Journal of Yeovil Archæological and Local History Society

Volume 2. No.1     October 1981

In This Issue

Read  Inside front cover – Society details
Read  Editorial
Read  Meetings reviewed – R.J.Clynick and W.T.J.Chapman
Other Society Activities
Read   1. Odcombe Baptist Burial Ground Project – Mrs Pat Knight
Read   2. Tintinhull Churchyard Project
Read   3. Museum Working Party
Read   4. The Baptist Burial Ground at Odcombe – Isabel Rendell
Read  Book Review – Leslie Brooke – (The Parish Church Towers of Somerset)
Read  An Unusual Vicarage – Rev.G.S.Robinson
Read  The Tabernacle – L.C.Hayward
Read  Brookland Bell Tower – R.J.Clynick
Read  Notes on Yeovil Museum Exhibits. 1 – Queen Victoria’s Hat – T.Joan Rendell
Read  Improvision, 1761
Read  Gloving in Beaminster – Marie Eedle
Read  A Prodigous Eel
Read  Book News and Notices – Mrs Pat Knight
Read  Inside Back Cover – Constitution of the Society
Read  Outside Back Cover – Society Publications

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* Inside Front Cover – Society details

YEOVIL ARCHAEOLOGICAL & LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Founded 1954

Affiliated to

Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society
and
The Council for British Archaeology

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ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Individual – £2.00
Husband and Wife – £3.00
Family – £3.50
Junior – £1.00

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OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

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SOCIETY’S LIBRARY

Contents freely available to members, details from Mrs.Knight at meetings. Mrs.Knight will be pleased to receive further donations of books, pamphlets, etc., either as gifts, or on loan.

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CHRONICLE

Articles and communications regarding the Society’s journal should be handed or sent to Hon.Editor, Leslie Brooke, as soon as possible for inclusion in the next issue.

Articles, etc. which appear in ‘Chronicle’ are the copyright of the respective contributors and must not be reproduced, without prior consent.

Facts, opinions, and observations expressed by contributors are their responsibility alone, the Editor and Committee holding themselves in no way responsible for errors or mis-statements, though every effort is made to ensure correct rendering of copy received.

‘Chronicle‘, at present, appears twice yearly, at the first and last meetings of the winter session.
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* Editorial

This issue sees the start of Volume 2 and in it meetings, since our last issue, have been recorded as usual, by Russ Clynick, augmented by reports of the two Archaeological Field Surveys and the outing to Blenheim Palace which have been prepared by our Secretary Bill Chapman. All-day coach outings have not been well supported by members this year, indeed the last of the outings, to Salisbury and Breamore House, on 8 August, resulted in a loss of £10 and it is only because of support given by members of the Art Group of Yeovil and a few other friends that a considerably greater loss was not incurred both on this and the other trips. On the other hand, the majority of half-day and evening outings have been very well attended. For this reason it is proposed to run only one all-day coach outing next year, though the quota of four half-day and two evening excursions will be maintained in addition to the annual visit to Halstock to view the season’s excavations there. Members are invited to make suggestions for future excursions both close at hand and further afield, and it is hoped as many as possible will let the committee know of their preferences. Before leaving this subject, the Art Group of Yeovil are arranging an all-day coach outing to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, next April, and have extended an invitation to those members of our Society who might like to take advantage of this opportunity – details will be given later on during the winter meetings.

Reports of activities by groups of members of the Society during the summer include those under Mrs Knight’s direction at Tintinhull and Odcombe grave¬yards, both still continuing though less retains to be done at the former. The Yeovil Museum Working Party continues to meet there regularly, and it is hoped that our members will look in there from time to time to see the fresh displays which are constantly being arranged.

Contributing to this issue is the Rev.G.S.Robinson who has researched an early owner of his former parish of Charlton Horethorne, and he writes a fascinating account of the discovery of a well in the vicarage there, and what he believes may have been intended as a castle dungeon! Mr L.C.Hayward gives us a further account relating to the Hookins family, and Mr Clynick a note on another bell-cage, this time at Brookland on the Romney Marshes. The first of what is hoped will be a series on some of the more interesting exhibits in Yeovil Museum is contributed by Miss Joan Rendell, while Mrs Eedle would like to know if anyone has further references to the glove trade at Beaminster. The somewhat tall story of a ‘prodigious eel’ in the neighbourhood of Yeovil is one your editor came across many years ago! Mrs Knight contributes her usual appraisal of books of interest, and perhaps at this point the availability of books from our own Library may not be out of place – see page opposite. Whilst on the subject of books – as this issue goes to press, the first copies have been received from the printers of the fourth booklet to be published by this Society. Entitled “YEOVIL : THE CHANGING SCENE” it contains a series of 40 photographs of the town, most of which were taken within the last two decades. About-two-thirds, of them are. from a photographic record made, about 1965 by Mr T.J,Cave, who is a founder-member of this Society, and these have been augmented by photographs by other members of the Society and from the Yeovil Museum collection. ‘Tho aim has been to place on record views which have vanished within the memory of comparatively recent residents’, and at £2 a copy, this represents only 5p a picture – good value in these days of ever-increasing publishing costs! Copies will be available at meetings and will make ideal Christmas gifts, especially for those who have left the town and would like to be reminded of the scenes which they were familiar with.

Finally, once more, a plea for contributions for our next issue which, it is intended, will be available at the last meeting of our Winter session next April. Please note the deadline for copy will be Friday 5 March 1982 – this is the ultimate date for articles, etc., anything ready beforehand would be greatly appreciated by your editor! One contribution for this issue was received ten days after the deadline set out on page one of our last issue – Sorry, but the page allocation precluded its acceptance for this issue.

