The Church of St Peter and St Paul

The following notes on Maperton Church and Village are taken from A Guide to the Camelot Parishes. 

A Norman Piscina is built into the chancel wall.

The Norman Font was found in the churchyard and put back in the church in 1922.

The Tower was built in the late 15th century.  Under it there is an epitaph of 1677 which reads:
                                 "Short were her days, yet died she never
                                   Death had its will, yet lives she ever."

The Registers date from 1559 and were transcribed by the Revd Lloyd Keating, Rector from 1895-1904.

The Hatchment is a fine depiction of the Georgian Royal Arms and is thought to have been presented by Michael Pitman in 1738 to mark the death of Queen Wilhelmina, wife of George II. Such Hatchments came into vogue in England during the 17th and 18th centuries. 

The Windows contain some fine glass work by Powel, and the patron saints, St Peter and St Paul, are depicted in the stained glass of the west window.

The Panelling and the Pulpit were brought from the Abbey at Sherbome and erected in 1921.

The Organ, a good example of the work of Bevington, was moved from the south transept to the north one in 1921; the south transept was made into a small chapel in memory of Revd Cyril White in 1931 - he had been Rector of Maperton from 1917- 1930.  The organ was restored by Saxon Aldred of Redburn, Herts, in 1938 and brought forward to its present position. 

The Bells were recast and two more were added in 1902 by Col HM Ridley in memory of Walter Kelly, and this was the last bell to be cast in the foundry of Llewelyn and James of Bristol.

There were a remarkable number of Marriages celebrated at Maperton church in the first half of the 18th century; it appears that Maperton had a resident Rector at a period when there were many pluralities and much absenteeism, so that people came from as far as Sherborne and Gillingham to be married here.  In 1749, for example, 24 marriages - but only three of those concerned lived in Maperton.

Maperton Village

The Manor - the Domesday Book records that this was originally part of the extensive demesnes of one Turstin Fitz Rolph and held by one of his tenants.  After the Norman Conquest it became the chief manor of a large family estate belonging to the Newmarch family, passing in the 13th century to the de Moeles family; a William de Moeles is in fact the first recorded Rector of the parish.  From this period it is interesting to note that traces of a castle and mediaeval village can still be seen in outlying fields.  After many changes the Manor and Estate were eventually sold in 1800 to Thomas Southwood, and the advowson to Wadham College, Oxford.  The present house was built in 1805 and extensively rebuilt in 1874; it is now being refurbished and improved by its present owner.

The Old Rectory - now known as Mulberry House, has a wing that dates back to the 17th century.  The front of the house was built in 1801.

The Old School - this was at Dancing Cross on the old A303.  It was built in 1871 and served as the village school until 1920, when it was closed and sold for use as a house.

At one time there were two Inns in the village, one called The Three Swans at Dancing Cross, and the other called The Cock and situated very close to it at what is now Brickyard Farm.  Maperton now has no inn.

Elliscombe House, in the Clapton area of Maperton Parish (a parish divided by the A303), is a fine country house built at the beginning of this century and now in use as a private nursing home.

Brundas Copse - on the road from Maperton towards Holton and North Cheriton - is an area rich in bird and animal life, and it also has interesting legends associated with it.

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