Old Documents

	Unity Chapel Sunday School certificates from book prizes awarded over 100 years ago. Unity chapels were where worshippers of all denominations, especially non-conformists, gathered together to worship. They chapels were sometimes based at an established church or chapel. The Merriott Unity Sunday School was based on the village Congregational chapel, now a squash club. If there is anyone who could provide more information about Unitarianism in Merriott, please get in touch - see the Contact Information page. For more information about Unitarianism in general, visit this website: http://www.unitarian.org.uk/index.shtml
	Certificates from inside books presented as prizes at the once-thriving Gospel Hall Sunday School. Even as late as the 1940/50s, when the prizes were presented, around 100 children used to attend. To access a brief history of the Gospel Hall, click here.
	The Settlers In Canada, a book that most children passing thought Merriott school in the early to mid-1900s will have read. It's one of many written by Captain Frederick Marryat (others include Children of the New Forest, Mr Midshipman Easy) a hundred or so years earlier, in the early to mid-1800s. This surviving copy bears all the marks of extensive school use, from the ink-stained cover to its well-thumbed pages, with key words for learning (and a later spelling test, no doubt) often underlined in pencil. Captain Marryat's books are available for on-line reading free of charge at this website: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24211
Hinton St George Punkie Night, the last Thursday in October. An account of how the tradition was revived by the Women's Institute, possibly around the early 1930s, this date being determined by the estimated age of Jim Holt, winner of the most original costume design, who was a boy at the time and was born in 1924.
A unique WAAC/WRAF WW1 enlistment form and service record for a Hewish girl with a Merriott family connection. You can access the complete document from the Archive page.
Two Merriott wills, of Sansom Pattemore and Susan Shutler. You can access the complete documents from the Archive page.
An unusual wartime postcard from the Mediterranean to a Merriott housewife from her brother.
Merret Vire Brigade. This piece of 'poetry' has been around for a good many years, but who wrote it? Three names have been mentioned: Mr Slade (a local historian who lived at Meriottsford), Freddy Masters (headmaster of the village school in 1930/40s), and Mrs Chant (who lived in Lower Street, a stalwart of the Methodist Church and, as someone recently pointed out, 'her used to talk broad'. It's unlikely we shall ever know the identity of the poet, but this particular copy was handed out by Mrs Chant in 1944 for the purpose of a children's concert in the Methodist chapel schoolroom.
A Church Art Stamp Calendar compiled by Fred Pattemore when a scholar at All Saints Sunday School. To see the complete document, click here.
	A unique set of documents detailing the call-up of George Case (photo) for the Merriott Home Guard during WW2 and the certificate awarded in recognition of service.
Let's go to Crewkerne pictures! This offering is beyond living memory but visiting the Palace Theatre in West Street in subsequent years was the highlight of the week for many people in pre-car days, and many will recall the ride how at the end of the evening on packed Safeway busses, standing room only!
This document shows a part of the entry in Kelly's Directory for Merriott, 1919. To see the complete entry, click here.
		Sections of an old parish map, 1843
1806 Marriage Settlement in respect of William French of Merriott and Joan Darbey of Dinnington, submitted by Will French, a descendant of John French. To see more photographs of the document, click here. Note the scallop edge. Two handwritten documents were prepared on the same piece of parchment, then randomly scalloped. To ensure authenticity, the edge of one document had to be a perfect match for the other. Several Merriott field names are mentioned that may well be lost in the mists of time - unless you know different! Use the Adobe magnification options if you wish to examine the document closely. To see a excellent transcription by Will French, click here. Also, a related letter detailing the tragic death of Josiah French, William's father. For full details, click here.
Poster for the Merriott Junior Drama Group 1963 production of Babes in the Wood. For more Drama Group documents and photos, click here.
A bill from the village blacksmith too a local farmer. 1817. Frost nailing? Nails with sharp heads are driven into a horse's shoe to keep him/her from slipping
Who's Who, All Saints Church, 1957
A certificate pasted inside a book, praising the attendance record of a Merriott Wesleyan Sunday School pupil. This certificate was awarded over 120 years ago, in 1890, just a few short years after compulsory education had been introduced. Prior to this, Sunday schools were the only access children from poorer families had to an education, albeit very basic.
	Advertisements for local businesses, Crewkerne Parish Magazine, September 1907.
Certificate distributed to children in local schools after WW2.
Acknowledgment of a seven-year-old's contribution to the war effort via Merriott School.
The envelope of a WW2 letter, complete with the Stalag stamp, to Anne Morris form her uncle Ted who was a prisoner of war in Germany.
Letters to a Merriott soldier WW1. You can read the letter - see From Merriott to Siberia
A Christmas card to mother, courtesy of the military. You can read a little more about local boy Arthur Tett in Smile Please, Hold It!