Bruton - History

History

Bruton was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Briuuetone, meaning 'Vigorously flowing river' from the Old English tor and Celtic briw meaning vigour. The river has been the site of several watermills and in 2003 the South Somerset Hydropower Group installed their first hydroelectric turbine at Gants Mill at nearby Pitcombe.

It was the site of Bruton Abbey, a medieval Augustinian priory from which a wall remains in the Plox close to Bow Bridge. The priory was sold after the dissolution of the monasteries to the Berkley family and converted into a mansion which was demolished in the 18th century.

Bruton was part of the hundred of Bruton.

Bruton is referenced in a well-known English folk song, The Bramble Briar. A very rare copy of an Inspeximus of Magna Carta was discovered in Bruton in the 1950s and claimed by King's School, Bruton. The sale of the school's copy to the Australian National Museum paid for a great deal of the building work at the school.

Much of the towns history is exhibited at the Bruton Museum. The museum is housed in the Dovecote Building, in the towns High Street. The building also contains a tourist information office. The Bruton Museum Society was formed in 1989 and involved the community and local schools in the development of the collection of local artefacts. It was initially housed in the basement of the Co-Op and then in a disused Coach House owned by the National Westminster Bank. The museum moved to its current location in 1999 after it was jointly purchased by South Somerset District Council and Bruton Town Council. The time spent in the town by John Steinbeck is commemorated in the museum. They have also organised exhibitions at King's School including one in 2008 of the work of Ernst Blensdorf. In 2010 an anonymous donor agreed to pay the rent on the building, removing earlier doubts about the future viability of the museum.