Ilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south-east of Taunton, and north of Ilminster in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 854. The parish includes the hamlets of Ilford and Cad Green with its 16th-century almshouses. History "The settlement on the River Isle" was one of the possessions of Athelney Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries. The current hamstone Ilford Bridge probably dates from the early 18th century when it was on the Curry Rivel to Chard turnpike road. The current A303 is just south of the village. Historic estates Merryfield About 1 mile west-north-west of the parish church, situated between the disused railway line and the disused Chard Canal, is a moated site which is all that remains of the medieval fortified manor house of Merryfield (or Muryfield), which was the seat of the ancient Wadham family. The last of the family in the direct male line was Nicholas Wadham who, with his wife Dorothy Petre, founded Wadham College, Oxford in 1610. Monuments to the Wadham family survive in the Church of St Peter, Ilton and also in the nearby Church of St Mary, Ilminster. The three sisters of Nicholas Wadham were (in their issue) his heirs, one of whom was Florence Wadham (died 1596), wife of Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, and mother of Sir John Wyndham (1558-1645). The Wyndham family, which later commonly used the first name "Wadham", inherited the estate of Merryfield and the "Wyndham Estate" is still today the largest employer in the village of Ilton. It bears no relation to the present large 19th-century grade II listed mansion known as Merryfield House, immediately south of the parish church. Chard Canal In the 18th century the Chard Canal was built close to the village. This had been intended as a part of a ship canal, passable by vessels of up to 200 tons, between the Bristol Channel and the English Channel, but was never completed. Merryfield Aerodrome North of the village is the Merryfield aerodrome, which served as a bomber base in World War II, reopened as HMS Heron II, RNAS Merryfield and was then used for helicopter training. Ilton Halt Ilton Halt was a small railway station on the Chard Branch Line between 1928 and 1962. It included a platform of concrete construction. During wartime (World War II) it also served the