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Places in Somerset "W"
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For centuries this small harbour served the regions of Exmoor and the
Quantocks. Coleridge chose it as the port of embarkation for his Ancient
Mariner. 'Here', he told Wordsworth, 'is where he shall set out on
his fateful voyage'. The harbour's importance declined in the 19th
century but it is still used by more than 1oo ships a year most of them
bring wood and wood pulp from the Baltic and wine from Spain and
Portugal, and export scrap metal and waste paper.
The town is also a quiet seaside resort, with fine cliffs to the west
and a sandy
beach. To the south—west are the remains of 12th—century Cleeve
Abbey, with its fine refectory and gatehouse. On the road to Williton is
the 13th—century parish church dedicated to St Decuman, who was said
to have presided at the marriage of King Arthur. |
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Fous as the scene in 878 of the Treaty of Wedmore between Alfred and
the Danes, by which the south-west of England (Wessex and most of
Mercia) was freed from the invader.
Wedmore church has a splendid carved pulpit and interesting wall
paintings of ancient date. |
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An attractive residential town, with some fine Georgian houses. It is
noted
for its ancient wool industry, which is still flourishing; cloths are
exported
from Wellington to places all over the world. The Squirrel Inn is nearly
400
years old and is now being converted for residential use: and the Three
Cups in Mantle Street was first recorded in 1694. South of the town, on
the
highest point of the Blackdown Hills, an obelisk commemorates the Duke
of Wellington, victor of Waterloo, who took his title from the town. |
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[Article from Somerset
Magazine] |
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The narrow and winding main street is noisy with cars and lorries, but
the market square and cathedral precincts escape something of the din.
Facing the
spacious green is the city’s famous cathedral. Its west front is one
of the
finest in Britain, originally embellished with nearly 400 statues of
saints, angels
and prophets; but many were destroyed in the 17th century The cathedral
was
begun late in the 12th century and completed before the middle of the
14th. Its many features of interest include the majestic north porch the
inverted arches, added in 1338 to strengthen the base of the central
tower;
the Chapter House; the humorous carved pillar—capitals in the south
transept; and the superb Lady Chapel. The Chain Gate, opposite the north
porch, leads to Vicar’s Close, a street of 14th—century houses. |
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| A pretty town, interesting as being once the residence of Sir Reginald
Fitzurse, one of the murderers of Thomas a Becket. The fine mansion and
grounds of Orchard Wyndham lie about 1 mile west of the town.
[Article
from Somerset Magazine] |
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A small but busy place, full of attractive stone houses. Its medieval
name was
Wincaleton, or the town on the River Wincawel (now the Cale). The town
stands on a hill overlooking the Blackmoor Vale, a rich dairy district
of varied and unspoilt scenery. Wincanton is a good Centre for exploring
this area. |
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A delightful village on the River Esc, with a hilltop church and a
picturesque thatched inn. A lane leads 3 miles south-west to Tarr Steps,
a stone clapper
bridge across the River Bane. In the freak storm of 1952, the water ran
so
strongly that the ancient bridge was washed away and had to be rebuilt. |
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| A market town possessing slight remains of a bishop's palace, as well
as of Roman and Danish fortifications. |
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Some 2 miles north—east (If this village is the famous group of
caves known as
Wookey Hole. (The name Wookey derives from the Old English word wocig,
meaning a trap for animals.) The first three chambers of the caves are
now
floodlit; the River Ave flows through them before widdening into a lake.
A
well—known feature of the caves is ‘the Witch of Wookey’, a huge
stalagmite.
The legend that a witch once lived in the caves was corroborated in
1912, when excavations revealed a womans skeleton deep in the floor,
close to a dagger, a sacrificial knife and a round stalagmite like a
witch’s crystal. Wookey Hole was occupied in the Iron Age, while
nearby Hyena Cave was occupied by
Stone Age hunters when rhinocerouses, mammoths, lions and bears roamed
the Mendips. Finds from the caves are displayed in the local museum and
in Wells Museum. From Wookey Hole a footpath leads east to Upper Milton
and then south to Wells.
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Though lying scarcely a mile from a busy main road, this is a peaceful
little
place with a green flanked by beeches, elms and risks. During the Middle
Ages
it was held by a knight from Champfleury in Normandy. The Manor house
stands
near a church whose box pews have their own hat—pegs; on one wall are
the
armorial bearings of Henry Southworth, who built the church in 1623. |
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