SUTTON MALLET
TOPOGRAPHY
Sutton Mallet, one of five chapelries of Moorlinch, lies
on the lowest slopes of the south side of the Polden
ridge and on the edge of King's Sedgemoor. (fn. 18) It was
known as Sutton Abbatis in the 13th century, (fn. 19) Little
Sutton from the 13th to the 15th, (fn. 20) and Veni, Veny, or
Venus Sutton in the 16th and 17th. (fn. 21) Sutton Mallet was
the usual name by the later 18th century. (fn. 22) The hamlet
lies 1½ mile (2.6 km.) west of the mother church of
Moorlinch at the end of a shallow valley just below the
15-m. contour and at the east end of a low ridge known
as Pit Hill. The chapelry is irregular in shape, measuring c. 3.7 km. from east to west and at its greatest 2 km.
from north to south. The boundary between it and
Stawell to the north was marked by a landshare which
in 1634 was ploughed and sown. (fn. 23) In 1838 the chapelry
measured 867 a. (fn. 24) In 1933 the civil parish was united
with Stawell to form the civil parish of Stawell. (fn. 25)
Most of the land is Keuper marl, which stretches
west in a tongue known as Sutton Hams and east
towards Moorlinch, both formerly areas of open-field
arable. (fn. 26) The chapelry includes the alluvial Sutton
Moor and part of West Moor north of that tongue
and a band of alluvium, probably hill wash, on the
southern boundary, together with a small amount of
sand and gravel. (fn. 1) In the later 18th century there were
several quarries of blue and white lias. (fn. 2)
Figure 60:
Sutton Mallet parish 1837
COMMUNICATIONS
The hamlet is served by three narrow roads, from
Moorlinch in the east along Tapmoor road, from the
north-east along a road from the Polden ridge turnpike
which enters the chapelry at Righton's Grave near
Crook Hill, the two routes converging near Sutton
Farm. The third route, from Chedzoy, was earlier a
drove which forms in part the boundary with Stawell.
Unmetalled routes lead from the hamlet north, south,
and east to the fields and moors.
POPULATION
There were 30 households in the chapelry in 1563 (fn. 3) and
c. 20 about 1785. (fn. 4) In 1801 the population was 151. For
the next century it fluctuated between 164 in 1821 and
113 in 1881, fell to 110 in 1911 and to 98 in 1921. (fn. 5)
After union with Stawell in 1933 (fn. 6) no separate figure
has been available.
SETTLEMENT AND BUILDINGS
The small village is clustered around the church at the
centre of the chapelry, with Sutton Farm 0.8 km. to the
north-east, Gapper's Farm 0.25 km. to the northnorth-west, and Godfrey's Farm on the southern
edge. Sutton Farm dates from the 15th or the 16th
century, and Nino's Dairy Farmhouse is of the 16th
century and later. (fn. 7)
A common field to the east of Sutton hamlet and
adjoining Moorlinch was mentioned in 1753, (fn. 8) and by
the earlier 19th century there were traces of an open
arable field south-west of the hamlet. (fn. 9) Land on the
moor in the south was said in 1713 to have been lately
inclosed. (fn. 10) The hamlet was awarded an allotment on its
southern edge as part of the inclosure of King's
Sedgemoor in 1795. (fn. 11)
SOCIAL LIFE
In 1280 six ale sellers were in breach of the assize, in 1311
four; and in 1418 three brewers were similarly accused. (fn. 12)
MANOR AND OTHER ESTATE
SUTTON MANOR
Roger de Courcelles held an estate at Sutton which
formed part of the Glastonbury abbey estate of Shapwick. (fn. 1) Sutton was among the fees which in the 14th
century formed the so-called manor of Dundon super
Polden held under Glastonbury abbey. It had been held
in 1166 under Robert Malet by Hubert de Sancta
Susanna, from whom it passed to William Malet
(d. c. 1216). Lordship descended through William's
daughters to Hugh de Vivonia and Robert de Musgrove and to Hugh's son William de Forz, who did
homage in 1255 and died in 1259. (fn. 2) Cecily, wife of John
Beauchamp (d. 1283), was William's daughter and
heir (fn. 3) and the estate continued to be held of the
Beauchamp family until 1364 (fn. 4) and as of Compton
