The Somerset village of Dinder and its Church of St. Michael.

The sleepy Somerset village of Dinder lies tucked away in the southern foothills of the Mendips.  It is but a short drive off the road between Wells and Shepton Mallet, and this summer I took the opportunity to explore it.  Dinder does not appear to have changed much since members of The Women’s Institute described it 35 years ago.

The Somerset Village Book (Countryside Books, 1988) compiled by The Somerset Federation of Women’s Institutes provides this charming chronicle of the village.

“The little village of Dinder, with its 150 inhabitants, lies in the valley between Wells and Shepton Mallet.  It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Denrenn, meaning ‘in a valley deep between high hills’ – an apt description because Doulting Water, or River Sheppey, rushes along one boundary, and the Mendip Hills rise steeply on either side.

It has been an agricultural village, and it is known that clothing was made here in the 18^th century when there was a leather mill.  An old forge provided services in the main street, in a house still bearing that name.  Along this street the river has been partially diverted to form a wide leat of running water in which the village people could dip their buckets, and this makes a picturesque foreground for a row of 16^th century gabled cottages and a former public house which still displays the sign of ‘The Dragon on the Wheel’, being the crest of the local squire.  Two farmhouses and the Victorian school building also overlook the water.”

I parked by the village hall at the western end of the village, and walked down to the Church of St. Michael.  The impressive lych-gate is dedicated to Ellen Somerville while inside the lych-gate is a commemorative plaque dedicated to Arthur Fownes Somerville who died on the 21^st November 1942 at the impressive age of 92.  I would find more memorials to members of the Somerville family both in the churchyard and inside the church.

The lych-gate at St. Michaels Church in the Somerset village of Dinder.

The commemorative plaque to Arthur Fownes Somerville.  Note the family crest of 'The Dragon on the Wheel'.

The approach to Dinder’s Church of St. Michael is beautifully described by Arthur Mee in his The King’s England – Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1968).  He writes:

“We walk up the path to the church with its fine north wall across our view, crowned with a parapet from which friendly gargoyles look down at the top of slender buttresses.  Very dainty is the arcading in the battlements, and charming is the tower with its stair turret to the bells”.

The north wall of the Church of St. Michael in the Somerset village of Dinder.

To the left of the path is the family plot of the Somerville family which includes the grave of James Fownes Somerville, Admiral of the Fleet and Squire of Dinder, of whom I have written previously:

Views from Somerset: Admiral Sir James Somerville, commander of Force H, the squadron which crippled the Bismarck, at rest in a Somerset churchyard in the village of Dinder. (viewfromsomerset.blogspot.com)

 

On the north wall of the nave is a brass plaque commemorating William Charles Croom a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 6^th London Regiment who was killed in action at Messines Ridge on 17th June 1917 when aged 20.  He is also remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium.

Another plaque on the north wall is “in ever grateful memory of the brave men of Dinder who fell in The Great War”.  It lists 6 names.  As well as Lt. William Croom it commemorates the following men:

Private Uriah James Clarke of the Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars died on 23^rd March 1918.  He is also remembered on the Poziers Memorial north east of Albert.

Private Gilbert Drew of the 1^st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry who died on the 1^st July 1917 aged 19.  He is at rest in a Commonwealth War Grave in the churchyard.

Private Francis Allen Keevil of “C” Company, 7^th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry died on the 7^th August 1917.  He is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.  Aged 38, he was the son of Jabez Allen Keevil and Francis Augusta Keevil of Rose Cottage, Dinder.

Private William Robert McCullagh of the 1^st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry died on 29^th March 1918.  He is remembered on the Arras Memorial.

The last name listed on the plaque is that of George Palmer.  There are 24 “George Palmers” recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website as having died in World War One.  Sadly, I cannot find among them anyone connected to Dinder or the County of Somerset.

Another brass plaque on the north wall of the nave is in memory of Lieutenant Colonel Harold Fownes Somerville DSO who served with The Rifle Brigade during the First World War and died aged 65 on the 19^th March 1946, and his son Lieutenant Mark Fownes Somerville DSC who was killed in action on 8^th May 1941 while serving aboard HMS ARK ROYAL.

