

,and same length as the nave ; tower, 1 4ft.

square and 63ft. high in thr ee stages ; south chapel, 23ft. 6in.

by 1 4ft . 2in.

In 1 635 was issued,through the influence of Archbishop

Land,the order for the removal of the Communion Table to the

eastern wall of the chance!,and for railings to be placed before

it as a protection against profanation.

l B ishop Pierce was

especially careful to carry out this order as far as this diocese

was concerned,and the parish seems to have then procured a

new altar,and to have fenced it round with rails. The altar

,

which is stil l in use,and the rail s which are now used as a

low screen before the south chapel,belong to this date

,and the

date 1 635 is carved in four places on the ra ils. During the

eighteenth century numerous repairs went on in the way of

painting and adapting the old benches to the pew system,and

the churchwarden’s accounts are ful l of items concerning such

charges .

In 1 7 1 1 Mr. Fry is paid five guineas for painting,in the

Church,the Ten Commandments

,the Creed and the Lord ’s

Prayer.

In 1 7 2 1 Robert B roadbeard is pa id one shilling for a book

concerning the plague.1 Gardiner ’s England , vol . 8 , p . 1 1 4.

74 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY.

In -1 7 28 the weathercock, wh ich had only been put up in

1 705 , has to be taken down and repaired .

In 1 744 the nave was reseated in elm by Mr. Parfitt,of

Wells,the seats in the north and south a isles being repaired with

the O ld material from the nave, at a total cost of £60.

In 1 748 the Tenor Bell was recast by Mr. B ilbee,and the

five bell s were rehung by Bush,of Chewstoke.

In 1 783 the churchwardens let to Mr. Savidge one of the

new pews in the north a isle , next to Mr. Mackinnon’

s, at a

rental of five sh ill ings a year.

In 1 7 95 the parish,at a vestry held January 27th, agreed to

the proposal of Mr. Michel l,of Burcott

,to build a gallery in a

place then decided upon,the sta irs going up into the s inging

gallery to be turned into the belfry for this purpose .

Numerou s

'

smal l repairs are fromtime to time recorded,and

during the reign of Queen Anne it would appear from the large

amount of lead purchased and made use of that the greater part

of the Nave roof was releaded.

In 1 7 72 the Vestry Room was built by Mr. Webber, and

paid for out of the Church Endowment Fund.

In 1 776 the Chu rch Tower was releaded .

In addition to these entries the churchwarden’s Presentments

to the Archdeacon give us some information. The confession

that seems to be written between the lines of every one of them

is that the churchwardens knew well what ought to be done,but

that they had not the energy to undertake it,and so they hand

on the information to the Archdeacon.

In 1 730 they report that the King ’s Arms had fallen down.

In 1 735 they complain that t iles, boards and lumber lie in

the north a isle, and ought to be removed.

In 1 743 complaint is lodged against the lay impropriator,Mr. T. Peirs, on account Ofthe ruined state of the Church fences

and the chancel .

In 1 746 Mr. R. Kingston is appointed sequestrator and

curate in charge of the parish .

THE CHURCH. 75

In 1 7 65 complaint is lodged against W . Ek ins Peirs for not

repairing the north wall of the churchyard .

In 1 739 the B ible, wh ich is as early as 1 623, is reported

as imperfect ; and ten years afterwards, this complaint being

repeated year by year,a new one was procured . The old one

st il l ex ists,carefully preserved in the Par ish Chest

,but I do not

know what has become of th is second B ib le.

CHURCH PLATE .

The sacred vessels are very interest ing. The chalice i s a

long s i lver Elizabethan one,provided w ith a close fitting cover

,

and has the genu ine date 1 5 72 on the handle or knob of the

co ver. In th is year many of the local churches gave up their

old mediaeval plate and purchased new vessels, probably follow

ing the example of the Cathedral , and marking the crisis on the

Papal excommunication of Queen El i zabeth . The paten,flagon

,

and a second chalice are also of s i lver, and are of the time of

George I . There is also a large pewter flagon and two pewter

alms plates,the date of which I cannot fix . None of these

vessels have any inscription or letter ing wh ich would give a hint

as to the donor or the occas ion when they were obtained for the

Church,and it is impossible to hazard an op inion on account of

the vagueness of our information as to the exact time when they

were acquired .

PARISH CHESTS .

0

There are three parish chests,concerning which some record

ought to be preserved . The earliest has no date,and is made

of thin oak,now thickly coated with paint. It has the initials

E . B . and R . L. on the front panel,and I th ink there can be no

doubt that they stand for Edward Barlow and Richard Lyde,

who in 1 634 were s idesmen together,and probably about that

t ime were also churchwardens together. The second is a small

oak chest,for wh ich now a stand has been prov ided

,and it bears

the date 1 689,w ith the initials T. C. and H . M. , i.e. those of the

churchwardens for that per iod,Thomas Corpe and Hugh Merifield .

The th ird is a plain strong oak chest,with two locks and a

doubl e padlock . It was provided for the Church by the church

wardens in 1 764, and was made by James Mills , of \Vell s .

76 HISTORY OF WOOKEY.

In 1 87 1 the Church was thoroughly repa ired under the super

vision ofMr. C . E . G iles,at a cost of A reredos and

five sta ined glass windows have been given,ch iefly in memory

of persons connected w ith the parish,and the panels of the

lower part of the l 6th century screen wh ich had stood under

the arch between the south a isle and the south-east chapel were

made use of in a new pulpit. The organ , which had been given

to the Church in 1 836 by Mr. T. W ear,was also enlarged and

removed to its present position . In 1 883 a new clock , chim ing

the quarters,was given to the Church by A . T. Burnett-Stuart,

E sq , the successor of the G odwyns at the Rectory-house.

In October,1 772, Mr. Edward Band, of Wookey Hole, who

had purchased a considerable amount of land at the sale of the

manor,obtained a faculty for a pew

,but this had lapsed long

before the restoration of the church .

TH E BELLS.

There are five bells in the tower,of which the oldest is the

third. The inscriptions are as follows

1 .-The Tenor Bell . Mr. Thomas Stroode, Mr. Bayley, church

wardens . T. Bilbie fecit. 1 7 1 9. This was an older bell,

which being cracked was recast in that year. It was

broken again before 1 748. Mr. Bayley was not church

warden in 1 7 1 9, T. Stroode having as his partner Thomas

Stott in that year.

2 .— The second has the inscription

,G eeve thanks to God

,

Poss ibly the g ift of Robert Godwyn on the birth of his

eldest son.

3.— The third has two holes in the head of it

,but they have

been carefully plugged up with a nut and a shield of leather.

It has the inscription >X< I5 gNaz arenus grex IuderrTi .

”

4.— The fourth bears the note

,

“Mr. George Cook, Mr. George

Baker,churchwardens

,1 735 . T. B ilbie .”

5 .- The lightest bell has a number of stamps upon it, and

between every one is a stamp of the Tudor Rose , sur

mounted by a royal thistle. O n the side of the bell is a

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73 H ISTORY OF W O OREY .

dum tenorem acti p redicti. E t u lterius dicunt j u ratores p redicti

quod qu idam Wm. Turrie nup er de Welles in comitatu p redicto

diruit ev ulsit unam al iam liberam cap el lam v ocatam Horringdon

Chapell infra parochiam de Welles p redicto et cer tum plumbum

super eandam capel lam existens ad quantitatem quinque toune

ad valenciam xxli

et ij campanas ad valenciam cxxls et unam

calicem argent i cum tectura ad valenciam cxxxiiiS et iv .

det

maremium,lap ides et ferrum valoris cxl S v

d in toto cxxiv l i viiis

ivd c itra decem annis elap sis cep it et implicavit ad usum suum

propr ium et eadem absque j ure detinu it a tempore nuper regis

E dwardi sexti et a manibu s Marie nuper Angl im Reg inae ac a

manibu s p redictae dom inae E liz abethae nunc Angliae Reg inae quae

de jure nunc remunerare debet ad usum dictae dominae reg inae

v irtute et p retextu act i par liamenti p redicti. In cuj us re i

testimonio tam predictorum commissionariorum quam ju ratorum

p redictorum hu ic inquisitioni s igilla alternatim apposuerunt.

Datum die,anno et loco supradictis .

ROBERT PENRUDDOCK .

JO IIN HARYNGTON.

EDWARD W ILSH IRE .

Three labels attached,but no seals.

The above gives us some ins ight into the uncertainty and law

lessness of the t imes,when B ishop Barlow was be ing squeezed

between the Protector and the Crown,

and the former was

gathering up every p iece of church property into h is own hands .The loss that Henton then sustained was not repa ired unti l th iscentury. During the time when Mr. Thorpe was vicar of

Wookey an effort was made to bu ild a church once more at

Henton. Canon Barnard,the v icar of St. Cuthbert’s

,helped

very materially in the cause , and at last, on Wednesday, October

20th,1 847 , a build ing, cons isting of a nave and chancel

,with

a bell turret at the west end of the nave roof , was consecrated .

It was ded icated to our Lord under the t itle Christchurch,

Henton and at the same time the Rev . Will iam James Shearlywas inst ituted as the first v icar. S ince then there has been

four others,viz1 870.

— Augustus Wi ll iam Grafton.

1 87 5 .— Sydenham Harry Augustus Hervey.

l 87 6.— John Palmer.

1 880.—Walter Goldin Alford.

THE RECTORY AND THE RECTORS .

CHAPTER IV.

THE RECTORY AND THE RECTORS.

£N speak ing of the church it has been ment ioned that the first

Rector of Wookey was the first Dean of Wells. B ishop

Robert,1 1 36- 1 1 66

,endowed the new dean of Wells w ith the

church of Wookey. It would be interesting to discover whether he

ass igned to th is ofiice part of h is own demesne here, or s imply

took a port ion of the general estate with which G iso had endowed

the cathedral,and allowed the clean to use it as pecul iarly his

own. In all probab il ity the latter course was adopted . Th is

endowment,however

,was soon found to be too small for such

an important office as that of the dean. When the number of

prebendaries began to increase,and each provided for their v icars

at Wells out of the ir prebendal estates,the regulat ion of such

a body grew in d ifficulty and In Importance . Now it is not

qu ite certa in whether Bishop Robert founded the subdeanery

as well as the deanery. Certa inly it seems not only to be in

ex istence,but to have been in existence some time when Joscelin

,

in 1 209,sanctioned the exchange between the dean and the sub

dean of the ir lands inWookey and W edmore . In the Liber Ruber,

b ishop Savaric is mentioned as sanct ioning some such scheme .

However,this transaction was not s imply an exchange

,but

also a large increase of income for the clean. For as W ookey

was small,and the bishop h imself had a Manor wh ich included

the greater part of the parish,there was not any opportunity

to increase the dean’s endowment here. So the subdean was

called upon to g ive up his estate at Wedmore,and the dean

to g ive up h is rectory at Wookey,and the dean received instead

the subdean ’s estate,together w ith the rectory of Wedmore

,and

the subdean became the rector of Wookey. Th is formal exchange

was sanctioned by B ishop Joscelin on June 3rd,1 209

,and on

September 1 3th,1 2 1 3

,we learn that the rectory was then worth

80 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

in rent of demesne lands £3 1 9s. 5 d . ,customary rents £1 l s. 4d.

,

several tithes £ 1 0 1 3s. 4d .,total £ 1 5 1 4s. 1 d. After deducting

from the present rectorial glebe those allotments in the moors

that were assigned to th is rector in 1 7 86,and also those fields

that are now s ituated in what formerly was a part of the Wookey

common fields,it would appear that the original endowment

,

in addition to the tithes and certain mortuary fees,consisted

of about 37 12 acres Ofland. In 1 235,Peter of Ch ichester

,dean

of Wells,died leaving certain lands in Marley Mead

,and Bishop

Joscel in appropriates them ad opus episcop i . Now since part

of the rectorial glebe i s in Marley meadow,it seems not unlikely

that this portion of land was part of the original grant of Bishop

Robert in 1 1 40,wh ich had been leased out to Dean Peter for

his l ife,and that ultimately it was divided between the subdean

and the Vicars’ Choral , or chantry priests of Wells. In 1 5 4 1

the subdean and the Vicars’ Choral are scheduled in the Valor

Eccles iasticus as possess ing lands at Marley Mead . Dean Peter’s

interest in lands at Y arley Joscelin bought for £3. In 1 291,

for the taxatio of Nicholas IV.,the rectory was valued at £20

a year.

About the year 1 31 0 there was a prolonged controversy

between Dean John G odele andW il l iam de Yatton,the sub-dean.

It seems that the sub-dean had been visiting ecclesiast ical ly the

parishes of Wells,W ookey,E vercreech, Chilcompton andWestbury

,

and this conduct of h is was resented by the dean. At last it was

brought before Bishop Drokensford, who, in October, 7th, 1 32 1 ,gave h is dec is ion . The sub-dean was to have visitatorial powers

in Wells and its suburb in the absence of the clean, but Wookey

the B ishop takes under h is own and h is successor’s supervision“ ac dictae ecclesiae de W oky visitacionem ad nos et su ccessores

nostros jure ep iscopali pertinere debere ordinamus.

”O n the

sub-dean also he imposes perpetual s ilence concerning th is matter,

and fines him for the benefit Ofthe dean in ten casks of w ine,

or their value in money. In the Nonae Rolls 1 of the 1 4

Edward III,i.e. 1 340- 1

,the comm issioners for Wookey

,Thomas

1c .f. Nonac Rolls in v ol . ofLay Subsidy, Somerset. Record Office,

1 4 Edward III .

THE RECTO RY AND THE RECTORS. 81

Bernard,Wil l iam Neel , R ichard atte Putte, Hugh atte Chapele ,

John Dukes,John Stokelyng and John Robeir say they are not

able to tax the church of W ookey,because the rector there has

in demesne of the endowment of h is church, arable lands ,meadows, one dovecot, one m ill

,the t ithes of hay

,offerings

and dues , and the smal l t ithes, which are worth yearly

£1 3 6s. 8d . They say that the ninth bale of sheep sk ins is

worth £vi x i i i . iv . The Comm issioners have included the

v icar ial t ithes with those of the rector. The glebe m ill mentioned

here I have not yet identified,nor have I found any record

of it elsewhere. In 1 423,b ishop Bubw ith sequestered the

rectory on account of the dilap idated state of the Church,owing

to the neglect of Nicholas Mockyng, the sub-dean. The vicar

of Wookey,w ith John H albkyn,

of W oky, and John Thomas,

of Wedmore,are const ituted guard ians of the rector ial endow

ments “ad competenter ac su lficienter reparacionem defectuum“notor ie apparentium ac existentium real iter in cancello dictae

ecclesiae ac mansionis et edificiarum e idem pertinentium .

In John Raynold,sub-dean and rector

,leases to John

Edwards,junior

,and Al ice

,his w ife

,for their lives

,a messuage

,

with curt ilage in Henton,at an annual rent of 3s. 4d . ; the

witnesses be ing W ill iam Gasco igne,Will iam Voel

,John Chapelle

,

John atte Castle,John B rownyng. Feast of St. George

,2 2

Henry VI.

In W il l iam Bowerman,sub-dean andrector

,leases for

eight years to John Trench,

“Chapman of Norton Canons,

” the

rectory house and lands,at an annual rental of £22 . Oct. 1 5 th.

25 Henry VIII.

In 1 5 41 we have the value of the benefice at the time of

Henry VI l I .

’

s survey of Church lands . W e read there that

W oky annexa est subdecanatui ibidem . W i lliam

Boureman is the sub-dean. The rectory is annexed

to the sub-deanery,and is worth yearly in demesne

lands £3 1 9s. 5 d. ; in rent of customary tenants ,£ 1 1 s. 4d. ; in t ithes , £ 1 0 1 3s. 4d . ; in oblat ions,w ith other offerings

, £6 5 S . 1 1 d . total,£22.

1 W’

ells Cathedral MSS . , 304. W . C . MSS . , 75 1-335 .

82 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY.

In annual payment to one vicar choral in Wells

Cathedral 5 s.

And there remains to the rector £2 1 1 5 s.

The t ithe of th is is 46s. 6d.

In 1 5 48, February 2 5 th, W ill iam Bowerman,the sub-dean

,

leases to W i lliam Godwyn,of Well s

,the rectory house and

lands for eighty years,at an annual rent of £22 . He reserved

,

however,for h imself and his successors the advowson of the

Church and the wood at Stroud ; this latter, of course, in case

he or his successors should have to repair the chancel . This

lease gives us the first description of the property I have been

able to find. He leaves “ all his rectory and parsonage,mansion

places houses,orchards

,gardens

,barns

,stalls

,culver-houses

,and

stables and all the glebe lands,pastures

,meadows

,woods and

moors ; and also all messuages,

fines,ti thes

,fru its

,mortuaries

and other issues and emoluments .

Henceforth the fam ily of the G odwyns were the leaseholders

of the rectory for more than 1 5 0 years,and dur ing the greater

part of this time they were the tenants of the Rectory-house .

We will have someth ing to say about them when we d iscuss the

families of Wookey and their h istory.

From this time it becomes difficult to trace the records of the

benefice . It was in private hands , and doubtless the papers were

destroyed from time to t ime as a new lease was drawn up . We

have,however

,a copy made subsequent to the year 1 706, of the

terr ier of the rectory property In 1 634,and

.

this g ives us a full

account of the houses and all the lands belonging to them . It

was made October 23rd,1 634

,by Thomas Mydleham ,

vicar ;Thomas Chu rchou se , R ichard Abowen, churchwardens Edward

Barlowe,John Fussel l

,John Sm ith

,a lias Hooper

,and John

Chappell,sidesmen Robert Godwyn and Dav id Trym ,

gentlemen

R ichard Lyde,John Corpe

,John Taylor

,alias Buxton

,Will iam

Cottle,husbandmen. The find ing of the above jury is signed

also by Henry Turner,J ohn James

,John Browning

,John

Browning,R ichard Gallock

,and Robert Poole.

The parsonage house conta ined a hall,a parlour

,a kitchen,

a buttery , a scu llery, a pantry , and a brewhouse , w i th chambers

THE RECTORY AND THE RECTORS. 83

over them one storey h igh ; a coal-house, two stables , a malt

house w ith a loft over it,a wagon-house

,a hog-stye with a hen

roost,a cow- stall

,an ox- stall

,a barn

,a hay-house

,an ear—house

,

a fatting- stall,a dove -house w ith a garden

,two orchards and a

court adj o ining,and three acres1 in the common moors belonging

to it,called W aterhays.

