SHEPTON MALLET

Shepton Mallet, standing practically upon the Fosse Way, which here begins to take the hills, was given by Ine, as Croscombe was, to the Abbey of Glaston. At the Conquest it came to be held of the Abbot by Roger de Courcelle, but later it was held by the Mallets, from whom it takes its second name.

For many years it was famous for the manufacture of woollen-cloth, in which, even in Collinson’s day, some four thousand persons were employed. But all this has come to nothing, and to-day, the “ Anglo-Bavarian” Brewery, I suppose, accounts for much of the “ industry ” here.

The church, with its very glorious triple windowed tower, the noblest of all towers of this type, is almost all that remains of old Shepton, and that, as I have said, has suffered much from villains and fools, both in the time of the change in religion and in our own day. What remains, however, in spite of this vandalism, is of very considerable interest and beauty.

This consists of the ancient font, of the late Transition arcade of the nave, the thirteenth century chancel arch, with its fine responds, the beautiful double piscina, the glorious tower of the early Perpendicular period, perhaps the earliest Perpendicular tower in Somerset, the magnificent late fifteenth century oak roof, perhaps the finest in the county, consisting of three hundred and fifty carved panels, all of different design, with bosses and rosettes, and thirty-six angels, and the very lovely stone-pulpit.

The chancel is low, and no doubt over the chancel arch, where now the ugly and forbidding tables of the old law hang, there was originally a Rood, or perhaps a picture of the Last Judgment. Originally, of course, the church had no clerestory, hence the great height over the low chancel arch.

The horrible galleries that now spoil the church should be done away with. From the church we proceed to the Market Place, where I suppose the rare old shambles now so ruinous, the last mediaeval shambles left in England, it is said, should certainly be examined. They date from the fifteenth century.

Only about half of them is left; another row, a generation ago, ran along the other side of the market place. Here, of course, meat was sold. The Market Cross, the lower part of which, including the shelter, is ancient, was built in the year 1500. The upper part, which fell in the eighteenth century, was rebuilt in 1841.

The original brass remains, with the following inscription : “ Of your charyte pray for the soules of Walter Buklond and Agnes hys wyff with whoys goods thys Crosse was made in the yere of our Lord God 1500 whoys obbyt

Shepton Mallet. Market Cross.

shall be kepte for Ever in thys parisshe Churche of Shepion Mallett ye 28 day of November whoys soules Jesu pardon. With the Market Place it would seem one has done with Shepton, a singularly unfortunate town, very irregularly built, and with less visible antiquity about it than one would expect

ILCHESTEROld forms:

Ivelcestery

Yevel,

YevilChester;from theriver Ivel,

the camp or station on the Ivel.— We next come to the very queer case of Ilchester.

Why it should ever have existed out there on the moor is difficult to gather save for this— Roman roads crossed there, from Dorchester to the coast

by the Poldens, and from Seaton and)Axminster to Bath onwards the Fosse Way.

The latter road at least was made very early, probably before a .d . 50, and some sort of Roman station may have been thought necessary in advance of the big British work at Cadbury.

With the Roman name in mind, the visitor comes to Ilchester, and is profoundly disappointed; for not only does he find no Roman

trace there, but hardly anything at all, mediaeval or modern

…….. Dont.. forget the waterways they were

the transport highways and if you care to reconstruct the geography

things show a different coherant picture

ILCHESTER 217

. He crosses a bridge over the Ivel , and finds himself at a column (comparatively modern) at the apex of a triangle with two drab streets forking away as two sides of it.

This column, where once stood the market cross, opposite the “ town hall” , is a tall cylindrical pillar with sundial

and weather vane: and the bridge 1825 with six

arches (there were seven in Leland’s time) is apparently near where a Roman ford was. It is a

melancholy case of decay: and the ordinary traveller

contents himself, perhaps, with the memory that

here were Roman crossroads, that there was a siege

in 1088, that Roger Bacon was born here in 1214,

and that the place was fortified in the Civil War.

One thing alone catches the eye, the small octagonal

tower of the church (St Mary’s), planted on a square

base; and on inspection of the interior you see one

or two signs of antiquity— a squint, and some corner

niches in the north chapel. Unaided we are completely nonplussed, and so we have recourse to

Mr Alfred Warbis, whose booklet Ilchester (Murray

& Co., Yeovil) is an excellent example of what may

be done by patient reconstruction of a town which

has buried its past. Ilchester is generally said to be

the Ischalis of Ptolemy and the Antonine Itinerary,

but this is quite inaccurate, first, because the latitude

and longitude of Ischalis put it near the mouth of the

Axe, twenty-seven miles W. of Bath: and second,

because Ischalis does not appear in the Antonine

Itinerary. It has been known as Ivelcestre, Yevilcestre, Givelcestre, and Ivelchester. At the Conquest

it was a borough with 107 burgesses and a Wednesday

The site ofDunster Castlehas been occupied for over a thousand years.

It was a place of note in Saxon times serving as a frontier fortress against the Celts and Northmen.

The Domesday Book states that it belonged to Aluric in the time of Edward the Confessor when it was known asTorre, a fortified tower.

It then becameDunestorre, later shortened to Dunster; the Dun or Dune signifying a ridge of mountains stretching towards the coast. After the Norman invasion, Dunster and other properties were granted to William de Mohun. Of the Norman castle no trace remains; the oldest surviving feature is the thirteenth century Gateway to the lower ward. In 1376 Lady Joan de Mohun sold Dunster to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, to whose descendants it belonged until the present century.

In 1617 George Luttrell engaged William Arnold to design a new house in the lower ward of the Castle.

During the Commonwealth the fortifications were demolished, though fortunately the Jacobean mansion was spared. It was refurbished in the 1680s by Colonel Erancis Luttrell who installed fine plasterwork ceilings and a magnificent staircase.

The eighteenth century additions were swept away by George Fownes Luttrell and his architect, Anthony Salvin, in 1868-72. Salvin gave the house its castellated appearance by adding two great towers with turrets and battlements. In the centre of the park (south) front he added the lofty tower with a drawing room on the ground floor and three storeys of bedrooms above.

He remodelled the entrance (north) fafade, rebuilding the porch and enlarging the west wing with a new kitchen in its basement, and a comprehensive range of domestic offices in the low wing extending to the gateway.

The appearance of the house before these alterations is recorded in watercolour drawings by J. Buckler, two of which are illustrated in the guidebook. In 1976 the Castle and park were

Dunkery Beacon at the summit of Dunkery Hill is the highest point on Exmoor and in Somerset, England. It is also the highest point in southern England outside of Dartmoor.

The sandstone hill rises to 1,705 feet (520 m) and provides views over the surrounding moorland, theBristol Channeland hills up to 86 miles (138 km) away. The site has been visited by humans since the Bronze Age, and contains several burial mounds in the form of cairns and bowl barrows. Sweetworthy on the lower slopes is the site of two Iron Age hill forts or enclosures and a deserted medieval settlement.

The hill is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest and National nature reserve. It was in private ownership until the 20th century, when it was donated to the National Trust by Sir Thomas Acland, Colonel Wiggin and Allan Hughes;

a stone cairn was erected at the summit to commemorate the event.

Dunkery Hill was part of the "Royal Forest of Exmoor", established by Henry II according to the late 13th-century Hundred Rolls. There has been some debate about the origin of the name "Dunkery" and its predecessors "Duncrey" and "Dunnecray". Eilert Ekwall suggests that it comes from the Welsh din meaning hillfort and creic or creag meaning rock.

There are several Bronze Age burial mounds at or near the summit. Two of the largest are Joaney How andRobin How, which have been damaged over many years, although plans have been made to restore and protect them.[12] "How" comes from the Norse for burial mound.[13] Joaney How on the northern slope, is more than 22 metres (72 ft) in diameter.[14][15] On the southeastern slopes are four more cairns,[16] and there are a further two round cairns 390 metres (1,280 ft) and 420 metres (1,380 ft) southeast of Rex Stile Head.[17] In addition to the cairns are barrows, which also date from the Bronze Age. One bowl barrow on the southeastern spur of the Chains is 12.3 metres (40 ft) in diameter.[18] A circular funerary stone mound 850 metres (2,790 ft) north ofDunkery Bridge, which is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) walk from the summit, dates from theNeolithicor Bronze Age. It is approximately 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) high and 14 metres (46 ft) in diameter.[19][20]

The National Trust plaque on the summit

Sweetworthy,

on Dunkery Hill's north-facing slope, is the site of two Iron Age hill forts or enclosures;

one has a single rampart and external ditch, enclosing 0.25 hectares (0.62 acres).[23] The rampart is still visible, and the ditch on the east side is used as a trackway.

There was a defended settlement above the main site.

It is also the site of a deserted medieval settlement, which has been designated an ancient monument.

It has been added to the Heritage at Risk register because of the vulnerability to plant growth.

In 1918 Sir Thomas Acland leased part of the land.along with a large part of the Holnicote Estate, for 500 years.[30] Dunkery Hill was put up for sale in 1928. Labour Party activist and Member of Parliament Margaret Bondfield asked in the House of Commons if the government was willing to have it designated an ancient monument, to preserve it for future generations. She received the reply that although the government was agreeable to having the hill listed there were no funds available for its purchase;[31] the beacon and surrounding mounds were subsequently designated an ancient monument.[32] The beacon itself, and 960 acres (390 ha) of surrounding land, was donated in 1932 by Colonel W.W. Wiggin. A further 945 acres (382 ha) of nearby land was donated in 1934 by Mrs Hughes in memory of her husband Alan Hughes of Lynch Allerford, Minehead.[30] The donations were commemorated in 1935 with an event when a plaque was attached to the summit memorial cairn. Further parts of the Holnicote Estate, which includes other land donated by the Acland family and others, was given in subsequent years

EXCURSIONS EAST OF MINEHEAD

As all places of interest westward of Minehead are described in previous chapters, we may now turn our steps in the opposite direction. In this case both road and rail help the visitor to explore the country. The railway is convenient for the seaboard places as far as Watchet, and places near the main road, which runs farther inland, are well served by the Taunton and Bridgwater buses.

The main Bridgwater-Minehead road has been much improved, the most dangerous comers having been cut off and narrow parts widened. Blue Anchor, Kilve, Quantoxhead and other small villages are reached by little branch roads from this. Great care is necessary on emerging from them on to the main road.

OLD CLEEVE AND BLUE ANCHOR

A pleasant half-day may be spent by booking to Blue Anchor from Minehead and walking from there (about 11 miles) to Old Cleeve. But the road (part of the Taunton or Bridgwater bus route) is very interesting. Leaving Minehead by Friday Street and Alcombe, and passing Dunster on the right, continue along the main road to—

Carhampton

Carhampton is the home of the West Somerset Foxhounds. It has an ancient history and according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was the site of a Danish victory in the year 833. The Church, restored in 1860, possesses a magnificent painted fifteenth-century screen of eleven openings, stretching across the whole breadth of the building. The registers, in which there are some quaint entries, date back to 1634, while in the porch is a list of vicars from 1297. Near the Lych Gate is The Butcher's Arms

88

which has the date 1638 worked in sheep’s knuckle bones in the cobbled floor. The custom of wassailing the apple trees is still observed each Old Twelfth night in the orchard of the inn.

From Carhampton, a lane turns off on the right to Withycombe, a picturesque little village situated under the extreme end of the hill running out of Dunster Park, which is known as Withycombe Beacon. Withycombe Church has a low massive tower, probably the oldest part. It is a small building, with a good screen. There are two nameless monuments, one in a window recess on the north side being apparently that of a lady in the costume of about the thirteenth century and holding in her hands a heart case, with the narrow end upward. The effigy on the other side represents a layman, also of the thirteenth century, and is probably another case of heart interment. There is a yew and the foundation of an old cross.

In this parish is Sandhill, one of the many old manor-houses in the district, now a farm. It was the home of the Wyndhams, and is a fine old house, said to be haunted by the ghost of one Madame Joan Came, a witch, who is reputed to have made away with one or all of her three husbands. She was buried in 1612, and the brass to her memory is still in the vestry of Withycombe Church. Her spirit, however, could not rest, and when the party returned from the funeral Madame Carne was back at Sandhill—frying eggs and bacon! She was finally “laid” in a pond some distance from the house, but not securely, for her spirit approaches nearer to the farmhouse by a “cock-stride” every year, so that it may be assumed a second “laying” will in time be required. The story is typical of many such legends in the neighbourhood.

Return to the main road, from which a visit to Withycombe is a digression, pass through the hamlet of Bilbrook and take the turning to Old Cleeve at Dragon Cross, named after an inn which once stood near. The Dragon House Hotel dates back a thousand years and was in use as a guest house during the Cistercian occupation of the Abbey. Though modernized into a comfortable hotel the building retains its character and original features.

WATCHET

Sport and Entertainment.—Bathing, boating, cricket, bowls, tennis, angling, hunting and motor-coach excursions. The Bowling Club, with a ladies’ section, adjoins Doniford Road. The Tennis Club is in Govier’s Lane. Visitors welcomed.

Watchet may be reached from Minehead by rail or road, 8 miles. Motorists go by the main road, turning off at Washford Cross just by one of the B.B.C.’s high-power Transmitting Stations, whose grey buildings with beautifully kept gardens and aerial masts 500 feet high stand out strikingly.

Watchet is a busy little seaport town, with a population of about 2,600, and having large paper mills. The harbour was almost destroyed in 1900, and much damage was done to shipping, but the inhabitants pluckily rose to the occasion, got the town formed into an urban district, and have since rebuilt the harbour. There is an esplanade, and a breezy pleasure-ground, recreation and War Memorial Ground close by. The climate is bracing. Good sea fishing, bowling, tennis and cricket are available, and the Quantock Staghounds and West Somerset Foxhounds often meet within easy distance of the town.

Watchet is of great antiquity. It was certainly a port before Bristol was known. The Danes, who harassed all these coasts, landed at Watchet, then Wacedport, on various occasions between a.d, 918 and 997. A spot called Battlegore, between Watchet and Williton, is said to have been the site of a pitched battle between Watchet men and the invaders in 988, and here are still to be seen large tumuli and two enormous stones. The local story is that the stones were cast from the Quantocks by the Devil and a giant who had engaged in a throwing match, but from excavations carried out in 1931, which revealed a third stone, it was considered that they originally formed a dolmen and the tumuli were found to be Bronze Age barrows.

In Saxon times Watchet had a mint, and issued its own coins. Later, the town was represented in Parliament and had a Mayor,but all these glories have departed. Watchet was to a limited extent concerned in the war between King and Parliament.

On each side of the harbour are fine cliffs, in some places beautifully engrained with red and white alabaster from which local sculptors fashion attractive bookends, ashtrays and the like.

Bat's Castlemay once have been known as the legendary fortressDin Draithou, a place also associated with

a fortress built or used by the legendary Irish king and raiderCrimthann mac Fidaig.

Bats Castle is anIron Agehill fortat the top of a 213 metres 699 ft high hill in the parish ofCarhamptonsouth south west ofDunsterinSomerset, England.

The site was identified in 1983 after some schoolboys found eight silver-plated coins dating from 102BC to AD350.

It is on the highest point of Gallox Hill.

Previously it was known as Caesar's Camp and is possibly associated withBlack Ball Camp. Bat's Castle has two stone ramparts and two ditches.

The ramparts are damaged in places and the hill fort is partly covered in scrub.

Bat's Castle may once have been known as the legendary fortressDin Draithou, a place also associated with a fortress built or used by the legendary Irish king and raiderCrimthann mac Fidaig.

THE BORE ,

the course of the stream, the head of the tide will not be so high as it is in these days. We are fortunate in being here at full moon. Indeed everything is favourable to a sight worth seeing. The wave, gleaming

white in the dis­tance, rolls nearer and nearer Now we hear the sound of its growing roar. The ships’ hawsers are made taut. Boats are turned with bow to meet the on­coming tide. Then the shrill voices of the

children cry “ nTide’s coming I ” and at last it sweeps past us, rocking the boats, or carrying them away like corks, washing the timbers of the shipping, rushing through the arches of the bridge.

What astonishes us most is the rapidity with which the channel of the river is filled. When we have descended from our point of vantage, and passed under the triple arch of the old Water­gate, and said

farewell to Master Clerk, the water has already risen to a con­siderable height. We are just in time to see the barge on the Slip with its precious freight of the two stone effigies take the water,

and ride off on the tide on its way to

FRIARN STREET

29

Taunton.Bon voyageto the Knight and his lady.

And so to our inn, to supper, and to bed ! Do you ask what we had for supper ! I will tell you.

We feasted sumptuously on a hen in a pasty, a gift which kind Brother Nicholas had sent to the inn for us, four mutton bones boiled, a manchet, and a pottle of beer, which we shared with two other pilgrims.

We have not seen day dawn, but we are up betimes and have broken our fast before we leave the inn to be present in the church of the Grey Friars

at mass.

Our host sees us off at his door and points the way. It is not difficult to find. Freren Street or Friarn Street does but carry on the main street in Damyet. Not many yards away we pass the Wayhur or

Horsepond on our left and then come to the wall behind which the Friary and its Church stand between the street and the brook. We note that the houses here are smaller and meaner than we have yet met

with in the town, as indeed we Might

well

14

THE BRIDGE CHAPEL

words.

It tells us that the bridge was built at the expense of some member or members of the Trevet family, who lived in this neighbourhood Remember that, in this age, this is an act of piety.

To build a bridge or repair a road, and thus help Gods pilgrims is a holy deed Clime to us is a small Chapel built actually on the bridge, which places the structure under the protection of one of the saints, and where offerings lot its maintenance are collected. It is served, not by our friends of the Hospital, but by thegrey Friars,whose acquaintance e we have yet to make.

There are dwelling houses on the bridge beside the Chapel, and at one of them the tollman will rolled our bridge-pennies as we pass his door. I said that the bridge is the hub of the town. Truly, we are in the midst of a busy scene, and from out point of vantage can see much oi what is going on around us. On the stone Slip, which has but lately been built, and which is destined long to outlive the bridge itself, lies aeffigies en ROUTE

15

Barge.

A crowd, almost as large as that which we have seen in Eastover, is collected on thequayand is looking down on the work of a group of labourers, who are directed by a master mason in charge of the operation. They have brought from a ship, which has come up the river on the last tide, two stone effigies swathed in straw. The faces and hands, however, are visible, and we see that the Bristol carvers have fashioned here a Knight and his Lady, with faces and hands turned towards heaven. The labourers are now lifting them into the flat-bottomed barge.

On the next tide they will be carried up to Taunton, and thence will make their final journey in awaggonto the church for which they are destined. Below the bridge, moored against the quay-side lie ships, not a few.

That fine vessel Le Gabriel de Bridgwater belongs to Master Dennis Dwin, the Irish merchant. She is unloading her cargo of woad, a blue dye-stuff for the use of the Bridgwater cloth makers. The town crane is busy hoisting it ashore.La Marie de Tanton got rid of

Bricgstowe (Bristol)

Exactly when the city was founded is unknown. The earliest relic is a silver coin in the Royal Collection at Stockholm, Sweden.

The coin bears the image of Ethelred Unrede (978 -1016) and was minted in Bricgstowe (Bristol) by a man named Aelfweld.

If Bristol was important enough to have a mint by 978 it must have been in existance sometime before then.

• It is fairly certain that no town existed here before 577 AD.
• The reason being that in 577 two Saxon kings (Cuthwine and Ceawlin) fought and killed three British kings (Commail, Condidan and Farinmail) at a village called Dyrham near Pucklechurch, just outside of the present city. Although the towns of Bath, Gloucester and Cirencester are mentioned in the account of this battle, Bristol isn't mentioned at all, even though it would have been closer than those mentioned.
• Thus, Bristol was founded sometime between 577 and 978 AD. Even by this latter date the town was known to be dealing sending slaves to the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.
• Bridges at this time were of vital importance.
• There are three reasons why Bristol, as a port, is situated 7 miles inland with access to ships up a very tortuous river. A bridge across the Avon nearer it's mouth would have been technologically very difficult, the land there was very prone to flooding and the town would have been very exposed to attack. Ships would make their way up the Avon until they reached Bristol Bridge and lay beached at low tide on the mud ready to be unloaded.
• Bristol before 1000 AD
• Bristol ~ before 1000 AD (the area enclosed by the Old City Walls)
• The named streets are still in existence.
• Being built in the crook of the River Frome next to the River Avon provided Bristol with near perfect protection. The building of a wall around the town further increased its fortifications. A walk around the area bounded by the old city walls -even though they don't exist now, except for the old St. John's Gate at the bottom of Broad Street -is a very pleasant way of spending an hour or so.
• 
  
• ORATION : The Court of Bricgstowe No. 75, 2nd April 2011
• by W.& Em.Bro. Colin Lowther, Provincial Eminent Grand Prior Elect of Wessex
• 
  
• Most Worshipful Grand Master, Worshipful Master, Worshipful Brethren, Brethren.
• Brethren, we are assembled here today in harmony and peace, and privileged to be present at, and to participate in, the consecration of the newest Court of Athelstan, the sixth Court in the Province of Wessex.
• Bricgstowe Court No. 75.
• Bristol or is it Bricgstowe, has a recorded history of over 1000 years. There is an unrecorded history going back to pre Roman times. It was a small market town or burgh from as early as the 10th Century and forming part of the Kingdom of Wessex.
• 1000 years has seen many changes. We meet here today in this ancient city and in this wonderful Masonic Temple. The Bristol we know today has grown from a small town into a thriving city. The original Kingdom of Wessex disappeared many years ago but the name Wessex lives on and we now have the Province of Wessex in the Masonic Order of Athelstan.
• The building in which we meet today is the Province of Bristol. All of the Orders and Degrees administered by the Province of Bristol meet in this one building. Craft, Royal Arch, Mark, Royal Ark Mariners and the Camp of Baldwyn. The Camp of Baldwyn holds a unique position in English Freemasonry. It incorporates in one body, five Royal Orders of Knighthood.
• This building was acquired by the Province in 1872 and with the exception of a number of years following damage by enemy action in 1940, every meeting has been held within these walls.
• As the Masonic Order of Athelstan, we are youngsters in the Masonic world. But our Order is based on foundations laid down when Bricgstowe was but a youngster. Ten Provinces each with Ten Courts. Representing, as near as possible, the original Kingdoms and Guilds as they were set up by King Athelstan during his reign as First King of the English. All this when Bristol was just a village near a bridge.
• Since that date, there have been many changes. Bristol was granted a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373 separate from Gloucestershire and Somerset. The Masonic Province of Bristol has as its boundary, the original city boundary.
• The history of Bristol as a city and a Province is an inspiration to us all. 1460, William Canynge, Mayor of Bristol. St Mathyas Chapel being in ruins was this year erected by him into a Freemasons Hall. We have Canynge Lodge.
• In 1497, John Cabot set sail from the port of Bristol and discovered North America. Bristol has Cabot Lodge and Cabot Chapter. In 1532, Robert and Nicholas Thorne founded the Bristol Grammar School. They have Robert Thorne Lodge.
• John Whitson, in his will, left funds for the foundation of the Redmaids School, the oldest surviving girls school in England. They have Whitson Lodge. Edward Hodges Bailey, the Sculptor created the frieze above the main entrance to this building. His name is commerated by Baily Lodge. Colston, Brunel and Chatterton, all famous names with strong Bristol connections.
• There are records of a Masonic Lodge in Bristol in 1725, the Nags Head Lodge No. 29. Not, I am sure named after a famous Bristolian but the hostelry in which they met.
• 1739 saw the first Methodist Chapel, the building still exists. 1771, Records of the Royal Sussex Lodge of Hospitality show that the Lodge was opened at half past eight and closed immediately with all due Harmony and Decorum.
• In 1844 Brunel's SS Great Britain was launched, 1864, the Bristol Suspension bridge was built, both still here today and we finish the list with Concorde
• .
• The Province of Bristol was created in 1786 at the request of Brother Thomas Dunkerley.
• He was the first Provincial Grand Master for Bristol. There are now 36 Lodges in the Province of Bristol, all meeting in this wonderful building. During 1786, Dunkerley was also the Provincial Grand Master in five other Provinces.
• However, we are assembled here today not to look back. We look to the future and the growth of the Masonic Order of Athelstan. As Court number 75 we represent a milestone in the history of the Order.
• As Bricgstowe Court, we must always remember, although we meet in the heart of the Province of Bristol, we are not Bristol Masons, we are part of the Province of Wessex, meeting in this historic Bristol building. A building steeped in Masonic history.
• Many of the founders of Bricgstowe Court are Bristol Masons, brought up on sound Bristol traditions. As members of the Order of Athelstan they will now see the fine precepts and disciplines on which the Order of Athelstan is founded
• Built on solid foundations, the Order of Athelstan is growing month by month, year by year. The building bricks are being added one by one. As Bricgstowe Court, we are the 75th brick. It may not be very long before the 100th brick is laid and the building completed.
• As Court Master Masons, we are inspired by our leaders. They lead from the front. They are here today to watch with interest as we are formed into a new Court. They will follow our progress as we grow from strength to strength and will attend our future meetings when time permits.
• Right Worshipful Brother Malcolm Burns, Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Wessex will guide us and encourage us to make further advances in our Masonic knowledge.
• Brethren, today we add the name of Bricgstowe Court number 75 to the register of the Grand Court of the Masonic Order of Athelstan in England, Wales and its Provinces Overseas.
• Let us go forth, inspired by the famous names that appear in the history of the city of Bristol.
• May the Great Architect of the Universe bless you and forever guide and protect you.

The parish of Brislington was historically part of theKeynshamHundredinSomerset,

Brislington is also near to the site of the now demolished chapel ofSt. Anne's-in-the Wood (actually located in nearby St Anne's),

erected by one of the Lords de la Warr,

whose family held the manor of Brislington from the late 12th to the mid-16th century; in the 15th century the chapel was a place ofpilgrimage,

visited byHenry VII).

After the chapel was demolished following theDissolution of the Monasteries, a house called "St. Ann's" was built at the site by Thomas Avery in the mid-17th century.

During the 18th and 19th century Brislington contained many country homes due to its reputation as a picturesque country village.

Brislington House(now known as Long Fox Manor) was built as a privatelunatic asylumfor theinsane.

When it opened in 1806 it was one of the first purpose built asylums in England.

ThePalladianfronted building was originally seven separate blocks into which patients were allocated depending on theirclass.

The buildings,

estate and therapeutic regime designed byEdward Long Foxwas based on the principles ofmoral treatmentwhich was fashionable at the time.

Brislington House later influenced the design and construction of other asylums and influenced Act of parliament.

The house and ancillary structures arelisted buildingswhich have now been converted into private residences.

The original grounds are Grade II* listed on theRegister of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in Englandand now includeSt. Brendan's Sixth Form College, sports pitches and some farmland.

They are now included on theHeritage at Riskregister.

In 1866 Brislington became acivil parish.

By the early 20th century it was encompassed by Bristol, and much urban housing and industry developed.

In 1933 the civil parish was abolished and absorbed into Bristol.

United Reformed Church

Churches in Brislington includeSt Lukes(which dates from the 15th century) and includes a bell dating from 1766 and made by Thomas Bilbie of theBilbie family,

St Cuthberts, Carmel Christian Centre, St Christophers and the United Reformed Church.

Brislington used to have a station on theBristol and North Somerset Railway(later theGreat Western Railway) that linked the city with the towns of theSomerset coalfield. The line opened in 1873 and was closed to passenger traffic in 1959, with freight services withdrawn in the mid 1960s.

In the early 21st century, Brislington's paint works was converted to studios, offices and houses, home to arts and media organisations.

Uxella, Puriton and the Summerland

An article from 1885, part of the annual publication of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society for that year and kept in Wells Cathedral Library, confirms, with a map showing the Roman roads in the area, that Uxella Aestuarium refers to the estuary of the Parrett. It goes further to suggest that a Celtic name "Pteryddon", mentioned in early Welsh writing, may be the origin of the river's name and also of the town of Puriton (called "Peritone" in the Domesday Book). As well as this it shows that a Welsh name for the Severn ("Havren") also means "Summer" and could be the origin of the name of Somerset as the Summerland. One of the legends of Jesus in Britain says that he came in "a ship of Tarshish to the Summerland, and sojourned in a place called Paradise".

This is the article, The Application of Philology to Archaeological Investigation, by Rev. W. M. Arthur Jones, MA:

In ancient Welsh literature, the city of Bristol is known as Caer-odor-nant, "the city of the rent valley - a name which the appearance of St. Vincent's Rocks on each side of the Avon fully justifies. Uxela, likewise, the Latin form of the old British name by which the estuary of the Parrett was called, and which occurs in the old geographers, has disappeared, and has left no representative in the language of the people. The term would seem to have been applied to the land-locked estuary covering the Bridgwater levels, and is evidently derived from the British Wysc-heli, implying the free access to it of the "sea-water" - Heli.

Ad Uxelam was a Roman station lying on the shore of this estuary. It has usually been supposed to have occupied the site of the present town of Bridgwater; but the extensive Roman remains found by Mr. Stradling about the Poldon Hills, would lead us rather to look for it on the other side of the river. And if we are justified in identifying with Ad Uxellam and Avallonia the Uxelliudiano and Avallano which occur in theExcerpta ex Ravennatte Geographo, as connected together - "recto tramite" - by a direct line of road, this view is greatly confirmed.

The Parrett is a modern form of the Pedredan of the Saxon chronicles: and Pedredan is evidently a modification of Peryddon, the name which was applied to the river by the ancient Britons. There is a peculiarity in this word Peryddon, deserving of notice. It has thepluraltermination. This may have arisen from its being applied not only to the river itself, but to the united waters of the Tone, the Ivel and the Parrett proper. It occurs in a Welsh poem of the seventh century, by the Cambrian bard Golyddan, which relates to "the great armed confederacy of Britain", "Arymes Prydyn Vawr". Of this there are extracts, with a translation, in Thiery'sNorman Conquest. In one place we read -

"In Aber-Peryddon, the deputies of a Saxon king
Even before there was a public stipulation, stirred up slaughter.
By arbitary act, with violence, the deputies
Demanded and proceeded to collect a tribute.
The Cymri resolved they were not bound to pay:" etc.

Another version of this, from a webpage on Merlin, from the University of British Columbia, continues with lines seemingly associating a "son of Mary, a Sovereign Word" with Peryddon:

An assembly at Aber Peryddon
Will bring the High King's stewards
(They will moan of death)
To gather taxes
The Cymry will not pay.
Mary's Mabon, sovereign Word,
Unbroken by Saxon battery!

"Mabon", inA Dictionary of the Welsh Language, by William Owen Pughe, means "a fine youth, a young hero". "Peryddon" in the same dictionary, is listed as meaning: "A stream possessing some powerful virtue; a divine stream; it is the name of some rivers." "Perydd" is given to mean "a causer, one who bids to be, a bidder, one who orders or gives command". "Peryf" seems to be similar, "One who causes; the giver of existence, a creator; one who bids or commands; a sovereign, a king. It has been used for the apellation of Pharaoh". The princely Parrett?

The poem is mainly devoted to the utterance of the indignation of the Cymri at the wrong thus inflicted. This occurred at Aber-Peryddon; and if we take Peryddon to have corresponded to the ancient name of Wysc-Heli, the site of this great conference and conflict would not be far from Puriton, which is near to theconfluenceof the estuary with the Severn Sea, and may possibly have been the Aber-Peryddon of the Welsh bard. I find it on the same old map, before referred to, in the form of Periton.

Passing by the Avon and the Ax, universally known as Celtic words, we come to the Severn and the Severn Sea: the British name of which is deserving of notice from its connexion, indirectly, with the name which this county bears. What is now called the Bristol Channel bore the name of Mor Esyllwg, and likewise Mor Havren. Havren is the Welsh form of Severn.

In a very ancient notice of thePrincipal Territories of Britain, given in the Iolo MSS, p.86, we find the Mor Havren, with Dyvnaint and Cerniw, given as the boundaries of Gwlad-yr-hav, a district corresponding with that of East Somerset. This naturally leads to the conclusion that Gwlad-yr-hav is a contraction of Gwlad-yr-Havren. The county of Somerset to the Welsh population of the principality, even now, is not known by any other name than Gwlad-yr-hav. But in Welsh this word Hav (which in Havren is doubtless identical with Av, the root of Avon, a river) likewise means Summer: and Gwlad-yr-hav, therefore, admits of being translated - either the "land on the shores of the Havren;" or, "The Summer-land". The early Saxons, who named the county, would seem to have chosen the more obvious but less correct translation, and hence the county bears the name of Somerset.

Camden, in hisBritannia,abandons the commonly received derivation of "The Summer-land", assigning a reason which was sufficient even in his time, and must have had greater force during the period in which the name is supposed to have had its origin. His words are:"Some thinke it was so called, for that the aire there, is so mild and summer-like; and in that sensed the Welsh Britans at this day terme it Gladerhaf, borrowing that name from our English tongue. And verily, howsoever in Summer-time it is a right summer-like country, yet surely, in winter it may worthily be called, a winterish region, so wet and weely, so miry and moorish it is, to the exceeding great trouble and encombrance of those that travell in it".

Immediately after, the old antiquarian adds, that the name of the County, "without question grew out of Somerton, a famous town in ancient times" etc. etc. The town of Somerton is, undoubtedly, very ancient, occurring early in the Saxon chronicles. At the same time, seeing that the feelings cherished at this early period, by the Cymri towards the Saxon invaders were not such as to induce them to "borrow a name from the English tongue; and seeing, likewise, that Gwlad-yr-Hav, is is applicable to a country - gwlad - only; Somerton would seem more likely to have been itself derived from, rather than have given origin to, the name of the county of Somerset.

These observations on the Topographical Etymology of Somerset I now lay before the Society with great diffidence. Most of the derivations, I believe, are safe and satisfactory; some may be open to objection. I have endevoured to give not only the conclusion to which I have been led, but also the grounds on which they are founded. Such as they are, I now leave them, as a contribution to a more complete classification of the names of places in the county, according to their origin.

Also Rev. Preb. Scarth, Rector of Wrington, writes in SANHS of 1854:

At Chisley Mount (the fortification at Downend to the west of Puriton)opposite Bridgwater, Roman coins are said to have been found.

Mentioned in Reynolds's Iter Britanniarum, Collinson supposes Bridgwater to have sprung from the ruins of a Roman settlement at the west end of Polden Hill, where coins and old foundations of buildings have been discovered (See Aubrey'sMon. Brit.MS). Bridgwater is regarded as the ancient Uxella of Ptolemy because it is situated on the river flowing into the Uxella Aestuarium, but this is uncertain.

The line of the Roman road by Brent Knoll towards Highbridge and on towards Bridgwater has been traced across Brent Marsh and found 6' under the present surface. SANHS 1850, 104 p.2

(This last is shown on the map of roads and seems to be pointing at Pawlett, the next village to Puriton and may have been part of Uxella. The road seems to line up with a footpath on Pawlett Hill where I found what seems to be a Roman brick).

Steep Holm (Old English :Ronechand later Steopanreolice) is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers 48.87 acres (19.78 ha) at high tide, expanding to 63.26 acres (25.60 ha) at mean low water.At its highest point it is 78 metres (256 ft) above mean sea level.

Administratively it forms part of the unitary authority of North Somerset within the ceremonial county of Somerset. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996 it was administered as part of Avon. Nearby is Flat Holm island, part of Wales.

The Carboniferous Limestone island rises to about 200 feet (61 m) and serves as a wind and wave break, sheltering the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel. The island is now uninhabited, with the exception of the wardens. It is protected as a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with a large bird population and plants including wild peonies. There was a signal station or watchtower on the island in Roman times, but there may have been human habitation as early as the Iron Age. In the 6th century it was home to St Gildas and to a small Augustinian priory in the 12th and 13th centuries. An inn was built in 1832 and used for holidays in the 19th century. 

Calf Rock, the south-east extent of the island

The island is formed of Carboniferous Limestone and is often described as geologically a continuation of the Mendip Hills at Brean Down ; however, the dip is at a different angle to that on Brean Down. On Steep Holm the dip is about 30 degrees to the north whereas at Brean Down it is 30 degrees to the south. There are some folds and fractures with dip angles up to 75 degrees created during the final phases of the Variscan orogen near the end of the Carboniferous Period, 300 million years ago.

The island rises to about 200 feet (61 m) from the surrounding sea and covers 49 acres (20 ha) at high tide, whereas at low tide it expands to 63 acres (25 ha) due to the tidal range of 43 feet (13 m),There are many caves on the island, and pot holes up to 60 metres (200 ft) deep in the surrounding sea bed that are believed to be the remnants of collapsed cave systems. The caves on the islands cliffs are at two different levels: the caves in the current inter-tidal zone which are below the water table and are producing stalactites, and many others high up on the cliffs that were on the water line many thousands of years ago.

There is a large bird population, particularly European herring gulls (Larus argentatus)and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus). There has also been a small population of muntjac deer.The plateau at the top of the island has a layer of soil between 6 inches (150 mm) and 12 inches (300 mm) deep. It has a red colour from veins of iron in the rock and has arrived as sand particles less than 0.0039 inches (0.099 mm) in diameter. The island is the only site in the UK on which wild peonies (Paeonia mascula)grow,although these have been damaged by the fungus botrytis.The wild peony waintroduced to the island of Steep Holm, possibly by monks, or brought from the Mediterranean by the Romans. Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) is also common along with golden samphire, buck's-horn plantain (Plantago coronopus) and wild leeks (Allium ampeloprasum). The only reptiles on the island are slowworms (Anguis fragilis).

The earliest sign of human activity on the island are prehistoric vertebrae of red deer discovered in Five Johns' Cave during an exploration in 1975. Worked flints from the Mesolithic and scrapers from the Neolithic were uncovered as part of the Priory excavations carried out between 1977 and 1992.

Roman remains, possibly a signal station or watchtower, have been identified on the island by an electrical resistance survey. Accurate exploration and interpretation of the site is difficult as it was reused by builders in both the Victorian era and during World War II. A carved stone head found on the island in 1991 is likely to be a Celtic head from the Romano-British era, but may be from the Iron Age. In addition to shards of cooking pots from the Roman era, some luxury items have been identified including Arretine ware, La Tène style brooches, and an amphora dating from between 90 and 140 AD which was made in southern Spain. There have also been shards of Castor ware. Fragments of pottery roofing and box flue tiles have been identified signifying the presence of a heating system and possibly a bath house. Roman coins from the reigns of Claudius Gothicus (268–270) and Tetricus I (271–273) have also been found.

According to legend, first recorded by John Leland in the 16th century, Saint Gildas, the author of De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, lived on Steep Holm during the 6th century. He arrived on the island after visiting his friend Saint Cadoc, who lived on Flat Holm as a hermit. Gildas supposedly left the island, after pirates from Orkney carried off his servant and furniture, to become Abbot of Glastonbury. Other semi-legendary saints are also associated with the island; in John Rous's Historia Regum Angliae (c. 1480), Rous claims that Saint Dubricius, the saint said to have crowned Arthur, retired to an hermitage on the island of 'Stepeholm' in the River Severn. The Vikings took refuge on Steep Holm during the summer of 914 and then carried out raids on the coast of Somerset at Watchet and Porlock, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

At the end of the 12th century, there was a small priory of Canons Regular of St Michael on the island.The only priory building fully excavated measured 73 feet (22 m) long and 15 feet (4.6 m) wide, with the cloisters and other structures still to be identified. The date of the original foundation of the priory is unclear; however, in the early 13th century the patron was William I de Cantilupe. His family were also patrons of Studley Priory in Warwickshire. His granddaughter married Lord Robert de Tregoz who acquired the freehold of the whole island; however, endowments for the upkeep of the priory were declining, which led to it being abandoned between 1260 and 1265, the monks returning to Studley Priory. A Blue Lias memorial stone from the abbey, which has a Cross of Lorraine, was found in 1867 during the fortification of the island. It was incorporated into an armoury leading to the naming of the "tombstone battery".

The island seems to have been held, in association with the local manors of Uphill and Christon, by the Bek family, who granted it to Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln.

Flat Holm( Welsh :Ynys Echni) is a Welsh island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately 6 km (4 mi) from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan. It includes the most southerly point of Wales.

The island has a long history of occupation, dating at least from the Bronze Age. Religious uses include visits by disciples of Saint Cadoc in the 5th–6th century AD, and in 1835 it was the site of the foundation of the Bristol Channel Mission, which later became the Mission to Seafarers. A sanatorium for cholera patients was built in 1896 as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff .Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock. Because of frequent shipwrecks, a lighthouse was built on the island, which was replaced by a Trinity House lighthouse in 1737. Because of its strategic position on the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff a series of gun emplacements, known as Flat Holm Battery, were built in the 1860s as part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts. On the outbreak of World War II , the island was rearmed.

It forms part of the City and County of Cardiff and is now managed by Cardiff Council's Flat Holm Project Team and designated as a Local Nature Reserve ,Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area, because of the maritime grassland and rare plants such as rock sea-lavender (Limonium binervosum) and wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The island also has significant breeding colonies of lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus), herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus). It is also home to slow worms (Anguis fragilis) with larger than usual blue markings.

Geology

Flat Holm geology

During much of the most recent ice ages, from 1.8 million years ago, the sea level in the Severn Estuary was some 50 m (160 ft) below the current level and Flat Holm was joined to the Somerset coast as an extremity of theMendip Hills .Sometime since the start of the Mesolithicperiod, 15,000 years ago, the ice sheets retreated, and the flat plains surrounding the river estuary flooded; the hilltops of Mendip Hills became the islands of Flat Holm andSteep Holm

The Carboniferous Limestone of which Flat Holm and neighbouring Steep Holm are composed forms a part of a wider Mesozoic basin extending from the Bristol and Mendip area westwards beneath the mouth of the Severn to South Wales, outcropping to the west at Sully Island and Barry, Wales. Part of the island is designated a Geological Conservation Review (GCR) Site and is a recognised Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The GCR and SSSI interest lies along the south-western shoreline from the north west point to Lighthouse Point where a wave cut portion of the limestone displays large fossil "ripple marks".

During the Ice Age, the island was covered by glacier ice on several occasions. There are abundant erratic pebbles on the beaches, mostly from Pembrokeshire, indicating that the ice that covered the island was that of the Irish Sea Ice Stream, travelling from west to east up the Bristol Channel. There are also larger erratics, including one spectacular pink granite boulder on a rocky foreshore near the farmhouse.

