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1944 US Bomber Crash Commemoration

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COMPTON MARTIN - OUR HISTORY

The Village and the Church

THE VILLAGE OF COMPTON MARTIN
- A Heritage to Cherish

 

Compton Martin lies in the west of Bath and North East Somerset, straddling the A368 and nestled below the north slopes of the Mendip Hills approximately midway between Bath and Weston-super-Mare, with Bristol 12 miles to the North and Wells over the Mendip Hills to the south. It is within the Mendip Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the village is also a conservation area. 

 

The population has remained fairly static at 500, despite the changing face of life, the loss of both the hamlet of Moreton under the waters created for the Chew Valley Lake in the 1950’s, and a large area of “top of Mendip” to Priddy, when the Local Government Commission changed the parish boundaries in 1974.

 

The village is primarily a commuter-based village now, with only one farms remaining with a large dairy herd and some local and home based businesses.

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There are two halls. The Old Schoolroom was the school from 1843 to 1950 and is next door to the Church. The Village Hall at the east end of the village was built as a memorial after the First World War.

 

The Ring O’ Bells is our village pub on The Street. The local shop (since the 1840’s) sadly closed in 2001, but we retain the Post Office.  

 

THE PAST – Who Owned Us?

 

We can trace remains of Roman lead mines on the Mendips and visit the Roman Baths 15 miles away. There are Third Century BC hill forts nearby so perhaps there was a village community here 2,000 years ago. Certainly by the Norman Conquest it was important enough to be included in the Domesday survey.

 

William 1 gave “Contone” to one of his knights, Serlo de Burci. It was worth 100 shillings and had 16 people working on the land.

 

Soon the village got its second name. It came from Martin of Tours, a family of “great eminence and remote antiquity”. He was a great Benefactor of Monasteries.  One of his family later “seized the manor of Blagdon, whereof the parish of Compton Martin was then parcel”. Compton Martin would have been one of many possessions. 

 

Through mediaeval times the Fitz Martins were probably the    

 ultimate owners who would sublet their estates and in our case the Manor was long held by the family of Wake who were based at Dowlish Wake, near Ilminster. Compton Martin came to them through Alice marrying Ralph Wake, “a man of great account”. She, however, did little for the village reputation - she killed Ralph and got burned at the stake – but she had a son, John. When he died, in 1349, the lordship of Compton Martin was in dispute, but given to his daughter who had married into a new family, the Keynes.                             

 

Ownership changed as families failed to produce sons and as marriage linked families. Dowlish Wake remained the base, as it did when the name through marriage changed to Speke, a family whose Devon roots can be traced back 300 years - they were M.P.`s for Somerset and continued as lords of the manor to the 17th  century. 

 

Through marriage the village then became one of multiple scattered manors owned by the Bridges of Keynsham. Thomas Bridges became the Duke of Chandos in 1719, after he had earned a fortune as Marlborough’s Paymaster-general - so Compton Martin had contact, however distant, with greatness.

 

From 1779 decline set in. John Henniker bought the rights from his brother in-law, the 3rd Duke of Chandos. The largely absentee Hennikers added little if anything to the village for the next 100 years. They gave no help to Rev. Browne when he established the School in the 1840’s – and in a report to a parliamentary commission in 1867 the vicar said “The state of morality is very low. Cottages are very bad, but the squire never improves them, but lets them go to ruin, while he turns out everyone who improves them on their own account”.

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The Hennikers, of doubtful morals, left the manor to Alice Whyte, whose father did come from the village and the title passed backwards and forwards as a financial package worth between £1,050 and £3,800 until its final resting place with Edward Jellett, a landed proprietor from Sussex. Jellett`s second son died in 1975 worth £202,588. Fifty years before, a 1922 Act had abolished this form of land ownership linked to the manorial system. 

 

A map dated about 1570, made to help resolve a dispute about grazing rights on Mendip, when Sir George Speke was Lord of Compton Martin Manor, and John Roynon Esq. was head of the family at Bickfield. A part of the map can be seen on the rear cover. 

 

1. We have evidence of Third Century hill fort settlements, and much activity in Roman times, then continuity from Domesday for almost 1,000 years from the Normans to the times of many of our parents.

 

2. We have contact with greatness. From 1295–1325 our Lord of the Manor was an M.P. sent to look into the wrong doings of Home County sheriffs; in Tudor times the Lord was Sir Thomas Speke, surveyor of the King’s lands in Somerset, and 150 years later our Lord was Lord Chandos Paymaster-General - and he became a Duke.

 

3.       We had a fair proportion of bad Lords: Alice Wake burnt in the 14th century for contriving the death of her husband, the 2nd. Lord Chandos wasted away his father`s wealth, the second John Hennniker thwarted any efforts to improve the miserable living standards of his tenants.

 

4.      Our Lords were usually, if not always, of the absentee variety and the manor was often one of a number that they owned. This meant they went on being absentees and built no ancestral home, no Clevedon Court. It meant Compton Martin was a source of income and the Bridges family were one of the few who lived near enough for it to be much more than that. It started as a gift from a Norman, finished with a family in Hove, but throughout all the centuries in between it had been an important item on many a noble balance sheet.

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 Evolution in the Nineteenth Century

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Through the census returns we can trace the evolution of the village over half a century between1851 and1901 and picture how a future census might show the pattern of continuing change. In 1851, England was thriving with a rapidly rising population, trains were bringing a new dimension to travel and taking them to the 1851 London Exhibition; wealth was growing as England`s  lead in  industrial development was maintained. Compton Martin had 577 inhabitants just below the 601 in 1841, and the Rev. Browne was about to provide the 127 of school age with somewhere to learn. The average family had six children and half the adult population worked on the land with many of the tradesmen in related jobs. People did not live static lives - over 40% of them had not been born in the village and the farm labourers must have realised their industrial counterparts in the North were earning twice their wage.

 

By 1901 the urban surge had taken over from the arable countryside. The population of Bristol had risen from 140,000 to 330,000,while Compton Martin had fallen from 577 to 344, much of that decline since  the 1870`s. Farmers had survived by moving from arable to dairy farming, avoiding cheap imports and employing fewer people. Some worked as navvies on the roads, more had moved to factory work, although even here other countries were catching-up Britain. Compton Martin had 14 empty houses. It was not yet the home of the retired, but a working village peopled by self-employed small farmers, tradesmen and  craftsmen. As Lady Bracknell said at this time – “A girl with a simple, unspoilt, nature, like Gwendolyn, could hardly be expected to reside in the country …!”

 

Occupations and Industry

 

The Domesday Book of 1086 mentions the meadow, pasture and woodland of Contone, with 5 ploughs, cattle, pigs and goats, and Compton Martin, with its excellent springs was certainly, always a good place to be.

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Sheep farming was big business in the C15th, then the growing of teazles for wool processing, and today dairy farming and associated feedstock dominates. The woods were always important too, with Compton Wood on the hill slopes, Park Wood – an ancient deer park north of the Village Hall, and Down Wood off Villice Lane.

 

Most inhabitants of the Village were agricultural labourers until recently, but there were many miners too, mainly living in The Combe. They mined lead and calamine at Charterhouse and at Lamb Leer, and ochre in The Combe.

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The quarry in Compton Wood supplied the characteristic Compton red limestone, but in 1960, the quarry owners wanted to extend it. The village petitioned against this and the quarry was closed. Today it is remembered for the fossil collection by Clifford Salter, which is part of the national collection at Keyworth, Nottingham.

 

The early references to milling are to a water grist mill in the village (1603), the mill brook (1639), gun powder milling at Moreton 

 (1799)’ and paper making at Compton (1750 – 1840). Today, many work in service industries, in offices at home, or are retired. 

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Village Services

 

The street through our village is the A368, whose line is probably unchanged since mediaeval times, at least up to the Ubley boundary, although The Batch by the Church may have been the original road, avoiding the mire by the spring and the pond.

In 1793, the West Harptree Turnpike Trust maintained the 27 miles of road, from Churchill Gate on the A38, through Blagdon and West Harptree to Marksbury, linking up with the Bristol, Bath, and Wells Trusts at various points, with a branch to Chew Magna and Pensford,  hence the toll-house at Stanton Drew.

