Whatley and Chantry
There has been a settlement at Whatley at least since Roman times. In AD 940 the manor was granted to the monks of Glastonbury. Now Whatley is a small village, dominated by the tower of the Norman church. It lies about 12 miles south of Bath and the same distance east of Wells.
It is believed it was called Watelei in the Domesday Book of 1086, when the tenants of the Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey were Walter Hussey and John the Usher. It suggests the village name means 'The wet meadow' from the Old English woet and leah. The parish was part of the hundred of Frome.
Chantry - picture taken by a fighter plane in 1941
The village gives its name to Whatley Quarry, which lies to the north-west of the village and now owned by Hanson plc it is said to be one of the largest in Europe.
The gatehouse at Manor farm was built around 1500 and is a Grade I listed building.
The hamlet of Lower Whatley is to the south of the village.
The ecclesiastical parish of Chantry was formed in 1846 from parts of the parishes of Whatley, Elm and Mells. In those days the parish of Elm was in two separate parts; Great Elm , where the church is, and Little Elm, some two or three miles distance. It is now part of the civil parish of Whatley and some fields to the north are in the civil parish of Mells.
Several hamlets went to form Chantry,- Little Elm, Stoney Lane, Dead Woman, Railford, Bulls Green and the houses around the church at Chantry, together with two outlying farms, Bangle and Pool House.
The driving force for the formation of the parish were members of the Fussell Family, who were prominent in the district, being factory owners producing edge tools, such as sickles, scythes etc. They had two works in Chantry, at Stoney Lane and Railford, powered by the Whatley stream, which was dammed to form two lakes, the upper of which is still in being. For more information click here