A tenement,called Webs

,containing a hall

,another room ,

a loft over the hall and an hay-house,and half an acre in the

common moor.

A house in the churchyard,containing one hall and a buttery ,

with a loft over them .

A house at Henton,conta ining a hall

,a buttery

,with a

chamber over the bu ttery,a barn

,a hay-house

,a garden and an

orchard . Thefoll owing glebe lands are also specified z— Twenty-three

and a half acres of meadow land,cal led Hulk Acre

,H ornsmead

,

Gapper’s Stile,Pressmoor

,S tonemead

,Marley-mead . Forty-nine

acres of pasture land at Trenley, Rushlands, H olibrook,Barleigh ,

Stroud,H ighovers, G aglie Lane, and on the way to Litley Bridge .

Seventy-two acres of arable lands in thecommon fields of Wookey,

known as Wookey-field,West-field

,East-field

,North-field and

B icknol l -field .

The tithes of corn and all other grain,teazel

,hemp

,flax

,

turnips the tithe of hay and of sixty acres of rectorial glebe at

Paddimore ; the tithe of geese, coppice, underwood and moots2

when any trees shall be rooted up .

Ten shil lings from the lord of the manor payab le°

at Michael

mas , 8s. 4d.,called Martin’s Rent

,

3

i

from ten copyhold tenements

in the village of Wookey,and 4d. every Easter from the vicar

of the parish .

This full account of the endowment of the rectory is followed

shortly after by the report Ofthe Commissioners of The

1 It would almost appear from this as if the strips in the common fieldswere each half an acre . Bu t by this time many ofthe strips must havebeen thrown together .

2 Moots , i.e. Trunks with large roots.

3 A survival ofcircset , payable on S t . Martin’s day.

4 Lambeth Library MSS., Survey ofChm ch Lands, 1 649, vol . 1 , p. 24 1 .

84 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

survey of Church lands,ordered by the Commons of England

as part of the fulfilment of the Act for the abolish ing of deans,

deans and chapters,canons and prebends of cathedral and colle

giate churches and chapels,took place during the years 1 649

and 1 65 0. The surveyors for the rector of Wookey were

W illiam R ichardson,Alexander Lawson

,Nicholas Combe and

James H ibbins. Their account is as follows

Affil

e

u

sg‘ffee

él ts Al l that Mansion-house

,called the Parsonage-house

situated, lying and being in Wookey,in the County of

Somerset,we value at £ 1 0.

Al l those tenths and t ithes of all,and all measures

of corn and grain yearly coming,grow ing

,arising

and renewing w ithin the parish of Wookey aforesa id,

together w ith all the tenths and t it-hes to the sa id

rectory,belong ing and apperta ining

,with the appu r

tenances,we value communibus annis at £80.

Memorandum — All the prem ises before-mentioned,with the

appurtenances,were by William Roberts

,doctor in divinity

,sub

dean in the Cathedral Church of Well s,in the County of

Somerset,by h is indenture

,dated 1 3th November

,II . Charles ;

1 1 9

217

056?APP“ dem ised unto William Prowse

,h is heirs and

To the landsTo the

ass1 gns, To hold for and during the natural

£22l ives of Elizabeth Godwyn

,w ife of Robert

Godwyn,of Wookey aforesaid

,gentlemen. Joseph

Godwyn and Edward Godwyn,sons of the said

Robert and El izabeth, and the l ives of every of

them longest liv ing pay ing therefore yearly dur ing

the sa id term,unto the sa id sub-dean and h is

successors,the sum of £22

,at the two most usual

feasts or terms in the yearly equal portions over

and above the sa id rent , per annum ,£1 27 1 7s. 8d.

Memorandum,by covenant of the said leases , the sa id lessor

and his successors are to bear and pay all and s ingular rents ,

duties , and sums of money due to be pa id, as wel l as to the

king and his successors , as to any other Ord inaries out of the

said Rectory or Parsonage. The said lessee covenanteth to pay

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86 HIsTO Imor IVO O KEY .

Norton St. Philip’s . It seems probable, from the testimony of

the Church rate-book,that he came to reside here immediately

after the death of Mrs . Godwyn. There is a tablet in the tower

to the memory of all his children. H is wife died in 1 7 5 2 , and

he followed her in the next year. Now as the rector ial property

appears to continue in the hands of the Peirs’ family until 1 78 1 ,it would seem probable that one of the sub -deans

,in the early

part of this century,had granted to the Peirs’ family a new lease

,

and most likely this was about the time of the death of Mr.

Godwyn.

1 O n the death of Thomas Peirs, William Ekins Peirs,his cousin

,succeeded to the lease

,and resided in the Rectory

house. He was a bachelor, and in addition to the rectory he

became a tenant,and possibly a leaseholder of the Manor-house.

He died in 1 765 , leaving his interest in both places to his sister,Lady Elizabeth Montague Bertie. It was during the time of

the Piers that the great change took place both in the appearance of

the house and in its name , and if it is true that the small oriel

over the porch,and the corbel s and spandrils had formerly been

in the Manor-house, then in all probability the rebuilding of the

Rectory-house occurred during the occupation of it,and of the

Manor-house,by William Ek ins Peirs

,or Lady Elizabeth Bertie

,

his sister. Phelps says that the change took place dur ing the

tenancy of Colonel Peirs, but I have found no documentary

evidence concerning it, nor yet as to the change of name . It is

generally agreed that the corbels and carved spandrils originally

came from Jocelyn’

s cloisters, south of the cathedral, wh ich were

taken down when b ishop B ekynton and his executors bu ilt the

present cloisters . Why the Rectory-hous e was called Mel lifont

Abbey,I have not been able to d iscover. Lady El izabeth Bertie

d ied in 1 78 1 at the Manor-house, but u p to the time of her

death she was paying a church rate for Mel lifont Abbey as

well,and I th ink after her death the place was inhab ited

by Mr Edward Band . When the place was rebu ilt,the house

in the churchyard , mentioned in the Terrier of 1 634, was brought

in as offices for the enlarged house.

1 i.e. about 1 725 .

THE RECTORY AND THE RECTORS.

Two more leases of the rectorial property were made after

th is . O n July 1 st , 1 790, the Rev. Charles Moss leased it to

John Salmon ,E sq ,

of Wookey,on the l ives of Sarah

,Francis

and Hester Salmon. O n April 1 5 th,1 837

,Henton Inn

,part of

the rectorial property was leased out,and on April 1 7th

,1 837

,

the Rev. C . E . Keene leases Mel lifont Abbey,as it was now

regularly called,to W ill iam Watson and John Lax

, E sqrs.,

trustees for the Salmon fam i ly.

S ince then the property has been enfranchised by the Salmon

fam i ly,and the freehold of the house and gardens is now in the

possession of A. Burnett-Stuart,E sq ,

the present tenant. He

has possessed h imself also of the freehold of the Manor-house,

and reviving the times ofWill iam Ekins Peirs and Lady Elizabeth

Bertie,has not indeed created such changes in the bu i ld ing

,but

has altered the course of the river Axe and turned it into the

northern bed of the moat that used to exist round the Manor

house,and so l ike them has wrought an improvement at the

expense of history .

The follow ing is the l ist of the rectors of W ookey being sub

deans of Wells ; Ivo, however, was the first rector,being the

first dean,and he was succeeded by Ricardus de Spakeston. At

the time of the exchange Thomas Dinant was the sub-dean,and

w ith h im our list begins . I am indebted for it to my friend

the sub-dean.

Thomas DinantAlardLambertRobert de BerkeleyW ill iam

W illiam de Button

W alter St. Quintin

Hugh de Rumenal

John de Axebrugge

\Vil liam le RousRichard de W intonW illiam de Y atton

W alter Brown

W alter de Burton

1 334.

1 342 .

1 342 .

1 35 0.

1 382.

1 391 .

1 409.

1 424.

1 45 0.

1 45 7 .

1 462 .

1 491 .

1 5 00.

1 5 05 .

1 5 08 .

1 5 1 6.

1 5 24.

1 5 31 .

1 5 72 .

1 5 84.

1 607.

1 6 1 4.

1 629.

1 638.

1 660.

1 660.

1 665 .

1 679.

HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

W alter de HulleMatthew de ValenceW illiam de Lavinton

W illiam CamelThomas Bingham

Nicholas PontesburyNicholas Mockyng

J ohn ReynoldThomas BoleynJohn Spekyngton

John W ansford

W illiam BoketRobert W idoweJohn Hans

Reginald W est

Thomas LovellJames Fitz james

W illiam Boureman

Ph ilip BisseJacob Bisse

Robert ScottThomas James

W il liam RobertsThomas BayleyJames DugdaleJames Masters

Francis Mundy

W illiam Levintz1 698. Henry Layng1 7 1 6.

1 72 1 .

1 729.

1 765 .

1 773.

1 774.

1 800.

1 8 1 2 .

1 822.

1 849.

1 86 1 .

John W hitehead

John RogersTimothy Colli nsSir Thomas I ’ansonJohn Paine

Charles Moss

Charles Thomas BarkerHouston RadcliffeCharles Edmund Ruck KeeneEdgar HuxtableCharles Marcus Church

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90 HISTORY O F W O O REY .

any really dependable evidence, with the episcopate of Drokens

ford,and the omissions that are consp icuous

,and the reason for

the absence of dates before some of the names w ill be explained

further on . In Drokenford ’s Register,the appointment of William

Brid is not coupled,as is usual afterwards

,w ith the name of his

predecessor,and the cause of the vacancy. This may be because

Brid was the first vicar. But if so,then it is strange that

,as

with so many other parishes,the creat ion of the vicarage is not

recorded also . O n the other hand,it is not safe to argue from the

silence of the reg ister,because that was the age when v icarages

were beginn ing,and the form of record ing the institution of a

v icar would only b ecome stereotyped after some lapse of t ime.

The date of institution is given whenever I have been able to

discover it.

1 246 .

Apr ilFeb .

March 30, 1 338.

Dec . 1 5,1 348.

John le Poch

W illiam BridJohn de Su ttona

Thomas de M ilverton

John de Camel

March 2 1 , 1 349. Richard de Haslaye1 389. John Compton

John Baker

Dec . 25,1 404 . John Brent

March 2 1 , 1 435 . Thomas G oldcliffe

July 1 1 , 1 453. John Combe

Aug . 22 , 1 472 . John W el lyknow

Apr il 8, 1 477 . John EdwardsJune 22 , 1 5 06. John Cayrel l

May 7 , 1 5 1 6 . Richard Al lwel lRichard Eryngton

30, 1 5 46 . Alexander BerkeleyHenry Howe

Jan. 1 8,1 5 59. Chr istopher W ebster

O ct. 1 0, 1 5 69. Gilbert HarveyFeb . 1 7 , 1 5 72 . John K elway

Feb . 1 3,1 5 92. Richard Poughnel l

Dec 9, 1 595 . Thomas Mydleham

Samuel Y erworth

Jan. 6 1 66 1 . John GaddFeb .

2 1 672 . Thomas StottMorgan Jones

THE VIOARAO E AND THE VICARS . 91

Edward W ooton

W illiam H illThomas Ford

July 1 4, 1 747. Robert K ingstonAug. 7, 1 748. Henry ArnoldDec . 22

,1 778 . W illiam Keate

March 9, 1 795 . Evan DaviesMarch 1 0, 1 801 . Charles Moss

Nov ; 23, 1 801 . John Stevens PhillottJ an. 26 , 1 839. Edward SneydNov . 20, 1 839. W illiam ThorpeDec . 1 3, 1 849. Theodos ius Burnett StuartJuly 1 7 , 1 868. Morton Drummond

Dec . 2,1 879. Thomas Scott Holmes

The earliest record of the V icarage-house is in one of the title

deeds relat ing to the endowments of the Church . It is dated

January 1 4th , 1 420- 1, (7 Henry and in it a certain tenement

is described as extending to a certain lane, ex opposito Messuagii

de antiquo vocat i la Vikersp lace . From this it is clear that a

house had been in existence here for some years . Now, un

fortunately,the B ishops ’ Reg isters are lost for the time between

1 363- 1 401,and consequently a statement in another document

leaves the way Open for some time. The earl iest deed concerning

the endowments of the Church bears the date 1 389 (1 3 Rich .II

.)and

.

ia it a house called Strecchistenement is said to have lately

been held by John Compton, capellanus perpetuus. This John

Compton may have been the immed iate predecessor of John Baker,

as v icar of Wookey , and if so, Strachey’

s tenement was occupied

for a time by the vicars. I cannot find any other statement

concerning th is man Compton,

1 nor yet of Strecchistenement

where he l ived,and therefore I can only mention this as what

appears to me to be a possible conj ecture,and it is only on th i s

evidence that I have ventured to put John Compton among the

l ist of vicars . It w i ll have been noticed that I have inserted

the name of a vicar in the middle of the 1 3th century .This

man was not a perpetual vicar,but I think he was acting as the ‘

deputy of the sub-dean.

2

1 But c .f., p . 39. Liber Albus 1 , fol . 66 b.

92 HISTORY OF W O O REY .

In the Chapter Records at Wells there is an inspeximus by

the Chapter of a charter of Hugh de Roumenal,sub-dean of Wells

and rector of Wookey, of a grant of two acres of land at Wookey

to John le poch de Exon,clerk

,and Jul iana de W okey, h is wife .

Now in the East-field of Wookey the rectors had two acres of

freehold between adj o ining strips that belonged to the bishops as

lords of the manor,and these two acres were afterwards given

as a perpetual endowment to the vicarage. They consist of the

strip of land that reaches from the Back Lane as far as East

court House. It seems probable,therefore

,that as these two

acres were regarded as sufficient endowment for the vicars after

wards,they were g iven by Hugh de Roumenal on a l ife lease

to this John le poch Clerk,because he was acting as his deputy

here in the parish at that time . On this account I have ventured

to place him at the head of our list .

In 1 438 there is no doubt where the vicar ’s house is,for on

August 1 2th John Reynold,sub-dean of Wells

,grants to the

vicar of Wookey and h is successors two acres of land, with their

appurtenances,lying in the E astfield of Wookey

,between the

land of the Lord B ishop of Bath and Wells on both s ides,and

which abuts upon the house of the sa id v icar a yearly payment

Offourpence being made to the said John Reynold and h is

successors for ever. In the Cler ical Subsidy of 1 426,the v icarage

is valued at six marks and again in 1 445,during the episcopate

of B ekynton,when a tenth of Church property was granted by

Convocat ion in aid of the war against the Turks and Saracens,

the v icar of Wookey is assessed in ten marks,and pays tenpence.

In 1 5 35 , in Henry the VI II .

’S Valor Ecclesiasticus

,the entry

concerning the vicarage is as follows

W O KY .— Ricardus E ryngton Vicar ius V icaria ib idem . Valet

per annum,v iz .

,in terris dominicalibus

,3S . 4d . Decimae

lanae et agnorum lx i8 vii ia. Oblaciones cum decimis

personalibus £ ix xSviiid . Sic nunc in toto remanet

clare,£x i i xv“v i i id

The vicarage there is worth yearly, in rent of glebe lands in

demesne,3s. 4d . ; tithes of wool and lambs, 6 1 s. 8d. ; oblations

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94 HISTORY O E VVO O E E Y .

attested by the vicar,churchwardens, s idesmen, and those of the

parishioners who had also signed the Terrier of the rectorial dues

and possess ions . And th is presentiment was not i ll-grounded,

for only fifteen years afterwards there comes another valuat ion

of the vicarage,Short and incisive

,as if the valuers had for ever

done away with Easter dues , Church dut ies, and such l ike, and

had decided that the minister of the parish should have a fixed

income in money.

In the survey of the Church lands,ordered by the last days

of the reforming parliament in 1 649,it is stated that the

vicarage is worth £26 1 3s. 4d . a year,and that the then incum

bent is Mr . Felix Fearne . And aga in,in the Presentment of

Jurors,November 26th

,1 65 0

,we find that the “par ish of

W ookye cons isted of about one hundred and thirty fam ilys, and

i s populous,where one Mr. Felix Fearne is the present preach

ing minister,the glebe and t ithes belonging to the vicar

worth yearly almost twenty pounds .”

It would have been most interesting had the Terrier on thislater valuation given us the acreage of the glebe lands

,as it

would have been a clue by wh ich we might be able to approxi

mate to a date for the enclosure of the common fields of the

parish. Certainly this happened either during the latter days of

Elizabeth ’s reign,or during the early part of the 1 7th century . In

a deed belonging to the Church lands of the year 1 636,mention is

made of the West-field as lately enclosed,and in one of the year

1 601,in leasing some land

,exception is made to a port ion of

land in Rushlands,as if at the time of the enclosure the lease

holder ofan auster tenement had pa id more than h is share,in

order that he might obtain the freehold for himself. At any

rate,during this

‘

century the glebe of the vicars is increased by

three acres and twelve poles of land at Henley,which were

allotted to h im from the East-field of Wookey.

During the 1 8th century l ittle change seems to have taken

place here . 1 In all probab ility the vicars were more or less non

1 In Hooper’s Return, 6 Queen Anne the vicarage is returned asworth £24 1 5 s. 8d .

THE VICARAGE AND THE VICARS . 95

resident,and the Vicarage-house was let out to others ; and

there are stil l people alive who have heard that the clerk’s house

used to be in the Back Lane . In 1 7 29 a grant was made to the

l iving by the Governors of Queen Anne ’s Bounty of £200, and

th is was met by a grant from Dr. Roger’

s benefaction of a

s im ilar sum,and th is £400 was expended, I bel ieve, on fourteen

acres of glebe land at Glastonbury W ick . In 1 763, the Rev.

Henry Arnold,D.D.,

vicar of the parish,gave £5 0

,Mrs.

Horner ’s Trustees £5 0, Mr. Pyncombe’

s Trustees £ 1 00,

and

Queen Anne ’s Bounty £200, and this was invested in the

purchase of a house and two fields , but not until the beginning

of the present century . When the Rev . J. S . Phillott came

here in 1 801,he intended to reside in the parish

,but found

that on account of the dalapidated state of the Vicarage-house it

was then impossible and therefore he made use of the last money

grant made to the endowment fund to purchase an acre and a

half,or thereabouts

,of land

,with a house upon it ; the whole

be ing known as Salvage ’s plot and home ground . The house he

enlarged and made su itable for his res idence,and probably took

away the stones from the old house,and used them up in the

building of the new . During these improvements and alterations,

Mr. Phillott lived at Westbury, and when he came here he pro

bably was the first vicar who had res ided for more than seventy

years . For some time during the incumbency of Dr. Arnold,

Mr. H ol lyer Allen,the rector of Rodney Stoke

,used to act as

curate here,and from the fact that he d ied

,and was buried here

October 4th,1 7 7 1

,it would seem probable that he had l ived here .

Once more there was an enlargement of the Vicarage-house. In

1 849,dur ing the time of Mr. Burnett-Stuart

,the house which

Mr. Ph illott had built was found to be too small,and several

rooms were added,at a cost of £600

,the half of which was

borrowed from the Ecclesiast ical Commissioners on the income of

the benefice. In 1 883,after the great t ithes had fallen in

,the

Commissioners increased the income of the vicar bv a yearly

grant of £20.

Now it is evident , on looking over the above l ist of v icars ,that the parish d id not escape the ecclesiastical storms of the

96 HISTORY OF W’

O O E EY .

l 6th and 1 7th centuries . The period of reform in Edward the

VI .

’S reign

,and the troublous t imes under the Commonwealth

,

was felt here sufficiently strong to deprive the parish of the

vicars. Alexander Berkeley,a monk from one ofthe monas

teries which Henry had suppressed,certainly died away from h is

benefice,and was probably one of those clergy who would not

accept the English Prayer Book,and was therefore expel led from

h is cure. Samuel Y erworth,after hav ing endured the annoyance

of two rival preachers within the Church for several years,was

at last expelled in the autumn of 1 65 5 . And it is worth notic ing

also,that on the accession of El izabeth

,and on the return of

Charles II.,the clergy who were placed here had been prev iously

expelled from other benefices. Christopher Webster, appointed

vicar of Wookey in 1 5 5 9,had formerly been vicar of Burnham

and John Gadd,appointed in 1 661

,had prev iously been rector

of Charlynch. The following incidental notices of the vicars I

have gleaned from various sources, ~bu t ch iefly from the Ep iscopal

Registers and the U niversity Degree Books,and seem to com

plete the account of the history of our vicars. The gap between

Richard de H aslaye and John Baker,and the uncertainty about

John Compton,is caused by the loss of the Bishops ’ Registers for

that period .

J olm B rent had been rector of Mattingho, now Martinhoe,in the diocese of Exeter

,and in 1 404 exchanged with John

Baker.

J ohn Wel lyl mow is called Cap el lanus. Perhaps he had some

work also in the cathedral .

J ohn E dwards was probably a native of the parish,his

relat ions having settled down here many years previously . We

fi nd many Edwards’s living at Y arley in the 1 6th century, and

they seem to have had considerable influence in the parish .

He resigned in 1 5 06,receiving £1 6s. 8d . yearly by way of

pension out of the revenues of the v icarage,and was certainly

alive ten years later. H is successor, John Castell , or as Hutton

spel ls it,John Cayrel l , was appointed by Lewis Pollard, sergeant

at-law . Th is man was probably the agent ofJohn Hans,a non

res ident sub -dean of Wel ls .

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98 HI STORY OF W OOKEY .

Gilber t Harvey was appointed by the bishop, the presentation

having lapsed to him,probably

,through the great age and feeble

health of Wm . Bowerman,the sub -dean. Dr. Bowerman died

about th is time,but when

,I cannot exactly say . During the

time of G ilbert Harvey there is an entry in the Reg ister which

would make us suppose that he was non- res ident. 1 5 7 1,April

1 2th,Christian Lane

,daughter of Mr. Lane, curate, baptized.

There were several families of this name in Wells about this t ime.

A Mistress Al ice Lane,wife OfMr. Peter Lane

,is buried there in

1 6 1 3.

Thomas Mydleham. I have not yet discovered anything

about this vicar. From 1 636- 1 661 a Mr. Purify Mydleham was

vicar of Westbury. There must have been a family of this name

in the neighbourhood for,in 1 5 89

,six years before his appoint

ment here,Mr. Mydleham was married to Margery Collier in the

B ishop ’s Chapel at Banwell. She died in 1 624,and for h is

second w ife he married in 1 626,Mary Web

,his next

_doorneighbour

,in the Church Barton

,whom he had himself baptized

in 1 603.

Samu el Yerwor th was born in Dorset about 1 5 91 , and went

to Oxford at sixteen in 1 607 He read Hebrew w ith some success

and in 1 65 0 publ ished a book called “Introductio ad lingnam

Ebraicam breviss ima .” He was expelled by the Puritans in 1 65 5,

and his place was filled by Mr. Felix Fearne. He was never

instituted to the vicarage because Bishop Peirs retired from the

Diocese in 1 645 when the rebels visited the county and did

not return til l 1 660.

J ohn Gadd was ordained priest on June 9th, 1 639, by bishop

P iers,and was appointed rector of Charl inch May 9th, 1 639. He

was expel led thence by the Puritans and came here at the

Restoration.

We now come to a serious gap in our list of vicars. I have

not been able to find any institution to the benefice between the

years 1 673 and 1 747 . Mr. Thomas Stott died and was buried

here December 7th, 1 673, and Mr. Robert K ingston was

appointed on the nomination of the king through lapse on July

THE VICARAGE AND THE VICARS . 99

1 4th,1 747 . No ment ion of Wookey is to be found in the yearly

returns for the diocese between these years in the Record Office,

and I can give no explanation of the om ission of the four names

I have inserted . Thomas Ford actually signs in the Parish Vestry

M inute book as vicar towards the end of his t ime,and therefore

there need be no hes itation about accept ing h im He is present

at the Vestry Meetings from 1 7 23- 1 746, so that our gap i s

d im inished to the interval between the years 1 673- 1 723. Now

in 1 683 there is an entry in the Registers of Bur ials at Westbury

to the effect that a certain woman was buried on the affidavit

made before Mr. Jones, m inister of Wookey . I have no evidence

to prove that he was vicar,but here is a statement that at present

I cannot deny . There was also a Mr. Jones,vicar of some place

,

in the diocese of Bath and Wells, who was disqualified in 1 688

by his refusal to take the oaths of al legiance to Will iam and

Mary. In the churchwardens ’ accounts from 1 702- 1 730,the names

of the other two clergymen occur w ith such frequency as to

warrant us in say ing that they were either curates,ministers

,or

vicars. The Rev . Edward W ooton preaches tw ice a year for the

Second Poor Charity from 1 704 - 1 7 1 1,and receives each time a

fee for his trouble . The Rev. W illiam Hill appears as curate

from 1 7 1 3- 1 7 20 and also preaches for the second Poor. In the

Presentments of the churchwardens to the Archdeacon of Wells in

1 746,Mr. Robert Kingston appears as the curate and sequestrator.

This last title may give us a clue to our difficulty,but as the

chancel was very much out of repair this may only refer to the

sub-deanery estates .

The Rev. Morgan J ones, who is mentioned in the Westbury

Register as m inister here,may be the same as the man who

took his degree from S . John ’s Col lege,Oxford

,1 673

,and

became Fellow of Jesus and Master of Arts,July 4th

,1 676.

Robert Kingston,Lincoln College

,Oxford

,B .A.

,Feb . 25 th

,

1 7 24, M .A.,June 22nd

,1 7 28 , was ordained deacon, June 8th ,

1 7 29, and for nearly twenty years was an assistant curate of

St . Cuthbert’s Church,Wells . He probab ly l ived in \Vells and his

family rose to some distinction there . He was buried in

1 00 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

St. Cuthbert ’s Church,and in the N.E . aisle there is a tablet to his

memory with th is inscription : H .S .E . Rob ertu s Kingston,A.M.

“huj usce eccles iae vicariis per vicenos annos Adjutor,ecclesiae

parochialis de W oky non ita p ridem ipse factus Vicarius.

Pastor erat et fidelis et bonus,amicus certu s

,vir integer

,uxori

,

liberis, famu lis

,familiaribu s

, pauperibus denique et bonis

omnibus charus ‘ vixit,deflendus obiit IV. Aug ,

1 748 annum

agcus XLIII .”

H enryArnold , of Balliol College, O xfrd, B .A.,Oct. 1 5 th

,1 742,

1 742,M .A.

,July 4th

,1 745 , RD. and D.D.

,April 2 l st

,1 761 , was

probably non-resident. H is assistant curate was for some time

the Rev. H ol lyer Allen,rector of Rodney Stoke

,who died here

and was buried,Oct. 4th

,1 77 1 .

Wil liam Keate was also non-resident. The Rev. John Pearse

was his curate for some years.

E ran Davies was,in addition to being vicar here

,rector of

Ilchester and vicar of Pilton. He died and was buried at Pilton,

Jan. 1 4th,1 8 1 2

,aged 5 6.

Char les Moss was the son of Charles Moss, the then bishop of

Bath and Wells. He was educated at Christchurch, Oxford, and

took his degree in 1 783, M.A.,1 786 and D.D.

,1 797 . He was

appointed sub-dean of Wells and rector of Wookey within a year

after his appointment to this vicarage. In 1 807 he was made

bishop of Oxford,and died 1 8 1 2.

J ohn S tevens Phillott was the eldest son of the Rev. James

Phillott,rector of Bath. He was educated at Balliol College,

Oxford , and took his degree June 1 4th, 1 797. Immediately

afterwards he was ordained on a titl e his father had given to the

Abbey-church at Bath. He held no other preferment but this

vicarage.

E dward Sneyd was of Christ’s College

,Cambridge

,B .A.

,

1 826,M.A.

,1 830 ; minor canon of Durham ,

1 831 ; vicar of

St. Margaret’s,Durham

,1 834 vicar of Wookey

,1 839 ; rector

of W itton G ilbert, 1 839 ; vicar of St. Oswald’s,Durham ,

1 8 48

1 862. Died Augus t 3rd,1 866

,aged 7 1 . Mr. Sneyd only held

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1 02 HISTORY OF W OOKEY .

CHAPTER VI .

THE PARISH REGISTERS,CHU RCHWARDENS

,CLERKS

AND SEXTONS .

E are very fortunate in having such old and perfect

Registers. They have been well kept,well bound

,and on

the whole are remarkably clean. The register of burials begins

with the name of Mr. Henry Howe,v icar of the parish

,who d ied

in the year 1 5 5 8,

and the register of births,burials

,and

marriages have been regularly kept from 1 5 65 . Previous to the

year 1 5 98 the entries were made on loose pieces of parchment or

paper,but in that year the churchwardens

,John Turner and John

Browning bought 42 leaves of parchment at a cost of 8s. l 0d . and

had all the entries on the loose papers cop ied on them. This

lasted as the register book t il l the year 1 639 when Edward

H ippisley and Robert Buxton,churchwardens

,bought 20 leaves

more at a cost of 3s. In 1 669,1 8 leaves more were added by

Edward Hobbs and Hugh Merifield at a cost of 4s. 6d. In 1 702,

5 4 more leaves were added by John Stott and Thomas Chu rchous

and the whole were bound at a cost of l 0s . 8d . In 1 7 67 40 leaves

more were added by Thomas Bailey and Joseph E lvard,and the

whole were rebound by Mr. Carr,of Wells

,for 1 7s.

Such is the old register bringing down the entries of marriages

to 1 7 5 8, and of baptisms and burials to 1 8 1 2 . From these dates the

modern books begin,there being three volumes of marriage registers

,

viz . 1 7 5 4- 1 8 1 4 ; 1 8 1 4- 1 837 ; 1 837 to the present time ; and one

for burials and two for baptisms . The writing is all by the same hand

from 1 5 65 to 1 5 98. Then Mr. Mydleham seems to have kept

them himself almost to the time of his death in 1 647. The hand

writ ing ofStephen Weare,the celebrated parish clerk

,is then

vis ible,though Mr . Samu el Y erworth sometimes makes the entries

h imself until 1 65 5 . From this time until his death in 1 680,

Stephen Weare,who had been sworn in as registrary for the

TH E PARISH REGISTERS.

parish,keeps the books and makes the entries. To him succeeded

JOhn Turner, and from about the end of the 1 7th century down to

the present t ime the entries were made either by the vicar for

the time or somebody act ing for him . Thomas Ford countersigns

several leaves about 1 730, and Wm . Keate in 1 78 1 .

There are several interesting pieces of information to be found

in this old register.

1 5 73. At this t ime baysalt was sold 35 . 4d. le bush . and wheat

for 4s. le bushel l in Wells market.

In 1 5 97,we read that “at this time in Wells market

,wheat

was sold for 1 6s. the bushel , beanes at 1 3s . the bushell, barley at

1 03. the bushell,barley malt at 1 0s . the bushell

,dredg at 6s. 8d. the

bushell,oates at 5 8 . 4d .

,barley graynes for hogges at 8d. the bushell ,

and bay salt at 7 s. 6d .

1 609. Mr. Anthony Godwyn of this parish died at London,

the 22nd of November,and was buried in Clement Danes Church

w ithout Temple Bar,the 23rd of November

,and a funeral sermon

was preached for him by Mr. Al len in Wookey Church,1 4th

December.

Mr. A. Godwyn held the lease of the Rectory now called

Mellifont Abbey .

In 1 6 1 2 . About this time B embury Wood was sold and

cutte .”

1 6 1 4. Th is Lent white herins were sold 2 a penny and red

herins 5 for 2d . and egs two for a penny or five for two pence .

In 1 6 1 4.

“Robert Buxton was buried the Bl st of March .

He gave to the poor of the parish of W okey X“,to every one of

the almesfolkes of Wells vi(1 a year and to divers other several

poor people worthye legacies.

1 622 . Hannah , the wife of John Crooker and daughter unto

Thomas Mydleham ,vicar of this parish

,departed this life on

Monday morning,the 22nd of September

,and was buried the 24th

ofthe same September,be ing that day of the moneth, 1 5 98, on .

wh ich she was baptized .

We can surely forg ive the poor old v icar the length of this

entry . Twenty-fiv e years afterwards they laid him in the same

grave . I S it not w ith us unto this day"l

1 04 H ISTORY OF VVO O KEY .

1 624. John Browning aged about 25 years , died March 2 l st ,who died as he lived very honestly and godly. He gave to the

poor of the parish £5 and for certain preachers that should preach

1 5 sermons in the church of W oky £5 more, and for to be Spent

at his burial £ 1 0. He was buried March ‘

24th.

1 635 . Mr.Anthonie Buxton, a minster, was buried January 8th.

1 65 3,Oct. 9. Collected at Wookey

,in the county of Somerset

,

for the town of Marlborough,in the county of Wilts

,who had

great loss by fire,towards the relief of the poor there

,and the

rebu ilding of the town,at two several collections

,27s . 6d. and 1 2s. ,

making in all 39s. 6d . Samuel Y erworth,vicar.

In 1 65 5,Mr. Samuel Y erworth was expelled by the authorities

of the Commonwealth,but ere he departed he is careful to

mention the fact. Here ends the Wedd ings that were before the

new act in force,Sept. 29th

,1 65 5 . Noted by me

,Samuel

Y erworth,vicar

,April 22nd

,1 65 5 .

1 65 6. January 6th. Baptized John,son of Richard and

Jane Turner of R ipple. The godfathers and grandmothers were

three hundred years of age.

The fol lowing account of Thomas Edwarde and h is will also

appears among the burials for the year 1 5 96. He was the son of

Anthony and Margaret Edwarde of’

Henton,Thomas Edwarde

,

the son of Margaret Edwarde of Yardly , widow,being of the age

of nineteen years and n ine months , departed th is life July 28th, in

the year next above written and was buried the 29th of the same

month,in the parish church of W oky. Th is Thomas E dwarde in

his lifetime was a virtuous young man,beloved of the most honest

persons and inhabitants w ithin the parish of W oky, and such a one

as right well affect the poor,as by the last will and almost the last

word that he spake it may and doth appear,the tenor of whose

will is as followeth .

July 27th , 1 5 96. Thomas Edwarde of W oky in the county of

Somerset,husbandman

,be ing perfect Ofmind and memory did

make his last w il l noncupative in manner and form following viz

he gave three pounds of current English money to the poor ofthe

parish of NVoky aforesaid, to be put out yearly from time to time

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1 06 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

were authorised by Royal brief. There is a list of the collections

made in Wookey Church under th is authority , and the cause

for wh ich the money was collected. It is as fol lows,om itting

the amount of lossd .

1 703. Twyford, loss by fire Collected l 73Spittlefield , loss by fire 1 2 ;W illiam Odell , ofSt. G iles’ -in-the Fields, loss byfire 3 2}

J ohn W apping , in County ofM iddlesex 3 62Great Massingham , loss by fire 1 6

W illiam Brompton,loss by fire 1 1 05

Francis Dorset, loss by fire 1 6

1 708. G reat Y armouth , loss by fire , Aug. 1 st 0 1 0

Bewdley,loss by fire , Aug . 22nd 1 5

1 709.

lp

1 0.

Altonbury-cum -W eston,in County ofHuntingdon,

loss by fire, O ct. 3rd

Lisburne, in Ireland , loss by fireStrand , loss by fire .

Branchley Church , damagedAt ye head ofye Cannon Gate at Edinburgh, 1

North Br ittan, loss by fire . Amount illegible.

Harlowe, in the County ofEssex,loss by fire

St. Mary Redcliffe Church,in Br istol, damaged

Llanvil ling Church ,damaged

A br iefe for ye relief, subs istence and settlemeiit ofthe poor distressed palatines

Protestant Church ofM ittan,in Courland

Market Rayson, loss by fireStoak , in the County ofSuffolk .

The Par ish Church of Aston”super -Mercy, in y8

County ofChester

The ancient borrough and towne ofStockton-uponTees, in the County of Durham, StocktonChurch

Chalfont St . Peter’

s Church in the County ofBuckingham

Rotherhith Wall, in the County ofSurrey, loss byfire n

Northfleet and Durant , loss by fireTwyford, in the Countie ofBarks, loss by fireSt. Mary Rotherhith Church , in the Countie ofSurry

Ide , In Devon, loss by fire . .

Ensham ,in the County ofOxon

,loss byfire

1 7 1 2 . St. Mary ’s Church,1 1 1 Colchester , demolished in the

Civil W ar

TH E PARISH REG ISTERS . 1 07

1 7 1 3. The town ofRudgley, in County ofStaffordThe steeple ofthe Par ish Church ofAdderleyColv erton Church ,

in the County ofLe icesterW ither idge and Chilton,

loss by fireRichard Salter , ofou r City ofLondonQuatford Church, in County ofSal lopSt. Mary ’s Church DevonThe Church ofBurton-upon-

,Trent in the CountyofStafford .