There are argentiferous (i.e. silver-bearing) galena deposits on Flat Holm; the pits and mounds visible on the surface of the island are a result of trial borings. A dispute over lead mining rights in the 1780s ended with John Stuart, Lord Mount Stuartmaking an official complaint that the lighthouse keeper was using the coals intended for the lighthouse for processing lead. Mining for lead was not profitable, however, and the works were abandoned. Red marl from the Triassic Period fills joints in the Carboniferous Limestone showing evidence of karstic (cave forming) processes during this period. Caves on the western and north-eastern sides of the island were used during the years of smuggling.

History

Bronze Age

The first traces of human habitation of the island are from the late Bronze Age, 900 to 700 BC. A bronze axe head was discovered on the island in 1988, between the island's farmhouse and West Beach.

Sub-Roman

In the sub-Roman period of the 5th-6th century AD, it became a retreat for Saint Cadoc, who lived on the island as a hermit for seven years. His friend, Saint Gildas born in the Kingdom of Strathclyde but educated at the College of Theodosius (Cor Tewdws) in the Kingdom of Gwent , lived at the same time on nearby Steep Holm, and the two sometimes met up for prayers. Gildas eventually left the island to become Abbot of Glastonbury

Part of a medieval grave slab 42 cm (17 in) by 26 cm (10 in) and 11 cm (4 in) thick, now in the National Museum of Wales

In June 1815, a Dr Thomas Turner visited Flat Holm in a small boat and was stranded for a week due to high winds. He discovered two Christian graves located close together in a field 23 m (75 ft) northeast of the island's present farmhouse; one grave had been opened and contained a male skeleton. The open grave's headstone was made ofpurbeck marble and engraved with a Celtic cross, but had since broken in two. A second disturbed grave, also marked with a headstone, was found to the southeast and contained a coffin constructed with iron bolts. Inside the coffin were two skeletons which had been doused in lime, indicating that the occupants had probably died from a contagious disease

Middle Ages

Anglo-Saxons called the islandBradanreolice.Reolicederives from an Irish word meaning churchyard or graveyard, alluding to the belief that the island had religious significance as a place of burial to people at the time. However, the island's current English name of "Holm" comes from the Old Norse meaning "island in an estuary". Records indicate that a Viking fleet from the south of Brittany led by two earls, Ottir (Oter) andHroald(possibly Ottir's king Ragnall), took refuge on the island following their defeat by the Saxons at Watchet.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 1067, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, mother ofHarold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, stayed on the island before travelling to St Omer in France after the Norman conquest of England.After the invasion, Robert Fitzhamon formed the Shire of Glamorgan in Wales proper, with Cardiff Castle at the centre of his new domain. Flat Holm came within the parish boundary of St Mary's, one of Cardiff's two parish churches, and was kept as a hereditary property of the Norman Lords of Glamorgan.

A survey by archaeologist Howard Thomas in 1979 unearthed a number of medieval potsherds in the vicinity of the farmhouse and found evidence of continuous occupation of the island including middens containing numerous animal bones along with oyster and cockle shells. Fragments of green glazed jugs and flagons from the late 12th to 13th century and shards of pottery from the 14th century were also found on the island. The presence of Pennant sandstone roofing tiles and a fragment of a 14th-century glazed ridge tile indicate the existence of a substantial medieval building, possibly a chapel, demolished when the present farmhouse was constructed. Property records from 1542 show that King Henry VIII granted a lease to farm the island to a gentleman by the name of Edmund Tournor. His family remained on Flat Holm until the end of the 17th century when the lease passed to Joseph Robins.

18th century – smuggling

Cave and mineshaft in the east cliffs of Flat Holm

During the 18th century, the island's location made it an ideal base for smuggling. It has been alleged that an old mine shaft on the north side of the island connects with a series of natural tunnels, and a concealed exit to the sea.Although Flat Holm was in full view of both the Welsh and English coasts, customs authorities were powerless to act as they had no boat to take them to the island. According to tradition, a small cave in the east cliff at Flat Holm was used for the storage of contraband, mainly tea and brandy.

19th century – Seafarer's Mission and Marconi

Post Office Engineers inspect Marconi's equipment on Flat Holm, May 1897

In 1835, clergyman John Ashley from Clevedon voluntarily ministered to the population of the island. Ashley created the Bristol Channel Mission in order to serve seafarers on the 400 sailing vessels which used the Bristol Channel. The mission would later become the Mission to Seafarers, which still provides ministerial services to sailors in over 300 ports.

On 13 May 1897, a 22-year-old Italian inventor named Guglielmo Marconi, assisted by a Cardiff Post Office engineer named George Kemp, transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock Point near Penarth, Wales. Having failed to interest the Italian government in his project, Marconi had brought his telegraphy system to Britain. Here he met Welshman William Preece who was at that time Chief Engineer of the General Post Office and a major figure in the field. Marconi and Preece erected a 34 m (112 ft) high transmitting mast on Flat Holm as well as a 30 m (98 ft) receiving mast at Lavernock Point. The first trials on 11 May and 12 failed. On 13 May, the mast at Lavernock was raised to 50 m (160 ft) and the signals were received clearly. The message sent by Morse Code was "Are you ready"; the original paper Morse slip, signed by both Marconi and Kemp, is now in the National Museum of Wales.

Shipwrecks

The treacherous conditions for ships around the island led to several shipwrecks. The British passenger vesselTapleylost seven passengers when she became stranded on Flat Holm in January 1773 on her passage from Cork, Ireland to Bristol.

On 23 October 1817, a British sloop ,William and Mary, foundered after hitting the three rocky islets known as The Wolves which are not far from near Flat Holm. The ship was en route from Bristol to Waterford and sank within 15 minutes. The ship's mate, John Outridge, and two sailors made off in the only lifeboat. 15 survivors were later rescued, having clung to the ship's rigging, but 54 other passengers were lost. 50 of the bodies were recovered from the ship and were buried on Flat Holm.

In 1938 the steamship Norman Queen ran ashore on Flat Holm but was refloated, and in 1941 the steam ship Middlesex was lost.

Geography

Map showing location in southwestern United Kingdom

Description

Flat Holm, in the Bristol Channel, is a small, almost circular, limestone island, approximately 620 m (2,030 ft) in diameter, covering 35 ha (86 acres). It rises in a gentle slope from the exposed western rocky shore to more sheltered easterly cliffs, at the top of which stands the prominent lighthouse. At its highest point it is 32 m (105 ft) above sea level. About 1.3 km (0.81 mi) northwest of Flat Holm are three rocky islets collectively known as The Wolves, measuring approximately 25 m (82 ft) by 20 m (66 ft).

Severn Barrage study

The tidal range of the Bristol Channel is 15 m (49 ft); second only to the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada. If a Severn Barrage were ever to be constructed it could have consequences for Flat Holm. The proposed barrage would pass two miles (3 km) west of the island. Feasibility studies were begun in 2007. In March 2025, the Severn Estuary Commission concluded that "development of tidal range energy in the Severn Estuary is feasible".

Flora and fauna

Flat Holm was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1972. The designation covers the maritime grassland which is mainly concentrated around the edges of the island.

There are no endemic plant species but the relative isolation of the island has allowed a number of hardy species such as bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and biting stonecrop (Sedum acre) to thrive. There are also a number of relatively rare plants, such as rock sea-lavender (Limonium binervosum), and wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The leek grows to 6 ft (1.8 m) and Flat Holm is one of only five places in the UK where it is found. Related to the onion, the leek has a bulb that grows for several years producing only leaves, then blooms with large purple flowers that smell of garlic. After flowering the bulb dies and produces bulblets.

Others plants may have been introduced by the Augustinian Community for their medicinal uses. These include dove's-foot crane's-bill Geranium molle, an anodyne plant claimed by Nicholas Culpeper to have a wide range of medicinal uses and an"excellent good cure for those that have inward wounds, hurts, or bruises, both to stay the bleeding, to dissolve and expel the congealed blood, and to heal the parts, as also to cleanse and heal outward sores, ulcers and fistulas". The wild peony (Paeonia mascula) was introduced to the island (and nearby Steep Holm), possibly by monks, and has naturalised. Thirty-seven plants were taken to the island from Steep Holm by Frank Harris, the farmer at the time, in the 1930s, many of which died during the World War II occupation and fortification of the island. One remaining plant was reintroduced by David Worall, the Flat Holm Warden, in 1982 and is protected by fencing near the path to the lighthouse. A few plants grown from seed also survive in the island's farmhouse garden.

The island has a significant breeding colony of over 4,000 pairs of lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus), 400 pairs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus), 2 pairs of great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) and varying numbers of common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) and Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus). The feeding habits of lesser black-backed gulls were studied in 1989, and it was shown that smaller clutches were laid than in previous years and that supplementary feeding did not increase egg or clutch size. Other birds seen on the island include shelduck, oystercatchers, rock pipits, finches, turnstone and dunlin.

The island is also home to slow worms (Anguis fragilis). Flat Holm's slow worm population has unusually large blue markings.

The island's rabbit population, introduced for farming in the 12th century, suffers from myxomatosis, which effectively contains the numbers. The island has been grazed since 1989, initially by goats, but also by sheep since 1992. In 1997 Soay sheep were introduced and as of 2008 there are 28 sheep grazing wild on the island. Numbers of Soay sheep had declined by 2022 so Boreray sheep were introduced.

Governance

Flat Holm is part of Wales, part of the local authority electoral ward of Butetown (Cardiff) and the UK parliamentary constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth.

In 1975, the South Glamorgan County Council leased the island for the next 99 years. In March 1995, the county council agreed to obtain Flat Holm through a 50-year lease from the Crown Estate starting on 12 December 1995.Flat Holm is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve , as stipulated in that lease. It is managed by the Cardiff Council as The Flat Holm Project. The work of the Flat Holm Project is supported by the registered charity the Flat Holm Society.

In June 2021 Cardiff Council allocated £1.1 million (including £645,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund) to repair the Foghorn Station roof, stabilise and re-roof the Old Cholera Hospital, and create new off-island immersive guided tours of Flat Holm.

The purpose of the Flat Holm Project is to display the island's sustainable technologies. Originally, power was supplied by a variety of diesel generators but in 2006, a 'mini-grid' was installed, 90% powered by solar and wind. Filtered rainwater provides the island's water needs, and a biomass boiler powered partly by driftwood provides hot water and heating.

Buildings

Lighthouse and foghorn station

Foghorn building

Main article: Flat Holm Lighthouse

The lighthouse, a Grade II listed building ,was renovated in 1929 from a largely 19th century construction, to include accommodation for up to four keepers. In 1988, the lighthouse became fully automated. In 1997, the light was modernised and converted to solar power. It is now monitored and controlled by the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich, in Essex The oil store and enclosure walls are also Grade II listed.^[60]

Built by Trinity House in 1906, the foghorn building is a Grade II listed building and self-catering accommodation. The siren was originally powered by an 11 kW (15 hp) engine and could be clearly heard by people living on both coasts. Volunteers from the Flat Holm Society, with help from the Prince's Trust, restored the horn and engines in the 1960s.

Farmhouse

Flat Holm farm house

Records show that monks from St Augustine's Abbey in Bristol established a dairy farm and grange on the island after Flat Holm was granted to them by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1150.Dr Thomas Turner, who was stranded on Flat Holm during a visit in 1815, passed the time by exploring the island. He noted that the tax-exempt abbey farm was prospering and counted "seven cows, two bulls, five sheep, one horse, two pigs and two dogs". In 1897 the farmhouse was converted into The Flat Holm Hotel, and a bar and skittle alley were added, but the hotel closed after a few years. The farmhouse has been renovated by the Flat Holm Project and is now used as accommodation for visitors.

Batteries and barracks

Moncrieff 'disappearing gun'

Flat Holm was fortified in the 1860s following a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to France, where they had been concerned by the strength of the French Navy. The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, under direction of Lord Palmerston, recommended fortification of the coast in 1865. The defences on the island, which became part of a line of defences known as the Palmerston Forts, were completed in 1869.

Flat Holm Battery is a series of gun emplacements on Flat Holm built to protect Bristol and Cardiff across the channel. There are remains of four battery sites on the island:

AXBRIDGE.—

And so, in two miles, to Axbridge, the last of these places under the Mendip massif proper. There is a distinct air of antiquity about Axbridge under its bare shoulder, Shute-Shelve Hill, but its antiquity is hardly attractive. It was a borough under Edward the Confessor, and held its own for centuries till its Corporation was dissolved in 1886. On the W. side of the market place and on the S. side of the Winscombe road opposite the Lamb Hotel is a group of old houses with good wooden window frames. The interesting church St John Baptist stands high and is approached by a long flight of steps. The choir is accommodated under the triple-windowed tower, so that the sanctuary is proportionately long. Features to be remarked are: the elaborate plaster roof 1636 of the nave, with pendants, the Prowse monument in the S. chancel aisle, a good carved font, an old building called the Treasury S. of the West door, and a hole in the N. wall connected with a cell outside, over which there is now an

towards the sea is now the pleasant little village of Uphill. It is situated close to the mouth of the river Axe,where the Romans had a portand shipped the lead that was mined upon the hills. Now one day a party of Danish pirates from the Holms swooped down upon that shore ; and the people of the country, seeing their boats approach, took to flight. But the Danes burnt and robbed all their dwellings, and then followed them inland, killing everybody they could find. Only one old woman remained near where the village had stood, and she was too lame to run away. However, she managed to hobble into some place of concealment and remained a day or two without being found. At last, finding herself likely to be starved, she came out of her hiding-place, meaning to throw herself upon the mercy of the Danes. But on the beach nobody was to be seen. The boats of the sea-robbers were still there, but every man had gone after the Saxons, eager to slay and plunder. So that cunning old woman found a hatchet, cut all the cables and set the boats adrift, and very soon every vessel was carried far away upon the tide. Then the Saxons called their neighbours to their aid, and the Danes could not save themselves because they were not able to getback to the Holms. Now during the time King Alfred was at Athelney a sea-king called Hubba came into the Severn Sea with a great strength of ships. It is very likely that he held the mouth of the Axe as a harbour; for in an ancient writing the village of Uphill is calledOpopilla,and as Pill is a word meaning a creek, Uphill may easily once have meant Hubba’s creek or harbour. Moreover, at Bleadon, a short distance up the Axe, is a spot now called Hobba’s boat. It Inis been thought this was once Hubba’s boat. So it seems likely that Hubba held the river mouth as a haven from which to sail out upon his raids. But now Hubba was in league with Guthrum, and bent

WINSCOMBE 'Westward of Axbridge the Mendips begin to peter out in gradually narrowing islands—Winscombe Hill with the well-known landmark of Crook’s Peak at its western end, then the long Bleadon Hill with the Roman road along it, Uphill, and finally the mile-long promontory of Brean Down. Mendip is fortified to the very last: there is a camp on the seaward verge.Winscombe is one of many isolated manors belonging to the Abbey of Glastonbury, accessible by the road along the length of the Wedmore ridge. It is a very pleasant place, with its church set on rising ground and commanding a fine view. The tower, of the triple-windowed type, is certainly one of the best in this neighbourhood. The rood-loft stair is accommodated in an external turret. Further, the carved bench-ends are to be noted. Shipham, reached by field path, is a hill village lying eastward, and is an excellent centre for a pedestrian anxious to explore Mendip. Ascend the 630 feet of Crook’s Peak, from which there is nothing N., S., and W. to bar the view for many miles.BLEADON HILL —The villages of Bleadon are Loxton and Christon on the E. side, Hutton N.W., and Bleadon S.W. They are all on Rhxtic beds of Keuper marl, like Winscombe and Shipham, not on carboniferous limestone like the generality of the Mendip country. Loxton’s amenity is that it looks up at Crook’s Peak, The church, slightly away from the road E., has a short tower on the S. side, a curious squint in the porch, a fine pulpit (Pcrp.) of carved stone,' and a good screen. Christon’s small church, with central tower, though aisleless and trail septless, deserves a visit for its Norman work. Under the tower note two Norman lurches with double chevrons and other mouldings, and the lozenge moulding of the S. door arch. Bleadon is below the penultimate hill camp, now not easy to trace. Its church, not so interesting as that of Loxton, has a fine triple-windowed tower. The chancel has a low side-window, and there are two fourteenth-century effigies of males. Picturesque Hutton has an old fifteenth-centurj manor-house, Hutton Court, but it has been much altered. The church has a good tower, fine stone pulpit, and two brasses of the Payne family. [A return may be made to WestonsuperMare.]BRENT KNOLL {Knoll, rounded hill top near the village of Brent).—About six miles S.S.E. of Uphill by the road A. 3 70, Brent Knoll is best reached through the village of East Brent. It is a matter of getting to the top. The regular path for pedestrians is from the church to the flagstaff at the N.E. angle of the Camp on the summit. A car can get closer, but you scramble up for the last part your own way. When through E. Brent village, turn left {i.e. S.W.), by a road which has no signpost, over the hill. This brings one near the Camp on its W. side, and ultimately down into Brent Knoll village. The Camp is pear-shaped, with an area of about 4 acres; its higher and long curved side being to the S. where the hill is steepest. The entrance is in the middle of the E. side, and a terraced way leads up to it from a pond below. At the entrance both ends of the vallum are considerably splayed, and the S. end projects outside the N., and is more blunt, with space for a guardhouse. About 40 feet below the vallum, outside, there is a scarped terrace all round. At the highest point is a stone which commemorates Jubilee bonfires of 1887 and 1897, and coronation bonfires of 1902 and 1911. In the interior is a peculiar curved ridge

The Mysterious Cross
BANWELL .

It is a place of great antiquity, with a cave which has contributed much to our knowledge of ancient man, a round earthwork of 20 acres crowning a hill, and a mysterious cross which has puzzled people for many generations. If we have been in Taunton Museum in our Somerset tour, we shall remember the great collection of William Beard and the story of his cave. There was an old tradition that Banwell Hill enclosed a cavern, and William Beard, as he wandered about his father’s farm, thought much of it. In 1824, halfway through his long life, he sank a shaft 100 feet deep in the hill and found a stalactite cave, the burial place of long-extinct creatures. He drove an approach to it from the face of the hill, and from that day till his death the cave was his interest and hobby in life. It had a marvellous store of prehistoric treasure, and yielded the finest skull of a great cave lion ever found in England. The cave is closed today, but what William Beard found in it may be seen by all at Taunton. Beard lies in Banwell churchyard. The mysterious cross which puzzles the traveller is about 120 yards north of the Roman road, and about 150 yards from Banwell Castle, a medieval-looking house built by a bishop of the early 19th century on the top of a hill. The cross is in the castle wood, and is a ridge of earth surrounded by a ditch and rampart, with an entrance at the east end. The cross is raised two feet high and is about ten feet wide, and the arms are of unequal length, varying from 56 feet to 72. At the point where the arms meet a Wellingtonia is growing. It has been held that the cross had some connection with the Roman system of surveying, but authoritative belief is against this theory. Nor does it follow that the cross has any religious significance, or even that it goes back to Roman days. There is no actual knowledge on the subject; certainly it has not the same significance as the more imposing cross at Richborough in Kent. Yorkshire has one or two others like the Ban well Cross. Banwell keeps as a great curiosity the old fire apparatus of Shakespeare’s day, a tiny cistern and pump, and a long pole for pulling burning thatch off the roof. It is also proud of having preserved the old manor house of the Bishops of Wells, which keeps company with the church and is called the Abbey. It is a curious home with towers and turrets, pinnacled buttresses, a great east window to a chapel, and low cloisters, the whole having grown from the 15th century palace of Bishop Beckington, who helped to make this church so beautiful and left his heraldry in the window. The church is 14th century, with a tower rising over 100 feet and its turret higher still. It has a pierced parapet, gargoyles, stone faces, and two dainty rood stair turrets with a sculptured Madonna in one recess and the angel bringing her the good news in another. A finely carved doorway, resting on stones engraved in Tudor days with the mason’s compasses and square, brings us to the rich interior, in which the eye is caught by a superb chancel seen through a carved and gilded screen. The dazzling colours of the east window, the painted roofs, the stone angels with painted shields, the gilded frieze, the altar rails, and the reredos, make up a perfect whole; even the roofs and the bands of carving round the columns are painted to match this colour scheme. The two doors of the screen were cut in 1521 from a single block of oak. there are massive old seats with poppy heads, and one of that group of medieval stone pulpits which numbers about 60 tor all England. This is one of the finest in the Mendips, most beautifully carved with an oak canopy of 1620, probably by the men who made the cover for the Norman font. The decoration of the font is by 15th century carvers, who gave it lilies to match the lily of the Madonna on the tower—where, by the way, we noticed that Gabriel also has a lily, it being said that after the Reformation a sculptor climbed up and carved it for him, mistaking the Annunciation group for a king and queen.
The church has a western gallery, carved and gilded, made from the great 16th century pew of Bishop Godwin, who had a summer resort here called Tower Head Farm, still with his arms and motto over the door, Wyn God, win all. The lord of the manor is here in brass; he was the physician parson John Martok, with the pattern of his cope picked out in red. He died in the manor house in 1503, and the famous Bishop King,
who made Bath Abbey new and put the Jacob’s ladder on its west front, died in the same house while Martok lay in his coffin. There are other brasses, one of John Blandon of 1554 and nameless ones of a 15th century couple. In the room over the porch we found a rough old altar table, a lectern, and a quaintly shaped alms box, all 400 years old, and there is glass of about the same period in the nave and clerestory windows. But the finest old glass is in the vestry windows, put there by a 19th century vicar who used the vestry for nearly 60 years and enriched it with roundels showing stories from the Apocrypha and the Bible.
The glass is Flemish and over 400 years old. We see Tobit at prayer, Tobias giving alms with his parents looking on, the marriage of Tobias and Sara, and their journey home under the protection of an angel, in which scene is a delightful camel caravan, the camels, with saddles and packs of provisions, being quaintly shown. In the marriage scene a dog is beside Tobias, and the evil spirit is waiting with a noose to strangle him. In other lights are the conversion of Paul and Our Lord writing on the ground in the Temple.

In June 1961, the Eclipse Peat Company opened up some new areas for peat extraction on the Somerset Levels. Deep in the peat, one-half of a wooden flat-bow was discovered.

This bow was found to date from the Neolithic Period, and was given the name the Meare Heath Bow.

The following article is an account of the re-creation of a working replica of the Meare Heath Bow, which was carried out using the tools, materials and technologies available to the indigenous Neolithic population of Somerset.

Through the re-creation and testing of the bow, hypothesis and interpretations previously attributed to the bow, and consequently to Neolithic bow-making in general, are examined and re-appraised.

The conclusions reached include the fact that the Neolithic bowyers were skilled craftsmen and designers, capable of producing highly advanced weapons for the time, and that the Meare Heath Bow, which was previously thought to have broken in use, was probably intentionally broken, perhaps to be deposited as a votive offering in the Somerset Levels.

The reconstruction of the bow was undertaken in the summer of 1997, and two publications subsequently appeared , but this is the first time that an unabridged version of the account of the reconstruction of the bow has been published.

The replica Meare Heath Bow has now been shot over 3000 times and is still going strong, illustrating the functionality of its design and the durability of the weapon.

Archaeology contains many sub-disciplines and one such is Experimental Archaeology.

Experimental archaeology is the controlled replication of ancient technologies in order to provide hypotheses that can be tested by actual archaeological data. Through this field many ancient tools, buildings and artefacts have been re-created in order to learn about the processes of manufacture, usage and decay.

These experiments have shown that many of the traditionally held views, about the ways in which tasks were carried out, things were constructed, or the ways in which various objects functioned, are actually ill founded, and many previously held notions about the past have subsequently been challenged.

One area where experimental archaeology has really come into its own is within the study of ancient archery, or to give it its proper name Archaeotoxophily , Archaeology = the study of antiquities;

Toxophily = archery).

Experimental archaeology has been used to great effect within archaeotoxophily and much has been learnt about the bows and arrows that the discipline has been applied to.

The bows from the Mary Rose have been re-created (Hardy, 1976), as has the Ice Man’s bow (Spindler, 1993), telling us much about artisanship and bow technologies of these periods. Flint arrowheads have also been made and tested, and their effectiveness has been proven thrice over.

The story is far from complete however, and for every question answered two more have arisen. Much knowledge may have been gleaned concerning the field of ancient archery, but there is still much to learn.

The Meare Heath Bow.

The Discovery & Remains of the Meare Heath Bow

In June 1961, the Eclipse Peat Company opened up some new areas for peat extraction on the Somerset levels.

Deep in the peat one-half of a wooden flat-bow was discovered .

The bow fragment was immediately taken to Cambridge University and subjected to carbowax treatment to preserve it. This bow was found to date from the Neolithic Period and was given the name the Meare Heath Bow by Clark & Godwin,

The Illustrated London News, Feb 10th, 1962.

The remains consisted of about half a bow of yew, broken across so that some 6 cm’s of round-section handgrip remain.

The rest of the bow-stave, about 93 cm’s in length, take a flattened lanceolate shape of maximum width about 6 cm’s , almost flat on one surface , the inner or belly of the bow , and convex on the outer or back of the bow.

Part of the sub-terminal notch for attachment of the bowstring also remains.

There are two transverse leather bands around the stave at its widest point and traces indicate that others were also originally present. In addition, there were clear traces of a narrow diagonal cross banding by strips of strengthening material, probably sinew.

If the bow were originally symmetrical about the grip, its total length would have been around 190.5 cm long.

The Age of the Bow

The age of the bow was verified in several ways.

Firstly, stratigraphically the bow was found near the base of a dark humified peat previously known to have yielded a polished Neolithic axe of Graig Llywd stone and several sherds of a late Neolithic bowl of Peterborough ware Clark & Godwin, The Illustrated London News, Feb 10th, 1962. Secondly, analysis of the sub-fossil pollen grains in the peat sample, taken to Cambridge surrounding the bow, showed the bow to have been deposited at a time shortly after a general decline in Elm pollen that is known throughout Northwestern Europe during the Neolithic Period.

Also present were pollen grains of plants associated with the spread of Neolithic farming. Thirdly, the radiocarbon analysis gave results fully consistent with these findings, 2690 BC ± 120 years. The bow then can be placed firmly in the Middle Neolithic Period.

Previous Work

In terms of published results, prior to the current reconstruction, two reproductions of the Meare Heath bow have been made. The first bow was made in the 1960s by a Mr C.E. Lilley, and more recently, another was made by a Mr E. McEwen. It appears however, that both Lilley and McEwen used modern tools to make their bows, and neither reconstruction has been rigorously tested. Mr Lilley’s Bow’s draw weight was apparently measured, but the results were never published. It was however, shot by an archer at Dunster’s ‘Grand Western Archery Society’s’ meeting in May 1963, where an experienced Bowman hit a target at the third draw from a range of 60 yards (Clark, 1963).

McEwen’s bow’s draw weight was published, 41kg or in real money 90 lbs at 81 cm’s or 32″, but the bow broke during the tillering process and was repaired with glue, and a backing strip was added.

The backing was a tough elastic strip of hickory; this strengthened the bow to make it usable but also inevitably increased its poundage giving an incorrect reading for the bow read Bergman, McEwen & Miller, 1988.

Therefore, a proper reconstruction was necessary to answer a whole host of questions.

The first being, why bother reconstructing the bow?

The Romans were the first to harvest peat to burn as fuel.

Between April and September, when the ground was at its driest, men would cut the peat by hand, while women and children would stack the turfs to dry, before loading them onto carts or flat-bottomed boats.

The peat was cut this way for hundreds of years until the 1940s, when coal became more popular. In the 1960s, peat was removed by huge machines for horticultural use, but this stopped in the 1990s.

Today, these former peat pits have been transformed into a landscape of open lakes, reedbeds, fens and wet woodland, and have become a hugely important area for nature conservation.

Around 6,000 years ago, Neolithic people lived on the higher, dry ground around the heath, and built wooden trackways to cross the wetlands.

Large parts of the Neolithic ‘Sweet Track’, the oldest man-made routeway in Britain, still exist on the Reserve, preserved beneath the wet peat.

This remarkable timber track was built around 3,806 BC to cross 2km (1.2 miles) of reed swamp that separated Meare Island from the Polden Hills.

Many amazing Neolithic artefacts have since been found on the heath, including pots of hazelnuts, a child’s toy tomahawk, and an extraordinary polished jadeite axe from the Alps. Many are now on display at Taunton Castle Museum.

In June 1961, the Eclipse Peat Company opened up some new areas for peat extraction on the Somerset Levels. Deep in the peat, one-half of a wooden flat-bow was discovered.

This bow was found to date from the Neolithic Period, and was given the name the Meare Heath Bow.

The following article is an account of the re-creation of a working replica of the Meare Heath Bow, which was carried out using the tools, materials and technologies available to the indigenous Neolithic population of Somerset.

Through the re-creation and testing of the bow, hypothesis and interpretations previously attributed to the bow, and consequently to Neolithic bow-making in general, are examined and re-appraised.

The conclusions reached include the fact that the Neolithic bowyers were skilled craftsmen and designers, capable of producing highly advanced weapons for the time, and that the Meare Heath Bow, which was previously thought to have broken in use, was probably intentionally broken, perhaps to be deposited as a votive offering in the Somerset Levels.

The reconstruction of the bow was undertaken in the summer of 1997, and two publications subsequently appeared , but this is the first time that an unabridged version of the account of the reconstruction of the bow has been published.

The replica Meare Heath Bow has now been shot over 3000 times and is still going strong, illustrating the functionality of its design and the durability of the weapon.

Archaeology contains many sub-disciplines and one such is Experimental Archaeology.

Experimental archaeology is the controlled replication of ancient technologies in order to provide hypotheses that can be tested by actual archaeological data. Through this field many ancient tools, buildings and artefacts have been re-created in order to learn about the processes of manufacture, usage and decay.

These experiments have shown that many of the traditionally held views, about the ways in which tasks were carried out, things were constructed, or the ways in which various objects functioned, are actually ill founded, and many previously held notions about the past have subsequently been challenged.

One area where experimental archaeology has really come into its own is within the study of ancient archery, or to give it its proper name Archaeotoxophily , Archaeology = the study of antiquities;

Toxophily = archery).

Experimental archaeology has been used to great effect within archaeotoxophily and much has been learnt about the bows and arrows that the discipline has been applied to.

The bows from the Mary Rose have been re-created (Hardy, 1976), as has the Ice Man’s bow (Spindler, 1993), telling us much about artisanship and bow technologies of these periods. Flint arrowheads have also been made and tested, and their effectiveness has been proven thrice over.

The story is far from complete however, and for every question answered two more have arisen. Much knowledge may have been gleaned concerning the field of ancient archery, but there is still much to learn.

The Meare Heath Bow.

The Discovery & Remains of the Meare Heath Bow

In June 1961, the Eclipse Peat Company opened up some new areas for peat extraction on the Somerset levels.

Deep in the peat one-half of a wooden flat-bow was discovered .

The bow fragment was immediately taken to Cambridge University and subjected to carbowax treatment to preserve it. This bow was found to date from the Neolithic Period and was given the name the Meare Heath Bow by Clark & Godwin,

The Illustrated London News, Feb 10th, 1962.

The remains consisted of about half a bow of yew, broken across so that some 6 cm’s of round-section handgrip remain.

The rest of the bow-stave, about 93 cm’s in length, take a flattened lanceolate shape of maximum width about 6 cm’s , almost flat on one surface , the inner or belly of the bow , and convex on the outer or back of the bow.

Part of the sub-terminal notch for attachment of the bowstring also remains.

There are two transverse leather bands around the stave at its widest point and traces indicate that others were also originally present. In addition, there were clear traces of a narrow diagonal cross banding by strips of strengthening material, probably sinew.

If the bow were originally symmetrical about the grip, its total length would have been around 190.5 cm long.

The Age of the Bow

The age of the bow was verified in several ways.

Firstly, stratigraphically the bow was found near the base of a dark humified peat previously known to have yielded a polished Neolithic axe of Graig Llywd stone and several sherds of a late Neolithic bowl of Peterborough ware Clark & Godwin, The Illustrated London News, Feb 10th, 1962. Secondly, analysis of the sub-fossil pollen grains in the peat sample, taken to Cambridge surrounding the bow, showed the bow to have been deposited at a time shortly after a general decline in Elm pollen that is known throughout Northwestern Europe during the Neolithic Period.

Also present were pollen grains of plants associated with the spread of Neolithic farming. Thirdly, the radiocarbon analysis gave results fully consistent with these findings, 2690 BC ± 120 years. The bow then can be placed firmly in the Middle Neolithic Period.

Previous Work

In terms of published results, prior to the current reconstruction, two reproductions of the Meare Heath bow have been made. The first bow was made in the 1960s by a Mr C.E. Lilley, and more recently, another was made by a Mr E. McEwen. It appears however, that both Lilley and McEwen used modern tools to make their bows, and neither reconstruction has been rigorously tested. Mr Lilley’s Bow’s draw weight was apparently measured, but the results were never published. It was however, shot by an archer at Dunster’s ‘Grand Western Archery Society’s’ meeting in May 1963, where an experienced Bowman hit a target at the third draw from a range of 60 yards (Clark, 1963).

McEwen’s bow’s draw weight was published, 41kg or in real money 90 lbs at 81 cm’s or 32″, but the bow broke during the tillering process and was repaired with glue, and a backing strip was added.

The backing was a tough elastic strip of hickory; this strengthened the bow to make it usable but also inevitably increased its poundage giving an incorrect reading for the bow read Bergman, McEwen & Miller, 1988.

Therefore, a proper reconstruction was necessary to answer a whole host of questions.

The first being, why bother reconstructing the bow?

The Romans were the first to harvest peat to burn as fuel.

Between April and September, when the ground was at its driest, men would cut the peat by hand, while women and children would stack the turfs to dry, before loading them onto carts or flat-bottomed boats.

The peat was cut this way for hundreds of years until the 1940s, when coal became more popular. In the 1960s, peat was removed by huge machines for horticultural use, but this stopped in the 1990s.

Today, these former peat pits have been transformed into a landscape of open lakes, reedbeds, fens and wet woodland, and have become a hugely important area for nature conservation.

Around 6,000 years ago, Neolithic people lived on the higher, dry ground around the heath, and built wooden trackways to cross the wetlands.

Large parts of the Neolithic ‘Sweet Track’, the oldest man-made routeway in Britain, still exist on the Reserve, preserved beneath the wet peat.

This remarkable timber track was built around 3,806 BC to cross 2km (1.2 miles) of reed swamp that separated Meare Island from the Polden Hills.

Many amazing Neolithic artefacts have since been found on the heath, including pots of hazelnuts, a child’s toy tomahawk, and an extraordinary polished jadeite axe from the Alps. Many are now on display at Taunton Castle Museum.

MEAREANDGODNEY

The village of Meare is about four miles S. of Wedmore, and reached by a road across the “Moors”. It is on the S.W. border of Meare Pool, to which Camden assigns an area of 500 acres, and Leland an average circumference of 3 miles. The place has three buildings of much interest—church, manor-house, and abbot’s fish-house.

But apart from these, the renown of Meare has been spread far during recent years as the result of the thrilling excavation of Celtic lake-dwellings by Dr Bulleid of Glastonbury and his helpers. The site, now famous in Europe, must be an object of legitimate curiosity, but it is hard to find. In the village, a road W. of the church and running S., is marked “Meare Way” on a signpost. Turn down this for 100 yards or so along the level. On the “Moor side” is the stump of a notice board nearly opposite a red-ochred cottage. About 50 yards back in the marsh is a hut standing on a big mound in the angle between two ditches. Other mounds whose tops are about 3 feet above the general level, are on the W. side of the ditch.

There are two distinct groups of dwellings separated by about 150 yards of level ground, and each group comprised about 50 huts: the combined groups occupy parts of about seven fields. These little artificial islands were made well over two thousand years ago some 200 yards from the shore of the Meare lake. Within recent years Great Britain, through Dr Arthur Bulleid, has made a remarkable contribution to the lore of lake-dwellings known in the world, though those of Meare are comparatively late, having been occupied during the prehistoric (early) iron age. The dwellings were built on artificial mounds made in shallow water near the lake shore with trunks of trees, brushwood, earth, and stone, the little islands being connected with the mainland by a raised causeway. Dr Bulleid discovered the Glastonbury (or Godney) site in 1892, and excavation followed from 1892-98, and from 1904-07, with the skilled assistance of Mr H. St George Gray, the well-known excavator and curator of Taunton Museum.

Then the village at Meare was discovered in 1895, and systematic investigation followed in 1908, 1911-14, and 1921 and following years. The quest is still proceeding. The Glastonbury site is on the Brue levels something more than a mile N. of Glastonbury on the way to the village of Godney. The site is triangular and covers about j I acres. It comprises some 80-90 hemispherical mounds, with diameters ranging from 15 to 40 feet, each being the site of a dwelling. In each case on the underlying peat was laid a platform, of wood and this was bordered by a palisading of posts. On the wood was laid a floor of clay, and as in time this sank, a new one would be superimposed—a process repeated several times. A house was built of upright posts and walls of wattle and daub; a thatched roof was supported by a central post; and on the floor a clay hearth was set, of an average diameter of about 4 feet. The causeway was of clay rammed tight, to a depth of about feet on top of timbers. The occupation of these settlements was evidently continuous during the third and second centuries B.C., and certainly came to an end before or very soon after the civilization of Rome reached so far west as Somerset. The culture of the inhabitants is thoroughly shown by the objects to be seen in the museum. They include objects of bronze, tin, lead, and iron— a bronze bowl set round with bosses is the piece de resistance—of amber, glass, jet, and bone. The pottery is of the type we associate with the pre-Roman Celts, especially vessels with ornament of cordons round the shoulder. The human remains show that the people were of oval-headed Iberian type, men and women of shorter stature and slighter build than the long-heads (dolicho-cephalic). Their pottery and woodwork is that of late-Celtic art, just such as has been found at Wookey Hole, Ham Hill, and Worlebury Camp in Somerset, and on Mount Caburn and in other sites in Sussex and elsewhere. Here then stood the island dwellings of Celts who ploughed, spun and wove in the second and first centuries before Christ, and vanished when the Romans came. Whither? Possibly to some extent into the more inaccessible caves of Mendip, though some would seem to have simply transferred to the shores of their lakes. For, truly, these moor folk whom you may see between April and July cutting and stacking peat to dry on the marshes, might well be their descendants. They are an individual and somewhat retrograde race. Few have been off the moor, and those few very rarely. (The Godney site is, as was said above, about ij miles from Glastonbury, on the right-hand side of the road, where the words “British Village” are marked very faintly on a white gate-post.)

(Read The Lake-villages of Somerset, by Arthur Bulleid, L.R.C.P., F.S.A. Price 2s., Folk Press, London, S.W.)

But Meare has yet other things to show. The abbots of Glastonbury used to own the lake and exploit its fish. Here they were en compagne, and no doubt the Manor House (immediately E. of the church, i.e. on the Glastonbury side) was a “week-end” establishment. The striking features outside are the tall porch with a curved gable and a crude figure a-top, and the three buttresses on the E. side of the front. There is a dining hall 60 feet long on the first floor, with fireplace and windows. This house seems to have been built in the time of Adam de Sodbury (1322-35). The Fish House (1335) is next (E.) to the Manor House and on the edge of the old mere, and is now under the care of the Office of Works, and has been re-roofed since a fire destroyed the original timber roof some years back. When built, it contained a ground floor and storey, the latter reached by outside steps, the former being in two halves with communication by two pointed doorways. The living room was upstairs, the fishing tackle below. The church has a chancel of the fourteenth century, and nave, aisles, and a stone pulpit of the fifteenth. On the charming parapet of the S. aisle is the monogram of Abbot Selwood, last-but-one abbot of Glastonbury. The tracery of the E. window is uncommon.

While near Meare I had an opportunity of seeing something of the peat industry. Three strong young fellows were down in a trench six-foot deep, the sides of which were cut as straight as a brick wall. About 31 feet down began, perfectly level and perfectly distinct, the stratum which it is worth digging. All the loose top-soil has to be cleared off, and then the desirable seam is cut out from above into 6-inch cubes, and left out to dry till fit for carting, when they are sold by the thousand.

By miles of ditch-guarded roads, shaded by long rows of pollard willows—roads which, by a not unpleasant change, you have all to yourself—you come to Glastonbury.

GLASTONBURY (716 Glestingaburg. D.,

Glasting-berie: Glessenbyri {Leiand); the fort of the Glas tings).—

The ground on which rises Glastonbury Tor and on whicb the township and abbey of Glastonbury were built, was called in ancient days the Isle of Avalon.

To realize its insular character it is necessary to go up the Tor or some of the neighbouring high places; but a glance at the map is far more satisfactory.

Roughly, a great arm of the sea came in from the Bristol Channel betweenMendipand Quantock, and

Standing proudly on the side of an English hill, its religious roots go back 2,000 years.

Holy Thorn tree on Wearyall Hill in Glastonbury as stunned locals look on.

The tree in all its glory before it was hacked apart. Legend says it sprang from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who helped Jesus off the cross. To the right of the tree, in the distance, is Glastonbury Tor

• According to legend, Saint Joseph travelled to the spot after Christ was crucified, taking with him the Holy Grail of Arthurian folklore.
• He is said to have stuck his wooden staff – which had belonged to Jesus – into the ground on Wearyall Hill before he went to sleep. When he awoke it had sprouted into a thorn tree, which became a natural shrine for Christians across Europe.

• To add to its sacred status, the tree ‘miraculously’ flowered twice a year – once at Christmas and once at Easter. It survived for hundreds of years before it was chopped down by puritans in the Civil War, but secret cuttings of the original were taken and planted around the town.
• It is from one of the new plants that a replacement tree was planted in the original spot over 50 years ago.
• Yesterday residents of Glastonbury wept as they surveyed the damage done to the tree on Wednesday night. Katherine Gorbing, curator of the town’s abbey, said: ‘The mindless vandals who have hacked down this tree have struck at the heart of Christianity.

A member of the public gathers sprigs from the chopped branches while (right) onlookers cry and say prayers

BROUGHT TO LIFE BY JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, CHOPPED DOWN BY CROMWELL'S ROUNDHEADS, REBORN THANKS TO LOCALS

• Christian legend dictates that Jesus's great uncle, Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain after the crucifixion 2,000 years ago bearing the Holy Grail -the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper.
• He visited Glastonbury and thrust his staff into Wearyall Hill, just below the Tor, planting a seed for the original thorn tree.
• Roundheads felled the tree during the English Civil War, when forces led by Oliver Cromwell waged a vicious battle against the Crown.
• However, locals salvaged the roots of the original tree, hiding it in secret locations around Glastonbury.

