The Church of St. Aldhelm and St. Eadburga in the South Somerset village of Broadway, and an epitaph of note.

 The village of Broadway is situated to the west of Ilminster in South Somerset, just a few hundred yards off the A358.  Writing over 50 years ago in his The King’s England – Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1968) Arthur Mee tells us of Broadway: “It stands on an ancient track cut through a royal forest, leading straight as an arrow to the fortified hill of Castle Neroche; it is said that the wide verges of this old road were for preventing robbers from hiding close enough to spring out on the unwary traveller.”  I am not sure where the “wide verges” are, but when I visited the village, on the way to the parish church the 13^th century Church of St. Aldhelm and St. Eadburga, the lanes were narrow and the hedgerows thick and tall.

Broadway’s village church stands some way outside the village because, it is thought, of an outbreak of the plague.  Ronald Webber in his The Devon and Somerset Blackdowns (Robert Hale & Company, 1976) informs us: “The church of St. Aldhelm and St. Eadburgha (sic), well outside the village, has a chancel and transept of late 13^th century or early 14^th century construction.  The interior abounds with solid oak bench ends with a preponderance of poppy heads.  The chancel has carved beams and bosses while the 16^th century pulpit has carved panels depicting the five wounds of Christ.  An octagonal font of the Perpendicular period has a small figure on each side.”

The Church of St. Aldhelm and St. Eadburga in the South Somerset village of Broadway.

There does seem some uncertainty as to who the church is dedicated.  St. Aldhelm was an Anglo-Saxon literature scholar born in the 7^th century.  He became Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey and Bishop of Sherborne.  However, there is some confusion over St. Eadburga.  Is the dedication meant for St. Eadburh of Winchester granddaughter of King Alfred, or St. Eadburga of Bicester an English saint from the 7^th century and a daughter of King Penda of Mercia?  English Heritage gives the dedication as St. Eadburh while outside the church a sign names it St. Aldhelm and St. Eadburga. 

Whatever its name may be, it is a charming little church with a well maintained graveyard.  Several of the gravestones have interesting epitaphs, but the following one in particular caught my eye.  It was on the reverse of the gravestone of one Frank Fawcett who died on 13 June 1971, aged 73 – the words suggest he was a farmer:

Teach me to work

diligently, with courage

and fortitude, but above

all with meekness and

humility, not striving for

profit or the gratification

of vanity, but seeking

rather to produce the fruits

of your good earth so that

my fellow creatures and

the community in which

they live may enjoy them.

King Alfred's Tower on the Stourhead Estate. Commemorating the gathering of the Anglo-Saxons before the defeat of the Danes at Edington.

This month saw the anniversary of the Battle of Edington when King Alfred the Great’s Anglo-Saxons decisively defeated the Danish army of King Guthrum between the 6th and 12th July in 878, so I decided to visit King Alfred’s Tower on the National Trust’s Stourhead Estate.  

Stourhead is well signposted from the A303.  On reaching the main entrance, signs for Alfred’s Tower direct you to carry straight on then guide you west along narrow and potholed country lanes.  Eventually you will see the spacious National Trust car park just over the hedge in the woods on the northern side of the lane, but be advised to drive slowly or you may not spot it.  From the car park cross the road and you will see an information board with Alfred’s Tower standing an easy walk to the west.

King Alfred’s Tower, a 160ft high brick built folly, stands at the summit of Kingsettle Hill just inside the county of Somerset and is said to be near the spot where Alfred rallied the Anglo-Saxons before the Battle of Edington.  It was designed in 1765 by Henry Flitcroft for the banker Henry Hoare II and completed in 1772.  Hoare conceived the tower as a commemoration of the end of the Seven Years War and the accession to the throne of King George III, as well as a tribute to Alfred the Great.

King Alfred's Tower on the National Trust's Stourhead Estate, viewed from the east.

Approaching the tower from the east, along a wide straight and level grassed area between the trees, you will see the carved figure of King Alfred above a commemorative stone tablet.  I could not read the words on the tablet with the naked eye as they have become weatherworn over time, but they read:

ALFRED THE GREAT

AD879 on this Summit

Erected his Standard

Against Danish Invaders

To him We owe The Origin of Juries

The Establishment of a Militia

The Creation of a Naval Force

ALFRED The Light of a Benighted Age

Was a Philosopher and a Christian

The Father of his People

The Founder of the English

MONARCHY and LIBERTY

Presumably Hoare or his stonemason got the date of the Battle of Edington wrong, but the words are inspiring none the less.