Southwell Church, in the County ofNottingham ,

W arm ingham Church , in County of"

Chester ,damaged

W illiam Adams, of Heathil l , in the County of

Stafford

1 7 1 5 . Shipwash Church , in the County of Devon,damaged

W oodham Ferry ’8 Church in the County ofEssex,damaged

St. John Baptist Church, in Southover, in

”

the

County ofSussexAl l Saints’ Church , in the borough of Derby,damaged

Leighton Church in the County ofSalop ii.Botisham,

in the County of Cambr idge,loss by

fire 0 41

The earlier collections do not appear to have been made in

church,but rather from house to house ; but afterwards the

fact that the sum had been collected in the parish church of

Wookey is always stated . There are four or five other entries

at the top or bottom of a page,but the names are quite illegible .

1 08

1 5 62 .

1 5 98.

1 602.

1 6 1 3.

1 6 1 8.

1 629.

1 634.

1 633.

1 639.

1 644.

1 646.

1 65 0.

1 669.

1 670.

1 689.

1 696.

1 699.

1 700.

1 701 .

1 702.

1 703.

1 704.

1 705 .

1 706.

1 707 .

1 708.

1 709.

1 7 1 0.

1 7 1 1 .

1 7 1 2.

1 7 1 3.

1 7 1 4.

1 7 1 5 .

1 7 1 6 .

1 7 1 7 .

1 7 1 8 .

1 7 1 9.

H ISTORY or VVO O E EY .

CHU RCHWARDENS OF WOOKEY.

W illiam DreweJohn T urnerMr. Anthony GodwinDavid TrymJohn ChappellDavid TrymThomas Churchou se

John Hooper als Smyth

Edward HippisleyRichard SageJohn Heliar

Thomas Churchouse

Thomas Hobbe

John SmithThomas Corpe

W ill iam ClarkeRichard BallarJohn Tutten

Thomas Barnard

John StottJohn BrowningJohn Barnard

George MastersJames Tibbs

John Cooke

Thomas T ibbs

W illiam GaleJohn Rooe

Richard ClarkeJohn PooleRichard BrowningDavid CookeRichard ClarkeJohn Barnard

Do.

W illiam Chappell

Thomas Strode

John Edward sJohn Browning, the elderBartholomew CastleJohn Smyth also HooperNicholas Marshfield

John ChappellRichard AbowenJohn Ffussel l

Robert BuxtonThomas Hotkins

Edward BarnardRichard W estwoodHugh Merihfield

John StottHugh Merifield

W illiam ChappellRichard M illardJohn LuffeThomas Watts

Thomas Churchou se

John RandallGeorge BrookinanDavid CookeJohn Turner, ofBleadneyW illiam BrowneStephen W eare

W illiam W illsThomas GaleJohn Elford, for Mr.Muttlebury

John Churchouse

John Plumer

John LuffeJoseph FrenchW illiam GloverJohn W atts

George AllfordThomas Stott , or Mr. Bayley

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1 1 0

1 763.

1 764.

1 765 .

1 766.

1 767 .

1 768.

1 769.

1 770.

1 77 1 .

1 772 .

1 773.

1 774.

1 775 .

1 776.

1 777 .

1 778.

1 779.

1 780.

1 78 1 .

1 782.

1 783.

1 784 .

1 785 .

1 786.

1 787 .

1 788 .

1 789.

1 790.

1 791 .

1 792 .

1 793.

1 794 .

1 795 .

1 796.

1 797.

1 798.

1 799.

1 800.

1 801 .

1 802.

1 803.

1 804.

1 805 .

HISTORY OF IVO O REY .

W illiam CookeDo.

Thomas BaileyDo.

Abraham Goater

Do.

Henry Mackinnen

Do.

Edward BandDo.

Do.

Thomas Baker

John SalmonDo.

Do.

Thomas Baker

John Butten

John Salmon

John Meadens

Do .

Do.

John Salmon

Do.

Do .

Thomas Barnard

Do.

Isaac StottJohn H illJohn Band

Do.

Do.

Do .

Do.

Do.

George Y eap

James StottDo.

Joseph E lvard

Do.

Thomas StottDo.

Thomas RuddickDo.

Nicholas GoddardDo.

Do.

James StottJohn Butten

Do .

James StottJohn Salmon

Do.

John ClarkJohn Band

Do.

James W eare

Isaac Stott,Junr .

Do.

Do.

Thomas W eareDo.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do .

Do.

Do .

Do.

Do.

1 806 .

1 807. Do.

1 808. Do.

1 809. Do.

1 81 0. Do .

1 8 1 1 . Do.

1 8 1 2 . Do.

1 8 1 3. Do.

1 8 1 4. W illiam Stott1 8 1 5 . Do.

1 8 1 6. John W eare

1 8 1 7 . John W eare

1 8 1 8 . Do .

1 8 19. Do.

1 820. Do .

1 82 1 . Do.

1 823. Do .

1 824. Do .

1 825 . Do .

1 826. Do .

1 827 . Do.

1 828. Do .

1 829. Do .

1 830. W illiam Pitney1 831 . Do .

1 832 . Do.

1 833. Do .

1 834. Do .

1 835 . Do.

1 836. Do .

1 837 . Do.

1 838. Do.

1 839. Do.

1 840. Do.

1 84 1 . Do.

1 842 . Do.

1 843. Do.

1 844. DO .

1 845 . Do .

1 846 . DO .

1 847 . Do .

1 848. Edward H ill1 849. James H ill

THE PARISH REGISTERS. 1 1 1

Do.

Do.

Do .

Do.

Do .

Do .

Do.

John W eare

Do.

W illiam Stott

Do .

George BarnardDo .

Do.

Richard ClarkeDo.

Do.

Do .

Do.

Do.

George Salmon

Do.

1 1 2 H ISTO RY OF W OOKEY.

1 850. James H ill1 85 1 . Do.

1 85 2 . Do.

1 853. Do.

1 85 4. Do.

1 85 5 . W illiam Caseley1 85 6. Do.

1 85 7. Do.

1 85 8. Do.

1 85 9. Do.

1 860. George Salmon1 86 1 . Mr. Robert Salmon1 862. Do.

1 863. Do .

1 864. Mr. Wm . S . H ill, ofOare1 865 . Do.

1 866. Do.

1 867. Do.

1 868. Do.

1 869. DO .

1 870. Do.

1 87 1 . Do.

1 872 . Do.

1 873. Do.

1 874. Do.

1 875 . Do.

1 876. W illiam Caseley

1 877. Do.

1 878. Do.

1 879. Augustus Burnett-Stuart1 880. Do.

1 881 . Do.

1 882. Do.

1 883. Do.

1 884. Do.

1 885 . Do.

George SalmonDo.

Do .

Do.

Do .

John H illGeorge Salmon

Do.

Robert W elchDo.

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1 1 4 HISTORY OF W OOKEY .

5 . Jane Collier, ofCroscombe, married December 20th, 1 668 ; died

November 2 l st, 1 5 7 1 .

6. Mary Lane, ofPr iddy, marr ied February 26th, 1 672 died December6th , 1 677 .

7 . Joan Ford, ofLangford, marr ied February 7th, 1 678.

THE SEXTONS.

The sextons are yet more difficult to find . My list is asfollows

W illiam Denbeigh, bur ied February 1 1 th, 1 704.

Nicolas Boulting August 2nd , 1 705 .

Charles Boulting Apr il 1 9th, 1 730.

John Day, senior Feb . 1 1 th, 1 75 3.

John Day, junior December 1 4th ,1 782 .

James Day, died January 1 0th ,1 85 3, sexton for 42 years .

Joseph Day, died December 23rd ,1 85 8, sexton for 5 years.

Samuel Robins,died 1 868 .

John Adlam,retired

,1 872 .

Robert Masters.

MessuagiumTerra

EpiscopiVicarII de W oky

Regia Viasive

Manaio

Rectoris Ole VVokv

rough chart of a portion of V‘v’ookey in 1 430

auster tenement given as an endowmen

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ENDOW MENTS. 1 1 5

CHAPTER VII .

THE ECCLESIASTICAL AND PAROCHIAL ENDOW

MENTS .

HE Church endowments,as far as we have any record

concerning them,began w ith the house and plot of land

on the eastern half of the present Church Barton. When th is

was given as a source of income for the Church expenses, I

cannot say . But in 1 389we find John W areyn de W el leslegh,

canonicu s eccles iae cathedralis W el lensis, and John H il lary

send ing greeting to all the faithful , and inform ing them that

they had granted to John Bek,of W oky, and Alice

,his wife

,

that tenement with one fardel l of land which is called Strecches

tenement,on a lease for their lives, at a yearly rent of 8s .

,to

be paid quarterly . This tenement is then said to have been

lately in the tenure of John Compton,chaplain. Now from

th is I should say that these two were trustees on behalf of the

Church,but what other connection they had with the parish

I cannot say. Certainly neither were rectors of the place.

Who Johannes Compton,capel lanus perpetuus , was, I do not

know,but he may have been a v icar here . However

,in one

of the hal lmotes of 1 392,John Bek and Will iam Smith are

admitted to two of the Church cottages ; and th is agrees

with the second lease to John Bek. Three years afterwards

the same property is leased to John Bek,

and Ed ith,h i s

wife . Perhaps Al ice had died in the meant ime, and John Bek

w ished to have the lease renewed for the sake of safety. The

next deed is a grant by John Carter,a lias Morekoc

,of Chewton

,

carpenter,to Richard B okkyng, burgher, of Wells, and Al ic ia

,

h is w ife,of the western port ion of the present Church Barton .

It is described as being between the cottage and garden of John

Bek on the east,and the house of the Pr ior of the hospital of

St. John the Baptist , in Wells, on the west,having the h igh

I 2

1 1 6 HISTORY OF W OOKEY .

road on the south,and a certain lane on the north

,which ran

in front of the house called La Vickersp lace. It was 37 feet w ide

and 1 41 feet long, from road to lane . Not a month afterwards

Richard B okkyng sells it to John Spray , alias H ankyns, ofW oky.

These are dated 7 Henry V.= 1 420. We then lose s ight of it

unt il the seventeenth year of Henry VII . 1 5 02,when a certain

Will iam Sawyer grants it to twelve trustees,and from that date

we can trace its history . But w ith regard to the former house

and its fardel l of land , we find in 1 488 a Thomas Brown,of

Y enel l ,1 husbandman

,granting the house and garden to John

Selcok on a lease of 99 years , who pays him annually 3s. 4d. as

rent and as no mention is made of the fardel l of land,I suppose

it had gone to endow some one or something else. Then in

1 492 Thomas Browne,son and heir of Richard Browne

,of

Y enel l,grants to five trustees al l his lands and hered itaments

in the parish of Wookey,without specifying what they were.

From this time,then

,we can trace the history of th is p iece of

land . The trustees evidently buy up or get rid of John Selcock,

for in the same year they grant it to John Turner,of W oky,

and Christine,his wife

,on a lease for life

,paying on the festival

of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist one red rose. Probably

the fine that Turner paid,in order to get the place on such

easy terms,was made use of to settle John Sel cock ’s claims.

In 1 5 83 we find two important changes in the indenture

of the lease of this last piece of land . First,there appears to

have been set up within the narrow strip,in addition to the

older one to the north,a house

,which is now

’

cal led Church

house. For when leas ing this other house,with its small plot

of ground , the right is reserved of ingress, egress and regress

through the ground to the Church-house. And,secondly

,we find

for the first time any hint about the allotment of the moors . For

the house is leased out,with its garden and the common there

unto belonging . From th is t ime there is much d ifficulty in

tracing the distinct h istory of the two plots of land and their

houses . But previous to the year 1 689we find that the trustees

1 W here Y enel l is I do not know.

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1 1 8 HISTORY OF W OOKEY .

scheduled in the Donation Act Paper as lost,and probably it did

not survive the troubles of the 1 7th century.

We next come to the legacy of Joan Browning, to the Second

Poor. 1 Joan Browning,a w idow lady of Y arley, left £5 0 for

the poor of Wookey,and ou r first deed bears date 23rd September,

23 Charles I. = 1 647 -8. David Trym,John Chapell

,John Brown

ing, Senr .,R . Lyde

,J. Corpe

,and R. H ippisley are the first

trustees . They declare that they have purchased the land of

John Stock,of Y ar ley, and 1 5 acres of arable land at Oare for

the poor of Wookey. Stock ’s land consisted of acres, lying

below the Yeo at Yardley,1 15 acres at Monkford

,1 1 acres at

H ornsmead,and 25 acres in the common field

,called Knowle

field.

The next legacy is that which Thomas Churchhou se,of Henton,

left by his wil l,May 1 1 th, 1 661 , in which he charged his lands

at Aishwick with a yearly payment of 1 08 . to the second poor

of Wookey.

W e then come to W. Council ’s g ift of £20 to the second poor,

and £ 1 0 the interest of which is to be g iven to the vicar for

preaching two sermons a year when the people came to receive

the charity.

W. Council died July 1 1 th,1 7 1 5 , and in 1 731 the people of

Wookey subscribed £72 , and with that money,and Council ’s

£30, the messuage, orchard and pasture land,called W ebb ’s

Cr ibb,and Webb ’s was purchased from William Chappell

,of

Wookey,yeoman

,together with Gully-house and G oarway

-fields,

the first set of trustees being Thomas Strode,John Luffe

,Junr .

,

John Watts,Senr .

,and John Watts

,Junr .

,Richard Clarke

,

George Cooke and John Poole.

In 1 778 , Dr. Arnold, vicar of Wookey, who d ied September

6th of that year,left by will £ 1 0 for the second poor

,and this

seems to have been immediately distributed,and not invested in

land .

In 1 798 Mrs. Ann E lvard,who was buried October 28th,

left by w ill £1 00,the interest of which was to be d istributed in

bread to the poor of the parish,and in 1 822 the Rev. T. B .

1 i.e. the grade next above recognised paupers.

ENDOWMENTS. 1 19

Salmon,who d ied June 20th of that year

,left £20 more for the

same purpose . The interest of this £1 20 is now yearly dis

tributed,accord ing to the terms of the Charity.

The following catalogue of deeds in the Parish Chests illus

trates the foregoing statements

1 . Lease of land to John and Al ice Bek,by John W arreyn de

W el leslegh, and John Hillary, Strecchestenement. Die

Mercurii in festo S . Michaelis. 1 3th Rich . II .

2. Lease of land to John and Edith Bek by above . Die Martis

prox ime post festum S . Mariae Magdalenae. 1 6th Rich. II.

Two cop ies.

3. John Carter,alias Morekoc

,carpenter

,grant of house and

garden in Wookey to Richard B okkyng, burgher of Wells ,and A l ice

,h is wife , January 1 4th, the 7th of Henry V .

4. Richard B okkyng grants his cottage to John Spray, a lias

H ankyns, of Wookey. Feb. l 0th,7th of Henry V .

5 . John Hillary, Capel lanus , de Schirbor n, leases the house that

John Bek had,to John Schapel

,and Isabella

,his wife.

Sunday before Michaelmas . 1 1 th of Henry VI .

6 . John Hillary de Schirborn, in Com . Som . capel lanus, leases

the cottage which Bek had,to John Colyer

,and Joanna

,his

wife,and John

,their son

,October l st. 1 8th Edward IV.

Two copies.

7 . Thomas Brown de Y enel l, in Com . Som .,husbandman

,grants

to John Selcock,of Wells

,his house in Wookey

,April 8th.

3rd of Henry VII . Two copies .

8. Thomas Brown de Y enel l,son and heir of Richard Brown

,

grants to John Edwarde,vicar of Wookey, John Chapell,

Will iam W ylkokke, Thomas Clarke, farmer, and Thomas

Clarke,h is son

,all h is lands

,tenements

,and reversions in

Wookey . May 8th. 7th Henry VI I .

9. Thomas Browne de Y enel l grants to above trustees all his

claims and future t itle and inheritance in W okey. May

1 2th. 7th Henry VII.

H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

John Edwarde and other trustees lease a cottage to John

Turner,of W ookey

,and Christina

,his wife, and Alicia,

Wm . Sawyer grants to John Edwarde,John Chappell,

Walter Edwarde,Wm . W ilcok, John Castel , of Fenny

Castel,John Smyth de Y ardeley, Richard Churchou se,

Thomas Edwarde,Thos. Turner de B ledeney,W m . Browning

de B ledeney, and Thos . Clerke, h is cottage , between John

Turner’s and the house of the Prior of S . John Baptist

Hospital . S . Katharine’s Day. 1 7th Henry VII.

Wm . Willys or Sawyer makes John Cupper and Nicholas

Plumley,his lawful attornies

,to give seisin of above cottage

in W oky. Date same as 1 1 .

Wm. W yllys, mason, releases above trustees (I I) from all

claims by him or his relations on his cottage in W okey.

Witnesses : John Rodeney, miles, Edmund Mille, John

Pow let,armiger

,John Standewyke, Walter Vincent, and

above attornies. December l st. 1 7th Henry VII.

John W yllys or Sawyer, son of W. Willys,releases trustees

from all claims he may have on the cottage. December 1 2th.

1 7th Henry VII . Witnessed by Nicholas Trappe,tunc

Magister de Welles,R ichard Burnell

,John Standerwyke,

John Tupper and Thomas Squery.

Richard E ryngton, v icar , Thomas Clerke, armiger, William

Chapell,Walter Edward

,Thomas Clerke

,junior

,William

Hancock,

and William Castell,lease on their lives to

Richard Fysshe, Al ice, his wife, and Alice,h is daughter

,

the cottage wh ich John Turner lately held . September 8th.

22nd Henry VIII. Witnessed by Robert Tupper, Walter

Castel,John Fysshe and John Turner.

William Castle,sole surviving trustee

,grants cottage (1 5 ) to

new trustees , i.e. Christopher Webster,vicar

,R ichard

Godwyn,Will iam Drew

,John Chapell , senior, John W yl

coxxe,Thomas Churchou se

,John B owlting,W illiam Hooper

or Smythe , Will iam Tucker , and John Turner. Wookey,October 1 5 th . 1 st Elizabeth. Two copies .

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H ISTORY or W OOKEY.

E. H ipsly, and H. B eeny. This cottage,Edith Web

,w idow

,

lately held. May 8th, 1 6 1 4.