Mark Somerville was a Fleet Air Arm observer in the Fulmar-equipped 808 Squadron flying from the aircraft carrier HMS ARK ROYAL.  He flew with the squadron’s commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Rupert Claude Tillard DSC.

The Fairey Fulmar was a two-seat fighter and reconnaissance aircraft powered by a single Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and armed with eight .303 machine guns mounted in the wings.  It was widely used by the Fleet Air Arm in the Mediterranean during the early years of World War Two.  The Fulmar was more than a match for any German and Italian bombers or reconnaissance aircraft it might encounter.  However, it struggled to cope with the enemy single seat fighters it came up against.  Tillard and Somerville destroyed six Italian aircraft while flying the Fulmar, a feat for which they were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

On 6^th May 1941 ARK ROYAL left Gibraltar together with the battlecruiser HMS RENOWN, the light cruiser HMS SHEFFIELD and nine destroyers – the famous Force H – to escort a convoy of five ships with vital reinforcements for British forces in Egypt.  Force H’s mission was to take the convoy as far as Malta where ships of Admiral Cunningham’s Mediterranean Fleet would escort it eastward to the port of Alexandria.

The convoy was first attacked by Italian aircraft on the 8^th May.  808 Squadron attempted to intercept a number of torpedo-bombers, but the Fulmars were themselves attacked by Italian fighters.  One Fulmar was shot down, that of Lieutenant Commander Tillard and Lieutenant Somerville. Rupert Tillard’s body came ashore on the Tunisian Coast, and he was subsequently buried in the Commonwealth War Grave cemetery at Enfidaville.  Mark Somerville’s body was never found and he is remembered on the Fleet Air Arm Memorial at Lee-on-Solent as well as in St. Michael’s Church.

The deaths of the two airmen were not in vain as Force H delivered the convoy, without loss, into the protection of the Mediterranean Fleet.  One merchant ship was later sunk by a mine, but 238 tanks and 40 Hurricane fighters arrived safely in Alexandria on 12^th May.  Interestingly, Force H was commanded by Lt. Somerville’s uncle, Admiral Sir James Somerville.

By a remarkable twist of fate another Lieutenant Mark Somerville was killed while serving in the Royal Navy 183 years earlier. A plaque on the north wall of the tower of St. Michael’s begins:

“Sacred to the Memory of Mark Somerville Esq Lieutenant of His Majesty’s Ship The Rochester who unfortunately lost his Life in doing his Duty and exerting himself to save the Lives of his Gallant Countrymen when attacked by the Enemy in St. Cas Bay.  September 11^th 1758 in the 23 Year of his Age”

The plaque must refer to The Battle of St. Cast Bay which took place during The Seven Years War with France.  The war saw Britain launch a series of amphibious assaults against French ports and possessions around the world.  In 1758 a number of these assaults took place on the northern coast of France in order to destroy ports, divert French troops from Germany and stop the activities of French privateers.  The last of these attacks was against Cherbourg when the Royal Navy landed a force of around 10,000 troops and supporting arms.  The attack was initially a great success as the Port of Cherbourg, its docks and ships therein were destroyed and a large amount of war material also destroyed or seized. 

The British force moved on to attack Saint Malo, but found it too well defended and so moved west to St. Cast Bay where it would be embarked from the beaches.

Meanwhile, the French had gathered 9,000 soldiers and militiamen and marched in pursuit.  The bulk of the British force had been taken off the beaches when the French arrived.  Despite covering fire from the British ships in the bay the French overwhelmed the British rear-guard of 1,500 men.

HMS ROCHESTER was a 4^th rate ship of just over 1,000 tons and armed with 50 guns.  Reading between the lines of the plaque it could be assumed that Lieutenant Somerville was killed while attempting to embark men from the beach using ROCHESTER’S ship’s boats.