 

Mains sewerage came in 1901, with Undertown connected in 1994. By 1931, mains electricity was connected to many houses. Spring water was always readily available, but mains water came in 1937, and gas in 1993. We have broadband, and digital television from the Breach Hill transmitter from 2010.

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One hundred years ago there were several shops as well as the Post Office Stores with most things needed made locally, but now only 

the Post Office and a dairy shop remain, although there are stores at West Harptree and Blagdon. There are surgeries with  doctors and dentists at West Harptree.

 

We may have had disorders among miners in 1461, and a whipping post by the Pond in 1770, but today we have a resident Police Constable, and peace reigns!

 

For village information, we have the web site, the Link magazine (for Compton Martin and Ubley)  and the Parish Newsletter.

 

 Education 

 

Compton Martin had a school for over 100years. There was an abortive attempt to start one in the 1780`s but in those days school and church were closely linked and it needed a new vicar in 1840 for a school to become established. Village population was at its peak – about 600.

 

Rev. Browne arrived with 11 children and found he had nowhere to send them. By 1845 he had built the school room that is sited at the entrance to the Church. It was an enormous single-handed achievement - he gave the land himself, established the finances, and recruited staff, all with no help from the Lord of the Manor, Mr. .Henniker, “unless music and dancing were in the curriculum”.

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The school had 45 to 65 pupils. It did not lack excitement - the longest serving Head was sacked for deafness, at another time it had two Heads, one in control from the trenches. . . Until 1930 it catered for all ages - then the senior children were moved elsewhere.  The school lacked strong personalities, either in the pulpit, or in the Council, to struggle for its survival, and in 1950, with numbers down to 25 it closed with hardly a whimper.  Most pupils moved to Chew Stoke or Ubley schools, which still flourish 60 years on with strong church and local backing.

The building is now the home of the local History Society.

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  • And Recreation

 

In days gone by, recreation was more village based with many clubs, a Fives court, a Cockpit by the Blue Bowl, and the Deer Park. The Club Day was a major village event organised by the village friendly society. 

Today, the Village Hall, with its Amenity Field, is the centre for many clubs, societies and annual events, such as the Harvest Supper. 

The Chew Valley Lake is a centre for fishing, sailing and bird watching with views and a cycle path at Heron’s Green in our parish. 

There are other superb views including those from The Churchyard, the Village Hall car park, The Combe, and The Wrangle.

 

WALKS MAP (as in Parish Plan p 15 – similar size

 (NB – Breach Hill)

 

 

 

 

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The Street (the A368) has some impressive older houses, particularly on the north side. The Combe, Rectory Lane and Highfield Lane rise up the hill slopes on the south side, with The Wrangle almost on the top of Mendip.

Mendip Villas, Undertown and The Barton are to the north of The Street, and Bickfield and Woodwick are one mile north, with the hamlet of Moreton  now under Chew Valley Lake.

 

The Methodist Chapel was built in 1847, closed in 1977, and is now a private house.

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The Natural Environment 

 

The setting in which our village is placed is to be envied and is highly valued both by the local inhabitants and by people and organisations outside the parish, such as walkers and other tourists who visit the village in considerable numbers. 

 

Its position along the northern slopes of the Mendip hills down to the Chew Valley Lake affords wonderful views, natural wildlife and a variety of plant habitats - much of the Parish is protected by environmental designations as shown in the map of the Parish.

 

With the carboniferous limestone of Mendip resting on a sandstone bed, and subterranean waters emerging as springs where the two meet, we have two worlds. Above the village are rocky outcrops and strip lynchets, where farmers tried to cultivate the slopes with minimal returns. Below are lush meadows which years of careful drainage have made highly productive. The geological conditions result in unusual flora, with both lime and acid loving plants.

 

The woods were cut down in 1940 to provide timber for the war effort, but have now regenerated – but some plants of the flora associated with ancient woodland can still be found.

  

So, in a small parish we have hillside woods and fields as well as valley pastures, springs, streams, a village pond and a large lake. We are home to deer, badgers, toads, numerous aquatic and other birds, and bats, which hibernate in the old ochre mines. 

