BRATTON SEYMOUR
Bratton Seymour in 1840
The ancient parish of Bratton Seymour lies on
the western side of Wincanton parish. (fn. 1) It is
roughly triangular in shape, each side measuring
c. 4.5 km. The village, c. 4 km. WNW. of
Wincanton church, lies in the centre of the
parish on the eastern side of the steep Bratton
Hill. There appear to be no natural boundaries
except in the north where a stream marks the
limit with Shepton Montague, but the extreme
south-west corner is marked by a possible prehistoric earthwork (fn. 2) and part of the common
boundary with Yarlington south of the village is
marked by a bank and double ditch. (fn. 3) In 1839 the
parish measured 1,094 a. (fn. 4) In 1886 Holbrook (9
houses, 55 people) was transferred to Bratton
from Charlton Musgrove. (fn. 5) In 1981 the area was
601 ha. (1,485 a.) and, after transfer of land to
Wincanton in 1982, was in 1991 556 ha. (1,374
a.). (fn. 6)
The parish is dominated by the northern half
of an irregular promontory which reaches to 184
m. (603 ft.) on Bratton Hill, its sides falling
steeply to the east and more gradually to the
west. The land is largely clay, the highest ground
formed of Forest Marble which gives way on the
lower slopes to Fuller's Earth interspersed on
the west with a band of limestone. (fn. 7)
The principal route through the parish by the
earlier 18th century ran roughly parallel to the
southern boundary south of the village and was
described variously as the highway to Sherborne
or the road between Castle Cary and Wincanton
or between Bristol and Poole. (fn. 8) The western part
was adopted by the Sherborne turnpike trust in
1753, the remainder by the Wincanton trust in
1756. The Bruton trust, established in 1756,
proposed a road from that town via Shepton
Montague and through the village to Jack
White's Gibbet, but it was evidently not made
until after 1810. A new alignment of the road
from Castle Cary caused the abandonment of the
earlier course to the foot of Cattle Hill by 1831,
but a new route over Cattle Hill through Pitcombe to Bruton was made c. 1830. Both Bruton
roads were given up by the trust in 1867. (fn. 9)
Flints and scrapers suggest prehistoric occupation and a possible Bronze Age burial mound
stands on the western boundary. In the same
area, on the slope of Cattle Hill (Catehill in
1546), (fn. 10) a Roman building found c. 1832 was
re-discovered in 1966 and identified as a villafarm site of the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. (fn. 11) The
single-street village of the Middle Ages, with a
possible back lane, (fn. 12) lay to the east of Bratton
Hill, its church isolated high on the hill at its
northern end. At its southern end was a small
green, in 1730 the site of the hanging of Jack
White and thereafter known as Jack White's
Gibbet. (fn. 13)
In the earlier 13th century two open arable
fields lay east and west of the village; (fn. 14) a few
strips survived in the 1760s. (fn. 15)
In 1086 woodland lay probably in the northwest and the south parts of the parish. (fn. 16) In the
later 12th century that in the north-west was
called Northonlegh. (fn. 17) Ellscombe wood, in the
south of the parish, was named as Aylescoumbes
in 1344 and as Brattonsaylescombe in 1485-6. (fn. 18)
Lilly wood was mentioned in 1674, (fn. 19) and with
Ellscombe wood and several small copses measured 75 a. in 1839. (fn. 20) In 1905 there was 44 a. of
woodland. (fn. 21)
Dwellings in the parish were mostly small
farmhouses and associated cottages, several built
on the waste at the north and south ends of the
single street in the 17th and 18th centuries, (fn. 22)
although the building later known as Old Manor
farmhouse, formerly the home of the Byfleets
and demolished in the 1930s, (fn. 23) had nine hearths
in 1664-5. (fn. 24) One new cottage built in 1733
comprised a buttery and kitchen on the ground
floor and two chambers above. (fn. 25) Following the
building of Bratton House by Charles Penruddocke in the late 1860s, (fn. 26) several private villas
were erected and at least one farmhouse was
replaced before the end of the 19th century. (fn. 27)
After the closure of the Hall School the main
house was divided and the ancillary buildings,
including dormitories, were converted to private
dwellings.