King Alfred's Tower on the National Trust's Stourhead Estate, viewed from the west.

War in a more modern age intruded upon the tranquillity of the tower when on the 10th July 1944 a USAAF Noordyun UC64A Norseman single-engine light transport aircraft hit the top of the tower in thick fog.  The pilot had intended to land at the nearby wartime airfield of Zeals, but was unable to do so because of the bad visibility.  Tragically the Norseman crashed just west of the tower on Hillcombe Farm, South Brewham killing the five Americans on board.

I spent a peaceful and relaxing two hours under a clear blue sky strolling around the tower and the surrounding woods.  During that time I came across only a dozen or so people, half of them walking their dogs, all were pleasant and no one disturbed the calm – even the dogs were silent!

For the drive home I decided to head west from the car park rather than return the way I came.  It was an interesting, to say the least, drive down Kingsettle Hill.  The road was steep and narrow, and even more badly potholed than before.  Several times I had to squeeze into bank or hedgerow on the approach of oncoming traffic, but the going was firm and everyone was being considerate – and careful.  Unfortunately I could not take in much of the wonderful scenery as the twists and turns in the narrow country lanes meant concentrating on what might be around the next corner!  

Back on the B3081, heading for Wincanton and the A303, I came upon Wincanton Racecourse.  It was a race day.  If I had started my day out a little earlier I could have spent the afternoon at the races! 

Staple Hill, the highest point on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

Staple Hill in Somerset is, at 1,033 feet, the highest point on the Blackdown Hills.  It is also the site of a Forestry Commission Plantation through which passes the Staple Fitzpaine herepath, a part of the Anglo-Saxon military road network initiated in the ninth century.

The Forestry Commission has provided a spacious car park, footpaths and seating which allows visitors to enjoy some impressive views across Somerset.

There are fine views over the Vale of Taunton Deane to the Quantock Hills and, on a clear day, one can see north over Bridgwater Bay to Brean Down, Weston-super-Mare and Kewstoke with the Welsh coast and mountains visible on the far side of the Bristol Channel.

The view north from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.  At the top of the picture the Welsh coast, 45 miles distant, can be seen through the gap between Brean Down and Kewstoke.

The views to the north-east, along the foothills of the Blackdowns, encompass the Somerset Levels with Glastonbury Tor, Burrow Mump and the Burton Pynsent Monument clearly visible.  The low ridge of the Polden Hills can be seen and the Mendip Hills are on the horizon.  A pair of binoculars and a good map add to the pleasure of spotting these and other landmarks. 

Looking north-east from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills.  Spot the Burton Pynsent Monument near Curry Rivel. 

The view to the north-east from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills across the Somerset Levels to the Mendips. 

Dunster Castle, near Minehead, in West Somerset. A fairy tale spot with spectacular views of the Bristol Channel.

The second Friday of a dull March produced some sunshine so I decided to take my camera to Dunster Castle, near Minehead, for the afternoon.  It is a National Trust property; Colonel Walter Luttrell gave The Castle and most of its contents to the Trust in 1976.

The journey up the A358 to Williton took a little longer than I anticipated: there was a bad accident with police and fire brigade in attendence on the dual carriageway south of Henlade while at Bishops Lydeard roadworks were causing long queues. Nevertheless, the drive north from Taunton through picturesque villages and bucolic countryside to Williton was relaxing and enjoyable.

Join the A39 and it is but a short journey through the villages of Washford, Bilbrook and Carhampton before you come across the tor which guards the approach to Minehead.  Upon this high pointed hill stands Dunster Castle.  

Colin Wintle succinctly describes The Castle in his Around Historic Somerset and Avon (Midas Books, 1978), he wrote nearly 40 years ago:

“It stands high over a setting so pictorially lovely as to be almost unbelievably romantic – a fairy tale spot, yet only a few hundred yards from the busy main road (A396) east of Minehead. 

On the site once stood a Saxon fortress.  When the Normans came the Conqueror granted it to the de Mohuns, but the oldest existing masonry is the late thirteenth century gateway.  By 1376 the Castle had changed hands.  Elizabeth Lutterell bought the demesne from the de Mohuns, and it remained in the family until Colonel Lutterell gave it to the National Trust – after exactly six centuries of occupation by his family.”(Sic).

The entrance to the National Trust car park is directly off the A39 and through the parkland.  Parking was easy, no doubt due to the time of year.  There is a steep walk up to the Gatehouse.

Dunster Castle and the view toward the Bristol Channel from the Keep Garden.

I spent the afternoon wandering around the footpaths which wend their way up through woods and terraced borders to the Keep Garden.  There are no longer any ancient structures there, but it is the highest point on the hill and provides some fine views of the Castle.  From Green Court, opposite the Gatehouse, I was able to look down upon the village of Dunster with its Priory Church of St. George, built of red sandstone and possessing a massive four stage tower.  Being such a clear day there were wonderful views from the battlements of the Quantock Hills and out over the Bristol Channel to the coast of Wales.  The huge block-like structure of the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, 14 miles away as the crow flies, was distinctly visible.

The Priory Church of St. George in the village of Dunster, viewed from Green Court near the Gatehouse.

I spent so much time taking in the views that I did not have time to go inside any of the buildings or explore the parkland.  Dunster Castle, as will the village of Dunster, needs several visits to appreciate fully.

This little chap was patrolling the battlements.

Axbridge in Somerset. A visit to The Lamb Inn, King John's Hunting Lodge and the Church of St.John the Baptist.

The last few weeks of winter have been particularly cold and bleak, not the sort of weather for venturing out to seek a picturesque view.  So when driving back down the A38 on a very chilly day after an unavoidable trip to Bristol I noticed the sign for Axbridge at Shute Shelve Hill and was reminded of a pleasant summer visit there a few years ago.  My wife and I, with some friends, had a very enjoyable lunch sitting outside at the Lamb Inn, a coaching inn dating from 1480, on a corner of Axbridge’s charming medieval square.

The Lamb Inn, Axbridge in Somerset.  A coaching inn dating from 1480. 

In days of old the town was a convenient and favourite base for royal hunting parties ranging over the Royal Forest of Mendip.  Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon King Edmund, brother of Athelstan, nearly met his death riding over Cheddar Gorge while stag-hunting.

Colin Wintle in his Around Historic Somerset and Avon, (Midas Books, 1978) writes this of Axbridge: “Medieval kings, with their passion for hunting, gave Axbridge considerable status, but of all the Norman and subsequent Plantagenet monarchs who came there for sport King John is most remembered.  There in a central position facing the main square is a building traditionally known as King John’s Hunting Lodge – and the site of a similar retreat once occupied by his Saxon predecessors.  The building is an early Tudor merchant’s house.  Now a National Trust property, it contains a museum of local history and archaeology.  The oldest existing building in Axbridge is its noble fifteenth century church with a fine tower, standing on an eminence overlooking the parish.”

King John's Hunting Lodge in Axbridge.

Nestling between the foothills of the Mendips and the Somerset Levels, Axbridge grew from a fortified Saxon burgh and was an important wool producer in the Middle Ages.  It held markets and fairs, had its own mint, and even its own river port in its early days.  Its narrow streets leading to the square were once a challenge to both horse drawn and motorised vehicles, but today there is far less through traffic now that the A371 effectively bypasses the town and speeds tourists from the A38 directly to ever popular Cheddar and its Gorge. 

Signposts direct you to a handy car park not far from the square so one has plenty of time to have meal, visit King John’s Hunting Lodge with its museum and climb the imposing steps leading to the Church of St. John the Baptist.

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Axbridge, Somerset. 

St. Andrew's Church in the village of Aller in South Somerset where the Danish King Guthrum was baptised after his defeat by Alfred the Great.

At this time of year I thought posting about notable churches in South Somerset might be appropriate!

The village Church of St. Andrew in Aller has Saxon origins and is where the Danish King Guthrum was baptised after his defeat by Alfred the Great at the Battle of Edington in 878AD and the subsequent Treaty of Wedmore.

Today the village rambles along the A372 below Aller Hill midway between Othery and Langport in South Somerset.  The Church is on the fringe of the village, alongside the Victorian Aller Court, looking out over Aller Moor. 

Over one hundred years ago Edward Hutton in his Highways & Byways in Somerset (Macmillan & Co., 1912) wrote of Aller: “Its little church stands firmly upon a rising ground well out of the marsh, and, wonderful to relate, within is the very font in which Guthrum was made a Christian more than a thousand years ago.”

St. Andrew's Church in the village of Aller in South Somerset.  

Aller is also noteworthy as being where Parliamentarians under the command of Fairfax captured the remnants of the Royalist forces after their defeat at the key Battle of Langport in 1645.

Watchet Harbour on the Somerset Coast.

