56 PLUSH. 



Etllelwolf was the father of Alfred, whose tower* forms a Very 

 striking object from Nettlecomb. 



The grant was made to Glastonbury a century before the exter- 

 luination of Avolves, which must have had a goodly run in the 

 Forest of Blackmoor, adjoining Plush. The Roe Deer are still 

 wild in this district, are on the increase, and peep their heads 

 occasionally from the coppice opposite the new Church of St. John 

 the Baptist. 



The old Chapel was built on a very picturesque knoll about 

 three-quarters of a mile to the north of the present building, and 

 about the same distance from ]\[onkwood Hill, where the name 

 reminds us of the connection Avith Glastonbury. 



In the return to the Commission of 1650, the Church is 

 described as a Chapel of Ease Lu Buckland, three miles distant. 

 Plush then contained thirty-two families, and desired to be made 

 a parish. 



Mr. Guilliam, the curate, led a very disorderly life. His salary 

 was £14 per annum, and "other unlawful advantages." The 

 Tithes of this Tithing were then £35 per annum. 



In the old Church, more than half-a-century ago, the Rev. William 

 Butler (better known as Parson Billy Butler) was cautioned, when 

 taking the duty one Sunday, not to enter the Pulpit, or he would 

 disturb a hen sitting there. The late Lord Digby was told this 

 by Mr. Butler. 



The building, having fallen into decay, was pulled down in 1847, 

 and the materials were worked into the new church, which was 

 built nearer the hamlet, and was opened in 1848. 



The old carved font narrowly escaped disappearing altogether. 

 The late Charles W. Bingham had an affectionate remembrance 

 of it in the old church, and in one of his ruri-decanal visits routed 

 it out of a dilapidated barn, to which it had been consigned years 

 ago. 



* This Tower was built at Stourhead in the last century by Henry 

 Hoare, Esq., to mark the Hill where Alfred is said to have erected his 

 Standard against the Danes. 



