Somerset Part 2

_Dampier, William_, b. 1652, at East c.o.ker; explorer and scientific observer; author of "A Discourse on the Winds" (said to have value even now as a text-book); d. 1715.

_Daniell, Samuel_, b. 1562, probably near Taunton; poet and prose writer (there appears to be no authority for the belief that he succeeded Spenser as poet-laureate); d. 1619.

_Dunstan_, b. 924, at Glas...o...b..ry; successively Abbot of Glas...o...b..ry, Bishop of Worcester and London, and Archbishop of Canterbury; d. 988; canonised.

_Fielding, Henry_, b. 1707, at Sharpham, near Glas...o...b..ry; novelist (best known work, "Tom Jones"); d. 1754 at Lisbon.

_Hood, Samuel_, b. 1724, at Butleigh; admiral (Nelson wrote of him as "the best officer, take him altogether, that England has to boast of"); made a viscount; d. 1816.

_Hooper, John_, b. 1495 (place unknown); Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester; burnt at the stake, 1555.

_Irving, Henry_ (real name John Henry Brodribb); b. 1838, at Keinton-Mandeville; actor; knighted; d. 1905.

_Kinglake, Alexander William_, b. 1809, at Taunton; wrote "Eothen"

and "Invasion of the Crimea"; d. 1891.

_Locke, John_, b. 1632, at Wrington; philosopher; author of "Essay on the Human Understanding," and works on education and the currency; d.

1704.

_Norris, Edwin_, b. 1795, at Taunton; Oriental scholar; d. 1872.

_Parry, William Edward_, b. 1790, at Bath; Arctic explorer; knighted; d. 1855.

_Prynne, William_, b. 1600, at Swainswick; Presbyterian pamphleteer; wrote "Histriomastix" (directed against stage-plays); several times pilloried; d. 1669.

_Pym, John_, b. 1584, at Brymore, near Cannington; politician; one of the five members of the Commons whom Charles I. sought to arrest; d.

1643.

_Quekett, John Thomas_, b. 1815, at Langport; microscopist and histologist; conservator of the Hunterian Museum; d. 1861.

_Speke, John Hanning_, b. 1827, at Ashill; African explorer; discovered Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza; accidentally shot, 1864.

_Young, Thomas_, b. 1773, at Milverton; scientist, and Egyptologist; described as the founder of physiological optics, and one of the first to interpret the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone; d. 1829.

_Residents_

_Church, Richard William_, Rector of Whatley from 1852 to 1871.

_Coleridge, Samuel Taylor_, resided at Clevedon (1795) and Nether Stowey (1796-98).

_Ken, Thomas_, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1684 to 1691; wrote the morning and evening hymns, "Awake, my soul, and with the sun," and "Glory to Thee, my G.o.d, this night."

_More, Hannah_, resided for many years between 1786 and 1833 at Barley Wood, near Wrington, and did much to spread education and religion among the Mendip miners.

_Smith, Sydney_, the humorous Canon of St Paul's, and one of the founders of the _Edinburgh Review_, held from 1829 till his death in 1845 the living of Combe Florey.

_Wolsey, Thomas_, the famous cardinal, held for a time the living of Limington. Whilst here he is said to have been put in the stocks by Sir Amyas Poulett of Hinton St George for drinking too much cider.

When he became Chancellor of England he revenged himself on the knight, who was Treasurer of the Middle Temple, by forbidding him to quit London without his leave.

_Wordsworth, William_, resided in 1797 at Alfoxden, a house near Holford.

For distinguished persons who have resided at Bath, see p. 46.

[5] Chiefly derived from the "Dictionary of National Biography."

DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN SOMERSET ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY

_N.B._--The following abbreviations are adopted:--

Norm. = Norman (1066-1190).

Trans. = Transitional (1145-1190).

E.E. = Early English (1190-1280).

Dec. = Decorated (1280-1377).

Perp. = Perpendicular (1377-1547).