24. E. B eeny grants to David Trym ,J . Chapell

,W. Castle

,J .

Boulting,T. Mydleham ,

J. Tayler,R . Browning

,J. Corpe

,

J . Smyth, T . Churchouse,junior

,E. Hipsley

,and R . Poole

,

the cottage (23) wh ich, Edith, wife of Anthony Fish, now

occupies. June 26th,1 622.

2 5 . Above trustees grant to R ichard Web , on lives of self, Eliza

beth,his wife

,and John and Edward

,their sons . their

cottage and all lands appertaining,except 3 yards in

W estfield, of Wookey, lately enclosed. February 20th. 2nd

Charles I. 1 626.

26. Surviving trustees, David Trym ,J. Chapple

,T. Corpe

,

J. Boulting, T. Lyde, and W. Chu rchouse,grant cottage to

Elizabeth,w ife of Edward Whiting

,of Eson

,

1 Mary Boulting,

widow,daughter of E. W. and M. B .

,daughter of M . B .

,

on their lives. Edward Whiting is now in occupation of

cottage in right of his wife. April 8th: 1 7th Charles II.

There must have been a new creation of trustees between

24th and 26th.

27 . J . Chapell , T. Corpe , and J . Boulting,grant the cottage (26)

to John Eyers, of Wookey, carryer , OII h is own and the

l ives of Mary and Ruth,his wife and daughter.

With the cottage now goes acres in Northfield,2 acres in

Eastfield.

June 25 th. 6th W ill iam and Mary : 1 694. Two deeds.

28. Another l ease, March 20th. 1 0th Will iam and Mary = 1 698.

29. Another lease, August 2 5 th. 1 st Anne = 1 702.

30. Purchase by John Stock , of Yardley, of tenement and fifteen

acres of land at Yardley,and in the common fields for £1 20

from O liver,Earl of Bol ingbroke and others

,heirs and

assignees of Robert Chamber lyn,E sq ,

Alice,his wife

,and

others . May 2 5 th. 1 2th Charles I.

31 . May l 6th, 1 646 . Conveyance by J . Stock of his land and

tenements to the trustees of Joan Browning’s legacy.1 i.e. Easton

32 .

33.

ENDOW MENTS. 1 23

David Trym,J. Chapell, J. Browning

,R. Lyde

,J . Corpe

,

R . H ippisley, purchase part of above land of J . Stock and

other lands for 2md Poor Charity out of £ 5 0 left by Joan

Browni ng. September 23rd. 23rd Charles I.

O n Apri l 1 9th, 1 65 8 , D . T. and J. B. fill up vacanc ies by

appointing G. Trym,T. Corpe

,J. Browning

,j un ior

,and

D . Tutten other four being dead.

Three deeds relating to creation of new feoffees,for the

Browning Charity,viz. D . Trym

,J. Browning

,D . Tutton

,

T. Lyde,R.Tu rner and T. Corpe . July 1 3th. 1 5 th Charles

II .

New Browning trustees,D . Tutton

,T. Lyde , T . Corpe

,Hugh

Merifield,J. Lyde

,and R . Lyde .

Three deeds dated October 3rd. 34th Charles II .

New Browning Trustees . Three deeds dated December l 0th.

7 th William III. Hugh Merifield,R . Lyde

,J . Stott, John

Luffe,J . Poole

,and George Brookman.

New Browning Trustees . April 28th and May 9th. 1 2th Anne.

John Luffe,John Poole

,George Brookman

,W. Clarke

,

W. Barnard,and Joseph Luffe .

New Browning Trustees. January 28th. 2nd George II.

John Luffe,G . Brookman

,J . Luffe

,j unior

,J . Poole

,R.

Clark,and William Weare .

New Browning Trustees. December 3l st. 1 7th George II.

R . Clarke,J . Poole

,J . Barnard

,J . Stott

,G . Strode

,and

G . Cooke,j unior.

In 1 7 7 7 , G . Strode is sole surviving trustee,and on May 26th

,

conveys Browning lands to John Band,J. Clark

,J. Stott

,

J . Weare,and T. A. Salmon. Deed not forthcom ing.

O n February 20th,1 808

,T. A . Salmon

,Rector of Rodney

Stoke, sole surviving trustee, grants Browning lands to J .

S. Ph illott, v icar of Wookey , E . W. Band , T. B . Weare,

J. Pitney, and J . Stephens as the new trustees .

Council ’s Legacy .

W . Chapell bargains for one year h is cottage at Henton,

called Webb’

s Cribb, and four acres called Webb ’s to T .

1 24 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

Strode, J. Luffe,junior

,J.WVatts

,senior and junior

,Richard

Clarke,George Poole and J. Poole. Conveyance made in

order that h is usage may be legally turned into their poss

ession. March 24th. 4th George II.

4 1 . March 25 th. 4th George II . 1 731 . Mr. John Luffe to Mr.

Butler. Ass ignment to attend the Inheritance in Trust

for Mr. Strode and others . Council’s Charity.

August 20. 7th George III. 1 767 . Counci l ’s Charity. Lease

for year by surviving trustees to Baily and Ridd ick by

Richard Clarke and John Poole .

43. March 20th. 7 th George III. 1 7 67 . Baily and Riddick to

Richard Clarke,John Butten

,Thomas Gale

,Benj amin

Brooks,Francis Sheppard

,John Poole

,senior

,and John

Poole,j unior. Council ’s Charity. Lease for a year.

44. March 2 l st, 1 767 . Release by above to above new Trustees.

45 . October 1 8th, 1 792 . Council Charity. Thomas Clark to John

Clark and Abraham Stott,to be by them released to T. C.

and six or seven other new trustees.

46. October 20th, 1 792 . John Clark and Abraham Stott convey

Council Endowment to Thomas Clark,senior

,and Thomas

Clark,junior

,John Church Clark

,“W illiam Stott

,son of

Isaac Stott,David Stott

,son of the late James Stott

,

Thomas Bailey Weare,William Barnard

,and Francis

Sheppard .

The later church and charity deeds are well known and easily

read,and therefore do not call for any note.

For the sake of convenience the following lists give the names

of the owners and tenants of the two houses that stood in the

Church Barton.

The owners of the Eastern-house were John W arreyn, of

\Vel lesleagh, 1 389 John Hillary , Capel lanu s, de Schirborn, 1 433

Thomas Brown,of Y enel l Thomas Browne , of Y enel l

,son and

heir of Richard Browne,of Y enel l

,1 492 Church Trustees , 1 492 .

The tenants were John Compton,Cap ellanus Perpetuus ; John

and Alice Bek,1 389 ; John Bek and Edith Bek , 1 393 John and

Isabe l Schapel , 1 433 John and Joanna Colyer, 1 480 John

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1 26 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

CHAPTER VIII .

THE FIELD NAMES OF WOOKEY.

HERE is nothing so interesting and valuable,in an historical

point of view,as a complete and accurately-spelt list of

the names of the fields and hills,and houses and lanes in a

parish . Indeed,from them we can almost arr ive at a general

knowledge of the history of the parish. We look first for those

old Engl ish names which may tel l us of the district before the

time of Domesday. In certain cases we may look and discover

Celtic names which tel l u s of the place before our Saxon or

English ancestors settled down here. Perhaps occasionally such

names tell us of British slaves work ing for English masters,and

calling the districts by names which these masters d id not under

stand . Then in English t imes,and coming down to the days

of Elizabeth,we may look

,and w il l certa inly find in such a

l ist,many a h int and much accurate information concerning the

old system of agriculture,when the tenants of the Manor lands

were villeins of the lord of the manor,and had attached to

their houses strips of land in the common fields to till for their

own sustenance . We will find the land div ided into arable

lands,and waste or unenclosed lands . We will discover traces

of the paths wh ich lead to these parallel str ips ; not indeed in

the modern lanes,though sometimes in them

,but in the names

of the fields through which those paths once ran. And coming

down to later times,we find the names of many of the lease

holders Ofthe Manor lands attached to the lands which once

they cultivated . If the Manor is no longer intact, but as in

our own case,has been sold in plots , these names will be

espec ially numerous,because they were the names by which

the fields were descr ibed when the memorable sal e took place.

Last of all,there should not be wanting many a hint as to the

enclosure of the moors and waste lands of the parish. These

THE FIELD NAMES or W OOKEY. 1 27

enclosures went on regularly from the sixteenth to the end of

the eighteenth century, and invariably leave the ir traces behind

them\

Now it w i ll be probab ly asked where we are to find the old

names. Of course,if we could hold an inquest and get a j ury of

experienced natives,and go with them from field to field

,we would

gather together a large amount Ofinformation . But as th is is

practically impossible,the book which wil l afford us the largest

amount of information is the Tithe Commutation Apportionment

book,in wh ich the name of every field is recorded . In our own

case the value of this l ist var ies very much . In some parts of the

parish it contains many valuable old names,but in other parts

it is very meagre. This clearly arose from the vary ing ab ility

Ofthose who were called in to the help of the Commissioners .

Some of them knew their lands,and some did not ; or if they

d id,yet they did not know how those names were sp elt. But

in add ition to the Tithe Book , we have in Wookey a large

and valuable collection of deeds connected with our Church and

Charity endowm ents,and all of them afl

’

ord help in th is search

for old names . The most valuable mine for wealth of this

kind is,however

,to be found among the Court Rolls and the

Rolls of the Hal lmotes of the Manor. The bundles of Court

Rolls and ba iliff’ s accounts concern ing Wookey,which are now

in the Lambeth Library,and wh ich I made use of in Chapter ii.

,

ass isted most materially in the following collec tion. The only

drawback to them arises from our ignorance as to where these

places are. In many cases the names have been lost,and the

fields have now got some common and modern name,which tells us

nothing of that field ’s history. It wil l be found therefore in the

l ist below that I have put down sometimes two different spel lings

of one word,and probably I have given in some cases an O ld

and a new name for the same field . I have not felt justified in

correcting the Tithe Book,or omitting any name recorded in

an anc ient deed . The l ist is not a perfect one,and in some

cases it is manifestly unsatisfactory . Had I been able to d is

cover any ofthe Court Rolls subsequent to the year 1 5 5 3,I

might have improved and enlarged it . The numerous fields that

1 28 HI STORY OF W OOKEY .

possess names simply descriptive of their s ize, are chiefly to be

found on those moors that were enclosed in 1 786. Dennis’ plot

and Denbis’ paddock and Stott’s orchard tel l us of some of the

leaseholders in the days before the Manor was sold and divided.

The reeve of Wookey,the Overland and the Folly

,refer to

the days when the manorial tenants were the lord’s villeins.

Lastly,it will be noted that there are seven words which end in

ham,viz .

,B remelham

,Fermeryham ,

Jackwel lham,Keynsham

,

Laborham, Lydeham and Palmersham . If the ending is ham,

then probably these are the names of early settlements,and may

take us back to the t ime of Edward ’s g ift to bishop G iso ; but

if the ending is ham,then they refer to enclosures on the moors

in the vicinity of old houses. B remel —ham was probably attached

to B leadney-mill,and Jackwel l -ham may have been an enclosure

belonging to Batch-house,

now known as Knowle-farmhouse.

Lydeham was probably near to Lydis- close,if it is not an

older name for the same field . There was a family in this

parish of the name of Lyde during the 1 6th and 1 7th centuries.

Keynsham was probably the enclosure of a man named Keynes.

The Keynes were villeins on the Manor during the 1 5 th and

l 6th centuries . I have not been able to d iscover the position

of Fermeryham and Palmersham .

THE ACRE .

Two ACRE.AFTER ST ILE.ALDERS

,in Beggarly-leaze.

ALLERED.

ALMSHOUSE CLOSE,in Marley-mead . Portion of an old freehold

,

held by the Wells Almshouses,in the Manor of Wookey .

ASHAY.

ASH EMORE . Between Castle and Beggarly- leaze.

ATWOOD ’ S COAT. The h illy slope south of H embury wood .

BABSTONES . Babb lestones, in the hollow between Trenley and

Easton-hill .

BALL THORN.

BARROW H ILL,overlooking B leadeney Causeway.

BATCH , a hill ,

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1 30 H ISTORY OF VVO O KEY .

BUTTON’S PADDOCK .

B UTTICE PADDOCK .

BUTTS HOUSE. The second house on the left of the road on

H i llier’s Lane at the top of Y arley.

B UTTICE LANE, the strip of land in the East-field that lead to

the strips running east and west.

BUTTS. A field on right of Buttice lane.

BUXTON ’S GROUND.

B Y FORETHEWAY .

CADBURY. The battle entrenchment.

CALLOW H ILL . Bare-hill .

CALVES CLO SE .

CATS H ILL .

CASTEL BURG .

CASTLE BRIDGE .

CARPESHY LLE . 1 46 1 .

CARP MEAD . The field at the corner of the road leading from

Castle lane to Hay h ill .

CHAPEL LAND . The s ite of’

the O ld free chapel at Henton,

demolished in 1 5 5 0.

CHURCH FURLONG. A portion of the Church endowment in the

common fields of the parish

CHURCHLANDS .

C INDER MEADS .

CLARKE’S HAYE .

CLAW PIT. A field on northern slope of hill. Perhaps near

Clay Pit lane.

CLOVER CLOSE .

COLD HARBOUR. Two fields on higher side of lane,mounting

h ill beyond Wester’s grave .

COAT. S ide of a hill on left of road to Y arley, and opposite

Worth cottage.

CO DBU RGMO O R. 1 330.

COMMON MEAD.

CONEYRU RY .

CO OMB EDY CHE .

THE CO ONCHE , above Wookey-hole .

THE FIELD NAMES OF W OOKEY . 1 31

COOK’S ORCHARD .

CORP ’S PLOUGH GROUND .

COPP ICE .

C OWWAY CLOSE .

COWPER’S CROFT.

CROFT.

CUFF ’S GROUND .

CUNNIGAR FIELD . Perhaps Coney yard , or the rabbit warren.

CULVER H ILL .

CU Low H ILL PADDOCK .

DENB IS PADDOCK .

DENNIS PLOT. Probably taken from the name of the last lord

of the Manor.

DRY CLOSE .

DURSDEN. Durden , a thicket of. wood in a valley . That part

of Wookey within the limits of the old forest of Mend ip .

DUMMICE LANE,parallel to Battice lane

,and to the west of it.

EAST CADBURY.

EASTON H ILL.EAST COURT YARD .

EAST MEAD .

ERROR. (E BB EWYRTH . (Ebb ’s settlement.

E LM CLOSE.

ELIN CLOSE. The field next but one beyond the School.

FERMERY HAM. 1 46 1 .

FISHER’

S ORCHARD . The first house on the right on the top of

Y arley.

THE FOLLY. Perhaps Folkland,a narrow strip of land leading

to G oarway fields .

FORD CLOSE .

FORGET’S CLOSE.

FURLONG .

GAGLEY MEAD . Gagel—mead,where myrica gale grows.

GALES SH O RTBRIDGE .

GAss M ILL.

GASTON. One of the fields on the northern slope of the hill at

Worth .

K 2

1 32 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

G LOVER’S CALLOW H ILL .

G OARWAY FI ELDS. G oarway was a remnant of the common land,

which did not fit in with the furlong strips.

GOSS GROUND. Gorse ground. The field directly over Wookey

hole .

GREAT GROUND.

G REAT .HAMELYN. A field on the top of the lane which leads

from W ester’s grave to Y arley, at the end of the first turn

to the left.

GREEN’S BUSH.

GREENSWAY BU SH.

GREENLANDS BUSH.

GRUTBEDLESS, in W etmoor. Gravel-bed leaze.

HALF-A-YARDLAND. 31 acres,a common holding of a customary

tenant.

HAMM.

HAMS MEAD. Portion of Keynsham meadow.

HANG ING. A meadow on s ide ofa hill.

HANG GASTON. The grass enclosure on the side of a hill.

HARE PITs. Perhaps herepath, but see chapter i .

H EMBURY WOOD,formerly about 20 acres ; cut down in 1 6 1 2.

H EMBURY CLOSE.

HENLEY Honey Lea,1 647

H ESKEARD. Ashgarth, the field on side of lane at the back of

Mrs. Toogood’s house at Worth .

H IGH O VER. H igh Shore. Side of steep,right bank of river ,

just before the great bend at Burcot.

H IGHENBURY . Is this the earlier form of H embury 2

H IGHER KNOWL.

H ILL END.

H ILL HEAD.

H ILL TO P CLOSE.

H ILL LADDEN.

HOLLY BROOK. Hollow brook . The stream at the bottom of

Barley Batch.

HOLLOWAY.

HONEY MEAD.

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1 34 HI STORY OF W OOKEY .

This is the common name for the narrow strip that some

times proj ects beyond the usual square shape ofa field.

LETNEY,a field by the side of the m ill- stream (leat) between

B leadeney and Marchay.

LICHLEGH . 1 330.

LIN MOOR. The westernmost limit of Wet-moor,adj oining

Knowl-moor before it was enclosed. Lyn welsh for lake.

LINMO O R H ILL.

LITTLE HAY BRIDGE,probably Letewey-bridge. Just by this

bridge the stream j oins the tail-water from the m il l below

Hurst batch .

LITTLEWOOD.

LITTLE PERRY LAKE.LITTLE R IPPLE.

LY TH ELNY E . Letney.

LONG LAND.

LONG CROFT.

LONG H O RNSMEAD.

LONG DOWN.

LONG STRING MEADOW. Southern Slope of high ground over

looking Ash-moor.

LOWER LIN MOOR.

LONG LEY .

LONG STYLE CLOSE. Close on steep side of Long String meadow.

LYDEHAM. There was a family named Lyde here for many

years. 1 461 .

LYDIS CLOSE. This most likely is the same enclosure as the

preceding . I t is on the southern slope of Perry Lake lane.

MACK INNON’

S ORCHARD.

MANGANESE GROUND.

MARLEY MEAD .

MARLEY ORCHARD.

MARIGOLD PADDOCK.

MARK MA IN CLOSE. The high ground above Long String

meadow.

MARSHF IELD.

MARSHY MEAD.

TH E FIELD NAMES OF W OOKEY. 1 35

MARCESYMEDE .

MARTEY NESEY .

MARTYNSMEDE .

MEADOW GAG LEY .

MEAD E ND.

ME LLIF ONT ABBEY A modern name for the old

Rectory-house .

M IDDLE CLOSE .

M ILL HOUSE

MONKSWOOD CLOSE,near Monksford, on road from Wookey to

Y arley.

