"Somerset receives less funding for services than most other counties in England", reports the Chard and Ilminster News.

I was surprised to read in the Chard and Ilminster News (“Somerset receives less funding for services than most other counties in England”, November 20) that out of 37 county areas in England Somerset ranked fifth from bottom as regards Council funding received.  Furthermore, Somerset receives, at £540 per head, the least of all amongst the counties of the South West.

The County Councils Network have published figures which show that on average county councils received £650 per head for spending on the services they provide while a city or metropolitan borough receives £825 and inner London a whopping £1,190 per person.

In such circumstances it is a pity that Somerset County Council no longer exists within its traditional county boundary.  Perhaps it is time for North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset to be reunited with the rest of the County in order to give it more political and financial clout.

It seems that Somerset’s financial position in England mirrors that of England within the United Kingdom.  In a recent blogpost Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, informed us that British Government public spending, as a consequence of the Barnett Formula, is as follows: Northern Ireland receives most at £14,263 per head; Scotland a lavish £13,054; Wales an ample £12,531 while England receives only £11,297. 

We may live in a United Kingdom, but it seems all the nations within it are far from being treated equally!

Here is a link to Robin Tilbrook’s blogpost:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/updated-differences-in-uk-government.html

The English Civil War Battle of Langport in Somerset. The decisive Parliamentarian victory in the West of England.

The 10th of July saw the anniversary of the English Civil War Battle of Langport which took place in 1645.  Although there is no monument or memorial of any sort to mark the site I decided to drive over to Langport and walk the battlefield.  The battle actually took place closer to the village of Huish Episcopi than Langport as the Royalist Army, commanded by Lord Goring, was trying to block the approach to Langport and keep open the road to Bridgwater.  The Royalists intended retreating to Bridgwater and needed time to fortify the town.

The two armies faced each other across Wagg Rhyne, which runs either side of Wagg Drove, just east of Huish Episcopi.  The rhyne runs north to south through a gently sloping valley.  Goring was aiming to prevent Lord Fairfax’s Parliamentarian Army, which was approaching from Long Sutton to the south east, from crossing Wagg Rhyne.  There are three possible sites for the crucial crossing point: where the Wagg Rhyne crosses the A372 in the south; at Wagg Bridge on the B3153 to Somerton where at the time of the battle there was a ford; or between those two sites where today the railway crosses Wagg Drove about a quarter of a mile south of Wagg Bridge.

The view east from Wagg Bridge looking toward Pitney Hill.

The battle began with an exchange of artillery fire which silenced the Royalist guns.  Cromwell, commanding the Parliamentarian cavalry, sent two divisions to force a crossing of Wagg Rhyne – a difficult task as the narrow crossing was only wide enough to allow four horses abreast.  Major Bethel successfully led his division across the rhyne although counter attacked and hard-pressed by the Royalist cavalry.  Colonel Desborough led further Parliamentarian cavalry to re-inforce Bethel and together they engaged and drove off the Royalist cavalry.  Meanwhile, infantry from the New Model Army were clearing Royalist musketeers from their defensive positions along the hedgerows bordering Wagg Rhyne.  A retreat quickly became a rout as the Royalists fell back through Langport toward Bridgwater although there were attempts at delaying actions in Aller and at Burrow Mump.

Just north of the railway bridge which crosses Wagg Rhyne, the view east toward the New Model Army's positions.

The gentle slopes of the valley west of Wagg Rhyne.  Easier going for Cromwell's cavalry?

The New Model Army laid siege to Bridgwater which surrendered on the 23rd July while the Royalist bastion of Bristol was taken by the Parliamentarians on 10th September.  Royalist resistance in the West of England was at an end.  

The car park next to the war memorial opposite St. Mary’s Church in Huish Episcopi was a convenient place to start my walk.  I set off east along the A372 past the Rose and Crown and on to Wagg Drove.  Turning left along the drove there was not much to see due to the tree lined rhynes, which ran either side of the narrow tarmac road, the scattering of neatly kept houses and the occasional farm.  Only when I reached the railway bridge over the road did the view of the gently sloping valley open up.  I walked on along the drove, which ran straight and level for just over 400 yards, to Wagg Bridge at the steeper end of the valley. 

The ford which was once at Wagg Bridge would, I suggest, not be the best place for Cromwell’s cavalry to have charged across.  Galloping down the steeper ground from the direction of Pitney Hill to the east and then slowing to negotiate the narrow ford would have caused a loss of momentum before having to charge up Pict’s Hill to the west and engage the Royalist cavalry – perhaps not the easiest approach for Bethel and Desborough.

There are lanes and footpaths which cross Wagg Rhyne near the railway bridge: one of them is closed at present due to an unsafe footbridge across the rhyne.  Would a cavalry charge over Wagg Rhyne near here, with gently sloping ground on either side of the valley, have offered the best chance of success?  Only a cavalryman could answer that!

I estimate I walked about 3 miles during my visit to the battlefield.  Wagg Drove has no pavement but the local drivers were very considerate and most gave me a friendly wave as they slowed while I stepped onto the verge.  At Wagg Bridge on the B3153 I did not explore further as there is no pavement or verge on this section of the Langport to Somerton road – and it is rather busy!

All in all, I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon in the South Somerset countryside.

