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Ilminster in Somerset County England History and GeographyILMINSTER, a market town and parish, in the hundred of ABDICK and BULSTONE, county of SOMERSET, 13 miles (S.W. by W.) from Ilchester, and 136 (W.S.W.) from London, containing 2156 inhabitants. This place, which is of considerable antiquity, and prior to the Conquest had the privilege of a weekly market, is situated within a mile of the river Ile, from which, and from its church, it derived its name: it was formerly more extensive than it is at present, having been repeatedly damaged by conflagrations, of which that in 1491 destroyed the greater part of the town. The Duke of Monmouth, on the day before the battle of Sedgemoor, dined in public under an ancient chesnut tree in White Lackington park, the seat of Colonel Speke, whose son was afterwards executed in this town, for his adherence to the interests of that nobleman, and for the part he took in the rebellion. The town consists principally of two streets, the larger of which is more than a mile in length: the houses are neat and well built, and the general appearance of the place is cleanly and prepossessing. The neighbourhood abounds with interesting scenery: from an eminence in the vicinity there is an extensive prospect, comprehending a view of not less than thirty parish churches, and of the course of the river, over which, to the west of the town, is a neat stone bridge of four arches. The woollen manufacture formerly flourished here to a considerable extent, but at present there is only one factory: a silk-mill has been recently established: there are some tanneries, and a considerable trade in malt is carried on. The market is on Wednesday; and there is a fair on the last Wednesday in August: the market-house is a neat and commodious building. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a petty session for the division every month during the winter, and constables or tythingmen are annually appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The living is a vicarage, in the jurisdiction of the peculiar court of the manor of Ilminster, rated in the king's books at £25. 5., and in the patronage of William Hanning, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a venerable and spacious cruciform structure, in the decorated style of English architecture, with a fine tower of light and beautiful design rising from the centre, and crowned with twelve pinnacles: within are several ancient and interesting monuments, among which are those of Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, the munificent founders of Wadham College, Oxford. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians. The free grammar school was founded by Edward VI., in the third year of his reign, and endowed with lands and tenements producing an income of £490 per annum, of which a part is appropriated to the repairs of the bridge and the high roads; there are about ten free scholars on the foundation, appointed by the trustees, who elect the master, whose salary is £100 per annum, with a house, and the privilege of taking stipendiary pupils: in 1824, William Hanning, Esq. gave premises and lands for the establishment of four exhibitions to the University, for boys of this school. A secondary establishment, supported by the same funds, has been recently added, in which forty boys are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and forty girls receive evening instruction, under a master who has, according to the number of free scholars, a salary varying from £30 to £50 per annum: a third school is also supported from the same funds, in which young children are taught to read by a female; and £15 per annum are also paid by the trustees towards the support of a Sunday school. There are also various charitable bequests for distribution among the poor. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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