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"WELLOW, a hundred in county Somerset, contains the parishes of Camerton, Charterhouse-Hinton, Comb-Hay, Corston, Dunkerton, English Combe, Farleigh-Hungerford, Forscote, Newton St. Loe, Norton St. Philip, Tellisford, Twerton, and Wellow; comprising 21,900 acres."

Medieval packhorse bridge over Wellow Brook

There is a low water crossing (Irish Bridge) and late mediaeval packhorse bridge over Wellow Brook.[3]

A little further west is the Neolithic chambered tomb known as Stoney Littleton Long Barrow. The Long Barrow, which is also known as Bath Tumulus and the Wellow Tumulus, is a Neolithic chambered tomb with multiple burial chambers.[4] The barrow is about 30 metres (98 ft) in length and 15 metres (49 ft) wide at the south-east end, it stands nearly 3 metres (10 ft) high.[5] Internally it consists of a 12.8 metres (42 ft) long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber. There is a fossil ammonite decorating the left-hand doorjamb. The site was excavated by John Skinner in 1816-17 who gained the entry through a hole originally made about 1760. The excavation revealed the bones (some burned) of several individuals.[6]

The parish gave its name to the Wellow Hundred.[7]

On 26 June 1685 the Duke of Monmouth's rebellious forces made their way from Midford to Norton St. Philip after failing to advance into Bristol and Bath. Their exact route is subject to conjecture, but it is widely assumed that they would have taken their heavy cannons via the Wellow and Norton Brook valleys rather than tackling the steep ascent to Hinton Charterhouse, and that Baggridge would have been used as a vantage point for surveying the route ahead.

In the 1880s and 1890s a small mine extracting and drying Fuller's earth was situated between Wellow and Stoney Littleton and also on Hassage Hill.[8]

In World War II the Wellow valley became part of the GHQ stop line green, with defences intended to isolate southern England in the event of German invasion. The remains of a number of type 24 pillboxes and anti-tank cubes can be found in various riverside locations both upstream and downstream of the village.

Disused signal box on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, now privately owned

Wellow Station, on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, opened in 1874 and closed in 1966. The station building was converted into a house by the artist Peter Blake and his then wife Jann Haworth, in the mid-1970s. The railway followed the route of the Radstock arm of the Somerset Coal Canal. Although the Camerton branch of the canal was very successful, the Radstock branch was not, mainly because its connection to the main line at Midford involved transhipment via a tramway, and it carried very little traffic. The canal was mainly obliterated by the railway although a sharp bend (still in water) at St Julian's Well, and a tunnel, were bypassed by the viaduct over the foot of Bull's Hill. The railway trackbed East of the village is now part of national cycle route NCR 24, the Colliers Way. From April 2013 the route has a level connection beyond Midford to Bath via the Two Tunnels Greenway. This project was partially funded by auctioning King Bladud's pigs, 104 sculptures decorated by different artists, which were exhibited throughout the Bath area in 2008. Wellow hosted several pigs, including the most expensive of all which was decorated by Peter Blake and housed in the village pub, the Fox and Badger. The cycle route continues westward via Wellow High Street and minor roads to Stoney Littleton and Shoscombe before rejoining the former railways to Radstock and Frome.

Governance[edit]

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council advises the local planning authority on applications and works with the local police, unitary council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of public facilities, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, as well as consulting with the unitary council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also of interest to the council.

Pig sculpture in the centre of the village

The parish falls within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset which was created in 1996; Bath and North East Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Fire, police and ambulance services are provided by the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the Great Western Ambulance Service.

Between 1974 and 1996 Bath and North East Somerset carried out district council functions only, county council services being provided by Avon County Council. Before 1974 the parish was part of the Bathavon Rural District of Somerset.[9]

The parish falls within the constituency of North East Somerset in the British House of Commons, and is also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs.

Geography[edit]

Fox and Badger pub

Nearby are the Hinton Hill and Cleaves Wood sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Wellow Brook rises near Ston Easton Park in the village of Ston Easton and flows east to Midsomer Norton. West of Radstock, it is joined by the River Somer and a tributary from Kilmersdon to the south. It then flows through Wellow before joining the Cam Brook at Midford to form Midford Brook which joins the River Avon close to the Dundas Aqueduct.

Hinton Hill is of importance to studies of the stratigraphy of the Middle Jurassic of the Bath district, and the British Bathonian as a whole.[10]

Cleaves Wood is an ancient, semi-natural deciduous woodland on Oolitic Limestone. It has a high diversity of tree and shrub species and a large population of the nationally scarce plant Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum) also known as Bath Asparagus. There are also areas of grassland which is lightly grazed by rabbits and is a mosaic of close grazed and rough swards, and wetter areas.[11] The scarce plants found here include the Fly Orchid[12] and Wild Daffodil.[13] The habitat diversity of the site has resulted in a rich invertebrate fauna, including two nationally rare insects: the beetle Osphya bipunctata and the hoverfly Cheilosia nigripes. Twenty-seven butterflies have been recorded from the site including the nationally scarce species, Duke of Burgundy Fritillary (Hamearis lucina). The nationally scarce moth, blomers rivulet (Discoloxia blomeri) has also been recorded on the site. Other nationally scarce species include the snail Ena montana, the hoverfly Xanthogramma citrotasciatum, and a number of beetle species.[11]

Religious sites[edit]