It was then replanted on the hill in 1951. Other cuttings were also grown and placed around the town -including its famous Glastonbury Abbey.

• Experts had verified that the tree -known as the Crategus Monogyna Bi Flora -originated from the Middle East.
• A sprig of holy thorns was taken from the Thorn tree by Glastonbury's St Johns Church on Wednesday and sent to the Queen
• The 100-year-old tradition will see the thorns sit on Her Majesty's dinner table on Christmas Day
• ‘It is the most significant of all the trees planted here and can be linked back to the origins of Christianity.
• ‘When I arrived at the Abbey this morning you could look over to the hill and see it was not there.
• ‘It’s a great shock to everyone in Glastonbury – the landscape of the town has changed overnight.’
• Every winter a sprig of thorns from one of the town’s trees is sent to the Queen to be used as a table decoration on Christmas Day.

Glastonbury mayor John Coles, 66, took part in the annual cutting ceremony last week using the tree at St John’s Church.

• Yesterday he recalled watching a tree being planted on Wearyall Hill in 1951 for the Festival of Britain. Although that specimen died, it was replaced the following year and stood firm until this week. Mr Coles said: ‘It’s the saddest thing I’ve seen in Glastonbury. Some of the main trunk is there but the branches have been sawn away. I am absolutely lost for words.’
• Experts had verified that the tree – known as the Crategus Monogyna Bi Flora – originated from the Middle East.
• Avon and Somerset police have begun an investigation but because there was no tree preservation order on the Holy Thorn, it means the vandals are unlikely to be prosecuted. The land on which the Holy Thorn stood is owned by Edward James, who was arrested this week in connection with an investigation into failed currency exchange firm Crown Currency Exchange, of which he is a director.
• According to the administrator’s report, Crown Currency collapsed owing £16million with little more than £3million in the bank. Last night there was speculation that the attack on the Holy Thorn may have been part of a vendetta against him.

Leland's material provides invaluable evidence for reconstructing the lost "tomb" of Arthur (a twelfth-century fabrication) at Glastonbury Abbey.

On his itinerary of 1542, Leland was the first to record the tradition (possibly influenced by the proximity of the villages of Queen Camel and West Camel) identifying the hillfort of Cadbury Castle in Somerset as Arthur's Camelot:

"At the very south ende of the chirch of South-Cadbyri standeth Camallate, sumtyme a famose toun or castelle, apon a very torre or hille, wunderfully enstregnthenid of nature. . .The people can telle nothing ther but that they have hard say that Arture much resortid to Camalat.

MOTORING

xxxii

Palace Eye, on the east side of the Market Place. The Palace(the grounds are usually open to visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays in summer from3-4.45p.m.)is surrounded by an embattled wall, and further protected by a wide moat, well known as the home of some highly intelligent swans.

Glastonbury.

Motor Park.—Market-place, beyond the Museum.

In comparison with Wells, Glastonbury is a place of memories, for the once flourishing Abbey is represented by a few ruined walls(the ruins are open weekdays only),and even those who climb the Tor will find difficulty in visualiz­ing the day when St. Joseph of Arimathea, sent by St. Philip the Apostle, came with a band of missionaries to preach the Gospel in Britain. They sailed up the Bristol Channel until they came in sight of a hill “ most like to Tabor’s holy mount,” for which St. Joseph—so the interesting old story goes—had been instructed in a dream to look.

This hill, which we know as Glastonbury Tor, was an island­like elevation amid the marshes. As Avalon, it is known in ancient romances and in Tennyson’sMorte D'Arthur.

Close to Glastonbury, on the road to Bridgwater, is Weary-all-Hill, or Wirral, the spot where St. Joseph and his com­panions, “ weary-all ” with their journey, are said to have landed, having steered their vessel up the river which then flowed at the foot of the slight eminence. Here St. Joseph, we read in the fascinating tradition, planted his pilgrim’s staff, which at once took root, sent forth branches, and made a practice of celebrating every Christmas Day by bursting into flower. It is certain that for many centuries there flourished here a tree famed through Christendom as the Glastonbury Thorn. It was regarded as of such sanctity that sailors car­ried sprigs from it for luck in their voyages, and dying men desired that some of its leaves should be buried with them. Visitors who make their way to the hill may find the cracked paving-stone marking the place where the tree flourished, and roughly inscribed " I.A.” (Joseph of Arimathea) " Ann. D. xxxi.”

For a full description of the ruins and of Glastonbury, we must refer readers to ourGuide to Wells, Glastonbury and Cheddar.

HARMSWORTH POPULAR SCIENCE

only possible among a nation with a knowledge of the sun’s apparent movements against the starry sphere ; and it is possible that the Babylonians accomplished it. It is only at the North and the South Poles that a stick stuck upright in the ground will indicate by its shadow the regular passage of the daylight hours. In lower latitudes the shadow cast by the upright rod or style of a sun-dial would so alter its position at the same hour, at various seasons of the year, that the instrument would be useless. For instance, at nine o’clock on a midsummer morning the shadow would fall a good distance away from the spot it would occupy at nine o’clock on a midwinter morning. So the marks on the dial would be very misleading. To make a proper sun-dial, it is necessary to calculate the different paths that the sun takes in its high summer course through the sky and in its low winter journey. It is easity done by giving the rod or style of a sun-dial the same direction as the axis of the earth. This sounds very abstruse and difficult, but in practice it only means that the style should point to the Polar Star. The position of its shadow in the sunlight will pot then alter with the varying path of the sun. The shadow at nine oTlock on a sunny winter morning will fall upon the same line as the shadow falls on a bright summer morning. The task of drawing the hour-marks on a dial is more difficult, as these occur at irregular intervals, instead of being evenly spaced round the dial. very ancient instrument of time measurement. It consists . of four stones, placed north, south, east, and west, and embedded in the solid rock. A leaning stone crosses in a diagonal manner the space formed by the outer stones. The structure is so built as to mark the turning points in the sun’s annual path; but its most interesting feature is the way in which the hours are indicated at certain times in the year by shadows falling on prominent points or edges of the monument. The north stone is really a sun-dial, and the south stone a style, while the east and diagonal stones fulfil both purposes. The structure thus appears to have been a sacred instrument used for measuring the time at certain

critical periods of the year, some of religious

and some of agricultural importance. Dr. McAldowie has lately uncovered several other burial mounds, and found beneath them other big, rough stone dials. He thinks they were the sacred places or temples of a very early race, and that they were converted into burial mounds by some alien invaders, who took over, as is often the case among ancient races, the traditions of sanctity attaching to the monuments.

It scarcely seems possible that these buried structures should all by mere chance be admirable sun-dials. The real question is whether they are later in date than Dr. McAldowie supposes. Our own opinion of the matter is that many so-called Druidical remains in our islands were in existence before the Celtic peoples and their medicine-men, the Druids, invaded the country. The Druids, no doubt, took over the traditions of sanctity attaching to Stonehenge and Avebury, and other similar prehistoric monuments ;. and it is quite likely that in some cases they may have continued, and improved upon, the work of the earlier builders. But on the whole we think that most of these strange monuments were the work of a native, non-Celtic people of the

THE CLOCK THAT WENT FOR 500 YEARS AT GLASTONBURY ABBEY

But the savages who lived in prehistoric times in Great Britain seem to have worked out part of the difficult art of making a sun-dial. A few months ago there was published in " Nature ” an abstract of some results of the excavations that Dr. McAl-dowie recently made in prehistoric burial mounds in Staffordshire and Gloucestershire. Near his own home, at Camp, the doctor has uncovered a huge, rough stone monument,

In The Ancient Entrenchments and Camps of Gloucestershire, Edward J. Burrow mentions that probably either the Goidel or Brython people initially built Worlebury Camp.

The Belgae people subsequently overthrew the initial inhabitants and occupied the camp for a time, but they were finally destroyed at the hands of the Romans.

Worlebury Camp has been explored at various times over a period of 150 years. From 1851 to 1852,Charles Dymond, Edwin Martin Atkins, and Francis Warre excavated and surveyed Worlebury Camp.

Dymond returned in 1880 to continue the excavation, which lasted until 1881. Another century passed before the Woodspring Museum from Weston-super-Mare excavated more of Worlebury camp in 1987 to 1988.

Finally, in 1998, the Avon Extensive Urban Study team performed the latest (as of 2008) assessment of the site.

Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium Before Christ, The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate.

It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Power passed into the hands of a new group of people.

Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase still played a role and has stated, the forts provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction". Location plan of the camp. The fort is located on the summit ofWorlebury Hill, 109 metres, 358 feet above sea level. It is in the present day North Somerset, above the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mareand close to the village of Worle.

Its occupants would have had a view of the countryside as well as any potential invaders. They would have been able to see out over to Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Black Mountains, the Mendip Hills, Dunkery Beacon, Sand Point, andWales. This view is no longer as unobstructed as it once was because there are so many trees spread over the hill. Triangular stone platforms ! There are a number of triangular platforms on the slopes around the hill fort. The apexes of these triangles are flush with the hillside, with the base projecting in the downhill direction. However, the upper surface is approximately level. The front faces of these platforms are about 1.7 metres, 5.6 feet above the hillside, and they have ditches in front of them to improve their defence. In a letter to Warre, Atkins theorised that the structures were slingers'platforms or archers' stations. Several sling stones have been found around them, offering some credence to the theory that slingers stood upon these platforms.

Dymond mentions the stones in his book: Several of them were broken, as though they had been used in the attack on the fort, as, indeed, many of them probably were. Charles Dymond, Worlebury: An Ancient Stronghold in the County of Somerset Walls and ditches. An artist's rendition of Worlebury Camp from a book published in 1886 Worlebury Hill is bordered on its north and west sides by steep cliffs dropping down into the Bristol Channel between Weston Bay and Sand Bay. These would have rendered the fort nearly invulnerable to attack from those directions. Nevertheless, the fort still has one wall on its north side and one on its west side, both very near the edge of the cliffs. On the south side, a single rampart and a ditch guarded the fort. The level east side was protected by two stone ramparts and five ditches. Parts of these ramparts were over 11 metres, 35 feet high measuring from the bottom of the ditch as of 1875. The walls themselves are around 1 metre 3.3 feet thick. However, because they are dry-laid stone, the removal of a few stones would be sufficient to bring the entire wall collapsing down. To prevent access to the walls themselves, the inhabitants of the fort raised large breast works around the base of the walls by piling up rock rubble against the bases. These rubble barriers are over 1.22 metres, 4.0 feet high, and in places they are over 1.22 metres, 4.0 feet thick. Attackers would have had to clear away the rubble before being able to attack the wall, and all the while they would be under direct fire from defenders on the top of the wall.

Archaeological findings , Storage pits . The area inside the outer wall has a series of hut circles and 93 storage pits cut directly into the bedrock, which is only around 60 centimetres 2.0 feet beneath the surface of the soil in most places. Eighteen of the Storage pits are in what Dymond calls the "keep", one is in the transverse fosse, a fosse is a ditch usually dug for protection, and seventy-four of the pits are outside the "keep" but still enclosed within the exterior walls. The average size of the pits is around 2 metres, 6.6 feet long by 2 metres wide and 1.5 metres, 4.9 feet deep. The largest pit is roughly triangular, with sides measuring 3 metres   9.8 feet, 2.7 metres, 8.9 feet, and 2.4 metres, 7.9 feet long. The smallest pit is 1 metre, 3.3 feet long by .7 metres, 2.3 feet wide. The inhabitants used them to store grain, as is evidenced by the kernels of barley and wheat and the shards of pots that were found in the pits. Several of the pits contained the remnants of peas and the remains of burned woven baskets. In addition, researchers also found sling stones and spindle whorls dated to the 1st or 2nd century Before Christ in them.

 A skull, found during Dymond's second exploration, which is gouged with many cuts from an edged weapon. Drawn in 1886 for Dymond's book, Worlebury: An Ancient Stronghold in the County of Somerset. Eighteen of these pits were found to contain the remains of human skeletons, which are now stored in the Weston-super-Mare Museum in Weston-super-Mare. Eighteen full skeletons were found, of which ten show evidence of a violent death (including sword cuts in the skulls). It is possible that the Romans or the Belgic raiders attacked the fort and killed the inhabitants.

Artefacts

A cast copper alloy penannular collar of special interest to archaeologists has been found at the campsite. It may indicate that this hilltop site was used even before the Iron Age, since related artefacts tend to be found with Bronze Age items, and it was the first of its type found in Britain. In 2006, a related copper penannular brooch dating to the 5th or 6th century Anno Dominae was found in a spring between Brecon Beacons and theBlack Mountains in Wales. A gold penannular bracelet was found in the Perry River. Roman coins have been found at Worlebury Camp since the Romans had established a presence by the end of the 1st century Anno Dominae. Many of the Roman coins bear the image of the Western Roman Emperor Honorius. This was inside the fort proper. Another coin was located by Trinity Path which leads towards the fort. Other findings at the Worlebury campsite include animal remains, including the bones of pigs, oxen, horses, deer, goats, and even small birds. Limpet shells have also been found near the bones. Archaeologists found iron objects, adding further credibility to the idea that this fort is from the Iron Age. These objects include a chisel or borer, several spearheads and javelin heads, and an iron cone with charred wood inside and a rivet hole through the cone. Dymond assumes that this cone was once a plow share. Stone artefacts, mainly slingstones and scrapers, have been discovered at the site. Just less than 36 flint chips have been found, of which some may be arrowheads. One good-quality arrowhead has been found. In addition to these, Dymond recorded finding a lead lump about the size of a walnut that he decided was probably a sling bullet.[7]Glastonbury type bead-rim pottery was also found at this site. A socketed bronze axe from the late Bronze Age, which was found at Worlebury Hill in 1883, is in the Ashmolean Museum.

Damage to the site. 19th century quarry on the south side of the hill. Seen looking north from "South Road" 19th century Development of Weston-super-Mare since the 19th century has resulted in three episodes of potentially irreversible damage to the site. A quarry started operation in the southern side of Worlebury Hill in 1815 to mine for galena, calamine, and stone. The Bristol and Exeter Railway arrived in Weston-super-Mare in 1841, making it profitable to expand the village into a town.

In 1842, Weston-super-Mare became a town with the granting of the Improvement and Market Act of May 1842. This act also proposed developing houses right over the brow of the hill. This would have gone straight through Worlebury Camp; however, the actual expansion never reached the site. By 1853, some development had occurred according to the proposed expansion, but it had skirted the hillfort and continued to the east. 20th century, In the early 20th century, the Worlebury fort itself was damaged by boys rolling stones, including some from the walls of the fort, down the hill on which it stands. The Axbridge District of the Somerset Archaeological Society was taking steps to prevent such damage from happening again. Some of the trees planted in the early 19th century had become very large, and their roots were growing into the archaeological structures. In 2005, the Forestry Commission gave permission for North Somerset Council to fell 300 trees to reduce the subsequent risks.A member of the North Somerset Council, Christopher Richards, said: "If we had a storm up here and these trees came down, then the entire hillfort could be destroyed

 bridgewater , damnonia.blue  Barge. A crowd, almost as large as that which we have seen in Eastover, is collected on the quay and is looking down on the work of a group of labourers, who are directed by a master mason in charge of the operation. They have brought from a ship, which has come up the river on the last tide, two stone effigies swathed in straw. The faces and hands, however, are visible, and we see that the Bristol carvers have fashioned here a Knight and his Lady, with faces and hands turned towards heaven.

The labourers are now lifting them into the flat-bottomed barge.

On the next tide they will be carried up to Taunton , and thence will make their final journey in a waggon to the church for which they are destined. Below the bridge, moored against the quay-side lie ships, not a few.

 That fine vessel Le Gabriel de Bridgwater belongs to Master Dennis Dwin, the Irish merchant. She is unloading her cargo of woad, a blue dye-stuff for the use of the Bridgwater cloth makers. The town crane is busy hoisting it ashore. La Marie de Tanton got rid of

                                                                                           Street

On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is two miles (three kilometres) southwest of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation. Much of the history of the village is dominated by Glastonbury Abbey , and a 12th-century causeway from Glastonbury built to transport local Blue Lias stone to it.

To the north of Street is the River Brue, which marks the boundary with Glastonbury. South of Street are the Walton and Ivythorn Hills and East Polden Grasslands biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Anglican Parish Church of The Holy Trinity dates from the 14th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.

History

The settlement's earliest known name is Lantokay, meaning the Llan (a sacred enclosure) of Kea, a Celtic saint. The place-name 'Street' is first attested in Anglo-Saxon charters from 725 and 971, where it appears as Stret. It appears as Strete juxta Glastone in a charter from 1330 formerly in the British Museum. The word is the Old English straet meaning 'Roman road'.

The centre of Street is where Lower Leigh hamlet was, and the road called Middle Leigh and the community called Overleigh are to the south of the village. In the 12th century, a causeway from Glastonbury was built to transport stone from what is now Street for rebuilding Glastonbury Abbey after a major fire in 1184. The causeway is about 100 yards (90 m) north of a Roman road running north from Ilchester. It will be seen that the name of the village predates the building of the causeway by more than four hundred years, and so the village is named after the Roman road and not the causeway.

Street from Glastonbury Tor. The village is in the distance; the houses at lower right are in Glastonbury.

The parish of Street was part of the Whitley Hundred.

Quarries of the local blue lias stone were worked from as early as the 12th century to the end of the 19th century. It is a geological formation in southern England, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of llimestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago. Its age corresponds to the Rhaetian to lower Sinemurian stages of the geologic timescale, thus fully including the Hettangian stage. It is the lowest of the three divisions of the Lower Jurassic period and, as such, is also given the name Lower Lias . It consists of thin blue argillaceous, or clay-like, limestone. The Blue Lias contains many fossils, especially ammonites. Fossils discovered in the lias include man yichthyosaurs, one of which has been adopted as the badge of Street. There is a display of Street fossils in the Natural History Museum in London.

The churchyard of the Parish Church has yielded one Iron Age coin, however the origin and significance is unclear, although the Dobunni were known to have produced coins in the area. A number of Roman pottery fragments, now in the Museum of Somerset. Remains of Roman villas exist on the south edge of Street near Marshalls Elm and Ivythorn. Buried remains of a Roman road were excavated in the early 20th century on the flood-plain of the river Brue between Glastonbury and Street. The parish churchyard is on the first flood-free ground near the river Brue and was probably the first land to be inhabited. The form of the large churchyard suggests a lan, a sacred area of a kind that was built in the first half of the 6th century. Llan or Lan is a common place name element in Brythonic languages such as Welsh, Cornish, Breton ,Cumbric, and possibly Pictish. The original meaning of llanin Welsh is "an enclosed piece of land", but it later evolved to mean the parish surrounding a church.

One biography of St Gildas has the saint spending some time in Glastonbury Abbey, and moving to a site by the river, where he built a chapel to the Holy Trinity and there died. The Parish Church, now Holy Trinity, has at times been known as St Gildas' church. Glastonbury Abbey controlled Street until the Dissolution.

Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (120 ha) historic park, approximately two miles (three kilometres) west of Street, which dates back to the Bronze Age. The first known reference is a grant by King Edwy to the then Aethelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was conferred by the soon-to-be King Johnto the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother o f Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Sir Edward Dyer the Elizabethan poet and courtier (died 1607) was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. Sharpham was also the birthplace of the novelist and dramatist Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould.

Ivythorn Manor on Pages Hill was a medieval monastic house. It was rebuilt in 1488 for Abbot John Selwood of Glastonbury Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries it became a manor house owned by the Marshall and Sydenham families. Sir John Sydenham added a wing 1578 which was later demolished. By 1834 the house was largely ruined until its restoration around 1904, and a west wing was added in 1938. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Governance

Street and Glastonbury Tor seen from Walton Hill

The River Brue marks the boundary with Glastonbury, to the north of Street. At the time of King Arthur, the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground on which Glastonbury stands. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake. Pomparles Bridge stood at the western end of this lake, guarding Glastonbury from the south, and it was here that Sir Bedivere is thought to have thrown the sword Excalibur into the waters after King Arthur fell at the Battle of Camlann. The old bridge was replaced by a reinforced concrete arch bridge in 1911.

Before the 13th century, the direct route to the sea at Highbridge was blocked by gravel banks and peat near Westhay. The course of the river partially encircled Glastonbury from the south, around the western side (through Beckery), and then north through the Panborough-Bleadney gap in the Wedmore-Wookey Hills, to join the River Axe just north of Bleadney. This route made it difficult for the officials of Glastonbury Abbey to transport produce from their outlying estates to the Abbey, and when the valley of the river Axe was in flood it backed up to flood Glastonbury itself. Sometime between 1230 and 1250, a new channel was constructed westwards into Meare Pool north of Meare, and further westwards to Mark Moor. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a conservation project based on the Somerset Levels and Moors and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

The Walton and Ivythorn Hills biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of the village lies at the end of the Polden Hills. This site is owned and managed by the National Trust. Walton and Ivythorn Hills support a complex mosaic of semi-natural habitats which includes unimproved calcareous grassland, dense and scattered scrub and broadleaved woodland. Structural diversity within the habitats, together with the extensive areas of sheltered wood-edge and scrub-edge margins provide ideal conditions for many species of invertebrate. Butterflies,leafhoppers, spiders and soldier flies are particularly well represented. The great green bush cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) is also of interest. It is adjacent to the East Polden Grasslands which has typical examples of species-rich, unimproved, calcareous grassland with scrub and amongst the many plant species found in this habitat is the early gentian(Gentianella anglica), which is endemic to Britain. Its other main interest lies in its suitability as a habitat for the large blue butterfly (Phengaris arion), which has been successfully reintroduced onto the site. There are two nationally scarce grasshopper species present; rufous grasshopper (Gomphocerippus rufus) and woodland grasshopper (Omocestus rufipes). Several nationally scarce species of moth, beetle, bee and ant also occur.

Street Heath is a nature reserve, managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust, and has outstanding examples of communities which were once common on the Somerset Levels. The vegetation consists of wet and dry heath, species-rich bog and carr woodland, with transitions between all these habitats. Rare ferns present include marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris) and royal fern (Osmunda regalis). Old peat workings and rhynes have a wetland community which includes bulrush (Typha latifolia), yellow flag iris (pseudacorus), cyperus-like sedge (Carex pseudocyperus) and lesser bur-reed (Sparganium natans). Insects recorded include 33 species of butterflies, 200 moths and 12 grasshoppers and crickets, with several notable rarities. Birds breeding in the carr woodland include the local willow tit

Merriman Park

Merriman Park is named after Nathaniel James Merriman (1809-1882). He was Curate then Vicar of Street, until he emigrated to South Africa. He rose to become Archdeacon of Grahamstown then Dean of Cape Town before being elevated the Episcopate.

In Roman times Street was close to the route of the Fosse Way and is now on the route of the modern A39 road which runs from Bath to Cornwall, and the A361.

Glastonbury and Street railway station was the biggest station on the original Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway main line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction until closed in 1966 under the Beeching axe. Opened in 1854 as Glastonbury, and renamed in 1886, it had three platforms, two for Evercreech to Highbridge services and one for the branch service to Wells. The station had a large goods yard controlled from a signal box.The nearest stations are now around 9 miles away, at Castle Cary and Bridgwater. Replica level crossing gates have been placed at the old station entrance.

A number of bus services serve Street including route 376 to Bristol via Wells which is operated by First West of England and runs every hour. It is also served by Berrys Coaches daily 'Superfast' service to and from London.^[38]

Education

Avalon SchoolMillfield School cricket ground and pavilion

Primary infant/junior schools include Avalon, Brookside, Hindhayes, and Elmhurst.

Crispin School is a secondary school teaching 11- to 16-year-old students from Street and many local villages. It has 1084 students between the ages of 11 and 16 years enrolled. In 1997 it became the first Beacon School in Somerset. It is a Technology College and has a second specialism as a Language College. The school shares its campus with Strode College, atertiary institution and further education college which provides education for 16+ students after they leave secondary school, these courses are usually A-levels or Business and Technology Education Councils (BTECs). The college also provides education for older/mature students, and provides some university level courses. The college is part of The University of Plymouth Colleges network.

At the edge of village is Millfield School, an independent co-educational boarding school which currently caters for 1,260 pupils, of which 910 are boarders. It was founded in 1935 by Boss Meyer, in the house and grounds originally owned by the Clark family, who owned and ran the major shoe manufacturer Clarks.

Sport and leisure

Street has a Non-League football club Street F.C. who play at The Tannery.

Street has two public swimming pools, one indoor and one outdoor. The indoor pool forms part of the Strode complex. The outdoor pool, Greenbank, is open daily from early May until mid September each year.

The only single use cinema in Street was closed down and converted into a nightclub in the 1990s. Strode Theatre, linked to the Crispin School and Strode College complex, is now the only place to see films, exhibitions and live performances. It opened on 5 October 1963 with a performance by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In 1999 the theatre was expanded with a new foyer, bar and box office along with improved rehearsal space and stage access, at a cost of £750,000 by the Steel, Coleman Davis partnership who received an award for the design. The expansion was funded by the Arts Council England.

The village is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

Religious sites

Friends' Meeting House

The Anglican Parish Church of The Holy Trinity dates from the 14th century but underwent extensive restoration in the 19th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The chancel pre dates the rest of the building, having been built about 1270. The first recorded Rector was John de Hancle in 1304. The parish is linked with Street Mission Church in Vestry Road and the church in Walton. There is also a Baptist church on Glaston Road. The Quaker Friends Meeting House was built in 1850, by J. Francis Cottrell of Bath. The United Reformed Church was built on High Street in 1854–55 and Street Methodist Church built on Leigh Road in 1893.

Notable people

• Helen Chamberlain, an English television presenter, was born in Street in 1967.
• Alice Clark, historian and suffragist, author ofWorking Life of Women, was born and died in Street.
• Edwin Edwards (organist), organist, composer, Director of Music at Rugby School, was born in Street in 1830.
• John Hinde was born in Street before going on to become a photographer whose idealistic and nostalgic style influenced the art of postcard photography and was widely known for his meticulously planned shoots.
• Clemence Housman, an author, illustrator and suffragette, lived with her brother Laurence in Street.
• Laurence Housman, an English playwright, writer and illustrator, lived in Street for 35 years before his death in 1959. He was a younger brother of the poet A.E. Housman.
• Catherine Impey, the founder, editor, and publisher of an antirace journal Anti-Caste (1888–1895) was born in Street in 1847. Catherine rejected race, caste, and gender violence. She was friends with Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells and other African Americans with whom she continued a global movement against racism, casteism, and gender problems. She died in 1923.
• Jaye Jacobs, actress
• John X. Merriman was born in Street in 1841, His parents were Nathaniel James Merriman, curate of the parish of Street and later third Bishop of Grahamstown, and the former Julia Potter. He emigrated to the Cape Colony with his parents in 1849, aged 8. He was the last prime minister of the Cape Colony before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
• Henry John "Harry" Patch (1898-2009), the last surviving 'Tommy' from the First World War, moved to Street in the early 1940s, and ran a plumbing company in the village until his retirement at age 65.

Freedom of the Parish

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Parish of Street.

This list is incomplete ; you can help by adding missing items .(April 2020)

• WO 1Matthew Tomlinson: 16 October 2010.

References

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61. "Courageous Royal Marine Matt Tomlinson honoured by his community | Just Plymouth".

Joseph Ronald

"Ronnie" Drew

(Irish: Ránall Ó DraoiI PA:

The Stanton Drew stone circles are just outside the village of Stanton Drew in the English county of Somerset. The largest stone circle is the Great Circle, 113 metres (371 ft) in diameter and the second largest stone circle in Britain (after Avebury); it is considered to be one of the largest Neolithic monuments to have been built. The date of construction is not known but is thought to be between 3000 and 2000BCEwhich places it in the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age.[1]It was made a scheduled monument in 1982.[2]

The Great Circle was surrounded by a ditch and is accompanied by smaller stone circles to the north east and south west. There is also a group of three stones, known as The Cove, in the garden of the local pub. Slightly further from the Great Circle is a single stone, known as Hautville's Quoit. Some of the stones are still vertical, but the majority are now recumbent and some are no longer present.

The stone circles have been studied sinceJ ohn Aubrey's visit in 1664 with some excavations of the site in the 18th century. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries geophysical survey shave confirmed the size of the stone circles and identified additional pits andpostholes. The Cove has been shown to be around one thousand years older than the stone circles. A variety of myths and legends about the stone circles have been recorded, including one about dancers at a celebration who have been turned to stone.

Stanton Drew

Stone farm/settlement'. It was held by someone named Drogo in 1225. Elements and their meanings

(Old English) A stone, stone, rock.

tūn (Old English) An enclosure; a farmstead; a village; an estate.

Modern people have inhabited the Somerset region of southwest England since the Devensian. During this time and the succeeding Mesolithic they lived in and/or made use of places like the caves of the Mendip hills, at Gough's (New) Cave and Aveline's Hole for example. In the following Neolithic a shift was made to farming and permanent settlements emerged. It is known that to the south of the Mendips substantial activity occurred on the Somerset Levels, via the Sweet Track for example [Coles et al. 1973]. The Sweet Track was a timber walkway created circa 3800BC to enable people to cross the marshes of the Brue Valley near Glastonbury. Shortly after this period chambered tombs appeared in the area, followed by henge monuments, and then by the Wedding Stones at Stanton Drew. This paper re-examines the complex in the light of geophysical surveys at Stanton Drew, highlighting missed details, before suggesting multiple lunar alignments within the much under-valued megalithic complex. The monuments at Avebury and Stonehenge are then examined and a close association between the users of all three sites is proposed.

2. Background

2.1 Chambered Tombs

The Somerset region is associated with one of the best-known forms of Neolithic chambered tomb -the Cotswold-Severn group. Two main sub-types exist: transepted long chambered tombs, containing a number of compartments/transepts opening on both sides from a central passage (e.g. Stoney Littleton, Somerset); and another, lateral tombs, in which the compartments are placed with entrances along the side, a symbolic dry-stone entrance placed in the centre (e.g. Belas Knap, Gloucestershire). The lateral tombs may slightly predate the former [Lynch 1997, p.54]. Many tombs appear to incorporate earlier cairns (e.g., Notgrove, Gloucestershire) implying a gradual spread of the "Somerset culture". Burl [1983, p.21] has noted how almost all Cotswold-Severn tombs have their central entrances aligned between northeast and southeast, signifying an interest in celestial movements by the builders. Disarticulated human remains have been found in the compartments of many such tombs [e.g., Bulleid 1941]. Nearly a dozen examples exist in the area around Stanton Drew, including those at Redhill, Butcombe and Dundry. Such structures perhaps functioning as localised representations of previously sacred caves when people spread out over the landscape due to farming and/or overcrowding.

This distinct form of chambered tomb appears to be centred on the Mendip area, ranging up into Gloucestershire and north Wales, as well as east to Wiltshire, suggesting an influential Somerset community. Numerous examples also exist to the west, in south Wales, near Cardiff (e.g., Tinkinswood) and in the Gower (Parc Le Breos), across the opening of the Bristol Channel from the Somerset Levels. Further, it appears that most tombs are within site of at least one other, e.g., Redhill and Butcombe; a new feature of Cotswold-Severn tombs can be noted.

2.2 Henges

A particular form of henge also appears centred in Somerset containing an outer ditch and inner bank, known as Type B [Burl 1991, p.14]. These can be found in the same areas as the Cotswold-Severn tombs, on the Mendips (Priddy) and in north Wales (Llandegai North), as well as further afield from the identified regions: north and west of Wales, on Anglesey (Castell Bryngwyn) and near Dublin (Longstone Rath) respectively; further into Wiltshire, at Stonehenge (modified along its outer edge); and significantly north of Gloucestershire, in Cumbria (Penrith). Burl [ibid., p.16] suggests that henges were used both for ceremonial and trading purposes, often with regional types built in other areas specifically for the latter (in safety), which may explain the siting of such out-post henges. The multiple-type henge phenomenon occurs on the Mendips at Priddy where a north-northeast alignment of three Type B henges can be found, with a fourth partially constructed henge of the same type nearby, and two henges of a different type within a six-mile radius. The alignment of three Type B henges is slightly less than perfect.

Burl [ibid.] has also suggested that the cardinal location of a henge entrance may be significant to the location of its users. The two northern most of the roughly aligned Type B henges at Priddy have their entrances to the north, whilst the third has its entrance to the south. On this basis it can be speculated that the north-entrance henges were for the related communities in north Wales and Gloucestershire, whilst the south-entrance henge was for the local community of Somerset and south Wales. That a fourth Type B henge was abandoned mid-way through construction indicates a change in the belief system. Alternatively, the "unfinished" ring may be a deliberate earthwork semi-circle or horseshoe akin to one found in Moray for example (see [Burl 1999, p.152-153] for discussion of horseshoes).

2.3 Standing Stones

Wimblestone is perhaps the most well-known standing stone in Somerset, situated just under a line of trees at the western end of a valley whose northern edge was the site of a Neolithic settlement [Clarke & Richards 1972]. The stone is around 2m tall and an equilateral triangle in shape, roughly 0.5m in width, and at its base is an oval hole. This huge shark's tooth is aligned such that its thinnest aspect points east/west. To the west is a sharp rise onto the Mendips at Dolebury Warren, not far from Aveline's Hole. At the other end of the valley, in Banwell, is another megalith of the other type found in the region -a large, flat, rectangular stone. This megalith is about 2m high, 1.5m wide, and 0.5m thick. Its top edge is rain-damaged and looks as if a corner is missing. The thinnest aspect points to Fry's Hill with its raised end, which leads up onto the Mendips near Cheddar Caves. Hence such stones can be seen as signposts to the henges at Priddy. It is also interesting to note that, standing at the Banwell stone's raised edge, facing south-southwest and hence perpendicular to it, the prominent Brent Knoll appears cradled between two closer hills. The huge, almost conical, Brent Knoll stands alone over a hundred metres proud of the western end of the Levels. It lies on an azimuth of 211 degrees from the Banwell megalith, that of the major southern setting of the midsummer moon. The minor southern setting may be seen directly to the right of its base, an azimuth of 231 degrees. Viewing the major southern setting over something is seen at Stanton Drew (Section 3) and further afield (Sections 5 and 6). It can be further noted that a similar alignment can be found in Trencrom, Cornwall where the southern setting of the midsummer moon is seen over Trencrom Hill from a nearby megalith.

Old Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880's show the position of a stone called the Hundred Stone at Chapel Allerton, in the Somerset Levels. To the north-northeast lies Fry's Hill and the southern edge of the Mendips. It too had a clear view of Brent Knoll, its base appearing larger than at other angles. Hence it may be speculated this stone was a flat rectangle aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. In the 1700's William Stukeley reported a stone of the same shape near Chew Magna, in the Chew Valley a mile west of Stanton Drew [Burl 1999, p.55]. This early survey may explain the suggestions of a stone circle there, west of the fork in the River Chew from Chew Lake [e.g., Darvill 1985, p.16]. The Mendips are to the south-southwest, suggesting the stone was aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. The nearby Round Hill appearing almost conical with a view perpendicular to this orientation.

Many more stones of these two types, now lost, must surely have existed in Somerset, encircling the Mendips to direct the prehistoric traveller. Their shape is reminiscent of the proposed male/female stones of the Kennet Avenue at Avebury.

2.4 South Wales

It was noted above that the Somerset culture/community existed in Wales, with the building of their distinct chambered tombs. The closest example is just outside Portskewett, on a small knoll above the banks of the Severn, between the two bridges which cross from England into Wales. Since the sea levels were lower for much of the Neolithic and both bridges are built on prominent rockbed, it seems likely that the area was also a prehistoric cross-point. The long barrow has clear views of the estuary, with the top of the Mendips just visible to the south. Its stones are full of pink quartz pebbles.

Standing stone signposts can also be found in the vicinity. Three miles southeast of Portskewett, near St Brides and Magor, is a triangular and pointed stone slightly larger in stature than Wimblestone. Just a few metres from the M4 link to the second Severn crossing, this monolith is aligned roughly east-northeast/west-southwest, suggesting a nearby crossing of the Bristol Channel/Severn. Another stone of this type can be found further north in the beginnings of the Usk Valley (Llangybi), where a large monolith stands in the middle of a field, aligned southeast/northwest. Here the southeast direction indicates the nearest crossing to the cultural/religious centre of Somerset for the north Wales traveller. An enormous rectangular stone, almost 3m tall, can be found aligned east-northeast to the Magor stone fifteen miles away to the south near Castleton. The view west-southwest, i.e., perpendicular and from its raised end, is of a distant Brent Knoll cradled between two hills.

Again, many more such stones must surely have existed nearby to direct the prehistoric traveller from Wales to the Mendip region showing, as do the long barrows, an intimate relationship between the inhabitants of the two regions.

In John Aubrey's time, back in Somerset, a large rectangular outlier at Stanton Drew, known as Hautville's Quoit, could be seen. Today it can be found lying, much diminished, behind a roadside hedge.

3. Stanton Drew

The megaliths at Stanton Drew are arranged in three circles, two of which have short avenues, with a nearby Cove and an outlier. Local folklore tells of a wedding party lured by the Devil into celebrating on the Sabbath and being petrified for such activity. The main circle is over 110m in diameter, making it smaller only than the outer circle at Avebury 25 miles east, and originally consisted of approximately thirty 2.5-3m long stones. A short avenue extends from its east-northeast towards the banks of the nearby River Chew. From the entrance to this avenue extends another into a circle of around 30m in diameter to the northeast of the main circle. This circle consists of eight slightly larger stones than those of the main circle. To the south-southwest on a small knoll above these two circles lies the third circle, roughly 44m in diameter, consisting of twelve slightly shorter stones. A Cove of three large stones is southwest of the main circle, with the backstone fallen, and the outlier 512m to the north-northeast of the main circle, previously over 3m long. All measurements are taken from Burl [1999, p.52-53].

An alignment stretches from the Cove, through the centre of the main circle, to the centre of the northeast circle, at around 52 degrees from north [Burl 1987, p.14-16], which will be returned to here. A second alignment exists from the centre of the northeast circle to that of the south-southwest circle, with an azimuth of 211 degrees and a declination -30.9 degrees, it marks the major southern setting of the midsummer "Moon?" [Thom 1967, p.100 S3/1]. A final alignment exists from the centre of the south-southwest circle, through the main circle, to Hautville's Quoit, which appears to emphasize the barrow-shaped Settle Hill.

Burl [1999, p.62-63] suggests the Quoit and Cove came first, followed by the main stone circle, then the south-southwest circle, then the northeast circle, and finally the avenues to the banks of the river were added. Note that the latter possibly signifyies the importance of water in the belief system. The points made above would appear to support an early Quoit, i.e., it was originally positioned to indicate the shortest route to the Mendips (south-southwest) over Chew Valley near Ubley. Hence the alignment was the same as that of the Chew Magna monolith. It also provides the first clear view of the prominent Maes Knoll for the traveller from the east; again, a seemingly conical local hill would have been marked by a view perpendicular to the female/flat monolith. The top of Maes Knoll appears to move across the back of Settle/Guy's Hill just before the Quoit is reached.

In 1997 English Heritage undertook geophysical surveys of the two avenued circles at Stanton Drew (Fig. 1 -note the north shown is in error by over ten degrees). The results indicated a 7m wide ditch previously surrounded the main circle, with a large opening to the northeast. Within the stone circle existed nine concentric rings of pits, ranging in diameters from about 23m to 95m, which probably held (over 400) timber poles of around 1m in diameter. Five other pits were also found in the central area of the rings. In the northeast circle four pits were discovered in a quadrilateral aligned with opposing pairs of the standing stones and a further two pits were found just in front of where the avenue joins the circle; a smaller version of the monument appears to have existed before the one now seen.

Fig. 1: CopyrightEnglish Heritage.

The timber rings do not appear to have been equally spaced, rings eight and nine from the centre being significantly separated from ring seven for example, perhaps indicating they did not all stand concurrently. The rings are placed directly south of Maes Knoll, on the most level ground of the lowland area. That the centre of the timber rings is aligned with the Quoit and the small knoll to their south-southwest implies the Quoit may have been raised at the same time, reinforcing Burl's suggestion that the Quoit predates the stone circles. That is, the monolith signposts of the region were raised around the same time as the construction of the timber monument otherwise the Quoit represents a later example of the tradition. The timber rings were perhaps the reproduction of a previously sacred forest clearing and through which the subtle movement of celestial bodies could have easily been noticed.

Examination also shows that a southwest section of the outer ditch did not appear on the survey, although the English Heritage results "assume" its existence. It has already been noted than an alignment exists between the centre of the main circle, the centre of the northeast circle, and the Cove. The Cove is therefore away to the southwest of the main circle. With a 7m wide ditch the resulting bank would have been large -one of its roles was probably to block any external view. Therefore it seems likely that the gap was deliberate to allow a view from, and direct passage from, the Cove.

Closer examination also suggests that the concentric timber rings do not share the same centre as the following stone circle and ditch. Indeed, the centre of the stone circle and ditch is some metres north-northwest of the timber monument centre. This may be explained by the need to refine the south-southwest circle (knoll) to Quoit alignment, suggesting the Cove was built at the same time as the stone circles rather than before. The centre of the stone circle and surrounding ditch is actually marked by the middle "anomaly" of the five found in the main circle. From this newfound stone circle centre an alignment exists with the centre of the northeast circle which passes directly through the middle of the aforementioned gap in the ditch to the Cove; the view, aligned along the left bank of the gap, has an azimuth of 231 degrees -that of the minor southern setting of the midsummer moon.

As a very speculative aside: The timber rings may not share the same centre as the stone circle because they predate it by a significant amount of time. The posts were obviously large and in a very large ring. This makes them similar to the timber posts found under the carpark at Stonehenge, which have been dated as Mesolilthic [Cleal et al. 1995]. That is, the stone circle may have been built at a previously important site.

It can also be noted that the larger gap in the ditch allows all of the stones of the northeast megalithic monument to be viewed from the main circle (between the stones at least). Hence the ditch must have been added after the northeast circle and the avenues were raised; the proposed henge was the final contribution.

