Paulton

"PAULTON, a parish in the hundred of Chewton, county Somerset, 12 miles S.E. of Bristol, its post town, and 10 S.W. of Bath. It is a large and prosperous village, situated between the high roads from Bristol and Bath to Wells. There are several good shops, also a Literary and Scientific Institution and a savings-bank. A large portion of the inhabitants are employed in the collieries, stone-quarries, and lime-works, and in the Paulton iron-foundry; malting is also carried on to some extent. Paulton is celebrated for its production of butter and cheese. The soil is of a loamy nature, on a subsoil of limestone rock. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £75, and the glebe comprises five acres. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £172, in the patronage of the Vicar of Chewton Mendip. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, has a square tower, containing a clock and five bells. The parochial charities produce about £5 per annum. There are National and infant schools for both sexes, also a Sunday-school, held in the National school-house. The Wesleyans have also a school, in which a Sunday-school is also held. There are places of worship for the Wesleyans, Wesleyan Reformers, Primitive Methodists, and Baptists. Mrs. L. Carter is lady of the manor." From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003