Wellow Church

The parish Church of St Julian, Wellow at Wellow has origins before the 12th century although the present building dates from 1372. The west tower has three stages, set back buttresses with off-sets which turn into diagonal pinnacles in upper stages. There is an embattled parapet with pinnacles. The square stair turret on the south-east corner terminates as an octagon. There is a three-light window to the bell chamber with cusped heads and a similar but larger window with transom to west. It is a Grade I listed building.[14]

The church is believed to have Roman origins in connection with a local villa and the dedication to Julian the Hospitaller may support this claim. A statue of St Julian holding an oar is displayed in a niche above the porch. It is known that Wellow was granted to monastery of St. Andrew at Wells, now Wells Cathedral, in 766 by the King of the West Saxons. In 1117 it was given, along with Frome to an order of Augustinian Canons at Cirencester (now Cirencester Abbey by Henry I.

This affiliation is confirmed by a charter signed by Edward III in 1337. In 1369 Sir Thomas Hungerford bought Wellow and rebuilt the church which was consecrated on May Day in 1372 by John Harewell, Bishop of Bath and Wells.

Statue of St Julian holding an oar

The Porch has a 14th-century oak door. The east end of the south aisle bears a scratch dial of a Sundial. The octagonal south rood stair turret dates from around 1450 however most of the chancel is from a 19th-century refurbishment. The nave includes a clerestory which was added around the middle of the 15th century along with the Rood Screen. The font dates from around 1250 but has undergone several restorations. The Hungerford Chapel contains 15th century wall paintings of Christ and the twelve apostles dating from the 15th century and several monuments to the Hungerford family.

The 84 feet (26 m) west tower, which was built around 1475,[3] has three stages, set back buttresses with off-sets which turn into diagonal pinnacles in upper stages. There is an embattled parapet with pinnacles. The square stair turret on the south-east corner terminates as an octagon. There is a three-light window to the bell chamber with cusped heads and a similar but larger window with transom to west.

According to de Varazze, the night Julian was born, his father, a man of noble blood, saw pagan witches secretly jinx his son into killing both his parents. His father wanted to get rid of the child, but his mother did not let him do so. As the boy grew into a handsome young man, his mother would regularly burst into tears because of the sin her son was destined to commit. When he finally found out the reason for her tears, he swore he "would never commit such a sin" and "with great belief in Christ went off full of courage" as far away from his parents as he could. Some versions say that it was his mother who told him at the age of 10, while others say it was a stag he met in the forest while hunting (a situation used in depicting St. Julian in statues and pictures). After fifty days of walking he finally reached Galicia where he married a "good woman", said to be a wealthy widow.

Twenty years later, his parents decided to go look for their now thirty-year-old son. When they arrived, they visited the altar of St. James, and "as soon as they came out of the church they met a woman sitting on a chair outside, whom the pilgrims greeted and asked, for Jesus' love, whether she would host them for the night as they were tired". She let them in and told them that her husband, Julian, was out hunting. (This is why he is also known as the patron of hunters). The mother and father were overjoyed to have found their son, as was Julian's wife. "She took care of them well and had them rest in her and Julian's bed". But the enemy went off seeking Julian and told him: 'I have sour news for you. While you are here, hunting, your wife is in bed embracing another man. There they are right now, still sleeping.'"

De Verazze continues: "And Julian felt deep sadness and his face drew into a frown. He rode back home, went to his bed and found a man and a woman sleeping in it. He drew his sword and killed them both. He was about to take off and never again set foot in that land, but as he was leaving he saw his wife sitting among the other women. She told him: 'There are your mother and father resting in your room'. And so Julian knew, and fell into a rage. 'The shrewd enemy lied to me when he said my wife was betraying me', and while kissing their wounds he cried 'Better had I never been born, for I am cursed in soul and body.' And his good wife comforted him and said 'Have faith in Christ Almighty, a stream of life and mercy.' They had no children... Gold and silver they had a lot... And after seeking redemption in Rome, Julian built seven hospitals and twenty-five houses. And the poor started flowing to him, to Jesus' Almighty's love."

Quattrino of Macerata depicting Saint Julian

De Verazze continues: "The enemy conspired again to ruin Julian—disguised as a weak pilgrim, he was let in by Julian with the others. At midnight he woke up and made a mess of the house." The following morning Julian saw the damage and swore never to let in anyone else in his home. He was so furious he had everyone leave. "And Jesus went to him, again as a pilgrim, seeking rest. He asked humbly, in the name of God, for shelter. But Julian answered with contempt: 'I shall not let you in. Go away, for the other night I had my home so vandalized that I shall never let you in.' And Christ told him 'Hold my walking-stick, please'. Julian, embarrassed, went to take the stick, and it stuck to his hands. And Julian recognized him at once and said 'He tricked me the enemy who does not want me to be your faithful servant. But I shall embrace you, I do not care about him; and for your love I shall give shelter to whoever needs.' He knelt and Jesus forgave him, and Julian asked, full of repentance, forgiveness for his wife and parents. Some versions skip the second mistake and tell of an angel visiting Julian and announcing to him that he is forgiven

"WELLOW, a hundred in county Somerset, contains the parishes of Camerton, Charterhouse-Hinton, Comb-Hay, Corston, Dunkerton, English Combe, Farleigh-Hungerford, Forscote, Newton St. Loe, Norton St. Philip, Tellisford, Twerton, and Wellow; comprising 21,900 acres."