4. Further Alignments

The Cove at Stanton Drew was probably built as a symbolic representation of the chambers of tombs of the region [Burl 2000, p.31], with a very rough alignment to the major southern midsummer moonrise -an azimuth of 149 degrees [Burl 1999, p.54]. The huge back slab has fallen outwards and broken. The two sides are still standing, that to the northeast being signifcantly large than its partner. Indeed, it is suggested the opposite stone is from the larger due to their apparantly matching shapes (the broken back stone would now provide two large stones of similar shape). The southeastern Cove side rises to a point about 1.5 metres high. The view over this point would be directly to the centre of the main ring and that of the northeast ring beyond; the view is of the aforementioned alignment and most certainly deliberate. The midswing of the midsummer risings may be marked by a stone in the main circle but chances of a coincidental alignment are of course high.

The timber rings at Stanton Drew were replaced by a huge stone circle, with an apparent central stone. The other four anomalies in the circle's centre may also have held (smaller) stones at a later date, with the centre stone being removed. Alternatively, they may have been ceremonial pits akin to those seen around the Obelisk at Avebury.

A significant gap in the stones occurs to the ring's northwest. The positioning is such that it is aligned to roughly 'window' the full swing of midwinter moon settings, azimuths of 299 to 319 degrees, viewed over the Dundry hills; the stones may be missing by design.

Inspection at the site suggests that the stones themselves may alternate between having flat and pointed tops thereby representing a continuation of the region's standing stones (section 2). As noted above, such design can be seen in the Kennet Avenue of Avebury, and also in the portalled entrance to the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire, in the Bluestones at Stonehenge, and other sites.

The northeast circle is constructed of the largest and darkest coloured stones. It is orientated at roughly 52 degrees from the centre of the main circle (Fig. 1). The alignment, backsighted by the Cove, passes over a stone of the main circle and inspection shows this almost fallen stone to be smaller than the (discernible) others, with a flat top. That is, it seems a view of the centre of the northeast circle was planned from the outset rather than the smaller ring being added much later with some difficulty on its slope (as suggested in [Burl 1999, p.62]). The reason for the landscaping being the requirement that the enormous main circle, like the timber rings before it, sit directly south of Maes Knoll. There is an area of flat ground between the ring and the main ring, suggesting it was deliberately placed back to provide a better view of it from the main ring; the main ring, by its size, suggests a large number of users, each presumably requiring a particular view to the northeast. The alignment over the south-southwest circle must also have played an important role in its positioning [ibid., p62]. The northeast ring was initially smaller, laid out as an almost perfect square, each pair of stones straddling a major cardinal axis, and with the same centre as the later ring. From the centre of the main circle, looking to the left of the (smaller) northeast stone, the orientation is close to 51 degrees from north. This is the azimuth of the mid-point between the moon's major (41 degrees) and minor (61 degrees) midwinter northerly risings as it progresses over its 18.61 years cycle. When the smaller circle stood a 'slot' between its two closest stones and the left edge of the flat-topped main circle stone existed. At midswing the moon would appear to rise directly above this slot on the near horizon -a lunar equivalent of Ruggles' [1997] "solar corridor" idea.

A larger version was built by laying two rectangles at 45 degrees to the square (southeast-northwest and southwest-northeast) such that their long sides passed just outside the original's corners. Again, pairs of stones straddle the major cardinal axes but further out from the centre to create a larger ring of eight stones. The long sides are therefore at rightangles to the framed original's southwest-northeast diagonal. When the larger monument was constructed the slot at 51 degrees from the main circle was maintained. Further, the circle is of such a diameter that azimuths of 41 and 61 degrees just pass its outside edges. The 41 degree alignment is slightly further from the circle but this may be explained by a gentle rise in the horizon due to Settle Hill. The lunar movements are also tracked more closely by two other slots constructed between the main circle stone and northeast ring stones at 46 and 56 degrees. The midsummer sun rises over the stone closest to the main circle (50 degrees).

Therefore, in summary, from the main circle the midwinter risings and settings of the moon can be seen and tracked over their 18.61 year cycle, the risings in particular. From the Cove the midsummer risings can be seen, though their tracking is very approximate, with the midsummer settings observable from the northeast circle, moving from above the south-southwest circle on a small knoll, to the Cove. An outlier provides emphasis on hills to the north, in particular a barrow-shaped hill and the seemingly conical hill known as Maes Knoll. Hence the Wedding Stones appear to maintain an interest in the movements of the moon, as seen in the chambered tombs of the region.

5. Avebury

The similarities between the megaliths of Stanton Drew and Avebury have been noted since Stukeley's time. This section explores a close association between the two communities, the Sanctuary in particular is suggested as being closely analogous.

5.1 Windmill Hill

To the north of the Kennet Valley is the early Neolithic settlement of Windmill Hill, which has views across the whole valley. Windmill Hill began as an open settlement, with what appears to have been seasonal use [Malone 1989]. Pieces of imported rock (oolitic limestone) and pottery from the Bath area have been found from this time [Smith 1965]. Three concentric rings of ditches were dug to form a causewayed enclosure. The ditches are on the outside of the banks, as in the later henge monuments to emerge from Somerset. The site was very probably used for fertility/religious ceremonies, feasting, and trade [e.g., Malone 1989], much as later henges were. In general causewayed enclosures appeared in southern Britain [Darvill 1987], in various styles/sizes, perhaps as territorial markers for emerging farming communities, with exceptions found in Yorkshire and Norfolk, and a concentration in the west. Other examples include the nearby, similarly styled and contemporary to Windmill Hill, Knap Hill upon which Cotswold sherds were found and Crickley Hill in Gloucestershire, which seems to have had a mainly defensive function [Bewley 1994]. Indeed, Knap Hill on the southern edge of the Marlborough Downs may have been a defensive post overlooking the Vale of Pewsey north of Salisbury Plain.

Therefore it seems plausible that Windmill Hill was the site of the Somerset community frequently visiting, possibly even settling in, the Avebury area. Initial impetus to such visitations perhaps coming from trading. The site then became a place of congregation for both communities; religious and social ties were formed. The next stage of monument building contains strong evidence of close association.

5.2 The Kennet Long Barrows

The huge West Kennet and East Kennet long barrows are chambered tombs of the Cotswold-Severn style. In both monuments oolitic limestone from the Bath area was used in the construction of the chambers. Other chambered tombs in the region, such as Adam's Grave, also contain such stone; the practice was not limited to the two largest tombs. This was obviously very deliberate and so of great import to the tomb builders.

5.3 Timber Feature in the Main Circle-Henge

It seems likely [Bewley et al. 1996] that a double-ringed timber monument existed in the north-northeast area of the huge Avebury earthwork. The view from the rings over the Obelisk of the south circle is to the barrow-shaped Waden Hill, assuming the banks came later as at Stanton; the Obelisk may predate its cohorts and fulfill a similar role to Hautville's Quoit (Burl [2000, p.322] notes a similar view from the Ring Stone).

5.4 Stone Features in the Main Circle-Henge

Two adjacent circles were raised to the south of the timber rings, reminiscent of those at Bathampton (east of Stanton Drew -see [Quinn 1997] for a description). The southern circle was arranged around the aforementioned Obelisk; that the huge stone is slightly off-centre supports this sequence of events. The resulting monument would have been reminiscent of the main ring at Stanton (although a monolith was perfectly central there).

The Cove at Stanton provides a rough lunar alignment. The remains of an enormous Cove stands north-northwest of the south circle within the main second circle at Avebury. It appears to be very roughly aligned on the midsummer sunrise [Burl 2000, p.320]. A second Cove was reported by Stukeley as part of the Beckhampton Avenue -only the sideslabs known as Adam and Eve can be seen today. This Cove may have been aligned on the midwinter sunrise [ibid.]. Both Stukeley and Aubrey reported a third Cove as part of the Kennet Avenue, although nothing can be seen today. It seems likely it roughly faced the midwinter sunset over Waden Hill. A fourth Cove facing northwest and the midsummer sunset over a hill/rise can be expected.

The "solar" Cove in the northern circle was surrounded by a Sarsen horseshoe [Ucko et al. 1991]. Significantly, a Sarsen horseshoe was built within the lintelled Sarsen ring at Stonehenge as part of the shift in the monument from being lunar to solar (see Section 6). Hence it appears that there was a solar emphasis to the megaliths in the Kennet Valley. However, a lunar monument was built nearby, apparently following developments at Stanton Drew.

Later the enormous earthwork was dug and stones raised around its inner edge. It can be noted that, given the lack of Neolithic artefacts found within the earthwork, a defense/encampment purpose, as suggested in [Burl 2000, p.323], seems unlikely.

5.5 The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary (e.g. seehere), up on the eastern edge of the Kennet Valley, has traditionally been seen as a multi-phased, multi-ringed timber circle before two circles of stones replaced the poles [Malone 1989]. Its similarity to the early timber (ditch-less) monument at Stanton Drew is therefore clear. Pottery from the Sanctuary is also contemporary to that found within the Kennet tombs and Windmill Hill.

Each phase of building at the Sanctuary effectively enlarged its outer diameter. These phases consisted of many posts and hence coincidental alignments are extremely likely. Building in Phase I consisted of eight relatively small posts in a ring and a central post. It is interesting to note that two of the four ring posts in the western half of the 4m ring roughly mark the major northern midwinter setting of the moon and the minor midsummer setting -azimuths of 319 degrees and 231 degrees respectively. Two of the four posts in the eastern half are very close to the midswing azimuths of the midwinter and midsummer risings. The remaining posts appear to be roughly equally spaced between these four, with all posts being around a metre apart; access to the centre was easy.

The smaller ring of Phase II (ring E) seems to have been constructed from larger posts but maintained the same centre as Phase I. It also maintained the forerunner's westerly lunar alignments, actually marking them more accurately. Pitts [2000, p.244] has suggested the posts of this phase were continually moved as part of a ritual. However, an alternative explanation is the wish to accurately capture the significant lunar events after their initial approximation during Phase I. On the east two posts were aligned on the minor midwinter risings and major midsummer risings, i.e. replacing the very rough midswing alignments. Again, the remaining four posts can be seen as equally spaced from the lunar markers. The outer ring of Phase II (ring D) contained twelve posts. Two in the western half maintain the lunar setting alignments of the previous rings. In the eastern half the midswings of Phase I were again marked but more accurately than before. The remaining eight posts were equally spaced to form the circle. That the postholes of these two phases had similar depths [Lees 1999] supports related development.

In Phase III three concentric rings existed, again with the same centre as the other phases; it seems likely all phases stood in quick succession. Within this phase a large number of posts were raised and, as such, claiming deliberate alignments is again difficult. However, a few can be proposed with some justification. Pitts [2000, p. 284] noted an anomaly in post spacing in the outer ring (ring B), presumed to be a fence, at the northeast. With an azimuth of around 50-51 degrees he suggested it marked the midsummer solstice. This is also close to the midswing of the moon's midwinter northerly risings. The posts either side of this marker are on azimuths of 46 and 56 degrees which can also be seen at Stanton in the northeast ring (Section 4) as part of its suggested tracking of the moon's movements over the 18.6 year cycle viewed from the main ring. Hence lunar alignments may explain the feature highlighted by Pitts. Burl [2000, p.314] has noted how a Sarsen added to the outer fence marks the major southern midsummer setting to the south-southwest (over it), the stone possibly also forming part of an entrance [e.g. Pitts 2000, p.285]. The western-most post of the suggested entrance to the Sanctuary, significantly closer to its neighbour than its eastern counterpart, roughly marks the minor southern midsummer setting. The post to its right marking the midswing. Burl [ibid., p.314] notes how one of two much heavier posts at the northwest of ring B was aligned on the minor northern midwinter setting. The other to its north roughly marking the midswing, the view between them being of a distant barrow-shaped Waden Hill. The next post (smaller) to this second post's north roughly marked the major northern midwinter setting. Posts in the ring may also have roughly marked the major and minor midsummer risings. This does not account for the positioning of posts in the other two rings of course.

The timber Sanctuary is usually suggested as having been a roofed building [e.g. Burl 2000, p.313]. This seems unlikely given the lunar alignments noted here. The presence of water snails in early post holes may be explained by ceremonial procedures [e.g., Dames 1976, p.71] rather than the use of thatched roofing. Pitts [2000, p.244] also comes to a roofless conclusion for Phase II given the apparently transient nature of some of the post holes.

Sarsen stones were raised in two concentric rings at the Sanctuary during Phase IV. The stones also show lunar alignments, perhaps more clearly than in the timber phases. The inner ring appears to have respected the previous timber poles of ring C with the stones being positioned in the spaces between their postholes. Given the difficulty of access if timber and stone stood together it seems likely the timber posts were removed. It is likely that the Sarsen stone just outside ring C which marked the major midsummer setting remained however. The minor midsummer setting was marked by a left-of-closest-stone view in ring C. The midwinter rising alignments were maintained by a similar left-of-closest-stone view described above at Stanton (Section 4) for the midswing, the 'slot' being formed with a stone in the outer ring (ring A). The full swing was also marked by stones in ring A, the moon passing to their outer edges, in the same way as at Stanton.

The northwest orientation created by the two large posts in Phase III was altered in Phase IV, moving it a few degrees south. A number of stones were set radially in the outer ring where the view is more towards Silbury Hill rather than the original Waden Hill alignment, suggesting that the conical monument was finished around the same period. The alignment also forms the entrance to the later Kennet Avenue. The major and minor settings of the northern midwinter settings of the moon were marked during Phase IV by stones within the northern row of the Avenue and an apparently shorter row of two stones further north. Whether the radial stones formed an entrance during Phase IV [Burl 2000, p.314] is not clear. A more likely entrance would seem to be to the east, close to the Ridgeway where outliers were found at an angle similar to those of the avenue of the main circle at Stanton. That is, the Kennet Avenue was added later, exploiting the radial stones designed to allow a view of Silbury Hill and one side of the existing short avenue marking the (minor) midwinter settings.

The other set of lunar alignments found at Stanton seem to be missing at the Sanctuary during Phase IV -the southern midsummer risings. At Stanton the midsummer risings can be very approximately tracked from the Cove with a view to the right of the knoll upon which the south-southwest circle sits. The major southern midsummer setting being marked by the small ring as viewed from the northeast ring. The Cove at Stanton marks the minor southern midsummer setting as viewed from the northeast circle. The Sanctuary has a stone in its inner ring which appears to mark the minor midsummer setting. Standing roughly southwest of the stone and facing southeast, the minor midsummer rising is framed by the stone which marks the major midsummer settings and that of ring C. Looking to the right of the 'extra' stone roughly marks the major midsummer rising. This may of course be coincidental and requires future investigation but it is worth noting that a similar scheme may be seen at Stonehenge (Section 6).

Therefore from the centre of the concentric circles the midwinter risings and settings of the moon appear to have been noted. The midsummer settings were also marked, moving from above an 'extra' inner ring stone to a sightline and back. From one of the stones of the latter, the midsummer risings may have been marked. A view to hills at the northwest was also highlighted, originally by two thick posts and then by a sightline short avenue, to a barrow-shaped hill. Later radial stones in ring A would bring the emphasis to an artificial conical mound. Given the correlation between alignments and rings, and the possible eastern avenue mentioned above, the inner stone ring may have been an analog of the northeast circle at Stanton, the 'extra' sarsen the south-southwest circle and the outer stone ring the main circle.

Further, given these similarities and a very similar landscape view of a conical hill next to a barrow-shaped hill, it may be suggested that a motivation for Silbury Hill was to reproduce Maes Knoll at Stanton. As noted above, conical hills certainly seem to have been important to the Somerset community. Once the similarities between Waden Hill and Settle Hill had been noted, the sites of Silbury Hill and the Sanctuary could have been marked. Construction then proceeded in a piecemeal fashion, starting at the Sanctuary, to make sure the correct effect was to be generated; Silbury Hill was initially a 5m high "drum" [Malone 1989]. This was perhaps not the first time the Somerset community had been involved in the construction of a large artificial mound since the second largest known example in the U.K. is Gop Hill in north Wales (see also Tomen-y-Faerde, Llanarmoon-yn-Ial [Cope 1998, p.81]). Other proto-Silbury artificial hills have been suggested by Burl [1976] to exist in Yorkshire -Ba'l Hill and Willy Howe -another area of Britain from which a distinct form of henge appears to have emanated (Type A [Burl 1991, p.13]) and so may have contained a significant community/culture. Somerset was connected to Yorkshire via the Jurassic Way (Bath to Rudston). Cope [1998, p.84] has remarked how the top of Silbury Hill appears to move across the back of Waden Hill as the traveler approaches the Sanctuary along the Ridgeway, an effect occurring naturally at Stanton Drew (Section 3).

There are other landscape similarities between the areas around Stanton Drew and Avebury. Six miles east of Avebury is the artificial Silbury-like Marlborough Mound. Six miles east of Stanton Drew, near the aptly named Stanton Prior, east of the conical Winsbury Hill and just north of the twin conical hills of Farmborough Valley, is Kelston Round Hill. This region is visible from the south-southwest circle and would have been passed en route to the stone circles of Bathampton from Stanton Drew, perhaps on the way further east to Avebury. Kelston Round Hill would therefore seem to be a natural analog for the Marlborough Mound. The details of this remain to be explored. Kelston Round Hill is also seen from the site of the two rings at Bathampton where the two communities may have met, i.e., one was for the Somerset community and one for the Wessex community in a stone circle continuation of the henge use discussed Section 2.2. The situation of the Bathampton rings is not dissimilar to that of the Sanctuary or the ring on Grey Hill in south Wales, with its proposed off-centre stone [Children & Nash 1996, p.61-63], not far from the monuments discussed in Section 2.4.

Hence, for a time at least, solar and lunar beliefs appear to have coexisted at Avebury. The next section will discuss similar monument development at what would become its successor.

6. Stonehenge

That a henge of the type which appears to have originated from Somerset formed the origins of Stonehenge implies the Somerset community had significant interaction with the area, e.g., trading. The henge was, possibly uniquely, modified along the outer edge of the ditch thereby creating a low bank [Burl 1991, p.17]. This is an area in which at least three huge pine posts had been erected nearby during the Mesolithic and timber long barrows existed with similar features to those of Cotswold-Severn tombs [Lynch 1997, p.55]; the use of timber in monuments appears well established in the region. The henge had an opening to the northeast, suggesting a formal interest in the movements of the moon (discussed later), and a smaller one to the south, suggesting use by the Somerset community (Section 2.2). This last point providing an explanation for some unusually old bones found in the southern section of the ditch; ceremonial artifacts may have been brought by the Somerset community to their (new) outpost monument. Somerset's aforementioned involvement in Avebury provides a motivation for the use of Sarsen at Stonehenge and in Wales for the use of Bluestone.

6.1 Northeast Causeway

At Stonehenge (e.g., seehere) early timber structures were augmented with stone as seen at both Stanton Drew and Avebury. In the northeast causeway three Sarsens of increasing size known as D, E and the Slaughter Stone were raised on azimuths from the henge centre of 44, 48 and 52 degrees respectively. Hence the view to the left of the Slaughter Stone is 51 degrees [Burl 1999, p.147]. That is, as at Stanton Drew (Section 4), the moon's northerly rising midswing is caught on the horizon above a slot between two stones (E and Slaughter) -the horizon itself containing the (white) Cursus which runs almost exactly east-west some distance away. Similarly, between stones D and E is an azimuth of around 46 degrees and to the left of stone D one of 41 degrees. Hence the moon's movement is tracked by another slot and then a final major position marker. These stones also appear to have replaced a very complex arrangement of timber poles [Newham 1972].

These lunar alignments do not account for the minor northerly risings. To further mark the moon's movement another stone to the right of the Slaughter Stone (as viewed from the centre) at around 58-60 degrees would be needed. However, this azimuth passes to the right of the original henge entrance by a few metres; to be in line with the others, assuming an early date for these sarsens (see below), the stone would have had be in the henge's (internal) bank or closer to the circle centre. Examination of the suggested stone holes around the henge entrance shows a possible feature at 60 degrees from north in front of the bank -stone F. Hence this may have held a stone marking the rest of the moon's movements (Pitts [1981] has suggested the feature was a bush). Therefore, just as at Stanton, a number of individuals stood in the middle of the main monument would have been able to accurately track the moon's midwinter risings. At Stanton this was done through a second stone ring, whereas at the Somerset region's eastern outpost it was facilitated through a (simpler) line of stones.

It has been proposed [e.g., Cleal et al. 1995] that the Slaughter Stone and its cohorts came after the widening of the causewayed entrance, i.e., during Phase 3 rather than Phase 2. There are ten dates for the ditch filling in Phase 2, ranging from 3261-2883 cal.BC to 2486-2145 cal.BC [ibid.]. The older of the two dates for stone E (2832-2313 and 2469-2204 cal.BC) appears within the ranges of seven of these dates, just missing an eighth (the newer date for E covers only one of them however). It is suggested here that until more dates are obtained for the causeway stones the scenario proposed in this paper remains very possible due to the architectural similarities with Stanton Drew. This is returned to below.

The major southern setting of the midsummer moon may have been recorded by stone F. As noted above, at Stanton Drew the moon's midsummer settings are viewed from the northeast circle -the monument used to mark the moon's midwinter risings. Further out of the northeast entrance at Stonehenge another stone hole exists -stone 97. Standing roughly southwest of the stone and facing the henge looking over stone F would have given the necessary azimuth for the major midsummer setting. Stone F would have needed to be tall enough to be seen over the henge of course. Similarly, looking between stones D and E would mark the minor setting. If stone 97 had been placed further out the full swing would neatly pass across the entrance stones as it did for the midwinter risings. However, at Stanton the minor setting was seen between a gap in the henge to the Cove, with the major setting viewed over the south-southwest circle, which may explain the design seen at Stonehenge. It can also be noted that in both cases the architectural feature for the midsummer settings were built for a very greatly reduced number of people than the midwinter risings.

Stone 97 was positioned just past the currently standing Heel Stone [Pitts 2000, p.230], the latter on an azimuth of 51 degrees, i.e., under the moon's midswing [Burl 1999, p.132]. Burl [ibid., p.147] notes how the midsummer sunrise at 50 degrees from north would have occurred down a 'corridor' created by the 97, Heel, Slaughter and E stones. This is significant since Stonehenge appears to have shifted its axis close to 50 degrees through a widening of the henge entrance, i.e., the lunar monument became solar. However, given the lunar functions of the D, 97 and F stones it seems more likely that they were removed at this time, leaving a solar slot between the Slaughter Stone and stone E, possibly made more accurate by the Heel Stone (and possibly stones B and C). The Heel Stone being a later addition, given its own ditch indicating a political move by the Salisbury community to appease the lunar cult; the stone is well outside the henge and unsmoothed.

This explanation for the northeast features differs significantly to that recently proposed by Burl [2000, p.349-355]. He suggests that the Heel Stone pre-dates the henge. The latter somehow being marked-out, but not dug, for over fifty years, during which time numerous timber structures appeared. Burl suggests the site was chosen such that the Heel Stone was aligned to the midswing of the moon's midwinter risings. Further, many wooden posts were used to mark what actually amounts to only the major 'half' of the risings before the henge was dug. Together with the uncharacteristically messy positioning of stone 97 in relation to the Heel Stone, the former being slightly further out than the latter, this scenario seems unlikely.

During Phase 2/3 the other two sets of lunar alignments found at Stanton seem to be missing at Stonehenge -the midsummer risings and midwinter settings. At Stanton, the midsummer risings can be very approximately tracked from the Cove with a view to the right of the knoll upon which the south-southwest circle sits. The major midsummer setting being marked by the small circle as viewed from the northeast rings. The Cove at Stanton marks the minor southern midsummer setting as viewed from the northeast circle. Stonehenge's stone D marks the edge of the minor midwinter setting as viewed from stone 97. Standing roughly southwest of stone D and facing southeast, the minor midsummer rising is framed by the Slaughter Stone and stone F. Looking to the right of stone F roughly marks the major midsummer rising. A similar scheme was proposed at the Sanctuary above (Section 5.5). It can be noted that stone H, which was placed outside the Aubrey Holes, as was stone F, lies on the same azimuth as the midsummer rising midswing as viewed from the centre of the henge. A main circle stone may mark the same azimuth at Stanton Drew (Section 4). Stone G does not appear to mark any lunar event but may have provided emphasis on natural or artificial landmarks outside the henge, such as the contemporary and similar Coneybury henge or the site of Vespasian's Camp (Iron Age) beyond.

The midwinter settings may have been viewed from the main circle at Stanton (Section 4) but no obvious features in the causeway area of the henge seem to mark these events at Stonehenge. Reconsideration of the Sarsen circle as a forerunner to both the henge widening and the Sarsen horseshoe provides the alignments (see Section 6.3).

6.2 Station Stones

Apart from the Heel Stone, the only other stones known to remain unsmoothed at Stonehenge are the Station Stones. The original four formed a near perfect rectangle orientated south-southeast to north-northwest which framed the central Sarsen ring (indicating they were raised after the Sarsens) and was at rightangles to the monument's general orientation. Hence the Station Stones share features with those of the northeast circle at Stanton Drew (section 4). Solar alignments have been suggested for the short sides of the Station rectangle. However, the alignment is also close to the 51 degree lunar sightline. Given that work appears to have shifted Stonehenge to a solar monument through a widening of the northeast entrance, a lunar function would seem as likely as reproduction of the main solar alignment. Hence, whilst the short sides can be seen to mark the midsummer sun rise and midwinter sun set, these give no explanation for the long side alignment (beyond its rightangle orientation). If the short sides are taken as lunar alignments, i.e., roughly to the midswing of the midwinter risings (93 to 94) and the major midsummer setting (91 to 92), then a long side's rough alignment on the major midwinter setting (91 to 94) is explained [Hawkins & White 1966]. That is, the Station Stones were raised at the same time as the causeway widening to maintain lunar alignments around the new solar orientation.

Again, as with the Heel Stone, that Station Stones 92 and 94, over which lunar events were viewed, were given ostentatious surrounds, reinforces the suggestion of a political move by an increasingly dominant solar religion to appease the original lunar cult using the monument.

6.3 Timber posts, the Q and R holes, and a Lunar Sarsen Circle

Any explanation for the early features of Stonehenge must also consider the timber posts raised during Phase 2 and the early Bluestones of Phase 3i. A number of points are raised here which do not contradict the above scenario.

That the Sarsens of the northeast causeway appear to have replaced timber posts from Phase 2 has already been noted. Examination of the posts in the central area of the henge shows another concentration to the northeast, as viewed from the centre, although the spread is wider than that of major and minor midwinter risings of the moon. Posts to the northwest appear slightly south of the minor midwinter setting, a couple perhaps marking the midswing. The midsummer risings appear to have been marked to the southeast, the posts extending further out from the centre of the henge than the others mentioned so far (see [Burl 2000, p.359] for discussion of artifacts buried on these lunar azimuths). Posts to the southwest appear slightly north of the minor midsummer setting. Finally, a number of posts existed to the south-southeast, roughly towards the entrance. These have been suggested as having formed an avenue to a timber circle in the centre [e.g., Burl 2000, p.353]. However, a large number of posts would appear to have blocked such an avenue and no clear circle can be envisaged from the posts mentioned above with those to the northeast generally closer to the henge centre than the others. It can be noted that the "avenue" posts are aligned around a similar azimuth to that of the later Station Stone 92 (a similar angle being seen between the two inner circles at Avebury). No corresponding celestial event is known to the author.

Interestingly the early Bluestone event of Phase 3i has a number of previously unmentioned correlations with the above timber phase. To the northeast, an arc of radially set stones appears to have been raised closer to the centre than any other contemporary megaliths, i.e., where a significant number of timber posts previously stood. Views between four of the stones mark the full swing of the midwinter risings. One or two other stones may have existed further north on the arc. By being set radially a view of the northeast causeway and its sarsens would have been possible. Alternatively, the bluestones of the arc were raised and then moved, the sarsens then being raised further out. It can be noted that stones appear to have been set radially at the Sanctuary to allow a view beyond the ring (Section 5.5). A stone to the northwest appears slightly south of the minor midwinter setting, another feature very close to the centre marking the midswing and/or major setting. Again, the former roughly corresponds to a previous concentration of posts. A lone stone appears to indicate the azimuth upon which the later Station Stone 94 would lie (180 degrees from that of Station Stone 92). The midsummer risings timber markers were replaced by an arc of stones with a different radius to those at the northeast. In particular, the midswing to major rising range was marked by an "extra" stone further out from the centre, outside of the arc. This is again reminiscent of a feature found at the Sanctuary, there marking the major southern midsummer setting. Stone H also stood on a similar azimuth, as noted above. The southeast arc continued north, meeting the northeast arc such that due east could be seen between its last two stones. All stones in the arc, apart from those marking the midsummer risings, appear to have been set radially. It was speculated above that Stone G may have marked a landscape feature later occupied by Vespasian's Camp and/or Coneybury henge. Bluestones arranged in this way would have facilitated a view to both. A stone to the southwest, possibly the Altar Stone [Cleal et al. 1995], appears to have marked the minor midsummer setting, with another roughly marking the major setting.

That is, in almost all cases, the timber post holes from Phase 2 appear to have been replaced by bluestones in Phase 3i, many marking lunar alignments but there were a lot of posts and stones; no "complete" timber or stone structures need be envisaged. Sarsen features further out on the edges of the henge can be seen to continue the tradition, again reminiscent of developments at the Sanctuary.

Further, given that a near complete set of rough lunar alignments can be found in the centre of the monument during these two phases, the question arises as to why so much work was apparently undertaken at the causeway. A scenario can be envisaged under which the timber posts were raised over the henge. Those in the centre were then replaced by bluestone, perhaps with more substantial posts raised in the causeway. Sarsens were then raised at the causeway, two around the edge of the henge and in a lintelled circle in the centre. Note that the Sarsen ring is almost perfectly round -something very difficult to achieve if the horseshoe came first. Pitts [2000, p. 142] notes that the radiocarbon dates suggest the circle predates the horseshoe. Burl [1999, p. 161] has mentioned how the direction of the ramps used to raise the circle and horseshoe do not provide a clear chronology. The henge's southern entrance also remains respected in the Sarsen ring -the lintelling must have been altered over the shorter Stone 11. Then the causeway was widened and the Sarsen horseshoe raised to create a solar monument. Bluestones were then returned to the henge centre perhaps also as part of the inclusive/appeasement process. The suggestion that the Sarsen ring, stones D,E,F,G,H, and the Slaughter Stone predate the widening of the causeway entrance differs from Cleal et al.'s [1995] proposals. In a similar way to the arguments of Section 6.1, it can be suggested that the dates for the Sarsen ring are inconclusive. Two dates exist: one very early date from a bone, predating the ten dates for the secondary ditch filling by around a 1000 years; and a second, from antler, which is more recent than most of those for the ditch filling. This may also answer the question as to why the apparently lunar Slaughter Stone is worked -it was raised, with the central ring, as part of an originally lunar sarsen monument. Stanton's original timber rings perhaps providing the motivation for the lintelled design. For the Sarsen ring to be lunar, the midwinter rising alignments noted above in the causeway must have been visible. Inspection suggests that this was the case, although the "quarter-swing" points would not have been seen, only the major, minor and midswing points. The alignments were repeated in the causeway to facilitate the analog of the northeast ring at Stanton Drew; from stone 97, the midsummer settings were marked as described above. Note that these alignments areblockedin the Sarsen ring. Given that the Sarsen ring would form the backdrop for the midsummer settings, it may have been raised slightly after the causeway stones. The missing midwinter settings from the causeway stones were marked in the Sarsen ring (also seen in the main ring at Stanton). Stones G and H were also visible from the centre of the Sarsen ring. With the adding of the Sarsen horsehoe, many of these alignments were lost but a few were recreated via the Station Stone rectangle as described above.

Therefore, during Phase 2/3 the midwinter risings and settings of the moon were tracked over their 18.6 year cycle from the centre of the Sarsen circle. The midsummer risings were coarsely marked in the causeway, with the settings more accurately tracked over their full swing. These alignments are very similar to those at Stanton Drew. It can also be noted that the northeast rings at Stanton Drew appear to have been laid out with respect to the major cardinal axis (Section 3), as were the Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge [Thom et al. 1974]. When the axis of Stonehenge was altered the monument become primarily one of a solar cult and it is here suggested this corresponded only with the final Sarsen horseshoe and causeway widening.

7. Conclusions

Towards the beginning of the Bronze Age many Cotswold-Severn long barrows were sealed, suggesting widespread change. It appears that the Wedding Stones at Stanton Drew were also abandoned after just a few hundred years of use, possibly even forcefully since the henge seems to have been deliberately filled [Burl 1999, p.59], a task of considerable effort, with the Somerset community retreating back to the Mendips. This also implies that the henge was not built in the local style, but was probably a common outer bank/inner ditch type as seen at Avebury. The Gorsey Bigbury henge on Priddy was also of that style and appears to have been mistreated upon re-habitation [Burl 1991, p.7-11], suggesting that the Somerset community filled the ditch at Stanton themselves. The growing influence of solar beliefs (Beaker?) being a likely reason since lunar alignments appear to have been marginalised at Avebury and Stonehenge around the same time.

An apparent interest in Brent Knoll by the Neolithic people of Somerset and south Wales was noted in Section 2.3. An intriguing correlation between the natural hills of that part of the Somerset Levels and the monuments at Stanton Drew appears to exist. From the top of Brent Knoll the nearby Mendip landscape begins to the north, starting with the outcrop Brean Down at the northwest, then Bleadon Hill directly north, before the joined hills of Crook Peak, Wavering Down and Fry's Hill run into the Mendips proper to the northeast. Surprisingly, the last three hills, as seen from the top of Brent Knoll, are roughly aligned to the midwinter lunar risings. Crook Peak is at around 41 degrees (just left), Wavering Down at 51 degrees and Fry's Hill at 61 degrees. Further, the valleys/dips between them are at roughly 46 and 56 degrees. That is, the view from Brent Knoll over these hills naturally highlights and tracks the moon's movements during the 18.6 years cycle. That the midsummer settings can also be found in the Levels was noted in Section 2.3. The Cove at Stanton faces south-southeast just to the right of the rise upon which the south-southwest circle sits, roughly aligned to the major midsummer rising. From Brean Down's western end, looking to the right of Brent Knoll gives a similar angle from north. Note how consideration of the natural landscape may explain why the Cove is positioned so far from the main circle. The Levels were populated for a considerable time and, whilst these facts may be nothing more than coincidental, it is not unrealistic to suggest early inhabitants would have noticed the moon's movements over their surroundings, which became part of their belief system. Similarly, the users of the Priddy henges may have noticed the moon's midwinter settings across the nearby Blackdown Hill, particularly from the southern-most ring.

Based on the findings of the Pontings [1984] at Callanish, Cope [1998] has highlighted the apparent ubiquity of a Mother Earth religion under which natural hills, often shaped like a recumbent female figure, influenced megalithic builders. There is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that, in Europe at least, early religions were concerned with the worship of the female. First expressions of this religion have been found in Ukraine, where small carved figures representing the female form have been found, dated circa 25,000BC. Neumann [1955] is typically cited as the discoverer of this concept of a Mother Goddess. Marija Gimbutas [1982] collected evidence for such a religion through figurines and other early art circa 7000-3000BC. She suggested that the goddess was associated with birth, death, resurrection, the moon, water, circles, and other symbols found in prehistory (see [Gimbutas 1989] for illustrations). Discoveries from Catal Huyuk, Turkey [Mellaart 1967] in particular give evidence of an early matriarchal society, though perhaps one based on equality rather than female dominance [Eisler 1987].

The connection of the goddess to the moon has also prompted the idea of her "three ages" since the moon passes through three distinct phases -new (white), full (red), and waning (black) -corresponding to the three ages of womanhood -virgin, mother, and matriarch/crone. This is also connected to birth, death, and rebirth, which appears prevalent in the belief system [e.g. McLean 1989]. The aforementioned view from the top of Brent Knoll is interesting when this idea is considered. To the northeast is Brean Down, clearly displaying a recumbent figure, with Steep and Flat Holm as 'her' satellites. Across from this first Goddess's feet, is Bleadon Hill, a second, larger, but less marked possible figure lying with her feet to those of Brean Down's. Lying almost head-to-head with Bleadon Hill is the third and largest figure formed by Crook Peak (head and perfect nose), Wavering Down (chest), and the Mendip Hills (body) which appears to fill the rest of the distant horizon going all the way back around to the sea near Bridgwater. Thus the three ages are seen. Glastonbury Tor is away to the east, protected in the curve of the Mendip Goddess, itself a well-known and much revered conical hill. The Black mountains of south Wales are seen to the west, the edge of Exmoor to the far south.

Crook Peak is also prominent when viewed from the Cotswold-Severn tomb at Redhill over the Wrington Vale. Here Crook Peak forms the (nippled) chest of a recumbent female whose head is formed by Wavering Down and body/legs by Bleadon Hill. Moreover Banwell Hill can be seen as an arm and Benthills Wood a hand.

That the possible natural lunar alignments were influential in the design of Stanton Drew mentioned above can be seen to be supported when the Mother Earth landscape religion is considered. As noted in Section 4, the northeast ring is constructed of the largest, darkest stones over which the midwinter risings are seen. Hence this is the "crone" circle, a megalithic representation of the Crook Peak et al. hills. The enormous main circle contains the second largest stones, perhaps representing the "mother" age. Whether the Cove represents the "virgin", after Brean Down, implying its chambered tomb inspirations were seen as places of rebirth, or whether the south-southwest circle assumed this role over that of one akin to Brent Knoll is unclear. This is of course highly speculative but warrants further investigation.

ThePolden Hills

in Somerset, England, are a long, low ridge, extending for 10 miles (16 km), and separated from the Mendip Hills, to which they are nearly parallel, by a marshy tract known as the Somerset Levels. They are now bisected at their western end by the M5 motorway and a railway, the Bristol and Exeter Railway, part of the Great Western Main Line.

Location and history

Horse-fitting from the Polden Hills Hoard in the British Museum

The hills stretch from Puriton, near Bridgwater, in the west, to Street, in the east. The ridge of the hill once accommodated a Roman road, from Ilchester to the port of Combwich. Roman and Iron Age objects from the "Polden Hill Hoard" are now in the British Museum. This road crossed the River Parrett by means of a ford, at the White House (White House Rhyne), on the Pawlett Hams. This western extension forms part of a Saxon route. The river crossing could only be used a few hours per day at low tide and was used bySamuel Taylor Coleridge in the 1790s when he stayed at Nether Stowey, to travel to and from Bristol. It went out of use as other roads were improved and the White House, a former public house, is now just a ruin. The modern road, now the A39, is carried on a causeway from the King's Sedgemoor Drain, at Bawdrip, to Bridgwater.

Geology

Walton Hill, Polden Hills

The Poldens are a low narrow ridge of late Triassic/early Jurassic mudstones (often referred to as clay) alternating with limestones. The south-southwest facing scarp is formed by a succession of rocks, lowermost of which are the mudstones of the Mercia Mudstone Group (formerly known as the Keuper Marl), overlain in the west by more mudstones of the late Triassic age Blue Anchor Formation (formerly 'Tea Green Marls'), a thin unit recorded from Puriton Hill east to the vicinity of Stawell. Elsewhere the overlying layer is that of the late Triassic (Rhaetian) age Westbury Formation (formerly known as the Rhaetic clays or Westbury Beds) consisting of mudstones and limestones. Stratigraphically above these are the mudstones and limestones of the Blue Lias, forming the north-northeasterly directed dip-slope of these hills. Blue Lias is believed to have been quarried on the Polden Hills in the 15th century; and was quarried in Puriton from the early 19th century until the 1973, when the local cement works closed. The outcrop is intersected by two sets of normal faults aligned roughly WSW–ENE and WNW–ESE. At the east end of the range, Dundon Hill forms an outlier of the higher formations. The low ground to both north and south is covered by thickalluvial deposits and peat

Ecology

Great Breach and Copley Woods near Compton Dundon is a Nature Conservation ReviewWoodland Site, owned and managed by theSomerset Wildlife Trust. It has been designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the invertebrate population.

In April 2017 the National Lottery awarded a grant to Butterfly Conservation, to help expand the populations of brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae) and the large blue (Phengaris arion) butterflies across a network of sixteen sites. The brown hairstreak is associated with hedges, scrub and woodland edges with plenty of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). The easiest way to find the butterfly is to look for the white eggs on the black twigs of blackthorn in winter; the annual cutting of hedges is considered one of the reasons for butterfly's decline. Change of hedgerow management from flailing and annual cutting to more a traditional laying has led to an increase in eggs at six sites, and over three winters, found the brown hairstreak to be stable there. Eggs have increased in three other sites and have returned to two other sites. The change in hedgerow management has increased the amount of suitable, young-growth blackthorn, for egg-laying females. The large blue butterfly has a complex life-cycle with the larva feeding on thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and marjoram (Origanum majorana), and later tricking red ants (Myrmica sabuleti) into thinking it is an escaped ant grub. Overwintering in an ants' nest, the larva feeds on the grubs, with pupation taking place in early June. Habitat improvement for the large blue occurred at thirteen locations with contractors and volunteers restoring 8 hectares of limestone grassland, by scrub cutting. The butterfly has since bred on much of this area. To increase the available foodplants, 2,500 plug plants of thyme were grown by Bridgwater College and Groves Nursery, and planted on five of the sites. Marjoram seed was also collected and sown on the scrub-cleared sites. In 2019 the large blue was found at ten of the sites, an increase of four since 2017.

Centres of population

The former medieval planned town of Caput Montis was located at the western end of the Polden Hills. Caput Montis failed as a planned town and now exists as the earthworks of a motte and bailey in the hamlet of Downend, now a detached part of the village of Puriton. There was also at Dunball a railway halt, a hotel, a post office and a wharf – part of the port of Bridgwater.

There are a number of small villages situated on both slopes of the ridge, many of which are named in Domesday. Most of the eastern villages, from Street to Cossington, and possibly Woolavington, (which are also parishes) are located in medieval planned parishes. They once formed parts of the estates ofGlastonbury Abbey.

Villages of the Polden Hills (west to east)

Puriton–Bawdrip–Woolavington–Cossington–Stawell–Chilton Polden–Edington–Catcott–Shapwick–Ashcott–Walton–Street

• Geology of Somerset
• Somerset Levels

References

1. "Bridle-bit from the Polden Hill hoard". British Museum. Retrieved8 August2009.
2. [1]British Museum Collection
3. Dunning, R.W. (1992).The Victoria History of the Counties of England. A History of the County of Somerset. Volume VI: Andersfield, Cannington< and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes). Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-722780-5. Page 183.
4. "Geoindex Onshore". British Geological Survey. Retrieved2 July2020.
5. "Glastonbury, Geological Survey of Great Britain (England and Wales) Solid and Drift (Provisional edition) sheet 296".Maps Portal. British Geological Survey. Retrieved2 July2020.
6. "Taunton England and Wales sheet 295 Solid and Drift Edition 1:50000 series".Maps Portal. British Geological Survey. Retrieved2 July2020.
7. "Great Breach and Copley Woods"(PDF).English Nature. Retrieved12 August2006.
8. Meredith, Sarah (Summer 2020). "Saving blues and browns".Butterfly. No. 134. Butterfly Conservation. pp. 20–21.

