PITNEY
The ancient parish of Pitney in 1876 was said to be
just over 1,303 a. in extent, (fn. 1) which included 262 a. of
Pitney moor, part of King's Sedgemoor, awarded
to the parish in return for its proportion of common
rights in the whole 'moor' in 1795. (fn. 2) The detached
meadows in Kingsmoor, east of Knole, were transferred to Long Sutton in 1885. (fn. 3) The present area of
the parish is 1,341 a. (fn. 4)
The parish, including Pitney moor, is over three
miles from north to south, and about a mile from
east to west at its widest point. Pitney moor forms
a roughly triangular area in the north, joined to the
remainder by Pitney Steart bridge, and is wedged
between the parishes of High Ham and Somerton.
The irregular eastern boundary interlocks with
Somerton, suggesting that in origin at least part
of the settlement belonged to that manor. (fn. 5) The
southern boundary with Long Sutton interlocks
in similar fashion and for similar reasons at its
eastern end. (fn. 6) Its relation to the present LangportSomerton road suggests that the original course may
have formed the boundary between the two parishes.
The western boundary, with High Ham, largely
follows the course of the Low Ham rhine, flowing
southwards from King's Sedgemoor.
Pitney village lies in a valley on each side of
a stream flowing westwards into the Low Ham
rhine. From this valley the ground rises eastwards
and southwards, reaching 150 ft. along the LangportSomerton road. To the north, near Pitney wood, it
reaches 225 ft., forming a spur at the end of the
scarp running westwards from Somerton, overlooking King's Sedgemoor. The arable land of the
parish lay on this clayey ground rising from the
village. Meadow lay largely along the western
boundary, on the narrow ledge between the foot of
the scarp and the Low Ham rhine.
There was no large-scale quarrying, but there is
evidence of private digging for lias from the 16th
century. (fn. 7) A quarry was opened on Stowey hill
in the 1830s to provide stone for road mending. (fn. 8)
The origin of the settlement implied by the
evidence of the place name suggests an island. (fn. 9) An
earlier interpretation, deriving from the Saxon word
for soft dirt, seemed to Gerard appropriate 'being
seated in a very miry country'. (fn. 10) The two Roman
villas, one at the foot of the northern scarp overlooking King's Sedgemoor, the other on the southern
slope, both on the promontory north of the present
village, (fn. 11) may point to this topographical feature as
the 'island'. Settlement in the present parish thus
dates from the Roman period, though an earlier
object, a Bronze Age sword of c. 200 B.C., was discovered on Pitney moor. (fn. 12)
The village lies along and between two roads,
lying parallel to and on each side of a small stream
which is crossed at intervals to form a grid pattern.
The church stands near the western end of the
village, and the original farms have their houses in
the village centre, the yards often divided by the
stream. Farms established outside the village developed as a result of inclosure or the division of the
main estate at the beginning of the 20th century. (fn. 13)
Three roads run directly north of the village,
parallel to each other; they were known in the early
19th century as Laneing End (now Rectory Hill),
Chessills Road, and Stowey Road and served the
arable fields. South field was reached by similar
roads and tracks, the present road from the
Langport-Somerton road at Halfway House being
known as Hermitage Lane nearest the village and
then as Pitney Road. (fn. 14) The east of the parish, with
earlier closes, was similarly served by tracks. Leazemoor Lane, which runs from Gore Road west of the
church along the valley following the Low Ham
rhine, gives access to Pitney moor. The LangportSomerton road only served to by-pass the parish.
