Laying out the Dolemoors

On the Saturday before Old Midsummer Day the two common moors called Dolemoors, in the parishes of Congresbury, Week St Lawrence and Puxton, were shared out among those with rights in them. A bell at Puxton called them to church to see the eighteen-yard chain measured against marks cut in the stones, and then on the moors a boy drew marked apples from a bag, one for each acre measured, and the mark on each apple was cut into the turf. A reserved piece was let by inch of candle, and the day ended in a boisterous revel with strong ale and fights. The moors were enclosed in 1811 and the custom stopped.