I had never visited Watchet Harbour so, as it was a warm, bright and sunny September day, I set off north along the A358 towards the Somerset Coast to take a look.  On leaving Taunton the road twists and turns up and down past prettily named villages and hamlets such as Combe Florey, Seven Ash and Sampford Brett.  The road was quiet and I was able to enjoy a relatively slow drive without getting in anyone’s way.  I stopped several times before reaching Williton to take in the beauty of the Quantock Hills to the east and the foothills of the Brendon Hills to the west – and savour the peace and quiet.  At Williton I joined the A39 for a short distance until, at the Tropiquaria, turning right onto the B3190 to Watchet.

The town has several convenient pay-and-display car parks; I was able to park just 25 yards from the harbour wall.  I spent a couple of hours wandering along the harbour wall with binoculars and camera.  It was a clear day allowing fine views of both the English and the Welsh side of the Bristol Channel.

A view from Watchet Harbour wall looking east through the harbour entrance across St.Audries Bay to the Quantock Hills. 

The tidal harbour is no longer in use, but it has a long and varied history.  The Saxons arrived in the area in the late seventh century.  By the time of Alfred the Great, Watchet had become an important Anglo-Saxon port.  By the seventeenth century ships were trading throughout the Bristol Channel and the Irish Sea as well as with London and the Continent.  Trade through the harbour reached its zenith in the second half of the nineteenth century with exports of iron ore from the Brendon Hill mines and imports of Welsh coal.

The harbour was badly damaged by a severe storm in December 1900.  It was soon repaired and trade continued during the next century until the port closed to commercial traffic in 1999.  In 2001 the harbour was divided to provide an enclosed marina with capacity for 250 yachts.

Watchet Esplanade, from where the marina can be viewed.

On leaving the harbour wall I strolled along the picturesque Market Street, with its museum, as far as Watchet Esplanade which overlooks the marina.  Then, with the parking meter in mind, it was time to go back to the car and head west up the narrow streets of Watchet and make for Blue Anchor along the B3191 – but that’s another blogpost.

For more detail on the history of Watchet Harbour and mining iron ore on the Brendon Hills, these links are of great interest:

 http://www.watchetmuseum.co.uk/maritime/

http://www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk/welcome/a-short-history/mining/

Today is Somerset Day. Celebrate and be thankful for all that is great about our wonderful County.

Not only should we celebrate our County on Somerset Day we must also treasure it.  Who could disagree with the sentiments of Bryan Little in the final paragraph of the penultimate chapter of his Portrait of Somerset (Robert Hale,1969):

"What is vital for the character and good standing of Somerset is the continued existence, and enhancement, of such urban beauties as those which can be found in Georgian Bath, in the Barchesterian ambiance of Wells, along the main street of Chard, pre-eminently in Bruton and Dunster, in Frome, Somerton, Crewkerne, and in many other large villages and towns.  Out in the countryside I hope that we shall long see and appreciate the steeps of the Mendips, the Quantock ridge and the combes below it, the whole sweet countryside down by the Dorset border, the varied, unspoiled charms of the Dundon and Somerton hills, Avalon, Brent Knoll and the lesser hills and isles which rise above the central plain.  We must treasure the rhine-crossed flats and the willows of the moors, and above all the manifold, proud pre-Reformation glory of Somerset's noble church towers."

The quote below is taken from the Visit Somerset website.  Here is a link:
http://www.visitsomerset.co.uk/whats-on/somerset-day-p2030723

" . . . celebrate Somerset Day and everything that is great about our wonderful County.

In early 2015, 8,000 people voted in an online poll to choose King Alfred to be the theme for the new 11th May annual Somerset Day celebration.

On 11th May 878, Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, gathered ‘all the people of Somerset’ to march against and defeat the invading Danish army. By the time of his death he had become the dominant ruler in England and is the only English monarch to be accorded the title "the Great".

The Inaugural Somerset Day Celebration was held on Monday 11th May 2015 at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, attended by His Grace the Duke of Somerset, Patron, and many Mayors and dignitaries from across the historic County of Somerset. Other events were held across the county."

The Battle of Cynuit near Combwich in Somerset. Key to King Alfred's decisive victory over the Danes at Edington.