The close connexions between Pitney and Wearne
in Huish parish (fn. 15) clearly made Gore Road of importance as the direct link across the Low Ham
rhine. Frequent references to bridges from the 15th
century onwards suggest additional links with High
Ham. 'Whytewillbrygge', then broken down, occurs
in 1423, (fn. 16) and again in 1538. (fn. 17) It may well be the
predecessor of the footbridge which takes a path
parallel and south of Gore Road, near the present
Whitewell. 'Halberstonesbryge' occurs in 1520 evidently joining the parish with the abbot of Glastonbury's lands. (fn. 18) Stembridge, where a strip of Pitney
crosses the Low Ham rhine in the north-west of
the parish, leads directly through High Ham East
field to Stembridge mill. (fn. 19) Pitney Steart bridge,
formerly Pitney Door bridge, rebuilt in 1807,
crosses the Cary and serves Pitney moor. (fn. 20)
Until the parish was inclosed in 1807 there were
three substantial open arable fields in Pitney. North
field and Middle field occupied the rising ground
north of the village, the northern boundary being
marked by Pitney wood, and the division between
them by Middle Hedge Road. (fn. 21) South field lay between the village and the southern boundary. (fn. 22)
The earliest reference to these fields is in 1745. (fn. 23)
There is some evidence to suggest an earlier and
different arrangement, implying the existence of
only one field, known as Pitney field, in the 15th and
16th centuries, (fn. 24) and of an Eastern field, by 1807
divided into a number of closes in the south-east of
the parish. (fn. 25)
Commonable pasture, which after 1807 was entirely absorbed into existing holdings, was largely
on King's Sedgemoor, but also on Leazemoor and
Pitney Steart moor, in the north of the parish, and
on Gore common, north of Gore Road. (fn. 26) The detached meadows comprised an area on Kingsmoor
in Long Sutton parish, known as Chestermead or
Chestlemead and later as Pitney Western, Pitney
Eastern, and Pitney Knole meads; (fn. 27) and small
shares in Poolmead in Huish Episcopi. (fn. 28) Poolmead
occurs as Pylmede in 1423 when a new sheep-house
was built on Pitney land there. (fn. 29) Parts of Leazemoor
were apparently inclosed c. 1583, when the 'moor'
was claimed as waste. (fn. 30)
Most of the older buildings in the village have
lias outer walls and thatched roofs. Brick is first
found in the 18th-century Rookery, where it may
be the casing of an older stone wall. Window frames
are of wood, as in the 17th-century example at
Estate Farm, (fn. 31) or more commonly of Ham stone
which may sometimes be a replacement for wood.
Except for those which incorporate the chimney
stack, internal walls are of lapped planks or timber
frame and wattle until the 18th century. Two buildings which have been demolished had cruck truss
roofs. (fn. 32) The 17th- and early-18th-century farmhouses are generally of three-roomed ground plan.
They include East End Farm, which has a crosspassage between the hall chimney and the kitchen
screens, and which leads into a 'linhay' alongside
a low service wing; Estate Farm, which has been
partly rebuilt after a fire but retains its cross-passage
plan and has a panel on the front wall with the name
of John Pyne and the date 1694; and Butterwell
Farm, which has a central pantry with principal
rooms at each end of the range.
By 1756 there was an inn in the village, known
by 1759 as the Horse and Jockey. From 1788 it was
called the Crown, and from 1795 the Rose and
Crown. It survived until 1808. (fn. 33) The Half Way
House inn on the Langport-Somerton road was so
named in 1817, having formerly been called the
Hermitage. (fn. 34)
The population of Pitney in 1801 was 243. The
total nearly doubled, to 465 by 1841, but there
followed an irregular decline to 199 by 1931.
In 1951 there were 216 inhabitants and in 1961,
192. (fn. 35)
Manors.
The later manors in Pitney were made
up from a succession of Crown grants, mostly from
Somerton manor, to Richard Revel the elder between c. 1190 and 1203. The first grant appears
to have been described as a soke, held at a rent of
72s. 6d., confirmed to Revel in 1190. (fn. 36) Richard
Revel the younger still held this in 1219 and probably until his death in 1222. (fn. 37) The second was a gift
by Richard I to the elder Revel of rents of 60s. in
Somerton in return for a quit rent. (fn. 38) The third,
made before 1203, was of land for £12 a year, to
which was added in 1203 a further estate in the
