History

A Short History of Hinton St George

Hinton St George is known to have been a settlement as far back as the 12th century. As a feudal village well into the 20th century, essentially under the control of the Poulett family in Hinton House, the community has a heritage rich in listed buildings, ancient trees, and mature agriculture.

First mentioned in the Domesday Book as the village of Hanstone and was owned by William of Ow. It then transferred to the Powtrell family during the reign of Richard I and came to the Poulett family through marriage during the 1400s. The family remained in the village until 1968 and occupied Hinton House for over 500 years.

During the Middle Ages a number of the village points of interest were built. The church dates to the 13th century and a guide book is available at the Church. The preaching cross once marked the medieval village centre. Opposite the preaching cross is The Priory, a medieval manor house with a chapel. The parish once contained the hamlet of Craft, which was to the south west of the village.

Hinton St George used to hold cattle fairs and many cattle were brought in along the droves of South Somerset. A fair was held annually on St George’s Day until the late 1940s. The wide village main street is a legacy of those days.

In recent times rural communities have undergone change in their way of life at a fast pace. Since the post-war years, Hinton St George has evolved from a feudal to a freehold community. All of the five working farms within the village are now private residences – the last of these provided the sight of a dairy herd walking to and from pasture through the High Street as recently as 2000.

The Almshouses were situated near the church and dated from 1648. The present Almshouses in Gas Lane date from 1872 and were provided by the 6th Earl Poulett and his aunt, Lady Augusta.

The school was built in 1850 but there is evidence that the Poulett family provided education for the village children from 1776. In 1863 a gas manufacturing plant was built in Gas Lane, at Gas House, which supplied gas to Hinton House and the rest of the village. As a result, Hinton became the first gaslit village in England. Today, most of the village lies within a conservation area. There are 234 properties in Hinton, many of which are listed buildings.

Hinton St. George – Village Cross

The Village Cross sits at the junction of West Street and High Street and is a Grade 11* building and Scheduled Ancient Monument and was first listed with Historic England in 1958.

The Cross is thought to be prior to 1400 as it predates the Parish Church.

The official listing reads:

“Village Cross. Late medieval, with 18^th Century Finial. Ham stone ashlar, with an octagonal base, the lowest part is about 3 metres across and an average 900mm high, having chamfered plinth and chamfered coving to nosing of water holding step of about 500mm wide, then two similar steps about 600mm and 450mm high.

Square plan socket base, having chamfered plinth, in all about 750mm wide by 500mm high, the top corners either broached or prepared as bases for small pinnacles.

The shaft is square at base changing to an octagon, with statute, said to be of St. John the Baptist, in canopied surround applied on the east face. Finial of classical design, with Doric cap, cube for a former sundial, and a ball finial, in whole about 6 metres high”.

“One of the best village crosses in the County, with important street scene value, in what is probably its original position”.

In his guide to the “Church and Village of Hinton St George” Charles Bird gives the following description

“The Cross, which dates to around 1400, consists of three dished octagonal tiers of steps and a rectangular base for the shaft. On the eastern face of the shaft is a figure inside a gothic frame. The figure is somewhat worn and defaced, but it is generally believed to represent John the Baptist. On the figures left side there appears to be a pastoral staff and on the right an arm seems to be raised to the shoulder, perhaps in blessing or possibly to hold a lamb around the neck.

There were subsidiary figures either side, but little is left of these. At the top of the shaft, instead of a cross, there is a square capital surmounted by a rectangular stone marked with roman numerals for a sundial on each face. There are marks which show where the gnomons were fixed. Above is a stone ball finial.

There is a record in the Church warden’s accounts that in 1706 Mr Whitely was paid 12 shillings for the “cross dial”. 

Earlier in 1633 15 horse loads of Ham stone were used to repair the Cross”.

The Cross was restored in memory of L.A. Lowe in 1949.

In 2017 Hinton St George Parish Council paid for further restoration works which included inserting a stainless-steel rod into the main column due to stone erosion/ split and repointing stonework as necessary.