Doulting, Somerset

Description
Doulting, a parish in Somerset, 2 miles E of Shepton-Mallet station on the G.W.R. and L. & S.W.R. It includes the hamlet of Prestleigh. It has a post and money order office under Shepton-Mallet; telegraph office, Shepton-Mallet. Acreage, 3522; population of the civil parish, 667; of the ecclesiastical, 1221. A light brown building-stone, in the inferior oolite, is quarried, and was the material of Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Abbey. The fountain-head of the river Dulcot is here, and bears the name of St Aldhelm's Well. St Aldhelm died in the parish in 709, and was buried in Malmesbury Abbey. The living is a vicarage, united with the perpetual curacies of East Cranmore, West Cranmore, and Downhead, in the diocese of Bath and Wells ; joint value, e£357 with residence. The church is a cruciform erection, with octagonal tower and spire, and was restored in 1869 at a cost of about £5600. There is an ancient cross in the churchyard, and a fine barn, which belonged to Glastonbury Abbey, is near the church. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel.