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Places in Somerset "B"
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Bronze age settlements have been found near by
the village. Barwick is probably a Saxon name. It
is believed that at the time of the Doomsday book
Barwick may have been too small to have been mentioned
separately and was probably included with Yeovil.
The first documented mention of Barwick comes in
1185 when it belonged to Walter de Canteleu. The
earliest account of the Manor of Barwick appears
to be a survey made in 1277 which describes a typical
small medieval estate. In the village is a 13th
century church, and in the surrounding area of Barwick
Park are four early 19th century follies, all of
which are worth a visit.
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| An industrial centre and formerly a busy port on the River Parrett. A
tidal bore sweeps up the river when the tide is flowing. The town was
used by the Rebel Duke of Monmouth as his headquarters before the Battle
of Sedgmoor (1685). The duke was proclaimed king here as well as at
Taunton. Robert Blake (1599-1657), Cromwell's great admiral, was born in
Bridgwater; his house is now a museum. St Mary's Church, dating from the
14th century, is noted for its screen work. Castle Street is worth
seeing for its fine Georgian architecture. |
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Beech trees line the lane through the village; below, the Vale of
Taunton Deane glows red and green throughout the year. All Saints Church
is delightfully situated amid a cluster of trees. The village was the
birthplace of Andrew
Crosse (1784—1855), who pioneered experiments with electricity. The
prehistoric Ruborough Camp, 1 mile to the north, was used by the Romans
as a
fort; the site is overgrown by trees. |
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A small town in the valley of the River Brue, which is crossed by a
narrow packhorse bridge, known locally as Bruton Bow. R.D. Blackmore,
author of Lorna Doone, was a pupil at King Edward VI's grammer School,
which stands on the site of an earlier school founded in 1520 by Richard
Fitz James, Bishop of London. A Bruton stable boy, Hugh Sexey, who
became the King's Auditor, founded Sexey Hospital in 1638; the carved
wood and the triple windows are worth seeing. A three storeyed dovecot
on a hill above the town, owned by the National Trust, is all that
survives of a 12th century priory.
Its ancient Church and town buildings attract
tourists every year. |
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| A popular small seaside resort, with 7 miles of sandy beach and a
sweeping view of Bridgwater Bay. The church should be visited for the
14th-century tower, 78ft high and leaning some 3ft out of the vertical,
and for the reredos of the so-called 'Whitehall Altar'. This was
commissioned by James II from Inigo Jones for Grinling Gibbons for the
chapel of Whitehall Palace. The altar went from Whitehall to Hampton
Court and then to Westminster Abbey; George IV gave it to Bishop King of
Rochester, Vicar of Burnham in 1820. |
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Burrington is approached along a dramatic gorge, a smaller version of
Cheddar
In spring and summer, its cottage gardens are bright with flowers. There
are many caves in the gorge, which were occupied in prehistoric times.
Sheltering
from a thunderstorm in a rocky cleft in the gorge. Augustus Topladv
(1740
78), curate of neighbouring Blagdon, wrote the hymn ' Rock of Ages'. In
Burrington churchyard is a huge hollow yew tree, 24 ft in circumference.
Dolebury Camp, overlooking the gorge, is an oval Iron Age earthwork. |
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