Yeovil's Virtual Museum

Shore's Close

A former part of the great West Field of Kingston Manor

 

Originally part of the great Medieval West Field of Kingston Manor, Shore's Close (Parcel 1453) was a large rectangular field of Larkhill Farm and lay to the immediate north of Preston Lane (today's Preston Road), halfway between the Union Workhouse and Larkhill Lane (today's Larkhill Road).

The 1846 Tithe Apportionment noted Shore's Close as 6a 2r 5p and used as pasture for grazing livestock. The Apportionment noted that the owner was William Jones Prowse and the tenant was James Pope.

Shore's Close was bounded on the north by Perrythorne (Parcel 1448) and Lower Perrythorne (Parcel 1449), to the west by Preston Townsend (Parcel 1451) and Lower Preston Townsend (Parcel 1451a), to the south by Preston Lane and to the east by Lockyer's Mead (Parcel 1454).

It was reported in the 30 June 1882 edition of the Western Gazette, in reporting parish charities, "The proceeds of Shore's Close and Cooksam, given by T & W Freke, worth £24 per annum, to be given away by the Churchwardens to the poor for ever on 23 December."

Today the former Shore's Close is occupied by houses and gardens of Home Drive.

For details on historic land measurement (ie acres, roods and perches) click here.

 

This map, based on the descriptions in the 1589 Terrier and the 1846 Tithe Map of Yeovil shows the approximate boundaries of the Manors of Kingston and Hendford as well as the manorial three-field system used in Kingston.

 

The Larkhill area reproduced from the 1842 Tithe Map. Shore's Close is bottom left.

 

An aerial photograph of 1941 showing Larkhill Lane running from its junction with Preston Road at centre right, down past Larkhill Farm at bottom left. At right of centre are seen the houses and gardens of Home Drive, completely filling the former Shore's Close. At centre bottom, the circular object is Yeovil's Barrage Balloon Site No 19, "Larkhill Lane".

 

The 1946 aerial photograph - Shore's Close is bottom left and by this time had been completely filled by the houses and gardens of Home Drive.

 

The same area today 'borrowed' from Google maps.

 

The 1842 Tithe Map superimposed (only very slightly out at the bottom) over a modern map.