Watchet Conservation Matters Promoting, Conserving & Improving Our Physical & Natural Environment

Issue 53 July/August 2017 From the Chairman

St. Beuno’s Church Culbone Dr Tony Serjeant, Ecology Officer, will be the speaker at our Open Meeting on Tuesday July 18th when he will give a presentation on The Mineral Line of - please come along; this is an unmissable opportunity.

Nick Cotton and Jan Simpson-Scott are very close to completing the Turner Interpretation Board with Georgie Grant of Onion Collective. This will be unveiled at Splash Point/the Victorian Pleasure Ground at the location from where we believe the artist depicted Watchet on his visit in 1814. We plan a Bring-Your-Own food and drinks party to celebrate this and Dear All, will let you know the date when this will We are very encouraged by the response take place. to our various FaceBook posts which members and non-members are We are delighted to have people responding to. interested enough to come along and observe our committee meetings with a Nick Cotton’s mystery objects on our view to becoming committee members. WCS FB page have proved very popular So it’s all good news for WCS. with some inspired guesses as well as obvious expertise (last object 1,349 Councillor Whetlor is our new WTC people reached). Bob Cramp’s weekly Representative and we are pleased to photographic archive of Wansbrough Paper welcome her. Mill is a significant record of an important piece of Watchet’s history and industrial Thank you all very much! heritage which has drawn admiration and requests for copies (last set 1,013 people reached). Dave Simpson-Scott’s photographic survey of the flora and fauna of the Mineral Line is another developing Jason Robinson chronicle of the changing seasons along this fascinating trail. Eventually we hope this will form a booklet for sale. We thank you for all comments on these posts and please keep them coming. A walk with Coleridge to St. Beuno’s Church Culbone

through the trees catching glimpses of name of his wife, buried with him. Her the sun, pretty flowers strewing the way, name was Ethel! Poor woman; what a cross the distinctive laughing song of the Green she must have had to bear. The parish Woodpecker ringing through the woods. A records show that the family became jay flew across our path. Spiral fields ran Red Richards, then Richard Richards and down to the sea. in 2004 there is a reference to Richard Red Richards. This is for another study on “And here were forests ancient as hills another day. Enfolding sunny spots” It was a glorious afternoon. One could Entering through a wide gate which had be carried away here with Coleridge’s once opened the way to the path down to Pantisocracy, his utopian dream, a search the church we were on a bridleway, wide for peace. But to be practical if you decide but uneven, falling away to a narrow trail to make the visit along this path strong which merged with Coleridge’s coastal shoes are vital. route amongst woodland and coppice. Jan Simpson-Scott “Friendship is a sheltering tree.”

A walk with Coleridge to St. Beuno’s brought out several dogs who greeted us There is little life around here and the Church Culbone with loud but friendly barking causing their remaining few cottages are dark and not mistress to investigate. As well as pointing made for easy living. Sometime ago Jane Sharp contributed a the way towards a steep rocky path which when you find it is breathtaking and its very interesting article about the Beulah would bring us to Culbone Church this history is long. Evensong takes place here Chapel and the Culbone Stone. delightful Anglo-Finnish woman from every other Sunday at 3pm and we were London, married to the local farmer, told told there are five in the congregation; the Curiosity led us one sunny afternoon in us that Ash Farm was the likely location for farmer’s wife we spoke to, the farmer, the September to visit “the smallest complete the writing of at least part of . vicar and two vergers. The building is a parish church in this country”, mentioned in In fact Coleridge himself confirms that he patchwork: a melange of Saxon, Norman, both the Domesday Book and the Guinness wrote one hundred lines of it in an opium- Medieval and Victorian architecture with Book of Records. It was not easy to find; it induced haze at Ash Farm. myths attached to enhance the history. certainly isn’t easy for parishioners to reach it for the regular fortnightly evensong. “And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills The graveyard was fascinating and Where blossom’d many an incense-bearing tree;” provided a very humorous moment. Clearly In a quiet country lane we came upon two the most prominent family buried here had farms; Ash Farm which gave us a clue we This was Coleridge’s interpretation of the surname of Red which itself is unusual were in the right area with its prominent Xanadu, a vision in a dream. It is haunting and many of the tombs and graves are sign “Xanadu”, a reference to Coleridge’s and beautiful. If this is the setting then it occupied by members of this family. One poem Kubla Khan, and almost next door is inspiring even without the opium! The such tombstone was dedicated to Irving was Parsonage Farm where our arrival landscape speaks to you as you walk down Red. Underneath his inscription was the A History of Watchet A4 to A5 Flyer_Layout 1 24/05/2017 12:51 Page 1

A History of Watchet (ISBN 978 0 85704 317 7) is to be published in November 2017, priced at £24.99, although pre-publication subscribers can purchase the book at £19.99 if ordered by the subscriber cut-off date below. It is a large format (A4), 160-page hardback book containing over 100 historic maps, drawings and other illustrations.. Written with the community interest in view, the book will be a valued memento and a precious keepsake for anyone who lives in, or who has family connections to Watchet and the surrounding area. To order your copy simply complete the form below and return it, with your remittance, to: Halsgrove Direct, Halsgrove House, Ryelands Business Park, Bagley Road, Wellington, Somerset TA21 9PZ. Tel: 01823 653777, Fax: 01823 216796, E-mail: [email protected] www.halsgrove.com A receipt for your reserved subscriber edition will be sent. Include your family name in the subscriber list (see order form below)

