Combe, English

COMBE, ENGLISH, a parish, in the union of Bath, hundred of Wellow, E. division of Somerset, 3 miles (S. W.) from Bath; containing 486 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises by computation 1796 acres, is situated near the Great Western railway, and about two miles from the London and Exeter road, from the river Avon, and the Kennet and Avon navigation. There are several quarries, from which stone is obtained for building and the repair of roads. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 3. 11½., and in the gift of the family of Radford: the impropriate tithes, belonging to Mrs. Salisbury, have been commuted for £187, and the vicarial for £170; the glebe contains about 15 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a very handsome structure, and has been repaired at a considerable expense. There are places of worship for Baptists and Lady Huntingdon's Connexion. The Gurnays had a castle here, but little more than the fosse which encompassed it is visible. The ancient road Wansdyke crosses the parish, passing by an eminence called Roundbarrow or Barrow Hill, which has been erroneously considered of artificial construction.