 The Abbots of Muchelney Abbey held the <unk> of the parish church of Somerton during the Middle Ages . They built a tithe barn , to house the tithes of crops and produce paid by the parish to the town 's Rector . The Abbey was dissolved in 1539 during the English Reformation , and the tithes and the tithe barn passed into the ownership of Bristol Cathedral . In the 20th century the barn was converted into private housing . 