By the way, inside the back cover will be found the amended Constitution of the Society as passed at the General Meeting of 5 December last.
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* Meetings Reviewed

R.J.Clynick and W.T.J.Chapman

The last meeting of the 1980-81 winter (indoors) session, on 3 April, was addressed by Mr Collins, a member of the Yeo-Bowmen Archery Club, and of the Society of Archer Antiquarians. ‘The History of the Long Bow’ was very much more than a ‘cosy chat’ on bows and arrows – the speaker taking us through the primitive use of the bow of prehistoric times to the present day when modern versions of this weapon are as deadly and as accurate as the rifle with its telescopic sights. Always a lethal weapon it was used by primitive man in hunting and for killing his enemies. Evidence of its earliest use is seen in cave-paintings in Africa, Europe and elsewhere. A development from the catapult, the impact of its introduction was as devastating as gunfire in later centuries. The long-bow proper came into its own in the Viking and Norman periods and reached its peak with the use of paid archers in the 12th and 13th. centuries. With the advent of the gun archery as a means of attack became obsolete and it only in Victorian times that its use was revived for sport and pleasure. Present-day bows are very sophisticated being made from fibre-glass, plastics, laminates, and special timbers, and Mr Collins had on display some of the every-day simple types. Bill Chapman thanked the speaker for what was indeed, a most fascinating talk made easy for non-archers to enjoy.

The first of the Society’s summer-time activities was a coach trip to Bath on 9 May when a few members of the Art Group of Yeovil helped to fill vacant seats on the coach. On arrival the majority of the party opted to visit the Roman baths, led by Bill Chapman, to view the progress made in deep excavations under the large bath which had been closed as a result of pollution by harmful bacteria. Considerably extended, the Roman Bath Museum demonstrates the very high standard of civilization which existed in the city during the years of the occupation. Excavations have been under the directions of Professor Barry Cunliffe, who is no stranger to this Society, having visited us in former years on more than one occasion. From the baths the party made its way to the Costume Museum, housed in the Assembly Rooms. Here, on display in a series of elegant tableaux, are many examples cf haute couture for both ladies and gentlemen of the leisured class. of the 17th to 20th centuries. Worthy of special mention is the collection of contemporary toys and children’s games. This ended the tour arranged for the morning and members were then free to follow their own programme. A few of us visited No.1 Royal Crescent to view the kind of elegant, apartments built, to accommodate those who came to drink the waters.

The first of the evening excursions on Friday 22 May took us to three Dorset churches when a small but gallant group braving inclement conditions met at Long Burton under Bill Chapman’s guidance. Dedicated to St James, the building is 15c, with a 13c tower, and contains two striking canopied monuments, side by side on the north side of the chancel. Carefully restored and decorated, one is to Sir Henry Wilson and his wife who died within a week of each other in 1609. Their daughter married Leweston FitzJames who set up a similar monument to his own parents, Sir John and Lady FitzJames. In front of the altar is a huge heraldic gravestone in Purbeck marble still in excellent condition. Over the door of the south porch are the arms of Charles the Second with the ominous words from Ecclesiastes – ‘Curse not the King, no not in thy thought’. Through the beginnings of a storm we then made our way by tortuous routes, on and on (‘only another 5 miles!’) making for the 19c church at, Hilfield, hard by Batcombe Friary. By now heavy driving rain made us feel like trekking through a rain forest, but squelching through long grass we arrived into this plain little chapel which is in the care of the Brothers of the Friary. Feature of this sanctuary is the pew-ends, each elaborately carved with scenes from the Bible. Though said to be the work of 17c craftsmen, doubts have been cast on the dating; somewhat primitive, they are, however, full of meaning and certainly not crude. Also noted was the memorial tablet to one of the Dampier family of Kingston Manor in Yeovil. This little church which had fallen into ruin was restored in 1848, but some of its ancient features have been retained. Leaving Hilfield in a tropical downpour and swirling mist, we made for Sydling St Nicholas. By now it was getting more and more gloomy and windscreen wipers were putting up a great fight and then there was a hitch when our chairman met, her match on a very steep rise at a T-junction, – small wonder! – bringing the cavalcade to a halt. However, Bill came to the rescue, took over the wheel, gave the revving-up needed, and all was well again. Sydling St Nicholas Church has to be searched for, but once inside there is much of interest to see. Its, walls are covered with many elaborate memorial tablets, the font is thought to be pre-Saxon, while a second font-bowl octagonal in shape, is of late medieval period. The tower is the oldest part of the building (1430), nave and porch 1480, and in the north porch is a small fireplace for the benefit of Parish Council meetings! The early 13c oak chest has typical strap hinges and three locks, the south aisle contains remnants from the time when nave, chancel, and aisle were all furnished with box-pews, and the clock is marked E.T.C.,1593. Church records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, are complete from 1565, with the except ion of a gap of 30 years – as a result of Cromwell’s doings. All three churches are worthy of a second visit.

Archaeological Field Surveys Parts 1 and 2 – On 11 April a group of our members met at Ilchester for the first part of our field survey exercise. Some time was spent exploring spoil tips thrown up by the mechanical excavators working on the Ilchester Flood Prevention Scheme. Pottery and other finds gathered by members were analysed. and dated to various periods (Iron Age, Romano-British, Roman, Medieval, etc.). This pottery was compared with other samples on loan from Yeovil Museum. A bronze brooch, found by Mr W.Chapman on the same site two days earlier and dating from the Roman period was also shown to members. Having identified various pottery types in a semi-artificial environment (as far as field survey work is concerned) members then proceeded to Ham Hill where they were asked to locate archaeological, material under more realistic conditions. Several fragments of iron Age pottery and pottery dating from the Roman period were located and will be displayed at the A.G.M. in December. The second half of our field survey exercise took place on 20 June, when members were shown evidence of house platforms adjacent to the church at Sparkford, and then proceeded to Beacon Hill where various landscape features were identified ranging from Iron Age Hill Fort to ancient trackway. Mapperton was then visited to inspect a good example of house platforms associated with a ‘shrunken village’. The afternoon concluded with a visit to Wimble Toot tumulus, near Dabcary.

We were very pleased to welcome several members of the Art Group of Yeovil on our day excursion to Blenheim Palace on 6 June, The route to Blenheim took us to the White Horse of Uffington, where a brief stop was made. It is thought. that this horse, was first cut into the chalk in Iron Age times, though later it was attributed to King Alfred who was supposed to have cut it after a victory over the Danes. This is certainly the oldest of the white horses which dot our chalk uplands. Very similarly-shaped horses are seen on some of the pre-Roman coins of the local tribes. A most enjoyable time was spent at Blenheim Palace savouring the glories of the architecture, the furnishings, and the beauty of the surrounding grounds. People from all over the world joined our members in conducted tours around the Palace designed by Sir John Vanbrugh. In additicn to its association with John Duke of Marlborough the connection with the Palace and Sir Winston Churchill attracts many visitors. On leaving Blenheim Palace a shortstop was made at nearby Bladon for a pilgrimage to the grave of Sir Winston Churchill.

No greater contrast could be imagined than that between the first of our evening outings and the excursion which took place on 18 July, described as a ‘Village Walk’ at South Petherton. The perambulation, led by Ron Gilson, happily, was accomplished in perfect weather and very well attended. We: began at the parish church where the Vicar, the Rev T.E.Thomas, in jocular vein, gave us a detailed history of the building, pointing out its chief architectural features and its archaeological associations. From the church we were conducted around this distinctive small town, pausing from time to time, to hear from Ron descriptions of the original interior planning and subsequent modifications of several of the prominent 17 and 18c houses. These included the 18c Court House with its unusual chimneys, the market house (now a shop), Church House, ‘Holbrooks’, a group of three houses joined to form one, again with unusual chimneys, South Street Farm – 18c, and Samuel Mullen’s house, with the inscription ‘Licensed Tea Dealer’ over the front.door. The walk ended at ‘King Ina’s Palace’ the oldest house in the town, though built several centuries after King Ina’s time’. Now known as the Manor House, it was built in the 15c, added to and modified over the years, it was remodelled in the 19c after surviving a period of dilapidation. Before entering this distinguished house, Ron gave us an account of its layout, construction and history, and supplemented his talk with illustrations of the building. Inside we toured the principal rooms, each with its fireplace, and were met by oux two hostesses. We had been told there would beta cup of tea’ provided, but this was too modest a description of the liberal supply of home-made ‘cookies’ and tea provided by Mrs Pritchard and Mrs Pooley, who were cordially thanked for their hospitality.

On the evening of 27 August our now-annual visit to the Halstock excavations was attended by a goodly number of members. The weather was perfect and the route to the site of this very large Roman agricultural settlement was clean and dry. We were welcomed by the director, Ron Lucas, who has worked on the site for 17 years. He gave a very clear resume of work done previously, including some opening-up early in the l9c and again in 1901. The area excavated this season was of a large barn with one aisle. On display were photographs of different phases of recent work, and of mosaics and plans of other areas of this large complex, which included a very sophisticated bath suite, and domestic quarters elsewhere on the site. Mr Lucas said that this settlement had been developed on the site of an earlier Iron Age farmstead. In one of the ‘workers’ huts was a small collection of current finds – beads, rings, pins, coins, arrowheads, and pottery. it Lucas was warmly thanked by the chairman for having made this such an interesting and informative visit.

The really warm, bright afternoon of 5 September saw a good turnout of members for a tour around the lanes and byways of ‘Hardy Country‘, visiting churches and scenes associated with the novelist’s characters – the itinerary being so ably researched and led by Mr ‘Tommy’ Atkins. Starting at Puddletown church, Hardy’s ‘Wetherbury’, scene of the wedding of Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak, Mr Atkins pointed out, the principal features – the remarkable roof, the 17c pews, pulpit, singing gallery, a Norman ‘tumbler’ font and, outside, a mass dial, and a sanctuary ring in the south porch. But, above all, the Martyn Chapel with its tombs and monuments. Nearby Athelhampton was the original home of the Martyn family. Next call was to Affpuddle church -‘East Egdon’ – where Eutstacia Vye and Clym Yeobright, in the ‘Return of the Native’ were wed. Here the chancel is 13c, and the beautiful and many-patterned bench ends were carved, it is said, in 1548 by a monk from Lillington, who was the incumbent. There are two-fonts, one Norman, and the other brought from Turnerspuddle; the altar-front is Spanish, and the pulpit contemporary with the pews. A tea-break was made at Culpeppers Dish in Wareham Forest. This remarkable phenomenon is a circular funnel-like depression caused by sandpipes in the chalk soil, possibly 60 feet, deep and of similar circumference – there are several in the vicinity, though none so large. Then, on to the church at Bere Regis, Hardy’s ‘Kingsbeare’, which contains a remarkable roof, said to have been the gift of Cardinal Morton, in memory of his father and mother. It is elaborately carved and painted, with bosses representing the cardinal and various symbols associated with him, and twelve projecting figures of the Apostles almost life size. In the south aisle are the tombs of the Turbervilles who came to this country at the Norman invasion. Hardy used the story of this family to write ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ and the countryside around ‘Kingsbeare’ furnishes many scenes associated with this sad tale. The church has undergone considerable restoration since its building in the 12c, much of it in the 15c. The font is Norman. Woodbridge Manor, by the River Frome, our next stop, is Hardy’s Wellbridge Manor, having associations with Tess and Angel Clare and Alec in the same book: here they stayed for a while after their wedding, The Manor was built by the Turberville family in the 13c, and the nearby bridge in the. 16c. It was at Woodsford Castle, which was next proceeded to, that Hardy met the architect – a Mr Hicks who was doing work. here – who ultimately took him as apprentice at the age of 16, and setting him off on his career. The building was begun in the reign of Edward the Third as a fortified house, becoming the manor later; it has survived dilapidation and periodic restoration and is still lived in. The last port of call was the church of St Andrew at West Stafford, close to Dorchester – a small church with a history of 600 years, which has undergone restoration and rebuilding. Much of the furniture – plus screen and pulpit – is Jacobean, and the elegant chandelier dates from 1713. It was in ‘Talbothayes’, as Hardy called it, that Tess and Clare were wed, and the three bells pealed out their glad greeting. Mr Atkins was warmly thanked by our chairman for all he had done to make this, the last of our summer outings, such an enjoyable occasion.
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* Odcombe Baptist Burial Ground Project

Mrs Pat. Knight, reports:

In the six evening and two afternoon sessions to date, 95% of the undergrowth in the burial ground has been cleared. An average of ten members of our own Society and members of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society attended each two and a half hour session.

Fortysix memorials have had their inscriptions and other details recorded on the standard C.B.A. Churchyard Memorial Recording Forms. Further work is necessary on a few remaining memorials which have deteriorated through time and the elements. (Note – The earliest inscription transcribed to date is 1740, the latest 1964.)