On the south wall of the nave is a plaque commemorating Pilot Officer Thomas Middlebrook Horsefall, RAFVR, whose aircraft crashed in the village on July 3^rd 1942.   Thomas Horsefall was flying an American Curtiss P40 Tomahawk single engine fighter from No. 41 Operational Training Unit, part of the School of Army Cooperation, based at Oatlands Hill, a satellite station of RAF Old Sarum in Wiltshire.  The P40 was not used by RAF Fighter Command or the USAAF in Northern Europe as its performance did not match that of the latest German fighters, but it was used extensively by British and American front-line squadrons in other theatres of war.

St. Michaels Church also contains some fine stained glass windows, and a highly and beautifully decorated stone pulpit dated 1621. 

Stained glass window in St. Michael's Church, Dinder, Somerset in memory of Emily Somerville "who entered into rest on New Year's Day 1900 aged 81.

The pulpit in the Church of St. Michael, Dinder, Somerset.

I walked back to the main street and took some more photos of this picturesque and peaceful Mendip village – so peaceful, in fact, that I never saw or met a soul during my visit!

The main street in the Somerset village of Dinder.

 

Sidmouth, in the neighbouring county of Devonshire, on a damp and dull afternoon in June.

On June the 9th I set out for an afternoon drive into Devonshire.  I visited Honiton first of all, to buy some books, and then took the A375 up and over the hills to Sidmouth.

It was a very dull day with rain on the hilltops, but although it felt a bit damp at Sidmouth it was not too chilly for a quick look at the seafront.  However, the dull weather seemed to have deterred people from taking a stroll as I found very few people around. The car parks were half empty and the Esplanade was the quietest I have seen it.

The view east overlooking the mouth of the River Sid at Sidmouth in Devonshire on June 9th.

The view west along the almost deserted Esplanade at Sidmouth in Devonshire on June 9th.

The view east from the Esplanade at Sidmouth in Devonshire on June 9th.  The yellow building is Sidmouth's voluntary lifeboat station run by a charity independent of the RNLI.

A stroll around the Somerset village of Muchelney, its abbey ruins and Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Edward Hutton in his Highways and Byways in Somerset first published in 1912 writes of Muchelney: “But the ruins of Muchelney Abbey, lovely as they are, are by no means all there is to be seen in the beautiful island of Muchelney.  The church is interesting, though its double windowed tower is not very splendid.  Perhaps more interesting is the dear little vicarage house upon the north side of it across the road, dating perhaps from the fourteenth century; and there is a good though restored village cross.”

 I visited Muchelney in the Somerset Levels on a fine afternoon in late May.  I drove from Curry Rivel south along narrow twisting lanes, frequently lined with the delicate white flowers of cow parsley, through the picturesque village of Drayton, over the River Parrett at Westover Bridge and into the village.

Leaving the car by the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, avoiding the no parking signs, I explored the church and its graveyard.  Inside, the five panel stained glass east window and the Jacobean painted ceiling were impressive.  The churchyard gave a good view of the remains of the abbey.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Somerset village of Muchelney.

The east window of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset.

The ceiling of the nave in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset.

The early nineteenth century organ in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Muchelney, Somerset. 

I took some photos of the village cross and then peeped through the gate of the Priest’s House which is now a private residence in the care of The National Trust, and open only at certain times.

The village cross at Muchelney in Somerset

The Priest's House (National Trust) at Muchelney in Somerset.

A couple of hundred yards further south is the entrance to the car park for Muchelney Abbey.  I left the car by the church and set off on foot.  The Abbey is looked after by English Heritage, and there is an entrance fee.  I opted to take some photos of the ruins from the car park, and perhaps pay for a closer look another day.  The foundations we see today were revealed largely by the exertions of the Rev. S.O. Baker in 1873.

The foundations of Muchelney Abbey in Somerset.  The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is in the background.

