KILVE
The ancient parish of Kilve, which takes its
name from the hill east of the village, (fn. 1) lies across
the narrow band of country between the Quantocks
and the Bristol Channel coast. From its shore, which
attracted Wordsworth during his stay at Alfoxton
but repelled Sir Walter Besant, (fn. 2) the ancient parish
reached nearly 7 km. inland to the barren heights
of the Quantocks, and formed two separate, but
almost conjoined, areas covering 1,775 a. (fn. 3) In 1933
the southern part, covering 835 a., was transferred
for civil purposes to Holford, and the civil parish of
Kilve measured 380 ha. in 1977. (fn. 4)
The northern part of the parish is an irregular area
running in a narrow band from Longstone (290 m.)
and Pardlestone hills down to a stream at Putsham.
There the parish broadens, to 1.75 km. at its widest
point, to embrace Kilve Hill (c. 110 m.), and continues north each side of the stream to a creek
called Kilve Pill and a narrow shore line. The main
boundaries to east and west are marked by wide
'freeboards or deerleaps'. (fn. 5) Most of the coastal area
is on Lower Lias, with a band of shale along the
stream and pockets of harder valley gravel. Attempts
to extract oil from the shale c. 1923 have left standing remains near the beach. (fn. 6) The southern part of
the parish, climbing up the wooded combes to the
top of the Quantocks, lies on Keuper Marl and
Hangman Grit. (fn. 7) Its boundaries are watercourses
and, in the south, the line of the prehistoric ridgeway, marked at one point by Halsway Post or
Cross. (fn. 8) In the southern area the land rises to c.
320 m. on Black Hill.
The coast road through Putsham forms the parish
boundary east of the village. From it two roads run
towards the coast, one over Kilve Hill, converge near
the former rectory house, and lead past church and
former manor house to the sea. Southwards from
Putsham, Pardlestone lane to Higher Pardlestone (fn. 9)
continues as a network of tracks, including part of
the Great Road, across the top of the Quantocks.
One of the tracks, known as the Hunting Path, (fn. 10)
forms the parish boundary on Longstone Hill, and
several converge in the extreme south at Crowcombe
Park Gate.
Traces of early human activity include mesolithic
flints, Bronze Age barrows on the Quantock ridgeway and on Hare Knap and Longstone hills, and a
hoard of 3rd-century Roman coins from Putsham. (fn. 11)
By the 11th century there were three areas of occupation: Pardlestone, relatively high on the Quantock
slopes; Hill, in the lee of the hill from which it took
its name; and Kilve, in the well watered country
near the coast. (fn. 12)
It is uncertain whether the settlement by the
church and medieval manor house later called Kilve
Farm or Kilve Priory was ever the largest, though it
lay on an ancient coastal route linking Watchet with
Stogursey and perhaps with the Parrett passage at
Combwich. (fn. 13) By 1280 the manor house had an
adjoining park (fn. 14) which survived until 1441 (fn. 15) and is
traceable in fields called Great Lawn and Lawn
Meadow west of the farm buildings. (fn. 16) Fishponds
north of the house perhaps date from the time when
the house itself was occupied by chantry priests in
the 14th century. (fn. 17) The abandonment of the ancient
coastal route and its replacement by the present road,
evident by the 17th century, (fn. 18) encouraged the expansion of settlement at Putsham, the site of one of the
Domesday mills, the name occurring by 1406. (fn. 19) By
the late 18th century Putsham had certainly attracted most of the population, (fn. 20) and a new manor
house, Kilve Court, was built there between 1782
and 1785. (fn. 21) There was some scattered development
on the wooded slopes above Pardlestone at the
beginning of the 20th century (fn. 22) but most later building was confined to Putsham, and has included some
ornate thatched cottages and local authority housing.
No evidence has been found of open-field farming
in Kilve. Land use on the Quantocks may be suggested by the 200 oaks cut in Kilve wood c. 1242, (fn. 23)
the grant of free warren in Kilve and Holford made
in 1296, (fn. 24) and the valuation of heather in Kilve in
1441. (fn. 25) Woodland in 1821 measured 164 a. and was
divided between Butterfly, Swinage, Frog, Ladies,
Adder, Sturtcombe, and Somerton woods and
Kenley quarry. (fn. 26) The name Somerton may recall the
royal forest of Quantock other parts of which belonged to the royal manor of Somerton before the
end of the 13th century. (fn. 27)
Kilve Pill, a 'creek for small boats', was condemned as dangerous by the port commissioners in
1559. (fn. 28) A limekiln was built at the head of the creek
by 1769 to burn stone brought across the Bristol
Channel from Wales. (fn. 29) The stony beach was a
popular place for glatting or hunting conger eels
until after the First World War. (fn. 30)
There was an inn at Kilve in 1689 and another in
1736. (fn. 31) Between 1822 and 1827 it was called the
Chough and Anchor, and by 1841 the Hood Arms,
its name in 1977. (fn. 32) There was a second inn in 1851. (fn. 33)
A friendly society which met at the Hood Arms was
disbanded c. 1911. (fn. 34) It was occasionally known as
the Putsham club. The village hall, built by the
rector in 1885, was later extended. (fn. 35)
There were 20 households in the parish in 1563, (fn. 36)
196 taxpayers in 1667, (fn. 37) and 30 dwellings c. 1790. (fn. 38)
Between 1801 and 1821 the population rose from
176 to 263. From 260 in 1871 it fell rapidly, reaching
149 in 1901, but had more than doubled, to 365, by
1931. Within the next twenty years numbers had
fallen to 286, but by 1971 had recovered to 317. (fn. 39)
MANORS.
In 1086 the manor of KILVE comprised a main estate held by Roger de Courcelles in
succession to Brictric, to which had been added two
other manors, Hill and Pardlestone, held T.R.E. by
Edwald and Parlo respectively. (fn. 40) Most of Roger's
estates passed to the Malet family, and on the death
of William Malet c. 1216 were divided between his
two daughters, Helewise, wife of Hugh Pointz (d.
1220), and Mabel, wife successively of Nicholas
Avenel and Hugh de Vivonia (d. 1249). (fn. 41) In 1221
Kilve was adjudged to Avenel as husband of the
elder daughter, and on his death in or before 1223 it
passed to William de Forz (d. 1259), son of Hugh de
Vivonia, and then to William's fourth daughter
Cecily (d. 1320), wife of John de Beauchamp. (fn. 42) In
1284–5 she was said to hold the manor of the abbot
of Glastonbury, of whom her main residence at
Compton Dundon was held. (fn. 43) The overlordship
continued in the Beauchamps and their successors,
as trustees or lords of Dundon manor, until 1605. (fn. 44)
Robert son of William, who held Kilve at his
death c. 1185–6, may have been the grandson of
Robert de Pirou, a tenant under the Malets in
Henry I's reign. (fn. 45) Robert son of William left three
daughters and coheirs, of whom Joan married Henry
Furneaux and inherited Kilve. (fn. 46) Henry died c. 1221
and was succeeded by his son, also Henry, probably
a minor, whose possession was challenged by a
second Nicholas Avenel, husband of another daughter of Robert son of William. (fn. 47) The dispute was continued by Matthew de Furneaux, probably the elder
Henry's grandson, c. 1243, (fn. 48) and was settled when
Matthew de Furneaux succeeded William Avenel,
apparently heir of Nicholas, in 1253. (fn. 49) Matthew was
dead by 1285, (fn. 50) and was succeeded by another
Matthew, who settled the manor on his wife Maud
in 1314 (fn. 51) and died in 1316; Maud was still in possession in 1327, and probably in 1331. (fn. 52) Simon de
Furneaux, the last Matthew's son or grandson, died
in 1359, leaving an only daughter, Elizabeth, wife of
John Blount. (fn. 53)
Elizabeth Blount, still in possession in 1386, (fn. 54) left
an only daughter Alice, wife successively of Sir
Richard Stafford and Sir Richard Stury. She held
the manor in 1412 but died childless in 1414. (fn. 55) Her
heirs were the descendants of the sisters of Simon de
Furneaux, but by an arrangement made in 1421 Kilve
and lands in Kilton and Holford were assigned as a
third share of the estate to Ralph Bush and his wife
Eleanor, widow of Sir John Chidiock and greatgranddaughter of Eleanor Furneaux, the eldest
sister. (fn. 56) Pending the settlement Ralph and Eleanor
sold what was then their quarter share in Kilve
in 1419 to John Roger of Bryanston (Dors.), a
merchant. (fn. 57)
John Roger or Rogers died in 1441 and was followed by his son, also John. (fn. 58) John the younger died
in 1450, having settled Kilve on his wife Anne, later
married to John, Lord Audley. (fn. 59) She died in 1498
and was succeeded by her son Henry Rogers (cr.
K.B. 1501). (fn. 60) Sir Henry died c. 1506 and was followed by his son John (d. c. 1546) and his grandson,
also John (d. 1565). (fn. 61) Richard Rogers, son and heir
of the last, (fn. 62) was knighted in 1576 and died in 1605. (fn. 63)
Sir John Rogers (d. 1613), son and eventual heir of
Richard, (fn. 64) was followed in turn by his own sons
Edward (d. 1624) and Richard. Richard was a
minor, (fn. 65) and the manor was thus for some years in
the hands of Sir Lewis Dyve of Bromham (Beds.),
second husband of Howarda, Edward Roger's
widow. (fn. 66)
Richard Rogers came of age in 1632, though his
mother, after her second marriage known as Margaret Banastre (d. 1663), had jointure in Kilve, and
he himself was described later as only tenant for life
and as never having had possession of the manor. (fn. 67)
He died in 1643 leaving two daughters, Elizabeth
and Rogersa, in the guardianship of his mother and
of Lancelot Lake. (fn. 68) Elizabeth married first Charles
Cavendish, styled Viscount Mansfield (d. 1659), and
second Charles Stuart, duke of Richmond and
Lennox. She died in 1661, (fn. 69) and her half share was
conveyed in 1662 to Sir John Rogers of Langton
Long Blandford (Dors.), son of Richard Rogers, a
younger brother of Sir John Rogers (d. 1613). (fn. 70)
Rogersa, wife of Sir Henry Belasyse, K.B., died
without issue. (fn. 71)
In 1664 Sir John Rogers divided his estate: the
manor and most of the land was bought by John
Cunditt, also of Langton Long Blandford. (fn. 72)
Cunditt, then of Edmundsham (Dors.), was dead by
1679 when his executors presented to the living, and
was succeeded by another John Cunditt, of Kilve,
probably his son, who died in 1690, and by a third
of the same name, probably a grandson, who survived until 1771. (fn. 73) The youngest John Cunditt sold
his heavily mortgaged property in 1769 to Henry
Sweeting, who died in 1785. (fn. 74) Henry's son John died
in 1815, and his grandson John Hankey Sweeting of
Kilve and Great Houghton (Northants.) in 1841.
John Hankey Saumarez Sweeting of Chelmsford
(Essex), son of J. H. Sweeting, sold the lordship to
Edward Fownes Luttrell (d. 1865), second son of
Col. Francis Luttrell. (fn. 75) From Edward Luttrell the
lordship passed to his elder brother George, of
Dunster, who conveyed it to Daniel Badcock in
1886. Badcock died in 1915 and the lordship has not
been traced thereafter. (fn. 76)
A court, stable, and bakehouse were recorded in
1242–3. (fn. 77) The manor house became the residence of
the college of priests founded under licence in 1329, (fn. 78)
though the college ceased to exist probably in the
late 14th century. The house was regarded as the
capital messuage of the manor by 1441, though by
the late 16th century it was let. (fn. 79) From the mid 17th
century it was known as the 'old mansion' or Kilve
Farm. (fn. 80) It evidently ceased to be a farmhouse when
its land was linked with Parkhouse farm in the late
19th century, and has since been known as the Priory
or Kilve Priory. By 1906 it was offered to holidaymakers as apartments. (fn. 81) In 1977 it was divided
between Priory and Chantry cottages.
The two cottages comprise the hall range of a
substantial medieval house. The two-storeyed
eastern cross wing, largely ruined but dating from
the late 13th century, is the former solar, having a
contemporary first-floor chapel against its east wall.
Late medieval additions, post-dating the college,
project from the north-eastern corner. (fn. 82)
In 1862 Edward Fownes Luttrell (d. 1865) bought
with the lordship of Kilve a house called Kilve
Court at Putsham. (fn. 83) The house, where he had lived
since the 1820s, (fn. 84) passed with the lordship to his
brother George, and then to Daniel Badcock (d.
1915). Badcock's widow Mary sold the house in 1920
to Col. Joseph Cook-Hurle, who was succeeded on
his death in 1930 by his widow Norah Lilian (d.
