Stanton Prior
Stanton Prior is a small village, within the civil parish of Marksbury, set in Duchy of Cornwall countryside, south west from the UK city of Bath, Somerset.
Stanton Prior derives its name from the Old English 'Stantona' and is reputed to be one of the smallest villages in Somerset, consisting of two farms, 21 houses and the Church of St Lawrence, which has its origins in the 12th century but is mainly 15th century and underwent heavy restoration in 1860. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.
The village was the property of Saxon Kings who gave it to Bath Abbey before the Norman Conquest and it was help by the Prior until the dissolution of the monasteries. It was then granted to Thomas Horner, who sold it to General Erington in 1544. The parish of Stanton Prior was part of the Keynsham Hundred.
Close by, on Stantonbury Hill, are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort known as Stantonbury Camp, which lies on the line of Wansdyke. Stanton is home to a rare chain pump, albeit without its chain.