same manor comprising land worth 50s. a year, and
described under the form 'Pettewurth'. (fn. 39) The larger
of these estates was subsequently described as at
Pitney and at Wearne. (fn. 40)
Part of Richard Revel's land was granted to his
son William in 1205. (fn. 41) This holding was given in
1217 to Geoffrey de Craucumbe, and by 1219 he
had evidently succeeded as tenant to the other former Revel property. (fn. 42) In that year he was holding
12 librates of royal demesne in Pitney and Wearne in
Somerton manor. (fn. 43) The estate, assessed at ¼ fee,
was granted to Geoffrey and his heirs in 1230,
together with land and rents in Langport and free
warren for hares in Pitney. (fn. 44)
Geoffrey evidently died without heirs in or before
1249 and the manor was kept in hand and administered for the Crown by farmers. (fn. 45) In or
shortly before 1266 this estate, described as the
'manors' of PITNEY and WEARNE, and subsequently as the manor of PITNEY WEARNE
PLUCKNETT, PITNEY PLUCKNETT, or
PITNEY PLUCKNETT and WEARNE, (fn. 46) was
granted to Eleanor of Castile, wife of Prince
Edward. (fn. 47) In 1270 the property, described as West
Pitney and Wearne, was given in exchange for
lands in Hampshire to Sir Alan de Plucknett. (fn. 48)
Alan died in 1298 holding half the hamlet of
Pitney of the Crown by a quit rent. (fn. 49) He was succeeded by his son, also Alan (d. 1325), and then by
his daughter Joan (d. 1327), possibly the Joan de
Bohun of Kilpeck (Herefs.) who granted lands in
Pitney and Wearne to Sir Thomas de Marlebergh in
1327. (fn. 50) Thomas settled this property in or before
1341 on Sir Henry de Haddon (d. 1348) and on
Eleanor, his wife (d. 1361), with reversion to
William FitzWaryn (d. 1360) and his wife Amice,
daughter of Henry and Eleanor. (fn. 51) Sir Ives FitzWaryn, son of Amice, succeeded his mother and
died in 1414. (fn. 52) His sole surviving daughter Eleanor
married successively Sir John Chidiock (d. 1415)
and Ralph Bush. (fn. 53) Pitney and Wearne were settled
on Eleanor's son William Bush and on his wife
Joan in 1433, but a later agreement gave Sir John
Chidiock a reversionary interest in 1439, and he
succeeded on Bush's death in 1441. (fn. 54)
Sir John died in 1450 leaving two daughters.
The younger, Catherine, married successively
William Stafford (d. 1450) and Sir John Arundell
of Lanherne (Cornw.) (d. 1473) and died in 1479.
Her son and heir Sir Thomas Arundell, K.B., died
in 1487, when the manor was said, clearly in error,
to have been held of the abbot of Glastonbury. (fn. 55)
Thomas was followed by his son Sir John (d. 1545),
and by his grandson, also Sir John, who in 1546
sold the manor to Leonard Chamberlayne of Woodstock (Oxon.). (fn. 56)
Chamberlayne conveyed the manor shortly afterwards to Sir William Essex (d. 1548), of Lambourn
(Berks.), who left successive life interests to George,
Edward, Thomas, Edmund, and Humphrey Essex.
The last was evidently in possession in 1559. (fn. 57)
George Essex (d. 1588), then of North Street,
Langport, was lord of the manor by 1562. (fn. 58) Another
George settled the property in 1599 on his 'cousin
german', Robert Essex of Ashdown (Berks.). (fn. 59)
Robert sold the manor in 1610 to William Compton,
Lord Compton, later earl of Northampton (d. 1630). (fn. 60)
The manor descended, like the manor of Sutton
in Long Sutton, in the Compton family to George
Compton, the 6th earl (d. 1758). (fn. 61) His widow, then
wife of Claudius Amyand, held it until her death
in 1800, when it passed to Lord George Cavendish,
third son of William Cavendish, duke of Devonshire (d. 1764), through his marriage with Elizabeth
(d. 1835), heir of Charles, earl of Northampton
(d. 1763). (fn. 62) George, created earl of Burlington in
1831, died in 1834; his grandson and heir William
(d. 1891) succeeded as duke of Devonshire in
1858. Victor (d. 1938), the 9th duke, sold his estate
in Pitney, amounting to 641 a., in 1919, though the
lordship of the manor was not included in the sale. (fn. 63)
In 1441 and 1450 the manor-house was described
as an ancient hall. (fn. 64) Its site may well have been in
the field later called Court Hay at the eastern end
of the village, though there is a tradition which links
the site with the present Manor Farm. (fn. 65)
By 1227 Henry Lorty, husband of Sabina,
daughter of Richard Revel the younger, was holding
lands in Pitney and Somerton by a quit rent. (fn. 66) In
1242 he and his wife accounted together for land
worth 72s. in Pitney and Wearne, and Henry paid