Dundon manor until 1540 or later. (fn. 5)
Before 1166 Hugh Fichet held an estate which in
1166 was part of the fee his son Baldwin Malet held of
William Malet. (fn. 6) After litigation William Malet
(d. c. 1216) granted 1½ hide in Sutton to William
Malet of Enmore in 1202 (fn. 7) and the estate, variously
described as land, a fee, a vill, and from 1405 as Sutton
manor, (fn. 8) descended in the Malet family. Sir Baldwin
Malet was in possession in 1259, (fn. 9) Raymond Malet in
1264-5 (fn. 10) and by 1279-80 Sir John Malet (d. c. 1288). (fn. 11)
John's son Sir Baldwin was still alive in 1337 (fn. 12) but by
1343 had been succeeded by his son John. (fn. 13) John was
still in possession in 1361 (fn. 14) but by 1368 was followed
by Sir Baldwin who seems to have survived until
c. 1416. (fn. 15) Baldwin's son Hugh died in 1465 and
Sutton was occupied by Hugh's widow Joan. (fn. 16) Joan
died in 1496 when her heir was her son Thomas
Malet. (fn. 17)
Thomas Malet (d. 1501) was followed by his son
William, at whose death in 1510 the manor passed to
William's widow Alice (d. 1524). (fn. 18) Hugh, second son
of William and Alice, died in 1540. His heir, Thomas,
died soon afterwards under age and the eventual heir
was Thomas's brother Richard. (fn. 19) Richard himself died
in 1551 leaving a son Thomas under age and the manor
settled on his own widow. (fn. 20) Thomas left a son John
under age at his death in 1580. (fn. 21) John, later Sir John,
died in 1615 and was followed in succession by his son
and grandson, both of the same name, who died
respectively in 1644 and 1656. Elizabeth, daughter of
the last, married John Wilmot, earl of Rochester
(d. 1680), and on her death in 1682 (fn. 22) the manor
passed to her youngest daughter Malet (d. 1709) and
to her husband John Vaughan, Viscount Lisburne
(d. 1721). (fn. 23) Lisburne sold the manor in 1720 to
Robert Knight, cashier of the South Sea Company.
Robert's son, also Robert (cr. Baron Luxborough 1745,
earl of Catherlough 1763), bought the manor after the
enforced sale of his father's estate c. 1721. (fn. 24) Before
1781 Benjamin Allen sold to Richard Reynolds, the
Bristol philanthropist (d. 1816), (fn. 25) under whose will the
manor was given jointly to his daughter Hannah Mary
(d. 1839), wife of William Rathbone, the Liverpool
merchant and philanthropist, and to his son Joseph. (fn. 26)
It seems to have been leased to Hannah's son Richard
and in 1827 to Richard's brother Theodore, although
two farms were in that same year in the hands of a third
brother, Benson Rathbone, of Geldeston (Norf.). (fn. 27)
Mrs. Rathbone was considered to have been lady of
the manor in 1833 when the estate was described as
'lately sold'. (fn. 28) By 1838 the estate was held by William
Rogers, one of the chief landowners in 1861 and
1866. (fn. 29) Albert Rogers had succeeded by 1872, and
William Rogers's trustees were named as lords by
1889 until 1939. (fn. 30)
A court house, then a cottage, was mentioned in
1713. (fn. 31) A field immediately north of the chapel yard
may have been the site of a manorial dovecot, and
adjoining are the remains of a pound. There was a
second dovecot above Sutton Farm. (fn. 32)
OTHER ESTATE
In 1543 the tithes of the chapelry, with those of the rest
of Moorlinch parish formerly belonging to the almoner
of Glastonbury abbey, were granted by the Crown to
John Berkeley on a 50-year lease as part of Shapwick
rectory. (fn. 1) Subsequent leases were granted by the lay
rectors. In 1760, for instance, they were let for £31 to
Walter Woodroffe. (fn. 2) In the later 19th century they were
let to members of the Welch or Welsh family of Wells,
but in 1902 had reverted to H. B. Templer Strangways,
the lay rector. (fn. 3)
ECONOMIC HISTORY
AGRICULTURE
The estate at Sutton, evidently part of Shapwick, was
assessed at 5 hides. (fn. 4) Before the 14th century the few
recorded land transactions referred to holdings solely
within the chapelry, but thereafter land there was
usually held with land in other places. (fn. 5) Occupation