Unitary authorities

• Bath and North East Somerset
• North Somerset
• Somerset Council

Major settlements
(cities in italics)

• Axbridge
• Bath
• Bridgwater
• Bruton
• Burnham-on-Sea
• Castle Cary
• Chard
• Clevedon
• Crewkerne
• Dulverton
• Frome
• Glastonbury
• Highbridge
• Ilminster
• Keynsham
• Langport
• Midsomer Norton
• Minehead
• Nailsea
• North Petherton
• Portishead
• Radstock
• Shepton Mallet
• Somerton
• Street
• Taunton
• Watchet
• Wellington
• Wells
• Weston-super-Mare
• Wincanton
• Wiveliscombe
• Yeovil
  See also:List of civil parishes in Somerset

Rivers

• Alham
• Aller
• Avill
• Avon
• Axe rivers
  • Bristol Channel
  • Lyme Bay
• Badgworthy Water
• Banwell
• Barle
• Brue
• Cam Brook
• Cary
• Chew
• East Lyn
• Exe
• Fivehead
• Frome
• Haddeo
• Hoar Oak Water
• Holford
• Horner
• Huntspill
• Isle
• Land Yeo
• Mells
• Midford Brook
• Oare Water
• Parret
• Severn Estuary
• Sheppey
• Somer
• Sowy
• Tone
• Washford
• Wellow Brook
• West Lyn
• Whitelake
• Yeo rivers
  • Congresbury
  • South Somerset

Topics

• Country houses
• Culture of Somerset
• Economy of Somerset
• Flag
• Geography of Somerset
• Geology of Somerset
• Grade I listed buildings
• Grade II* listed buildings
• High Sheriff of Somerset
• History of Somerset
• Local nature reserves
• Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
• Museums
• National nature reserves
• Parliamentary constituencies
• Places
• Population of major settlements
• Scheduled monuments
• Schools
• SSSIs
• Transport in Somerset
  Geographic areas: Blackdown Hills
• Brendon Hills
• Chew Valley
• Exmoor
• Mendip Hills
• Polden Hills
• Quantock Hills
• Somerset Levels
• South West Coast Path
• West Somerset Coast Path

The excavation at Cadbury Castle, South Cadbury,

made Alcock's name.

The hillfort had a traditional link with Camelot and the Arthurian legends,

and Alcock made sure that the media were aware of his work.

The five seasons of the excavations were widely reported,

making Alcock into one of the better known British archaeologists of the time. His methodology made headlines within the archaeological community with his use of geophysical survey, which in at the time before its prominent use by archaeological television programme Time Team was an unusual and experimental process; while he also preferred the use of open-area excavation to the Wheeler method that held sway at the time. This methodology was to become the standard technique for British archaeology from the start of large scale rescue work in the 1970s, and shows that Alcock was at the cutting edge of archaeology.

Alcock's sense of humour also came out during the excavations. He had a good understanding of what visitors to the site wanted to see, so he had a plastic skeleton excavated from the same spot every afternoon, with a bucket beside the trench to take donations for the diggers' welfare fund. The money was used to the benefit of the local economy each evening in the pub.

The results of the excavation were impressive. The earliest identifiable occupation on the hill was Early and Late Neolithic. After an apparent hiatus during the earlier Bronze Age it was reoccupied in the centuries around 1000BC, remaining so continuously until at least the first century AD. His excavations produced scant evidence for Roman occupation, aside from a barracks block of the latter first century but demonstrated that it was the largest reoccupied fortified hilltop in post-Roman Britain. He also identified Late Saxon refurbishment of the defences and a foundation trench for a probable cruciform church, apparently never completed but intended to meet the needs of moneyers moved to the hill for security during the early 11th century AD.

Alcock was able to tell evocative stories of the history of the fort, and particularly of its fate during the Roman period, where there was clear evidence of a violent attack on the fort. However, the scale of the material recovered meant that his publication of the site (Alcock 1972) was really a large scale interim report. Final publication waited until 1995 for the Early Medieval material, which he published himself in 1995 (Alcock 1995), and 2000 for the earlier material (Barrett et al. 2000). The main drawback for Alcock was that he had now become irrevocably connected with Arthur in the minds of the public.

From 1994 until his death in 2006 Alcock was patron of the South Cadbury Environs Project, a programme of research exploring the landscape around the hillfort.[

Lindy Brown Turner raised her hand. “I’ll go. I decided to just read my story if you don’t mind. It is about the Ghosts of Cadbury Hill.” After a short period of excited mumbling from the group, Lindy proceeded. “Cadbury Hill is in the west country of England and is the home of an overgrown castle, Cadbury Castle. In the 1930s, a woman who wished her identity to never be known, a very respectable school teacher, was driving near Cadbury Hill at night. She and her companion saw lights parading down from the hill. They slowed the vehicle for a better view. They discovered that the lights were lit torches fastened to lances, and the ghostly bearers of the torches were on ghostly horses. They seemed to be warriors from ancient times, and they were led by a larger ghostly warrior, also on horseback. When these warriors had ridden to the base of the hill, they vanished into thin air. Somerset County of England is known for its fairies and phantoms. Legend has it that King Arthur rests with his soldiers at Cadbury Hill, waiting for England to request his services once again. Archaeologists agree that the old fortress could have housed a chieftain in the sixth century—the time of Arthur’s skirmishes with the Saxons.”

Cadbury Castleis locatedfive miles north east of Yeovilat grid reference ST62862512. It stands on the summit of Cadbury Hill, a limestone hill situated on the southern edge of the Somerset Levels, with flat lowland to the north. The summit is 500 ft (150 metres) above sea-level. The hill is surrounded by four terraced earthwork banks and ditches and a stand of trees.

Excavations

Excavation at and around the site has discovered Iron Age, Roman and Saxon artefacts. The excavation was led by archaeologist Leslie Alcock from 1966-1970. He identified a long sequence of occupation on the site and many of the finds are displayed in the Somerset County Museum in Taunton.
Prehistoric occupation

Earthworks at Cadbury Castle

Yetholm-type shield

from South Cadbury. Displayed atSomerset County Museum, Taunton.

The earliest settlement was represented by Neolithic pottery and flints along with a bank feature.

The site was also occupied in the Late Bronze Age and throughout the Iron Age.
The castle is a multivallate hill fort built around 400 BC. Large ramparts and elaborate timber defenses were constructed and refortified at least five times over the following centuries. Excavation revealed rectangular house foundations, a blacksmith, and a possible temple indicating permanent oppidum-like occupation. There is evidence that the fort was violently taken and reoccupied by the Romans around AD 50.

Cadbury Hillfort Plan Leland's material provides invaluable evidence for reconstructing the lost "tomb" of Arthur (a twelfth-century fabrication) at Glastonbury Abbey.[31]

On his itinerary of 1542, Leland was the first to record the tradition (possibly influenced by the proximity of the villages of Queen Camel and West Camel) identifying the hillfort of Cadbury Castle in Somerset as Arthur's Camelot:

"At the very south ende of the chirch of South-Cadbyri standeth Camallate, sumtyme a famose toun or castelle, apon a very torre or hille, wunderfully enstregnthenid of nature. . .The people can telle nothing ther but that they have hard say that Arture much resortid to Camalat.

The excavation at Cadbury Castle, South Cadbury,

made Alcock's name.

The hillfort had a traditional link with Camelot and the Arthurian legends,

and Alcock made sure that the media were aware of his work.

The five seasons of the excavations were widely reported,

making Alcock into one of the better known British archaeologists of the time. His methodology made headlines within the archaeological community with his use of geophysical survey, which in at the time before its prominent use by archaeological television programme Time Team was an unusual and experimental process; while he also preferred the use of open-area excavation to the Wheeler method that held sway at the time. This methodology was to become the standard technique for British archaeology from the start of large scale rescue work in the 1970s, and shows that Alcock was at the cutting edge of archaeology.

Alcock's sense of humour also came out during the excavations. He had a good understanding of what visitors to the site wanted to see, so he had a plastic skeleton excavated from the same spot every afternoon, with a bucket beside the trench to take donations for the diggers' welfare fund. The money was used to the benefit of the local economy each evening in the pub.

The results of the excavation were impressive. The earliest identifiable occupation on the hill was Early and Late Neolithic. After an apparent hiatus during the earlier Bronze Age it was reoccupied in the centuries around 1000BC, remaining so continuously until at least the first century AD. His excavations produced scant evidence for Roman occupation, aside from a barracks block of the latter first century but demonstrated that it was the largest reoccupied fortified hilltop in post-Roman Britain. He also identified Late Saxon refurbishment of the defences and a foundation trench for a probable cruciform church, apparently never completed but intended to meet the needs of moneyers moved to the hill for security during the early 11th century AD.

Alcock was able to tell evocative stories of the history of the fort, and particularly of its fate during the Roman period, where there was clear evidence of a violent attack on the fort. However, the scale of the material recovered meant that his publication of the site (Alcock 1972) was really a large scale interim report. Final publication waited until 1995 for the Early Medieval material, which he published himself in 1995 (Alcock 1995), and 2000 for the earlier material (Barrett et al. 2000). The main drawback for Alcock was that he had now become irrevocably connected with Arthur in the minds of the public.

From 1994 until his death in 2006 Alcock was patron of the South Cadbury Environs Project, a programme of research exploring the landscape around the hillfort.[

Lindy Brown Turner raised her hand. “I’ll go. I decided to just read my story if you don’t mind. It is about the Ghosts of Cadbury Hill.” After a short period of excited mumbling from the group, Lindy proceeded. “Cadbury Hill is in the west country of England and is the home of an overgrown castle, Cadbury Castle. In the 1930s, a woman who wished her identity to never be known, a very respectable school teacher, was driving near Cadbury Hill at night. She and her companion saw lights parading down from the hill. They slowed the vehicle for a better view. They discovered that the lights were lit torches fastened to lances, and the ghostly bearers of the torches were on ghostly horses. They seemed to be warriors from ancient times, and they were led by a larger ghostly warrior, also on horseback. When these warriors had ridden to the base of the hill, they vanished into thin air. Somerset County of England is known for its fairies and phantoms. Legend has it that King Arthur rests with his soldiers at Cadbury Hill, waiting for England to request his services once again. Archaeologists agree that the old fortress could have housed a chieftain in the sixth century—the time of Arthur’s skirmishes with the Saxons.”

Cadbury Castleis locatedfive miles north east of Yeovilat grid reference ST62862512. It stands on the summit of Cadbury Hill, a limestone hill situated on the southern edge of the Somerset Levels, with flat lowland to the north. The summit is 500 ft (150 metres) above sea-level. The hill is surrounded by four terraced earthwork banks and ditches and a stand of trees.

Excavations

Excavation at and around the site has discovered Iron Age, Roman and Saxon artefacts. The excavation was led by archaeologist Leslie Alcock from 1966-1970. He identified a long sequence of occupation on the site and many of the finds are displayed in the Somerset County Museum in Taunton.
Prehistoric occupation

Earthworks at Cadbury Castle

Yetholm-type shield

from South Cadbury. Displayed atSomerset County Museum, Taunton.

The earliest settlement was represented by Neolithic pottery and flints along with a bank feature.

The site was also occupied in the Late Bronze Age and throughout the Iron Age.
The castle is a multivallate hill fort built around 400 BC. Large ramparts and elaborate timber defenses were constructed and refortified at least five times over the following centuries. Excavation revealed rectangular house foundations, a blacksmith, and a possible temple indicating permanent oppidum-like occupation. There is evidence that the fort was violently taken and reoccupied by the Romans around AD 50.

Cadbury Hillfort Plan Leland's material provides invaluable evidence for reconstructing the lost "tomb" of Arthur (a twelfth-century fabrication) at Glastonbury Abbey.[31]

On his itinerary of 1542, Leland was the first to record the tradition (possibly influenced by the proximity of the villages of Queen Camel and West Camel) identifying the hillfort of Cadbury Castle in Somerset as Arthur's Camelot:

"At the very south ende of the chirch of South-Cadbyri standeth Camallate, sumtyme a famose toun or castelle, apon a very torre or hille, wunderfully enstregnthenid of nature. . .The people can telle nothing ther but that they have hard say that Arture much resortid to Camalat.

ABBEYS

IT IS COMMON IN THE PRESENT DAY TO JEER AT MONKS;

AND TO THINK OF THEM AS DISHONEST MEN, WHO PRETENDED TO LEAD HOLY LIVES WHILST THEY WERE WICKED IN SECRET AND BOUND THEMSELVES BY VOWS THEY DID NOT FULFIL.

IF YOU SEE A PICTURE DRAWN TO-DAY OF MONASTIC LIFE IT IS FREQUENTLY SOME SCENE OF FEASTING OR REVELRY, OR ONE IN WHICH THE MONKS ARE MADE TO LOOK ABSURD. NO DOUBT DISORDERS AT LAST CREPT INTO MANY RELIGIOUS HOUSES, AND THERE MAY HAVE BEEN GREAT NEED TO REFORM THEM;

BUT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AT THE FRAGMENTS AND RUINS OF ABBEYS AND PRIORIES REMAINING IN OUR COUNTY WITHOUT FEELING THAT ONLY A DEEP SINCERITY COULD HAVE RAISED THE MAGNIFICENT BUILDINGS OF WHICH WE DO BUT SEE THE CRUMBLING WALLS.

WE MUST NOT JUDGE THE PAST BY THE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS WHICH GUIDE THE WORLD TO-DAY.

THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN QUITE WISELY LEFT BEHIND WERE STEPPING-STONES TO THE ADVANTAGES WE NOW ENJOY.

WHEN MANY OF THE ABBEYS WERE FOUNDED, THE GREATER PART OF ENGLAND WAS UNENCLOSED FOREST WITH FEW ROADS.

TOWNS WERE SMALL AND FAR APART. THE BARONS LIVING IN THEIR CASTLES WERE CONSTANTLY AT WAR WITH ONE ANOTHER. IT WAS A LIFE OF STRIFE, AND PROBABLY FEW NORMAN NOBLES COULD READ AND WRITE. PRINTING WAS NOT KNOWN; AND AS ALL BOOKS HAD TO BE WRITTEN BY HAND, THEY WERE VERY RARE AND COSTLY. THE MONASTERIES ALONE COULD PROVIDE THEM, FOR ONLY THEY HAD LIBRARIES ; AND SOME OF THE MONKS WERE ALWAYS BUSY MAKING COPIES OF BOOKS TO BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR OTHERS THEY DID NOT POSSESS.

Athelney Abbey

possible early hermitage or monasteryfounded c.878

Benedictine? Monksfounded c.888 byKing Alfred(possibly enlarging pre-existing establishment);
Benedictine monks
(re)founded c.960;dissolved8 February 1539;grantedto John Clayton 1544/5; now on private land, the site of church is marked by a monument erected 1801 The Abbey ofSaint Peter,Saint PaulandSaint Athelwine,Athelney

Bablew Grange Cluniac monks
grange and chapeldependent onMontacuteBablew Priory

Banwell Monastery Saxon monasterygrantedto Asser by Alfredc.888; St Andrew's Church, Banwell, possibly on site (alternative possible sites)

Barlynch PrioryAugustinian Canons Regular
foundedbetween 1154 and 1189 (between 1174(?) and 1220), reputedly by William de Say;
dissolvedbefore July 1537;grantedto Sir John Wallop 1538/9;
remains now on site of Barlynch Farm;
now in ownership of Working for Wildlife The Priory Church ofSaint Nicholas, Barlinch
____________________
Barlinch Priory

Barrow Gurney NunneryBenedictine nuns
founded c.1200 by ___ Gurney, Lord of Stoke Hamden;
dissolved1536;grantedto William Clerke 1544/5;
incorporated into Barrow Court The Blessed Virgin Mary and St Edmund, King and Martyr
____________________
Minchin Barrow Priory;
Minchinbarrow Priory
Bearwe Priory;
Borrow Gurney Priory

Bath Abbey+Saxon nuns
founded c.676, reputedly byKing Osric, whograntedland to Bertana, abbess;
destroyedandrebuiltseveral times;
monks
refoundedbefore 758;
secular? 775;
Benedictine? monks
refounded963/4;
episcopal diocesan cathedral 1090;
dissolved1539;grantedto Humphrey Colles 1542/3;
conventual church now in parochial use The Abbey Church ofSaint PeterandSaint Paul,Bath

Bedminster MonasteryHistorical county location. See entry underBristol

Brent Cell Benedictine monks
purported celldependent onGlastonburyEast Brent Cell

Bridgwater GreyfriarsFranciscan Friars (under the Custody of Bristol)
founded c.1245 byWilliam Bruer (Briwere);
church consecrated 1445 (afterrebuilt/extended);
dissolved13 September 1538Bridge Water Friary

Bristol Austin FriarsHistorical county location. See entry underBristol

Bristol Eremites FriarsHistorical county location. See entry underBristol

Bristol PreceptoryHistorical county location. See entry underBristol

Bruton AbbeyBenedictine monks
abbey(?)founded c.1005 by Algar, Earl of Cornwall;
dissolvedbefore 1086(?);
Augustinian Canons Regular
refounded1127-1135 byWilliam de Mohun
raised to abbey status 1511;
dissolved1 April 1539;grantedto Maurice Berkely 1545/6

Buckland PrioryAugustinian Canons Regular
founded c.1166 by William de Arlegh (Erlegh), Lord of Durston;
dissolved c.1180;
Knights Hospitaller preceptory
refounded c.1180;dissolved1433
together with priory of Sisters of St John of Jerusalem(see immediately below);
refounded c.1180;dissolvedafter 1500;
Augustinian Canons Regular
priory or hospital;
refoundedafter 1500;
dissolved10 February 1539;grantedto Alexander Popham and William Halley 1544/5;
site now occupied by Buckland Farm John the Baptist
____________________
Minchin Buckland Preceptory
Buckland Sororum

Buckland Sisters of St John Priory Sisters of St John of Jerusalem
transferredfrom Carbrooke, Clanfield, Gosford, Hampton, Hogshaw, Shingay, Standon and Swingfield;
refounded c.1180;
together with Knights Hospitaller Preceptory on the site of former Augustinian Canons Regular priory(see immediately above);
dissolvedafter 1500;
Augustinian Canons Regular priory or hospitalfoundedon site(see immediately above);
site now occupied by Buckland Farm St Mary and St Nicholas

Burtle Prioryhermitage, endowed by William son of Godfrey of Eddington 1199;
Augustinian Canons Regular
priory celldependent onGlastonbury1267;
refoundedbefore 1270;
independentfrom 1275;
dissolved1536;grantedto John and James Bisse 1553/4:
parochial church of St Philip and St James Churchbuilton the site The Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Stephen
____________________
Burtle Moor Priory;
St Stephens Chapel, Sprauellissmede;
Byrkley Priory;
Burcle Priory;
Bercle Priory;
Brademers Priory

Cannington PrioryBenedictine nuns — fromDorset
founded c.1138 by Robert de Courcey;
transferredtoColwich,Staffordshire;
converted into a mansion;
reverted to nunnery;
dissolved1536;grantedto Edward Rogers 1538/9;
remains incorporated intoCannington Court,builton siteCanyngton Nunnery

Charterhouse on Mendip Carthusian monks
grange (purported cell)dependent onWitham;
grantedRobert May 1544/5

Cheddar Monastery reference to community 978; called a minster

Chewstoke Cell cell(?)
founded(?) by Elizabeth de Sancta Cruce;
dissolvedbefore 1500(?) Holy Cross

Clevedon Friary * Franciscan Friars Minor
extant Friary and Parish of the Immaculate Conception

Cleeve AbbeyCistercian monks — fromRevesby
foundedbetween 1186 and 1191, landgrantedbyWilliam de Roumare (Romara), Earl of Lincoln(building apparently begun by 1198 -24 or 25 June 1198;
dissolved1536;grantedto Thomas, Earl of Sussex 1541/2; (EH)Vallis Florida;
Clyve Abbey;
Cliff Abbey

Dodlinch Priory~Augustinian Canons Regular — Victorine
possibly initiallydependent onBristol;
associated with the Victorine abbey at Bristol;
founded c.1210 by William de Courtney;
transferredto new site atWoodspring?before 1226;
dissolved1230Dodelyng Priory

Downside Abbey* Benedictine monks
(communityfoundedat Douai 1607);
transferredfromDouai
founded1814 The Abbey Church ofSaint Gregory the Great,Downside, Stratton-on-Fosse

Dunster Priory +Benedictine monks
dependent onBath;
founded c.1100 (after 1090) byWilliam de Mohun;
dissolved1539;grantedto Humphrey Colles 1542/3;
church in parochial use as thePriory Church of St GeorgePriory Church of St George

Frome Monastery Saxon (Benedictine?) monks — purportedly from Malmesbury;
foundedafter 675 by St Aldhelm;
dissolvedbefore 690?

Glastonbury AbbeySaxon monks
founded c.6th century(?);
Benedictine? monks
founded c.705;
secular 9th century?
Benedictine monks
(re)founded(?) c.960;
dissolved15 November 1539;grantedto Edward, Duke of Somerset 1547/8;
grantedto Sir Peter Carew 1558/9;
ruins purchased by the Bath and Wells Diocesan Trust 1908;
now in ownership of theChurch of Englandwith public access The Abbey Church ofSaint Mary,Glastonbury

Green Ore Cell(?) Bendictine monks
'cell of Glaston';
probable grange of Hinton CharterhouseGreen Oare

Haselbury Priory hermitage to 1154;
Augustinian Canons Regular
William fitz Walter began house — apparently not completed; possiblydestroyedin thecontests of the barons

Hinton PrioryCarthusian monks
(communityfounded1222 atHatherop,Gloucestershire1222);
transferredhere May 1232;
dissolved1539;
now in private ownership without public accessHinton Charterhouse

Ilchester Blackfriars#Dominican Friars
foundedbetween 1221 and 1260;
dissolved1538;
demolishedearly 19th century

Ilchester Nunneryhospitalfounded c.1217-1220 by William Dennis (Dacus);
Augustinian Canonesses
refoundedbefore 1281;
dissolvedbefore 1463 Whitehall Hospital of the Holy Trinity
____________________
Blanchesale Hospital;
Whitehall Hospital

Ilminster possible Saxon minster; landgrantedto Muchelney byKing Ine;no record of community

Keynsham AbbeyAugustinian Canons Regular
founded c.1170 byWilliam, Earl of Gloucester
dissolved1539;grantedto Thomas Bridges, Esq 1552/3

Kilve Chantryfounded1329 by Simon de Furneaux;
dissolvedlate 14th century
damaged by fire in 1848

Langley Priory uncertain order and foundation
house of St Mary, brothers or canons, short-lived establishment 12th century

Martock Priory grantedto Humphry Colles 1542/3

Moorlynch Cell Benedictine monks
celldependent onGlastonbury

Montacute Priory

Cluniac monks
foundedbetweenc.1078 and 1102 byWilliam, Count of Mortain

dissolved1539;grantedto Robert, Earl of Leicester 1573/4;
remains now part ofAbbey FarmhouseMontecute;
Mons Acutus

Muchelney AbbeyBenedictine? monks
foundedbefore 693 traditionally byKing Ine;
destroyedin raids by the Danes(?)c.878
secular collegiate?
founded939 byKing Athelstan;
Benedictine monks
founded c.950 (959);
dissolved3 January 1538;grantedto Edward, Earl of Hertford 1537/8;
(EH)Michelney Abbey

Pennard Minster Saxon minster

Pitminster possible Saxon minster

Potbury Priory Augustinian Canons Regular
possible priorydependent onBristol—no record of cell

Regil Grange Cistercian monks
grange?dependent onFlaxley;
foundedbefore 1200(?)

Stavordale PrioryAugustinian Canons Regular — Vitorine
foundedbefore 1243 by a member of the Lovel family;
merged with Taunton 1533;
grantedto John, Earl of Oxford 1544/5;
conventual church converted into a private house, renovated and extended in 1905Slaverdale Priory

Steep Holme Cell Augustinian Canons Regular
celldependent onStudley,Oxfordshire;
foundedbefore 1260;
dissolvedbefore 1300

Taunton Priory#secular collegiate
foundedbefore 904;
Augustinian Canons Regular
founded c.1120 (c.1115) byWilliam Giffard, Bishop of Winchester;
dissolved1539;grantedto Mathew Colehurst 1544/5;
part of remains now called 'Priory Barn';
converted into a cricket museum The Priory Church ofSaint PeterandSaint Paul,Taunton

Taunton WhitefriarsCarmelite Friars
licencegranted1341; revoked 1343;house never established

Templecombe PreceptoryKnights Templar
grantedby Serlo FitzOdo in 1185.
founded c.1185
dissolved1308-12;
Knights Hospitaller
granted1312
dissolved1539;grantedto Richard Andrews andLeonard ChamberlayneCombe Templariorum;
Temple Comb Preceptory

Witham Friary+Carthusian monks
founded1178/9 (1180/1);
dissolved1539;grantedto Ralph Hopton 1544/5;
church now in parochial use The Friary Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Witham

The Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John Baptist and All Saints, Witham Friary(former lay brothers' church)
____________________
Witham Abbey
Witham Charterhouse;
Selwood Friary

Woodspring Priory^ Augustinian Canons Regular — Victorine
(communityfoundedat Dodlinchc.1210);
transferredhere before 1226;
dissolved1539;grantedto William and John Lacy 1559/60;
currently in use as an exhibuiltion centre for artwork;
(LT) The Priory Church of the honour of the Holy Trinity, Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Thomas the Martyr of Canterbury, Worspring
____________________
Worspring Priory

Worminster Saxon minsterWormester

Wyrall Nunnery alleged early nunnery St Peter
____________________
Wyrall Hill Nunnery

Yenston Priory#Benedictine monks
alien house: cell or grange(?)dependent onSt Sever;
foundedbeforec.1090 (before 1100) by Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester (Hugh Abrincis);
mentioned in the reign of Edward I;
doubtful it ever had status of priory;
grantedto Eton Collegec.1468; exchanged for other lands; held by Sir Thomas Bell by 1548;
house possiblybuilton site 16th century;
adjacent fields called 'Priory Plot' and 'Priors' possibly associated with the grange

Priddy Nine Barrows

Cemetery and Ashen Hill Barrow Cemetery are a collection ofround barrows, dating from theBronze Age, nearPriddyin the English county ofSomerset. They are designated asancient monuments.

The barrows sit on crests of land at either end of a field in an area of the Mendip Hills with severalNeolithicremains.

They are assumed to be related to thePriddy Circleswhich lie 750 metres (2,460 ft) to the north. Ashen Hill consists of sixbowl barrowsand twobell barrowsaligned east to west while Priddy Nine Barrows divided into one group of seven round barrows and another pair slightly separated from the others.

Excavations in 1815 uncovered cremation burials andgrave goods.

A geophysicalmagnetometrysurvey suggested that there may have been three further barrows.

116

A Survey of the Somerset Fairs

The charter of king John also granted that the Dean and Chapter of Wells, and the prior and monks of Bath should be free of toll throughout the king’s land for all that they should buy and sell. By fortunate chance an interesting example has survived of the careful way in which such privileges were safeguarded. The following incident is given in full, both for the quaintness of its language, and for the light it throws upon the punctilious manner of such medieval transactions. The date is 1250 :2S Memorandum that on Sunday before St. Andrew 1250 (Sunday letter B) William, de Beaumunt provost of Bristol gave back to H. Subdean of Wells one halfpenny taken of Walter son of the late Simon de Heanton his man for toll of a fish sold there, and to John de Derham three farthings taken of three men for wheat etc. sold there : and this was done towards theAvene bridgebefore the seld of Wm. the goldsmith, in the presence of. . . Clerk of the Toll house, who read the king’s charter before the said Wm. de Beaumunt in the street, by these tokens, that the said W. changed a penny with W. the goldsmith for four farthings whereof he handed three to the said John, and the bell was ringing for Vespers.

And Wm. de Beaumunt added, after hearing the charter read, that he knew the canons’ men should be quit of toll, and if any had to pay, it was for want of an oath that they were their villeins. Next day this was repeated in the toll house by the subdean, and after by Wm. de Beaumunt before Simon the clerk, mayor of the town, and several burgesses, and the charter read by Jordan the clerk, whereupon the subdean and the said John by leave of the mayor withdrew with their toll repaid. We have already noted elsewhere the transference of fairs to

Priddy and Binegarin time of plague, and the subsequent

duplication of fair days. The four seasons of the year—May, June, October, and November were observed in Wells down till the eighteenth century, the lists of 1729 and 1785 both giving fairs at those times, though the precise date is not always the same. Collinson, by a curious misreading of Calixtus, presents us with a fair on St. Catherine’s day. To-day there are only two Wells fairs—one on the first Saturday in May, now known as May Market, and the other on the first Tuesday in December. This is the St. Andrew’s fair. Both are now pleasure fairs, held in the street in front of the Town Hall, though some cattle are sold at the ordinary market during the day. The fairs last only one day, to which is attached an evening pleasure fair on the preceding 25 Calendar of MSS. of Dean and Chapter, vol. i, p. 88

The name  Cheddar

comes from the Old English word ceodor, meaning deep dark cavity or pouch. There is evidence of occupation from the Neolithic period in Cheddar. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in Cheddar Gorge in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithicera (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found.

There is some evidence of a Bronze Age field system at the Batts Combe quarrysite. There is also evidence of Bronze Age barrows at the mound in the Longwood valley, which if man-made it is likely to be a field system.

The remains of a Roman villa have been excavated in the grounds of the current vicarage.[10]

Reconstruction of the Saxon royal palace at Cheddar around 1000 AD

The village of Cheddar had been important during the Roman and Saxon eras. There was a royal palace at Cheddar during the Saxon period, which was used on three occasions in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot. The ruins of the palace were excavated in the 1960s. They are located on the grounds of The Kings of Wessex Academy, together with a 14th century chapel dedicated toSt. Columbanus.

Roman remains have also been uncovered at the site.

Cheddar was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ceder, meaning "Shear Water", from the Old Englishs cear and Celtic dwr.

An alternate spelling in earlier documents, common through the 1850s isChedder.

As early as 1130 AD, theCheddar Gorgewas recognised as one of the "Four wonders of England". Historically, Cheddar's source of wealth was farming and cheese making for which it was famous as early as 1170 AD.The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred.

The manor of Cheddar was deforested in 1337 andBishop Ralphwas granted a licence by the King to create a hunting forest.

As early as 1527 there are records of watermillson the river. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were several watermills which groundcornand made paper, with 13 mills on theYeoat the peak, declining to seven by 1791 and just three by 1915. In theVictorian erait also became a centre for the production of clothing. The last mill, used as a shirt factory, closed in the early 1950s.[20]William Wilberforcesaw the poor conditions of the locals when he visited Cheddar in 1789. He inspiredHannah Morein her work to improve the conditions of theMendipminers and agricultural workers.

In 1801, 4,400 acres (18 km2) of common land were enclosed under theInclosure Acts.

Tourism of theCheddar gorge and cavesbegan with the opening of theCheddar Valley Railwayin 1869.

Cheddar, its surrounding villages and specifically the gorge has been subject to flooding. In theChew Stoke flood of 1968the flow of water washed large boulders down the gorge, washed away cars, and damaged the cafe and the entrance toGough's Cave.

Government

Cheddar is recognised as a village.

The adjacent settlement ofAxbridge, although only about a third the population of Cheddar, is a town. This apparently illogical situation is explained by the relative importance of the two places in historic times. While Axbridge grew in importance as a centre for cloth manufacturing in theTudorperiod and gained a charter fromKing John, Cheddar remained a more dispersed mining and dairy-farming village. Its population grew with the arrival of the railways in theVictorian eraand the advent of tourism.

Theparish council, which has 15 members who are elected for four years, is responsible 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 evaluates local planning applications and works with the police, district council officers, andneighbourhood watchgroups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district 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 the responsibility of the council.

The village is in the 'Cheddar and Shipham'electoral ward. After includingShiphamthe total population of the ward taken at the2011 censusis 6,842.

It is also part of theWellscounty constituencyrepresented in theHouse of Commonsof theParliament of the United Kingdom. It elects oneMember of Parliament (MP)by thefirst past the postsystem of election, and is part of theSouth West England constituencyof theEuropean Parliamentwhich elects sixMEPsusing thed'Hondt methodofparty-list proportional representation.

CHEDDAR 

T he Church— Chantries— Rood Loft— Piscixa— Stone Pulpit— Tombs— Porches—Yew Trees— De Chedder Family—Manors— Ancient Cross— Charities— National School—Mrs. Hannah More

— Friendly Societies— Manufactures—Paper— Cheese— Mines— Population.

This celebrated village, which has borne the several names of Cheddour , Cedre , Cheddre ,and now Cheddar, is supposed to have derived its name from Ced, signifying a brow or conspicuous height , and Dwr Water; it is situate at the foot of the Mendip Hills, on the southern side, about two miles from the borough-town of Axbridge, eight from the city of Wells, eighteen miles from the city of Bristol, and near twenty miles from the town of Bridgwater, in the eastern division of the county of Somerset. Its circuit is about twelve miles, and comprises 6633a. 3r. 12p. of land, of various soils (but chiefly limestone), distributed into meadow, pasture, and arable, interspersed with many orchards, whose appearance in the blooming season, when seen from the heights, adds much to the beauty of the prospect; the soil is particularly adapted to the growth of peas and potatoes, the early sorts of which are sent in large quantities to the Bristol market, where, from their excellent quality, they generally obtain a preference. On the west the parish extends to the churchyard wall of Axbridge : on the southern boundary runs the river Axe, dividing it from Wedmore and Wear. In the Cliffs rise the stream called Cheddar Water, which after turning several corn and paper mills, wends its serpentine course at the head of Cheddar Moor, through Axbridge and Cross Moors, to a place called Redcliff, where it joins the river Axe, which thus united passes through the parishes of Loxton and Bleadon, and finally empties itself into the Bristol Channel, at Uphill.

In the year 1801, a most beneficial undertaking was completed by the enclosure and allotment in severalty of about 4000 acres of land upon the Mendip Hills, and Lowlands, called Moors, which before that time were held and occupied in common ; this enclosure

has been the cause of the formation of several farms on the summit

of the hill, which then to fore were applied to the feeding of sheep;

but in consequence of the enclosure and division have been cultivated, so as to produce considerable quantities of oats, barley, and

even wheat, besides potatoes and artificial grasses, whilst the more

rocky and shallow portions are still applied to the feeding of sheep

and young cattle. The total expense of perfecting the enclosure

amounted to ,£8119, of which large sum a portion was raised by

the sale of various parts of the waste lands, some in the moors, but

chiefly on the hills. The Commissioners for this enclosure were:—

F. E. Whalley, Esq., of Winscombe, John Billingsley, Esq., of

Oakhill, and John Band, Esq., of Wokey, who on the suggestion

and with the able assistance of Thomas Davis, Esq. (whose name

and merits have been most justly commemorated by the Bath Agricultural Society), and who was then the liberal steward of the

Marquis of Bath, caused the carriage road through the stupendous

chasm of Cheddar Cliffs to be formed through their whole extent;

before this incalculable benefit was conferred on the parish and on

the public, it was scarcely practicable for even a horse to pass

through from the immense masses of rock which had fallen into the

valley.

7

The Cliffs, thus made accessible, have been of late, and especially during the last three or four years, visited by an immense number of persons from every part of the United Kingdom, and from many parts of the Continent, and even North America; for independent of their natural beauties, which have been long appreciated and celebrated in the most eulogistic style of commendation, the discovery of a very beautiful “ Stalactite Cave” at their entrance, and the formation of tea-gardens and other accommodations, for the pleasure and refreshment of visitors, have added greatly to theattractions which before existed.

That the reader of this pamphlet may be made acquainted with

the estimation in which this great natural curiosity has been held

in ancient and more recent times, the following testimonies are

collected from various sources.

Shaw, in his Tour through the West of England, describes them

thus:—

“ About five miles north-west of Wookey Hole, near the small

“ town of Cheddar, remarkable for rich and large cheese, are large

“ Cliffs of the same name, and a stupendous chasm quite through

“ the body of the adjacent mountain, as if split asunder by some

“ violeut convulsion of nature, which exhibits an awful appearance

“ to strangers. Near the entrance is a remarkable spring of water

“ rising in a perpendicular direction from the rocky basis of the

“ hill, and so large and rapid is its stream that it turns a mill

“ within a few yards of its source, and afterwards falls into the

“ river Axe. Near to this is a curious Cavern, the entrance

“ of which is by an ascent of about fifteen fathoms among the rocks.

“ Neither this nor Okey Hole have any communication with the

“ mines of Mendip, though it is well known that in general among

“ lead mines there are caverns which are various both as to their

“ nature and situation.”

8

Collinson, in his History of Somerset in reference to the village of Cheddar and its locality, says :— “ The situation is rendered exceedingly fine by the contrast between “ the lofty hills of Mendip on the one hand, and the rich extensive “ level of the moors on the other. The steep slopes of the hill are “ constantly diversified, in some parts excavated into deep recesses, “ and in others swelling out into hold protuberances, adorned with *• hanging woods, which, in autumn especially, exhibit in their “ foliage the richest variety of tints and shade.“ But what most distinguishes the place, and occasions it to be

“ visited by travellers, is that stupendous chasm, Cheddar Cliffs,

“ which certainly rivals the wildest defiles in the British islands.

“ Proceeding through the winding passage the Cliffs rise on

“ either hand in the most picturesque forms, some of them being

“ near 800 feet,* and terminating in craggy pyramids on the right

“ hand, several of them are perpendicular to the height of 400 feet,

“ and resemble the shattered battlement of vast castles. On the

“ left hand, or west side, are two also of this form, which lean over

“ the valley with a threatening aspect, and the tops of many others

“ at the height of several hundred feet project over the heads of the

“ spectators with terrific grandeur; in general the swelling projections on one side are opposed to corresponding hollows in the

“ other, which is a strong indication that this immense gap was

“■ formed by some strong convulsion of the earth. On the right

“ hand the Cliffs are steeper than on the left, and are generally

“ inaccessible, but beautifully interspersed with ivy, shrubs, small

“ yew and other trees, which grow out of the fissures of the rocks

“ up to the very summits ; the awful scenery is continually changing,

“ but to observe all its beauties it must be traversed backwards and

“ forwards; in doing this there will be found ten points of view,

“ which are grand beyond description, and where the prospects

» Collinson was misinformed in this particular, the highest of the rochs being

no more than 429 feet from the valley or road to the upper surface on the hill,

bv actual admeasurement.

9

“ exhibit that wild and tremendous magnificence which cannot fail

“ imposing the mind of the spectator with awe and astonishment

“ at the works of that power whose voice even the obdurate rocks

“ obey and retire. Stupendous however as these Cliffs are, the top

“ of Mendip is some hundred feet higher, sloping upwards from

“ their tops in a gentle ascent, and affording a most extensive pros-

“ pect over the southern and the western parts of this county, a

“ considerable part of Wilts and Dorset, the British Channel, the

“ Holms, and long range of the coast of Wales.”

Rutter, in his history of the north-western division of the county

of Somerset, describes the Cliffs as the sides of a “ stupendous

“ chine or chasm, extending across or through one of the highest

“ ridges of the Mendip Hills, presenting one of the most striking

“ scenes of the kind in Great Britain. Here indeed, Nature, work-

“ ing with a gigantic hand, has displayed a scene of no common

“ grandeur— in one of those moments when she convulsed the world

“ with the throes of an earthquake, she burst asunder the rocky ribs

“ of Mendip, and tore a chasm across its diameter of more than a

“ mile in length— the vast opening yawns from the summit down to

“ the roots of the mountain, laying open to the sun a sublime and

“ tremendous scene, exhibiting a combination of precipices, rocks,

“ and caverns, of terrifying descent, fanstastic forms, and gloomy

“ variety.

“ The approach from the village is extremely picturesque, and at

“ the entrance all is gentle and beautiful; a brook, clear as crystal,

“ leads its murmuring course by the side of the road on the left,

“ backed by a shrubby wood, at the opposite side of which are a few

“ humble cottages, and on the opposite side the ground swells into a

“ steep, sufficiently covered, however, with verdure and vegetation

“ to form a soft feature in the scene ; but as the visitor advances

“ the abyss suddenly expands, the rocks assume a more precipitous

“ character, presenting bold and almost perpendicular points, with

“ bare and rugged tops towering many hundred feet above the level

“ of the country. A rough carriage-road winds for nearly two

10

“ miles through the Cliff until it reaches the summit of the Hills,

“ presenting various advantageous points for viewing the wild and

“ tremendous magnificence of the scenery, the rock alternately

“ projecting on one side and receding on the other, and on cither

“ hand rising almost perpendicularly into the most wild and

“ picturesque forms, sometimes resembling the round battlements

“ and solitary towers of a stupendous castle, having their perpendi-

“ cular points partially covered with ivy, and beautifully intersected

“ with verdant ledges, scattered over with the mountain ash and

“ darker yew, intermingled with the crimson mountain pink and

“ other flowering shrubs peculiar to this romantic district.”