HMS/FFL MIMOSA. The 75th anniversary of the sinking of the only Bristol-built warship lost during World War 2.

As a Bristolian of 60 years now living in Somerset I suggest we in the West of England should take time to remember the 69 crewmen (63 Free French and 6 British) of the only Bristol-built warship lost of the 21 which were completed in the city during World War 2.  This month sees the 75th anniversary of the loss of the Flower class corvette HMS MIMOSA.

The corvette was built by Charles Hill & Sons in their Albion dockyard and launched in January 1941, subsequently being transferred to the Free French Navy as the FFL MIMOSA.  Most of the French crew were from the French island of St. Pierre and Miquelon situated at the entrance to Fortune Bay off the coast of Newfoundland.   Their courage and determination to continue to fight after the defeat of France helped keep our vital convoy routes open.

Sadly the ship was torpedoed and sunk on the 9th of June 1942 by U124 while escorting convoy ONS-100 across the North Atlantic.  Only 4 French sailors survived.  They were rescued by the Canadian destroyer HMCS ASSINIBOINE.

We should not forget.

Blue Anchor on the Somerset Coast. "Warm sun and fresh sea-breezes which cannot fail to invigorate."

After a recent visit to Watchet Harbour I decided to follow the Somerset Coast westward along the B3191 to Blue Anchor.  It is a pleasant 3 mile drive, through a scenic, rural and occasionally wooded landscape, which climbs out of Watchet and then down to Blue Anchor.   

In his Somerset (Great Western Railway Company) 1934, Maxwell Fraser writes:

“Blue Anchor, which lies four miles east of Minehead, is an ideal place for a rest-cure. A mere handful of houses; a long sea wall; and miles of magnificent sands; a view of the wooded hill crowned with Conegar Tower, and of the more distant North Hill, which inspired Turner to paint one of his most famous pictures; a combination of warm sun and fresh sea-breezes which cannot fail to invigorate – that is Blue Anchor.  If the quietude palls, there is Minehead and its amusements within walking distance, and Taunton within a short journey, but there are sufficient walks in the neighbourhood, filled with beauty and historical associations, to keep the lover of solitude happily occupied for weeks.”

Even with the seemingly inevitable modern caravan park tightly sandwiched between the sea front road and the West Somerset Railway line, Maxwell Fraser’s description of Blue Anchor, written eighty-two years ago, still rings true today.

The view west along the sea front at Blue Anchor.

There is ample parking on the flat straight road which runs along the sea-front.  As an asthmatic, I find it is a very comfortable place to have a lengthy stroll, following the sea wall, while enjoying the view.  With a good pair of binoculars one can see across Blue Anchor Bay and the Bristol Channel to Barry and the Welsh hills.  It was a clear day so I could even see the turbines of a wind farm on the hills beyond Barry.

To the west, toward Minehead, the view is still as Maxwell Fraser described it in the early nineteen thirties.  To the east Flat Holm and Steep Holm were visible.  Weston-super-Mare, Brean Down and, at the western end of the Mendip Hills, Crook Peak were all easily seen with my binoculars on such a fine day.  I could also just glimpse, beyond Quantock’s Head, the block-like structures at Hinkley Point nuclear power site.

The West Somerset Railway line curves inland below Old Cleeve and its Church of St Andrew.

The sound of a steam engine came from the West Somerset Railway’s station at the end of the sea-front road – the road turns inland, over a level crossing, and on to the village of Carhampton on the A39 – so I hurried through the caravan park to catch sight of it.  I was too late, but took some photos of the line as it curves away inland below the village of Old Cleeve.

By the time I headed back to my car it was late afternoon and the tide was coming in.  Several dozen anglers were setting themselves up along the sea wall and beach, a suitable pastime to maintain the “quietude” of Blue Anchor. 

Anglers make themselves comfortable on the sea front at Blue Anchor as the tide comes in.

 

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/

Repairs to the Palace of Westminster will take up to eight years and £4.3billion. Perhaps Honourable Members and their Lordships should have a new, less costly, home?

I was astonished to learn that much-needed repairs to the Palace of Westminster will take up to eight years and cost between £3billion and £4.3billion.  Would it not be just as well to allow this famous landmark to gracefully fall into a state of picturesque ruin on the banks of the River Thames?  Let it become a monument to those long-gone politicians whose decisions created and then lost an empire on which the sun never set.

I cannot see any reason why the cost of a new home for the Houses of Parliament should not be a fraction of refurbishing the present one.

Consider some of London’s stylish new buildings: The Shard, Europe’s fourth tallest building, cost £435million; 30 St Mary Axe, The Gherkin, cost £200million; The Heron Tower cost £185million – all were completed between 2003 and 2012.  Surely our MPs and Peers could be provided with a suitable building of similar prestige and cost.

While awaiting refurbishment of the old or building of the new, Parliament will have to meet somewhere.  I suggest that, thanks to defence cuts, the spacious hangars of barely used RAF airfields in the West Country, such as Lyneham, Hullavington or even Fairford, could be modified to accommodate meetings of the Commons and the Lords together with their associated entourage.

Transport links would not be a problem with the M4 nearby and there would be the added convenience of having a runway on the doorstep.

Moreover, all that fresh West Country air might do Honourable Members and their Lordships a power of good!