In 1801 the population totalled 62; it rose to
80 in the next two decades but fell abruptly to
59 in 1831. In the next ten years it almost
doubled to 103 and in 1851 stood at 106. It
remained at a slightly lower level for the next
two decades but in 1891 reached 111 after the
addition of Holbrook. The total fell to 86 in 1901
and thereafter fluctuated: 161 in 1911 and 98 in
1931. In the 1950s the total was over 140 and in
1971 reached 232, but in 1981 the usually resident population had fallen to 95, in consequence
of the closure of the Hall School. By 1991 it had
risen to 120. (fn. 28)
MANORS.
BRATTON manor was held, like
Wincanton, by Alfsi in 1066 and by Walter of
Douai in 1086. (fn. 29) From Walter (d. c. 1107) the
lordship descended like Wincanton to the Lovel
family. Henry Lovel (d. 1194) (fn. 30) held land there
in 1187 (fn. 31) which had passed to his son Ralph by
1194. (fn. 32) Another son, Richard Lovel (d. 1254), (fn. 33)
held a fee of Mortain there by 1242. (fn. 34) The fee
descended like the tenancy of Wincanton until
the death of Nicholas Seymour, Baron Seymour,
in 1361. Nicholas was succeeded first by his son,
also Nicholas, who died in the same year as his
father, and then by a younger son, (Sir) Richard.
Both were minors on succession and the manor
was held by Isabel, the king's eldest daughter. (fn. 35)
Richard Seymour, Baron Seymour, died in
1401, (fn. 36) and the manor was held by his widow
Ela until her death in 1410 when it passed to her
granddaughter Alice, a minor, (fn. 37) in whose person
overlordship and tenancy merged.
Gerard, steward of Walter of Douai, was terre
tenant in 1086 (fn. 38) and was still alive in 1107. (fn. 39) By
1185 Gerard of Bratton, son of Jordan of Bratton
and probably grandson of Gerard, had secured
a hide of land partly in Bratton by duel in the
king's court (fn. 40) in a suit against Robert of Lovington and Henry Lovel, his overlord. (fn. 41) Gerard
was still alive in 1217 (fn. 42) but was dead by 1232
when his daughter Aliva or Aline confirmed
some of his grants and gave to Bruton priory her
share of her father's lands. (fn. 43) Sarah, one of
Gerard's two younger daughters, and her husband Stephen de Pirie or Perres, gave her share
of a hide of land to William de Lisle and it seems
probable that William also acquired the share of
the other daughter Sybil. (fn. 44)
By 1295 probably another William de Lisle
was returned as holding a fee of Hugh Lovel at
Bratton (fn. 45) and in 1316 Thomas de Lisle and the
prior of Bruton were recorded as tenants. (fn. 46)
Another Thomas was alive in 1345 but had died
by 1349 leaving as his heir his brother Henry, a
minor. (fn. 47) The estate was then described as a
manor. (fn. 48) In 1393 feoffees granted the land to
Nicholas Hamlyn and his wife Elizabeth for
their lives with reversion to the overlord, Sir
Richard Seymour. (fn. 49) Hamlyn's life interest seems
to have ended by 1415 (fn. 50) and tenancy and lordship merged in Alice Seymour.
In 1365 Cecily de la Lynde, wife of John
Lovel, settled a small estate in trust and died a
week later. The land was held of the heir of
Nicholas Seymour. (fn. 51) That estate was known in
1401 as Bratton Lyndes and was then held of Sir
Richard Seymour by John Swan for life. (fn. 52) By
1468 it was described as BRATTON LYNDE
manor (fn. 53) and had descended to William Zouche,
Baron Zouche (d. 1468), from his mother Alice
Seymour, wife of William Zouche, Baron
Zouche (d. 1462). (fn. 54)
Bratton and Bratton Lynde manors then descended to William's son John, a minor in 1468
and attainted in 1485. (fn. 55) The grant of both to Sir
William Willoughby in 1486 (fn. 56) was ineffective
and in 1491 Bratton manor, then named BRATTON SEYMOUR manor, was granted to John
Moton with all issues from the attainder of
Zouche in 1485. (fn. 57) Zouche (d. 1526) had evidently recovered part of his estate by 1523 (fn. 58) and
it descended to his son, also John (d. 1550) and
to his grandson Richard, Baron Zouche (d.