A photographic record of each memorial is in progress, and to date half the uncovered stones have been photographed. A brief sketch plan showing the position of each-memorial in the burial ground has yet to be undertaken, and further recording and clearing has still to be done throughout the autumn and winter months. Further offers of assistance will be very welcome

Finally, an especial thank you to all those members who gave their free time and energy to help with this project.

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* Tintinhull Churchyard Project

Thanks to the invaluable help of Mrs Moira Gittos, the southern section of the churchyard has been surveyed and each grave memorial marked on a plan 1:100. Completing the survey plan has proved to be more time-consuming than originally planned, and the northern and eastern sectors will have to be surveyed in the Autumn and Winter of 1981-82.
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* Museum Working Party

The Yeovil Museum Working Party continues its activities under the leadership of Mr L.C.Hayward. A wedding tableau – staged in connection with the marriage of Prince, Charles and the Lady Diana Spencer – was arranged in the large display case on the ground floor by the lady members of the Party, while conservation of the costume collection has continued, and new acquisitions have been examined and recorded.

3 June a pre-retirement party was given a conducted tour of the galleries, and identification of objects and answering of enquiries have continued.

As the result of the gift of a large wall display case by Messrs Ricketts glove factory – negotiated. by members of the Working Party when the factory closed – the first stage of a major reorganization of the museum’s prehistoric and Roman exhibits has taken place. This has been the planning and preparation of material to augment artifacts to occupy the 30 compartments of the case, and to redisplay the large-scale modal of Cadbury Camp. Handwritten panels and drawn coloured illustrations have been completed to accompany the exhibits showing life in the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, and this display is almost complete at the time of going to press. Members of the Society are invited to pay the Museum a visit – their comments would be appreciated.
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* The Baptist Burial Ground at Odcombe

Isabel Rendell

Now that Mrs Pat Knight; with her band of helpers from our Society and the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society have finished their mammoth task of recording all the graves in the churchyard at Tintinhull, they are turning their attention to the Baptist Burial Ground at Odcombe. This lies in a field off Ham Hill Road near Five Ashes Lane. The fine enclosing wall of Ham stone, looking rather like a minor fortification, can be seen from the road. The ground has been unused for many years and was in a sad state, much overgrown with thorn and wild roses.

This burial ground first came into being with a gift of land made by Mrs Miller, mother of the Rev John Miller who was the second pastor of the Yeovil Baptist Church and lived at Odcombe. At this time Nonconformists could be refused. burial in consecrated ground in the churchyards of parish churches, so many Nonconformist burial grounds date from this period.

In 1774 the burial ground was enlarged by a second gift of adjoining land. The donors were the family of James Kiddle, the third pastor of the church, 1721-1751. The Kiddle family were related to the Millers and had acquired the land around the graveyard from them. A deed was drawn up at this time transferring this and the previous grant of land to the Chapel Trustees. Finally in 1809 a further gift of land was made by the Kiddie family, and at the same time the enclosing wall of Ham stone was erected by the joint efforts of the Baptists of Yeovil and Montacute.

The recovery and recording of as many names as possible will make a valuable addition to the local history of Yeovil and the surrounding district; Mrs Knight and her team are to be congratulated on preparing to undertake this task.

(Refs Clifford Ford, Pamphlet on South Baptist Church, 1956, and, ‘Trichord’, May, 1980.)
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* Book Review

Leslie Brooke

The Parish Church Towers of Somerset, by Peter Poyntz Wright, the advance notice of which appeared in our last issue, is now in the bookshops at £20, which even in these days of inflated prices seems a little on the high side. The sub-title ‘Their construction, craftsmanship and chronology 1350-1550′ epitomises the scope of the work though does not indicate the immense amount of labour which has gone into this fresh classification of Somerset church towers. The author’s starting point was to make a selection from a total of over 500 towers which were relevant to the flowering of the Perpendicular style and systematically to compare their architectural features – ground plan, wall thickness, buttress type, pinnacle arrangement, window style, and parapet design. The result is an entirely new approach to, the subject, placing towers into design groups and chronological sequence. No attempt, however, was made to supplement the findings with supporting documentary evidence where such exists – a task which would have entailed considerable additional labour. As a result it is possible to fault the author in his dating of our own Yeovil parish church tower which the author has placed as late as 1480, Churchwardens’ accounts for 1457-8 specifically mention the tower with reference to the re-hanging of a bell which had been sent to Bristol for repair, so this proves its existence at the very least, a quarter of a century earlier. However, despite this one error – and allowances must be made of the difficulty in placing Yeovil’s tower in any particular group – this book with its 80 full-page black and white photographs is well worth study by borrowing, if not buying, in order fully to appreciate the wealth of Perpendicular towers we in Somerset are blessed with.
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* An Unusual Vicarage

Rev.G.S.Robinson

The village of Charlton Horethorne, Somerset, is five miles north of Sherborne and five miles south-west of Wincanton, and was kmown until 100 Years ago as Charlton Camville in the Hundred of Horethorne. When I arrived, as Vicar of the parish some 28 years ago I was puzzled why the very important royal borough of Kingsbury Regis and Milborne Port should have lost its status as the Hundred town at the beginning of the 13th Century to us. There had always been money to be made, honestly or dishonestly, out of the dispensation of justice, and it seemed strange that a small community of free churls should become the leader of a community of some dozen parishes extending from Holwell (now in Dorset) to Marston Magna. But the residence there of a Judge of the King’s Bench, Itinerant Justice for Cambridgeshire, and Sheriff of Lincolnshire and warden of Lincoln Castle (in the inheritance of his wife) not to mention the lordship of many manors was an argument hard to resist.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Robert Fitzgerald was given two properties in Somerset, both called Charlton. The scribe who copied out the manuscript of Domesday Book in 1085 decided that the second Charlton entry had been made in error and left the space blank, to be filled in after confirmation. This was never done, but the inhabitants continued to call it Charlton. By 1125 it had come into the hands of Richard de Camville, and Charlton became dignified with his surname and survived also for many centuries after they had ceased to hold it. Kelly’s Directory of 1875 calls it Charlton Cornfield and obviously their agent collecting information, misheard the dialect pronunciation of Camville. The Camville family (various spellings) was one of the leading families of England whose progenitor, Gerard the Norman, came over from France with William the Conqueror and its members held scores of properties all over southern England, He had a son, Richard, and he a son, Gerard. The next heir was Richard who was a judge of the King’s Bench and other dignities as described above. He became Constable of the King’s Fleet (Richard I) and Governor of Cyprus, and died in 1191 at the siege of Acre during the Crusade in which the King himself was taken prisoner. He had married, first, Millicent widow of Roger Marmion, by whom he had a son, Gerard, and secondly Nichola de la Haye who was hereditary Sheriff of Lincolnshire and Warden of Lincoln Castle. They had one daughter, Matilda (Maud). Richard probably thought his property in Somerset was not much use to him and presented two-thirds of the tithes to the monks of Bermondsey, Surrey, and subsequently, in 1140, the rest of them and the advowson of the church to the abbot of Kenilworth. The lands themselves, of course, remained in Camville hands and they lived elsewhere.