An anonymous writer in Blackwood’s Magazine, under the title

of a Sketcher, thus describes the Cliffs :—

“ No one can form an idea of the peculiar beauty, I should say

“ grandeur of these Cliffs without studying them. From the

“ general line of the country no suspicion could be entertained of

“ so fine a pass existing among the Mendip Hills— there are indeed

“ many passages through them of various character, but there is

“ not one to be compared to that of Cheddar, indeed there is nothing

“ like it any vdiere so far as my judgment goes. The rocks are in

“ character the finest, in places perfectly precipitous to the depth

“ of perhaps 400 feet— they are magnificent in form and colour,

“ and the numerous caverns and holes add much to the sublime of

“ the scene— it is certainly much finer than the pass of Llambarris—

“ it is a circuitous and narrow course, and so retired and shattered

“ within its own recesses that you think not of its utter barrenness—

“ you are involved as it were in a deep wood of rock— many years

“ since I visited it and sketched there. I vras much gratified the

“ other day by a fine subject of Cheddar, sketched in on canvas by

“ a friend of mine, Mr. Jackson, of Clifton, an artist of much

“ genius, and in consequence I determined on the first opportunity

“ to revisit the rocks— such soon occured, and I must confess that

“ their sublimity, magnificence, and beauty, far surpassed my

“ recollection and expectation. An artist cannot find better studies

11

“ for rock in detail, and should he be disposed to make pictures of

“ such subjects he will find many as perfect in composition as he

“ would desire. There is a kiln at the entrance, the smoke of

“ which rolling among the rocks produces a fine effect; here too he

“ will find admirable studies of caverns of every shape and depth—

“ what a scene for a land storm; it is so treated in my friend’s

“ picture, which is promising. I think few would wind through

“ this sublime pass without a sense of fear, the rocks hanging over

“ head, threatening to crush the intruder, and the yawning chasms

“ close upon his footsteps, seem prepared, as if by magic, for his

“ prison in the grave— it is the region for genius and enchantment.

“ It may be useful to mention that the sketcher will find very good

“ accommodations, as there are two respectable inns at the little

“ village, which are close to the scenery.”

As, connected with this interesting locality, the following account

of an adventure which befel King Edward the Martyr, may be

thought curious, it is extracted from an ancient manuscript in the

possession of the Corporation of Axbridge, which Rutter describes

as being apparently written about the middle of the fifteenth century,

purporting to be compiled from an ancient Charter granted by

Edward the Confessor.

“ Sometimes, for the sake of hunting, the King spent the summer

“ about the Forest of Mendip, wherein there were, at that time,

“ numerous stags and several other kinds of wild beasts, for, as is

“ read in the life of St. Dunstan, King Edward (A.D. 975), who

“ sought retirement at Glastonbury, came to the said forest to hunt,

“ Axbridge being then a royal borough. The King, three days

“ previously, had dismissed St. Dunstan from his court with great

“ indignation and lack of honour, which done, he proceeded to the

“ wood to hunt. This wood covers a mountain of great height,

“ which being separated at its summit, exhibits to the spectator an

“ immense precipice and horrid gulph, called by the inhabitants

“ ‘ Chedder Clyffs.’ When, therefore, the King was chasing the

“ flying stag here and there, on its coming to the craggy gulph, the

12

** stag rushed into it and being dashed to atoms perished; similar

“ ruin involved the pursuing dogs, and the horse on which the King

“ rode having broken its reins became unmanageable, and in an

“ obstinate course carries the King after the hounds, and the gulph

‘•'lying before him threatens the King with certain death— he

“ trembles and is at, his last shift. In the interval his injustice

“ recently offered to St. Dunstan occurs to his mind— he wails it,

“ and instantly vows to God that he would, as speedily as possible,

“ recompence such injustice by a manifold amendment, if God would

*• only for the moment avert the death which deservedly threatened

“ him. God immediately hearing the preparation of his heart took

“ pity on him, inasmuch as the horse instantly stopped short, and

“ to the glory of God, caused the King, thus snatched from the

“ perils of death, most unfeignedly to give thanks to God. Having

“ returned to his house, that is, to the borough of Axbridge, and

“ being joined by his nobles, the King recounted to them the cause

“ of the adventure which had happened, and commanded Dunstan

“ to be recalled with honour and reverence, after which he esteemed

“ him in all transactions as his most sincere friend.”

O j c (KaDcs.

Although limestone ranges of rock generally abound with caverns

or caves, and there can be no doubt many such are within the

Cliffs, yet previously to the discovery of the Stalactite Cave, the

only one of any extent which has been exhibited to the public, is

that which lies on the right side of the Cliffs, opposite the limekiln,

about ninety feet from the road. It has been explored to the length

of about 300 feet, and takes a south-east direction; there is nothing

remarkable within it, either of stalactite or stalagmite, or mineral

incrustation. The other caverns, which are shown by the women

who attend visitors, so far as they have been explored, possess

no interesting feature. But the Stalactite Cave, discovered in 1837

13

by Mr. George Cox, proprietor of the contiguous corn mill and tea

gardens, has been found to have been an object of very great and

pleasing interest.

Mr. Cox’s description of this admired cavern is subjoined:— •

“ The roof resembles ancient sculpture, the formations are

“ grotesque and fanciful, in one part you perceive the furniture of

“ a Hindoo temple, the Black Prince, in another a mummy, elegant

“ drapery and pillars from four to fifteen feet in height, fonts,

“ transparent stalactite, likewise the substantial comforts of a farm-

“ house, v iz:— turkies, tongues, fat goose, bacon, bread, &c., are

“ naturally pourtrayed; and the cavern is so perfectly clean and

“ easy of access that the most timid and delicate may explore it

“ without inconvenience.”

The discovery was purely accidental. Mr. Cox, in removing a part

of the rock in front of his mill, for the purpose of erecting a waggon

house, broke into a hole which led into the present cave; he

explored it, and after very considerable labour, the work of several

months, in blasting and removing large masses of rock, he has

brought it to its present perfection.

Subsequent to the discovery of Mr. Cox’s Stalactite Cave, a

cavern situate at the further extremity of the Cliffs, at the distance

of about a mile and a quarter from the entrance, and on the left

side, about 180 feet above the road, has been partially explored, and

with results quite unexpected. It proves to be a bone-cavern; the

following is its description, being the substance of a communication

from Mr. William Long, which was read at the great meeting of the

British Association, held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in July, 1838.

“ The Cave is situated in limestone rock, and thirty feet in depth;

“ on the first entrance it has the appearance of lofty chambers

“ tapering into an archway, which opens again into lofty chambers,

“ on the bottom of which are found human skulls and bones, mixed

“ with those of bears, deer, oxen, &c., embedded in soil, evidently of

“ remote origin, and containing very few fossils, which are, however,

“ very abundant in the rocks above.

THE CAVE VILLAGE OF WOOKEY

skeleton have yet been found. Other human bones, remains of men of massive build and of babies whose teeth were still concealed in the bone of the jaw, are flung pell-mell among the broken marrow-bones of animals used for food. There can be no doubt that, at a late stage in the history of the village, the inhabitants were reduced to cannibalism, perhaps in consequence of the straits to which they were driven by invaders. This was probably at the time the lake villages were sacked, and probably their enemies were the warlike Belgae, who appear to have captured the fortress of Worlebury, built on the extremity of the Mendip Hills overlooking the present town of Weston-super-Mare, and no doubt the other fortified camps along the northern side of the hills. Worlebury was afterwards seized by the Romans. Whilst the people in the lake villages were a race of peaceful shepherds and farmers, the cavemen were evidently not unprepared to put up a fight. At any rate the entire absence of weapons observed there does not hold here. Among others, there have been found an iron spear-head and arrow heads blunted at the point, as if discharged in an attai k on the fastness.

But the interested reader must be referred for a more exhaustive ,account of these prehistoric finds to Mr. Balch's well illustrated monograph, “Wookey Hole,” and for information on the contiguous region on the north to the proceedings of the Speleological Society attached to the University of Bristol. Records also exist of the important explorations carried out at an earlier date in the caves of Uphill, Bleadon, and Banwell, as well as of Boyd Dawkins’s work at Goatchurch, in Burrington Combe. Much more will doubtless come to light in the future. The most likely spots are small early man in Britain but a sketch of the discoveries and possibilities in the West of England, one of the richest archaeological fields in Britain, where there is room for much methodical spadework. Everything outside is of necessity treated in a few words. Most of the material mentioned mar be seen in one or other of the local museums.This is a time of extensive public-works and it is likely that prehistoric objects are turned up from day to da)'. It would be of value if record of such finds were sent as they occur to the local Museum Curator or to the Secretary of the local Archaeological Society, or to the Secretary of the Spelaeological Society. At present such material is usually destroyed or dispersed. It is this failure to record, together with casual or inexpert excavations, which so hampers the progress of the study of earl)' man in this district. These papers first appeared in the Western-Daily Press last Autumn, and it is to the Editor, Mr. W. E. Stone, that we are indebted for permission to reprint and for the use of three blocks. The remainder of the blocks were loaned by Professor E. Fawcett, President of the Speleological Society of Bristol University and the Committee.

September, 1927.

Clifton.

THE OLD STONE AGE.

River-Drift Man.

is known of the first men in these islands. The skull found at Piltdown, in Sussex, is certainly human, although the jaw associated with it is chinless and the canine teeth would not be out of place in a great ape. The favourite weapon or tool of the Piltdown man and those who followed him was a pearshaped instrument of chipped flint, often weighing several pounds, which, designed for everything, was variously used as bandaxe, knife, dagger, scraper, and root grubber. These implements were best preserved in the silt and shingle left by ancient rivers, and from this drift they are now dug together with the bones of the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and other beasts which tell us that the climate was genial. Tidal action in the Severn and the rivers that empty therein has always been more vigorous than along the shores of the Channel and North Sea, consequently the drift was often washed away and, therefore, few hand-axes have been found near Bristol. There are specimens from the Avon and Walton Bay in the Bristol Museum ; and at Preshford, Twerton and Taunton, hones of these animals have been discovered. Recently two hand-axes were discovered inSt. Anne’s Park, Bristol.

Neanderthal Man.

Neanderthal man, successor of the river-drift man, was less ill favoured; that is, he went through life with a great shelving brow, a retreating forehead, a receding chin, and a stooping gait. He was enough of a man to employ fire and to have an organised religion, as ceremonial interments made in French caves demonstrate. His remains have been unearthed in the Channel Islands and in Rhodesia, in Gallilee and in Gibraltar; but so far none have turned up in England, though his stone weapons are not uncommonly found along the Thames. It is possible that he dwelt in a cave, now quarried away, at Uphill. During his stay in Europe the climate grew cold. At about 12,000 B.C. a new race, better adapted to withstand the cold, arrived in Europe, and under the impetus of their competition he disappeared, leaving no descendants.

Cave Man.

Under the name of Cave Men the new folk are now familiar to everyone. They camped in the open country or lodged in caves where their remains and effects are best preserved. The stone implements used by the invaders were first studied from a cave at Aurignac, in the South of France ; whence the earliest men of the new type are known as Aurignacians, just as the inhabitants of Britain, affected by Roman thought and culture as they were during the occupation of this island, were Romans. The Aurignacians of Britain lived in Paviland Cave in Gower, near Swansea, and at Langwith in Derbyshire. Their stone implements are small, skilfully wrought, and there seems to have been an instrument for each purpose ; for they had knives, scrapers, planes, awls, and graving tools. They also fashioned bone, ivory, and antler into javelins and other weapons of the chase.

The Aurignacian race varied greatly, but notwithstanding these differences the man himself was in all bodily essentials modern ; the first ancestor whom we may recognise. He existed by hunting the beasts that ranged England in his day, and they were a pretty formidable hill of fare. There was the woolly mammoth, larger than the African elephant of to-day, the woolly rhinoceros, the cave lion, the cave bear (a super grizzly) and ox, bison, elk, and reindeer, to name a few. In some caves there are literally tons of bones which have been split for the easier extraction of the marrow. When we consider their miserable weapons and scanty resources, and realise that they and their successors not only endured the struggle with weather and beasts but found it in themselves to make ornaments, to engrave their weapons, and to paint impressionistic pictures of bison, horse, rhinoceros, and lion on the walls of the inner recesses of their cavern dwellings—pictures that can hold their own with most modern work—easy statements on the advance of mankind seem grave impertinences.

A hunting people takes up a lot of room. In the Old Stone Age the population of Britain can never have exceeded a few thousands who followed the untamed herds in their quest for pasture, slew indiscriminately when they were able, and fell back on roots or went hungry when the hunting was bad. Moreover, in Britain, life was more rigorous than on the Continent and leisure for artistic effort was limited, so that only a few moderate engravings have been found here. It is noteworthy that in these days certain types of stone implements which were peculiar to the island began to appear, and seem to indicate, if not a national feeling, a certain unity of thought among the scattered tribes which wandered here 12,000 years ago. It is hard to affirm with confidence that any of the implements found hereabouts are Aurignacian. Some fiom Banwell and Loxton-in-Mendip probably belong to this period.

—King Arthur’s Cave.

The Solutreans.

In the 60’s Sir William Boyd Dawkins, while excavating a cave at Wookey Hole, came across some heart-shaped flint implements with delicate scaling on their surfaces. In 1899 similarly scaled implements were discovered in Uphill Cave, and last year others

Fig. 2a—Upper Palaeolithic Implements from King Arthur's Cave.

were found by the Spelaeological Society in King Arthur’s Cave, Symond's Yat on Wye. In each case they were found with abundant remains of food animals ; hyaena and horse predominating, rhinoceros being next favourite. Now these scaled implements are very like specimens found with the same animals in France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Russia. This new culture of scaled stone is known as the Solutrean ; from Solutre in France where a vast number of typical implements were unearthed. It is now known that between 10,000 and 9,000 B.C. a hunting folk advancing from the Fast pushed through Europe to Spain, making a sort of racial corridor. That this race ever reached England or even France is uncertain; but their influence went before them and their beautiful and striking flint work replaced the Aurignacian technique. For some unknown reason the intrusion also temporarily quenched the artistic spirit. Some authorities maintain that the Solutreans are the direct ancestors of the fair men of North Europe. It seems that the new culture prevailed only as far as Mendip. At Symond’s Yat and elsewhere to the north and west the native Aurignacian survived unaltered, though a few implements were scaled in the Solutrean manner.

The Magdalenians.

The most important inhabited caves in this district are Gough’s Cave, Cheddar, and Avcline’s Hole, Burrington Combe, which is still being explored by the Spelacological Society. The former was occupied the earlier since the hyaena found there is absent from the latter, but otherwise there is a resemblance between the contents of both. There are also indications that whereas when Gough's Cave was occupied the conditions were extremely severe, the Aveline’s Hole men lived when the English climate was as warm and even wetter than at present. A beautiful six-barbed harpoon of stag-antler found in Aveline’s Hole dates its occupation near 6,500 B.C. A rudely engraved reindeer antler from Cheddar certainly belongs to the same epoch. The flint implements are all of one culture : they belong to the native Aurignacian which had resurged from the north and west, eradicating from Mend ip every vestige of the invading Solutrean Culture. Amongst other tilings a number of sea shells and some deer teeth, drilled for stringing together as a necklace, were found at Burrington.

—Upper Palaeolithic Implements from Gough’s Cave, Cheddar.

The importance of these two caves is found in their content of human remains. The Cheddar skeleton is almost complete. Aveline’s Hole has yielded bones of at least twenty individuals. Ornaments show that some, at least of these were buried with ceremony. The most striking feature of the remains is their con. formity to modern types. Not one of these folk would arouse comment if, in modern garb, he passed through the streets of a seaport town. Such differences as we meet are slight. Their incisors did not overlap, as ours do, but met edge to edge : a gritty diet had worn down their molars to an extent rarely encountered nowadays : and their shin bones were flattened. There is no trace of the overhanging brows and rugged ferocity of feature wherewith the novelist loves to invest the cave man.

The facts arc that these Mendip cave men and women were little people, low of stature, slender of limb, smooth featured, not very muscular, hardy ; but still subject to some ills with which we are acquainted. In general appearance they resembled the inhabitants of Corsica and Sardinia, except that one meets with broad heads amongst them.

They probably made up for lack of inches in agility Their chief prey and staple food was the giant red dear of the new forests, that everywhere were growing and they successfully ran him down without even the aid of a dog. The rhinoceros was about to vanish, hut reindeer and brown bear provided a change of diet, and they were fishers as well as hunters. Recently it has been shown that this race occupied Britain with little change until the rise of the

Roman Empire, and to-day it constitutes the matrix of the English people.

Several other caves in the district were occupied by Palaeolithic man, but unfortunately their excavation was so badly performed that the evidence derived from them is of small value.

Flint Knives from a Cheddar Cave. Natural Size

TRANSITION TO A SETTLED LIFE AND THE NEW STONE AGE.

At the end of the Old Stone Age men were living m small

as witchcraft, has survived in remote districts to the present day.

Of the strange shadowy period that followed we know very

Africa and poured into Spain. l cj predecessors, living chiefly on fish and snails.

Enoland was now joined to the continent, and there were forests " tT o Rv S 000 B C the new men were settled along its

unchanged, on the flanks of Plynlimmon and in other.emote places.

The Mesolithic Period

The new

The newcomers are best distinguished by their works It is

sites; for that is the name of this per lod.

—Pygmy Flints from Rowberrow Cavern

One such site was discovered by Mr. T. F. Hewer in the platform outside King Arthur’s Cave, Symonds Yat. It is now in the early stages of investigation, but already a number of these pygmy tools, which were used as harpoon barbs, have been found. Other flint implements of new types, polished pebbles and utilised bones, occurred in fair quantity. The great and unfamiliar beasts of the Old Stone Age had vanished, leaving ox, horse, giant-deer, swine, and beaver ; and these, together with fish and mussels from the Wye beneath, formed the food supply. Some survivals of Palaeolithic types were found among the flint implements, but as yet it is too early to hazard an opinion as to whether the. King Arthur’s Cave folk were of a surviving Palaeolithic stock, or new-comers, or a mixed tribe.

More is known of the Continent in these days. In France the magnificent naturalistic art had gone. The fishermen were very numerous and in the cave of Mas d’ Azil over a thousand of their rough harpoons came to light. On the shores of the Baltic other men were now building-villages, literally on rafts, and had begun to tame the dog; the first domestic animal. This rude civilisation reached Yorkshire. The kindred French culture spread to the Highlands.

The New Stone Age.

The taming of the dog made the keeping of flocks and herds possible, thus revolutionising human life to an extent which has never happened before or since. By 5,000 B.C. the first men of the broad headed Alpine Race from whom most modern Frenchmen are derived were in central Europe, and others swarmed after them driving sheep and oxen and bringing a knowledge of agriculture. By 3,000 B.C. they were established in large villages that possessed pottery, corn and fruits. Civilising influencescrept into Britain more tardily, but by 2,500 B.C., when there had long been cities in Egypt and Mesopotamia,the natives of this land were forsaking their fishing settlements on riverside and shore, were gathering flocks and herds to themselves, and were breaking in small hillside patches to tillage. Sometime between the end of the Old Stone Age and this date Britain had finally become an island.

The true Neolithic period is the period of the chipped or polished stone axe, earthenware and husbandry. There is reason to believe that in Britain it lasted from 2,500 to 1.800 B.C. Of the early years little remains outside the great and imposing flint mines of Grime’s Graves in Norfolk and Cissbury in Suffolk. A small flint factory of this date at Thatcham near Newbury has supplied material which suggests that Baltic influences were coming in. But in the West there is nothing we can confidently assign to this period. We may be sure that people lived here, but their relics have yet to be discovered.

The difficulty of realising the position of the British Isles in the Neolithic period when political organisation, as it is now understood, began to appear, is vast. To-day in all humility we may say that England is the hub of the earth ; the port and clearing-house of the Old World up to and including India. But this status only began with the discovery of America, and was only consolidated after Waterloo. In some way allied to this geographical promotion is the rise of our cultural importance in the widest sense. We may be as insular as we please in the Hebrides or the London suburbs, but Shaw and Shakespeare are popular dramatists in Germany today, a Middlesbrough firm is building a bridge across Sydney Harbour, and Bristol aeroplanes are flown all over the earth. Not one of these happenings is accidental; there are contributory racial and environmental factors, as anyone can see.

Early in the New Stone Age Britain was about as important in the general scheme of things as Papua is to-day. Its life was a dim sluggish reflection of the daily round in the outer world.

Towards the end of the third millennium B.C., the possession of flocks and herds and the practice of agriculture had had its effect and the erstwhile hunters had formed large tribes with powerful religious organisations. The old nomadic life had erased and each tribe was settled in a district which belonged to it. Men no longer depended on the day’s effort and the day’s luck for the day’s food.

Megaliths.

At this point there was a great quickening of the communal life which is revealed to us by7the new culture of megaliths or mighty stones. The British megaliths closely resemble French examples. Vessels and implements like others found along the Mediterranean were found within the latter, and these in turn are related to certain Egyptian forms of known date. 2000 B.C., the approximate earliest date of these monuments in Britain, has thus been arrived at.

Single stone monuments or menhirs are not common in this district, but a stone in Armoury Square, Stapleton Road, Bristol, the poor remnant of a block that once was much greater, may be one. In that case its position near the centre of a city is surely unique. There is reason to believe that the stone on Redland Green

is a fallen menhir. The circular stone temples at Avebury, Stonehenge, Rollright and Stanton Drew are famous enough to need no description. Dolmens or table stones are box like chambered tombs which once were covered by earthen mounds. There are examples at Druid Stoke and on Broadfield Down.

1 he best known and commonest megalithic monuments are the long-barrows. These mounds are between 50 and 200 feet long and 30 and 80 feet wide. Usually the east end is the higher and wider. In most Cotswold examples there is a portal at this end which gives . access to a chambered passage wherein the remains rested. The

sides of the barrows are often retained within dry walling. Perhaps no two long barrows are identical any more than two churches. 1 hei e aie at least ten of these overground family vaults in North Somei set, including those found by Mr. E. K. Tratman at Felton, Kedhill and Priddy. More than 60 Cotswold examples are known including the group of five round Avening, near Nailsworth, and eight at Upper Swell in the extreme north-east of Gloucestershire.

The idea of building chambered tombs came from France and perhaps Denmark: two regions which already were in contact with Britain. But it was an age of invention and foreign ideas were t soon adapted to native conditions and tastes. Thus long barrows

and great stone circles are British developments which are rare or absent in France.

The Stone Axe.

The polished stone axe, a far more efficient implement than anything which came before, belongs to this period. Mr. Alfred Selley who has searched the ground hereabouts for a life-time, and knows more of the local distribution of flints than anyone else, has found by the frequency of polished axes on high-ground, something of the haunts of the axe-men. Abbot’s Leigh, Failand Hill, WraxaM Hill, Walton Hill, Bishopsworth and the Mendip plateau were centres of their population. A polished and perforated stone macc head was found on Winterbourne Down ; very few polished stones have been discovered on the Cotswolds.

As a rule the migration of the axe-men to the unforested and healthier uplands was pretty general, but one axe was found on low ground at Portishead. Some years ago Mr. Selley took several others from the rubbish heap of a neolithic fishing village at Shirehampton which was half obscured by Avon mud. Scrapers, chipped knives, arrowheads, and coarse potsherds, most of which are now in the Cambridge museum, were in the same heap. Other flint axes have been turned up from time to time in the Glastonbury fens, often

along with bronze weapons. These, together with fragments of polished tools from bronze-age barrows excavated by the Spelaeo-logical Society, show that this most efficient tool remained in use long after the (Ylegalithic period.

Neolithic Dwellings.

Most of our knowledge of these folk is drawn from tombs and therefore is very one-sided. Recently, several late Neolithic cave dwellings have been explored in Mendip. A party from Downside Abbey found in a fissure at Nettlebridge near Shepton Mallet a number of broken human bones of modern type together with vessels decorated all over with the impressed thumbnail; a motif which has survived on Scotch shortbread. The exploration was never completed.

In the Outlook Cave, Ebbor Gorge, Mr. Balch has found human bones, thumbnail pottery, part of a polished stone mace-head, a triangular flint arrowhead, and many bones of domestic beasts. In another dwelling place of the same age, beneath an overhanging rock in the same gorge, he was fortunate enough to obtain a stone axe with a ground blade, a large oval scaled knife, and more thumbnail pottery.

—Rowberrow Cavern.

D' ■ Tayloi s labours in Rowberrow Cavern have supplied a round bottomed Neolithic bowl with an overhanging rim decorated with the “ maggot ” pattern, it therefore belongs to a well-known long-barrow type. Sherds of Beaker-warewhich

*

-Neolithic, Beaker and “ Food Vessel:sherds from Rowberrow Cavern

t

will be described later, were near it. With the pottery was a service of Hint implements wrought by shallow scaling, including part of a polished tool and barbed stone arrowheads. But undoubtedly the important feature of the industry here found was the presence of , pygmy flints (Fig. 7); though not quite the same as the earlier

pygmies from King Arthur’s Cave they are probably derived from the Arthursian industry. They suggest that the indwellers in Rowberrow Cavern were the descendants of men who dwelt in Britain in y. lardenoisian times. They in turn perhaps were derived from the

cave men of Old Stone Age.

. ^U'\ Cheddar, Aasalso produced an association of round

bottomed Neolithic pottery, sherds of Beaker-ware, finely scaled flint implements and small fragments of a polished axe. Soldier’s Hole in Cheddar Gorge has so far given us a set of stone implements including a polished axe and a chipped stone spear-head.

The most significant Neolithic site m this district was found by the Somerset Archaeological Society under an overhanging rock in. Chelm’s Combe, Cheddar, where round bottomed bowls and the bones of the men who used them had survived. One of the bowls is of a Spanish type. The Neolithic men who dwelt in these seven caves had domestic beasts, but they hunted freely to augment their food stocks.

Neolithic Man.

The description of the Palaeolithic man of Aveline’s Hole and Gough’s Cave could be used for the men from the Gloucestershire and Somersetshire long barrows and from Chelm’s Combe without much amending. Perhaps the main difference is that the long-barrow men had narrower faces than the cave men. Judging by the skeletons we have there is no reason to suppose that the long-barrow men were other than the descendants of the cave men. But this is a theory that needs testing by research in transitional stations.

A skull was taken from Bisley long-barrow upon which the dangerous and delicate surgical operation of trepanning had been successfully performed. >

It has been asserted that the Megalithic culture was carried across Europe by traders from the Near East who were in quest of gold, amber and pearls. They were dark broad-heads, and are known as Prospectors. Professor Fleure has discovered in Pembroke and South Cardigan, where Megaliths are numerous, numbers of men who may be their descendants. Never the less, no oriental Neolithic objects have appeared in the West of England and, moreover, the skeletons from the long-barrows all appear to belong to the distinctive native type.

At this period it is probable that work began on the gold bearing gravel of Wicklow. For centuries this was the most important gold-field in Europe and this may account for the enormous number of flint axes and early bronze implements found in Ireland. But there are few signs of the gold trade in these parts. >

Trade there was: no one can walk across a ploughed field on Mendip without discovering a flint implement or flake. No flint is found naturally in the district, therefore, the presence of such enormous quantities on the land is testimony of settled conditions and an interchange of commodities in the New Stone and Bronze Ages.

Die Megalithie stage certainly lasted into the early Bronze Age; the occurrence of Beaker-ware with Neolithic pottery is good evidence of that. Stonehenge itself was raised after the close of the New Stone Age. It is now well-known that the inner circle of blue stones was brought thence from Pembrokeshire. Perhaps they were ferried across the Severn estuary to Uphill or Worlehury and toiled along Mendip to the Wiltshire Downs by devout herdsmen.

—Merlin s Cave, Symond's Vat.

THE BEAKER FOLK.

Towards the end of the Megalithie period a great drought in-Russia, like that which had such terrible results some years since, set in motion a fair skinned people who lived in the Ukraine. They seem to have violently intruded on their neighbours, killing the men and marrying with the women ; then local pressure, or the impulse to adventure, set them on the road again. By their skeletons and by the distinctive objects they left behind they can be traced to Bohemia, and from thence to many places. The branch which concerns us moved along South Germany, and made its way up the Rhine to the shores of the North Sea. By 1850 B.C. they had crossed to Britain, and for many years their incursions continued ; not as invaders, for their numbers were relatively small, but as the prototypes of the colonists of New England.

The characteristic vessel which this colonising people always made and left in their graves and dwelling sites, whereby we may trace them throughout their wanderings, is the beaker ; a well-made pot of good yellow or red earthenware, always decorated ,. usually in zones or bands.

Unlike Neolithic men the Beaker-folk never built long barrows, but threw up round mounds over their stone-lined graves or cists. (Fig. 11., 1). From their bones we know a good deal about their appearance. They were stalwart broud-heads, their more powerful muscles were scaffolded upon rugged frames, and their features were the reverse of suave.

The inlets and rivers from Southampton to Aberdeen let the Beaker-folk into Britain. They swarmed up the Thames, and strongly established themselves on the unwooded chalk uplands of Wilts, Yorkshire, Derby, and Aberdeen. Until recently it was believed that they had avoided this district entirely, but within the past few years the Spelaeological Society has found their pottery at Blackdown, Rowberrow Cavern, Tvning’s Farm, and Sun Hole, Cheddar, in Mendip ; at Nailsworth, and at Symond’s Yat. The same ware was discovered in the Chelm’s Combe rock shelter. Some years ago Mr. St. George Gray excavated a great round barrow at Wick, near Stogursey, and found therein three beakers and skeletons, and some elaborate flint daggers. Thus there is every reason to believe that the Somerset hills were strongly colonised, forming a link between the settlements of Wilts and those of South Wales. Only a few beakers have been found in Ireland..

There is every reason to believe that in the south and east of this country, at least, the Beaker-folk constituted themselves an aristocracy which led and ruled the less vigorous but far more.

numerous dark, long-headed natives. How they established their rule we can only conjecture, but whatever their status was there was undoubtedly a great increase in prosperity and population in their day, which lasted until 1,500 B.C.

The Beaker-folk were always out-numbered by the natives, especially in the North and West, and gradually they were absorbed. To-day folk of this type are most frequently found in Aberdeenshire, Northumbria, Derbyshire, and the Bala Cleft in North Wales, where there are also many evidences of their early occupation. Charles Darwin was a counterpart of this very fine type. In the South they contributed strains to the population, but such have been obscured by later invasions.

THE BRONZE AGE.

Researches in Egypt have made it clear that the discovery of bronze and its possibilities had been accomplished by 2,800 B.C. The knowledge was slowly carried across Europe so that by 2,000 B.C. (?) it had been introduced into Britain. Primitive bronze daggers are sometimes found in Beaker graves. It gradually came into general use, displacing more and more flint implements; but the revolution that it effected in the way of living was more tardy. The people still avoided the swampy, forested valleys, with their wild beasts and ague, and dwelt on the bare uplands. In fact, in Britain during the early Bronze Age life was confined to the hills more than at any other period. The vast labour required to hew down trees with small bronze or stone axes kept the damp wooded Midlands almost uninhabited.

Metal.

The earliest bronze axes were flat plates of the shape of polished stone axes. More of these specimens are found in Ireland and England than anywhere in Europe, testifying to the importance of the Wicklow gold-field and the density of the population here in the early metal ages. Some years ago Mr. O. G. S. Crawford prepared a map of the finds of flat axes made in this country. Most discoveries were made in open chalk or limestone districts such as Salisbury Plain and Mendip, but further, many axes were strung out along lines of great length which appear to indicate ancient trade I'outes. One such route runs from the region of Southampton, through Winchester, Newbury, Cirencester, Worcester, and Shrewsbury, to Warrington, where other routes join it. There is reason to believe that the chief port for the Irish gold-fields was in the neighbourhood of Warrington.

Flat axes have been found locally on Bannerdown, near Bath, and in the gorges of Ebbor and Cheddar. A small hoard of axes of an early type, which was discovered at Coombe Dingle by a schoolboy, is now in the Bristol Museum.

—Socketed Axe from near Chipping Sodbury and a Spear-head from Yeovil.

The wealth of the middle and late Bronze Age may be judged from the numbers of more evolved weapons and implements found about the country, among the localities being Edington, Draycott, Ax-bridge, Brean Down, Hutton, Banweli, Tickenham, Cheddar, Pri’ddy, Compton Martin, Radstock, Camerton, Solsbury Hill (Bath), the city of Bristol, Floating Harbour, Avonmouth Dock, Westbury-on-Trym, and Chipping Sodbury. In other places implements have been found and straightway consigned to the melting-pot. In some

places isolated spearheads or axes were discovered, but at Compton Martin, Priddy and the Edington turbaries, hoards of weapons, hidden and forgotten by merchants or founders, have come to light. The sole surviving axe from Compton is of Breton type and presumably was traded over from Brittany before 1,000 B.C.

—Bronze Axe. Compton-Martin.

The Round Barrow.

The Bronze Age is the period of the round barrow. These burial mounds are found everywhere in the district and are spoken of as “ toots,” “touts,” “tuts,” or “tumps.” In size they range from examples like Mill Tut Barrow, between Westbury-on-Trym and Southmead, w'bich is seven feet high and about seventy feet across (Fig. 75) to the little mounds on Kingsweston Down, which cannot be seen when the grass is long. Bodies were no longer buried in the rough stone coffers or cists of Beaker times, but were cremated. Often the ashes were gathered into large decorated urns of coarse earthenware and these were inverted and placed on the ground and the earth piled over them (Figs. 7 7., 4, and 12., 2 and 3.)

Some years ago an archaeological survey of North Somerset was begun by the Spelteological Society, and the results are published from time to time. In the small area between Priddy and Cheddar Mr. Tratman found seventy-tw'o round barrows, the majority of .vhich had not been previously recorded. Another score were discovered in the region between Filton, Red hill and Cleeve. Altogether in the district the number runs into several hundreds; there is hardly an upland skyline that is not broken by one or more

of them. If the British Bronze Age lasted from 1,800 B.C. to 700 B.C., and every mound was heaved over the remains of a notable person, the density of the upland population in those days was very great.

Barrows at Tyning’s Farm, Mendip.

An interesting group of five harrows has been excavated by Mr. R. F. Read and others at Tyning’s Farm, Charterhouse, Mendip. One contained burnt bones and little else ; another had been disturbed. There were two interments in the third. The oldest interment of burnt bones had been made in a pit along with hone stones and a flint scraper. In the secondary interment the burnt bones of a woman and young child were contained in an inverted urn which culturally had descended from the Neolithic bowls of the pre-Beaker period . Among the bones was a bronze awl of early date and part of a necklace (Fig. 12, 6). This is only another instance of the respect accorded to women in prehistoric times. Probably it was not until historic times that their sex was regarded as the inferior.

The form of the urn, which is a pure native product betraying no trace of Beaker influence, is evidence of a remarkable reestablishment or revival of native life and culture. As soon as the Beaker immigrants were absorbed their culture was lost in a resurgence of native culture and art that had been developing quietly in such remote districts as Wales and the Northern hills, which were virtually immune from foreign influences. This is another instance of the native feeling—insularity, if you will -of these parts. Three thousand five hundred years ago, whatever the political subdivisions of the land were, the people were one. Stonehenge may have been erected in the period of this resurgence.

To the archaeologist vanity is a virtue; it behoves hirn never to pass a jeweller’s shop without a gesture of profound respect.

The jet beads from this urn are tokens of a trade between Somerset and the North-East coast and, moreover, a settled country in between at the very dawn of the period. With the jet were corrugated tubular beads of turquoise paste of a type common in Egypt after 2,500 B.C. They inform us that Britain was no longer isolated.

The First Horsemen.

The south barrow is larger than the others. The cremated bones were buried in a decorated urn of fairly late date and small cairns, each covering some object such as a flint saw,

scraper, or knife, were buried in the mound. One such cairn was piled over the skull of a very old horse. We know that about 1,100 B.C. a tall, fair, long-headed folk who probably spoke Gaelic and-were the first horsemen to reach this country, spread over Europe from the Danube valley and established themselves as an aristocracy over the short, swarthy people they found living here. They carried leaf-shaped swords of types which may be seen in the Bristol Art Gallery. They were attracted by 1 rish gold. Amongst other things they began to reclaim the valleys for agriculture. The pottery was made soon after this invasion.

This barrow contained several arrowheads and some hundreds of flint implements demonstrating that right dow n to the end of the age the employment of metal did little to limit the use of stone tools. However, the tools are of types different from those made in the Stone Age

The remaining harrow at Tyning’s Farm is a very curious affair. Evidently the men who raised it hit on the happy idea of making the greatest show for their labour by piling earth on a grave mound erected by long-forgotten people. A rough platform of stones was exposed when the turf was removed, and immediately below the stones were two plain bucket-shaped urns filled with calcined human bones. They belong to the extreme end of this period or to the dawn of the succeeding Iron Age, and are dated at about 700 B.C. The core of the barrow contained fragments of Beaker ware which were perhaps a thousand years older than the latter interments; and, most interesting of all, four pygmy flints.

The pottery from another Mendip harrow suggests that during the peaceful middle Bronze Age the inhabitants of Somerset were in closer touch with the North of England than with the adjoining districts to the south

We know very little of the dwelling-places of these folk. Caves were still occasionally occupied, as pot-sherds anil other material found in Cheddar Gorge, Chelm’s Combe and at Symond’s Yat show, But the material is rather scanty and does not completely supplement the evidence from burial mounds However, we know that at the end of the period—that is after the fall of Troy anil the foundation of Rome—the descendants of the Neolithic men were prospering under the rule of more robust aristocrats. They grew corn, spun yarn and wove it into cloth, and wrought bone and metal. They had commenced the conquest of the valleys and had built some of the smaller hilltop camps.

THE IRON AGE

The Halstatt Period.

Iron was brought into this country by folk who landed on the South coast, notably at Hengistbury, near Christchurch, where one of their trading stations has been excavated. They followed in the wake of the bronze swordsmen, establishing smithies and a new agricultural system wherever they went. The classical station of the period is Hallstatt, a cemetery on the banks of the Danube, and the typical British station is All Canning’s Cross ; a village site near Avebury excavated by Mrs. Cunnington. A few weapons and other edged tools of bronze were in use at All Canning’s, but the great majority were of iron.

Flint Implements and Weapons from the Tyning’sFarm Barrows.

The villagers dwelt in rectangular huts, eighteen feet long, and round these huts there were many potsherds and other discarded rubbish. This material shows that these people were identical with the latest Bronze Age folk; their pottery cannot be distinguished from the ware of that age ; and there was evidently no destruction of native culture following the introduction of iron. Even domestic beasts such as the sheep, which is of the deer-like type now surviving on Soay Island, near St. Kilda, are the beasts of the preceding stage. Tillage was on the up-grade, and corn was ground in very rough trough-like mills or querns. The village was not on the high ground, but a considerable way down the slope of the valley, so that the lowlands were then being reclaimed. Spinning and weaving had attained a fair development. The skulls of these folk show no variation from long-barrow types, and there is every reason to suppose that the manifold details of the new culture were introduced by traders.

It is hard not to believe that there was some invasion of the land in the centuries following 700 B.C. Many iron swords of Central European types have been found here at various times, notably in the Thames. The distinctive pottery from Deverel Barrow, Dorset, now in the Bristol Museum, which belongs to this period, is certainly influenced by the Centra! European culture. But any such invasion was not on a large scale and had little influence on the racial types of the West.

Mr. Tratman has recently found traces of these, the first iron using folk, in barrows on Kingsweston Down . Others dwelt in caves at Rowberrow and Cheddar, and it may he that the first builders of Worlebury lived at this time, for their pottery has been found on the hill. At Slaughterford, near Chippenham, in a very narrow and dangerous rift, Mr. Hewer had the good fortune to uncover many human bones of long-barrow type which were associated with a few sherds of Halistatt pottery and much kitchen refuse. The series of canine jaws found there hear testimony to the importance of the dog at that day. The Slaughterford dog was large and unspecialised, doing duty as hound, terrier, or mastiff. The earliest fancy breeds date from considerably more than a thousand years later.

-Halstatt Bowl from Kingsweston Down,

The La Tene Period.

Recently excavation by Dr. Clay at Fifield Bayaniand Swallow-cliffe Down, Wilts, has revealed two villages which date from after All Cannings and show that earlier native customs reasserted themselves. In these two localities the folk dwelt in circular pits, 15ft. in diameter and 8ft deep, hewn out of the massive chalk, like the

dwellings of the Neolithic people. These dug-outs were roofed over with conical brushwood thatching so that the villages had the appearance of a great bee farm.

From 300 B.C. onwards tribes of stalwart fair-headed men, known as the Belgae, crossed from north France and Belgium, and poured into Britain. Though they did not exterminate the native folk they soon dominated the south and east, and made, perhaps greater changes in the racial constitution than all the previous invaders had done. They pressed on down the Thames valley and along the south coast. Before the Roman occupation they had occupied Wilts, but apparently came no nearer the Bristol Channel; though they dominated the whole of England and Wales politically.

—Shackles : Read's Cavern.

The Lake Villages.

One of the outstanding events in British archaeology in the past half century was the excavation of Glastonbury lake village by Dr. Bulleid and Mr. St. George Gray. From time to time so much has been written of the structure and appearance of this village that it is now familiar to most of us. A sister village at Meare, about a mile away, is being uncovered and is supplementing the story with its evidence. Lake villages existed in Switzerland as early as 3,500—4,000 B.C., but until Hallstatt invaders displaced the Swiss villages nothing of the sort was known in Britain. After a journey via Brittany, that lasted some hundreds of years, descendants of

the Swiss refugees reached Ireland and south-west England, and taught the natives — for the Glastonbury men were of the ancient long-barrow or Mediterranean stock-—their ways and the Brythonic or Welsh tongue.

The two villages were constructed of thousands of tons of stone, timber and clay, which was carried from firm ground in little dug-out canoes and dumped in the lake. The mass was kept within bounds by oak piles. On this artificial island was piled the clay and wood which formed the foundation of circular skep-shaped huts.

After vast labour undertaken with the most primitive appliances, the most impressive feature is the artistic spirit that is caught and reflected at every facet of the life of these folk. Every vessel is of simple form, yet effective and artistic ; and a large proportion are inscribed with Celtic designs. This art, which was not truly on the lines of native tradition but was derived from Armorican or Breton sources, was immediately taken by the folk to their hearts so that in Great Britain, and Ireland it lived through incessant invasion for above a thousand years.

The earliest date of the foundation of Glastonbury is 300 B.C., and, therefore, we see the art in its first development, purely geometrical and decorative, without the utilisation of beasts and figures that came later. Moreover, one feels that much of the work was as experimental as Elizabethan verse, and thence that there was no stagnation of spirit in those times. At present it suffices to say that Celtic art is the art of movement, as contrasted with the classical ideal of formal perfection, and as such is amazingly “modern.” ft is more abstract, yet in regard to technique and medium the Celt always betrays himself as the complete realist. Whereas even the commonest classical design, even when painted oi' incised, is made to simulate some original in the round and requires a number of details to further the illusion, the Celtic design is always an end in itself, is severely economical, and leaves no space for fussiness.