Monks first came to Muchelney in the seventh century, but the abbey was abandoned in the ninth century probably because of the depredations caused by Viking raids.  It is said that King Athelstan re-founded the abbey in 939 as a thank offering for his great victory over the Celtic-Norse army at Brunanburgh in 937.  It then grew in size and status until Henry the Eighth’s Suppression of the Monasteries.  In 1538, two years after the Act of Suppression was passed in 1536, the abbey was torn down leaving only the abbot’s lodging and the monks’ latrine to survive as farm buildings.  Hutton devotes four pages to Muchelney, and they are very well worth reading.

A Spring drive south through Somerset and Devonshire to Seaton.

During a fine afternoon in the last week in April I took a leisurely drive down the A358 to Seaton in Devonshire.  On the way I passed through Chard and Axminster.  Chard was unusually quiet, but Axminster seemed even more subdued than usual, its town centre ever more deserted every time I pass through.

Looking down High Street and Fore Street in Chard, Somerset on a quiet Spring afternoon.

I find it strange that Axminster town centre is so quiet, with many empty premises.  When one considers the amount of housebuilding that has gone on around the town over recent years, the shops, restaurants and bars ought to be thriving!

The centre of Axminster in Devonshire on a quiet Spring afternoon this year.

Driving on through the gently undulating countryside I passed by Musbury which rests below the ancient hillfort of the same name, crossed over the A3052 and took the road which follows the River Axe down to Axmouth and into Seaton.

Seaton was quiet with plenty of room to park on the seafront - which I did.  Hardly any people were on the beach, and very few were walking along the seafront.

The seafront at Seaton in Devonshire on a quiet Spring afternoon this year. One seagull, one car and one pedestrian!

I walked as far west as was practicable before retracing my steps.  It seems that the Hook and Parrot pub is to be redeveloped into apartments and named The Lookout.  The advert on the former public house suggests it will be rebuilt with gable ends facing the sea, reassuringly in keeping with its neighbouring buildings.  It will not look so out of place as the carbuncle – known as Seaton Beach Apartments – on the seafront further east.

The Hook and Parrot public house in Seaton, Devonshire closed for redevelopment.

The Hook and Parrot reincarnated as The Lookout.

I continued east along the seafront then turned left into Trevelyan Road and then right to cross over the bridge to Axmouth Harbour.  Walking along the harbour side I reached The Prow which sits atop the old World War Two artillery emplacement. It is a convenient spot to enjoy the views across the harbour entrance and out over Seaton Bay.  Those WW2 gunners certainly had an excellent field of fire!

The view from The Prow, Axmouth Harbour entrance in Devonshire.

A small fishing boat just outside the harbour entrance was attracting lots of seagulls. Inside the harbour a couple of people were throwing something into the water for their dog to fetch which did not seem very sensible – I certainly would not have done such a thing.

A fishing boat surrounded by seagulls at Seaton in Devonshire.

Axmouth Harbour in Devonshire.

Walking back over the bridge I stopped to take some photos of the yachts and pleasure craft at their sheltered moorings.  The clear blue sky and lush green of the grounds of Haven Cliff House made a pleasing picture.  Seaton and the Axe Valley were very well fortified during WW2.  Two pill-boxes can be seen in the grounds of Haven Cliff House, one at the clifftop and another beside the drive up to the house.

Axmouth Harbour in Devonshire on a Spring afternoon this year.  Note the World War Two pill-box on the cliff edge above and to the left of the houses.

On my journey home I stopped in a lay-by just south of Axminster.  The hedgerow beside it is usually too high to see over, but it had been trimmed enough to allow me to take some photos.  The fields, trees, thatched cottages and rolling hills beyond made a pleasant scene.

A view of the Devonshire countryside south of Axminster.

I drove on again through Axminster, still very quiet, and headed north for Somerset and home.

The crash of RAF Blenheim R3912 on Pawlett Hams in Somerset. Those lost are commemorated by a memorial plaque in the nearby village churchyard at Pawlett.

On 5 July 1942 a Bristol Blenheim Mk 4, a light bomber powered by two 905 hp Bristol Mercury engines, crashed at Pawlett Hams on the east side of the River Parrett in Somerset.  The aircraft, from No 13 Operational Training Unit, took off at 0950 hours on a cross country navigational and low level bombing exercise from its base at RAF Bicester in Oxfordshire.  At approximately 1220 hours the Blenheim was seen entering an area of cloud in a near vertical dive.   On emerging from the cloud, at an estimated height of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, the Blenheim straightened out, but then dived again and crashed.  All 3 crew members on board were killed.

