ABBAS-COMBE, or Temple-Combe (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Wincanton, hundred of Horethorne, E. division of Somerset, 4 ½ miles (S. by W.) from Wincanton, on the road to Blandford; containing 461 inhabitants. It derived the name of Temple-Combe from the military order of Knights Templars, who had an establishment here, which at the dissolution possessed a revenue of £128. 7. 9. The parish comprises by measurement 1884 acres of land, and contains good building stone of the granite species, and limestone, both of which are quarried. The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £9. 9. 4 ½., and in the gift of the Rev. Thomas Fox : the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £370, and the glebe consists of 38 acres. The church exhibits the unusual spectacle of a tower on the south side of the nave. There is a place of worship for Independents; and two schools are supported chiefly by subscription. Some remains of the chapel attached to the old priory-house are still to be seen.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis Fifth Edition Published London; by S. Lewis and Co., 13, Finsbury Place, South. M. DCCC. XLV.