1960), a prominent member of Somerset County
Council. Her son, Lt. Col. R. J. Cook-Hurle, sold
Kilve Court in 1961 to the county council for use as
a residential Youth (now Education) Centre. (fn. 85)
The 'neat new-built dwelling' (fn. 86) was erected by
Henry Sweeting between 1782 and his death in
1785. (fn. 87) It has a principal front of five bays and three
storeys. The central staircase and main rooms have
contemporary decoration. There is a lower service
wing in the rear, with modern accommodation for
its use as a college.
KILVE MANOR HOUSE
The darker stipple indicates the area of
medieval buildings.
In 1664 Sir John Rogers sold the southern part of
his estate to John St. Albyn of Alfoxton. The property was described as the manor of KILVE AND
HOLFORD, and included tenements in Putsham
and Pardlestone. (fn. 88) During the 18th century, as
further lands were acquired, the estate was variously
described as the manor of HOLFORD or of
ALFOXTON, (fn. 89) and descended in the St. Albyn
family from John to his son Lancelot (d. 1708–9),
and then to Lancelot's brother George (d. 1750). (fn. 90)
The Revd. Lancelot (d. 1791) succeeded his elder
brother John (d. 1768), George's heir, (fn. 91) and was
himself followed by his great-nephew, born Langley
Gravenor, who assumed the name St. Albyn in
1806. (fn. 92) Langley St. Albyn's estate in 1839 amounted
to 201 a. in Kilve and included Pardlestone farm and
Higher and Middle Hill. (fn. 93) It passed to his son
Lancelot, but was sold by the family in the 1890s. (fn. 94)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 the three estates
of Kilve, Hill, and Pardlestone amounted to 5 hides.
The demesne farm at Kilve dominated that 2½-hide
estate, leaving the tenants with only 5 ferlings between them; at Hill the home farm seems to have
accounted for three-quarters of the holding, leaving
the tenants with half a ploughteam; and at Pardlestone there was 1½ virgate in demesne and ½ virgate
held by tenants. In all there were 23 a. of meadow,
38 a. of wood, and two substantial areas of pasture.
No stock was recorded at Hill, but the other two
demesne estates between them supported, besides 2
riding-horses, 9 beasts (animalia), 7 swine, 53 sheep,
and 74 she-goats. (fn. 95)
Hill and Pardlestone, separately named estates
until the mid 14th century, (fn. 96) have continued as distinct farms until the present. Common ownership,
however, effectively unified the estate, and a verdict
of 1223 on the value of the harvest of 200 a. of
demesne corn evidently related to the whole property. (fn. 97) By 1441 the demesne farm measured 239 a.,
rents of free tenants were worth 69s., and of tenants
at will 4s. (fn. 98) In 1327 the township was one of the
more highly taxed in the district. (fn. 99)
Farming in the 16th and 17th centuries may have
been largely arable: in 1535 the tithes of corn and
hay produced £4 in comparison with only 24s. from
wool and lambs. (fn. 100) An inventory of 1671 shows crops
of wheat, barley, oats, beans, and peas, some 47
cattle, 3 mares, 'hogs of all sizes', geese and other
poultry, and a threshing mill. (fn. 101) Covenants in a lease
of Lower Hill in 1769 limited arable cropping to two
years in succession and required lime or dung on all
land ploughed for wheat, the lime to be provided
from the lord's limekiln. (fn. 102) Similar terms, with a
heavier use of lime, were agreed on the same farm in
1806. (fn. 103) The first lease was for 9 years at £24 for
34 a.; the second for 7, 10, or 14 years at £28. Common grazing and turbary were still claimed in respect
of holdings in the parish in the 18th century either
in general terms, or precisely as two days' cutting of
turf. (fn. 104)
By 1664 the main holdings in the parish were
Pardlestone, Middle and Lower Hill, Poorhouse, and
Kilve farms. (fn. 105) By 1769 Kilve farm was the largest,
with c. 275 a., Poorhouse measured 53 a., and Lower
Hill 35 a. (fn. 106) By 1839 Kilve farm was slightly smaller
at 244 a., Poorhouse had increased to 118 a., and
Pardlestone measured 102 a. There were four other
holdings of between 40 a. and 70 a., together with
164 a. of woodland and some 617 a. of common. (fn. 107)
Kilve farm claimed exclusive common on Black
Hill. (fn. 108)
Poorhouse farm, which c. 1860 was renamed
Parkhouse farm, then had equipment which included a water-powered threshing machine. (fn. 109) The
balance of land use, slightly in favour of arable in
1839, had changed by 1905: there was then more
grassland and slightly less wood. (fn. 110) In 1976 there
were seven farm holdings in the civil parish, one of
which specialized in dairying, another in cattle and
sheep. Grassland had increased further in proportion to arable. (fn. 111)
In 1296 Matthew de Furneaux was granted a
weekly market on Wednesdays and a fair on the eve,
day, and morrow of St. Margaret's day (19–21
July). (fn. 112) No later evidence of either has been
found.
