South Perrott

South Perrott is a village and civil parish in northwest Dorset, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Crewkerne. In 2012 the estimated population of the parish was 220.[1] Figures from the 2011 census have been published for South Perrott parish combined with the neighbouring parish of Chedington; the population in these areas was 367.[2]

South Perrott
South Perrott Church
South Perrott Location within Dorset
Population	220 [1]
Civil parish	South Perrott
Unitary authority	Dorset
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Beaminster
Postcode district	DT8
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	West Dorset

The name Perrott comes from the River Parrett.[3]

The manor was held with North Perrott just over the border in Somerset.[4]

Immediately south of the church are some earthworks, the remains of the moated enclosures of Mohun Castle. A geophysical survey of this site was undertaken in 1996.[5]

Religious sites

The Parish Church of St. Mary can be found in the southern part of the village. The church is cruciform in shape, with a prominent central tower that has a plain parapet and gargoyles. The central crossing, transepts, nave and west porch date from the 13th century, while the central tower was rebuilt in the 15th century. A chapel was added to the south side of the chancel in the 16th century. Between 1907 and 1913, the chancel and south chapel were rebuilt and a number of other changes made.[6] In the north wall of the chancel there are two roundels of 18th century glass, one depicting the Crucifixion, the other the Last Supper. The weather vane on the tower takes the form of a copper cockerel. The Church is a Grade I listed building.[7]

The tower contains six bells, the whole ring being cast by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel foundry and dedicated in 1927 by Bishop Jocelyn, Archdeacon of Sherborne.[8] The bell historian Christopher Dalton points out that this was the first complete ring of bells in Dorset cast by the Whitechapel foundry after it had adopted the true-harmonic principle of tuning (and only its third complete ring using this principle).[9] Before the augmentation there were three bells, the lightest dated 1828 by John Kingston (Bridgewater), the second dated 1602 (inscribed: "ANNO DOMINI 1602 RP") with the tenor apparently from the same founder, but dated 1650. Dalton thinks that the latter may be an error for 1605, and concludes that they were both early works of Richard Purdue I of Stoford, Somerset.[9]

Since 1979, St Mary's, South Perrott has been part of the Beaminster Area Team Ministry (Diocese of Salisbury).[10]

References

1. "Parish Population Data". Dorset County Council. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
2. "Area: South Perrott (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
3. Pulman, George P. R. (1854). The Book of the Axe. London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans. p. 38.
4. Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press Ltd. pp. 156–157. ISBN 1-874336-26-1.
5. English Heritage (July 1996). Mohun Castle, South Perrot, Dorset: Resistivity Survey Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
6. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England (1952). An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 1, West. London: HMSO. pp. 176–177.
7. "St Mary's Church". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage.
8. Parrett and Axe Women's Institute (1983). A Village History of South Perrott and Chedington. p. 19.
9. Dalton, Christopher (2001). The Bells and Belfries of Dorset. 2. Ullingswick: Upper Court Press. pp. 620–622. ISBN 0-9538616-1-9.
10. Beaminster Area Team Ministry

External links