Middlezoy

"MIDDLEZOY, a parish in the hundred of Whitley, county Somerset, 6 miles S.E. of Bridgwater, its post town, and 4½ N. of the Athelney station. The memorable battle of Sedgmoor, between the forces of James II. and of the Duke of Monmouth, took place in the valley to the N. The village, which is small, is situated on the navigable river Parret, and on the high road to Bridgwater. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture. A portion of the parish has been assigned as a district to the new church at Boroughbridge. The soil is clayey on a subsoil of limestone. The tithes were commuted for corn-rents under an Enclosure Act in 1798. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £133, in the patronage of the Bishop of Worcester. The church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is an ancient structure, with a tower containing five bells. It contains a brass inscribed to the memory of an officer of the king's troops who fell in the battle of Sedgmoor. The register dates from 1756. The parochial charities produce about £1 per annum. There is a National school for both sexes, in which is held an endowed Sunday-school. Richard Meade King, Esq., is lord of the manor. Trunks of oak and yew trees are frequently dug up in the marshes." From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003