names in the later 13th and the earlier 14th century
suggest the significance of fowling and cowkeeping. (fn. 6) In
1327 Sutton was taxed at a higher level than all the
other chapelries in Moorlinch parish. (fn. 7) The corn tithes
were let in 1531-2 for £8 3s. 4d., (fn. 8) and in the later 17th
century geese were kept on the moor. (fn. 9) The tithes of the
chapelry fell in value from the later 17th century as
arable was replaced by grassland. (fn. 10)
In 1641 there appear to have been four principal
farmers in the chapelry, one of whom was William
Godfrey. (fn. 11) In 1713 Sutton manor, which included land
in Bridgwater, Chilton Polden, North Petherton, Catcott, and possibly Moorlinch, comprised 25 holdings,
most of them measuring between 18 a. and 30 a., but
consolidated in the hands of a few farmers including
William Godfrey (86 a.) and members of the Chandler,
Mallacke, and Woodroffe families. (fn. 12) The Chandler
holdings passed to the Notson or Nolson family in
1720. (fn. 13)
By the 1780s there were four principal farms, the
largest known as the Farm, and formerly Little Sutton,
the others named after their tenants, Gapper's, Nino's,
and Godfrey's. (fn. 14) By 1838 there were 578 a. of meadow
and pasture and 279 a. of arable, a balance which had
further tilted towards grass by 1905. (fn. 15) In 1838 William
Rogers's estate of 582 a. was principally shared
between three farms, Godfrey's, Gapper's, and
Nino's. Sutton farm was owned by John Atkins. (fn. 16) By
1851 the same four farms, probably taking in land
from other parishes, were substantial holdings, and by
1871 Godfrey's measured 320 a. and Sutton 300 a.,
while Gapper's was 271 a. and Nino's 162 a. Between
them they employed 34 men and boys. Small holdings
in business a decade earlier had disappeared. By 1871
there were also two dairymen, a dairymaid, and a
milkman. (fn. 17) There were still four farms in 1881
employing 31 men and boys but from the later
1880s there seems to have been a gradual division of
holdings: six farmers were in business in 1889, eight by
1923, nine by 1927. (fn. 18) There were four farms in the
1980s. (fn. 19)
MILL
The mill was not grinding in 1365 but millers took
excessive toll in 1418 and 1535-6. (fn. 20) The mill was not
working in 1622. (fn. 21) A windmill, probably a post mill,
stood on the southern edge of the parish in 1685. (fn. 22) It
was evidently out of use before 1840. (fn. 23)
TRADES AND CRAFTS
In 1851 there were three carpenters, two masons, two
dressmakers, and a smith at work in the chapelry. A
grocer and a tailoress were working in 1861, an agent
for cattle food in 1871, a manure, wine, and spirit
merchant in 1872. The shop remained until soon
after 1883 but the craftsmen had gone in the later
1870s. (fn. 24)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
In 1622 it was reported to the Whitley hundred court
that the archery butts were in decay. (fn. 1)
Glastonbury abbey claimed strays in the hamlet,
probably in right of its estate of Dundon super Polden,
but the lord of Sutton took them in 1264-5. (fn. 2) Suit of
court was required of tenants of the manor in 1720. (fn. 3)
By the later 17th century there were two churchwardens and one overseer for the poor. (fn. 4) In the 1840s the
vestry had no records and kept no minutes. The
minister was never present. (fn. 5)
A poorhouse stood on the west side of the chapel
yard. (fn. 6)
CHURCH
ORIGINS AND ENDOWMENT
Sutton was probably one of the chapelries attached to
Moorlinch in 1291 (fn. 7) but its parochial chaplain was first
mentioned in 1450. (fn. 8) It was served, usually with Stawell,
by curates appointed by the vicar of Moorlinch (fn. 9) until
1818, from which date the vicars of Moorlinch served,
usually in person but occasionally employing a
curate. (fn. 10) With Moorlinch it continued to be held as a
single cure until 1968. (fn. 11)
About 1780 and in 1796 there were 3 a. of glebe and
the vicar of Moorlinch received tithe hay from 18 a.
called South closes, and composition from all other
ancient meadow within the chapelry. (fn. 12) In 1838 there
were 2 a. 2 r. of glebe and the vicar of Moorlinch
received moduses for cows and heifers as well as for the
meadow as before. (fn. 13)
The curate's house was mentioned in 1575 and
reported in decay in 1586. (fn. 14)
CHURCH LIFE
Neglect of the fabric was reported in 1568 and 1618 (fn. 15)
and of services in 1575 and 1600. (fn. 16) Services were held
once a fortnight in 1815. (fn. 17) By 1839 there was one
service and sermon each Sunday and communion at
least three times a year. (fn. 18) By 1843 communion was
celebrated four times a year and by 1873 monthly.
Services in 1873 were held alternately morning and
afternoon. (fn. 19) In 1987 the church was transferred to the
Redundant Churches Fund (now Churches Conservation Trust). (fn. 20)
A church house, next to the manorial court house,
had become a cottage by 1713. (fn. 21)
CHURCH FABRIC
The chapel, with no known dedication, comprises a
polygonal chancel, a nave with south porch, all
designed by Richard Carver, and an earlier west
tower. It replaced a building demolished in 1827
and was opened in 1829. About 1785 the old building
had been described as 'very mean' and 'very dirty . . .
much fitter for a stable than a place of worship' and
appears to have been a simple rectangle although the
chancel was then ceiled and the nave open. (fn. 22) Carver
added the western buttresses, arch, and parapets to
the earlier tower and reused the east window. The
present furnishings, apart from the reworked Perpendicular font and 17th-century altar rail, are contemporary with the rebuilding and include a west gallery,
a three-decker pulpit, and high box pews. The
octagonal base of a stone cross stands opposite the
south porch.
There are two bells, of 1607 by R. Purdue and of
1657 by Robert Austen. (fn. 23) The plate includes a cup and
cover by 'I. P'. of 1572-3. (fn. 24) The registers of baptisms
and burials begin in 1781 and of marriages in 1968. (fn. 25)
There are Sutton entries in Moorlinch registers from
1653. (fn. 26)
Figure 61:
Sutton Mallet church, except for the tower and east window by Richard Carver, opened in 1829
Figure 62:
Sutton Mallet church, looking east
NONCONFORMITY
A Quaker was living in Sutton in 1657, meetings were
held there by 1670, and a Quaker conventicle was
reported in 1673. A house was licensed for use by
Quakers in 1689 and the Polden Hill Meeting was held
there a year later. (fn. 1) A house was licensed for worship,
denomination unspecified, in 1821. (fn. 2)
EDUCATION
In 1819 a school was maintained by the lord of the
manor (fn. 3) and in 1833 the lady of the manor was the
'chief supporter' of a day and Sunday school affiliated
to the National Society. There were then 20 children at
the day school and 24 at the Sunday school. Children
paid school pence and the mistress was allowed money
for house rent, 2s. for teaching on Sundays, and 2d. a
week for each day pupil. The arrangement was then
expected to cease as the village had been sold. (fn. 1) In 1839
there was only a Baptist Sunday school in the parish, (fn. 2)
and in 1847 apparently no school, (fn. 3) but by 1861 there
was a National day school and a Sunday school. (fn. 4) The
day school continued until after 1872, but by 1875
children were going to a day school in Stawell. A
Sunday school was mentioned in 1875 and 1883 but
not thereafter. (fn. 5)