Chewton Mendip

"CHEWTON-MENDIP, a parish in the hundred of Chewton, in the county of Somerset, 5 miles N.E. of Wells, and 7½ N.W. of Shepton Mallett. It is situated under the Mendip hills. There are several lead-mines and stone quarries in the parish. About the year 1745 part of the common was enclosed and set apart for the support of a school, the rent of which is now £20 per annum. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £540, with the parochial chapelries of Emborough, Farrington-Gurney, and Stone-Easton annexed, in the patronage of R. P. Philpott, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, is an ancient stone edifice, with a beautiful tower of Henry VII.'s period. The register commences in the year 560. The Wesleyan Reformers have a place of worship, as also the Wesleyan Methodists at Edgehill. There is a National school for boys and girls. The charities amount to £10 per annum. The river Chew rises in this parish, and from here the Bristol waterworks are supplied. The lady of the manor is Frances Countess of Waldegrave." From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003