Silton (St. Nicholas)

SILTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Mere, hundred of Redlane, Shaston division of Dorset, 5 miles (E.) from Wincanton; containing 385 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1257 acres, of which 85 are common or waste. The substratum contains stone of good quality for building, of which there are several quarries; and the linen manufacture affords employment to about 100 persons. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 9. 7.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. H. Martin: the tithes have been commuted for £330, and the glebe comprises 61 acres. The church is a neat structure, with a low square tower and a south porch, and contains an elegant monument to Sir Hugh Wyndham, Knt., chief justice of the court of common pleas in the seventeenth century, who, and his wife and son, are interred in the chancel. Two schools are supported by subscription.