But his son, Gerard, did not share his father’s regard for Richard I and openly supported Prince John. Probably Nichola’s sympathies lay in that direction too, for the Regent Longehamps set out to take Lincoln Castle at the same time as Gerard and Prince John set out to seize the regent’s castle at Nottingham. Nottingham Castle fell, but Nichola put up a gallant defence and saved her castle. But the regent dared not allow Gerard to claim any inheritance to it through his father and persuaded, the Cardinal Legate to excommunicate him. Gerard discreetly disappeared for three years.

In 1194 Richard returned to England and the question of the succession was settled. He was to remain king and be succeeded by John. The Pope over-ruled the Legate and Gerard was restored to communion with the church. His lands were also restored to him on the payment of a fine of 200 marks. Nichola also paid a fine of 200 marks to the king for the right to marry her daughter Matilda Maud) ‘where she would’, ‘providing he was not an enemy of the king’. There is no evidence yet to show whether Gerard started to build his castle before 1194, or after that and before 1199 when John came to the throne. After 1199 a castle was unnecessary. Richard was only in England one year out of the ten years of his reign and his ransom money bankrupted the kingdom. He supported his regent and deprived Gerard of the Wardenship of Lincoln and the Shrievalty of Lincoln, and Longehamps initiated a number of law suits against him, charging him with harbouring robbers (the soldiers who captured Nottingham Castle?) and treating the King’s Writ, (his own as Regent?) with contempt. None of this increased Gerard’s confidence in the Crown and he commenced building when he settled in Charlton Camville.

When he arrived, the church was a single-celled building 18 X 8 feet. He decided to enlarge it some three or four feet in width and add twentytwo feet in length, and provide himself with a tomb there. The north wall was left as it was, and the window in the east wall over the altar was also left in place, so that it is no longer symmetrically placed. The roof, however, was raised sufficiently to allow the additional space to be covered, and a small bell turret placed over the apex. This remained in place until the mid-19th century when neglect of the roof timbers caused the ridge member to drop. The supporting timbers broke sideways and the turret- was pushed into the churchyard. I regret to say that some 2 x 2 inch battens were nailed to the broken beams and the gap at the far end was filled up with a few boards and all left to be rediscovered in 1954. The bell turret found its way into the vicarage garden.

Two handsome windows with rare arches were erected, one each side of the door, and a similarly-decorated tomb was placed in a niche under one of them. The tomb slab has carved on it a foliated cross (i.e. two crossed shafts whose ends are decorated with leaves). He would not have made such elaborate provision for his burial in Charlton if he had not intended to be buried there, so we can assume he was living in the village and working upon his castle. Possibly he is not buried there, for no investigation has been made to see if an interment has ever taken place.

From 1206-1209 he was Justice Itinerant for Cambridgeshire and he attended King John in Ireland in 1210. The advowson of the benefice had been alienated by his father, together with all the tithes of the parish, so he may have returned to Lincoln where his wife was once more enjoying the privileges of Sheriff of the County and Warden of Lincoln Castle, restored to her by King John (with a few extra manors as a reward for her gallantry) in 1199. She continued in office into the next reign and died in 1218.

Gerard continued his work as Justice of the King’s Bench and purchased from the king the lands of Thomas de Verdun and the wardship of his widow, with liberty to marry her to his son Richard. He was present at Lincoln when John received the homage of William, of Scotland. In 1205 he was employed in measuring the marsh between Spalding and Tid in Licolnshire. But all the same he seems to have died in Charlton Camville in 1215 – unless, the tomb is empty.

Where did he live while he was there? Perhaps on the site of the old Manor House which was demolished in 1603. Perhaps on a building between the church and the castle he began; for it never advanced far enough to dwell in. The first necessity in a castle is a well to supply the garrison. But because of the scale of the operation a dungeon must be started at the same time. Both are to be seen at the present vicarage and are protected as historic, monuments (Grade II) with the house.

It was my curiosity which led me to both sites. When I came to the house in 1953 I found a stone cellar with a barrel vault constructed of brick. At one side there was a chamber, likewise of stone and brick, vaulted, 4 feet wide and 6 feet high. At the back there seemed to be a blocked-up entrance to another passage such as romantic tradition insists, leads to the nearest nunnery! This back portion widened into a space, about 9 x 9 feet and the floor consisted of two huge slabs of Keinton stone which sloped upwards. I levered up one of them and it fell with a heavy splash into water some way below. I then saw that the two large slabs had been most precariously balanced on an iron axle 9 feet long; by 2 inches in diameter from a cart and that it would take little movement to displace the other. So, to avoid accidents, I sent it to join its fellow and put a secure lock, of which only I had the key, on the door upstairs.

The significance of the size of the well is that domestic wells are a standard 2 foot 6 inches in diameter. One of nine feet is only found in the keep of a castle. This one was roughly circular, nine feet in diameter, and held about 2,000 gallons. It had rough stone sides and the water could be seen entering it seventeen feet below. The sump contained nearly twenty feet of water and we were astonished to find it had been cut through an immensely hard strata which three public utilities in the past fifteen years required diamond-tipped tools to cut. This was sufficient water for a large garrison, and would have been the site of the keep.

Water had been used from it from at least the mid-19th century, when the house was enlarged, by means of a two-stage pump, but this had been removed in about 1925. Some years later I attempted to have the sump drained to rescue any objects which had fallen in over,the centuries, and enlisted the support of a number of organizations, but the only one having adequate equipment was Portsmouth dockyard, which would have entailed. considerable expense. Bailing it out would have entailed as much trouble, as the water would have first to be raised to the cellar floor, carried up to the ground floor, and then down to the back yard. So I was pleased to meet members of the Westland Sub Aqua Club who agreed to ‘excavate’, attracted by the possibility of lighting it underwater and using it as a training chamber for divers. They brought up some five feet of rubble, but no artifacts of any description, except a fairly recent watering can. It is possible, therefore, that its existence was unknown, between 1294 and 1841, as was the case with the dungeon.

Further indications of a castle on the site include a perimeter wall ten feet high (lowered in places) enclosing one and a half acres. On the east side is a semicircular bastion which resembles a small tower, especially when seen from the field on the other side which is five feet lower. The whole site forms an island in the centre of the village with roads enclosing the present manor house, a number of paddocks, the church, the churchyard, and the present vicarage.

It was even more surprising to discover what appeared to be another well only twenty feet away from the one in the cellar. It happened that the kitchen waste trap was blocked and during the course of cleaning it out, the builder nearly lost his spade down a hole in the ground. We cleared round it and found a slab of stone about 4 x 4 feet. On lifting it we found the top of a shaft about 2 feet 6 inches in diameter, the standard size for a well, of which about sixty exist in the village. It had been filled in at some time, but had settled to three feet from the surface. We gradually cleaned it out with what help became available. Fragments of pottery dated the filling to the first half of the nineteenth century. Among them were fifteen pieces of blue and white ware which made up half a meat dish. It was not until nearly twenty years later that we reached the bottom – the same intensely hard stone which had formed the top of the sump in the well – and in the last two feet came upon the rest of the blue and white dish in eight more pieces, the two halves fitted together perfectly and lacked only a few splinters. This was proof of two things – the shaft had been empty and unknown from the time it had been abandoned before 1199 until it was rediscovered; it had been filled in at one time, and about the time the kitchen wing had been built in 1841. Water could occasionally be seen dripping in through the rough loose stone of which most of the houses in the village are constructed, but there was never more than a few inches’ depth at the bottom. At seventeen feet the hard, impervious rock began, and no attempt had been made to cut into it. The diameter of the shaft increased regularly and at the bottom it was about nine feet wide. It was just possible for a skilled climber to get out, so it may be that the entrance would be protected by a grille, or be on the first floor of the castle.

There is no documentary evidence that the castle was ever completed, or indeed rose above ground level, This would fit in with the theory that work was discontinued when John succeeded to the throne and it was no longer required. Perhaps Gerard de Camville allowed the site to be used by the vicar of the parish. There has been a vicarage there for at least 400 years, but it was finally sold in 1978 when the parish was amalgamated with another. Both monuments are by law available for inspection, although prior notice would no doubt be appreciated by the owners.
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* The Tabebernacle

L.C.Hayward

Readers will recall the discovery of a brick-lined grave containing a lead coffin during alterations at the United Reformed Church in January 1979 (Vol.1,No.3). The inscription recorded the death of Elizabeth Hookins on 1 October 1840 at the age of 71. Through the kindness of the Rev C.W. George, Minister at the Church, the writer examined the Church Record Book covering the years, 1795 to 1843, which shed light on the Hookins family.

The Congregationalists or Independents (now the United Reformed Church) met for worship shortly after the end of the Commonwealth in a barn near Compton where later a small chapel was built near Halfway House just off the Yeovil-Sherborne Road. The chapel still exists, though it has recently been converted into a private house. In 1791 the Congregationalists were reconstituted in Yeovil, and Trustees were appointed to build a chapel in Princes Street. John Hookins, described as a banker, was one of the trustees, and the chapel was opened in 1792 with Thomas Atkin as minister. Three years later John Wainwright Morren became minister, resigning in 1804 after a doctrinal dispute which led to what the Church Record Book terms ‘The Separation’. Led by John Hookins and his wife Elizabeth, a group of Congregationalists built a new meeting house in Narrow Lane – now called Tabernacle Lane – with seating for 160, a pipe organ and a gallery for the choir. Beneath the pulpit a stairway led to a small, dark vestry-room, lit only by a skylight and used as a Sunday School for an average of 70 children. A notice in the porch read: ‘Marriages may be solemnized in this place of worship’. John Hookins, who had been a deacon in the Congregational Church, now became with George Parton, a preacher in the new Tabernacle.

The Tite Collection in Yeovil Public Library includes a Commonplace Book kept by Edward Watts, a Yeovil surveyor: in it he records a poem on page 177:

The versification reflects the pious sentimentality of the period, but. it surely commemorates a worthy and popular minister of the Tabernacle.

After John Hookins’ death, his widow and Mr George Pasten were readmitted to the Congregational Church; she was interred in the burial ground in front of the building in 1840.

Meanwhile the Calvanistic Tabernacle flourished. In 1833 the Trustees purchased a plot of land 81 feet by 44 feet as a burial ground in Huish: it became known as Paradise, and was acquired for £50 in 1907 by Yeovil Education Committee as an extension to Huish School playground. An adjoining group of cottages, pulled down in 1931, was known as Paradise Row. The Ecclesiastical Census of 1851 recorded a congregation of 150 – 200 at the services. Services were still being held there early in the present century. The building was finally demolished in 1971.
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* The Brookland Bell Tower

R.J.Clynick

Mrs Craig’s reference to the Bell-Cage mention in Vol.1, No.6 of Chronicle, prompts me to mention an unusual belfry which we came across at Brookland on the Romney Marshes, between New Romney and Rye. It stands apart from the church for which tradition and legend give several reasons. It is an octagonal tower with a conical roof of three separate parts, resembling three candle-snuffers one above the other, built entirely of timber which, it is said, had been collected from wreckage on the coast in the 15c. An eminent authority, who examined it in 1900, was of opinion, that the bells hung originally in an open campanile, that the ringers’ cage was the first to be enclosed and later the bells themselves. Another authority on medieval timber-framing made a detailed study in 1968 and determined that it was contemporary with the 13c church beside which it stands. He says: Originally it was basically square; with four great canted posts, each 20 inches square, placed on a square frame of horizontal timbers. The corner-posts are strengthened with a system of lattice-braces, which have halved joints where they cross, but have notched lap joints where fixed to the post. The weathering indicates that the whole structure was at one time standing in the open. Above this framework was a Bell-cage. The expert’s discovery of the notched lap-joints indicates a date in the 13c. or even appreciably earlier. About 1450 a new bell-cage replaced the older one, the tower was strengthened inside, horizontal beams inserted at 6′ 2” high and the structure extended into an octagon by putting beams out at 22½°, The arcades at ground level were originally open – the rafters still bear their numbers. The top of the tower was removed and replaced with the present ‘spire’ and the building clad. Later the cladding was covered with black-tarred shingles. These were replaced in 1936 with cedar wood shingles. The expert, Kenneth Gravett, M.Sc.,F.S.A., says the whole structure is not unlike electricity transmission towers, serving the same purpose – the support of a heavy swinging load, with the pasts in compression, and the braces in tension. Of the bells, one is dated c.1450, the other four cast by John Hudson of London, bear the date 1685. But this could be the subject of another article.
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* Notes on Yeovil Museum Exhibits
1 – Queen Victoria’s Hat

T.Joan Rendell

Yeovil Museum is very fortunate in having in its possession a beautiful hat which once belonged to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and had been worn by her on one of her Diamond Jubilee processions through London in 1897. Although she generally wore a small bonnet for these occasions, as is shown in sketches – not, photographs – in illustrated journals of the time, she did wear this hat on at least one of these drives round London during that year. This information was given by the donor of the hat, the late Miss Troyte-Bullock of Naish Priory, when she presented it to Yeovil Museum. She was a member of the Royal Household and Victoria herself gave it to Miss Troyte-BUllock probably for her own use. It had to be considerably altered, as nothing the Queen had worn must be recogniised.

When it came to repairing the hat, it was found there was a great deal to be done, It had been completely retrimmed but, fortunately for us, the new trimming had simply been placed on top of the old, and all the stitches fastening the fresh feathers and flowers to the crown and brim, were taken through to the lining which had not been removed before additional materials were put in place. All that had to be done was to cut these stitches, and then everything which had been piled high on top of the hat simply fell away.

A very sad wreck lay revealed beneath. The wired edge was much bent and we had to use our judgement to decide whether the brim had been turned up at the back, as it was found, or whether it had been flat. After careful scrutiny we decided that it. was the latter, and subsequently found that this was correct.

Having thus cleared the decks, we began to see what the hat had once looked like. It was made of very fine cream crinoline straw and trimmed with lace and spotted organza. The under-brim was lined with finely-pleated cream ninon, all of which was very much perished, some of it entirely gone.

The first thing to do was to secure what remained of the pleated underbrim so that the hat could be handled, The material for this was taken from a new cream nylon scarf, which was transparent enough to show the pleating underneath and strong enough to hold the lining together. The many splits in the crinoline crown were then stitched up without as far as possible, disturbing the original trimming which had been found beneath the flowers we had taken off. Matching pure silk thread was used for doing this.

The most tricky part of all came next. The spotted organza was actually dropping to bits as we, looked at it! But the machine-made lace was undamaged. The hat was held firmly on each side of the brim, turned upside down over a steaming kettle for a few minutes and slightly shaken, then cooled for another few minutes. This process was repeated several times, then cooled for a slightly longer period and finally righted. All the loose material had now fallen back into its original position: it also remained fairly stiff. Several small tie-tacks were used on the lace to help keep it all in this position. So now we had a very good idea of the appearance of the hat when the Queen first wore it at the Jubilee celebrations in 1897.

When we displayed it in the Yeovil Museum we were fortunate enough to find a reproduction of a photograph of Queen Victoria taken in 1899 showing her wearing an identical hat as far as could be seen in an old print. This was blown up and shown in the caste with the hat itself. The illustration is printed in ‘Royal. Faces, 900 Years of British Monarchy’, published by the Stationary Office on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee in 1977. It has also been used to illustrate other works about Queen Victoria. Again, we are very fortunate to possess this hat and it is greatly treasured by the Yeovil Museum.
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* Improvision, 1761

Yeovil Churchwardens paid Mr Kittermaster eightpence on May 19, 1761, for ‘1 Coffee Pot for oiling the Bells’.
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* Gloving in Beaminster

Marie Eedle

The glove industry was carried in Yeovil and surrounding villages from medieval times (L.Brooke, Book of Yeovil, pp.80-81). The gloves were made of leather and used in rural occupations like hedging. Beaminster also took part in gloving (V.C.H. Dorset, Vol.2,p.329), but I have not been able so far to find much evidence of this. There was a Reginald Glover in 1332, and in 1634 the probate inventory of George Baker, glover, includes leather and skins valued at ten shillings. At the beginning of the 19th century, William Bidel, a Yeovil glover, was buying from George Tucker of Beaminster (M.Weinstock, Old Dorset, p.172), and Holden’s directory of 1811 lists George Tucker, fellmonger, under Beaminster.
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* A Prodigous Eel

The following appears in ‘The Wonders of Nature and Art’, 1780 (Berwick-upon Tweed); Some time ago, in the last century, the farmers near Yeovil, whose fields lay contiguous to the river, suffered greatly by losing vast quantities of hay, for which several people were taken up on suspicion of stealing the same. What added to the surprise of everyone was that the hay did not appear to be cut, as it usually is, but pulled out, as if by some beast. But that appeared a little improbable, as several loads were lost in the space of a few nights – a circumstance so alarming to the farmers as to induce them to offer a considerable reward to any who should discover how their hay was destroyed.

