A Brief History of Allerton
Situated on the western slope of the Isle of Wedmore. The Isle was formed in the late Triassic period 200 million year ago as a result of the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates. The limestone bed of an ancient sea formed by the shells and bones of dead animals was folded gently upwards. The Mendips was folded up at about the same time.
Earliest known inhabitants
Pottery and ash attributed to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD have been discovered off Quarrylands Lane, between Stone Allerton and Badgworth. Thought to be the site for the production of salt or pottery, the site would have been on the edge of cultivable land and the marshy land adjacent to a tidal river when the Isle of Wedmore was a true island.. Salt would have been produced in Summer for preservation of meat in winter.
Somerset, the summer lands was so known in Saxon times and cattle were fattened on the marshes, now known as the levels, where cattle are still fattened today.
Saxons Ahoy!
Present layout of the village was probably set out in Saxon times. Each hamlet consisted of a main street beside a stream running from the ridge to the levels. At some time in this period the system of Hundreds was established. The meeting place for the Bempstone Hundred was the Hundred Stone field opposite the top of Rawlings Lane and it would be here that the Lord of the Manor would summon the populace in times of trouble or to discuss important matters. The field was marked by a large conical construction of between 7 and 9 stones. This stood for a thousand years. In the nineteenth century three stones were found in a garden in Stone Allerton. The Stones were moved to the Church to form a mounting block
Who owned what and when!
Alwarditone is mentioned in the Domesday Book. May have been from Alward or Aylward a Saxon owner.
In 1492 John Gunthorpe, Dean of Wells Cathedral, and a very important man, bought Allerton and left it in his will to the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral in order that a mass may be said for his soul. We still have a Gunthorpe Farm in the village to commemorate the name. Only as recently as 1953 were the freeholds sold by the Church Commissioners to the tenants.
Names
The name for the village ‘Chapel Allerton’ does not appear before 1708, when it is shown on leases.
Stone Allerton was part of the parish of Weare until it was transferred to Chapel Allerton in 1885. The School in Stone Allerton was built in 1860 by the Rev. Perfect and closed in 1893. Now known as The Old Schoolroom, the building is the village hall. The school in Chapel Allerton closed in the 1950’s.
The Church
The first mention of a Church is 1176 and there are parish records in existence from 1598, now in the County Records Office. A booklet on the history is available from the Church. In the 1850’s a medieval cope was found in an old chest. It had been made into an Altar Cloth at some stage. It was loaned to the Museum in Taunton in the 1860’s and has been there ever since. At present the cope is undergoing extensive conservation work and will be part of the displays in the New Museum of Somerset to be completed in 2009.
Contributed by Jean Bevis
