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National Gazetteer (1868) - Muchelney

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"MUCHELNEY, a parish in the hundred of Pitney, county Somerset, 2 miles S.W. of Langport, its railway station and post town, and 5 N.W. of Martock. The village, which is small, is situated on the river Parret, and on the turnpike road leading from Crewkerne to Langport. The parish includes the hamlets of Muchelney-Ham and Thorney. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture. The soil is of a loamy nature, with a subsoil of clay. The land is principally rich meadow, subject to inundation from the river Parret. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £336 11s. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £95.

The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, is an ancient stone structure with a square embattled tower, containing five bells. A Sunday-school is held at the vicarage. In the neighbourhood are the remains of a Benedictine nunnery, founded by King Athelstan in 939, and now converted into a farmhouse. It flourished till the Dissolution, when its revenue was returned at £498 16s. 3d. Walter Long, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner."

"THORNEY, a hamlet in the parish of Muchelney, county Somerset, 2 miles S.E. of Langport, near the river Parret."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]