1552). In 1551 Richard settled his Bratton estates jointly on his two younger sons, Richard
and Charles. (fn. 59)
In 1555 Richard Zouche was licensed to grant
his half of Bratton manor, actually Bratton Seymour manor, to George Broughton (fn. 60) and in the
following year to convey the same to John
Dyer. (fn. 61) Dyer died c. 1559 (fn. 62) and in 1572 his son
Lawrence settled it on his mother Jane with
remainder to John Byfleet, her son by her first
husband. (fn. 63) Jane Dyer died c. 1596 and John
Byfleet in 1620. (fn. 64) John was succeeded by his son
Robert (d. 1641) (fn. 65) and then by his grandson
Thomas who was dead by 1652. (fn. 66) In 1674
Thomas's two daughters, Mary, wife of Weston
Browne, and Margaret, wife of Anthony Bedingfield, jointly sold their half of Bratton manor to
Sir George Grubham Howe, Bt. (d. 1676). (fn. 67)
Sir George was succeeded in 1676 by his son
Sir James (d. 1736) and Sir James by his nephew
Henry Lee, later Henry Lee Warner (d. 1760). (fn. 68)
Henry Lee Warner, son of the last, died unmarried in 1804 (fn. 69) and was succeeded by his cousin
Daniel Henry Woodward, a clergyman, who in
1805 assumed the name Lee Warner. (fn. 70) In 1810
Daniel sold his estate to Uriah and George
Messiter. (fn. 71) In 1829 the Messiters conveyed their
heavily mortgaged estate, described as the manor
and advowson, to Sir Manasseh Masseh Lopes,
Bt. (d. 1831). (fn. 72) Sir Manasseh was succeeded by
his nephew (Sir) Ralph Franco, later Lopes (d.
1854). In 1862 Ralph Ludlow Lopes, second son
of the last, sold part of the estate, then called
Bratton farm, to Charles Barton of Holbrook and
the rest to Charles Penruddocke. (fn. 73) Penruddocke
died in 1899 and was succeeded by his son, also
Charles. (fn. 74) In 1903 Church farm was sold by the
Penruddockes. (fn. 75)
In 1868 the elder Charles Penruddocke began
a house on high ground near the parish church
which incorporated a kitchen modelled on that
at Glastonbury Abbey. The building was left
unfinished and unoccupied for some years but
was again under construction in 1881 and was
finished c. 1888. (fn. 76) Further additions were made
c. 1910. (fn. 77) After the closure of the Hall School
the house was divided and in 1995 part was
known as Seymour Hall.
In 1560 Richard Zouche sold his half of
Bratton Lynde or Lynes manor to John Wilkinson. (fn. 78) Wilkinson, a London tailor, died in 1571
and was followed successively by his sons Nicho
las (d. 1604) and Paul. (fn. 79) In 1605 Paul conveyed
his share to trustees one of whom, William
Wollascott, in 1617 became sole trustee. In
1621-2 William was succeeded as sole trustee by
his son Edward. In 1629 the share was settled
on Mary, Anne, and Frances, daughters of
Henry Winchcombe by his wife Mary, daughter
of William Wollascott. (fn. 80) In 1650 the surviving
trustee released his rights to the three daughters
and their husbands. (fn. 81) No further claim to lordship was made until 1733 when William Chilwell
the elder, who had acquired land in the parish
from 1720 onwards, described himself as lord of
Bratton Lynes. (fn. 82) In 1889 and 1935 his successors
in possession of the land, John and Richard
Hodges, similarly described themselves. (fn. 83)
In 1570 Charles Zouche sold his half of both
manors to Jerome Dibben or Debien of
Moorhayes in Charlton Musgrove. (fn. 84) In 1586
Jerome seems to have mortgaged part of the
estate to his nephew, also Jerome Dibben, and
subsequently conveyed to him the fee simple of
the whole. (fn. 85) Jerome the younger died intestate
c. 1590 and Jerome the elder was exercising
lordship in 1593. (fn. 86) In 1601 Peter Blackaller was
granting leases in right of his wife, widow of the
elder Jerome, (fn. 87) but by 1618 possession had
reverted to another Jerome Dibben, also a
nephew of Jerome the elder. (fn. 88) Jerome Dibben
died in 1623 leaving a daughter Edith, a minor. (fn. 89)
By 1633 she had married James Rosse the
younger. (fn. 90)
The Rosse family, who granted out parts of
the estate on lease in the 1630s, (fn. 91) in 1692 seem
to have sold most of their holding, no longer
expressed as part of the manor but including half
the advowson, to William Dibben. (fn. 92) Dibben
died in 1733-4 and his holding, then only a few
fields, in 1756 passed from his nephew James
Melliar to the earl of Ilchester. (fn. 93)
A house called Lynes Court was referred to
in 1639. (fn. 94) By 1760 the site was a close of
meadow. (fn. 95)
In the later 12th century Gerard of Bratton
gave to Bruton priory 120 a. of land and a
wood. (fn. 96) Gerard's daughter Aline also gave some
land to the priory. (fn. 97) Two tenements held of
Bruton passed to the Crown at the Dissolution
and in 1546 the Crown grantees were licensed
to sell to John Dyer. (fn. 98) The land was presumably
absorbed into the Dyer estate in the parish.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 Bratton
gelded for 4 hides and there was land for 8
ploughteams. The demesne farm measured 2
hides and a virgate but had only 2 teams with 6
servi. The tenants had 2 hides less a virgate,
shared between 7 villani and 8 bordars with 4
teams. The demesne stock comprised 37 sheep,
33 she-goats, 11 swine, and 10 beasts. The value
had been reduced since 1066 from £7 to £4.
Woodland measured 6 furlongs square. (fn. 99)
In the later 12th century what remained of the
woodland in the north-west of the parish was
granted to Bruton priory. (fn. 1) By the 1540s, 14 a. of
coppiced woodland was up to 14 years old and
the timber on the rest of the former Bruton estate
comprised oak, ash, and elm up to 80 years old,
usually cropped and shrowded and reserved for
repairs. (fn. 2) In the earlier 16th century the rector's
income from tithes of hay and grain was nearly
four times that of the income from sheep. (fn. 3) By
1571 the rectory glebe comprised just over 26 a.
of uninclosed arable and 35 a. in closes, probably
under grass, and the change in the names of the
open arable fields from east and west to southeast and west indicates that the east field had
been reduced in size. (fn. 4) By 1633 half the rector's
arable was in closes formed as the result of
exchanges. (fn. 5) Exchanges continued, presumably
with the purpose of creating consolidated holdings, although fragmented lordship made
progress slow. (fn. 6)
Successive members of the Chilwell family,
beginning as cattle dealers, seem to have become
prominent first as tenants (fn. 7) and later for a short
time as owners, (fn. 8) William Chilwell holding a
farm of 133 a. in 1749. (fn. 9) There were no resident
gentry and the parish was largely owned by
absentee landlords, principally the Warner family who held other land at Knowle in Shepton
Montague (fn. 10) but lived in Norfolk; the Penruddockes of Wiltshire, owners through William
Chilwell's failure to repay a mortgage to Anne
Henrietta Wyndham (d. 1805), later wife of
Charles Penruddocke (d. 1788); (fn. 11) and near
neighbours such as the Rogers family of Yarlington, the Farewells of Holbrook, and the earl
of Ilchester. (fn. 12) Chilwell's holding included tenements known as Kings and Abbotts, which later
developed into Manor and Church farms. (fn. 13)
In the mid 1780s it was thought that if
agriculture were properly attended to the land
would produce great crops, for the meadow was
good and pasture could be improved by drainage. (fn. 14) In 1801 crops on a total of just over 100
a. were recorded, principally comprising 46 a. of
wheat, 33 a. of oats, and 22 a. of barley. The
wheat and barley were said to be good but oats
and beans 'very indifferent'. (fn. 15) In 1821 only one
family in 14 was not engaged in agriculture. (fn. 16)
By 1839 there were four principal farms
within the parish, Bratton, Manor, Church,
and Higher Holbrook farms, and 290 a. was
under arable crop or fallow. (fn. 17) By 1851 Bratton
and Higher Holbrook farms had become a
single unit of 500 a. owned by the Lopes family
and farmed by John Swanton, who employed
24 labourers. Manor farm and glebe combined
in a unit of 238 a., and Church farm measured
150 a. The farms required more labour than
the village could provide, but residents included a dressmaker, a sempstress, a tailoress,
and three turnpike keepers. (fn. 18) Within a decade
the female occupations had gone but the farming units were unchanged. (fn. 19) In 1862 the
division of the Lopes estate changed the pattern of farms, the largest being Manor farm in
the occupation of John Hodges. (fn. 20)
By 1905 nearly 942 a. was under grass and
162 a. was arable. (fn. 21) A typical farm in the 1960s
was described for sale as comprising deep
feeding pastures and leys. At another farm sale,
in 1955, it was suggested that Ellscombe, then
called Elliscombe, wood, measuring 34 a., might
be reclaimed for cultivation. (fn. 22) In the late 1980s
dairying predominated, a small amount of arable
providing fodder for cattle. (fn. 23)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Bratton was part of
Wincanton tithing until 1664-5 or later. (fn. 24) No
court records of either manor have been traced,
but a court was held for Bratton Lynde in the
early 17th century. (fn. 25) In the same period the
parish appointed one warden and one sideman, (fn. 26)
and one warden was chosen in the 18th and 19th
centuries except for a few years from 1825 when
there were two. Members of the Hodges family
occupied the office between 1789 and 1824. A
vestry had been formed by 1805 and a decision
was signed by three members described as the
majority. (fn. 27) The parish became part of the Wincanton poor-law union in 1835, the Wincanton
rural district in 1894, and the Yeovil, later South
Somerset, district in 1974. (fn. 28) In 1919 John
Hodges held the offices of overseer, churchwarden, district councillor, and poor-law guardian. (fn. 29)
CHURCH.
