250 Notes on the History of Mere. 
As there is no record or tradition of a chapel at Burton probably 
the above document refers to one of the chantry chapels in the old 
Church at Mere. 
The Rev. John Hardcastle, Vicar of Mere, 1695 to 1734, owned 
lands at Burton, which probably came to him by his wife, who was 
daughter of Mrs. Bishop, who lived in the manor house there. She 
died 1711. Mr. Hardcastle, by his will, dated 1730, bequeathed 
these lands to Elizabeth Farrer (“ Farrer’s Ground ”’ still retains 
the name), a relative. She by her will, dated 1753, gave them to 
Thomas Ellis, of Mere, and John Farrer, of London. The latter 
dispersed his property, and that held by Thomas Ellis was sold to 
Mr. James Lander, viz., Garston, Little Garston, Stedham, and 
the homestead adjoining. In 1874 this was purchased by the 
duchy from Mr. Charles Lander. Other property of Ellis was sold 
to John Wilton, a wheelwright, and in 1787 a farm at Burton, 
consisting of a dwelling-house, outbuildings, and about 100 acres 
of land then let to Mr. William Ford as tenant, was sold by Mr. 
Ellis, and is probably the estate afterwards owned by the Duke of 
Somerset and sold by him to the Duchy of Cornwall about 1860. 
WoopLanpbs. 
Woodlands was for many years the residence of the Dodington 
family, whose arms (3 bugle horns sa., stringed gu.), are inserted 
in the porch on the south side of the house. These arms, with the 
erest (a stag lodged to the sinister side regardant ar. in his mouth an 
acorn or, stalked and leaved vert), may also be seen in the room under 
the chapel, over the fireplace, impaling Francis (argent a chevron 
between three annulets gu., pierced of the. field), on a chimneypiece 
still existing but much mutilated. This estate was owned by the 
family of Guphaye, and came to the Dodingtons in the fourteenth 
century by the marriage of Thomas Dodington, of Dodington, Co. 
Somerset, with Jane, daughter and heiress of John Guphaye, or 
Gupphey, of Mere Woodlands. ‘The exact date of this marriage is 
not known. They had one son, Philip. The father of this Thomas 
died before 1364, and his grandfather, Philip Dodington, in 1345, 
