Marston Magna

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Marston Magna
Somerset
Marston Magna church.jpg
Church of St Mary, Marston Magna
Location
Grid reference: ST591224
Location: 50°59’58"N, 2°35’2"W
Data
Population: 523  (2011[1])
Post town: Yeovil
Postcode: BA22
Dialling code: 01935
Local Government
Council: South Somerset
Parliamentary
constituency:
Somerton and Frome

Marston Magna (also known as Broad or Great Marston) is a village and parish in Somerset, situated five miles north of Yeovil in the hundred of Horethorne.[2] The village has a population of 523.[1]

History

The name Marston Magna means larger settlement by a marsh.[3]

It was held as nine separate estates before the Norman Conquest.[3]

The site of the mediæval manor house survives as a moat and fish ponds south of the village.[3]

In the early 18th century the estate was held by Sir John St Barbe, 1st Baronet (d.1723) and was passed on through the families of Ashington and Sydenham of Combe, Dulverton, Somerset.[3]

Landmarks

The manor house on Church Green dates from 1613.[4]

Religious sites

The Church of St Mary can date its origins to before the Norman Conquest, however the present building largely dates from around 1360, with further rebuilding in the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade-I listed building.[5] The church was held by Polsloe Priory, near Exeter from the 12th century until the dissolution of the monasteries.[3]

The Village in Fiction

In the 1992 novel The English Patient, Marston Magna features as the home of the character Maddox. In the novel, Maddox travels by bus to the nearby town of Yeovil and commits suicide in an unnamed church there.

In the film of the book, the character is referred to in Anthony Minghella's screenplay as coming from the county of Dorset.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/files/Somerset%20Census%20Key%20Statistics%20-%20Summary%20Profiles.xls. Retrieved 4 January 2014. 
  2. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press Ltd. pp. 137. ISBN 1-874336-26-1. 
  4. "Manor House". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=262680. Retrieved 25 January 2009. 
  5. "Church of St Mary". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=262672. Retrieved 25 January 2009.