East Coker

"EAST COKER, a parish in the hundred of Houndsborough, in the county of Somerset, 2 miles S.W. of Yeovil, its post town and railway station. It appears from the numerous specimens of tesselated pavement to have been a Roman settlement. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £212, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a handsome cruciform structure. The income of Helyar's almshouses is £46 per annum. This village was the birthplace of Dampier, the celebrated navigator, who was born in 1652. Coker Court is the ancient seat of the Helyar family, who have another residence, called Sedgehill House, in Wilts. In the Civil War William Helyar raised a body of horse for King Charles I., at his own expense; and was afterwards obliged to compound for his lands by a fine of £1,522." From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003