MONERY SMY LLE . 1 461 . c.f. Peter le Moners. Close Rolls,Ed .

III .,p. dz cf . 30.

MO NKSFO RD.

MOOR CLOSE.

MY LHAMS. Several meadow fields on either bank of river near

Monksford.

NARROW W AY .

NEW CLOSE.

NO TTELAKE . 1 330. Now Nottlich.

NORTHFI ELD .

NURSERY.

OARE. Boundary.

O ARFIELD CLOSE.

O AK LEAz E.

O LDCLY FFE. 1 46 1 .

ORCHARD R IPPLE .

O XLEAZE, north-west of Knowl farm,on the right bank of

the Axe.

OVERLAND. The high ground above Henton Church is now

called Verland or Overland,but I doubt whether the name

belonged to any fixed portion of the Manor.

PADDOCK .

PALMERSHAM.

PARAD ISE.

PEASCRO FT BRIDGE, where the road from Barcot to Wookey

crosses the stream .

1 36 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY.

PEASFURLONG .

PERRY LAKE CLOSE.

PIGS PADDOCK.

PIN PADDOCK .

PIN LAKE. Spring on side of hil l overlooking Beggarly-leaze.

PLANTAT ION.

PRESSMO OR,also PRESTEMORE. Priest’s-moor

,the waste land used

by the rector of Wookey,and which was added to the

rectorial glebe after the mqors were enclosed.

PREYWASTE .

PREYWATER.

PRIGGERS.

PUNCH BOWL INN.

PY LWATERH O RNE .

PY SFURLO NG . 1 46 1 .

QUAKER ’S ‘ CLOSE. O n the south of the upper -road called Perry

Lake lane,running from Castle to B leadney.

QUARRY GROUND.

RADEPO LE . 1 461 . Probably Read Pool,the pool that used to

exist just below Read farm,south-east of Hudswell.

RADFORD ’S ORCHARD.

REED. Now Read Farm .

REEVE OF WOOKEY, an acre of the portion of common land

assigned to the customary tenant,who acted as reeve for

the year for the lord of the manor.

R ING o ’ BELLS INN.

R IPPLE ORCHARD.

R IGLEY. R idge lea.

RIPPLEHAY . R ipley hay. The reaping meadow.

RIVERCLO SE .

ROBINS CLOSE.

RODES.

ROOKS.

ROUGH PASTURE.

ROCKS’ CLOSE.RO WELMORE . 1 391 .

RU SHLEY .

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1 38 HISTORY OF W OOKEY .

STONELEY . On the high ground above Y arley.

STARVEGATE CLOSE.

SU LLOw SHARE PLOT Ploughshare plot. A field

on the right as one goes up Cal low-h ill lane.

SWATCH . Swash puddle of water.

STUBBLE GROUND.

SY LVERLAKEMEDE .

TEAZIL CLOSE.

T IBB’S ORCHARD.

TITLANDS.

TRENBY . Probably a corruption of the next name.

TRENLEY .

TRU CKLEPATH . A path only large enough to roll a small

barrow. A field between Y arley and Knowl hill, in Lin

moor,through which runs a foot-path.

THE P IECE.

TOAD ACRE.

TO P GROUND.

TURN H ILL.

TURN YARDS.

TWIN H ILL FI ELD.

TYNING. An enclosure.

TYRLICKMEDE , between Ashmoor and Beggarly leaze.

W ALFURLONG . 1 46 1 .

WASP H ILL ORCHARD.

WATCH CLOSE.WATER’S GRAVE.

W ATERLYWAY ORCHARD, probably W aterleteway Orchard, on

the side of t he Mendip mills.

W ELLWAY ORCHARD.

WELL CLOSE.

WEBB ’S GRIBS. I think this ought to be Crib.

WEARY FURLONG. The large field,at the back of the houses in

the lower village,which reaches to the river at Preywater

bridge.

W ESTLEY ELAND. 1 391 .

TH E FIELD NAMES OF W OOKEY.

WESTMEAD .

WESTER ’S GRAVE .

WHAT H ILL. North-east of Knight’s wood. Probably W ourt

h il l from ZEbbawurt. VVeordig, an estate or farm .

W ITH Y B ED.

WORTH .

WOOKEY,the only other forms are W oky, Okey , and O chie. If

it is not connected with W okob ,there may be some con

nection with Wok in Wok ing and Wokingham .

WOOKEY F IELD.

WOOLLEN’S CLOSE.

WOOLLEN’S Two ACRE.W ooLLEN

’

s PADDOCK.

VVO O DLANDS

VVO O DFALL.

YARDS

YONDER KNOWL.

YARDLEY. Formerly Gyrdleg, or Y leg. The yard meadow ,

meadow of sixty acres.

CHAPTER IX.

L O C A L F A M I L I E S

HOWEVER well we may know the laws and ways by which

surnames arose, yet there is always a peculiar pleasure in

finding ins tances and examples of those methods among the

names of the inhabitants of the parish in which one is interested.

In the Inspeximus of Thomas of Bath , we find two forms in

existence. There is the man distinguished by his connection

with his father’s name,and there is his father described in con

nection with his residence . We have, first of all,Radu lphus

de la O nol l,and then we have Walcher

,or Wacher

,described

as the son of Ralph. This i s in the early years of the 1 3th

century . Then towards the end of that century we have men

described by the nature of their work— there is Hugh le

Deygh, and John le Felaghe, and Adam le Tailler. At the same

time we meet with several instances of surnames arising from

the locality of a man’s house. There is John atte H eighelme,

Henry atte Watere,and Gilbert atte Wyk. Wyk is W oky,

for we find that one of the first fields in the parish,as one comes

from Theale is called Inwick. The water is possibly that at

Wookey-hole. Then in the next century we get Richard atte

Putte,so- called probab ly from the has quarry above Y arley ;

Hugh atte Chapele, called so from the old free chapel at Henton

Alice atte Castell, which needs no explanation John atte Crosse,

from the proximity of his house either to the old cross at Castle,

or to that at Y arley. Then comes Richard atte Naysch, and

Agnes atte B erwe which latter name appears also as atte Barwe,

and refers to the Barrow at H udswil l . Later on in the 1 5 th

century we have John atte Hawe,and John de Cadbury

,and

John le Here and W il liam atte Bergh and in the 1 6th centurv

John Atwill,or atte Well

,a name which finds a place among the

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1 42 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

B arnard— For some time past I have been searching the

parish for the old tombstones that from time to time have been

sold by previous churchwardens as useless lumber. The last that

I rescued was on its face in the yard of the Church farm,and

belonged to the Barnard family. The Barnards are a very old

family,and were tenants of the manorial lands for several

centuries . The first wedding recorded in the reg ister is that

of John Barnard and Elizabeth Plomby in 1 5 65 . It would be

imposs ible to give full ped igrees of all the fam il ies of this name

but I state below that of the William Barnard,who died in

1 694, and whose tombstone I have lately rescued.

Anthony Barnard—! Edith Servier , 1 5 87 ,1 639.

r

Anthony Eh z abeth=R1 ch . W eb,Joan==J ohn Illary,

j

Edw. Margaret1 6 1 8 1 5 96 1 6 1 9 1 606

Civilie=ThomaS Rowsell Anthony ,241 622 1 642

—

T_— J _

l

W il liam? MaryW estwood, Richard Edward John,

Elizabeth,1 629 1 65 7 1 632 1 635 1 639

1 694 1 700 1 634 1 644

1"L

T T_ _

T—

l

W illiam W illiam Rich . Eydeth , Margaret Johnfit Susaunah Thos.? J oan

1 65 7 1 65 8 1 659 1 66 1 1 663 B lanning, 1 666 Brook1 65 7 1 65 8 1 67 1 fl ohn 1 700 1 709 man

,

Catecoat 1 7 1 6 1 691

1 696 1 694

r—T

-

T7 —

7 f“

VVil liam Margaret Richard John Thomas Joseph Francis Mary1 696 1 697 1 700 1 702 1 703 1 7 1 2 1 694 1 694

1 72 1 1 694 l 694

Where a second date is given below the first,it refers to the death

of that person,and the first date after a marriage is the date

of the marriage .

B rowning .-The family of Browning

,as far as I can discover

,

Was settled on one of the manor holdings in the tith ing of Y ar ley.

They were much mixed up with the Buxtons and Edwards

during the early years of the 1 7th century , and they were at

one time certainly given to Puritanism . John Browning,in

1 624,left money for the endowment of a preachersh ip here

,and

Joan Browning,the widow

,who died in 1 639

,l eft that £5 0

with which our endowment for the Second Poor Charity began.

LOCAL FAM ILIES. 1 4 1

I have not been able to make out a ped igree of them ,because

they are so many in number during the early years of our

register,that I cannot do anything more than guess at their

relationsh ip. In 1 5 97 there are three John Brownings settled

at Y arley, and one Edward Browning. In 1 64 1 there is a

Robert Browning settled there. Joan Browning,our bene

factress, was a Lyde, and married John Browning, Senr .,in

1 5 99. Her husband died before 1 620,and it was her SO

John,born in 1 600, who in 1 625 endowed the preachership .

B uxton — The Buxton family had great influence In this

family during the early part of the 1 7th century. They were

strong Puritans,

and when in 1 624 Mr. John Browning,of

Y arley, left money for the endowment of a preaching m inister ,

Mr. Anthonie Buxton accepted the post, and was probably a

thorn in the flesh to the O ld vicar , Mr. Middleham,from 1 624

to 1 635,when Mr. Buxton died. I have not been able to

make a ped igree of this family,but it appears that Thomas

Buxton,or B uckston,

as the name is sometimes spelt,was one

of the many who emigrated from Somerset to New England .

In 1 65 7, Thomas’ sons

,John and Anthony

,returned to Somerset

on a visit,and died and were buried here in February

,1 65 8.

They seemed to have stayed with their uncle,John B uckston

,

at Y arley, as all three died within a week of one another, and

possibly were carried offby some fever. The Buxtons used to be

called Taylors,senf.

,and the first of the family that I can find are

Robert Taylor,sent

,in 1 5 62

,and Robert Taylor

,J in 1 5 97.

The former died in 1 6 1 1,and the latter in 1 6 1 4. Robert Taylor

,

Senr . , had two sons , Robert and Anthony,and these two both

had sons named John. John,Robert ’s son

,becomes “Taylor

,

a lias Buxton,

” and that description cl ings to the family all

through the seventeenth century . He married,in 1 5 94 Joan

Stott,and had issue Robert

,1 5 99 Anthony

,1 601 John

,1 603

James,1 604 ; Joan, 1 606 ; and Mary , who d ied in 1 6 1 2 . Th is

John d ied in 1 6 1 4 . Anthony ’s son,who is described as John

Taylor, a lias Buxton,Junr.

,married in 1 5 99 Isabel Browning

,

and had issue Mary,1 600 ; John, 1 601 ; Thomas, 1 602

Will iam , 1 604 ; Thomas, 1 606 Christian, 1 607 and Anthony

,

1 44 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY.

1 609. He died, I think, in 1 628. Anthony was the young

minister of 1 635,Thomas went to New England

,probably with

the I l larys and other Somerset folk in 1 643,and John settled

at Y arley, and died with h is nephews in 1 65 8.

Chap el l— The Chapell family is one of great antiquity

,and

derived their name from the free chapel of St. Thomas at Henton.

When the registers begin in 1 5 60,there are so many famil ies of that

name that I find it impossible to g ive a ped igree of any length

of any one branch . The first notice I have is of aJohn atte

Chapple in 1 389. In 1 420 we have mentioned in the parish deeds

a John atte Chapple de Henton juxta W oky. In 1 433 we have a

John Chapel and Isabella,his wife. I II 1 488 a John Chapel is

mentioned,and three years later , two Ofthat name, a senior and

a j unior,are mentioned as trustees of the church endowments .

In 1 5 22 there is a John Chapel , of W oky, and a Will iam Chapel ,of Henton. This latter is the gentleman who pulled down Henton

Free Chapel . In 1 6 1 6,a John Chapel

,of the C ity of London

,i s

mentioned as one of the Church Lands ’ Trustees,and towards

the end of this century two blacksmiths at Henton were called

John Chapel. During the first hundred years Ofour registers

there are eleven marriages of Chapels, th irteen births, and sixteen

deaths . During the e ighteenth century there are many more

entries in the books, but now there are no longer any fam ilies of

that name here,though the name st ill exists in the surrounding

villages.

Churchou se — I have found no record of a building cal led the

Church-house earl ier than the reign of Queen Elizabeth,but the

family of Churchou se is recorded as belong ing to Wookey more

than century before that. There were two fam ilies Ofthat name

in 1 5 22, in the tithing of Y arley, wh ich included Henton, as a

R ichard and a Thomas Churchouse appears as contributing to the

Lay Subsidy . Richard Churchouse appear as a witness at the

S igning of one of the Church deeds in 1 492 . William Churchouse

appears as the bishop’s ba il iffin the Valor Eccles iasticus 1 5 4 1 ,

and a John Chu rchou se is recorded among the villeins at the

Hockday Hallmote of 1 432. The name occurs during the 1 7th

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1 43 HISTORY OF IVO O K EY .

First,— I bequeath

'

my b odye to Christian bu rial l in the

church of Wookey,or where yt shall please my executors or where

such as shall have the order thereof may think convenient.

I give to the Cathedral Church of Wells 38 . 4d .,to the Church

of Wookey 6s. 8d.,Lockinge 3S . 4d

,K ingesten Seymer 3s. 4d .

,Great

Livermere,in the county of Suffolk

,3S . 4d .

,towards the repara

tion of every the sa id churches,and to be prayed for.

Item . I w ill that there be twentye marks of lawfu ll money

bestowed among the poor people of \Vel ls and W ookye, in manner

and form following : that is, ten marks the day of my burial , five

marks the month after,and other five marks the end of the year

next after my decease .1

Item . I will that there be other twenty marks del ivered

shortly after my decease,to be employed and bestowed in the

reparacyons and amending of the high way between Wookey and

Wells.

Thenfollow bequests and legacies to his children and grand

children. He gives to my friend Dr . Egeworth, a pott of silver

with a cover marked with T. and C . and to my Lord B usshopp , of

Bath and Wells,Doctor Bourne

,one ewer of s i lver parcell gilte.”

He leaves to his servant,William G ervys, a life interest in his

mill and ground at K eward . To his son-in- law,Hamond Claxton

,

he leaves his barber’s bason and ewer of silver. He makes

Anthoin his wife, and Hamond Claxton his executors . The will

is Signed by John Clarke, Thomas Clerke , Henry Howe, John

Wylcocks.

The John Clerke and John W ylcocks are Wookey people and

his neighbours at the Manor House. Henry Howe was vicar of

Wookey at the time.

In S . Cuthbert’s Church inWells is a tablet to a Clara Clerke,

1 5 47 and an effigy of a certain Henry Clerke,and possibly th is is

the son of Thomas Clerke . Henry Clerke d ied in 1 5 74,and in

h is W il l des ired to be bur ied near his daughter,El izabeth . He

mentions his W ife , Elizabeth, and h is sons, William and Thomas,

1 This Trental and Anniversary dole clearly Shows the mind ofThomasClerke.

LOCAL FAMILIES. 1 47

and h is cousin ,S ir Rowland C larke . Subdean Bowerman

,rector

of Wookey,makes a Henry Clarke one of the trustees of h is

bequest of £20 to the parish . Agnes Clarke,a widow

,was

buried in 1 5 72 . The inscript ion on Thomas Clarke’s tomb in the

church is Here lyeth the body of Thomas Clarke, Esquire , and“Anthony, h is wife , whiche Thomas departed in God the 2nd

day of March,1 5 5 5

,and also Anthony departed the day

of of whose soul God have mercy.

” I would caution

readers,however

,about the parentage of Thomas Clarke

,

because it is only a probable one. The name was common all over

England . There was a Thomas Clarke, senr . inWookey in 1 491,

and many others before that date ; and in several parishes in the

d iocese I have met with Clarkes during the 1 6th century,but

there can be no doubt that Thomas Clerke , of the Manor-house,was a stranger to the parish .

Denbe.-The follow ing pedigree of the Denbees I have been

able to mak e out entirely from the Parish Registers , and from

the bundle of fam i ly papers which in th is case I have been allowedto inspect . I can vouch for its accuracy . The name is variously

spelt Denbeigh, Denby, Denbe, and Denbee. I find the name

in the 1 6th century , but cannot connect the entries earlier than

the middle of the seventeenth.

\Vil liam Denbigh? Valentina, 1 65 5 .

. I. —

l_

1

W illiam—

fE l iz abeth Mary, G eorgew—Mary , Julian, d 1 660Browning , 1 65 6 Hughes ,1 670 1 680.

1 7 1 9 r'

T

JameSfi—

J oan George , Sarah, Rich.? E l iz .

John,James , Eliza ,

1 685 , 1 687 .

1 673. 1 683. 1 686 . 1 743.

w—‘Hannah Hayes

, 1 7 1 4.

r“ —

T—

u

Susannah , Martha , Mary1 709. 1 707 . 1 706 .

T“

1

Francey, Mary . Hannah , Samuel,

Samuel,Joseph ,

1 720 1 723, 1 725 , 1 731 , 1 732 ,1 734. 1 764 . 1 726 . 1 749. 1 806 .

Samuel ,1 720,1 724.

1 48 H ISTORY OF W OOKEY .

A1

iz abeth Lyde, Thomas,=Hester Glover , W illiam,

60, 1 793, 1 764.

1 824. 1 827 , 1 770.

Anne,John,

Elizabeth, Elizabeth , Mary, 1 797 , George, Thomas,1 786. 1 789. 1 790, 1 7942 =Jonathan 1 800, 1 802 ,

1 790, W m . W ills, Marhsfield . 1 841 $ Eliza1 824. beth.

1

Thomas, Sarah.

1 836 .

Dunche — The following pedigree of the Dunches will help to

explain the history of the Manor

W illiam Dunch ary, daughter ofW illiam Baron,ofLondon and Little W ytnam ; ob London died 1 605 .1 597.

daughter ofJas.n,bishop of

1 594.

Edmund ,~

W illiam , bapt. W alter,John

,Samuel . Mary,

=W m.

bap . 1 5 82 ; 1 5 78 ; O b . 1 6 1 2 ; ob . S .p . ob . S .p . W inchcomb,ob . 1 5 95 . m . Mary Crom 1 5 86 . 1 5 86. O b . 1 646.

well, aunt ofthe ProtectorOliver .