a total of £12 5s. for a soke in Somerton and other
lands. (fn. 67) Sabina died in 1254, having settled her
estate, described as the manor of PITNEY, and
later known as PITNEY LORTY, on her son
Richard (d. c. 1253) and his wife Maud, both
minors. (fn. 68) The manor, held in chief, passed to
Sabina's grandson Henry, who came of age c. 1273,
and who was summoned to Parliament as Lord
Lorty in 1299. (fn. 69) Lorty died in 1321 leaving the
manor, with the advowson of the chapel, to his
son John. (fn. 70)
After John's death in 1340 the descent becomes
confused owing to the attempt by Ralph de Middleney, husband of John's sister Elizabeth, to obtain
control of the property by illegally marrying his son
to John Lorty's heir Sibyl. (fn. 71) Ralph held the manor
until his death in 1363, and his widow, who had
a joint interest for life, succeeded as sole owner. (fn. 72)
By 1374 Elizabeth had married Sir Robert de
Ashton, and he held the manor in right of his wife
until his death ten years later. (fn. 73)
Maud, wife of John Langrich, and Elizabeth, wife
of John Gunter, heirs of Sibyl Lorty, established
their claim to the manor on Sir Robert's death, (fn. 74)
and gave a life interest to Philippe, Sir Robert de
Ashton's widow. (fn. 75) Sir John Tiptoft, Philippe's
third husband, held the manor in her name until
her death in 1417. (fn. 76) It then passed to Elizabeth,
wife of John Andrewe and widow of John Gunter,
sole surviving heir of Sibyl Lorty; and on her death
in 1422 the manor then devolved on Roger Gunter
of Racton (Suss.) (d. 1436), son and heir by her first
husband. (fn. 77) John Gunter died in 1474, leaving his
brother William as his heir. (fn. 78) William Gunter was
succeeded in 1484 by his nephew Edmund who
sold the manor in 1484–5 to trustees for Robert
Morton. (fn. 79)
By will dated 1486 Morton devised a life interest
in his manors, including Pitney, to his widow
Agnes. On her death in 1517 she was succeeded by
her son and heir Robert, who held them until his
death in 1559. He paid the ancient quit rent for the
manor of Pitney at least until 1534. (fn. 80) The estate,
subject to the jointure of his son's widow, passed to
his grandson George Morton who in 1579 sold it
to John (later Sir John) Popham, serjeant-at-law. (fn. 81)
Pitney then passed to the Hanham family, of Deans
Court, Wimborne Minster (Dors.), through the
marriage of Sir John Popham's daughter Penelope
with Thomas Hanham (d. c. 1593). (fn. 82) Their son
John died in 1625 leaving as heir to the property
his daughter Eleanor, later wife of John Pyne. (fn. 83)
Their son, also John, died in 1699, and was succeeded by his nephew Francis, third son of his
brother Charles. By 1704 Charles Pyne, evidently
heir to his son Francis, was owner of the manor,
and settled it in 1715 in trust on his wife Frances. (fn. 84)
She held it for at least the next ten years, but by
1746 it had passed to her eldest son John, of Curry
Mallet (d. 1764). His son, also John, of Charlton
Mackrell, died in 1791 leaving it to his eldest son
Anthony, a clergyman, who presented himself to
the rectory in the following year. (fn. 85)
Anthony died in 1819. By 1824 at least until
1839 William Uttermare of Curry Rivel and his
sister Hannah Michell of Taunton were jointly
lord and lady of the manor. By 1843 they had been
succeeded by William Pyne (d. 1881), second son of
Anthony Pyne and rector from 1824 until 1851. (fn. 86)
By 1876 the holding amounted to just over 179 a.,
and no manorial rights were then claimed. The Pyne
family survived until the death of Charlotte Uttermare, widow of B. Nathan Smith, in 1925. (fn. 87)
The capital messuage of the manor was known
in the 15th century as Courteplace. (fn. 88) A house at the
foot of Rectory Hill, now called Court House, possibly the successor to this building, incorporates
fragments of 16th-century timbering.
Economic History.
Pitney Lorty does not
appear as a separate estate in the Domesday survey,
though by 1254 there were 1½ carucate in demesne,
gardens, a dovecot, and a mill, and the whole manor
was extended at just over £18 17s. (fn. 89) Free and customary tenants together paid rents totalling
£9 15s. 9d., and works were assessed at just over
29s. (fn. 90) Rents had fallen to £7 3s. by 1423. (fn. 91) The
manor of Pitney Wearne was formed in part by
2½ virgates held by Robert de Odburville in 1086
in Huish parish. (fn. 92) This property became linked with
land in Pitney formerly part of Somerton manor.