The men of Glastonbury were considerable craftsmen who knew of the lathe and the rotary corn-mill hut were without the potter’s wheel. Many weaving-combs, bobbins anti spindlc-whorls were found in the debris from their huts, therefore, the ancient inhabitants of Somerset were not as naked as Caesar would have us believe. It is pleasing to catalogue their vices. They knew the dice-box anti decked themselves with very beautiful glass beads, many of which were coloured with the favourite Celtic blue, and, as an offset to the razors which had been used by men for some hundreds of years, the women treasured bronze mirrors and berouged themselves.

Mendip Caves.

Caves were still occupied at Cheddar, and Mr. Batch has found much intimate and valuable material in Wookey Hole. Read’s Cavern, near Burrington, discovered in 1919 by Mr. R. F. Read', and excavated by Dr. Palmer and Mr. Tratman, was used between 100 B.C. and 1 A.D. ; probably by families from the adjoining Dole bury Camp. It yielded some fine examples of smith’s work 20t21 and 22) and an interesting list of domestic animals. Sheep was the most numerous, pig was common, and there were a fair number o_f oxen like Kerry cattle ; but the Celtic horse, which was like the Exmoor pony, was scarce. Wild animals, such as deer were now quite negligible as food.

Decorated Vase: Read’s Cavern.

Other finds of this people and period have been made at Worle-bury and Dolebury. Many years ago a hoard of superb enamelled Celtic bronzes was discovered in the Polden Hills. This collection, the finest in the country, is now in the British Museum. Some of the objects show signs of the encroaching Roman influence. Enamelled bronzes have also been found at Clevedon, while the magnificent bronze collar from Wraxall, now in the Bristol Museum, is illuminating to all whose business it is to handle curves. The famous engraved mirror from Birdlip is now in the Gloucester Museum.

Hill-top Forts.

It has long been known that the hill-top camps were completed before the Romans came. Almost every hill of tactical importance in this region is surmounted by one. The Observatory Hill Camp, Clifton, and Stokeleigh are familiar to all. They should not be regarded as fortifications in the modern military sense, but rather as safe places wherein the folk could stay in security and the cattle be driven in times of stress. It must be remembered that the lowlands had only been occupied recently, and a hold was still retained on the uplands. Possibly the hill-top camps were still regarded as permanent homes, and even may have been regularly occupied for months of the year.

It needs little imagination to see that the land was densely peopled when the camps were built. Their great walls and ditches are the result of infinite labour. When excavating the vallum at Bury Hill the writer formed the opinion that all was done without bustle and on sound engineering principles.

Through Mr. Crawford’s aerial photographs we are now learning something of Celtic Agriculture. Field systems, like patchwork squares, have been revealed, and they certainly have a strong affinity with the systems employed in Ireland and Brittany up to last century.

THE ROMAN OCCUPATION.

After the invasions of Julius Csesar, intercourse with the Continent waxed greater considerably influencing every-day life on the South coast, and what is now East Anglia. Of this influence there is no local instance, unless it is to be found in the brooches from the Polden Hills which are hinged in the Roman manner. Otherwise industry and culture remained unchanged.

Implements of Bone and Antler from Read’s Cavern.

St Al l. OF ATIMETRES

The Belgic immigration continued, affecting the South as far as the Cotswolds and Poole Habour. It is this influx which brought about the remarkable change in the physique and head form of our people which is so evident in Roman times. Hitherto, the great mass of the folk had been short with slight frames, very long heads, and delicate features; in Romano British villages the skulls are larger, lower and broader ; much nearer in form to English heads of the present day ; while the bones are from stronger frames. The fair headed Belgae were abler administrators than the natives, and before long they had extended their influence across the Midlands into Wales. Recent work seems to show that other intruders, of German or Scandinavian type, early forerunners of the Anglo-Saxon invaders, had settled at some points along the Hast Coast.

Conquest and Occupation.

The Claudian invasion took place in A.D. 43 ; by A.D. 50 the Severn Shore was occupied and the conquest of South Wales had begun. Probably the line of small Roman camps or signal stations overlooking the coast from Brent Knoll to Gloucester were constructed while the campaign was in progress. The power of the invaders was soon established in this district, as pottery of the First Century found at Sea Mills, Wmterbourne, and at a few points on the Mendips betokens.

With the exception of the extreme West, there is hardly an acre of Britain which will not yield some fragment of Romano British pottery to the searcher ; and this district is not unexceptional. It is well-known that at Sea Mills there stood an important station which was the point of embarkation for those who wished to cross to the legionary fortress of Caerlocn. 1 he site which is on rising ground a few yards south of the Trym is steadily being covered up by road making or building operations. 1 lie absence of tesselated pavements and the scarcity of luxury articles tends to show that it was purely a commercial or military station.

Pottery, coins and other material were Iound in great abundance more than a century ago, when the foundations of Gloucester Row and Sion Hill, Clifton, were excavated. This appears to indicate the site of a village, but, of course, no systematic investigation on the site was tarried out at the time. Mr. Selley states that some years since, when the foundations of the Bristol Hippodrome were put in, a pebble track, running in the direction of the Floating Harbour, was uncovered. At the same time lie procured some potsherds and an undoubted Roman fibula, which are now in the Cambridge University Museum. For many years past Roman potsherds, coins, and tiles have been turning up from time to time on the site of the new housing estate on Bedminster Down, and though no excavations were made, there is no shadow of doubt that a Roman building stood here.

It may have stood on the line of a road from Dundry Hill, on past the Tramway Centre and Cotham, to the arm of the Julian Way that led to Sea Mills; but at present this is mere conjecture. But whether or no there was a road, a rectangular Roman building stood on Dundry Down, on the very crown of the hill, as potsherds and bronzes from adjoining molehills testify to this day.

Roman Villas.

Of true Roman villas, as distinguished from the rude native erections, the nearest example to home is the villa at Brislington. This was excavated 20 years ago, and the objects therefrom are now in the Bristol Museum. The discovery of others in Keynsham Cemetery and in the Somerdale works is fresh in everyone’s mind. Like those at Newton St. Loe and Lansdown, they are probably connected with the Spa at Bath.

There is another group of villas in North Somerset, with examples at Shipham, Banwell, Congresbury, Wrington (2), Yatton and Cambridge Batch, Flax Bourton. A third very numerous group stands around Somerton, in the South of the county, but from thence to the west no more examples are known. It seems that the extreme West was never thoroughly settled. Perhaps it was always open to attacks by seafaring raiders who used Ireland as an advanced base. On the Cotswolds, along the line of the Fosse Way, which runs from Exeter to Lincoln, there were dozens of villas; in fact, more than in any other district in Britain. The Roman regarded these genial slopes much as the modern Englishman regards the country round Torquay or Bournemouth.

Mendip Lead Mining.

No account of the district is complete without mention of the lead mines round Charterhouse on Mendip. These were worked for the Emperor by native labour. A typical pig of lead, stamped with an Imperial die, is now in the Bristol Museum; and others have been discovered elsewhere in the country. The metal was not only carted overland to Winchester, but was taken along Mendip and transhipped, either at Uphill or at Worlebury. These mines were deemed worthy of special roads and a system of defence. They confer on the district its main archaeological interest, for otherwise it was not of first-rate industrial or military importance, but rather a pleasant place to live in for the discriminating Italian or prosperous Briton.

A number of great hoards of Third Century coins were discovered about the commencement of last century in high ground round Failand, and a further hoard was found at Portbury three years ago. They are evidence of an unrecorded invasion from the West which, for a time, terrified the inhabitants and swept the Roman power from the very walls of the great fortress'at Caerleon. According to some authorities, the decline of the Roman power is perpetuated in the Wansdyke, which runs from Portbury, past Lower Failand, thence to Maes Knoll and past Bath into Wilts. When it became imperative to abandon all projecting corners of the Empire, thereby shortening the line of defence, it was this line which, standing as a bulwark, kept the pirates from Ireland from the rich lands and towns of the South.

Effect of the Roman Occupation.

The Romans had little or no effect on our racial constitution and, moreover, bequeathed to us very few institutions. Even their roads soon fell into disuse and were forgotten. It is among the villages and settlements of those folk who came least under Roman influences that the student of our people gleans the most useful information. The Imperial civilisation with its neat town-made ware, all made to pattern, swept over the rustic life like a tide, almost drowning the magnificent Celtic art. Yet at the end of the First or the beginning of the Second Century, the art had begun to show signs of revival. The struggle between the intruding and native spirits was long, and probably unconscious. Yet in the end, the native spirit had recovered some of its old sway. The potters acquired new and improved techniques of fashioning and firing and wedded to them their native art ; producing vessels which in beauty of form, and beauty and vigour of decoration, are superior to the by no means contemptible classical vessels brought in from the Continent. Shreds of such vessels manufactured at Castor, near Peterborough, and in the New Forest, are constantly turned up in this district.

Moreover, the metal workers, especially in the North and West, returned to their native arts and fashioned jewellery and other articles which are entirely Celtic in design and tradition. In the Bristol Museum a number of these examples are displayed from Kingsholm, Gloucester ; Camerton, and Charterhouse. The enamelled brooches betray an intense love of bright colours, and the dragon motif has a quite unclassical vigour.

Again, a few sculptures found in Bath, Cirencester, and elsewhere, are Celtic in their fierce intensity or subtle suggestion of local traits. Nothing could be further from the classical instinct.

Whatever chance there was of the survival of the Latin tongue and of Roman institutions in these Islands, were destroyed by the Anglo-Saxon invasion. Had the invasion come from the West a Romance tongue might still be employed in East Anglia. But the Welsh language survived in the West and Celtic art proceeded touaids its highest expression in Ireland.

When the Angles and Saxons invaded England they did not exterminate but subjugated the Celtic folk they found here.

In course of years the two peoples interbred and it is to the surviving native element that we should attribute the strono

owards the sea is now the pleasant little village ofUphill. It is situated close to the mouth of the river Axe,where the Romans had a portand shipped the lead that was mined upon the hills. Now one day a party of Danish pirates from the Holms swooped down upon that shore ; and the people of the country, seeing their boats approach, took to flight. But the Danes burnt and robbed all their dwellings, and then followed them inland, killing everybody they could find. Only one old woman remained near where the village had stood, and she was too lame to run away. However, she managed to hobble into some place of concealment and remained a day or two without being found. At last, finding herself likely to be starved, she came out of her hiding-place, meaning to throw herself upon the mercy of the Danes. But on the beach nobody was to be seen. The boats of the sea-robbers were still there, but every man had gone after the Saxons, eager to slay and plunder. So that cunning old woman found a hatchet, cut all the cables and set the boats adrift, and very soon every vessel was carried far away upon the tide. Then the Saxons called their neighbours to their aid, and the Danes could not save

themselves because they were not able to getback to the Holms. Now during the time King Alfred was at Athelney a sea-king called Hubba came into the Severn Sea with a great strength of ships. It is very likely that he held the mouth of the Axe as a harbour; for in an ancient writing the village of Uphill is calledOpopilla,and as Pill is a word meaning a creek, Uphill may easily once have meant Hubba’s creek or harbour. Moreover, at Bleadon, a short distance up the Axe, is a spot now called Hobba’s boat. It Inis been thought this was once Hubba’s boat. So it seems likely that Hubba held the river mouth as a haven from which to sail out upon his raids. But now Hubba was in league with Guthrum, and bent

WINSCOMBE 'Westward of Axbridge the Mendips begin to peter out in gradually narrowing islands—Winscombe Hill with the well-known landmark of Crook’s Peak at its western end, then the long Bleadon Hill with the Roman road along it, Uphill, and finally the mile-long promontory of Brean Down. Mendip is fortified to the very last: there is a camp on the seaward verge.Winscombe is one of many isolated manors belonging to the Abbey of Glastonbury, accessible by the road along the length of the Wedmore ridge. It is a very pleasant place, with its church set on rising ground and commanding a fine view. The tower, of the triple-windowed type, is certainly one of the best in this neighbourhood. The rood-loft stair is accommodated in an external turret. Further, the carved bench-ends are to be noted. Shipham, reached by field path, is a hill village lying eastward, and is an excellent centre for a pedestrian anxious to explore Mendip. Ascend the 630 feet of Crook’s Peak, from which there is nothing N., S., and W. to bar the view for many miles.BLEADON HILL —The villages of Bleadon are Loxton and Christon on the E. side, Hutton N.W., and Bleadon S.W. They are all on Rhxtic beds of Keuper marl, like Winscombe and Shipham, not on carboniferous limestone like the generality of the Mendip country. Loxton’s amenity is that it looks up at Crook’s Peak, The church, slightly away from the road E., has a short tower on the S. side, a curious squint in the porch, a fine pulpit (Pcrp.) of carved stone,' and a good screen. Christon’s small church, with central tower, though aisleless and trail septless, deserves a visit for its Norman work. Under the tower note two Norman lurches with double chevrons and other mouldings, and the lozenge moulding of the S. door arch. Bleadon is below the penultimate hill camp, now not easy to trace. Its church, not so interesting as that of Loxton, has a fine triple-windowed tower. The chancel has a low side-window, and there are two fourteenth-century effigies of males. Picturesque Hutton has an old fifteenth-centurj manor-house, Hutton Court, but it has been much altered. The church has a good tower, fine stone pulpit, and two brasses of the Payne family. [A return may be made to WestonsuperMare.]BRENT KNOLL {Knoll, rounded hill top near the village of Brent).—About six miles S.S.E. of Uphill by the road A. 3 70, Brent Knoll is best reached through the village of East Brent. It is a matter of getting to the top. The regular path for pedestrians is from the church to the flagstaff at the N.E. angle of the Camp on the summit. A car can get closer, but you scramble up for the last part your own way. When through E. Brent village, turn left {i.e. S.W.), by a road which has no signpost, over the hill. This brings one near the Camp on its W. side, and ultimately down into Brent Knoll village. The Camp is pear-shaped, with an area of about 4 acres; its higher and long curved side being to the S. where the hill is steepest. The entrance is in the middle of the E. side, and a terraced way leads up to it from a pond below. At the entrance both ends of the vallum are considerably splayed, and the S. end projects outside the N., and is more blunt, with space for a guardhouse. About 40 feet below the vallum, outside, there is a scarped terrace all round. At the highest point is a stone which commemorates Jubilee bonfires of 1887 and 1897, and coronation bonfires of 1902 and 1911. In the interior is a peculiar curved ridge

AXBRIDGE.—And so, in two miles, to Axbridge, the last of these places under the Mendip massif proper. There is a distinct air of antiquity about Axbridge under its bare shoulder, Shute-Shelve Hill, but its antiquity is hardly attractive. It was a borough under Edward the Confessor, and held its own for centuries till its Corporation was dissolved in 1886. On the W. side of the market place and on the S. side of the Winscombe road opposite the Lamb Hotel is a group of old houses with good wooden window frames. The interesting church St John Baptist stands high and is approached by a long flight of steps. The choir is accommodated under the triple-windowed tower, so that the sanctuary is proportionately long. Features to be remarked are: the elaborate plaster roof 1636 of the nave, with pendants, the Prowse monument in the S. chancel aisle, a good carved font, an old building called the Treasury S. of the West door, and a hole in the N. wall connected with a cell outside, over which there is now an iron grating.

towards the sea is now the pleasant little village ofUphill. It is situated close to the mouth of the river Axe,where the Romans had a portand shipped the lead that was mined upon the hills. Now one day a party of Danish pirates from the Holms swooped down upon that shore ; and the people of the country, seeing their boats approach, took to flight. But the Danes burnt and robbed all their dwellings, and then followed them inland, killing everybody they could find. Only one old woman remained near where the village had stood, and she was too lame to run away. However, she managed to hobble into some place of concealment and remained a day or two without being found. At last, finding herself likely to be starved, she came out of her hiding-place, meaning to throw herself upon the mercy of the Danes. But on the beach nobody was to be seen. The boats of the sea-robbers were still there, but every man had gone after the Saxons, eager to slay and plunder. So that cunning old woman found a hatchet, cut all the cables and set the boats adrift, and very soon every vessel was carried far away upon the tide. Then the Saxons called their neighbours to their aid, and the Danes could not save themselves because they were not able to getback to the Holms. Now during the time King Alfred was at Athelney a sea-king called Hubba came into the Severn Sea with a great strength of ships. It is very likely that he held the mouth of the Axe as a harbour; for in an ancient writing the village of Uphill is calledOpopilla,and as Pill is a word meaning a creek, Uphill may easily once have meant Hubba’s creek or harbour. Moreover, at Bleadon, a short distance up the Axe, is a spot now called Hobba’s boat. It Inis been thought this was once Hubba’s boat. So it seems likely that Hubba held the river mouth as a haven from which to sail out upon his raids. But now Hubba was in league with Guthrum, and bent

WINSCOMBE 'Westward of Axbridge the Mendips begin to peter out in gradually narrowing islands—Winscombe Hill with the well-known landmark of Crook’s Peak at its western end, then the long Bleadon Hill with the Roman road along it, Uphill, and finally the mile-long promontory of Brean Down. Mendip is fortified to the very last: there is a camp on the seaward verge.Winscombe is one of many isolated manors belonging to the Abbey of Glastonbury, accessible by the road along the length of the Wedmore ridge. It is a very pleasant place, with its church set on rising ground and commanding a fine view. The tower, of the triple-windowed type, is certainly one of the best in this neighbourhood. The rood-loft stair is accommodated in an external turret. Further, the carved bench-ends are to be noted. Shipham, reached by field path, is a hill village lying eastward, and is an excellent centre for a pedestrian anxious to explore Mendip. Ascend the 630 feet of Crook’s Peak, from which there is nothing N., S., and W. to bar the view for many miles.BLEADON HILL —The villages of Bleadon are Loxton and Christon on the E. side, Hutton N.W., and Bleadon S.W. They are all on Rhxtic beds of Keuper marl, like Winscombe and Shipham, not on carboniferous limestone like the generality of the Mendip country. Loxton’s amenity is that it looks up at Crook’s Peak, The church, slightly away from the road E., has a short tower on the S. side, a curious squint in the porch, a fine pulpit (Pcrp.) of carved stone,' and a good screen. Christon’s small church, with central tower, though aisleless and trail septless, deserves a visit for its Norman work. Under the tower note two Norman lurches with double chevrons and other mouldings, and the lozenge moulding of the S. door arch. Bleadon is below the penultimate hill camp, now not easy to trace. Its church, not so interesting as that of Loxton, has a fine triple-windowed tower. The chancel has a low side-window, and there are two fourteenth-century effigies of males. Picturesque Hutton has an old fifteenth-centurj manor-house, Hutton Court, but it has been much altered. The church has a good tower, fine stone pulpit, and two brasses of the Payne family. [A return may be made to WestonsuperMare.]BRENT KNOLL {Knoll, rounded hill top near the village of Brent).—About six miles S.S.E. of Uphill by the road A. 3 70, Brent Knoll is best reached through the village of East Brent. It is a matter of getting to the top. The regular path for pedestrians is from the church to the flagstaff at the N.E. angle of the Camp on the summit. A car can get closer, but you scramble up for the last part your own way. When through E. Brent village, turn left {i.e. S.W.), by a road which has no signpost, over the hill. This brings one near the Camp on its W. side, and ultimately down into Brent Knoll village. The Camp is pear-shaped, with an area of about 4 acres; its higher and long curved side being to the S. where the hill is steepest. The entrance is in the middle of the E. side, and a terraced way leads up to it from a pond below. At the entrance both ends of the vallum are considerably splayed, and the S. end projects outside the N., and is more blunt, with space for a guardhouse. About 40 feet below the vallum, outside, there is a scarped terrace all round. At the highest point is a stone which commemorates Jubilee bonfires of 1887 and 1897, and coronation bonfires of 1902 and 1911. In the interior is a peculiar curved ridge

AXBRIDGE.—And so, in two miles, to Axbridge, the last of these places under the Mendip massif proper. There is a distinct air of antiquity about Axbridge under its bare shoulder, Shute-Shelve Hill, but its antiquity is hardly attractive. It was a borough under Edward the Confessor, and held its own for centuries till its Corporation was dissolved in 1886. On the W. side of the market place and on the S. side of the Winscombe road opposite the Lamb Hotel is a group of old houses with good wooden window frames. The interesting church St John Baptist stands high and is approached by a long flight of steps. The choir is accommodated under the triple-windowed tower, so that the sanctuary is proportionately long. Features to be remarked are: the elaborate plaster roof 1636 of the nave, with pendants, the Prowse monument in the S. chancel aisle, a good carved font, an old building called the Treasury S. of the West door, and a hole in the N. wall connected with a cell outside, over which there is now an iron grating.

towards the sea is now the pleasant little village ofUphill. It is situated close to the mouth of the river Axe,where the Romans had a portand shipped the lead that was mined upon the hills. Now one day a party of Danish pirates from the Holms swooped down upon that shore ; and the people of the country, seeing their boats approach, took to flight. But the Danes burnt and robbed all their dwellings, and then followed them inland, killing everybody they could find. Only one old woman remained near where the village had stood, and she was too lame to run away. However, she managed to hobble into some place of concealment and remained a day or two without being found. At last, finding herself likely to be starved, she came out of her hiding-place, meaning to throw herself upon the mercy of the Danes. But on the beach nobody was to be seen. The boats of the sea-robbers were still there, but every man had gone after the Saxons, eager to slay and plunder. So that cunning old woman found a hatchet, cut all the cables and set the boats adrift, and very soon every vessel was carried far away upon the tide. Then the Saxons called their neighbours to their aid, and the Danes could not save themselves because they were not able to getback to the Holms. Now during the time King Alfred was at Athelney a sea-king called Hubba came into the Severn Sea with a great strength of ships. It is very likely that he held the mouth of the Axe as a harbour; for in an ancient writing the village of Uphill is calledOpopilla,and as Pill is a word meaning a creek, Uphill may easily once have meant Hubba’s creek or harbour. Moreover, at Bleadon, a short distance up the Axe, is a spot now called Hobba’s boat. It Inis been thought this was once Hubba’s boat. So it seems likely that Hubba held the river mouth as a haven from which to sail out upon his raids. But now Hubba was in league with Guthrum, and bent

Amid these Joseph in marble

Of Arimathea by name

Hath found perpetual sleep

And he lies on a two-forked line

Next the south corner of an oratory

Fashioned of wattles

For the adoring of a mighty Virgin

In his sarcophagus

Two cruets, white and silver

Filled with blood and sweat

Of the Prophet Jesus

When his sarcophagus

Shall be found entire, intact

In time to come, it shall be seen

And shall be open unto all the world

Thenceforth nor water nor the dew of heaven

Shall fail the dwellers in that ancient isle

For a long while before

The day of judgment in Josaphat

Open shall these things be

And declared to living men.

COUNTY OF SOMERSET
a hole be bored into such a place as this, an artesian well is made.

This is not the village well with chain and bucket, but an artificial spring from which the water flows up with great force.

When the water of itself can find a

Neolithic, Beaker and “ Food Vessel : sherds from Rowberrow Cavern
With the pottery was a service of Hint implements wrought by shallow scaling, including part of a polished tool and barbed stone arrowheads. But undoubtedly the important feature of the industry here found was the presence of , pygmy flints ;

though not quite the same as the earlier pygmies from King Arthur’s Cave they are probably derived from the Arthursian industry.

They suggest that the indwellers in Rowberrow Cavern were the descendants of men who dwelt in Britain in y. lardenoisian times.

They in turn perhaps were derived from the
cave men of Old Stone Age.
Cheddar, has also produced an association of round
bottomed Neolithic pottery, sherds of Beaker-ware, finely scaled flint implements and small fragments of a polished axe.

Soldier’s Hole in Cheddar Gorge has so far given us a set of stone implements including a polished axe and a chipped stone spear-head.
The most significant Neolithic site m this district was found by the Somerset Archaeological Society under an overhanging rock in. Chelm’s Combe, Cheddar, where round bottomed bowls and the bones of the men who used them had survived.

One of the bowls is of a Spanish type. The Neolithic men who dwelt in these seven caves had domestic beasts, but they hunted freely to augment their food stocks.
Neolithic Man.
The description of the Palaeolithic man of Aveline’s Hole and Gough’s Cave could be used for the men from the Gloucestershire and Somersetshire long barrows and from Chelm’s Combe without much amending.

Perhaps the main difference is that the long-barrow men had narrower faces than the cave men.

Judging by the skeletons we have there is no reason to suppose that the long-barrow men were other than the descendants of the cave men. But this is a theory that needs testing by research in transitional stations.
A skull was taken from Bisley long-barrow upon which the dangerous and delicate surgical operation of trepanning had been successfully performed. >
It has been asserted that the Megalithic culture was carried across Europe by traders from the Near East who were in quest of gold, amber and pearls.

They were dark broad-heads, and are known as Prospectors.

Professor Fleure has discovered in Pembroke and South Cardigan, where Megaliths are numerous, numbers of men who may be their descendants. Never the less, no oriental Neolithic objects have appeared in the West of England and, moreover, the skeletons from the long-barrows all appear to belong to the distinctive native type.
At this period it is probable that work began on the gold bearing gravel of Wicklow.

For centuries this was the most important gold-field in Europe and this may account for the enormous number of flint axes and early bronze implements found in Ireland. But there are few signs of the gold trade in these parts.
Trade there was: no one can walk across a ploughed field on Mendip without discovering a flint implement or flake.

No flint is found naturally in the district, therefore, the presence of such enormous quantities on the land is testimony of settled conditions and an interchange of commodities in the New Stone and Bronze Ages.
Die Megalithie stage certainly lasted into the early Bronze Age; the occurrence of Beaker-ware with Neolithic pottery is good evidence of that. Stonehenge itself was raised after the close of the New Stone Age.

It is now well-known that the inner circle of blue stones was brought thence from Pembrokeshire.

Perhaps they were ferried across the Severn estuary to Uphill or Worlehury and toiled along Mendip to the Wiltshire Downs by devout herdsmen.

Merlins' Cave , Symond's Vat.

There must be an intense heat to cause these outbursts; and when water rises from a depth so great that the rock around it is hot, we find a hot spring such as there is at Bath.
Very ancient peoples made baths, and some of the oldest books mention warm bathing ;

but the Romans before they came to Britain built handsome public baths in their great cities, and used them not only for cleanliness but for luxury.

Therefore, although the site upon which the city of Bath now stands may have been a solitary forest when they came, the hot springs soon led them to think of making a settlement there. They built a fine city such as they possessed in their own country, with a temple and a forum (which was an open space where the markets and courts of justice were held) and many villas. The baths you may see to-day, with the ancient masonry containing the water, and tall pillars carrying a portico around it.
But the Romans, as you know, were called away and the city remained in the hands of the Britons, who had learned the Roman ways and customs. In the period of war and waste that followed most likely it was much injured ; but when the Saxons at last came into the north of this county they took it, and the name afterwards appears in their chronicles. At first they called it Akermanscaster, but afterwards Haet Bathun, because of its hot springs. Where the Roman temple had stood they founded a monastery, in which Dunstan afterwards placed his favourite Benedictine monks, and made it of such great importance with a mitre on his head and a book of the Gospels in his hand. And he raised his hand and gave his blessing . And in the dream they asked, “ Who art thou ? ” And unto each the stranger had given the same reply. “ I am called Cuthbert, the soldier of Christ; and to me, this morning out of thy scanty store thou didst give both bread and wine . Now am I come to bid thee be of good courage , for the day of victory is at hand . For the king shall blow his horn, and all the folk shall gather together, and drive the heathen out of the land. And this shall be a sign. When the fishers presently return, their boat shall be laden with fish, as none of them have ever before known.

” Then the king and queen were very glad, for they felt sure that the troubles of their kingdom were drawing to an end. And towards evening the fishermen came home, shouting that they had caught more fish on that one day than during all the time of their stay upon the island . So there was plenty again, and they all made merry.

And when King Alfred told them of his vision they were all eager to go out against the Danes. Now the miraculous part of this legend was most likely added by the monks to a true story.

The giving of the bread and wine which did not waste reminds us of Elijah the Tisbite and the widow’s handful of meal and cruse of oil. The unexpected catch of fish is very like the marvellous draft of fishes on Galilee . Yet it is likely that King Alfred may have dreamt that St.Cuthbert came to him , and believed that he received divine help to drive the pagans out of his land. At any rate he afterwards built an abbey 011 Athelney out of gratitude to God for his deliverance. No trace of it remains until the present day, although some relics have been found before now upon the spot. A little stone monument now stands near the place where King Alfred remained hidden , is supposed to have derived its name from Ced , signifying a brow or conspicuous height , and Dwr W ater; it is situate at the foot of the Mendip Hills, on the southern side, about two miles from the borough-town of

Axbridge, eight from the city of Wells, eighteen miles from the city of Bristol, and near twenty miles from the town of Bridgwater, in the eastern division of the county of Somerset.

Its circuit is about twelve miles, and comprises 6633a. 3r. 12p. of land, of various soils ,but chiefly limestone ! distributed into meadow , pasture, and arable, interspersed with many orchards, whose appearance in the blooming season, when seen from the heights, adds much to the beauty of the prospect; the soil is particularly adapted to the growth of peas and potatoes , the early sorts of which are sent in large quantities to the Bristol market, where, 

The slightly raised ridgeway from South Cadbury north-west towards Glastonbury is known as King Arthur’s hunting causeway and the great earthwork of Cadbury Camp carries legends of silver horseshoes and knights who ride at midnight.

In fact excavation has uncovered Dark-Age pottery and wine-amphorae within the ramparts, while weapons and other remains point to warfare there.
After Arthur’s death in 539 the Saxons over-ran Somerset

and built a palace for their King, Ine, at South Petherton, while for a time Somerton became the country’s capital.

With the coming of Alfred and his long, heroic struggle against the Danes, the history of Somerset becomes the history of England, and the names of humble Somerset villages leap into the pages of our school In story books.

There is Athelney and the cakes , then to Penselwood to raise the men of Wessex beyond the Danish lines, so to the decisive battle of Ethandune , the Treaty of Wedmore, and the bap-tising of the Danish leader, Guthrum, at Aller. Today, these Somerset places, once so important, exist quietly among the withies and peat and the green ash . In 1693, at North Newton, a few miles from Athelney, the Alfred Jewel,

enamelled and engraved with the great king’s name, was found and is now in the Ashmolean Museum.
In 1214 Roger Bacon, the brilliant scientific monk, was born at Ilchester;

He has been called “the greatest man that Somerset has produced”.

He died at Oxford in 1294.

After this the history of England was the history of Somerset.

The great abbeys suffered under Henry VIII the Merchant Venturers sailed from Bristol, and then civil war llaioil up and down the county.

There was a battle at Babylon Hill on lb. A30 just outside Yeovil and great houses were invested and held out oi surrendered. But after the Restoration, Somerset came to the forefront flared with the Monmouth Rebellion.

In 1685 was fought the last battle on English soil,

when the Duke of Monmouth was defeated and Somerset became “occupied” territory as his Protestant adherents were rounded up by a Papist King and his minions,

notably Colonel Kirke and his "Lambs” and Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys and his “Bloody Assize”.
After this, Somerset took the lead in happier events, Beau Nash, Ralph Allen and the Prince Regent put Bath in the forefront of fashion and

Remains of a fortified site of Saxon date, known as Daw's Castle.

The fortification survives as a curvilinear earthen bank, which encloses an area of approximately 2 hectares.

The northern side of the site has been lost to coastal erosion and landslips.

The surviving section of bank measures roughly 180 metres in length and has been shown by excavation to have been constructed in two phases.

The first phase is thought to date from the reign of King Alfred, between 871 and 899.

A mortared stone wall at its base fronted a bank.

The second phase involved the construction of a more substantial wall, with a wider bank behind and a berm and ditch in front.

This phase is believed to date from the 10th century.

This is probably the site of the burh of Weced (Watchet), first mentioned in the Burghal Hideage .

Watchet was a mint .

Inhumations possibly dating to the 5th century have been found near by.

The site was discovered during the construction of three lime kilns in the mid to late 19th century (see ST 04 SE 112).

The site is scheduled and in guardianship, the limekilns are also listed.

The bank defining the southern part of the enclosure is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs.

It measure 255m long and curves sharply at its north west end by the cliff.

Daw's Castle, St. Decuman's: remains of an enclosure which may once have been very extensive

, but much has been lost through landslips.

The principal remaining feature is a scarp about 200 yards long running in a curved line from E. to W., with its

convexity pointing S. At both E. and W. ends, there is a bank

running along the crest of the scarp for a short distance. Two

further portions of bank are visible just above the cliff.

Listed under unclassified earthworks

The enclosure apparently extended for 300 yards east, as there is a small piece of bank remaining by the road at this distance

further towards Watchet.

The name "Daw's Castle" seems a recent corruption of "Dart's Castle" which appears on the O.S. 1" Edn. It is a cliff top

enclosure in a commanding situation half a mile from Watchet. The northern half has been eroded by cliff falls and the

southern half consists principally of a rather weak scarp with

some evidence of a stone bank or wall along the top. There are unsurveyable traces of a berm at the foot of the scarp but no

indications of a ditch. In the east the work has been

obliterated by limestone digging and the construction of a

former golf course and the small piece of bank mentioned by Burrows has disappeared with land-slip.

The enclosure does not appear to be of I.A. origin, and Wedlake (4) suggested that it might be the remains of a Burghal Hidage fort.

Ralegh-Radford (5) examined the site and expressed the opinion that it was almost certainly Saxon,

confirming

Wedlake's suggestion.

Brooks in his article on unidentified

forts (6) of the Burghal Hidage does not go into the problem of

Watchet but quotes the Chronicle of 914 which suggests that temporary defences were constructed along the southern side of the Severn estuary.

In correspondence (7) he has reservations about the inclusion of Daw's Castle as a burh, partly from its

position away from the present town and partly from the lack of

documentation of a move from Daw's Castle to the present site of Watchet.

Brooks notes however that Halwell, Devon, is a presumptive emergency fort detached from the present settlement.

Only excavation can resolve the problem but it seems quite

possible that Daw's Castle was of a temporary nature, like

Halwell, and part of Edward the Elder's Severn estuary

defences. See ST 04 SE 28 for Saxon Mint.

Surveyed at 1/2500. (4-8)

Numbers of E-W oriented but findless graves were found in or near Daw's Castle in the 19th century, and are thought to be

5th century and possibly of Irish origin.

The remains were first found when excavating for the lime-kilns at Daw's Castle (presumably those published on OS 1:10 000 at ST 06284331), and more bones were discovered later. These (? both lots) were re-interred 'higher up the field' by the Charcoal-burner. (9-11)

"Daw's Castle near Watchet has various features which suggest it would repay further studies in this context (Post-Roman Irish settlement in Somerset). Sited on the cliff, the defences

at present consist of a scarp about 2m high, forming a half

circle, with the ends of the rampart ending at the cliff top,

and enclosing about two hectares.

This device is not common on pre-Roman sites generally, and is very rare in Somerset.

In

addition, there are accounts of a number of east-west find less graves being discovered there in the nineteenth century (Page 1890 241-2) which might point to a use in the period under

discussion". (12-13)

Lime kilns are situated to the east of Daws Castle (see ST 04 SE 112) (14)

Excavation in 1982 revealed two phases of defence, both with mortared stone walls and banks. The first phase, much slighter in nature, is possibly the Alfredian Burh of Watchet recorded in the Burghal Hidage. The second phase, a large stone wall with a bank and ditch, may have been commisioned by Edward the Elder or Aethelred II. A radiocarbon date of 730 +- 140 (HAR 5279) was obtained from a layer sealed by the defences. There is no evidence apart from residual sherds to suggest a Roman date for the site, while the pottery and and constructional details of the defences preclude an Iron Age date. When the details of the later defences are considered, this form of defence work is directly comparable to other Saxon burhs.

Phase I. The earlier wall was 0.85m wide at its base, 0.6m high with a bank behind it ca 7.0m wide (similar to Lydford burh).

Phase II. The later wall was 1.42m wide, probably at least 3.5m high with a bank 7.9m wide behind it. In front of the wall was a small ditch 1.52m wide separated from the wall face by a berm 10.7m wide.

It is suggested that since the Watchet mint did not strike any coins between 1056-80 a break unique among Wessex mints, and also since no reference to a fort at Watchet is recorded in Domesday, the site had been abandoned after the Conquest and the mint re-established within the present town. (See also ST 04 SE 28 for details of the burh).

(15)

The bank defining the southern part of the enclosure is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs. It measures 255m long and curves sharply at its north west end by the cliff. It is centred at ST 0617 4314.

(16)

ST 06194320. Remains of fortified site of Saxon date, known as Daw's Castle. Scheduling amended. 

The remains of Daw's Castle were archaeologically surveyed and investigated by English Heritage in 2004. The report on this work complete with a large-scale survey are lodged in the NMRC. This guardianship site, now mostly under close -cropped permanent pasture - with a fringe of dense vegetation around the southern and western sides- lies on high ground which on its northern side is delinated by a high crumbling and slumping cliff edge. Traces of footings that indicated the extent of walling on the southern and western sides, as well as some ploughed-down earthworks survive. The north-east corner of the site is overlaid by the earthworks of a tramway and its associated buildings. This tramway was used haul materials up and down the precipitous cliff-face to supply the adjacent limekilns. Daw's Castle was extensively damaged during agricultural improvements in 1982 and the threat of further damage prompted the purchase of this important monument by English Heritage (18).

Banwell, or elsewhere in the neighbourhood. On this subject a most interesting statement appears in Fairholm’s geology.
The Church dedicated to St. Andrew (whose statue is visible on the east side of the tower and in good preservation) is a fine old building, probably erected between the years 1350 and 1450. The
chapel, or chantry,* at the north-east corner of the chancel, and
now used as a vestry-room, indicates by its external architecture a more ancient origin than other parts of the fabric, and may have been part of a more ancient church. The tower is nearly 100 feet in height, with double buttresses terminating in ornamental pinacles, with a parapet of open work. The exterior of the nave and aisles is also highly adorned with smaller buttresses of a similar character, connected by pierced parapets. The belfry has a finely-moulded ceiling, with ornamented intersections terminating in a circular
opening. There is a peal of five well-toned bells.
The interior of the church is lofty and spacious, the nave being opened to the aisles by pointed arches on octagonal columns, and
* Is a part of a church, generally in or near the chancel, endowed in ancient
times by some person of consequence in the parish, with a salary to a priest to
say daily masses for the souls of the founder or his family, and as appears was
accessible by a low door, distinct from the principal entrance at the porches.
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lighted above by six well-formed clerestory windows on each
side, with an oak ceiling divided into deep compartments, some of which near the chancel have gilded ornaments. The arches extend half the length of the chancel, but the projecting ends are divided hy a handsome oak screen, which was restored a few years since by the Rev. C. J. Cobley, son of the late vicar, and now vicar
of Winscombe, who further contributed to the embellishment of the church, by collecting from the floors of the public pews various fragments of the beautiful panelling of the ancient rood-loft,* and forming them into an appropriate reading-desk and clerk's pew. The pulpit is of richly-sculptured stone, and is one of the finest in the county ;f it was originally on the north side of the nave adjoin
ing the ancient rood-loft, and was entered by a stone stair-case on the east side of the intersection of the arches of the north-easternmost chapel or chantry; this entrance to the old pulpit was dis
covered a few years ago, but is now plastered up. Besides the chapel
or chantry before mentioned as being now used as a vestry-room,
is another at the north-east angle of the church, which was entered by a low doorway, now blocked up; this chapel contains a piscina.J
* A loft in the church, from whence, in the times of Popery, the figure of
the cross was exhibited to the congregation. There is reason to believe that
after the Reformation this loft was, for a time, used as an organ loft, as in the
churchwardens’ account of this parish, between 1612 and 1674, there, are
frequent charges for repairing the organ, blowing the organ, &c., and also the
costs of a suit against the churchwardens in the Ecclesiastical Court for the
non-usage of the organ.
f This eastern part of Somerset is remarkable for the extraordinary architec
tural beauty of the towers of the churches, and for their numerous richly-
ornamented stone pulpits, from whence may be inferred the great wealth of
the district in ancient times, and the pious zeal of the great landholders at
whose expence those structures were, with great probability, supposed to have
been erected. A drawing of this pulpit by Mr. H. Marshall, and lately litho
graphed in colours, may be obtained at his academy for young gentlemen,
Clift House, Cheddar. I The piscina in this and other old parochial churches, was connected with
tho ceremonies of the Popish forms of worship, its use is stated to have been to B
IS
Another chapel is situate on the south side of the chancel, also entered by a low doorway. And a fourth projecting chapel opens from the south aisle by a broad handsome obtuse arch, with clustered shaft on one side, and a series of canopied niches on the
other. This chapel was formerly a chantry, and is now occupied by the family seat of Mr. Birch, and underneath is the burial
vault. It was also the seat and burial place of the family of the
Roes, one of whom was entombed there in 1595. On the south side of the chancel, and until lately within the rails, is a fenestella, or gothic niche, containing a double piscina; and on the north side, beneath a richly-sculptured arch, which seems coeval with the church, appearing to have been built within the substance
of the wall,* is the tomb with the brass effigy of Sir Thomas de Chedder, in armour, standing on a lion, with the Chedder arms around it ; and on a floor slab at its side is a figure in brass
of a female, supposed to be his lady, named Isabella, with the Chedder arms also ; portions of inscription brasses, containing the words “ Isabella tromina," having been preserved from the destruc
tion that has been inflicted on the inscription on the tomb.
The length of the church, including the chancel, is 129 feet, and its breadth 54 feet. On the north and south sides are porches with
convey away the washing of the utensils employed in the different offices,
through a pipe to the foundation of the walls, thereby to avoid the possibility of
contamination. The concavity of the piscina also admitted a vessel or basin
of glass or earthenware, wherein the priests might wash their hands.
» Grose says that monuments within the substance of the walls of churches,
are good authority for supposing founders or re-founders; in this instance of
Sir Thomas de C'liedder, it is not an improbablo conjecture by reason of his
great wealth. In those times most of the churches in country parishes were
built at the charge of the great landed proprietors. Covered monuments, that
is, consisting of cnmbent figures on altar tombs under canopies of festoons, were
introduced into general use in the fourteenth century and lasted till the fifteenth.
Another order of monuments were flat stones even with the pavements, inlayed
with engraved brass plates; some of these are as old as the latter end of the
thirteenth century, and continued till the fifteenth century, and had commonly
the inscription round the side of the stone.— G b o s e.
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stone seats ;* over each door is a canopied niche without a figure. On the east side of the churchyard is a yew treef of large dimensions ; another of corresponding age was blown down five years ago. The living is a vicarage in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of 'Wells. The late Bishop of Rochester (Dr. King) obtained a lease for lives of the Great Tithes, and of the Manor called Parsonage Manor, connected therewith; and under the Tithe Commu
» In ancient parochial churches, in the north and south porches, are generally
found stone benches on each side. The porch was a very ancient appendage to
a church, and in times of Papacy had special uses. In the will of the pious Henry VI., respecting the foundation of his College at Eton, is the following
article :— “ I t e m .— On the south side of the body of the church a fair large door, with
“ a porch, and the same for the christening of children and for weddings.”
The most particular use of the porch was in administering the Sacrament of
Baptism, the following is the translation of an ancient missal on this ceremony :
“ The priest, standing at the end of the church, interrogates the person to be
“ baptised at the door of the church; the necessary questions being asked and
“ prayers read, he (the priest) leads him or her into the church, saying— Enter
“ into the holy church of God, that you may receive the heavenly benediction
“ from the Lord Jesus Christ." And in regard to weddings, Somner relates that in 1299, Edward the 1st was
married at Canterbury, to Margaret, sister to the King of France, by Archbishop
Winclielsea—“ in ostio Ecclesite versus Claustrum."
The porch was also used in ancient times for the churching of women, as by
a missal printed in 1.115, it appears, “ that the priest goes to the door of the “ church, where the woman, to receive the ecclesiastical benediction, kneeling
“ down, the 23rd psalm is said with some responses, after which she is led into
“ the church, the conclusion being made before the altar.”
J In the fifteenth century yew trees were generally planted in churchyards.
Our forefathers were particularly careful in preserving this funereal tree, whose
branches not only supplied the means of decorating the church on festival
occasions or holydays, but were also used by mourners, and carried by them in
solemn procession to the grave, and then were thrown under and upon the
bodies. The branches cut off, by shooting next spring resembled the resur
rection of the body, as the perpetual verdure did the immortality of the soul.
Such are the accounts given by ancient writers, of the use to which these
venerable trees were applied.
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tation Act the impropriate rent-charge has been fixed at <£'4-00
a-year; and the vicarial rent-charge at £300 per annum ; besides
which there are about thirty-eight acres of land, and some annual payments charged on certain lands, which together constitute a
commutation of the tithe of wool and lamb, which was fixed in perpetuity under the Cheddar Enclosure Act of 1801.
The vicarage-house is situate on the west side of the churchyard ; the former incumbent, the Rev. John Cobley, expended a considerable sum in rebuilding the south front, and repairing other parts of the ancient fabric; and the present incumbent, the Rev. Richard a Court Beadon, grandson of the late Bishop of the Diocese, inducted 22nd July, 1836, has since taken down the whole
edifice, and erected another on the same site, at a very considerable cost, and in a stile of architecture anterior to that of Elizabeth.

