Long Load

Long Load is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Yeo 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 332.^[1]

History

Long Load was recorded as ‘Lade’ in the late 12th century and ‘La Lade’ in 1285 meaning The watercourse or drainage channel from the Old English ‘lād’ or The long route (from) where goods were carried from the Old English lang and laed. It has also been suggested that the name derives from O.E. lad meaning a water-course.^[2]

Long Load's association with the river is long standing. A bridge over the river is known to have existed by 1335, while by 1448 there were wharves for the loading and unloading of cargoes from boats using the river.

The river was the subject of the abortive Ivelchester and Langport Navigation in 1795, and although the works were never completed, traffic on the river was sufficient for the coal merchants Stukey and Bagehot to establish a coal yard near the bridge by 1824. Water levels were improved by work on the river below Langport, and the 1841 census records that a salt house had been constructed. By then, 88 households lived in Long Load, including a boatman called William Gillett and his family, while another boatman lived near the bridge. Cargoes arriving at the wharves included slates, bricks, tiles and coal, while the main export was timber.^[3]

The parish was created from the northern parts of the

The church at Long Load is no longer in use as a church by the parish and has now been sold and is in the process of being redeveloped into a family home.[8]

References