Front cover, top: Sailing Ships in the nineteenth century. Front cover, bottom: The Cross in the 1850s. ORDER FORM TITLE QUANTITY PRICE EACH TOTAL The Book of WATCHET £19.99

*FREE for two books or more, please delete p&p charge if applicable (UK only). POSTAGE & PACKING £2.99* For orders outside the UK; Europe, please add £8.00 per book while all other international orders should add £12.00 per book. (Please make all payments in pounds sterling). TOTAL ORDER VALUE £ A HISTORY OF 6 © C o 4 7

PUBLISHED PRICE £24.99 – PRE-PUBLICATION PRICE £19.99 2 6 p y 3 r i g h 6 a t H a t H a l s l s g r o g r o v Please debit my VISA MASTERCARD MAESTRO v e 2 q q q e H o WATCHET 0 1 u 7 s

e T ,

Card No: ………………………………………………………… Start date: ……………… h W By A L Wedlake, updated by Paul Upton e H a e l i n l s g t o Expiry date: …… Issue No (Maestro): …… Security code: ...... Amount: £…...…. g r o n v

T e G A 2 r o 1 9 u p i n OR I enclose my cheque for £……………… made payable to Halsgrove. P Z . I m p r i n c l u Name d e s D t s A H a : BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE H a l s g r o Address l s g r o v e v , R e L y e l a Postcode t d . , n H a d s , l s H a g r o

Telephone E-mail l s v t a e L r , P i X Z t d . & B H a o

This application form must be completed and returned to us by 20 September 2017, o l s k s t a & r L

if you require a subscriber entry to be printed in A History of Watchet. H a t d . l s R

Please indicate preferred wording (title, forenames/initials, and location, e.g. Elizabeth w e g i s o o d J o K. Ford, Swain Street, Watchet, Somerset). t e r d i n u r n

If this section is left blank, we will assume that no entry is required. a l s E . n H a g l a l s n g r o d & v

W BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE e ® i s a l e s a I have ordered an additional copy for the following people. N r e g i s o s . Please add their names to the subscriber list. 4 1 t e r d a 3 6 7 3 2 , 6

Name and location d e m a 0 2 9 7 r k .

www.halsgrove.com 2 4

& INCLUDING OVER 100 PHOTOGRAPHS PAST AND PRESENT Open Meeting - How to Start Tracing your Family Tree Three Watchet brothers, three headmasters

person, not just as a name on a long list. school teachers. Joan concluded her career as deputy head of First School. They Inevitably this line of investigation will were both enthusiastic members of Watchet reach a limit and gaps will emerge Tennis Club. so seek other sources of information: censuses, parish records, certificates for Tony, second eldest, graduated as a teacher, births, marriages and deaths, newspapers, completing his career as headmaster at wills, family paperwork and photographs. Priorswood Primary School, Taunton. He was Commercial family tree websites require a talented footballer, being a valued member a subscription but can speed up research. of a very successful Watchet Town side. In Ancestry.co.uk, is free of charge at public addition, he was a member of Watchet Tennis libraries for an hour. The Dorset and Club and Watchet Dramatic Society. Somerset Family History Society, run by Open Meeting - How to Start Tracing your Jane, offers appointments for up to an Second son Pat followed in his elder siblings’ Family Tree by Jane Sharp hour once a month. footsteps and became a teacher, going on to become in 1974 headmaster of Priory On 16th May we were given a highly Jane has traced some of her ancestors Secondary Modern Boys’ School, Taunton, interesting talk by Jane Sharp on how to back to the 1700s. Whilst some archives, and in 1977 became headmaster of Heathfield trace our ancestors. such as censuses, have been transcribed Comprehensive School, Taunton. He retired and digitised Jane advised looking at Three Watchet brothers… in 1992. Pat, too, was sport orientated, playing Starting with yourself note relevant originals where available, as transcribers …three headmasters soccer and cricket for Watchet, and in his details: date and place of birth, can misinterpret the information, younger days was an enthusiastic member addresses lived in, schools and colleges, confusing baptism and birth dates. This is a remarkable story of a Watchet couple of the Social Club in Esplanade Lane, being achievements, clubs/societies, jobs and whose four children all went on to become particularly keen on table tennis and snooker. one’s spouse. This forms a sound basis Jane emphasised the importance of school teachers, with three sons progressing Like Tony, he married a teacher. on which to build as one moves back up not becoming sidetracked. Store all to headmasterships. Mr. Wallace (Wally) West the family tree. information safely with the final version was a well-known local shopkeeper at “Ye Youngest son Ron, who sadly passed away worked up into a document. Olde Shoppe” in Swain Street, which he ran in 2000, also qualified as a teacher and Talk to relatives asking for the same for many years in collaboration with his wife became headmaster of Middle information without delay. Time can make Jane suggested joining a local family Lily, who also ran an adjoining fancy goods School, retiring in 1996. He carried on the memories fade; sadly, take away their history group. She then issued a health shop. Today the premises are known as family sporting tradition, also playing soccer owners. Your relatives may also be able warning: this activity is highly addictive! “The Old Bakery”. Mr. West was a prominent for Watchet Town. Ron represented Somerset to help to provide details about other Her closing words from Robert Baden townsman, being a member of the Urban at soccer and captained the FA Southern family members including those no longer Powell: “Look wide, and even when you District Council for many years during which Amateur XI. Indicative of his footballing living. A description of their appearance think you are looking wide - look wider time he served two terms as chairman. prowess, he was offered terms by Sheffield may help identify them from photographs. still”. I will add one to that, the title of a Wednesday and Bristol City. Family stories, rumours and hearsay novel by Primo Levi: “If not now, when?”! Mr. and Mrs. West’s eldest child was Joan, A rare story of one family’s academic and are also valuable as some may later be who died in 1999 at the age of 74. She sporting achievements. corroborated as fact! The aim is to build Andrew Harrison married Ken Webber, the son of a well-known up a picture of each ancestor as a whole Watchet family, and they both qualified as Maurice Chidgey Wansbrough Mill Community Archive Project Days

working with people who were a part of the Watchet Conservation Matters is published Watchet Conservation Society Wansbrough Mill family and in celebration of six times a year. If you would like to www.watchetconservationsociety.co.uk the influence of paper-making in Watchet’s contribute news or an article, please history. contact our secretary Jan Simpson-Scott Rolling Chairman on: [email protected] July - Bob Cramp Saturday September 23rd Members of the Watchet Conservation Membership Secretary The Community Archive event will Society recieve this newsletter bi-monthly Andrew Harrison be launched. This is the result of the either via email for free or a printed copy 01984 634498 Community archive days which were for £1.00 per copy. If you are not a member [email protected] held so people could share their stories and have enjoyed reading this publication, and memories of life at the Mill. Expect please consider joining us and help us Treasurer some great yarns and very interesting to conserve our physical and natural Ann Hill photographs and papers. Permission has environment. Membership is just £6.00 per 01984 632451 been given by all contributors so we can year. All of our committee members would [email protected] share their memories with you. be delighted to welcome you. Secretary October… Mill photography of Sue Lowe and Toby Jan Simpson-Scott Bryant by Bob Cramp. 07817 057882 Wansbrough Mill Community Archive A very exciting virtual reality tour of the Mill [email protected] Project Days buildings is being prepared for October. It Photography of Mineral Line flora and fauna sounds amazing!!!! More information closer by Dave Simpson-Scott. Case Work Consultant Friday September 1st to the time… Phil Gannon

The Wansbrough Mill archive is becoming Many thanks to the loyal hardworking Committee really exciting! The launch event to volunteers who have given their time and Nick Cotton showcase the range of archive material has energy to sorting through the documents Jason Robinson been set for Friday September 1st. There etc inside the mill offices. Many a time I have Mervyn Brown will be some invited guests and you are all had a headache wondering when will this Bob Cramp invited too. If you cannot make the launch be finished? I am glad to say that has now there will be plenty of time to catch up been done and Kalina and Chris are making because the displays will be up for all of final preparations to send it to the Somerset September. Heritage Centre for inclusion in their archive collection for posterity. There will be film, photographs, information boards, original live music and song written Ann Hill and performed by locals. There will be work by local visual artists. A Theatre WCS Representative on The Wansbrough Melange event is planned but not finalised Mill Archive Steering Group. yet. All of this inspired by the experience of A walk along the Mineral Line on 26th June 2017

Here are a few more pictures illustrating the ever- changing world of nature, particularly at this time of year along the Mineral Line.

Four different species, all making their own contribution to life - and in the case of the first Blackberry in bloom picture a future contribution perhaps to a human stomach! It is of course a blackberry in bloom, but well past its best and now the developing fruit is clearly visible.

No. 2 shows some balsam at the edge of the river just coming into its full summer plumage, beautifully intense pink.

The third shows what looks such a silky, cosy little cushion – but look more closely. It’s actually Balsam a seed head on a thistle. The cushion itself (and only the cushion!) is so soft that it is hard even to feel the tips of individual threads on a finger. What a contrast with the rest of the plant

Then there is beautiful sorrel, only just coming into bloom but soon the hints of red will develop dramatically and the plant will become very distinct within its enveloping green surroundings. Not at all obvious yet, but just wait! The last ower is a mallow, growing close to Thistle seed head the ground – lovely colour.

The final picture is of the top of a well-weathered post, very close to Kentsford.

It is beautifully covered (enrobed?) by a deep bed of at least two mosses, and their intricacy and detail are absolutely enchanting. Looked at closely enough, truly the land of elves and fairies!

Dave Simpson-Scott Moss on an old post