The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack on The Esplanade overlooking Watchet Marina on the Somerset Coast.

It was a pleasant April day – pleasant days have been a rarity so far this year – so my wife and I decided on an afternoon drive up the A358 toward Watchet on the coast of Somerset.  The road was not very busy at all so it was an enjoyable saunter to Williton viewing the Quantock Hills to our right and the Brendon Hills to our left.

In Watchet we left the car in the spacious car park off Market Street and headed, in welcome sunshine, for The Esplanade.  The splendid life size statues of The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack, both by Scottish sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot, are in proportion to their surroundings and are an asset to the area overlooking The Marina.  Another pleasing sculpture was Watchet’s war memorial, next to the Library, which has a cross and inscription panel supported by a pier of sandbags – an unusual, but somehow fitting design.  After enjoying the view from The Esplanade we spent some time in the small, but extremely informative and well-presented Museum before heading out along the harbour wall to the lighthouse.

By the time we reached the lighthouse it was beginning to get a little chilly so as we headed back to the car we decided to search for something to eat.  On turning into Swain Street from Market Street we found Sam’s Deli, and a couple of warm sausage rolls served by a friendly and obliging young woman and man.

After a very agreeable afternoon in Watchet we headed on along the B3191 to Blue Anchor to re-join the A39 for Williton, then home to South Somerset.  

 

The statue of The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade overlooking the Marina and Harbour at Watchet on the coast of Somerset. 

The Ancient Mariner.

The words on the plaque at the base of the Statue tell the tale.

“This statue was commissioned in 2002 by the Watchet Market House Museum Society.  It was sculpted by Alan B. Herriot of Penicuik, Scotland and erected in 2003 as a tribute to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

This renowned poet resided for some years at the nearby village of Nether Stowey.  In 1797, whilst on a walking tour, Coleridge visited Watchet.  On seeing the harbour he was inspired to compose one of the best known poems in English literature, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.”

The statue of John Short ("Yankee Jack") on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

Yankee Jack.

An information board on The Esplanade tells the story of the life of Yankee Jack.  Here are a few paragraphs from that story.

“JOHN SHORT (“YANKEE JACK”), 1839-1933”

"The adjacent statue was erected as a tribute to John Short, Watchet’s famous shantyman.  For over 40 years as able seaman and later as bos’un he sailed the world in a great variety of sailing ships.  In the 1860s some of John’s ships ran the blockade in the American Civil War and because of this he was affectionately awarded the nickname of “Yankee Jack” by Watchet townsfolk.

It was a tradition aboard large sailing ships for sailors to sing sea shanties.  This assisted them to work together when hoisting sails or walking around the capstan etc.  John Short’s strong and tuneful voice often led him to take the role of solo shantyman, and over the years he memorised the words and tunes of dozens of shanties, including the well-known Rio Grande, Shenandoah, Blow the Man Down, A Roving and Spanish Ladies. 

In 1902 he was appointed as Watchet’s Town Crier and later took charge of the town’s fire brigade.  He continued to sing with other sailors around the harbourside and occasionally at local concerts.

In 1914, at the age of 75, he was introduced by the Reverend Dr. Allen Brockington, of nearby Carhampton, to Cecil Sharp, an eminent collector of folk songs and shanties.  Sharp was very impressed with the old sailor’s singing and declared that “John Short’s rich, powerful, yet flexible voice would excite the envy of many a professional vocalist”.   

Later Sir Richard Terry, another distinguished collector, visited John to gather and publish yet more shanties from his repertoire.  Had these two renowned gentlemen not met “Yankee Jack” many delightful old songs of the sailors could have been lost for ever."