Like its neighbours on the coast Kilve was a place
for burning seaweed from the late 16th century onwards; in the 19th century the product was used
either in bottle manufacture or for manure. (fn. 113) More
distinctive was the tradition of clothmaking, certainly carried on from the beginning of the 17th
century. (fn. 114) A fulling mill was in operation by 1636, (fn. 115)
and in the 1660s there were at least 2 clothiers, 2
weavers, and 1 fuller in the village with business
connexions in Melksham and Bradford-on-Avon
(Wilts.), (fn. 116) and there were at least 3 fulling mills in
the vicinity. (fn. 117) Clothiers and a serge maker occur
during the 18th century, (fn. 118) and Richard Shurt the
younger, from one of the leading clothing families,
leased a fulling mill in 1732 with rights to rack cloth
and to wash his own sheep in the washing pond each
year. (fn. 119) From 1721 linen houses were built on the
waste of the St. Albyn estate, (fn. 120) and a dyehouse on
Shurt's tenement survived until after 1839. (fn. 121) There
was a wool dealer in the parish in 1851. (fn. 122)
In 1676 a tailor died leaving goods in his shop
worth £112. (fn. 123) By 1851 the craftsmen in the village
included 4 carpenters, 3 shoemakers, 2 blacksmiths,
a tailor, a tanner, and a mason. The village supported
a draper's and grocer's shop. (fn. 124)
Mills.
There were two mills in 1086, one attached
to Kilve manor, the other to Hill. (fn. 125) Both probably
descended with Kilve manor, and by the 17th century they were corn mills, distinguished as Kilve
mill, closely associated with Kilve farm and probably, therefore, near the former manor house, and
Nether mill at Putsham, so called in relation to a
fulling mill a few yards upstream. Kilve mill was
occupied by the tenant of the capital messuage in
1665, and occurs in 1697 but not thereafter. (fn. 126) Nether
mill first occurs under that name in 1635 (fn. 127) and was
for some time held by the Sealy family. (fn. 128) By 1697 it
formed part of a 20-a. holding (fn. 129) and by 1706 seems
to have been occupied by the Shurt family, substantial clothiers, who renewed their lease in 1732. (fn. 130)
It was then described as burnt down, but the property also included a fulling mill at the head of the
millpond. The mill was evidently rebuilt, and was in
use as a flour mill until c. 1906. (fn. 131)
Higher mill, a few yards upstream, probably
originated as one of three fulling mills on the estate
in 1664, though one and possibly two were probably
in Holford parish. (fn. 132) The Mallet family occupied one
by 1636 until after 1664 (fn. 133) and Charles Mitchell, a
clothier, held it in 1723. (fn. 134) This may have been the
clothing mill belonging to John Wheddon in 1821. (fn. 135)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
A court was being held
for Kilve manor in 1671, and one for Kilve with
Holford in 1684. (fn. 136) Suit to Kilve manor was required
in 1684. Leases of land or houses from the St. Albyns
in the 18th century required suit to Alfoxton or
Holford manor. (fn. 137)
Two wardens, two overseers, and a tithingman
occur in 1641, (fn. 138) and two wardens were chosen in the
18th and 19th centuries. (fn. 139) A meeting of the vestry in
1762 comprised the wardens, the curate, and three
other inhabitants. (fn. 140)
Poorhouse Farm, recorded in 1664, may have
been named after a parish poorhouse. (fn. 141) The parish
became part of the Williton poor-law union in 1836,
the Williton rural district in 1894, and the West
Somerset district in 1974. (fn. 142)
CHURCH.