1

Edmund. Deborah. Ruth. Mary= Ann.

bap . 1 5 94 . dan. ofSir Sir JohnJohn Cooper

,Philpot.

ofRockborne

E dwards — I have found it quite impossible to trace up the

pedigree of the fam ily of Edwards . I find a John Edwards,

junr.,mentioned in 1 42 1

,who was probably a villein on the

manor. In 1 461 a John Edwards rented the B ledeney corn mill

of the bishops,at a rental of £5 1 3s. 4d. a year. A John

Edwards was appointed V icar in 1 47 7 , and resigned his benefice

in 1 506 , but was alive in 1 5 1 6 . At that time there was also,

0 . f. Noble’s Memoirs ofProtectoral House ofCromwell , ed . 1 787 ,

vol . 2 , p . 1 5 6. In Harl . MSS . 1 1 39, fol . 1 2 l c . W alter appears as the

elder son ofW m . Dunch , and the second son is called Edward ; but asthere certainly was an Edmund Dunch , and as no Edmund appears inth is MSS . until 1 603, there can be hardly any doubt that the readingadopted was correct. W hether Edmund was older than W alter or not Icannot say.

The first date after a marriage is the date ofthat exant,and in al l cases the second

date is that ofthe death.

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1 50 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

traces of that sorrow which comes of a weariness of controversy.

H is son,Will iam

,seems to have offended him

,for in the w i l l he

leaves him only 40/ to buy a r ing with, at the same time uttering

a fervent wish that God might convert h im and make h im an

honest man. Robert,the th ird son

,succeeds his father in the

Rectory House. At his father ’s death he was st ill under age,

and the lease of the property, which was drawing to a close, was

renewed before the year 1 628 by Mr. W ill iam Prowse,on the

lives of Robert and h is wife,El izabeth

,and their sons

,Joseph

and Edward . Robert had married in 1 6 1 3 Elizabeth Smithies,of

Wrington,and h is father-in- law

,Mr. John Smithies

,in his will

,

1 626,speaks of h is son-in- law

,Robert Godwin

,as a “man not

conformable to the laws of the Church of England .

” This opinion

is confirmed by the fact that in 1 64 1 he pays a tax of £2 as a

recusant. The w ill of Robert Godwin is proved July 26th,1 664.

In it he describes himself, at the time when he wrote it, as O ld and

infirm .

Joseph Godwyn,his grandson

,gets a lease of the Rectory in

1 681,on his own l ife, and of Eleanor, his w ife, and Richard , his

son. In the following list I have only inserted the names of

those in immediate relationship to the tenants of the Parsonage

House.

W illiam Godwyn ,? Christian Burgess, ofBatcombe,ofW el ls. d 1 5 92 .

r‘

Anthony—T— l . Joan Goad , ofW ookey Hole, 1 5 79.

d 1 609. 2 . Elizabeth Maye,1 5 88.

r" —

T-T r T

W illiam Christian Alice Thomas Robert? Eliz abeth John, Joan,

1 5 81 . 1 5 82 . 1 5 84. 1 5 87 . 1 5 89. Smythies, 1 5 90, 1 5 92 ,1 6 1 3. 1 5 94. 1 5 94 .

r"L

Joseph— Susan W alrond . John Mar ie

1 6 1 5 T 1 6 1 6. 1 6 1 7 .

1 668 LT

— ‘

l

Joseph ,

1 649,1 725 .

_L _T

E lr

lim m h Ellinor Ann Richard Elizabeth1 672. 1 673. 1 674, 1 675 , 1 676 . 1 677 . 1 678 .

1 672 . 1 675 . 1 675 .

r—

TW

TW

T

Joseph , Thomas, Ellinor , Robert,1 682 . 1 683. 1 685 . 1 687.

LOCAL FAM ILIES. 1 5 1

Only the second Mr. Joseph Godwyn and h is wife were buried

here,and the only monument we have belong ing to them cons ists

of a smal l slab in the pavement at the foot of the Clerk tomb,

w ith the inscription,

“The daughter of Joseph Godwyn,who d ied

the 30th of January,1 672 . Th is was the eldest ch ild

,Eleanor

,

and the first of the three daughters who rece ived their mother ’s

name. She was ten months old,hav ing been baptized March 30

,

1 67 2,and therefore the modern date of her death would be 1 673.

The w il l of the former Joseph Godwin was proved In Septem

ber,1 668. There exists an inventory of his personal property at

Wookey,wh ich was signed by Mr. Thomas Muttelbury of the

Manor House,Stephen Weare

,the then parish clerk

,and Robert

Elford,a yeoman. The rooms of the parsonage house are thus

enumerated : the hall,parlour, kitchen, room by the kitchen,hall chamber

,long chamber

,chamber within the long chamber

,

l ittle chamber w ithin the hall chamber,and the study chamber.

H is personality is reckoned as worth £6 1 5 . He probably died

in W ells, for his bed and feather bou lster is mentioned as lying

there .

Mu ttlebu ry— The family of Muttelbury lived here during

the latter portion of the 1 7th century , and for sixteen years in

the 1 8th century. Probably Mr. T. Muttelbury inhabited the

Manor House after Mr. David Trym ’s death. His family was

as followsThomas Muttelbury, 1 . Francis D ick inson, d 1 69l .d . 1 708 T2 . Mary Muttelbury

F— ‘

fl T_

T'

Margaret Mary Frances Thomas Charles Katherme W ynefred Thomas- J ohn,

=Maryb . 1 689

d. 1 7 1 5

Thomas Muttelbury’

s will was proved October 3oth,1 7 1 1 .

He has conveyed to Frances Day , of Wells, h is manor ofBradney

for his son,and for rais ing portions for his daughters . He men

t ions Mary,Frances

,Catherine

,and W yneford, and his son,

John

and h is w ife, Mary. He gives h is manor house of Wookey to his

son,John

,for the interest and term he has in it. John is

‘

sole

executor,and it would appear that both Thomases , Charles and

Margaret,were dead before the wil l was made.

1 5 2 HISTORY OF W OOKEY .

John’s will was proved November 1 9th,1 7 1 5 . He left to his

wife,Mary

,the manor house of Wookey, where he now lives, and

which he or others for him hold on a lease from John Rolle .

He leaves 20/ for a ring to Frances Wilk ins, of Leicester,probably his sister who had married in the interval.

Peirs — The following notes on the Peirs family are too dis

connected to allow me to make up a pedigree of the family,but

as far as I state them,I think they are correct.

Thomas Peirs,of Wells

,died in 1 686 he then left £ 1 00 for

the purchase of an interest in Wookey Parsonage for the child,

his wife “now goeth with,

” if it proved a male.

\Villiam Archdeacon,of Taunton

,had two sons

,Thomas and

William . He was the son of William .Peirs,bishop of Bath and

Wells,1 632- 1 670

,and died 1 682 . We have then

W illiam, bishop OfBath and W ells.(1 1 670

Jl

W illiam ,Archdeacon ofTaunton.

d 1 682

Thomas. W illiam.

Next,since the child mentioned above proved to be a boy

,we

have the following pedigree

Thomas,? p robably Mary, who died 1 724,d 1 686. aged 70.

r— J

1 686 ,1 753.

W illiam John Matravers Ann Betty Mary1 7 1 1 -1 7 1 3 1 7 1 4- 1 732 1 7 1 6- 1 729 1 7 1 8- 1 7 1 9 1 72 1 -1 724 1 723 1 725

inft. 1 741

Thomas Peirs,who is styled in his will

,dated October 24th

,

1 7 5 2,as of Wells

,makes his kinsman

,William Ekins Peirs, h is

sole heir and executor of all his lands,but he does not name his

possessions.

Among the grandsons of Wi lliam Peirs the Archdeacon was

one William Piers who,in 1 708, married Elizabeth Eki ns, of

Baltonsborough— whether he was an elder brother of Thomas,

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1 5 4 HISTORY OF W OOKEY.

be sold for portions for his daughters,but he does not mention

them by name.

A William Trym is ment ioned in 1 5 40 in the account of the

S. John the Baptist,H almote

,as admitted to the office of Messor.

David was bur ied in the south -east chapel,and On a tablet

on the wall is the following account of the family

U nderneath lye the bodies ofDavid Trym , gent, and Julian, his wife .

Shee (ofye family ofye Ceelys) died Jany. 6 , 1 663, aged'

88. (Near them

lye also Edward and Jane, their son and daughter ) To whose dear m emor ies

Anna, their 2md daughter , wife to Dr . Robert Peirce, ofBathe,dedicated

this small monument. — Requiescant in pace.

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES .

Abowen,Richard , 77 , 82

Adams,Richard , 20

Ad lam , John,1 1 4

Alampton,John ,

1 9

A lard , 87A l ford . W . G . , 78A l l ford , G . , 1 08 ,

1 09

A llen,Hol lyer , 95 , 1 00

Anne , Qu een,95

Ap Howel l , Bened ict , 6 1Arney, Thos. , 1 8

Arno ld , Henry , 91 , 95 , 1 00,Attwe l l , Richard , 90Atwyl l , John. 5 5

Axebrugge, John de , 87

Bai ley, Thos. , 1 02, 1 1 0

Bai ly , Mr. , 1 24Baker,George , 76John, 48 , 90, 91 , 96

Thos. ,1 1 0

Wm. , 1 6

R. , 1 1 3, 1 21Bale , Walte r , 48Ballar , Richard , 1 08Balstaff, Walter, 47Band , Edward , 86 , 1 1 0

E . W . , 1 23

John,1 1 0. 1 23

Barker, 0 . T. , 88Barlow ,Edward , 1 7 , 7 5 , 82Barnard , Canon, 78

J ohn, 1 7 , 5 4, 1 21 , 1 23

George, 1 1 1

Thos . ,40

, 1 1 0

Wm. , 1 23, 1 24

Barrowe ,W m. , 1 5

Barwe ,John atte , 39

Basset , Jul iana , 39

Richard , 37Bayley , ML , 76

Thos. , 88

Beauchamp , Edmund de , 36Ed ward

,39

Beck,John, 1 9

Been,Thomas , 6 1

B eeny, Agnes , 1 6E . ,

1 22

Robert , 1 1 3Thos. , 1 6

W m. , 1 1 7 , 1 21

Bek ,Edith

,1 1 9

John, 39, 1 1 5 , 1 1 9

B ekyngt on, Bishop , 5 , 25J ohn, 6 1 , 62

Bel l , Wm . , 5 8

Bel lo Campo , Ed . de, 37

Berde, And rew , 37Bergh . Ph i l ip de , 33, 35 , 38Berkeley

,A lexander. 90, 96 , 97Robert de, 87

Bernard , John,43, 44 , 6 1

Robert , 47Thomas, 81Bert ie , Lady Montagu e, 69, 86Berwe, Agnes atte, 37

B erwe , A l ice , 37B ilbee , T. , 74 , 76Bingham , Thos. , 88

Bishop , Wm . , 38

Bisse,Jac ob , 88Ph i l ip , 88Bl inman, Gartred , 1 1 3

Bodde , Margaret , 32Boket. Wm 88

Bokkyng ,R ichard , 1 1 5 , 1 1 9

Bo leyn,Thomas. 88

Bo l ingbroke , Ol iver , Earl of, 1 22B orowyk , Gilbert de , 34Bo tyler , Henry, 37Boul es , Henry , 32Boulting

,Chas. ,

1 1 4

Bou ltyng , John, 1 7 , 47 , 77 , 1 20, 1 22Mary

, 1 22

N icho las , 1 5 , 5 5 , 1 1 7 , 1 21Robert , 1 7Wm . , 43, 1 1 3

Bou reman,Wm. , 1 4 , 1 8 , 88 , 1 1 7 , 1 2 1

Bowie,Robert , 6 7

Bowlar, John, 1 6

Brent, John, 90, 96

Brice, Richard , 47Bri d

,Reginald

, 38

Wm. , 90

Bridport , Gafired de, 30B rigge , John, 37Bristo l , Phil ip de , 60B road beard , Robert , 73B rock , John, 1 6 , 77Broke

,Sir Thos. , 39

B rooke, Benjam in, 1 24

Brookman,Geo rge , 1 23Richard , 1 8Brown,

John, 20

Nicho las,1 6 , 5 5

R ichard , 1 1 6 , 1 1 9Th os . , 1 1 6 , 1 1 9

nW

u 1 2

Walter, 87Browning or B rownyng , Edward , 1 7

Joan,1 1 8, 1 2 2

John, 1 7 , 44, 458 1 . 82 , 1 01 , 1 02

1 04 , 1 1 8 , 1 23

Peter , 5 4Robert, 1 7 , 1 22Susan, 1 8

Wm., 1 8 , 43, 45 ,

1 20

Bru gger,Wm . , 39

Brute , Edith , 37

B rydd , Reginald , 1 9, 38Bucher , Wm .

, 30Bubwith,Bishop , 1 8 , 81

Thos.,6 1

Bu l lockhu rd , John, 38

Bu lting . Joan, 1 6

John, 1 4 , 1 6 , 40, 1 1 7 ,Nicholas , 1 6 , 1 1 4

Bu lton, Robert, 1 2 1Bury

, Wm . , 5 5

Burge , Anthony , 1 7Bu rgeys, Nicholas, 1 6

1 5 6 INDEX.

Burgh ,John, 47Burgis

,Wm. , 1 7

Burgge , John, 37

B urghersh , Lady Augusta, 69Burnel l , Richard , 1 20Bishop R., 37 , 7 1Burnett Stuart , T. , 91 , 1 01

A. T. 76,Burton, Walter de, 87Bush ,

Mr. , 74But ler, Mr. , 1 24John, 1 24

Butt , John, 1 09Butten,

John, 1 09, 1 1 0Button,Ph i l ip de, 1 9Wm . de, 87

Buxton, Anthony,John, 1 7Richard

,1 7

Robert , 1 7 , 77, 1 01 , 1 02,Bysse, James, 1 05

9)

Cadbury,John de, 37

Cal l ington,John,

1 6

Camel , John d e, 90Wm . , 88

Cammel , Walter de, 30Wm. d e, 30Q ,

Cammel l , Wm.,41

Carent , Nicholas, 6 1 , 62Carey , Samuel , 1 8Carter , John,

1 1 5 , 1 1 9

Gary, Daniel , 1 8Caton,

Robt ., 6 1

Caselewy, W n1 , 1 1 2

Castel l, A l ice atte, 37John,

1 6 , 96 , 1 20

Castle, Bartholomew, 1 7, 1 21John, 81

W alter ,Wm. , 1 7 , 1 22

Cayrell , John,Ceawlin,

2

C enwealh ,2

Cewlie , Andrew,37

Chalcraft , W idow. 1 8

Chamberlyn,John, 32

Robert , 1 9, 1 22Chapeie, Agnes, 1 6

Hugh atte, 1 9, 81

Chapel l , Jane, 1 8John,

1 5 , 1 7 , 5 5, 77 , 81 ,

Robert , 1 7W m. ,

1 6,

Chapman,Thos. , 1 21

Cherb egend ,Robt . , 37

Ch ichester . Peter of, 80Chilloek ,

Mary , 1 8Ch ium

,Avice, 1 8

Chresshere , Henry, 37Chrewe , Thos. , 6 1 , 62

Chubb , Jo ,hn 69

Church ,C . M . 88

Chu rchouse , John,1 7 , 40, 1 21 . 1 08

Richard , 1 20

77 ,1 02 , 1 05 , 1 1 7 , 1 1 8

,1 20,

W m. ,1 7 1 22

Chuwe, John,5 5

Chywc , John,43, 5 5

C larke, 1 1 8C lark or Clarke, Anthony. 73

9)

N

H

Clark or Clarke, Henry , 1 1 7 , 1 21John,

1 1 03)

Richard , 1 08 , 1 1 1 , 1 09,

Thos. , 1 5 , 1 6 , 20, 72,

Wm . , 1 23Cleaves, Mary , 1 8C lements, Thos. , 38, 1 1 3

Ed \va1 d , 1 1 3C lerk or Clerke, A l ice, 5 5Anthonis , 5 7Edith , 5 5

Isabel la, 39John, 40, 5 5 , 5 7Thos. , 1 9, 39, 40, 5 7 , 59,

67

Wm. , 43, 47 , 5 4, 5 5

C lynedon, John d e, 34O noll , Ph i l ip de , 29

Wacher, 29Colbourne, El iz abeth , 1 1 3Col l ier, Margery , 98Jane, 1 1 4Edward , 1 8John, 1 7Col l ins, Timothy, 88

Co lyer , John, 1 1 9Combe, J ohn, 45 , 90

Nicholas, 84Thos. , 43

Compton,John, 39, 90, 91 , 96, 1 1 5

Conmael , 2Cook or Cooke, 1 1 8David , 1 8, 1 08John, 1 08

George , 76 , 1 23, 1 09Nathaniel , 1 09Wi l l iam ,Cooper, Sir John, 68

Cordon, Richard , 62Cornish ,

Bishop Thos. , 97Corscombe, Else de, 31 , 5 8Corpe, Joan, 1 7

John, 1 7 , 82 , 1 08, 1 1 8 , 1 22, 1 23

Thos. , 7 5 , 1 2 1 , 1 22 , 1 23

Cosyn, John, 37Cott le, Edward , 1 8

Wm 82

Counci l , Wm ., 1 1 8Counsel , Thos. , 39, 42Wm . , 40, 42Courte, Wm . 47

Coz ens, Edmund , 1 09Croft, John, 60Crooker, John,

1 03

Cu l lock , John, 1 6 , 1 21Thos. , 1 5 , 1 7Richard , 1 7

Cuppar, John, 1 5 , 1 20

M

Davies, Evan, 91 , 1 00

Davys, Thos. , 1 1 3Day, James, 1 1 4John, 1 1 4

Joseph , 1 1 4Robert, 1 09

De Castel le , Hadrian, 5 6

Deighere , Alanus le, 37J ohn l s , 37Wm. le, 37

De la Bere, John,

De la C nol l , Radu lphus, 27Walcher, 27

De la Haye, Thomas, 40Delymakere, Robert, 5 8

7 ,

9,

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1 5 8

Hodges, Wm . , 1 09

Hody, Alexander , 62Hogge , Henry , 1 9Holmes, T. S . , 91

Hond , Adam , 39, 40

Hooper, John, 1 7 , 1 21

Wm . , 1 20

Hopkins , Wm . , 1 6

Hoore , Richard , 6 1Horner , Mrs. , 95

H orningd ean, Matthew do, 28Hort , John, 5 6

H ortc , Edward , 1 6 , 20Horts, John, 48

B otkins , Thos. , 1 08

Howe,Henry, 90, 97 , 1 02

Howleg , John,46

Robert, 47Howlegge , Robert , 5 5Huchyns, John, 39, 40

Walter, 40Hughes, Wm . ,

1 09

Hulle, Walter de, 88Hunt, Wm. , 40

Hunte, John, 37Huntly, Robert , 1 8Huxtable, Edgar, 88Hycks, John, 5 4Hyl le, Thomas , 47Hyne, Wm . , 49

I’

anson, Sir Thos. , 88Ivo, Dean ofWel ls, 28 , 87

Jackes,Wi l l iam, 38

James, John, 1 7 , 82Thomas, 88J eol

,John, 38

Joanes, Cyprian, 1 6

Jocelyn or Joscel in, Bishop , 23, 24, 7 1 , 79Joel , W il l iam , 39

Jones, Morgan, 90, 99

Keate, W i l l iam , 91 , 1 00, 1 03Keene, C. E .