By 1260–1 the estate, then in royal hands, was
charged for a tallage at 20 marks. (fn. 93) In 1270 West
Pitney and Wearne was said to be worth £23 and
about ten years later £20 18s. (fn. 94) By 1298 the estate
included half the hamlet of Pitney. The demesne
farm then comprised 195 a. of arable, 6 a. of meadow,
4 a. of wood, a small piece of common pasture,
gardens attached to the capital messuage, and
a dovecot. There was one free tenant holding
a virgate, 3 customary tenants each with a virgate,
5 with ¾ virgate, 9 with ½ virgate, 10 with ¼ virgate
or 'ferdell', and 4 cottagers. The customary tenants
owed labour services and paid small rents known
as 'wodeschep' at Hockday and church-scot
(chursutt) at Martinmas. The cottagers paid money
rents. The whole land held by the tenants produced
£7 9s. 11d. rent and services worth £8 17s. (fn. 95) The
estate was let to farm in 1369 for £33 14s. 2½d., (fn. 96)
and by 1412 was assessed at £44. (fn. 97)
By the end of the 15th century the revenues of
the manor, based on assessed rents of £25 9s. 6½d.,
increased by 20s. from 1513–14. Arrears and defective rents mounted between 1518 and 1528,
occasionally to a fifth or more of the total income,
though fines and perquisites usually amounted to
very much more. (fn. 98)
In 1327 33 taxpayers in the two manors together
were assessed at a total of 51s. 3d., both totals larger
than those of the neighbouring town of Langport,
though lower than Aller and Muchelney. (fn. 99) Any
economic decline suggested by increasing arrears
and defective rents at the beginning of the 16th
century seems to have been reversed on Pitney
Wearne manor by 1610, when the rental amounted
to £35 12s. 6d., together with 21 capons and 3
hens. (fn. 100) This figure remained fairly constant for the
rest of the 17th century. (fn. 101) Exchanges of land to
consolidate holdings, presumably in connexion with
small-scale inclosure, were common on Pitney
Lorty manor by the end of the 16th century, and
its economy, too, may well have benefited. (fn. 102)
About 1625 the manor of Pitney Wearne was
estimated at 1,114 a. in extent. (fn. 103) Some 616 a. lay
in Pitney parish in 1692, and of these 458 a. were
arable, 112 a. pasture, and 33 a. meadow. (fn. 104) The
farming units were small, the largest amounting to
84 a. There were 24 copyhold tenements and 30
held on lease; heriots were still payable on 12 holdings. (fn. 105) By 1765 only one farm, one cottage, and the
site of the dovecot were copyhold. (fn. 106) No such details
have been found for Pitney Lorty manor, though
both clearly depended on their share of King's
Sedgemoor, a scheme of c. 1625 allotting 318 a. to
Pitney Wearne and 251 a. to Pitney Lorty. (fn. 107) The
failure of the scheme prevented any significant
improvement of the 'moor' until it was finally
divided in 1795. (fn. 108)
There is some evidence of inclosure for pasture
at the beginning of the 18th century, (fn. 109) but over
463 a. remained in open-field cultivation until
1807. (fn. 110) The small detached areas of common 'moor'
on Kingsmoor, amounting to just over 30 a., had
been previously sold to pay the inclosure expenses. (fn. 111)
Throughout the 19th century, as before, half the
parish was held by one landlord; in 1876 the duke
of Devonshire owned 575 a., and by 1919 641 a. (fn. 112)
The largest farm in 1876 measured 214 a., and incorporated the present Manor and Brookside farms.
There were two others of 137 a. and 127 a. on the
Devonshire estate, and one of 134 a. on the Pyne
estate. The largest freeholding, 54 a., is now represented by Estate farm. (fn. 113) Within the next forty
years these units were divided, and by 1919 there
were seventeen named farms, only one of which,
Manor farm, was over 100 a. (fn. 114) By 1939 there were
twelve farms in the parish, (fn. 115) a number which had
decreased by 1971.
Pitney was thus an exclusively agricultural community, 66 of its 70 families in 1821 being engaged
in agriculture. (fn. 116) This pattern survived until after
the Second World War, the village having before
then attracted few private residents. (fn. 117) Trades were
largely confined to those ancillary to farming,
though some gloving was carried on. (fn. 118) The decline
of population began in the 1840s, and at least three
families were helped to emigrate either to the
Colonies or to the United States. (fn. 119)
There was a mill belonging to Pitney Lorty
manor by 1254, (fn. 120) and two mills in 1579. (fn. 121) Two
millers regularly appeared at the manor court
between 1596 and 1604. (fn. 122) In 1605 a third miller,
Edward Clawsey, was said to have recently erected
a windmill. (fn. 123) In 1691 Pitney Lorty manor included
a water-mill and a windmill. (fn. 124) It is not known where
these mills stood, though the long narrow field,
terminating in an irregular plot in the southwestern part of the parish, and known as Mill
Close, may well, despite its position in a valley, be
the site of a windmill. (fn. 125)
Local Government.
