Dulverton in 1841
Dulverton is in the hundred of Welliton and Freemanners, 167 miles west by south from London by Andover, Frome, and Bridgewater, and 24 miles west of Taunton. It was a royal manor at the compilation of 'Domesday,' in which it is called Dolvertune. The town stands in a deep valley, watered by the river Barle (a feeder of the river Ex), over which there is a stone bridge of five arches. The hills round are richly wooded. The town consists of two well-paved streets, with channels of water running through them : the houses are mostly well built. The church is an ancient building, comprising nave, chancel, and two side aisles, with an embattled tower, 60 feet high, at the west end. There is an Independent meeting-house.
The parish has an area of 7,760 acres, and had, in 1831, a population of 1,285. The silk manufacture is carried on on a small scale. The market is on Friday, and there are two yearly fairs.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Taunton, in the diocese of Bath and Wells, of the clear yearly value of £322, with a glebe-house.
There were in the parish, in 1833, five infant or dame schools, with 37 boys and 49 girls ; two day-schools (one endowed) and one boarding-school, with 59 boys and about 30 girls ; and two Sunday-schools, with about 124 children. |