 

Manors, Boundaries and Families

 

In Somerset Record Office there is a map, less than a metre square and painted on animal skins, sewn together, showing the area from East Harptree to Blagdon and from Compton Martin to Cheddar in about 1570. We call it “The Tudor Map of Compton Martin”.

 

It is rare to have a local map of this date, and this one shows a boundary on Mendip in great detail, in colour, with description to match. We believe it was drawn to give support in a dispute between West Harptree and Compton Martin about grazing areas and mining rights on the Mendip Hills.

 

From the map, and documentation of the dispute, we learn that Bickfield and Moreton were then independent manors, and that the Roynon family, centred at Bickfield (now Moat Farm), were sheep farmers who had been there for 200 years. Many of the tracks they used on Mendip are in use today. The dispute with West Harptree, over the rights to 1,000 acres of Mendip common land, continued with perambulations in the 17th and 18th centuries until 1794 when, at the time of the enclosures, the disputed land was divided between

the two villages. Ironically, the Mendip lands were taken from both parishes with the boundary changes in 1974.

 

The manor of Moreton with Moreton Mill had 15 homes in 1901, but was progressively vacated for the building of the Chew Valley Lake, which was eventually inaugurated in 1956. A mile of the lake shore is in Compton Martin Parish, but some has restricted access.

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Our Lords of the Manor were always non-resident, but many other families who did live in our village have reason to be remembered.

 

The Roynons were a Norman family who arrived at Bickfield (Moat farm) around 1380. They were prosperous sheep farmers. The Bickfield Roynons died out in 1637.

 

Henry Hurle, probably from Ubley, married Eleanor Roynon in 1605, and his family, based at Hurle’s (Earl’s) Farm were farmers and Church Wardens. Mary, the last local Hurle, married William Wright in 1743. The Hurle memorial is thought to be under the Church pews.

 

When William Webb died, aged 72 in 1808, his large family owned much of the village, including the High Hall estate, Hurle’s Farm, Yew Tree Cottage, and his grandson, Thomas, was the miller at the paper mill.

 

John Oliver came from a long line of Chew Valley farmers but married a grocer’s daughter in 1843 and they settled in our village. He was the first of four generations of Olivers who ran the Post Office Stores.

 

The Salmon family were farmers who ran the Ring O’ Bells inn and the cider press, and have contributed to our village life for over 100 years.

 

The Compton Martin History Society supports family history research, with many enquiries through the village web site.

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The Church (Please also see the booklet “A Guide to Compton Martin Church” available in the Church)

 

Whilst the village history can be traced back beyond the Norman invasion no evidence of a Saxon predecessor to the present Norman Church has been found – indeed none has been looked for.

 

The 12th century Parish Church of Compton Martin is a small building of considerably more than usual interest and it is surprising to find a church so full of different features.

 

The tower lacks the ornate style typical of many Somerset churches, its niches have never contained statues but despite its plainness it rises to a graceful 70 feet in four stages. The tower may have been built in 1442 - much earlier than previously thought. It has been linked to Sir John Speke, Lord of Compton Martin Manor,  buried at Dowlish Wake in 1441, who asked to be remembered every October in Compton Martin Church.

 

Since the first part of the 18th century the tower has housed six bells - all except the 4th cast by the Bilbie foundry at Chew Stoke. With a treble weighing 6.5 cwt and a tenor of 15.5 cwt and of pleasant, if old fashioned, tone they are known as a peal worth ringing. The 4th bell was cast by Joseph Badman who lived in the village. He may have been an apprentice of the Bilbie family and was quite boastful as the inscription cast on the bell says “BILBIE COME HEAR AND 

SEE THE SOUND AND SHAP OF ME.” A mystery exists in that the 5th bell (cast by Bilbie) has the legend “ALL THOUGHT I AM THE FOURTH BELL” cast on it.

Internally, the tower once housed a 'singing gallery' which was removed in the 1800’s as unsafe - access was via the tower turret.

The tower also housed a clock, which was maintained for many years by generations of village blacksmiths. It had no external face and probably only struck the hours on the second bell.

 

Standing in the North Porch the visitor looks out over part of the village towards the Chew Valley Lake which as will be seen later has 13th century links with the church. The north porch contains two small windows depicting St. Barbara and St. Christopher.

 

The font is Norman and plain in design, having no ornamentation except a band of zigzag around the upper part of the bowl. It stands on a massive pillar covered with a corrugated design.

 

The tower arch at the west-end contains some fine Tudor panelling and over the west doors are three perpendicular windows reputed to contain fragments of Tudor glass.

 

Charity boards record the setting up of the Webb Charity – run by the Parish Council since 1894 to provide for the “second poor of the village.”

 

The interior architecture of the Church shows styles of the principal periods. The roof is divided into two compartments by a broad Norman arch. The vaulting of the chancel dates from the 12th 

century and it is said to correspond with that of Durham Cathedral, dating from 1130. The side windows in the chancel are in the 

 

Decorated style, although the jambs and sills are Norman. The pulpit is modern and imitating the Norman style.

 

There is a space in the roof void over the chancel which according to a record of 1606 housed a columbarium. This was where the parish priest kept pigeons to supplement his food supply. A door high up on the North external wall of the chancel gives access. It is estimated that up to 140 squabs were bred there. Records of 1639 made no mention of it so presumably it was no longer used.

 

The nave arcade consists of round arches supported by massive round pillars which are quite plain with the exception of one on the 

south side at the east end. Adorned from capital to base with a cable design it has the appearance of being twisted. Legend says that it might have been a test piece for apprentices of the day, but it could be a pillar surviving from a chantry once on this site and later replaced by the south aisle, which is associated with the Roynon family from Bickfield Manor.

 

The clerestory is another unusual feature of the Church, and it is rare to find one of such dimensions in so small a church. It consists of a range of four lights on either side, but those on the south side were brought into the Church when the south aisle was enlarged.

 

On the east end of the south side may have been  a chantry which now serves as an organ chamber enclosed by a screen. It is said that this screen was formerly in Bykefold Manor. It bears the date 1659 but this is probably the date it was placed in the church.

 

At the east end of the north aisle there is a recess with round-headed arch now used as an altar. Close by in the north wall is an aperture, now blocked up on the outside, which is thought to have been used 

as a lepers' window. Also in the north wall is a recessed tomb of Thomas de Mortone - the effigy was discovered during a church restoration in 1858. The effigy is medieval and dates from the second half of the 13th century. The effigy has been treated by the Wells Conservation Centre to prevent further deterioration.

Thomas de Mortone lived in the moated Manor House at the hamlet of Morton which was flooded when the Chew Valley Lake was formed in the early 1950's. 

 

The east window represents the Transfiguration, and in the NW corner is a window to St. Wulfric - a minor saint who was born in the Combe and renowned for his miracles.

 

There is evidence that an area south of the tower was once used as a Fives Court, as was common at other local churches.

 

The village War Memorial is in the south aisle of the Church. In the graveyard is the grave of three children, killed by a stray bomb in 1940 at their home, by the quarry.

 

Adorning the church are hand-made kneelers - made by the ladies of the village in the 1960’s and representing every Diocese in the country.

 

For over 800 years the Church of St. Michael has stood as it stands today, a lasting example of sanctity, devotion, care and historic interest.  

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Some Local books and booklets, and Web Sites

 

Compton Martin - A Short History of the Church and Village (2000)

A Guide to Compton Martin Church for the Visitor 

Compton Martin and its Environs – a Corner of Beautiful Somerset – A.Shelley (1923)

Story of Compton Martin – Marion Wareing (1953)

Compton Martin Parish Plan (2007)

The Salter Collection from Cliff Quarry, Compton Martin – The Mendip Society 

 

From Compton Martin History Society

The Lords of the Manor of Compton Martin – R.C.Blackmore

Education in the Chew Valley 1720 – 1950 – R.C.Blackmore

Compton Martin War Dead 1914 – 1918 – N.Campbell

 

Before the Lake – Memories of the Chew Valley – The Harptree History Society

Old Mendip – Robin Atthill

St Michael's, Compton Martin

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