Martock is a large village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. It is situated on the edge of the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south ...

, north-west of

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

in the

South Somerset South Somerset was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 1974 to 2023. The district covered an area of ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It had a population of appr ...

district. The parish includes Hurst, approximately one mile south of the village, and Bower Hinton, which is located to the west; the village is bounded by Hurst and the A303. Martock has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 4,766 and was historically a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

.West Country Genealogy
Martock Parish, Somerset

History

Etymology

Martock was known in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Mertoch''. It means 'Rising bright from the shining sea' from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

'meretorht'. It was the property of Queen Edith (Eagdith), wife of Godwin and mother of Earl Harold (Harold II). By 1066 it was the property of Queen Edith, wife of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

. The word root 'Mer-’ can also refer to 'a boundary or shore line' from the Old English 'maere'. It is possible that the name included the Old English element 'stoc' meaning 'by a lake'. An alternative theory to the origin of the name Martock comes from the

words "mart" meaning market and "ac" for oak. This might relate to an oak tree on the spot now occupied by the Market House or more precisely the column there. Ekwall suggested that the name derives from 'merkestoc' meaning 'a place on a boundary'. However, Prebendary G.W. Saunders, vicar of Martock from 1917 to 1951, cites two more possibilities. Firstly, from Collinson, who wrote in 1790, that the name Martock is derived from 'market oak'. But unfortunately Martock was not granted a market until 1247 and long before that it was called by this name. His second suggestion is that the name is derived from a Celtic personal name 'Merti', who gave his name to a settlement, hence Merti-oc, the settlement of Merti. Both of these seem to be flights of fancy. Bower Hinton was called 'Hanton Mertoc' in 1225 and 'Burhenton' in 1280. 'Hinton' meaning a poor enclosure, from the Old English 'hean' and 'tun'. Newton means the new enclosure from the Old English 'niwe' and 'tun'. The medieval hamlet of Newton, which lay between Bower Hinton and Hurst, was first referred to in 1327. Stapleton was first recorded in 1195. It means the steep enclosure from the Old English 'steap' and 'tun'. Alternatively it may be from the Old English 'stapel' and 'tun', meaning 'settlement by a post'.

Domesday Book

Martock had a single entry in the

and expanded rapidly in the succeeding years to include dependent settlements at Bower Hinton, Hurst, Newton, Coat, Stapleton, Ash, Witcombe, Milton and

Long Load Long Load is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Yeo south of Somerton. The village has a population of 332. History Long Load was recorded as ‘Lade’ in the late 12th century and ‘La Lade’ in 1285 meaning ...

, expanding between 1086 and 1302 from 89 tenants to more than 200. It was the only parish in the

Martock Martock is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels, north-west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish includes Hurst, approximately one ...

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Later history

In 1810, 1,025 acres of common land were enclosed as a result of the

Inclosure Acts The inclosure acts created legal property rights to land previously held in common in England and Wales, particularly open fields and common land. Between 1604 and 1914 over 5,200 individual acts enclosing public land were passed, affecting 28,0 ...

. The village was once a junction on local branches of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

, now dismantled.

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications; it works with the local police, district council officers and

neighbourhood watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council. For

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

purposes, since 1 April 2023, the parish comes under the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

Somerset Council Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unita ...

. Prior to this, it was part of the

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

(established under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

). It was part of

Yeovil Rural District Yeovil was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset. The parishes ...

before 1974. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

exists in the same name. Although ''Martock'' is the most populous area the ward stretches north to

. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 5,724. It is also part of the Glastonbury and Somerton

county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It elects one member of parliament (MP) by the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system of election.

Economy

Local businesses include arts and crafts (stonemasonry, woodworking, silversmithing) a reclamation yard, and a fish and chip shop. Historically a

, these days a monthly farmers market is held in Martock.

Landmarks

The Treasurer's House is a

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

-owned property, built from

hamstone Hamstone is a honey-coloured building stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It is a well-cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by marked bedding planes of clay inclusions and less well-cemented material which weather dif ...

during the 13th century. Notable dwelling houses include Church Lodge. Local places of interest include the Burrow Hill Cider Farm. The Parrett Iron Works was a series of industrial buildings next to the

River Parrett The River Parrett is a river that flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the So ...

. The site was originally named Carey's Mill and the adjoining bridge is called Carey's Mill Bridge, which was built of hamstone in the 18th century. The Iron Works was founded in 1855, on the site of a former snuff mill. The site included a foundry, with a prominent chimney,

ropewalk A ropewalk is a long straight narrow lane, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material are laid before being twisted into rope. Due to the length of some ropewalks, workers may use bicycles to get from one end to the other. Many ropew ...

, workshops and several smaller workshops and cottages. The sluice which powered the waterwheel and sluice keepers cottage still exist. The hamstone Market House on Church Street was completed about 1785. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. A grant of £190,000 was obtained from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

to restore the building and establish a community office on the ground floor in 2008. In front of the Market House is a Market Cross, also known as The Pinnacle, with a column which dates from 1741 with a fluted

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but wit ...

column, on a stepped plinth, which supports a ball

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

crowned with a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an list of weather instruments, instrument used for showing the wind direction, direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ' ...

. Madey Mill is a Grade II* listed

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

with medieval origins. The current buildings date from the 17th century. It has suffered from a lack of maintenance and has been placed on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

Religious sites

The Church of All Saints dates from the 13th century. It was acquired by the Treasurer of

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

in 1227 and he became the rector and patron of the church. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

Benjamin Ferrey Benjamin Ferrey List of Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA (1 April 1810 – 22 August 1880) was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic revival architecture, Gothic Re ...

, who was architect to the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...

from 1841 until his death, and also in 1883–84 by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

. The tower was built in four stages, to replace the previous one over the central crossing. It has offset corner

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es to the full height of the tower. The church has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a Grade I listed building. It is said to be the second largest in Somerset and has unique carved wooden statues in the eaves.

Transport

South West Coaches operates the 52 bus route, which connects the village with Yeovil and Bower Hinton. There are also four routes to serve local school and college students. Martock railway station was a stop on the Yeovil-Taunton line between 1853 and 1964; the station building has since been demolished but the Railway Hotel remains extant as a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

. The B3165 bisects the village from north to south; it connects the A372 with the A303.

Notable people

* Arthur Lakes (1844–1917) Born in Martock. Geologist, paleontologist, artist, writer, teacher and minister. Accidentally involved in the

Bone wars The Bone Wars, also known as the Great Dinosaur Rush, was a period of intense and ruthlessly competitive fossil hunting and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope (of the Aca ...

(Great Dinosaur Rush).

References

External links

* Community website
Martock Online
* GENUKI

* The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey
Martock
by Miranda Richardson {{South Somerset Villages in South Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset