news & views Holford March – April 2020 Editorial This is an exceptionally stressful time particularly for the older, more vulnerable members of our community. Our feeling is that everyone who can help, will help, if there are those in need. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Parish Council or myself and Emma here at Holford News and Views if you need a helping hand or are worried about anything. You will notice that this issue is to be digital, on line only, due to the risk factors of delivering paper copies to 140 homes during the health crisis. The plus side to this is that we are able to publish 4 extra pages of your submissions so lots of good reading! Importantly, I will address the matter of village security. Living in this idyllic village it is easy to forget that bad things happen and bad people are still around threatening our peace and security. Neighbourhood watch is an invaluable tool in the fight against crime. Erl Plomgrem (Lady Charles House) keeps an eye on properties around the Triangle. He would welcome volunteers to become part of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Holford is spread out and we need more people to cover different areas of the village. Please contact Erl if you are willing to help. If you witness antisocial or illegal behaviour which needs more than ‘watching’ then please contact Police Sergeant Andrew Murphy QPM. He needs to hear about every incident. Nice chap, ready and willing to help! Email Andrew.Murphy@avon and somerset.police.uk. Tel: 07889 655564. Reporting every incident will enable the police to put together a picture of what help and support is needed in Holford and the surrounding area. There has been a deluge of phishing phone calls to villagers. Please be very cautious about giving out any personal information. There is a very sophisticated web of scammers based abroad who appear very plausible and will try to access your personal or banking details on many different pretexts. Finally, Hema Stanley and Midge Wise have produced Welcome cards for new residents in the village. The cards contain contact details for village, village hall, parish council and parochial council. Cards will be available from Maureen Young (The Ferns). The snowdrops herald the end of winter; let’s hope we don’t have to endure too many days of ‘March (?) winds doth blow and we shall have snow’. Happy Springtime and keep well! Chris Mew This edition of Holford News and Views has been kindly sponsored by Combe House Hotel A full colour version is available on the Holford Village website www.HolfordVillage.com – Thank you to David Talling 2 From our Sponsor - A Brief History of Combe House Combe House has not always been a hotel, originally it was one house and a small water wheel that can be dated back to the 1600’s. It was not until the 1800’s that James Hayman built what can be best described as a mini industrial estate. Dove Cottage, which stands in the hotel grounds was once the leather tannery, the distinctive brickwork on the end gable walls lets air pass through the building to allow the animal hides to dry out. The additional cottages were added on the hotel site and surrounding area for the tannery and mill workers to live in. The current mill was built in 1820. The overshot wheel was fed by a header pond midway up the Combe and then into a leat. The pond can still be seen today and parts of the leat can be traced down to the wheel. The was used for cutting chaff, sawing wood, chopping cider apples and breaking stones from the quarry opposite the lane. It was also used as a pump for moving tanning solutions and rinse waters around the tannery. In the fire place in the dining room can be seen the remains of a bakery oven where corn from the mill was used to make bread. The original water wheel was replaced in 1892 with the existing 26 foot metal overshot one made by the Culverwell foundry in Bridgwater. The wheel was still in use until the early 1960’s, all be it to generate electricity using a 60 volt DC plant for the Hotel and surrounding cottages. In 1962 the wheel was choked up to make it safe and stop it turning. We now have plans to replace the fins and preserve the remains of the mill workings. As the industrial side of the Combe died away the owners struggled to pay the bills, slowly the land and cottages were sold off leaving one grand house and several smaller cottages. With the overheads still high they then started to take in walkers calling it ‘Combe Glen Hostel’ eventually knocking through the building to create the one long house it is today. It became a seasonal hotel in the late 1940’s establishing itself as Combe House Hotel, a popular destination for holiday makers and walkers through the 1970’s whilst closing during winter. In the 1980’s it was refurbished and marketed as a country house hotel and since then has gone from strength to strength. The current owners, Gareth and Catherine Weed took ownership of the hotel in 2007. 3 Reports : In January Simon Blackley, from Kilve, talked about the Back from the Brink nature conservation campaign that has been running across the country for the past 3 years. By way of background he talked about biodiversity and biomass and the complicated interdependencies between species. He gave the striking example of one long term impact of whaling - fewer whales meant less food for Orcas, which then ate more seals and sea otters. Sea otters eat sea urchins and in places the lack of otters has led to a rise in numbers of urchins. Uncontrolled numbers of urchins then eat all the kelp, depriving many other species of their habitat. Back from the Brink is one of the most ambitious conservation projects ever undertaken in the UK aiming to save 20 species from extinction and benefit over 200 more through 19 projects from Cornwall to Northumberland. It is the first time ever that so many conservation organisations have come together to bring back from the brink of extinction some of England’s most threatened species of animal, plant and fungi. The closest project is at Lytes Cary, focusing on protecting the Shrill Carder Bee and its grassland habitat. You can find out more about the projects at www.naturebftb.co.uk and if you want to do more in your own garden for wildlife, try No Mow May and see what flowers might be lurking in your lawn and the wildlife that might be attracted. On a very wet and windy February evening it was good to see so many members coming along to enjoy an entertaining talk, Somerset’s Moorland Way by Peter Triggs. Peter had spent many years working across the Somerset Moors and taking photographs of the beautiful scenery through the seasons. The audience was taken on a tour from Taunton to Wells, via Creech St Michael, Langport, North Curry, Westonzoyland and many more places in between. Peter also gave recommendations for refreshments available along the way such as the Community café in North Curry, the Rose and Crown in Stoke St Gregory and the annual Street Fair in Othery. He tested the audience with questions through the talk, with those first to get the right answer being rewarded with a sweet! Church News The Barn Dance was a great success after I had got myself in a dreadful state thinking no- body was coming! However, lots of people did come and great fun was had by all. We made £260 for church funds. The Lent lunch was very much down on numbers obviously owing to the Coronavirus but we still made over £100 to send to the Deanery Mission Project. Thank you to all those who came and enjoyed our soups! As far as the church in general is concerned, there will be a piece in the next Parish News regarding the opening of the church. However, I will just say that the church will still be open every day if you would like to go in and sit quietly and pray or meditate. Obviously there will not be any services in the near future as contact with other people is very restricted. If you need to enquire about a wedding or funeral, please contact Nicky directly on 732873. She will be able to give you all the details. 4 Holford History Society Chairman : Graeme MacKinley Report : Firstly, thank you to all who attended on February 26th. It was a night to remember as our guest speaker Lesley Stewart delivered a superb talk entitled “Smuggling in Somerset”. It was evident that she had researched the subject with meticulous care and the talk was received with enthusiasm, thank you Lesley. It was good to meet with our neighbours from Holford and surrounding district, there was a real sense of community which was also highlighted in Lesley’s talk within the smuggling community. Secondly, I would like to thank our Committee, Penny, Sheila, Andrew and Mike for all their efforts in the background from making the tea, coffee, working the projector, seeking out members and collecting your fees as you entered the door. Dates for your Diary: Subject to current restrictions these may be postponed April 1st – An illustrated talk about the history of land drainage on the Levels and the part played by Westonzoyland’s pumping station – Iain Miles April 29th.