[Proofreader's Note: Additional abbreviations found in the text are: G.W.R. = Great Western Railway S.& D. = Somerset and Dorset Railway.]

_Abbot's Leigh_, a village 4 m. W. from Bristol. The church, which stands at the bottom of a long lane, is, with the exception of the tower, entirely modern, the original fabric having been destroyed by fire in 1848. Near the S. porch is the base of an old cross. The churchyard commands a good view of the mouth of the Avon. _Leigh Court_ is a modern residence. A former mansion was one of the many hiding-places of Charles II. when a fugitive.

_Aisholt_ (or _Asholt_), 8 m. W. of Bridgwater, is a little village on the E. slope of the Quantocks. The church is hidden away in a small combe, and its tower looks most picturesque against the green background of Asholt Wood, but it is not in itself interesting. Note, however, (1) little plain stoup and niche in the S. porch, (2) large squint (now blocked) in the S. aisle, (3) old font. S. of Aisholt is _Holwell Cavern_, a cave of considerable extent, and containing stalagmites and stalagt.i.tes, but rather inconvenient of access.

_Alford_, a small village on the river Brue, 1-1/2 m. S.W. from Castle Cary. In the fields on the S. side of the road is a mineral spring, which once enjoyed a short-lived local popularity. The church stands in the grounds of Alford House. It is a 15th cent. Perp. building, and contains (1) some ancient benches, (2) old gla.s.s in one of the N.

windows, (3) a slender Perp. screen, (4) a pulpit dated 1625, (5) piscina. Note ma.s.sive corbels in chancel. The shaft of a cross with a modern head stands in the churchyard.

_Aller_, a village 2-1/2 m. N.W. from Langport, lying at the base of High Ham Hill. Aller witnessed the sequel to two stirring events. Here Guthrum was baptised at Alfred's insistence after his defeat at Ethandune (879), and here the Royalists made their last but ineffectual rally after their rout at Langport in 1645. The church stands apart from the village on a knoll rising from the marshes. It contains (1) an ancient font, (2) an effigy of Sir W. Botreaux (1420) on the N. side of choir. The internal arrangements of the tower are peculiar. It has three arches, those on the N. and S. being apparently purposeless.

_Angersleigh_, a small parish 5 m. S. of Taunton (follow the Honiton road to the fourth milestone, then turn to the right). It has a very small church, perhaps originally Dec., but altered into Perp. It contains a good carved oak reading-desk and lectern.

_Ansford_, or _Almsford_, a village 1/2 m. N. from Castle Cary.

Restoration has robbed the church of most of its interest; its tower has some good gargoyles. A memorial-stone on the roadside near the church marks the scene of a sudden death.

_Ash_, a parish including several small hamlets, 1 m. N.E. from Martock. The church is modern.

_Ash Priors_, a small village 1 m. N.W. of Bishop's Lydeard Stat., owes its name to the fact that it once belonged to the Priory of Taunton.

The church contains nothing of interest, though the N. pier of the chancel arch preserves its squint.

_Ashbrittle_, 7 m. W. of Wellington (nearest stat. Venn Cross, 3 m.), a parish standing on very high ground. The second element in the name is a personal description, derived from the Norman Brittel de St Clare.

The parish church has been completely restored, and is devoid of interest.

_Ashcott_, a parish on the Poldens, 3 m. S.W. of Glas...o...b..ry, with a station (S. & D.J.R.) two miles away. The church has a W. embattled tower with a carving on the W. face representing the sacred monogram, a mitre, and a pastoral staff. There is a stoup in S. porch, but no other feature of interest.

_Ashill_, a parish 3-3/4 m. N.W. of Ilminster, situated on rising ground on the Taunton and Ilminster road. The church is interesting by reason of the Norman work that it contains, including N. and S. doors and triple chancel arch (restored). There are two effigies in recesses in the nave wall, one representing a woman and her six children. At Capland, 1-1/2 m. off, there is a chalybeate spring.