A rector of Kilve was named between
1265 and 1273. (fn. 143) A single reference to the living as
'Mynsterculve' in 1436 (fn. 144) might suggest an earlier
foundation, but probably recalls the college or
chantry, licensed in 1329. (fn. 145) Five chantry chaplains,
one of whom was styled the minister, (fn. 146) were to celebrate daily in the parish church for the souls of
Simon de Furneaux and his heirs. The college was
to be supported by land in Kilve and Stringston and
the advowsons of both churches. (fn. 147) Appointments to
the chantry were made in 1332 and 1350, and the
minister was named in 1369, (fn. 148) but the foundation
probably ceased to function before the end of the
14th century, and certainly by 1411. (fn. 149) By 1433 the
parish church had reverted to its original status, but
the link with the chapel of Stringston had been
revived by 1532. (fn. 150) The rectory of Kilve with Stringston remained a sole benefice until 1946, when it was
linked with East Quantoxhead. In 1947 it was united
with Kilton and Lilstock, and in 1977 was joined by
West Quantoxhead, Holford, and Dodington to form
the benefice of Quantoxhead in 1978. (fn. 151)
The advowson belonged to the lords of the manor
until 1329, when Simon de Furneaux granted it to
his newly established college of chantry priests. (fn. 152) The
priests presented a rector in 1335, (fn. 153) but the patronage
had reverted to the lord of the manor by 1411. (fn. 154) Successive lords or their trustees presented until the
16th century, but before 1570 Catherine, widow of
John Rogers, gave the advowson to John Foster of
Pylle, who devised it to his brother Robert, a clergyman. (fn. 155) In 1587 Sir Richard Rogers conveyed the
patronage by lease or sale to John Kaines, but by
1626 it had reverted to the lords. (fn. 156) Margaret Banastre
and Lancelot Lake presented in 1662 and Sir John
Rogers in 1666, and the advowson passed to John
Cunditt, the new lord of the manor, before his death
in 1679. (fn. 157) Another John Cunditt, probably his son,
sold the advowson to Balliol College, Oxford, in
1688. (fn. 158)
Balliol retained the advowson until 1893, when it
was sold to the Revd. Herbert Sweet Escott, son of
the then rector. From him it passed in quick succession to Mary Edith Greswell in 1894, and to the
Revd. Herbert Price in 1895. Price sold it in 1906 to
Frances Caroline James, wife of the then curate of
Kilve, and her husband was given the living in 1910.
Lord St. Audries bought the patronage in 1931, and
from 1947 shared with the bishop of Bath and Wells
the right of joint presentation to the united benefice.
His niece, Lady Gass, retained his share in 1977. (fn. 159)
The church was worth £10 in 1291, (fn. 160) £9 16s. 6½d.
net in 1535, (fn. 161) reputedly £100 c. 1668, (fn. 162) and £642 net
in 1831. (fn. 163) The tithes were valued at £7 4s. in 1535,
and in 1839 they were commuted to a rent charge of
£211 10s. (fn. 164) In 1535 the glebe lands were worth
£3 12s., (fn. 165) and presumably included the lands of the
former college in Kilve and Stringston. In 1613
there were some 63 a. of glebe in Kilve, 45 a. in
Stringston, and 28 a. in Chilton Trinity. (fn. 166) There
were nearly 60 a. in Kilve in 1839, (fn. 167) and 121 a. in all
until sales in 1926–7 reduced the total to 78 a. for
the whole benefice, with just over 13 a. in Kilve.
Further sales reduced the total to just under 70 a. in
1948, with nearly 4 a. in Kilve and 45 a. in Stringston, the remainder in Wembdon and Cannington,
perhaps the result of exchanges with Chilton. (fn. 168)
The large rectory house, regarded as adequate in
the early 19th century, (fn. 169) was given up in favour of
the glebe cottage in 1913, and was sold c. 1938. (fn. 170)
Known as the Old Rectory, it stands in its own
grounds south of the church. The symmetrical north
and east fronts and most of the internal fittings
appear to be of the early 19th century, but one room
at the south-east corner has 18th-century decoration,
and other rooms on the south side have thick internal
walls, suggesting that an older building is incorporated. The present rectory house is in Putsham.