My interest in Combwich and the Battle of Cynuit was aroused in a rather roundabout fashion which began with a newspaper article on an aspect of Cornish nationalism.  Apparently Cornish nationalists have come up with the idea of place names on signposts being in English and Cornish in order to promote the Cornish language.  The thought struck me that something similar could be done here in Somerset in order to preserve and promote the Somerset dialect.  So, I consulted my copy of Roger Evans’ Don’t Tell I, Tell ‘Ee!  An affectionate look at the Somerset dialect (Countryside Books, 2008).  In the chapter on the pronunciation of Somerset place names, alongside the more well-known Weston-super-Mare pronounced “Wessun” and Crewkerne pronounced “Crook-urn”, was Combwich pronounced “Cummidge”.

I had never come across Combwich before so I went back to the bookshelves for a little more research.  Combwich is mentioned in most histories and guides on Somerset.  However, in Ralph Whitlock’s Somerset (Batsford, 1975) and the Reverend E.H.Smith’s Happy Memories of West Somerset in 100 Pictures (1945) there is mention of the Battle of Cynuit.  Further reading revealed the significance of the fighting which took place in this quiet corner of Somerset over eleven hundred years ago.

Cynuit – the key to victory.  In the year 878AD the Anglo-Saxon campaign against the Danes begun in Somerset, and led by Alfred the Great, saved the Kingdom of Wessex and thus determined the future of English nationhood and western Christian civilisation.

It could be argued that the key to Alfred’s campaign and ultimate victory over the Danes at Edington (Ethandune) was the earlier battle of Cynuit (or Cynwit) near Combwich, a village on the west bank of the River Parrett.

A view of the harbour at Combwich on the west bank of the River Parrett.

Following his escape from Chippenham and flight to Somerset Alfred conducted a guerrilla campaign from his fortress on the Isle of Athelney against Guthrum and his Danes based in the Polden Hills.

Guthrum, unable to get to grips with Alfred’s forces because of the lakes and marshes around Athelney, sent for ships and men of the Danish fleet which had wintered over in Wales.  Consequently the Dane Hubba sailed with 23 ships and 1400 men for the River Parrett intending to force a passage upriver toward the Isle of Athelney.  However, Hubba’s progress was halted where the river narrows at Combwich, by Odda, Alderman of Devonshire, and his Saxons.  Hubba and his men disembarked and battle commenced. 

Under ferocious Danish assault the Saxons were forced to retreat inland to the hill-fort of Cynuit (the present day site of Cannington Park) one and a half miles south west from Combwich.  The Danes, confident of success, prepared to lay siege to the fort, but the next morning Odda and his Saxons, with nothing to lose, launched a counter attack.  Hubba and 850 (some sources say 1,200) of his men were slain, the survivors fled to their ships.  Odda and his victorious Saxons then made their way to Athelney to bolster King Alfred’s forces on his island fortress.



Cynuit hill-fort viewed from the east.  The hill, the present day site of Cannington Park, is 262ft high.

Guthrum’s Danes on the Polden Hills were now constantly harassed by Saxon raiders from Athelney.  Meanwhile, Alfred travelled to Egbert’s Stone on the east of Selwood in Wiltshire where an army of Saxons from Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire was gathering.

Alfred led his Saxon army west from Wiltshire to the Polden Hills then on along the ridge to Edington (Ethandune) where the Danes, demoralised and lacking reinforcements after the Battle of Cynuit,  were decisively defeated.

Evidence of battle.  There is, of course the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the writings of Asser, Alfred’s official biographer, to ponder.  Physical evidence has been found in quarries in the vicinity of Cynuit as the Reverend E.H.Smith reports: “As mute witnesses of the severity of the battle men’s bones are constantly being exhumed above the quarry now being worked on the site of the fight – in fact the writer has himself picked up and examined many, and at widely different dates, as fresh areas of quarry are opened out.”

An alternative history.  Yes, yes I know, Hubba could have been a Viking, Cynuit might have been in Devonshire at Contisbury Hill or Castle Hill near Beaford while Edington in Wiltshire is suggested as “Ethandune”.  However, in my view history is fifty per cent fact and fifty per cent opinion, so, especially as I was born in the county, I am happy to support the judgement that all the action took place in Somerset!

      

 

 

City-regions. A Trojan horse for the balkanisation of England.

Divide and Conquer?

Lacking an English Parliament to give them a collective voice, English city-regions and traditional shire counties competing with each other for funds allocated by central government provide the ideal background for a British Establishment determined to retain political control over England and the English.

Moreover, there exists the potential for conflict within a city-region as Prof. Robert Hazell states (The English Question, 2006): "There is a risk of urban dominance with the cities and their leaders being perceived as neglecting the separate identities and interests of rural areas." He also writes: "Finally, some of the arguments advanced against city regions are similar to those advanced against regional assemblies: that they are essentially technocratic, of interests to elites not ordinary people, and at best a patchwork solution." 

