Long Sutton

Ron has been reading a library book about the village of Long Sutton (population about 800), which is not too far from Martock. So Saturday when we were driving around, we went there.



The most interesting part of the town was the church, which was built in 1490, not as old as some of the churches we have visited, but very old by U.S. standards! There was an earlier church, from the 9th century, on the site before the current one was built. The current one was built of local stones with trim made of Hamstone. (The Hamstone is the yellow-looking stone quarried from Ham Hill near Martock.) These are pictures of the church.





The figures in the following photo are holding different tools and items representing the jobs and interests of the local people.


The church and the church school are at one end of the village green and there is an old hotel at the other end. The village green has lime trees in each of the four corners and a chestnut tree in the middle.
The town has always been an agricultural town. One of the main crops was "woad". (That one was new to me!) The woad plant is a source of blue dye. In fact, it was the only source for blue dye in Europe until the end of the 16th century, when indigo was brought in from the Far East. Politicians of that time tried to protect the woad industry by calling indigo "evil". Woad production is making a resurrgence, as it is biodegradable and is being used for ink for inkjet printers. Extracts from the woad plant are thought to have some medicinal and cancer preventative qualities.