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Places in Somerset "C"
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The attractive little villages of North Cadbury and South Cadbury are
noted
for the massive earthwork known as Cadbury Castle, which stands on a
steep hill west of South Cadbury. The castle, believed to be the site of
King Arthur’s Camelot, is undoubtedly the finest prehistoric camp in
Somerset,
and one of the finest in England. |
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| A pleasant village at the foot of the Quantocks. The name first
appears in Saxon Charters circa 880 as Cantuctun and two centuries later
in The Domesday Book as Cantoctona and Cantetone. Place name endings -tun,
-ton etc., invariably mean a setrtlement or village, so as Cantuc is the
British word for a ridge or chain of hills we have Cannington meaning
the Quantock Village. This is evidence that well over a millennium ago
Cannington was accepted as the premier settlement of the Quantock
region. It is a lively village with many amenities. |
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Little is known of the towns history. In 1086 is was possibly referred
to in the Domesday book as an agricultural settlement called 'Cari'. A
Norman castle of some importance was built around the end of the 11th or
the beginning of the 12th century; beseiged twice in Stephen's reign in
1138 and 1148 and then destroyed (probably) sometime after 1153. The
name Castle Cary suggests that a town was founded hear by the owner of
the Castle.
Form medieval times to the 18th century the
town was the centre of the important cloth production and marketing
industry in south-east Somerset.
The modern outskirts have little of interest, but the centre of this old
town is worth exploring. The main street contains pleasant old shops and
houses; behind the market hall stands a little circular lock-up
(scheduled as an Ancient monument of national importance), built in 1779
like a stone bee-hive, with gratings instead of windows. Castle Cary was
the home of Parson Woodforde, whose diary, published as Diary of a
Country Parson, is a classic of 18th-century country life. |
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| An isolated inn, at the meeting of the roads from Priddy; Harptree and
Chewton Mendip. It was patronised by the men who worked in the nearby
lead mines, which are now disused. A mile to the north, on the lane to
Compton Martin, a footpath leads east, past Spring Farm, within a few
hundred yards of the Devil’s Punchbowl, a notable swallet. In a field
near the Inn are traces of a Roman road from Uphill to Old Sarum; it is
now a footpath, running south—east from Hill Grange to join the road
1/mile east of Rookery Farm. There is a series of four earthwork rings,
the Priddy Circles, by the inn. Their origin is unknown. |
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The highest town in Somerset, standing nearly 400ft above sea level.
There are superb views from nearby Windwhistle Hill (733ft) and Snowdon
Hill (709ft). The town was first made a borough possibly in 1206 by a
charter from the Bishop of Bath and Wells granting 52 acres to the
burgesses of Chard. In 1253 its status was assured by the charter of
Bishop Jocelyn. Another charter from the Bishop in the same year granted
rights to a Monday market and fairs. From the 15th century the town was
dependant on the cloth industry which survived (just about) until the
19th century, when people turned to making the net which forms the basis
of machine-made lace. In 1578 much of the town and its industry was
destroyed by fire but the town soon recovered. The 16th-century Court
House, really a group of several Elizabethan houses, is Chard's most
interesting site, and the Church of St Mary has a 17th-century monument
to William Brewer, a local doctor, and his family. The Choughs Hotel in
the High Street has an Elizabethan interior, and the grammar school,
founded in 1671, is partly housed in a building dating from 1583. Two
streams flow along the High street, one going north towards the Bristol
Channel, the other south to the English Channel.
The town museum has a fine collection of old
photographs of the town. John Stringfellow, inventor of the first
power-driven aircraft, lived in High Street (now a private residence)
collections of his work can be seen in the museum. Margaret Bondfield,
born in 1873 at Furnham became Chair of the General Council of the
Trades Union Congress in 1923 and eventually became Britain's first
woman Cabinet Minister in 1923. |
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A lonely village on the heights, with the remains of Roman lead mines.
All that
can be seen now of the mines are patches of ‘gruffy ground’, where
the ‘gruffs’, or hollows, are the filled-in shafts of old mines. A
track adjoining Manor Farm leads to the heart of the former mining area,
1023 ft above sea
level. Some 2 miles west of Manor Farm, a footpath leads north from
Tyning’s
Farm across the summit of Black Down, from which the Welsh hills can be
seen. |
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A village at the foot of the famous Cheddar Gorge; the finest views of
the gorge are obtained by approaching from the north. There are more
than 400 holes or caves in the area, and in the larger ones visitors can
see stalactites and stalagmites rich in colour and fantastic of shape.
Gough's Cave Museum has a collection of Old Stone Age tools and weapons
and the skeleton, discovered in 1903, of a man who lived in the gorge
some 12,000 years ago. At the foot of the gorge the Cheddar Motor and
Transport Museum has a display of veteran cars and bicycles.
