Zeals

"ZEALS, a tything and ecclesiastical district in the parish of Mere, county Wilts, 1½ mile S.W. of Mere, 7 W. of Hindon, and 4 from Gillingham railway station. The village is built round a green, locally situated on the borders of the three counties of Wilts, Dorset, and Somerset, and has recently been constituted a separate ecclesiastical district. The principal residence is Zeals House, the ancient seat of the Grove family, one of whom, then owner of the mansion, was executed in 1655 for having joined with Penruddock in an attempt to restore Charles II. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Salisbury, value £80, in the patronage of the Vicar of Mere. The church is dedicated to St. Martin."

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

Zeals is 19 miles South West of Warminster, 15 miles North West of Shaftesbury (Dorset). Grid Ref ST781317. Postcode BA12 6NL. Population 510 in 1831, 467 in 1951. Zeals was a chapelry in Mere until 1848.