In or before 1107 Gerard of Bratton
gave the church, a virgate of land, tithes, and
customs to Bath priory, a grant confirmed twice
in the next half century. (fn. 30) The grant was presumably cancelled. Another Gerard of Bratton,
in the later 12th century, gave the advowson to
Bruton priory. (fn. 31) The priory claimed the property in 1228 (fn. 32) but it is not known to have
presented to the living. The benefice remained
a sole rectory until 1938 when it was united with
Holton. In 1976 it was joined instead with
Pitcombe and Shepton Montague and in 1985
the three parishes became part of the benefice of
Bruton and District. (fn. 33)
From the early 14th century the advowson
was normally exercised by the lords of Bratton
manor or their grantees, (fn. 34) but the Crown presented during a minority in 1389, (fn. 35) John
Champflower in 1437-9, (fn. 36) and the bishop by
lapse in 1458 and 1522. (fn. 37) After the death of
Richard Zouche, Baron Zouche, in 1552 the
advowson was divided with the manor; in 1559
the presentation was made by John Ewens by
grant of Zouche's widow and her two younger
sons. (fn. 38) Presentations were made in 1583 by the
owner of one half of the manor and in 1598
probably by the grantees of the owner of the
other half. (fn. 39) In 1613 it was made on behalf of
the recusant, Robert Byfleet. (fn. 40) James Rosse
was patron in 1662 and William King presented in 1689 as lessee of the Rosse estate. (fn. 41)
In 1719 the trustees of William Day, who
presumably purchased it from the Rosses, sold
his half of the rectory and advowson to Sir
James Howe, then owner of the other half in
succession to the Byfleets. (fn. 42) Howe presented
in 1726 (fn. 43) but William Chilwell was patron at
the next vacancies in 1769 and 1789. (fn. 44) From
that time patronage was exercised by the
owner of each half of the manor in turn until
1879 when John Hodges sold his share to
Charles Penruddocke. (fn. 45) Penruddocke (d. 1899)
left the patronage to his widow and his two
daughters but in 1902 it passed to trustees and
in 1921 was transferred to the Church of
England Temperance Society, patrons until
1938. (fn. 46) From 1938 to 1976 the patrons were
the Martyrs Memorial and Church of England
Trust and from 1976 until 1985 the Martyrs
Memorial Trust and the bishop jointly. The
Trust is represented on the patronage board of
the Bruton and District benefice. (fn. 47)
The living was taxed at £5 in 1291, (fn. 48) and was
exempt from taxation for much of the 15th
century. (fn. 49) Its clear value was £5 4s. 7d. in 1535, (fn. 50)
the reputed value was £50 c. 1670, (fn. 51) and the net
value was £44 4s. 8d. in 1707. (fn. 52) The gross value
in 1815 was £80 and the net value £161 in
1829-31. (fn. 53) In 1927 the Church Commissioners
and the Diocesan Board of Finance augmented
the living by £80. (fn. 54)
Tithes and oblations were assessed at £4 7s.
2d. in 1535 and at £24 9s. 2d. in 1707. (fn. 55) Tithes
were commuted for a rent charge of £137 in
1839. (fn. 56) Glebe was worth 25s. in 1535 (fn. 57) and
amounted to just over 62 a. in 1571. (fn. 58) It was
valued at £20 14s. in 1707. (fn. 59) There was 56 a. in
1839 (fn. 60) and in 1902. (fn. 61) Just over 50 a. was sold in
1920-1 (fn. 62) and by 1978 there was no glebe. (fn. 63)
The parsonage house, said to be in decay in
1568, (fn. 64) was described in 1571 as a mansion
dwelling house with barn and dairy. (fn. 65) In 1815 it
was 'a mere cottage ... never inhabited by a
clergyman'. (fn. 66) In 1829-31 it was said to be unfit
but in 1840 it was described as in repair. (fn. 67) There
was no residence in 1875 but a house was built
between 1883 and 1889. (fn. 68) It was sold in 1938
and is a private dwelling.