The crew of Blenheim R3912 consisted of the pilot Sergeant James Falconer Anderson, RAF, aged 20, the observer Sergeant Adam Hogg, RAFVR, aged 33, and the wireless operator/air gunner Sergeant Gilbert Ingram McBoyle, RAFVR, aged 21.  They are commemorated on a memorial plaque in the British Legion garden of remembrance in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church at Pawlett, Somerset.

The British Legion garden of remembrance in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church in the village of Pawlett, Somerset. 

The memorial plaque at John the Baptist Church, Pawlett, Somerset commemorating the crew of RAF Blenheim R3912.

The picture below of the ill-fated Blenheim crew was kindly provided by Fiona Goldsmith PCC Secretary of St. John the Baptist Church.

Views from Westover Bridge over the River Parrett near Mucheleny in Somerset.

While out for an afternoon drive around The Levels south of Langport  in Somerset my wife and I stopped at a layby overlooking the River Parrett at Westover Bridge just outside Muchelney.

It was the last day of March, a beautiful sunny day of blue sky dotted with cloud, but a strong North wind made it bitterly cold.  Unsurprisingly not many people were out and about except some well wrapped dog-walkers enjoying the River Parrett Trail and the Macmillan Way Link, both of which follow the river bank.

I could see three churches from where we were parked.  To the north and north-east were the towers of All Saints at Langport and St. Mary’s at Huish Episcopi while a few hundred yards east was the tower of St. Peter and St. Paul at Muchelney.

I braved the bitter cold to take the photos below.  On another, warmer, day it would be nice to follow the footpaths alongside the river bank, but it was altogether a better day for driving rather than walking.

A view from Westover Bridge over the River Parrett near Muchelney in Somerset. The tower of All Saints Church, Langport can be seen just left of centre.

A view from Westover Bridge over the River Parrett near Muchelney in Somerset.  The tower St. Mary's Church at Huish Episcopi can be seen on the skyline to the left.

The tower of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset viewed from the nearby Westover Bridge over the River Parrett.

The Somerset village of Baltonsborough, its Church of St. Dunstan, and war memorial garden.

The Somerset village of Baltonsborough lies in countryside near the River Brue not far west of The Fosse Way (A37).

The fields and meadows which surround Baltonsborough are charmingly described by Paul Newman in his Somerset Villages (Robert Hale Ltd, 1986): “Visual titillation aside, the country is passing fair.  Apple orchards abound, there are many fine stone barns and cobbled together bridges, plus sufficient trees and hedgerows to hold monotony at bay.  Undramatic country, tamed by thousands of years of tree-felling, pasturing and ploughing, its charm becomes apparent in summer when all the grasses, nettle patches and hedgerow life is astir and burgeoning.

Baltonsborough is in the midst of this countryside, south of Kennard Moor.  An intricate network of droves leads into the village which has several centres.  The main part clusters around the old church, which is thrust out into a meadow and beckons from the ragged willowy lanes.”

The village was once one of the 12 hides, or manors, of Glastonbury Abbey so it seems fitting that St. Dunstan, who was made abbot of Glastonbury in the tenth century, was born in Baltonsborough sometime between 909 and 925.  While at Glastonbury Abbey, Dunstan demonstrated his prowess as a drainage engineer.  The River Brue used to spread over the marshy meadows around Baltonsborough until Dunstan instigated the building of a series of weirs and a ditch to drain the area.

The fame and wealth of Glastonbury increased under Dunstan’s efficient and diligent supervision.  Therefore it is no surprise that he eventually became Archbishop of Canterbury where he tried to expand his ideas, both religious and managerial, throughout Anglo-Saxon England.