Cheddar cheese originated here more than 300 years ago. Today it is made
in more places throughout the world than any other cheese. |
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A beautiful sandstone village in the foothills. The manor house,
chiefly 18th century but with a gateway built in 1593, was the home of
novelist Evelyn
Waugh. Another distinguished resident was Sydney Smith, described in his
day
as ‘the wittiest man in England’, who served as vicar (1829—45)
and described
country life as ‘a kind of healthy grave’. At Cothelstone, 2 miles
to the east,
there is a fine Jacobean manor house. |
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This was the ‘compton’, or narrow valley, belonging to a Norman
knight called Pauncefote (‘Fat-bellied’). Opposite the village
church is the Old Rectory, a pleasant Georgian house.
Compton Castle is a Gothic fantasy built c. 1825, but the back part of
the
house is older, probably 17th century. |
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| The manor house here (not open to the public) is one of the finest
15th-century country houses in England gabled and buttressed, with
mullioned windows and roughcast walls, approached by a formidable
gatehouse, now converted into a chapel, and surrounded by splendid
gardens. |
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A small village with two Tudor manor houses, the remains of a medieval
Cross
at the foot of the church path, and a skyline of steep and thickley
wooded hills. Just north of the village, a lane leads into Ham Woods
(6oo ft). On a hill 1 1/2 miles north of Ham Woods stands Maesbury
Castle, a large prehistoric
earthwork consisting of two banks separated by a broad ditch. |
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There is some dispute over the etymology of the name Crewkerne. One
theory is that it stems from the Anglo-Saxon 'cruse'
(cross) and 'earne' (cottage or place of retirement).
The other theory is that is stems from the Welsh
'crug' (a hill or barrow). In the Doomesday book
it is called 'Cruche', but its author wrote 'ch'
for the letter 'K'.
This market town stands on a sheltered site on an east slope of the
Black Down Hills, and has been a place of importance since before the
Norman Conquest. There was almost certainly a Roman settlement here
and the Saxons chose the town as a mint for coinage
of royal money. This continued until the reign of
Henry II later to be revived, without royal authority,
in Tudor times. During the Civil War, Crewkerne,
like many other towns, took up the practice of issuing
coin tokens.
In ancient
times the manor of Crewkerne was held by the King
himself, and in his Will, Alfred the Great bequeathed
it to his younger son, Ethelward. Among the privileges
it enjoyed was the exemption from all taxes, sadly
not a tradition upehld today.
During
the Civil War the town was frequently occupied by
the Royalists and Roundheads in turn. Although Lord
Poulett, from the neighbouring village of Hinton
St George, raised a regisment for the King and must
have recruited in the town, Crewkerne was loyal
to Parliament.
Later after
the Monmouth rebellion, ten men were hanged in the
town, condemned to death by the infamous Judge Jeffries.
The ancient craft of sail-making has been given new
life through the modern interest in yachting. The Church of St
Bartholomew, mainly 15th century, has an enormous west window. On his
way to London to claim the throne in 1688, William
of Orange worshipped at the Church. There may have
been an earlier minister church on the site.
In Abbey
Road is a Jacobean building which formerly housed the ancient grammar
school, founded in 1499. Nelson's flag captain in the Victory, Captain
Hardy, was a pupil there.
Crewkerne is now a conservation
area and classified as being of outstanding architectural
and historic interest. |
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The best approach is by a steep lane from Nether Stowey which crosses
a heath with, on the right, a view of the sea and the Welsh hills
beyond. Then a
steep hill (1 in 4) leads down to the village. The village church has
handsomely carved Tudor bench-ends symbolising fertility - one of which
depicts two men struggling with a dragon. Opposite the church is the
Church House, partly Tudor, used as a school and almshouse until the
19th century. Crowcombe Court is early Georgian. On the lane leading to
Stogumber stands an ancient tree. Heddon Oak. famed for its wide—spreading
branches. |
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One of the most beautiful estates in the West Country. Cricket House
is a Georgian mansion that belonged to the Bridpurt Family, connected by
marriage
with Lord Nelson. who was a frequent visitor. The extensive grounds
contain a
wildlife park, open to the public; and the parish church of St Thomas
also stands in the grounds. |
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A tall column built by Capability Brown between
1765/1766 and known as the Parkfield Monument or
the Burton Steeple, forms a conspicuous landmark
on the high ground overlooking Sedgemoor where the
last battle in England was fought in 1685. The column
was erected by William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham,
to the memory of Sir William Pynsent who bequeathed
him the estate.
The Parish
Church of St Andrew's built of local blue Lias stone
with hamstone facings dates from around the 15th
century. The tower was built in 1860 and houses
a fine peal of eight bells. The two oak screens
are finely carved, and in the north chapel is the
tomb of a crusading knight; close by is the 17th
century tomb of Robert and Marmaduke Jennings, the
one time owners of the Burton Estates. The pews
were carved by 16th century craftsmen, and the handsome
windows contain some medieval stained glass.
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