Summaries and fragments of court rolls for Pitney Plucknett or Pitney
Wearne survive intermittently for the period 1553–
1639, (fn. 126) court books for 1534–8, (fn. 127) 1612, (fn. 128) and 1745–
1839. (fn. 129) For Pitney Lorty there are extracts from
court rolls for 1423 and 1520–1, (fn. 130) and rolls for
1596–1609, (fn. 131) 1693–6, and 1701–3. (fn. 132)
The courts for Pitney Plucknett or Pitney Wearne,
in the 16th century described as curie legale and
curie manerii for the usual twice-yearly sessions in
April and October, and as curie baronis for additional
meetings largely concerned with entries, were
regularly called views of frankpledge and courts
baron from 1620 onwards. In the 18th century the
winter court was described as court leet and court
baron, the Spring session as court baron only.
Spring sessions ceased after 1770. The officers of
this manor were a tithingman and two haywards, one
for Wearne and one for Pitney. The tithingman
evidently was answerable for Wearne only. These
officers were appointed until 1839.
Pitney Lorty courts were also held twice a year,
and were usually described as courts leet and manor
courts or as courts leet and views of frankpledge.
The officers were a constable, a tithingman, and a
hayward, the first chosen by the steward from names
submitted by the court, the others holding by rotation. The distinction between this and the hundred
court was not always clearly drawn, (fn. 133) and in 1697
the officers were apparently chosen in the hundred
court. Conversely, an order of Lorty manor court
in 1608 was to apply to both manors, though perhaps only as they concerned Pitney parish. (fn. 134)
Both courts made repeated and evidently unsuccessful attempts to improve the standard of
buildings in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and
were also concerned with the more usual prevention
of sub-letting and the control of agricultural practice.
Fines for allowing strays, always very common,
extended to asses and a swarm of bees. (fn. 135) Stocks
were maintained by each court. (fn. 136)
Part of the poor rate in the 18th century was
occasionally allowed to the waywardens. (fn. 137) Besides the normal parish officers was the Sedgemoor
expenditor, whose original responsibility for the
drainage of the 'moors' in the parish was extended
by the vestry to supervising grazing in the droves,
mole catching, the sale of parish road-scrapings,
and paying bounties for the destruction of sparrows. (fn. 138)
From 1850 until 1872 names of inhabitants eligible
for office as constable were submitted to the vestry.
The workhouse, in existence by 1815, was not used
in 1834, and was sold in 1838. (fn. 139) The parish became
part of the Langport poor-law union in 1836. (fn. 140)
Church.
A reference in 1225 to William, parson
of Pitney, is the first indication of a church there. (fn. 141)
It was described as a chapel as late as 1321, (fn. 142) and
the close link with Pitney Lorty manor suggests that
it originated as a foundation of one of the lords of
that manor. (fn. 143) Traditional claims by the parishioners
of Pitney to right of burial in Huish Episcopi, and
the complementary assumption that Pitney should
contribute towards the maintenance of Huish
church tower, is evidence of the close connexion
between the two parishes through the lands of the
manor of Pitney Wearne, and may also be evidence
that Pitney was a daughter church of Huish. (fn. 144)
This last claim seems to have been the origin of the
peculiar jurisdiction exercised by the archdeacon
of Wells, rector of Huish, in the parish of Pitney
in the 19th century. (fn. 145) The benefice of Pitney has
always been regarded as a rectory, though the incumbent formerly received the great tithes of only
a part of his parish. (fn. 146) From 1962 the rectory was held
in plurality with Aller, but in 1970 it was united
with the vicarage of Huish Episcopi. (fn. 147)
The advowson of Pitney belonged to the Lorty
family and to their successors as lords of the
manor of Pitney Lorty from the early 14th century
at the latest (fn. 148) until the mid 19th century, though the
archdeacon of Wells presented in 1624 and the
bishop in 1699. (fn. 149) The vicar of Huish made an unsuccessful claim in 1541. (fn. 150) William Pyne, lord of
the manor, and John Williams were patrons in
1819. (fn. 151) The right of presentation was acquired from
the Pynes by Capt. Joseph Dudman by 1857. (fn. 152)
On his death in 1864 it passed to his son Lumsden
Shirreff Dudman of Pitney House (rector 1851–78), (fn. 153)
and then to his grandson J. L. S. Shirreff Dudman
(d. 1930) of Hove, also a clergyman. (fn. 154) The last was
followed as patron by his widow Beatrice (d. 1955),
and then by Miss G. M. S. Dudman, his daughter,
who presented in 1970. (fn. 155) The patron of the united
benefice in 1971 was the archdeacon of Wells.