Disputes over the legal status of the benefice were
said in 1433 to have led to the neglect of the parish. (fn. 171)
In 1448 a new rector, whose understanding of scripture and letters was said to be 'very mediocre', was
ordered to employ a chaplain for two years and to
study grammar. 'Hardly any progress' had been
made by the end of that period, but in 1451 he was
found competent and given a further two years to
study. (fn. 172) In 1554 the church lacked books and ornaments because of bad debts. (fn. 173) The rector was in
1577 reported for non-residence. (fn. 174)
At least seven of the rectors appointed by Balliol
were members of the college, including Henry Farr
Yeatman, D.D., rector 1784–96, and William Greswell, rector 1837–76. (fn. 175) Hay Sweet Escott, rector
1877–1910, came to the parish on retirement from
the post of first headmaster of the Somersetshire
College at Bath. He died as rector at the age of 94. (fn. 176)
There were 10 regular communicants in 1776. (fn. 177) For
most of the 19th century only one service was held
at Kilve, alternately morning and afternoon or
evening, with communion only five or six times a
year. (fn. 178) In 1851 the average general congregation was
60 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon or evening, with 50 Sunday-school pupils. (fn. 179)
There was a light in the parish church, supported
in 1548 by a rent charge of 6d. on land in the
parish. (fn. 180)
The church of ST. MARY, (fn. 181) in local grey stone,
comprises a chancel with north vestry, nave with
south porch, and western tower. The vestry, added
in memory of William Greswell (d. 1876), (fn. 182) occupies
the site of an earlier building formerly linked to the
chancel by an arcade, now of only 1½ bay, but suggesting that the chancel itself may have been longer,
perhaps to provide a choir for the 14th-century
college of chantry priests. The porch is also of the
14th century, but the chancel arch, windows, and
nave roof indicate a rebuilding of the nave and
chancel in the 15th century, when the addition of a
screen (fn. 183) involved the creation of a shallow southern
projection to house both the roodloft light and a
pulpit. The font is probably 12th century, with a
plain bowl and cable-moulded base. A plain window
at the west end of the nave lit the gallery added c.
1771. (fn. 184) The tower may have been added as late as
c. 1636. Before that time the bells, including one of
c. 1500 from the Bristol foundry, (fn. 185) were in a separate,
thatched building, open to damage by parishioners.
The wardens in 1636 were ordered 'to build up some
new room . . . adjoining to the west end of the
church'. (fn. 186) There is some medieval glass in the
chancel, and a wooden panel in the choir stalls is
dated 1687.
The registers, with burials from 1539, baptisms
from 1591, and marriages from 1632, have gaps from
1648 to 1665 but are thereafter complete. (fn. 187)
NONCONFORMITY.
In 1782 a house at Putsham
was licensed for use by Baptists. (fn. 188) A chapel for
Independents was built next to the inn at Putsham
in 1807 and was licensed in 1810. (fn. 189) It was served 'for
many years' from Nether Stowey or Bridgwater, but
was closed in 1888 in order not to oppose the 'earnest
and godly' rector. (fn. 190) The chapel was sold in 1912. (fn. 191)
Wesleyans, preaching at Putsham in the late 18th
century, were enquiring about a preaching house in
1846, but the cause was given up in 1848. (fn. 192)
EDUCATION.
By 1835 there was a day school for
20 children, supported equally by the rector and
parents. (fn. 193) In 1847 25 boys and 28 girls attended each
weekday and on Sundays, and an additional 23 boys
and 19 girls on Sundays, and the schools were said
to be principally supported by the rector. (fn. 194) From
1876 children from the parish attended the school at
East Quantoxhead, on the road between the two
villages, until its closure in 1971. (fn. 195)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
By will dated
1643 Alexander Standfast of Kilve gave a rent charge
of £1 on land in Lilstock, one third to be given to the
unrelieved poor of Kilve. (fn. 196) Until c. 1820 the charge
was regularly paid, but for a decade the tenant
refused. (fn. 197) Money was still paid in 1871, but after
1879 the churchwardens, as trustees, were unable to
prove their title and payments lapsed. (fn. 198)
James Houndrell, by will dated 1711, gave a sum
of either £20 or £30 for 'poor old housekeepers'. (fn. 199)
The capital was lent out by the churchwardens, income amounting to £1 in 1786–7. (fn. 200) Capital and
interest totalling £50 was invested in 1828 in Bridgwater market tolls, but interest was not paid for
some years before 1874, when the market became
insolvent. The charity received 7s. 6d. in the £, and
invested it in stock. The sum of £1 each was paid to
five recipients in 1956. (fn. 201) No distribution was made
in 1977. (fn. 202)