As well as working in Dorset Martin undertook the commutation of several parishes in Somerset and Wiltshire. His first foray into Somerset was a double bill of West and Middle Chinnock. Neither are attributed to Martin by Kain. I have only seen the original maps of both parishes. Both parishes were small, West Chinnock was some six hundred and thirty seven acres, of which about four hundred and fifty were owned by the Earl of Ilchester and Middle Chinnock was some four hundred and sixty five acres of which the Earl owned all but one hundred acres or so. It is this connection that probably landed Martin the job for adjacent East Chinnock was commuted by an award made by Charles Pym and the map was drawn by George Parsons. The Earl of Ilchester had no land in East Chinnock.

At West Chinnock 139 acres of “divers lands” were subject to a 2 ½ d modus. No explanation as to why they were subject to the modus is given. Oddly East Chinnock was one of the rare exceptions to the general rule that vicars had small [lower value] tithes and the rector the great tithes [higher value tithes]. The Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi Cambridge had the great tithes of “corn and grain” but only received £150 whereas the vicar had all the other tithes which amounted to £153.

The rector of both parishes was the incumbent the Revd. Charles Digby and Martin probably conducted the commutations simultaneously. Both maps are large scale and the West Chinnock map is split into two for rather oddly the arrangement of the parishes is:

Because of the arrangement of the parishes the two parts of the West Chinnock map are linked by two construction lines. The first is from “Bridge to Letter A 49 chains” That is to say from a bridge over the Chinnock Brook to a letter drawn in plot 219 and the second says “From church to corner of N^o 178 48 chains 60 links”. The church at West Chinnock, St Margarets, situated on Poop Hill, is best described as sitting on a mound and Martin has depicted that in his drawing. The pictorial church of Middle Chinnock is somewhat simpler in style.

There are no references to Middle Chinnock in the diary but there is one entry for West Chinnock in the 1845 diary where he again he appears to be receiving the tithe rent charge on behalf of the rector.

His visit to Chinnock was possibly combined with pleasure on this occasion,

List of Commutations under the Tithe Commutation Act