The church was not included in the Taxatio of
1291, though in 1445 it was assessed at £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 156)
The net value in 1535 was £9 14s. 8½d. (fn. 157) About
1668 it was said to be worth £50, and in 1815 about
£153. (fn. 158) By 1831 the average net income was £170. (fn. 159)
The rector of Pitney received predial and personal tithes and tithes of wool, which in 1535
amounted to £9 13s. 2d. (fn. 160) By 1634 all meadow and
pasture in the parish was charged with a modus of
1d. an acre, and the rector also received tithe hay
from the detached meadows by the Yeo east of
Knole and of a small area in Pitney 'Yeards' and
Broad Poolmead; tithes of West wood, and in
Pitney wood 'tithe in kind at felling thereof'. (fn. 161)
All parishioners paid 3d. for cow white and 1½d.
for each heifer, and at Easter payments of 3d.
were made by every married couple, 1d. by every
single person born in the parish, and 2d. by every
servant. (fn. 162) At the same time the rector had the great
tithes of some 114 a., in High Ham, largely at Beer,
and of just over 29 a. in Huish Episcopi. (fn. 163)
Under the inclosure award of 1807 the rector of
Pitney was assigned corn rents in lieu of tithe over
807 a. of the parish, valued at £110 13s. 2¾d.
Moduses still payable to him, amounting to 30s. 9d.,
were confirmed. (fn. 164) Corn rents worth £5 4s. 9¾d.
were awarded to the rector of Pitney in lieu of
tithe from Huish in 1799, (fn. 165) and the tithes in High
Ham were converted to a rent-charge of £21 in
1838. (fn. 166) The Pitney corn rents were converted to
a rent-charge in 1876 and were then worth
£85 19s. 8d. (fn. 167) By 1916 these rents had risen to
£97 11s. 10d. (fn. 168) The total rent-charge from the
three sources in 1923 was £122. (fn. 169)
The glebe lands were valued at 4s. 6d. in 1535. (fn. 170)
By 1634 there were 13 a., and by 1807 just over 18 a. (fn. 171)
The second figure included an augmentation of 2 a.
of pasture, the origin of which was not known in
1705. (fn. 172) The glebe was sold in 1921. (fn. 173) The former
rectory-house stood on the north side of the churchyard. It was a stone building with thatched roof, of
two storeys, with three-and four-light Perpendicular
windows with quatrefoil tracery to the ground
floor. (fn. 174) The house was no longer occupied by the
rector in 1827, and was soon afterwards described
as unfit. (fn. 175) It was still standing in 1840, but had
been demolished by 1876. (fn. 176) By 1869 a new house
had been built further to the north, probably by
Lumsden Shirreff Dudman, the rector. (fn. 177) This
house, copying some of the features of the old,
was occupied by succeeding rectors until 1970.
During the 15th century the benefice was held
by at least two rectors in minor orders; (fn. 178) and the
rector in 1467 was among others accused of counterfeiting money. (fn. 179) In 1463 the rector was employing
a parochial chaplain. (fn. 180) Cananuel Bernard (rector
1624–68) accused in 1634 of celebrating clandestine
marriages of people from Langport, appears to have
retained his benefice without interruption during
the Interregnum, and to have continued to celebrate
marriages according to the rites of the Established
church throughout the district. (fn. 181) A young clerk,
probably Faithful Cape, was c. 1693 ordained 'to
read prayers for an ancient minister, or officiate at
a little place called Pitney'. (fn. 182) Anthony Pyne (rector
1792–1819) was also rector of Kingweston and both
patron and lord of the manor of Pitney Lorty. (fn. 183)
His son William succeeded him as patron and lord
of the manor in 1819, and was rector from 1824
until 1851, when he became rector of the sinecure
benefice of Sock Dennis. (fn. 184) In 1827 he was living at
Langport and serving as assistant curate at Compton
Dundon. (fn. 185) Pyne's successor as rector, Lumsden
Shirreff Dudman, was presented to the benefice by
his father. (fn. 186)
In 1815 only one service was held each Sunday,
alternately morning and evening. (fn. 187) This was still
the practice in 1827. (fn. 188) 'Few' attended the morning
service on Census Sunday 1851, but the church,
seating 256, was 'generally full' in the afternoon. (fn. 189)
At the beginning of the incumbency of Charles
Powell Berryman (rector 1879–85) two services for
adults and one for children were held each Sunday,
each with a sermon, Holy Communion was celebrated
fortnightly and at festivals, and there were also
weekday services. In 1880 the rector introduced
an embroidered altar frontal, a pulpit fall, and a
stole. (fn. 190)
The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST is
built of lias with Ham stone dressings and consists
of a chancel with north vestry, nave with south
chapel and porch, and west tower. The earliest part
of the building is the early-13th-century chancel
which has been extensively rebuilt but retains a
two-centred doorway and formerly had an east
window of three stepped lancets. (fn. 191) Presumably
there was a contemporary or earlier nave, and a
southern transeptal chapel may be inferred from
a rib-vaulted squint in the south respond of the
chancel arch. The arch, the four-bayed nave, the
porch, and the tower are all of mid- to late-14thcentury origin. All are or were of relatively plain
character with continuous chamfers to the chancel
and tower arches, a plain rectangular tower with
projecting stair turret, and a cusped outer south
doorway. The existing south chapel was built in the
15th century when the two south windows in the
nave were enlarged, two new windows were placed
in the south wall of the chancel, and the tower was
heightened.