, 87 , 88Kelway, John, 90, 1 21Ken, J ohn de, 28

K idder, Bishop , 1 05Kingston, Robert, 74, 91 , 98, 99Knight , John, 1 9

Richard , 1 9W 1 1 1 1am , 5 6

Kymock , Walter, 37Kyndylan, 2

39

Lake, Henry, 63Lambert, 87Lane

,A l ice

, 98

Chri stian, 1 01El iz abeth , 1 8Mary

, 1 1 4

Peter, 98Lang, Wm . , 49

Langton, Wm . , 6 1Laud , A rchbishop , 73Lavington,

W 1 1 1 . d e, 88

Lawson, A lexander, 84Lax, J ohn, 87Lavng , Henry , 88Leke , John, 47Le Moners , Peter , 30Le Rous, Wm. , 87

Le Pooh , John, 90

9)

2 )

2 )

-INDEX.

Naysch , Richard atte, 36Neel , W ’

l liam , 8 1

Newman, Peter , 1 5 , 5 5Walter, 1 5

Noggere, Estiva, 37North , N icholas , 40Northom , Petroni l la de, 30Norwich, Thomas, Bishop of, 65

Paine, John, 88Palmer, J ., 78

l ’anter or Paynter, WalterParsons, George, 20

Levinz , Wm. , 85 , 88Light, Thomas , 1 1 3Lloyd , John, 1 8Lock , John, 47London,

W al ter de, 60

Lovel l , Thomas, 88Walter

,40

Loxton, John, 1 6

Lufi'

e , John, 1 08 , 1 09, 1 1 8, 1 23, 1 24Joseph , 1 23

Lumbard , Robert, 38Lyde, John, 1 6 , 1 7 , 5 4, 1 23

Matthew, 1 7

Richard , 1 7 75 , 82, 1 1 8, 1 23Thomas, 1 6 , 62 , 1 22 , 1 23, 1 09

Mackinnon, Henry , 1 1 0March ia, Bishop Wm . de, 89Marlow , John, 7 7Marshfield

, N icholas, 1 08Matravers, Wm . , 85

Masters, Agnes, 1 8George

, 1 08James

, 88

Robert, 1 1 4Maynard , Adam , 32

Meaden, John, 69, 1 1 0

Merchaunt , Walter, 20

Merifield , Hugh , 7 5 , 1 02 , 1 23John, 1 6

Richard , 1 6, 77Thomas,1 6

Merkesbu ry, Thomas de, 37Meriman, J ohn, 1 8Mockyng . Nicholas, 60, 81 , 88Mody , John, 39Moleyns, John, 5 4Monk

,John

, 1 1 3More, Sir Thomas, 1 5

Morecock or Carter , John, 39, 1 1 5Moss, Charles , 87 88, 91 , 1 00Moure , N icholas, 40Mulward , Henry, 39Mul ford , Wi l l iam , 1 1 3Mumfoxd , Wm . , 1 6

Mundy, Francis, 88

Muttelbu ry, John, 69Thomas, 69M ichel l , Mr. , 74M idd leham , Joseph ,

1 09

M idd leton, Walter de, 36Mildmaye, W alter

, 65M1 l lard ,

W il l iam,1 7

M i l le, Edmund , 1 20M i l ler, Thomas, 1 7M i l ls, James , 75M i lverton, John de, 90M i lward , Thomas, 5 5

Mydleham, Thos., 82, 90, 98, 1 03, 1 21 ,

Puri fy , 98

INDEX.

Pasturel , V1 ill iam , 1 9

Pearse , John, 1 00

Ped ewel l , John, 61 , 62

Pegu ,Thomas , 48

Peirs or Peirce , Bishop , 73Thomas, 74, 85 , 1 09

W i ll iam , 69, 85

Wm . Ekins, 75 , 86, 1 09Pente, And rew, 38

Henry, 38Penruddock , Robert , 77Peynte , alter , 39Phelps, Thomas, 43

Ph i l lott , J . S . , 91 , 1 00, 1 23Pi lton, W i ll iam of, 1 3P itney , J . ,

1 1 1 , 1 23

W i l liam , 1 1 1

Plentin, John, 7 7Plum ley , N icholas , 1 20P lummer

, John, 48 , 1 08

Richard , 48Poch

,John le

, 92

Po llard , Lewis , 96Pontesbu ry. N icholas , 88Poo le, Edward , 1 8

1 1 8

George , 1 24J 1 23, 1 24

Robert , 82 , 1 22Pople , W i l l iam , 1 6

Porter , John, 39, 45Potter, John,

43

Richard , 39Poughnel l , Richard , 90Powlet, J ohn, 1 20

Prowse , W i l l iam , 84

Pu rnel l , Richard , 20Pyers , Walter. 5 4

Pyerson, Thomas , 48

Pyncombe, Mr 95

Pyttina, J ohn, 20

W i l l iam , 20

2 ,

’ t

3,

$ 7

9,

Radcl i ffe , Hou ston, 88Ra ndal l , Thomas, 1 05 , 1 08Raynold , John, 6 1 , 8 1

Reynold , John, 88 , 92

Richardson,W il l iam

, 84Riddick

,Mr. , 1 24

Robeir , John, 81

Robert , The Archdeacon, 28Robert , Bishop , 7 1 , 79Roberts , W i l l iam , 84, 88Robins , Samuel , 1 1 4Rod de , J ohn, 37 , 40, 45Rodeney, John,

1 20

Rodney , W alte r de, 31Rogers , John, 88

Dr ., 95

Rol le , Denys , 68 , 69Franc is , 68Henry , 68John, 68 , 69

Samuel , 67 , 68Rooe , John, 1 08

Rumbo ld , John, 43

Roumenal, Hugh de, 87 , 92

Rudde , Robert , 37Ruddick , Thomas , 1 1 0

H

39

$ 9

Sage, Richard , 1 7 , 1 08Salmon, Francis, 87

George, 1 1 1 , 1 1 2Hester, 88Mrs. , 1 4John, 1 09

1 5 9

Tail ler, Adam le , 32 , 36Tanner,A lys, 1 2 1Isabel , 1 9, 31Thomas, 1 9, 39Tayler or Buxton, ohn

,5 5 , 82 , 1 21 , 1 22

Robert, 1 7Thomas, 45 , 47

H

Teck ,Matth ew, 69Tenor, 39

Salmon, T. A. , 1 23

T. B . ,1 1 9

Robert, 1 1 2Sawyer, John, 5 5

W i l l iam , 1 20

Schape l , John, 1 1 9

Schup ton, Ra lph de, 1 9Scott , Robert , 88Selcock , John, 1 1 6 , 1 1 9

Senebaldus, Ralph , son of, 28Serger, W alter , 5 7Shearly , W . J . , 78Shenton, J ohn, 1 8

Sheppard , Francis , 1 2 , 1 09, 1 24Shrewsbu ry, Bishop Ralph , of, 25Sm ith , John, 1 4, 1 6 , 1 7 , 1 8, 39, 48,

R ichard, 40, 43

Robert , 45W i ll iam , 1 1 5

Smyth , John, 40, 1 20, 1 22

Snelgrove , James, 20

Sneyd , Edward , 91 , 1 00Somerton, Hugh de , 36

John, 5 5

Somerset, Edward , Duke of, 63Spakeston, R. de, 87Sp ekyngton, John, 88Spray , John, 1 1 6 , 1 1 9

Ralph , 37Sprotte , Richard , 39S rute, John, 32

Squery, Thomas, 1 20Sta fford , John, 5 6Standewyke, John, 1 20Stephens , J . , 1 23

Stevens, Thomas , 1 7W ill iam , 6 1

Stoc k , John, 1 7 , 1 22 , 1 23S tode lman

,W il liam , 43

S tokelyng , John, 37 , 81Stone , Anne, 1 7S torthwayt, J 6 1

Stott, Abraham , 1 24

David , 1 24James , 1 09, 1 24

John, 1 8 , 20, 4 1 , 1 02 , 1 03Isaac, 20, 1 09, 1 1 0, 1 24Richard , 44Thomas, 1 6, 20, 90, 98, 1 08Wal ter, 42 , 46 , 48 , 5 4W i l l iam, 43, 1 1 1 , 1 24

Stowel l , John,49

St . Quintin, Walter, 87Strachey, 91Straton, Richard de, 30Stratton, W il liam de, 28Strod e, 1 1 8

G . , 1 23

J . , 37 , 1 08

T. , 69, 76 , 1 08, 1 09, 1 24Suttona, John de , 90Swal low , E iz abeth , 1 8Swan, Richard , 49Sweet, John, 37

Symeon, Simon, 5

Synyer, John, 49

1 60 INDEX

T ibbs, James, 1 08

Thomas ,1 08

Thomas, W il liam , 40

John, 81Thorpe , W i l l iam , 91 , 1 01Tokar , W il l iam , 1 6Toker, W i l l iam , 1 1 7Tonour, Agnes, 40Tornar , John, 1 5 , 1 6

Thomas, 1 6

Walter , 1 6Tounere, John, 43Trappe , Nicholas, 1 20Tregodek ,

John, 61Trench , J ohn, 81Trym , David , 1 7 , 67 , 69, 82, 1 08 , 1 1 8,1 23

George, 1 23Valent ine , 67W il l iam

, 1 7, 5 5Tucker,Thomas, 69

W i ll iam, 1 20

Tudway, Clement , 69, 70Tupper, John, 5 5 , 1 20

Ro bert , 1 20Turner, Anthony, 1 1 3Turner, Edith ,44

Henry, 82Joan, 1 8

John,1 7 , 39, 44, 5 4, 77, 1 02,

1 1 7 , 1 20 and 1 21

Richard , 1 04 , 1 23Thomas, 1 20

W i l l iam , 1 7Tutten, D. , 1 08 , 1 23

Tychemersh , Richard de, 60Tyler, John, 48, 49

2 ,

H

3,

Valence , Matthew de, 88Vincent, W alter , 1 20

W i ll iam , 1 1 2Vinstrey , John, 37Voel , Wi l l iam , 81

Vowles, Richard , 1 6Vuthoukes

,John, 1 9

Vyncent, Robert , 1 6 , 20

Wade, John, 1 6

Waldram , John, 1 4

Walter, John, 69

Wansford , John, 88Warner , John, 43W aron, Wi l l iam , 49

Watere, Adam atte, 33, 35

Henry atte, 32Richard atte, 37

Watson,W i l l iam

, 87W atts, 1 1 8

John, 1 24Thomas, 1 00, 1 1 3W ayfere, Anderna, 5 8Thomas, 1 9, 5 8

Robert , 1 9Weare, J . , 1 1 0, 1 23

Stephen, 1 8, 1 02 , 1 05 ,Thomas, 76 , 1 1 0, 1 1 1T. B . , 1 23, 1 24

W i l l iam , 1 23

W eb , Edith , 1 21 , 1 22

H

H

9)

H

H

Yatton, Wi l l iam de, 80, 87Y eap , George, 1 1 0Y ebais , W i l l iam , 1 6

Yeman, J ohn, 39

Y erworth , Samuel , 90, 96 , 98, 1 02, 1 04

W eb,Mary , 98Richard , 93, 1 21 , 1 22Henry , 39

V1 ebb er , Mr. , 74

Webster , Christopher, 90, 96 , 97 , 1 20, 1 211 27

Welch , Robert , 1 1 2W ele, Richard , 48W el leslegh , JohnW areyn de, 1 1 5 , 1 1 9Wel l ington,

W i l l iam, 69

W el lyknow, John, 90, 96Went , Edward , 47West, Reginald , 88Westbury, John dc , 37Wh ite, Agnes, 38

John, 45N icholas, 43, 44, 45 , 47, 5 1Richard

, 43Thomas, 36W i ll iam , 37

W h itehead , John, 88Wh iting, Cyprian, 1 6

Edward, 1 22

Thomas, 1 6W idowe, Robert , 88W ik , Phllip de, 30

W i lcock , John, 1 5 , 1 7 , 77 , 1 1 7 , 1 21 , 1 09Wi l l iam

, 1 5

Wi lcox , Joan, 1 7W i lk ins, Edmund , 1 09W illames, Christiana, 37W il lcas, John, 39Wi lles, Jul iana, 37W i l l iam , 87

the Conqueror, 1 2W i l ls, John, 1 8

W i l liam, 1 08

Wi lmot, John, 77W i lsh ire , Edward , 77W inton, Richard de, 87Wode, Thomas atte, 1 9W oky, John d e , 21

Ph i l ip de, 21

Maurice de, 21Richard d e

, 21

Wookey,W i l l iam of, 1 3

W ooton, Edward , 91 , 99Worcester , Wil l iam of, 5W orthe , Henry de la, 30W udeford , Gatfred de, 30Thomas d e, 30Wye, Joanna, 5 8Roger

,5 8

Wyke, Agnes, 1 6Gi lbert atte, 32

Wylcocke, David , 1 6El ie, 38John, 1 6 , 5 5

Richard , 1 6 , 5 5W i l l iam, 1 1 9, 1 20

W ylcocks, John, 47W ylcoxxe, John, 1 20Wyx, Roger, 1 9

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1 62 GENERAL ia x.

Coterel li, an account ofthe

C rocus Garden,expenses ofthe

Dean, election of, in place ofDean Forestand Sub -dean, quarrel concerning jur isdiction

Dedication Festival , change ofday ofEdward

,John

,pension from vicarage

Thos. ,hiswill and exemplary life

Eggs, customary payment to the Lord ofthe ManorEnclosure ofMoors

E ryngton,Richard , his numerous offices

Excommunication, threat of

Facultyfor a pewFardel l holders , account oftheFearne, Fel ix, a preach ing m inisterFulling M ills 30, 32

G av elerthe Tenancy, meaning ofG raserthe and G utferme Tenancy

,meaning of

Godwyn , Anthony, buried at St. Clement Dane ’s ChurchGustus Villanorum ,

meaning of

Hallage,meaning of

Hamlets ofW ookeyHarvey, G ilbert, appointed by the bishopHearth Tax,

excusedB embury W ood cu t downH enton, Free Chapel , inquisition concerning its destruction

v icars ofHerr ings in LentHowe, Henry , witnesses Glerke

’

s willHurr icane ofW ind, a memorable

Knowle, lease ofland there 2 7, water-course atKnychewode, path near

Lane , Peter , Harvey’

s curateLarge Trees , not to be cut downLavatory , fixing oftheLead , brought from Br istol for the HallLe Poch , John,

lease to 92, perhaps a vicarL icense to marry

Manor , size ofassessment of

leased to T. Clerkfate ofin reign ofEdw. VI.description ofin the reign ofEdw. VI .

Manor, licence to sell to Rolle fam ilyaccount offinal sale

3,

Q ,

i )

GENERAL INDEX. 1 63

Manor House, descr iption ofsupposed shape 23,24

Jocelyns’

s buildingsr epairs atal terations at the Hallbishop Bubwith dies lieretenants ofdur ing reign ofQueen Elizabeth

t ill sale ofmanor

Marlborough ,col lect ion at W ookey for town of

Mart inhoe , Brent , rector of

Merlegh, lease ofland atW ood , claim against the bishop

Messor, dut ies oftheM ilitary Service, lands held on

M ills at“Wokey

M il l Stream ,uncertain antiquity

Much Baden,Berkeley, v icar of

H

Nave ofchurch reseatedNoises in W ookey HoleNorth aisle ofchurch , lumber in

O verland , fines of35 , remarks on the 5 3, various fields in itO xcn ofrector , allowancefor

Pannage,meaning of

Parish Chests , account of

Path , ancient , at HenburyPeter

’

s PencePlaster ofPar is , sale of

Preachers,benefactions for

Recognition, meaning ofRectory , formation of79, assessment offor house tax 80,

leased ou t by Raynald 8 1,leased out by Boureman

8 1 , account ofin Valor Eccles . 8 1 , Boureman’

s

second lease 82 , terrier ofpossessions in 1 634, 82 ,

account ofin time ofCommonwealth, 83, leased out

by Levintz 85 , by Moss 87, by Keene 87 , sale ofRectors

,list of

Reynold , John, grant by the vicarsRodney ,“falter de, holds lands in socage

Stoke, Hol lyer Allen,rector and curate in charge of

W ookey

S econd Poor Endowment

W . Council ’s bequest forS elect VestryS extons list ofStatutes ofCathedral , presentation to bishop Ralph ofS tray Cattle impoundedS trecchistenement

, notice of

T illage, bequest for better maintenance

1 64 GENERAL INDEX.

Tithings in Manor ofW ookeyT itle Deeds, list ofW ookeyVestry Room builtVicarage

,institution ofunknowngrant ofland toaugmentation of

House,or iginal name

S itechange ofsiteincrease of

Vikersplace, la, notice of

Villeins, lett ing for hire of

9 ,

H

W arren, free, bishop possesses aW aste lands ofW ookeyW estbury, Pur ify Mydleham ,

v icar ofOverland

W inter Pasture at VVestl eylandW itham ,

Grant ofIsabel Tanner to Pr ior of

W ookey, size ofpar ishnot mentioned in Domesdaymeaning Ofname

boundaries ofpar ishpopulation of1 5

,various lists ofpar ish ioners

a fam ily name

ordination at

common fields ofSale ofchurch property at

W ookey Hole, account ofwitch , meaning oftermm ill

,lease of

Roman Inscription found there

Q , 7 ,

Y erworth , S . ,author ofHebrew Grammar