Zeals
Encyclopedia
Zeals is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire
, England
. The village is next to the A303 road
between Wincanton
and Mere
, and adjoins the villages of Bourton, Dorset
and Penselwood
, Somerset
.
Its name comes from the Old English sealh meaning a small willow
or sallow.
times. The village borders the western edge of Salisbury Plain
, and is 23 miles (37 km) from Stonehenge
. There are bowl barrow
s on Mappledine Hill in the south east corner of the parish, and early prehistoric activity at Pen Pits to the north which were quarried since Roman times for greensand
querns
for hand grinding corn.
In 1086 the Domesday Book
recorded that the area of Zeals consisted of two estates: Lower Zeals (later the Manor of Zeals, or Clevedon) and Higher Zeals (later Zeals Aylesbury). Estimates suggest a population of 40 to 50 at Lower Zeals and 85-95 at Higher Zeals at that time.
The Church of England parish church
of Saint Martin
was built in 1842-44 to decorated gothic designs by the Gothic Revival architect
George Gilbert Scott
. It was consecrated on 14 October 1846 as a chapel of ease
of the parish of Mere
. On 27 June 1848 Zeals was made a separate ecclesiastical parish and St. Martin's became the parish church.
Zeals has a set of Tudor revival-style almshouse
s that were built in 1865.
and the Stourhead estate
is the site of the former RAF Zeals
, also known as HMS Hummingbird and RNAS Zeals. The site operated between May 1942 and June 1946, and during this short time was used by the Royal Air Force
, the United States Army Air Forces
and the Royal Navy
. Until August 1943 RAF Fighter Command
used it as a base for Hurricanes
and Spitfires
. The site was transferred in August 1943 to the USAAF whose initial plan was to use the airfield to maintain C-47 Skytrain
transport aircraft. However, the damp conditions prevented heavy loads so P-47 Thunderbolt
fighter aircraft were flown from Zeals instead. From March 1944 the airfield reverted to the RAF who based Mosquito
at it to intercept incoming German bombers. Following D-Day
, the RAF used the airfield for glider training in preparation for action against Japan, and in April 1945 the airfield was taken over by the Royal Navy base at HMS Heron
who used the airfield for aircraft carrier
training.
The site was closed from January 1946 and in June it was returned to farmland. As of 2006, the control tower, now a private house, remains on Bells Lane in Zeals.
A memorial stands at nearby Beech Knoll in Stourton to mark the site where a Dakota transport plane crashed in February 1945, killing more than twenty people. The plane had taken off from Zeals airfield to return to Lincolnshire after two weeks of glider training and flew into some cloud-covered beech trees on the knoll.
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The village is next to the A303 road
A303 road
The A303 is a 92-mile long trunk road in England. It is the main road between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon. The M3, the A303 and the A30 together make up one of the main routes from London to South West England, running from London to Land's End in Cornwall...
between Wincanton
Wincanton
Wincanton is a small town in south Somerset, southwest England. The town lies on the A303 road, the main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry...
and Mere
Mere, Wiltshire
Mere is a small town in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset....
, and adjoins the villages of Bourton, Dorset
Bourton, Dorset
Bourton is a village in north Dorset, England, situated north of the A303 road on the border with Somerset and Wiltshire between Mere and Wincanton. The village has a population of 772 and marks the northernmost point in Dorset...
and Penselwood
Penselwood
Penselwood is a village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It is located north east of Wincanton, south east of Bruton, west of Mere, and north west of Gillingham. The south-east of the parish borders Zeals and Stourhead in Wiltshire, and Bourton in Dorset...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
Its name comes from the Old English sealh meaning a small willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
or sallow.
History
There is archeological evidence of human activity in Zeals as far back as neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times. The village borders the western edge of Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, and is 23 miles (37 km) from Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
. There are bowl barrow
Bowl barrow
Bowl Barrow is the name for a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from the fact that it looks like an upturned bowl...
s on Mappledine Hill in the south east corner of the parish, and early prehistoric activity at Pen Pits to the north which were quarried since Roman times for greensand
Greensand
Greensand or Green sand is either a sand or sandstone, which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment, that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called glauconies and consist of a mixture of mixed-layer clay...
querns
Quern-stone
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand grinding a wide variety of materials. They were used in pairs. The lower, stationary, stone is called a quern, whilst the upper, mobile, stone is called a handstone...
for hand grinding corn.
In 1086 the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
recorded that the area of Zeals consisted of two estates: Lower Zeals (later the Manor of Zeals, or Clevedon) and Higher Zeals (later Zeals Aylesbury). Estimates suggest a population of 40 to 50 at Lower Zeals and 85-95 at Higher Zeals at that time.
The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
was built in 1842-44 to decorated gothic designs by the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
. It was consecrated on 14 October 1846 as a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
of the parish of Mere
Mere, Wiltshire
Mere is a small town in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset....
. On 27 June 1848 Zeals was made a separate ecclesiastical parish and St. Martin's became the parish church.
Zeals has a set of Tudor revival-style almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
s that were built in 1865.
Zeals airfield
North of Zeals village, next to the village of StourtonStourton, Wiltshire
Stourton is a village in Wiltshire, England, at . The village is close to the county boundary with Somerset and about south of the Somerset market town of Frome.Stourton is part of the Stourhead estate, now in the ownership of the National Trust....
and the Stourhead estate
Stourhead
Stourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...
is the site of the former RAF Zeals
RAF Zeals
RAF Zeals was a wartime Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire.The station was sited to the north of the village of Zeals, next to the village of Stourton and the Stourhead estate.The station was only in operation from 1942 to 1946...
, also known as HMS Hummingbird and RNAS Zeals. The site operated between May 1942 and June 1946, and during this short time was used by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, the United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Until August 1943 RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
used it as a base for Hurricanes
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
and Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
. The site was transferred in August 1943 to the USAAF whose initial plan was to use the airfield to maintain C-47 Skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
transport aircraft. However, the damp conditions prevented heavy loads so P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
fighter aircraft were flown from Zeals instead. From March 1944 the airfield reverted to the RAF who based Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
at it to intercept incoming German bombers. Following D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, the RAF used the airfield for glider training in preparation for action against Japan, and in April 1945 the airfield was taken over by the Royal Navy base at HMS Heron
HMS Heron
Several ships of the Royal Navy has been named HMS Heron after the wading bird.* HMS Heron, an 18 gun 340 ton sloop purchased June 1804 . Renamed HMS Volcano in 1810 following conversion to a bomb vessel...
who used the airfield for aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
training.
The site was closed from January 1946 and in June it was returned to farmland. As of 2006, the control tower, now a private house, remains on Bells Lane in Zeals.
A memorial stands at nearby Beech Knoll in Stourton to mark the site where a Dakota transport plane crashed in February 1945, killing more than twenty people. The plane had taken off from Zeals airfield to return to Lincolnshire after two weeks of glider training and flew into some cloud-covered beech trees on the knoll.