The chancel was restored in 1853 when most of
the windows were altered and a small vestry was
built against the north wall. The restoration of the
nave took place in 1874, (fn. 192) when the north wall was
rebuilt, a new roof incorporating four medieval
bosses was put on, and the east window of the
chapel altered. The plinth of the font is 14th century. The pulpit and parts of the reading desk are
early 17th century.
There are five bells: (i) 1897; (ii) c. 1350,
Thomas Hey,? of Shaftesbury (Dors.); (iii) c. 1350,
Dorset foundry; (iv) and (v) 1705, Thomas Knight
of Closworth. (fn. 193) The plate includes a cup of 1572 by
'I.P.' and a paten given in 1738. (fn. 194) The registers
begin in 1623 and the series is complete. (fn. 195)
Nonconformity.
By 1668 Quakers were
meeting regularly in Pitney, jointly with Friends
from Somerton, but their numbers were so small
that in 1674 the meeting was united with that of
Long Sutton. (fn. 196) Thomas Willis (d. 1682), ejected
from Heathfield, was licensed to preach to Congregationalists in his house in 1672. (fn. 197) It is not clear
whether this group has a continuous history to the
present day; the house of William Chard was used
as a meeting-house in 1693, and there is a tradition
that George Whitefield (d. 1770) preached in the
parish at a house called the Old Meeting. (fn. 198) No
further licences for Independent meetings have
been traced until 1798 and 1799. (fn. 199) These cottage
meetings apparently continued until 1842 when a
chapel was erected. In 1851 services were held every
Sunday evening for adults, and on Census Sunday
the congregation numbered 60. There were Sunday
schools in the morning and afternoon for 50 and
45 respectively. (fn. 200) The chapel, which seated 150, (fn. 201)
was rebuilt in 1874, and is called Hope Chapel. (fn. 202)
It is a simple lias building with a tile roof, and
stands at the eastern end of the village.
Education.
There was a day-school in the parish
by 1818; possibly the same school in 1833 had 20
pupils, and was supported by contributions from
parents. A Sunday school, started in 1823, had
30 pupils ten years later, and was financed by the
rector. (fn. 203) By 1838 it was evidently housed in a room
owned by the duke of Devonshire, and by 1846–7 had
24 day pupils. (fn. 204) There was also a dame school with 18
pupils and a Sunday school, held in the Independent
chapel, which in 1851 had a morning session with
50 pupils and an afternoon one with 45 pupils. (fn. 205)
The day-school probably continued without
interruption, and in 1875 the duke of Devonshire
conveyed a site for a new building to the archdeacon
of Wells. (fn. 206) The school was affiliated to the National
Society and was supported, though sometimes
reluctantly, by voluntary contributions. The building was extended in 1887, and by 1894 had accommodation for 87 pupils and an average attendance of
59. (fn. 207) By 1903 there were 43 boys and girls and 25
infants on the books, and the premises were sometimes used for evening continuation classes, for the
Sunday school, and for parochial entertainments. (fn. 208)
The school took juniors and infants only from 1930,
and was closed in 1963. (fn. 209) The building is now leased
for use as the village hall. (fn. 210)
Charities for the Poor.
None known.