In 1311 Robert de Sarr was dispensed from
residence while he served the bishop of Exeter. (fn. 69)
In 1450 a parochial chaplain was employed, and
in 1454 John Combe, the first known graduate
rector, was deprived. (fn. 70) The church was reported
in decay in 1557 (fn. 71) but rectors were said to have
been resident until the late 1560s and there was
a resident curate in the early 1570s. (fn. 72) Edward
Bennett employed a curate in 1650; his successor
Jerome Littlejohn, son of a previous rector, was
deprived in 1662. (fn. 73) John Messiter, rector 1789-
1829, served the cure himself until c. 1804 but
was living at Woolwich in 1815 and 1827 where
he was chaplain to the Royal Artillery. (fn. 74) From
1805 until 1823 the cure was served by John
Radford, incumbent of Wincanton. Richard
Messiter, curate 1824-8, succeeded as rector in
1829 and remained so until his death in 1885.
He also held three livings in Dorset. (fn. 75) For thirty
years from 1838 the rector of Holton served the
parish. In 1840 two services were held each
Sunday. Attendance at the afternoon service on
Census Sunday 1851 was 30 adults and 13
children, although the average was higher. (fn. 76) A
stipendiary curate was appointed in 1869 but in
the following year there was still only one service
each Sunday. Celebration of communion, held
six times a year, had doubled in number from
the beginning of the century. (fn. 77) The curate lived
in the parish from 1877. (fn. 78)
In 1228 there were endowed lights in the
church. (fn. 79) The churchwardens held cash in stock
for a light in 1548. (fn. 80) A parish room, described
as an iron mission hall, was opened in 1884. (fn. 81)
The parish church of ST. NICHOLAS, dedicated to St. Giles in 1228, (fn. 82) and to the Holy
Trinity in the later 18th century, (fn. 83) comprises a
chancel with north vestry, a nave with south
porch, and a west tower and stands on a prominent site above the village. The fabric dates from
the 12th century and includes a south doorway
with zigzag decoration, the outer arch of the
porch with reused material perhaps from a previous chancel arch, a plain font, and fragments
of 12th-century carving incorporated in the nave
walls. The chancel may be of the early 14th
century. The blocked west door and the square
stair turret of the tower seem to belong to the
17th century, the date of the south-east window
of the nave. A large sum was spent on the fabric
in 1804 and in 1837 the nave roof was rebuilt at
a lower pitch and the north wall of the nave
reconstructed to the designs of a Mr. Davis,
probably Edward Davis of Bath. The vestry may
have been added originally as a private aisle in
1848. (fn. 84)
The oldest of the three bells is dated c. 1450
and is from the Bristol foundry, the next, probably dated 1583, is by George Poole of
Yetminster (Dors.), and the last is dated 1824
by Thomas Mears. (fn. 85) The plate is a cup and paten
of plated metal. (fn. 86) The registers date from 1754. (fn. 87)
NONCONFORMITY.
Members of the Byfleet
family, lords of Bratton manor from c. 1596,
were fined or reported for recusancy from 1604
until 1629 and Robert Byfleet suffered confiscation of some land for failure to pay the fines. (fn. 88)
A recusant was resident in 1666. (fn. 89) A house was
licensed for Methodist worship in 1806, (fn. 90) and
open air meetings were held near Jack White's
Gibbet in the 1830s. (fn. 91)
EDUCATION.
Jerome Littlejohn was taught
in the parish in the 1630s, probably at his father's
rectory house. (fn. 92) In 1666 a small school was kept
by a recusant to teach reading. (fn. 93) There was no
school in the early 19th century (fn. 94) but by 1846 a
Sunday school taught 11 children. (fn. 95) There was
a parochial school by 1861 until 1883 or later, (fn. 96)
but thereafter children attended school in Shepton Montague or other neighbouring parishes.
The Hall School, transferred in 1939 from
Weybridge (Surr.), was established in the former
Bratton House but closed c. 1985. (fn. 97)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
None known.