A company of soldiers, quartered then at Yeovil. – some of them for the sake of the reward – undertook to find out the affair. They made their intention known to the people injured, who readily accepted the offer, and a night was fixed to begin their watching in order to make a discovery. The appointed time came, and a dozen of the soldiers, after eating and drinking plentifully at the respective farmers’ houses, went on their new enterprise with bayonets fixed and muskets charged., as to engage an enemy. They had not been long in ambush before one of them espied a monstrous creature crawling from the side of the river towards one of the stacks of hay, He instantly told his comrades. A council was immediately called, and they unanimously agreed that if the beast should devour any of the hay, two of them should fire at it from behind the stack, while the others dispersed themselves at different parts of the field in order to intercept it if it escaped their comrades’ vigilance. But the precaution was needless, for the soldiers fired their pieces with such dexterity that they soon laid the monster sprawling. This done, all ran to see what was slain. But the moon not shining very bright, their curiosity could not be satisfied, though some of them said that it must be the devil in the shape of a snake. Highly pleased with this exploit they hastened to the farmers and made known to them how well they had succeeded in their enterprise.

Next morning all the neighbours round, with the farmers, the servants, and the soldiers, went to see this amazing creature, and to their no small astonishment, found it to be a prodigious eel, which it is supposed, not finding subsistence in the river, came out (ox-like) and fed on the hay.

Its size was such that the farmers ordered their men to go and harness eight of their best horses, in order to draw it to one of their houses, which with difficulty they did. When they got it ho e. the soldiers desired leave to roast it, there being a large kitchen with two fireplaces. This request was granted, and after cutting it in several. pieces, and fastening each piece to a young elm tree, by way of a spit, they put it down to roast. It had not been above an hour before the fire when there was so much fat run out of it as filled all the tubs, kettles, etc. in the house, which put them under the necessity of going out to borrow. But at their return they found the inundation of grease so prodigious that it.was running out at the keyhole and crevices of the door.
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* Book News and Notices

Mrs Pat Knight

Recent publications of interest to members appear to be fewer than usual in the period under review, but the following is a list of those which have come to notice.

J.H.Bettey : FRANCIS ASHLEY’S CASEBOOK ; (Dorset Record Society Vol-7 – D.R.S. £5.00 until 1 Jan.1982, 1981)
Journal of Francis Ashley, Recorder of Dorchester, and J.P. for Dorset 1610-1635.

BURKE’S PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE, 105th edition, 4th impression. (Burke’s Peerage – Genealogical Books Ltd, 1980, £45.00)
Gives full family histories of every peer and baronet from their earliest origin to 1969-70.

Dorothy Fudge : SANDS OF TIME – the autobiography of Dorothy Fudge, edited by Frank Alcock (Word and Action (Dorset) Publications, Colehill, Wimborne, 1981, £1.70)
Autobiography of Dorothy Fudge, born at Castleton, Sherborne in 1907, describing her life as a children’s nurse, then as a married woman.

J.H.P.Gibb : THE BOOK OF SHERBORNE – the story of the town’s past in words and pictures – (Barracuda Books Ltd, 1981, £11.95)
The latest in the town series of well-illustrated and documented histories.

Richard Gough : THE HISTORY OF MYDDLE, edited by David Hey (Penguin Books Ltd, 1981, £2.50)
Although not directly related to our area, this history of the parish of Myddle in Shropshire in 1701 gives a vivid insight into the lives of ordinary country folk of Stuart England. The family history of the occupants of each pew of the church has been chronicled by Richard Gough, one of the parishioners.

R.S.Neale : BATH – A social history 1680-1850 or A Valley of Pleasure, yet a Sink of Iniquity (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981, £14.50 until 31 October 1981 £18 afterwards).
Professor Neale reveals in this book the changing structure of society and its social values as shown in the expansion of the city. As well as describing the wealthy visitor it is also concerned with the labouring population,

F.P.Pitfield : DORSET PARISH CHURCHES, A-D. (Dorset Publishing Co., Milborne Port, 1981, £37.50)
The first of four volumes describing and illustrating Dorset parish churches. Approximately 90 churches are covered in this volume covering parishes alphabetically arranged from A to D.

Ruth Sawley : ROSES FROM THE SOUTH – the lineage of Reuben and Hannah Rose from Dorset, England, colonists at Glen Ormond, Macclesfield, and Moonta, South Australia (Published by the author, 4 Fourth Street, Kadina, S.Australia, 5554, 1960, 12 Dollars plus postage).
Detailed family history of the antecedants and descendants of Reuben and Hannah Rose of Sturminster Newton who emigrated to South Australia in 1849.

Yeovil District Council : HAM HILL (Yeovil District Council, Dec.1980, 40p) 40-page illustrated booklet with sections on its history, geology, natural history, maps and views by various well-known contributors.

To be published shortly in Dec 1981 –

G.E.C. (George Edward Cokayne) : THE C0MPLETE PEERAGE OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, GREAT BRITAIN & THE UNITED KINGDOM (Alan Sutton Publ.Ltd. & Pitman Periodicals Ltd., £300.00)
Six volumes. Reprint in reduced format of the 14 volumes 1910-59 edition;.
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* Constitution of the Society

Outside Back Page
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* Society Publications

1 – THE ROMANS at Ilchester, Lufton, Yeovil and District, 1978 : L.C.Hayward : £1.30,
A few copies are still available from the author, 226 Goldcroft, Yeovil, or through the secretary.

2 – STREET NAMES IN YEOVIL : Leslie Brooke : 1979.
Now out of Print.

3 – BYGONE YEOVIL : L.C.Hayward and Leslie Brooke : 1980 : £1.50.
Obtainable from St. John’s church bookstall, or at Society meetings. Proceeds from this publication are for the Church Restoration Fund.

4 – YEOVIL : THE CHANGING SCENE : 1981 : £2 – JUST OUT.
An album of over 40 photographs of street scenes which have disappeared mainly in the last two decades. Twenty-eight of these pictures are from the camera of one of the Society’s founder-members, Mr.T.J.Cave. See editorial.

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‘C H R O N I C L E’
Journal of this Society.

At present issued twice-yearly for the reporting of our Society events, results of members’ research, excavations, and other activities, contributed articles, book notices, etc. etc.

FREE to members of the Society, extra copies 15p, obtainable from the Hon.Secretary. A few back numbers are also available on application to the secretary.
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Posted: 11 August 2019