Understandably, Baltonsborough’s village church is named for St. Dunstan.  Pevsner describes the church as: “Perpendicular and of no special architectural interest.  The most handsome touch is the weather-vane on the w tower, with very scrolly iron-work made by the local blacksmith early in the C19.  It stands on a pyramid roof rising behind the battlements of the tower.”

The Church of St. Dunstan in the Somerset village of Baltonsborough.

The weather-vane on the tower of  St. Dunstan's Church, Baltonsborough, Somerset.

Baltonsborough’s war memorial garden is at the junction of Church Lane and Martin Street at the southern extremity of the village.  A 15inch BL (breech loading) siege howitzer shell casing, of the type originally used by the Royal Navy, but passed to the Army, was given to Baltonsborough by the National War Savings Committee in recognition of the village’s contribution in raising money during Gun Week.

The war memorial garden in the Somerset village of Baltonsborough.

The National War Savings Committee was set up in 1916 to encourage communities to raise money for the war effort.  It was responsible for a series of fund raising initiatives, including War Weapons Week, Tank Week and Feed the Guns Week.

The memorial shell casing is listed Grade 2 as according to Historic England: “It is a highly unusual and broodingly eloquent commemorative monument”.

The shell was unveiled in 1922 at the same time as the traditional stone memorial cross.  The plaque on the shell lists the names of the 68 who served, with a blue Maltese Cross marking the names of the six who did not return.

The plaque on the 15inch shell casing in the war memorial garden at Baltonsborough in Somerset.  Note the number of times the surname Bush appears - all appear to have survived!

The traditional memorial cross bears the names of the six who were killed in World War One and three killed in World War Two.  The name of Second Lieutenant John Richings, Royal Tank Regiment, who died on 28 May 1942 aged 25, was originally not included at the request of his family.  However, his name appears to have been added sometime after the year 2000.   John Somerset Richings is also remembered on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt.  He was the son of the Revd Basil Grafton Richings, and his wife Gwendolen, of Baltonsborough.

A stroll around the Church of St. Peter in the Somerset village of West Lydford.

The village of West Lydford in Somerset is just a short step west of the A37 main road between Yeovil and Shepton Mallet. I parked in the village’s parish hall car park for a short break while on my way to explore the nearby village of Baltonsborough.  In the centre of the car park is a charming and obviously lovingly maintained war memorial.  Sadly, even though the adjacent church appears to be extremely well cared for, the memorial has been the target of vandals, but the damage is now made good and is barely noticeable.

The war memorial in the Somerset village of West Lydford. The Church of St. Peter is in the background.

The war memorial in the Somerset Village of West Lydford,

West Lydford’s Church of St. Peter is picturesquely situated by the bank of the River Brue.  I had a quick stroll around the churchyard and its tranquil surroundings and took some photos of the church from the seventeenth century bridge which crosses the Brue close by.  The bridge has 5 arches and a parapet pierced by 5 smaller arches, in case of flood.  St. Peter’s is of the Somerset Perpendicular type and its 8 pinnacles are notable.

The seventeenth century bridge over the River Brue in the Somerset village of West Lydford.

The Church of St. Peter in the Somerset village of West Lydford.

It was a bright day with persistent patchy cloud, but unfortunately the sun disappeared while I was taking some of the photographs.  I will have to return on a day with a clearer sky! 

Black-tailed godwits on the River Axe in the neighbouring county of Devonshire.

More from the archives, this time some photos from an afternoon visit to Axmouth in the neighbouring county of Devonshire.  They were taken in October 2013 from the picnic area on the bank of the River Axe just as you exit the village of Axmouth and head toward Seaton. 

The Axe rises on the outskirts of Beaminster and meanders for 22 miles through the counties of Dorsetshire, Somerset and Devonshire to where it joins the English Channel at Axmouth Harbour.  It was low tide when I took photos of some black-tailed godwits which appeared to be feeding as they moved in a group along the mudflats.

The River Axe at low tide. Viewed from Axmouth in October 2013.

Black-tailed godwits on the mudflats of the River Axe at Axmouth in Devonshire. Photo taken 10th October 2013.

I am no expert on bird recognition, so they might well have been bar-tailed godwits!

