A stroll around the centre of the ancient South Somerset market town of Ilminster.

Recently I had a quick stroll around the historic centre of Ilminster, one of South Somerset’s ancient market towns.  Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the town takes its name from the little River Isle which passes close by and the Church of St. Mary, also known as The Minster. 

At the bottom of North Street is The George public house, obviously once a coaching inn, where the plaque above the door proudly states: “Queen Victoria stopped here one night, 23rd December 1819, this hotel being the first at which she ever stayed”.  However, I doubt that the future Queen Victoria remembered much of her visit to Ilminster as she was less than a year old at the time and travelling with her father, the Duke of Kent, to Sidmouth in Devonshire.

The George public house in Ilminster, South Somerset.

A few more steps brought me to the Market Square where stands the Market House with its Tuscan columns.  It was “newly built in 1813” according to Pevsner. Its colourful hanging baskets and the nearby traditional phone box made a picturesque photo.  

The Market House in Ilminster, South Somerset.

On the wall next to the Co-op a very informative information board shows a timeline of Ilminster’s eventful past.  Opposite, next to Boots, another information board tells of the Pitchfork Rebellion of 1685 and Ilminster’s role in the Duke of Monmouth’s doomed bid to seize throne of England.

Turning west along Silver Street soon brings into view the imposing Church of St. Mary behind which stands what was once Ilminster Grammar School.  The school is described by Arthur Mee in his The King's England, Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1968) as: “. . . proudly facing the churchyard, a fine Tudor building with massive walls, stone mullions, a grand old doorway, ancient glass in the windows, and a sundial which has marked the sunny hours since Elizabeth I’s day.”  The school closed in 1971 and has been converted into private dwellings.

St. Mary's Church, known as The Minster, in Ilminster, South Somerset.  The building on the right behind the church is what used to be Ilminster Grammar School. 

I cut back through Church Walk to North Street and, having taken some photos, my short stroll around Ilminster’s town centre was over.