Still relevant today, this letter published in the Bristol Evening Post on October 10th, 2014 and in the Western Daily Press on November 6th 2014, was in favour of re-uniting and re-empowering England's traditional counties and argues against devolution in the form of city-regions.

City regions unwelcome and unwanted.

It appears that Bristol mayor George Ferguson is among those who are promoting the plan for city-regions. Would he like to have control over a swathe of England stretching all the way from Bath to the Bristol Channel?

Who knows what else a Bristol city-region might encompass – perhaps Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, possibly even Devonshire and Cornwall too?

Be that as it may, city-regions would be a Trojan horse for regional government, the eventual balkanisation of England and the perfect tactic for a British political establishment determined to prevent the creation of an English Parliament.

Rural areas and the green belt would fall under the control of dominant cities and eventually disappear under a shroud of concrete and tarmac as urbanisation of the countryside inevitably followed.

To buttress England against this unhappy future our shire counties, weakened and dismembered by the Conservatives’ Local Government Act of 1972, must be reformed and re-empowered to act as a counterbalance to the vigour of our great cities.

The administrative County of Somerset, for example, should be re-united within its time-honoured boundaries by combining with the unitary authorities of North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset.

As such it would be better able to obviate the threat of Bristol’s urban expansion south and west through the green belt at the expense of rural communities, farming and landscape.

Our traditional counties have been part of the geographic fabric of England, the cultural identity of its people and also the foundations of local government originating from the time of Alfred the Great and Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

Our cities and counties should, of course, co-operate but not be formed into invented or artificial regions to suite a British political establishment which also has those from Scotland and Wales influencing opinion within it.

Regional Government is unwelcome, unwanted and most certainly un-English.

S.W.

English Democrats, Somerset

Clive Lavelle commented in similar fashion.  Here is his letter published in the Western Daily Press on November 11th 2014 which opposes Westminster's plan to foist piecemeal devolution on England.

The absurd notion of ‘city regions’.

Steve Wright’s excellent letter in the Western Daily Press (November 6) highlights the absurdity of the notion of “city regions” in England. Coincidentally, the previous night, the BBC broadcast a debate, hosted by Points West’s David Garmston on the same subject. There were those who wanted devolution for ancient Wessex (a pretty hefty chunk of England), right down to those who thought that devolution should be at parish council level.

Predictably, local politicians were eager to protect their own town/county/unitary authorities and what was admirably demonstrated was that regionalisation in any shape would pit parts of England against others; something I suspect the Westminster elite want.

The truth is that the only “fair and balanced” devolution settlement for England would be the same package that Scotland enjoys – a Parliament and First Minister. This would render Westminster all but irrelevant; its elite know this and want to preserve their lucrative trough, so the “divide and conquer” approach is the one that they are pursuing.

Clive Lavelle

Weston-super-Mare English Democrats

Burrow Mump, near Burrowbridge, in South Somerset. Outpost of King Alfred's final redoubt in Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

Burrow Mump, near Burrowbridge and the confluence of the Rivers Tone and Parrett, was an eastern outpost of King Alfred the Great's fortress on the Isle of Athelney - the King's final redoubt in Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

Seen from the National Trust car park, just off the A361, Burrow Mump is certainly no Glastonbury Tor but a gentle climb to its 79 feet high summit is rewarded with some memorable panoramic views.


The ruined chapel dedicated to St Michael atop Burrow Mump.  On the south wall is a memorial plaque including the words: "That the men and women of Somerset who died serving their country in the Second World War may be remembered here in time to come."

To the north, 13 miles away across Sedgemoor, the upper slopes of Brent Knoll are visible, Glastonbury Tor can be seen to the east.  The Burton Pynsent Monument near Curry Rivel is conspicuous to the south, while  the Wellington Monument on the Blackdown Hills is discernible in the far south west.

Following the decisive Battle of Edington (Ethandune), King Alfred had the defeated Danish king baptised in the village of Aller which lies at the western foot of Aller Hill 2.5 miles south east of the Mump.  Edington, 6 miles north on the far side of the Polden Hills, is suggested by some historians to be "Ethandune", the site of Alfred's victory, rather than Edington in Wiltshire.  Being from Somerset, I am happy to support this theory!

The view south-east across Southlake Moor.  The western slopes of Aller Hill and the village of Aller are at the top left.