A view of the Somerset Coast on the Severn Estuary from Poets Walk at Wain's Hill, Clevedon.

Another view from the archives, this time of the Somerset Coast of the Severn Estuary  taken from Poets Walk on Wain’s Hill in Clevedon.  Looking south west along the coast Middle Hope and Sand Point are visible with Steep Holm in sight out in the Bristol Channel.

On the top of Wain’s Hill, just above the position where I took the photos, is a Second World War pill-box/bunker which was ideally placed to observe the comings and goings in the Severn Estuary.

Just to the south of the hill are the mud flats where the two rivers known as the Blind Yeo and the Land Yeo flow into the estuary.  The photos were taken on the 22 September 2011 as the horizon was becoming a little hazy.

The view to the south west along the Somerset Coast from Wain's Hill, Clevedon.  Steep Holm is just visible in the haze.  Middle Hope and Sand Point are in the middle of the horizon.

The view from Poets Walk, Wain's Hill on the Somerset Coast at Clevedon.  The Blind Yeo and the Land Yeo join the Severn Estuary at this point.

Severn Estuary mud!

Puckington and its Church of St. Andrew. A South Somerset village having "an old world look".

The charmingly named South Somerset village of Puckington straddles the B3168, or The Curry Road, between Ilminster and Curry Rivel.  Puckington appears in the Domesday Book as Pochintone.  However it appears to be derived from puc and tun; puc being the Old English word for Hobgoblin and tun meaning enclosure, farm or smallholding.  One could say that Puckington was once The Hobgoblin’s farmstead!

The South Somerset village of Puckington viewed from the south. The tower of St. Andrew's Church can be seen above the treetops in the centre of the photo.

Kelly’s Directory of Somerset (1914) tells us:

“Puckington is a village and parish, on the River Ile and on the road from Langport to Chard, 3 miles north-east of Ilminster Station on the Chard branch of the Great Western railway and 7 miles south west from Langport.”

Today the railway to Ilminster and Chard is no more, a victim of the Beeching cuts, and the River Ile is more commonly spelt Isle.

Kelly’s also informs us that:

“Viscount Portman is Lord of the Manor and chief landowner.  The soil is partly sand and partly sand and clay, and the subsoil is limestone.  The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, beans and roots.  The acreage is 774; rateable value £1,001; the population in 1911 was 136.”

The Portman family also held estates around Durston and Hestercombe, including Hestercombe House, but by 1976 the family had disposed of their land in Somerset and the 9th Viscount Portman had moved to Portman Square in London.

Puckington, with its thatched cottages, farmhouses, and Church of St. Andrew is described by Arthur Mee in his The King’s England – Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. 1968) as having “. . . an old world look, especially about its 15th century church, with a chancel 200 years older in which is still the original piscina and the triple sedilia added when the church was 100 years old.  In the sanctuary are two old carved chairs.  The font has the Norman mason’s cable moulding around it, and in the tower is still a bell which rang out before the Reformation.”

Church of St. Andrew in the village of Puckington, South Somerset. 

I came across this interesting tomb in the churchyard at Puckington in July 2015, but could not decipher the inscription.

The Church was restored in 1857 and again in 1910, when a new organ was provided.

A view, during a lull in storm Brendan, from the sea front at Seaton in the neighbouring county of Devonshire.

It has been a wet and windy start to the New Year and I have not had much opportunity to take my camera anywhere.  However, on January 15th there was a break in storm Brendan so my wife and I drove down to Seaton.  It was a very sunny afternoon but still blowing a bit.

The flood defence barriers were closed, nevertheless there were quite a few people enjoying a bracing stroll along the sea wall.  Unsurprisingly not many ventured onto the beach. 

I took some photos looking east to the mouth of the River Axe, and west toward Beer.

The afternoon of 15th January 2020 at Seaton in Devonshire, looking east toward the mouth of the River Axe.

The afternoon of 15th January 2020 at Seaton in Devonshire, looking west toward Beer.  The scene is a little hazy due to the wind-blown spray.