The Stanton Drew stone circles are just outside the village of Stanton Drew in the English county of Somerset.

The largest stone circle is the Great Circle, 113 metres (371 ft) in diameter and the second largest stone circle in Britain (after Avebury); it is considered to be one of the largest Neolithic monuments to have been built. The date of construction is not known but is thought to be between 3000 and 2000 BCE which places it in the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age. It was made a scheduled monument in 1982.

The Great Circle was surrounded by a ditch and is accompanied by smaller stone circles to the north east and south west. There is also a group of three stones, known as The Cove, in the garden of the local pub. Slightly further from the Great Circle is a single stone, known as Hautville's Quoit. Some of the stones are still vertical, but the majority are now recumbent and some are no longer present.

The stone circles have been studied since John Aubrey's visit in 1664 with some excavations of the site in the 18th century. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries geophysical surveys have confirmed the size of the stone circles and identified additional pits and postholes. The Cove has been shown to be around one thousand years older than the stone circles. A variety of myths and legends about the stone circles have been recorded, including one about dancers at a celebration who have been turned to stone.

Modern people have inhabited the Somerset region of southwest England since the Devensian.

During this time and the succeeding Mesolithic they lived in and/or made use of places like the caves of the Mendip hills, at Gough's (New) Cave and Aveline's Hole for example. In the following Neolithic a shift was made to farming and permanent settlements emerged. It is known that to the south of the Mendips substantial activity occurred on the Somerset Levels, via the Sweet Track for example [Coles et al. 1973]. The Sweet Track was a timber walkway created circa 3800BC to enable people to cross the marshes of the Brue Valley near Glastonbury. Shortly after this period chambered tombs appeared in the area, followed by henge monuments, and then by the Wedding Stones at Stanton Drew. This paper re-examines the complex in the light of geophysical surveys at Stanton Drew, highlighting missed details, before suggesting multiple lunar alignments within the much under-valued megalithic complex. The monuments at Avebury and Stonehenge are then examined and a close association between the users of all three sites is proposed.

Chambered Tombs

The Somerset region is associated with one of the best-known forms of Neolithic chambered tomb -the Cotswold-Severn group. Two main sub-types exist: transepted long chambered tombs, containing a number of compartments/transepts opening on both sides from a central passage (e.g. Stoney Littleton, Somerset); and another, lateral tombs, in which the compartments are placed with entrances along the side, a symbolic dry-stone entrance placed in the centre (e.g. Belas Knap, Gloucestershire). The lateral tombs may slightly predate the former . Many tombs appear to incorporate earlier cairns (e.g., Notgrove, Gloucestershire) implying a gradual spread of the "Somerset culture". Burl has noted how almost all Cotswold-Severn tombs have their central entrances aligned between northeast and southeast, signifying an interest in celestial movements by the builders. Disarticulated human remains have been found in the compartments of many such tombs [e.g., Bulleid 1941]. Nearly a dozen examples exist in the area around Stanton Drew, including those at Redhill, Butcombe and Dundry. Such structures perhaps functioning as localised representations of previously sacred caves when people spread out over the landscape due to farming and/or overcrowding.

This distinct form of chambered tomb appears to be centred on the Mendip area, ranging up into Gloucestershire and north Wales, as well as east to Wiltshire, suggesting an influential Somerset community. Numerous examples also exist to the west, in south Wales, near Cardiff (e.g., Tinkinswood) and in the Gower (Parc Le Breos), across the opening of the Bristol Channel from the Somerset Levels. Further, it appears that most tombs are within site of at least one other, e.g., Redhill and Butcombe; a new feature of Cotswold-Severn tombs can be noted.

2.2 Henges

A particular form of henge also appears centred in Somerset containing an outer ditch and inner bank, known as Type B [Burl 1991, p.14]. These can be found in the same areas as the Cotswold-Severn tombs, on the Mendips (Priddy) and in north Wales (Llandegai North), as well as further afield from the identified regions: north and west of Wales, on Anglesey (Castell Bryngwyn) and near Dublin (Longstone Rath) respectively; further into Wiltshire, at Stonehenge (modified along its outer edge); and significantly north of Gloucestershire, in Cumbria (Penrith). Burl [ibid., p.16] suggests that henges were used both for ceremonial and trading purposes, often with regional types built in other areas specifically for the latter (in safety), which may explain the siting of such out-post henges. The multiple-type henge phenomenon occurs on the Mendips at Priddy where a north-northeast alignment of three Type B henges can be found, with a fourth partially constructed henge of the same type nearby, and two henges of a different type within a six-mile radius. The alignment of three Type B henges is slightly less than perfect.

Burl [ibid.] has also suggested that the cardinal location of a henge entrance may be significant to the location of its users. The two northern most of the roughly aligned Type B henges at Priddy have their entrances to the north, whilst the third has its entrance to the south. On this basis it can be speculated that the north-entrance henges were for the related communities in north Wales and Gloucestershire, whilst the south-entrance henge was for the local community of Somerset and south Wales. That a fourth Type B henge was abandoned mid-way through construction indicates a change in the belief system. Alternatively, the "unfinished" ring may be a deliberate earthwork semi-circle or horseshoe akin to one found in Moray for example (see [Burl 1999, p.152-153] for discussion of horseshoes).

Standing Stones

Wimblestone is perhaps the most well-known standing stone in Somerset, situated just under a line of trees at the western end of a valley whose northern edge was the site of a Neolithic settlement . The stone is around 2m tall and an equilateral triangle in shape, roughly 0.5m in width, and at its base is an oval hole. This huge shark's tooth is aligned such that its thinnest aspect points east/west. To the west is a sharp rise onto the Mendips at Dolebury Warren, not far from Aveline's Hole. At the other end of the valley, in Banwell, is another megalith of the other type found in the region -a large, flat, rectangular stone. This megalith is about 2m high, 1.5m wide, and 0.5m thick. Its top edge is rain-damaged and looks as if a corner is missing. The thinnest aspect points to Fry's Hill with its raised end, which leads up onto the Mendips near Cheddar Caves. Hence such stones can be seen as signposts to the henges at Priddy. It is also interesting to note that, standing at the Banwell stone's raised edge, facing south-southwest and hence perpendicular to it, the prominent Brent Knoll appears cradled between two closer hills. The huge, almost conical, Brent Knoll stands alone over a hundred metres proud of the western end of the Levels. It lies on an azimuth of 211 degrees from the Banwell megalith, that of the major southern setting of the midsummer moon. The minor southern setting may be seen directly to the right of its base, an azimuth of 231 degrees. Viewing the major southern setting over something is seen at Stanton Drew and further afield (Sections 5 and 6). It can be further noted that a similar alignment can be found in Trencrom, Cornwall where the southern setting of the midsummer moon is seen over Trencrom Hill from a nearby megalith. Old Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880's show the position of a stone called the Hundred Stone at Chapel Allerton, in the Somerset Levels. To the north-northeast lies Fry's Hill and the southern edge of the Mendips. It too had a clear view of Brent Knoll, its base appearing larger than at other angles. Hence it may be speculated this stone was a flat rectangle aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. In the 1700's William Stukeley reported a stone of the same shape near Chew Magna, in the Chew Valley a mile west of Stanton Drew [Burl 1999, p.55]. This early survey may explain the suggestions of a stone circle there, west of the fork in the River Chew from Chew Lake .The Mendips are to the south-southwest, suggesting the stone was aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. The nearby Round Hill appearing almost conical with a view perpendicular to this orientation.

Many more stones of these two types, now lost, must surely have existed in Somerset, encircling the Mendips to direct the prehistoric traveller. Their shape is reminiscent of the proposed male/female stones of the Kennet Avenue at Avebury.

Double-click here to add your own text.CHEDDAR,
T he Church— Chantries— Rood Loft— Piscixa— Stone Pulpit— Tombs— Porches— Yew Trees— De Chedder Family— Manors— Ancient Cross— Charities— National School—
Mrs. Hannah More— Friendly Societies— Manufactures— Paper— Cheese— Mines— Population.
This celebrated village, which has borne the several names of Cheddour, Cedre, Cheddre, and now Cheddar, is supposed to have derived its name from Ced, signifying a brow or conspicuous height, an; it is situate at the foot of the Mendip Hills, on the southern side, about two miles from the borough-town of Axbridge , eight from the city of Wells , eighteen miles from the city
of Bristol, and near twenty miles from the town of Bridgwater, in the eastern division of the county of Somerset. Its circuit is about twelve miles, and comprises 6633a. 3r. 12p. of land, of various soils (but chiefly limestone), distributed into meadow, pasture, and arable, interspersed with many orchards, whose appearance in the blooming season, when seen from the heights, adds much to the beauty of the prospect; the soil is particularly adapted to the
growth of peas and potatoes, the early sorts of which are sent in
large quantities to the Bristol market, where, from their excellent quality, they generally obtain a preference. On the west the parish extends to the churchyard wall of Axbridge : on the southern boundary runs the river Axe, dividing it from Wedmore and Wear. In the Cliffs rise the stream called Cheddar Water, which after turning several corn and paper mills, wends its serpentine course at the head of Cheddar Moor, through Axbridge and Cross Moors, to a place called Redcliff, where it joins the river Axe, which thus united passes through the parishes of Loxton and Bleadon, and finally empties itself into the Bristol Channel, at Uphill. In the year 1801, a most beneficial undertaking was completed by the enclosure and allotment in severalty of about 4000 acres of land upon the Mendip Hills, and Lowlands, called Moors, which before that time were held and occupied in common ; this enclosure has been the cause of the formation of several farms on the summit of the hill, which thentofore were applied to the feeding of sheep; but in consequence of the enclosure and division have been culti
vated, so as to produce considerable quantities of oats, barley, and even wheat, besides potatoes and artificial grasses, whilst the more rocky and shallow portions are still applied to the feeding of sheep and young cattle. The total expense of perfecting the enclosure
amounted to ,£8119, of which large sum a portion was raised by the sale of various parts of the waste lands, some in the moors, but chiefly on the hills. The Commissioners for this enclosure were:— F. E. Whalley, Esq., of Winscombe, John Billingsley, Esq., of Oakhill, and John Band, Esq., of Wokey, who on the suggestion and with the able assistance of Thomas Davis, Esq. (whose name
and merits have been most justly commemorated by the Bath Agricultural Society), and who was then the liberal steward of the
Marquis of Bath, caused the carriage road through the stupendous chasm of Cheddar Cliffs to be formed through their whole extent; before this incalculable benefit was conferred on the parish and on the public, it was scarcely practicable for even a horse to pass
through from the immense masses of rock which had fallen into the valley.
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The Cliffs, thus made accessible, have been of late, and especially during the last three or four years, visited by an immense number of persons from every part of the United Kingdom , and from many parts of the Continent, and even North America; for independent of their natural beauties, which have been long appreciated and celebrated in the most eulogistic style of commendation, the discovery of a very beautiful “ Stalactite Cave” at their entrance, and
the formation of tea-gardens and other accommodations, for the pleasure and refreshment of visitors, have added greatly to the attractions which before existed. That the reader of this pamphlet may be made acquainted with the estimation in which this great natural curiosity has been held in ancient and more recent times, the following testimonies are collected from various sources.
Shaw, in his Tour through the West of England, describes them
thus:— “ About five miles north-west of Wookey Hole, near the small “ town of Cheddar, remarkable for rich and large cheese, are large
“ Cliffs of the same name, and a stupendous chasm quite through “ the body of the adjacent mountain, as if split asunder by some “ violeut convulsion of nature, which exhibits an awful appearance
“ to strangers. Near the entrance is a remarkable spring of water “ rising in a perpendicular direction from the rocky basis of the
“ hill, and so large and rapid is its stream that it turns a mill “ within a few yards of its source, and afterwards falls into the
“ river Axe. Near to this is a curious Cavern, the entrance “ of which is by an ascent of about fifteen fathoms among the rocks. “ Neither this nor Okey Hole have any communication with the
“ mines of Mendip, though it is well known that in general among
“ lead mines there are caverns which are various both as to their
“ nature and situation.”
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Collinson, in his History of Somerset in reference to the village of Cheddar and its locality, says :— “ The situation is rendered exceedingly fine by the contrast between
“ the lofty hills of Mendip on the one hand, and the rich extensive “ level of the moors on the other. The steep slopes of the hill are “ constantly diversified, in some parts excavated into deep recesses, “ and in others swelling out into hold protuberances, adorned with *• hanging woods, which, in autumn especially, exhibit in their
“ foliage the richest variety of tints and shade.
“ But what most distinguishes the place, and occasions it to be “ visited by travellers, is that stupendous chasm, Cheddar Cliffs, “ which certainly rivals the wildest defiles in the British islands. “ Proceeding through the winding passage the Cliffs rise on “ either hand in the most picturesque forms, some of them being “ near 800 feet,* and terminating in craggy pyramids on the right
“ hand, several of them are perpendicular to the height of 400 feet, “ and resemble the shattered battlement of vast castles. On the “ left hand, or west side, are two also of this form, which lean over “ the valley with a threatening aspect, and the tops of many others “ at the height of several hundred feet project over the heads of the
“ spectators with terrific grandeur; in general the swelling projections on one side are opposed to corresponding hollows in the “ other, which is a strong indication that this immense gap was “■ formed by some strong convulsion of the earth. On the right “ hand the Cliffs are steeper than on the left, and are generally “ inaccessible, but beautifully interspersed with ivy, shrubs, small “ yew and other trees, which grow out of the fissures of the rocks
“ up to the very summits ; the awful scenery is continually changing, “ but to observe all its beauties it must be traversed backwards and “ forwards; in doing this there will be found ten points of view, “ which are grand beyond description, and where the prospects » Collinson was misinformed in this particular, the highest of the rochs being no more than 429 feet from the valley or road to the upper surface on the hill, bv actual admeasurement.
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“ exhibit that wild and tremendous magnificence which cannot fail “ imposing the mind of the spectator with awe and astonishment “ at the works of that power whose voice even the obdurate rocks “ obey and retire. Stupendous however as these Cliffs are, the top “ of Mendip is some hundred feet higher, sloping upwards from “ their tops in a gentle ascent, and affording a most extensive pros- “ pect over the southern and the western parts of this county, a
“ considerable part of Wilts and Dorset, the British Channel, the “ Holms, and long range of the coast of Wales.”
Rutter, in his history of the north-western division of the county
of Somerset, describes the Cliffs as the sides of a “ stupendous “ chine or chasm, extending across or through one of the highest “ ridges of the Mendip Hills, presenting one of the most striking “ scenes of the kind in Great Britain. Here indeed, Nature, work- “ ing with a gigantic hand, has displayed a scene of no common “ grandeur— in one of those moments when she convulsed the world “ with the throes of an earthquake, she burst asunder the rocky ribs
“ of Mendip, and tore a chasm across its diameter of more than a “ mile in length— the vast opening yawns from the summit down to “ the roots of the mountain, laying open to the sun a sublime and “ tremendous scene, exhibiting a combination of precipices, rocks,
“ and caverns, of terrifying descent, fanstastic forms, and gloomy “ variety.
“ The approach from the village is extremely picturesque, and at
“ the entrance all is gentle and beautiful; a brook, clear as crystal,
“ leads its murmuring course by the side of the road on the left, “ backed by a shrubby wood, at the opposite side of which are a few “ humble cottages, and on the opposite side the ground swells into a “ steep, sufficiently covered, however, with verdure and vegetation “ to form a soft feature in the scene ; but as the visitor advances
“ the abyss suddenly expands, the rocks assume a more precipitous “ character, presenting bold and almost perpendicular points, with
“ bare and rugged tops towering many hundred feet above the level “ of the country. A rough carriage-road winds for nearly two
10
“ miles through the Cliff until it reaches the summit of the Hills,
“ presenting various advantageous points for viewing the wild and “ tremendous magnificence of the scenery, the rock alternately “ projecting on one side and receding on the other, and on cither “ hand rising almost perpendicularly into the most wild and “ picturesque forms, sometimes resembling the round battlements “ and solitary towers of a stupendous castle, having their perpendi- “ cular points partially covered with ivy, and beautifully intersected “ with verdant ledges, scattered over with the mountain ash and “ darker yew, intermingled with the crimson mountain pink and
“ other flowering shrubs peculiar to this romantic district.” An anonymous writer in Blackwood’s Magazine, under the title of a Sketcher, thus describes the Cliffs :— “ No one can form an idea of the peculiar beauty, I should say
“ grandeur of these Cliffs without studying them. From the “ general line of the country no suspicion could be entertained of “ so fine a pass existing among the Mendip Hills— there are indeed “ many passages through them of various character, but there is “ not one to be compared to that of Cheddar, indeed there is nothing
“ like it any vdiere so far as my judgment goes. The rocks are in
“ character the finest, in places perfectly precipitous to the depth “ of perhaps 400 feet— they are magnificent in form and colour, “ and the numerous caverns and holes add much to the sublime of “ the scene— it is certainly much finer than the pass of Llambarris— “ it is a circuitous and narrow course, and so retired and shattered
“ within its own recesses that you think not of its utter barrenness— “ you are involved as it were in a deep wood of rock— many years “ since I visited it and sketched there. I vras much gratified the
“ other day by a fine subject of Cheddar, sketched in on canvas by
“ a friend of mine, Mr. Jackson, of Clifton, an artist of much “ genius, and in consequence I determined on the first opportunity
“ to revisit the rocks— such soon occured, and I must confess that
“ their sublimity, magnificence, and beauty, far surpassed my “ recollection and expectation. An artist cannot find better studies
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“ for rock in detail, and should he be disposed to make pictures of
“ such subjects he will find many as perfect in composition as he
“ would desire. There is a kiln at the entrance, the smoke of “ which rolling among the rocks produces a fine effect; here too he “ will find admirable studies of caverns of every shape and depth— “ what a scene for a land storm; it is so treated in my friend’s “ picture, which is promising. I think few would wind through
“ this sublime pass without a sense of fear, the rocks hanging over
“ head, threatening to crush the intruder, and the yawning chasms “ close upon his footsteps, seem prepared, as if by magic, for his “ prison in the grave— it is the region for genius and enchantment. “ It may be useful to mention that the sketcher will find very good “ accommodations, as there are two respectable inns at the little “ village, which are close to the scenery.”
As, connected with this interesting locality, the following account of an adventure which befel King Edward the Martyr, may be
thought curious, it is extracted from an ancient manuscript in the
possession of the Corporation of Axbridge, which Rutter describes as being apparently written about the middle of the fifteenth century, purporting to be compiled from an ancient Charter granted by Edward the Confessor. “ Sometimes, for the sake of hunting, the King spent the summer “ about the Forest of Mendip, wherein there were, at that time, “ numerous stags and several other kinds of wild beasts, for, as is
“ read in the life of St. Dunstan, King Edward (A.D. 975), who “ sought retirement at Glastonbury, came to the said forest to hunt, “ Axbridge being then a royal borough. The King, three days
“ previously, had dismissed St. Dunstan from his court with great
“ indignation and lack of honour, which done, he proceeded to the “ wood to hunt. This wood covers a mountain of great height, “ which being separated at its summit, exhibits to the spectator an
“ immense precipice and horrid gulph, called by the inhabitants
“ ‘ Chedder Clyffs.’ When, therefore, the King was chasing the
“ flying stag here and there, on its coming to the craggy gulph, the
12
** stag rushed into it and being dashed to atoms perished; similar “ ruin involved the pursuing dogs, and the horse on which the King “ rode having broken its reins became unmanageable, and in an “ obstinate course carries the King after the hounds, and the gulph ‘•'lying before him threatens the King with certain death— he “ trembles and is at, his last shift. In the interval his injustice “ recently offered to St. Dunstan occurs to his mind— he wails it, “ and instantly vows to God that he would, as speedily as possible, “ recompence such injustice by a manifold amendment, if God would *• only for the moment avert the death which deservedly threatened “ him. God immediately hearing the preparation of his heart took “ pity on him, inasmuch as the horse instantly stopped short, and “ to the glory of God, caused the King, thus snatched from the “ perils of death, most unfeignedly to give thanks to God. Having “ returned to his house, that is, to the borough of Axbridge, and “ being joined by his nobles, the King recounted to them the cause “ of the adventure which had happened, and commanded Dunstan “ to be recalled with honour and reverence, after which he esteemed “ him in all transactions as his most sincere friend.”
O j c (KaDcs.
Although limestone ranges of rock generally abound with caverns or caves, and there can be no doubt many such are within the Cliffs, yet previously to the discovery of the Stalactite Cave, the
only one of any extent which has been exhibited to the public, is
that which lies on the right side of the Cliffs, opposite the limekiln, about ninety feet from the road. It has been explored to the length
of about 300 feet, and takes a south-east direction; there is nothing remarkable within it, either of stalactite or stalagmite, or mineral incrustation. The other caverns, which are shown by the women who attend visitors, so far as they have been explored, possess
no interesting feature. But the Stalactite Cave, discovered in 1837
13
by Mr. George Cox, proprietor of the contiguous corn mill and tea gardens, has been found to have been an object of very great and
pleasing interest. Mr. Cox’s description of this admired cavern is subjoined:—• “ The roof resembles ancient sculpture, the formations are “ grotesque and fanciful, in one part you perceive the furniture of “ a Hindoo temple, the Black Prince, in another a mummy, elegant “ drapery and pillars from four to fifteen feet in height, fonts, “ transparent stalactite, likewise the substantial comforts of a farm- “ house, viz:— turkies, tongues, fat goose, bacon, bread, &c., are “ naturally pourtrayed; and the cavern is so perfectly clean and “ easy of access that the most timid and delicate may explore it “ without inconvenience.” The discovery was purely accidental. Mr. Cox, in removing a part of the rock in front of his mill, for the purpose of erecting a waggon
house, broke into a hole which led into the present cave; he explored it, and after very considerable labour, the work of several months, in blasting and removing large masses of rock, he has brought it to its present perfection. Subsequent to the discovery of Mr. Cox’s Stalactite Cave, a cavern situate at the further extremity of the Cliffs, at the distance of about a mile and a quarter from the entrance, and on the left side, about 180 feet above the road, has been partially explored, and
with results quite unexpected. It proves to be a bone-cavern; the following is its description, being the substance of a communication
from Mr. William Long, which was read at the great meeting of the British Association, held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in July, 1838. “ The Cave is situated in limestone rock, and thirty feet in depth;
“ on the first entrance it has the appearance of lofty chambers “ tapering into an archway, which opens again into lofty chambers, “ on the bottom of which are found human skulls and bones, mixed
“ with those of bears, deer, oxen, &c., embedded in soil, evidently of “ remote origin, and containing very few fossils, which are, however, “ very abundant in the rocks above.”
14
The reading of this paper appears to have elicited observations from some of the eminent geologists who attended the meeting. “ Professor Sedgwick remarked that he had not personally visited “ the locality, but always looked with suspicion at cases where the “ association of human bones with those of other animals of extinct “ species was sought to be established. The occurrence of human “ bones in caverns might be readily explained, without their being “ coincident with the rock, and no argument could be drawn from it “ for changing the present system of geologists, in which the “ existence of bones belonging to the human species along with “ those of extinct species of animals had not been established.
“ Professor Lyell mentioned that this subject had been minutely “ examined by eminent French geologists, who had found in a “ cavern in the south of France, human bones associated with those
“ of the rhinoceros and elephant, the latter were of living genera, “ though extinct species. It was a singular fact, that some pieces “ of pottery found along with these bones led them to examine a “ tumulus in the neighbourhood, where they found pieces of pottery
“ of the same description, and also bones of the ox, ass, and goat,
“ but none of the extinct rhinoceros or elephant. The circumstance “ of human bones being found in connection with those of animals
“ was no proof that they were coeval, hut only that they were of “ high antiquity, though not referable to a geological sera.” In confirmation of the remarks of these celebrated geologists, who appear to have been unacquainted with the locality of the spot where this cavern is situate, it is important to state, that in a part
of that large tract of country, known in ancient times as “ The
Forest of Mendip , famous for being a royal forest, visited and
* The forest of Mendip, on the Mendip Hills, was about twelve miles in length and from three to six in breadth; it was well stocked with deer, and the
ancient kings came hither to hunt. The loftiest parts are Crook’s Peak, above the village of Loxton, and Blackdown, north of Cheddar, both commanding extensive prospects, from the latter (Blackdown) can be seen the higher parts of Bath and of Clifton, near Bristol, and it is even said to be that part of Somersetshire which is visible from Windsor Castle.
15
hunted in by some of the Kings before and since the Conquest, and was also the scene of many bloody conflicts, in which the Saxons, Danes, and Romans were the actors. In various parts of the unenclosed Hill are lines of loose stones and circles, which were probably field works, or watch or signal stations, commanding as
they do, a most extensive view of the vale from the Channel to Glastonbury, and also the range of the Poulden and Quantock
Hills. Besides these indications of warfare, “ the continuous flat called Cheddar Moor, was (according to Rutter), until within these few years, studded over with British barrows, or tumuliand there are now existing on the Hills two or three large tumuli, covered with turf, and several small ones formed of stones; nothing
therefore is more probable than that the victors, in the various battles fought in this vicinity, found, in caverns such as these, convenient depositories for their slaughtered friends or foes. About twelve or fourteen human skulls were entire and sound, and fragments of a much larger number in various states of decay. This
different condition only implies that they were deposited at different periods of time, or were more or less exposed to the action of the
air or the dampness of the cavern. It has been only partially explored, but it is hoped that the gentleman on whose estate it is situate, or the gentleman who has hitherto been at the expense of the examination, will gratify his own taste and the curiosity of the public by completing the work he has so generously begun.
The cavern is entered by a vertical fissure, which has been
enlarged to facilitate the removal of the great quantity of soil in which the bones were imbedded. The circumstance of its having
been within a forest, will well account for the bones of boars, deer, and oxen being found therein, and also for those of wolves, foxes, &c., who made them their prey. It has been traversed about 100 feet in length, and unless it takes a downward direction, the unexplored extremity could be easily reached on the outside,
thereby displaying the treasures of its inmost recess, and probably forming a very convenient and safe access to its chambers. The
1C
circumstance of the discovery of bones in this cavern, a few of which nearly resembled the fossil state, and the fact of similar bones being found in other caverns of the Mendip Hills, with those
of decidedly a more remote epoch, open a wide and instructive field of inquiry in the investigation of these geological phenomena ; and although we are borne out in our surmise as to the origin of the deposit of the remains of man in this cavern, yet it is worthy of remark that human bones have in no instance been hitherto found
embedded in the detritus of mountain limestone and earth, which hinders the access to these places in any caverns hitherto explored
at Banwell, or elsewhere in the neighbourhood.considerable cost, and in a stile of architecture anterior to that of Elizabeth.

Modern people have inhabited the Somerset region of southwest England since the Devensian.
During this time and the succeeding Mesolithic they lived in and or made use of places like the caves of the Mendip hills, at Gough's , Cave and Aveline's Hole , In the following Neolithic a shift was made to farming and permanent settlements emerged.

It is known that to the south of the Mendips substantial activity occurred on the Somerset Levels, via the Sweet Track for example < The Sweet Track was a timber walkway  > created circa 3800BC to enable people to cross the marshes of the Brue Valley near Glastonbury.

Shortly after this period chambered tombs appeared in the area, followed by henge monuments, and then by the Wedding Stones at Stanton Drew.

This paper re-examines the complex in the light of geophysical surveys at Stanton Drew, highlighting missed details, before suggesting multiple lunar alignments within the much under-valued megalithic complex. The monuments at Avebury and Stonehenge are then examined and a close association between the users of all three sites is proposed.
2. Background
2.1 Chambered Tombs
The Somerset region is associated with one of the best-known forms of Neolithic chambered tomb - the Cotswold-Severn group. Two main sub-types exist: transepted long chambered tombs, containing a number of compartments/transepts opening on both sides from a central passage (e.g. Stoney Littleton, Somerset); and another, lateral tombs, in which the compartments are placed with entrances along the side, a symbolic dry-stone entrance placed in the centre (e.g. Belas Knap, Gloucestershire). The lateral tombs may slightly predate the former [Lynch 1997, p.54]. Many tombs appear to incorporate earlier cairns (e.g., Notgrove, Gloucestershire) implying a gradual spread of the "Somerset culture". Burl [1983, p.21] has noted how almost all Cotswold-Severn tombs have their central entrances aligned between northeast and southeast, signifying an interest in celestial movements by the builders. Disarticulated human remains have been found in the compartments of many such tombs [e.g., Bulleid 1941]. Nearly a dozen examples exist in the area around Stanton Drew, including those at Redhill, Butcombe and Dundry. Such structures perhaps functioning as localised representations of previously sacred caves when people spread out over the landscape due to farming and/or overcrowding. This distinct form of chambered tomb appears to be centred on the Mendip area, ranging up into Gloucestershire and north Wales, as well as east to Wiltshire, suggesting an influential Somerset community. Numerous examples also exist to the west, in south Wales, near Cardiff (e.g., Tinkinswood) and in the Gower (Parc Le Breos), across the opening of the Bristol Channel from the Somerset Levels. Further, it appears that most tombs are within site of at least one other, e.g., Redhill and Butcombe; a new feature of Cotswold-Severn tombs can be noted.
2.2 Henges
A particular form of henge also appears centred in Somerset containing an outer ditch and inner bank, known as Type B [Burl 1991, p.14]. These can be found in the same areas as the Cotswold-Severn tombs, on the Mendips (Priddy) and in north Wales (Llandegai North), as well as further afield from the identified regions: north and west of Wales, on Anglesey (Castell Bryngwyn) and near Dublin (Longstone Rath) respectively; further into Wiltshire, at Stonehenge (modified along its outer edge); and significantly north of Gloucestershire, in Cumbria (Penrith). Burl [ibid., p.16] suggests that henges were used both for ceremonial and trading purposes, often with regional types built in other areas specifically for the latter (in safety), which may explain the siting of such out-post henges. The multiple-type henge phenomenon occurs on the Mendips at Priddy where a north-northeast alignment of three Type B henges can be found, with a fourth partially constructed henge of the same type nearby, and two henges of a different type within a six-mile radius. The alignment of three Type B henges is slightly less than perfect. Burl [ibid.] has also suggested that the cardinal location of a henge entrance may be significant to the location of its users. The two northern most of the roughly aligned Type B henges at Priddy have their entrances to the north, whilst the third has its entrance to the south. On this basis it can be speculated that the north-entrance henges were for the related communities in north Wales and Gloucestershire, whilst the south-entrance henge was for the local community of Somerset and south Wales. That a fourth Type B henge was abandoned mid-way through construction indicates a change in the belief system. Alternatively, the "unfinished" ring may be a deliberate earthwork semi-circle or horseshoe akin to one found in Moray for example (see [Burl 1999, p.152-153] for discussion of horseshoes).
2.3 Standing Stones
Wimblestone is perhaps the most well-known standing stone in Somerset, situated just under a line of trees at the western end of a valley whose northern edge was the site of a Neolithic settlement . The stone is around 2m tall and an equilateral triangle in shape, roughly 0.5m in width, and at its base is an oval hole. This huge shark's tooth is aligned such that its thinnest aspect points east/west.
To the west is a sharp rise onto the Mendips at Dolebury Warren, not far from Aveline's Hole.
At the other end of the valley, in Banwell, is another megalith of the other type found in the region - a large, flat, rectangular stone. This megalith is about 2m high, 1.5m wide, and 0.5m thick. Its top edge is rain-damaged and looks as if a corner is missing. The thinnest aspect points to Fry's Hill with its raised end, which leads up onto the Mendips near Cheddar Caves. Hence such stones can be seen as signposts to the henges at Priddy. It is also interesting to note that, standing at the Banwell stone's raised edge, facing south-southwest and hence perpendicular to it, the prominent Brent Knoll appears cradled between two closer hills. The huge, almost conical, Brent Knoll stands alone over a hundred metres proud of the western end of the Levels. It lies on an azimuth of 211 degrees from the Banwell megalith, that of the major southern setting of the midsummer moon. The minor southern setting may be seen directly to the right of its base, an azimuth of 231 degrees. Viewing the major southern setting over something is seen at Stanton Drew  and further afield (Sections 5 and 6). It can be further noted that a similar alignment can be found in Trencrom, Cornwall where the southern setting of the midsummer moon is seen over Trencrom Hill from a nearby megalith. Old Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880's show the position of a stone called the Hundred Stone at Chapel Allerton, in the Somerset Levels. To the north-northeast lies Fry's Hill and the southern edge of the Mendips. It too had a clear view of Brent Knoll, its base appearing larger than at other angles. Hence it may be speculated this stone was a flat rectangle aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. In the 1700's William Stukeley reported a stone of the same shape near Chew Magna, in the Chew Valley a mile west of Stanton Drew [Burl 1999, p.55]. This early survey may explain the suggestions of a stone circle there, west of the fork in the River Chew from Chew Lake
The Mendips are to the south-southwest, suggesting the stone was aligned north-northeast/south-southwest.
The nearby Round Hill appearing almost conical with a view perpendicular to this orientation. Many more stones of these two types, now lost, must surely have existed in Somerset, encircling the Mendips to direct the prehistoric traveller. Their shape is reminiscent of the proposed male/female stones of the Kennet Avenue at Avebury.

Glaston.

DUMNONIA as a geographical term, seems to lie in the background of our national englishness , and especially West-Country, annals, as a somewhat dim and uncertain region, regarded as a half fabulous realm, not to be defined by modern counties or by modern Bishoprics, although the name has survived in Devon. It has long since dropped out of use and finds little mention in our text-books. William of Malmesbury could say “ In Dumnonia quae Devenscire dicitur 55 and render himself intelligible to men of his own age (1143) ; and, further back still in our history, Asser, the biographer of King Alfred, could quote “ Dumnonia" , as already noted, probably meaning Devon and part of Somerset reaching up to the Parret mouth and, perhaps, further east still, towards Bristol (a .d . 875-900).

That there was a Church if not a distinct Diocese in Dumnonia, we may infer from a letterwritten by Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne in a d 704 who gave a kind of pastoral charge to Gerontius, King of Dumnoiiia, and to all priests (sacerdotes) living inDumnonia. The view of Aldhelm, who was partially Romanized, was that Dumnonia was rather uncivilized (dira), a view we need not endorse, as he probably meant that the Celtic Church was not sufficiently imbued with Roman and papal influences. The old Roman geographers used the name of Dumnonia mid had a definition for it, Claudius Ptolemaeus ad 150 placing the Dumnonii next to the Durotriges or Dorsaetas , i.e. men of Dorset, on the east, and extending this region to" Volida" ie Fowey or Falmouth in Cornwall .

He gave them Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) and Caerleon . On the Coast  Dumnonia

of Somerset Dumnonia included Uxella on the Axe and Uphill above Brean . This certainly would include Anchor Head , on the present site of Weston-super-Mare with the old fort of Worlesborough above it. It is worth noticing that a later Roman geographer , Caius Julius Solinus ad 238 extended the Dumnonii much further up the Severn and placed them opposite to the Silures.

Dr. Guest in his “ Origines Celticae,” 2 conjectures that the bounds of Dumnonia stretched from Malmesbury to the

Land’s End and that the kings of Dumnonia had added to this realm by conquest and that, in the days of Gereint, Dumnonia must have been in power and dignity the first of

the British Kingdoms.

He writes : " It is not my object to trace the several stages of decay through which the power of Dumnonia passed as it melted away before the ascendancy of England. The more intimate relations of this British Kingdom were no doubt with the kindred races of Wales and Brittany, but the influences it exercised over the national progress and even over the literature of its English neighbours were by no means of slight account, though they have been strangely overlooked. They afford, I think, the only solution of some of the most intricate problems connected with our early history, and materials for such inquiry may be scanty, but they are not altogether wanting.” The three chief “ perpetual choirs ” of the Isle of Britain were :  That of Llan Iltud Vawr in Glamorgan ;  That of Ambrosius in Ambresbury, near Salisbury ; That of Glaston. In each of these choirs there were 2,400, that isthere were one hundred for every hour of the day and night

in rotation perpetuating the praise of God without rest or intermission. What may be termed the spiritual life of an enlarged Dumnonia was centred around these places about a .d . 500. This implied a kind of national unity from Salisbury to the Land’s End. When, later on, the Bishopric of Sherborne was formed and Aldhelm ruled over “ Selwood1. See “ George of Ravenna,” p. 424. Urbs ab Uxellae ostio longe separata. Fluvius est Axe— Uxella forte est Axbridge : also “ History of the Ancient Britons,” by J. A. Giles, D.C.L., vol. ii, p. 102.

2. Vol. ii, pp. 270-2.

Dumnonia and Glaston this inland continuity from Wiltshire westward was slightly impaired about ad 700. But Dumnonia unity was preserved along the north coasts and littoral of the Severn

Sea, being in its very nature maritime and its inhabitants seafaring. Glaston and LlanIltud Vawr preserved their Celtic traditions. It was a matter of navigation and of a sea-and river-intercourse, easier in its way than travel through inland forests and less perilous. That road or highway, possibly of Roman origin, linking Dumnonia and its northern parts together, leading from Bristol and Bath westward to Uxella or Axbridge, Brent and so to Cynwith or Comwith passage on the Parret was first

constructed with a strategic and maritime purpose. It was the trunk road of ancient Dumnonia for all purposes. It helped the pilgrim also on his way to Glaston and was connected with all land routes and especially with the sea routes across Severn. Glaston also had its river anchorages, its canals and moorland boats (batelli) and river craft. The tidal wave swept humble currough or larger barge and vessel up to its sacred portals. If we adopt Sir Charles Elton’s definitions of ancient Siluria and infer that it meant a block of Wales including Glamorgan and Hereford, as well as Monmouth, it will be seen that the Dumnonii must have been found some distance up the Severn. Hath and Bristol (Bristowa, the town of the British) ; both with churches dedicated to St. Michael, would have been

occupied by them. Gildas, our oldest historian, who knew the Severn well, mentions a certain “ King of Dumnonia ” Constantine by name (Dumnoniae tyrannus), as apart from

Vortipore, King of Demetia which we assume to mean geographically, South Wales and not simply Pembroke. The name of Constantine, it may be noted, introduces early Christian association (300-400). To-day there is a Cornish parish near Falmouth called Constantine where it is said although the rumour cannot be substantiated silver coins of Arthur were found near the church.2 Constantine, also,

1 Elton’s “ Origins of English History,” p. 141.

2 Lewis’ “ Topographical Dictionary,” vol. i, p. 509.

In my study of “ Ancient Dumnonia ”  I have laid some stress upon this great “ Crux ” of our Early Island history and, although the ultimate elucidation of Alfred’s Danish

campaign, ending with the “ Peace of Wedmore,” is by no means the only matter of historical interest, it is an extremely important one. German strategists, noted for their thorough

methods, would probably have solved all the problems of Alfred’s campaign long ago, but we do not want Germans in this country to spy out and explore. However, I have been fortunate enough to have the matured opinion of Major P. T.Godsal of Iscoed Park, Whitchurch, who has made a militarystudy of the Conquest of Britain by the Angles and also the Thames Valley Campaign.

There is one point upon which Major Godsal, as well as other military critics, may not have laid sufficient stress and it is the very great and material assistance given to King Alfred not only by the men of
Somerton, who rallied so nobly around him, but by Odda and the men of Dumnonia who were victorious at Cynuit Castle.

These warriors must be classed amongst the “ Welsh-kin ” of King Alfred’s Will, and so mentioned, meaning not necessarily the Welsh of Wales but the British or “ Dumnonii ” of the West Country who have persistently survived all changes.
Being sea-faring men by tradition they must not be confused with the tribal Welshmen of the Welsh mountains. The Welsh chiefs acknowledged the “ suzerainty,” if we may so call it, of King Alfred but in his extremity at Athelney we do not know that they gave material help. The Dumnonii on the spot, i.e. in North Somerset and possibly Devonia itself , gave this. under date of August 23rd, 1922, Major Godsal writes as follows :
You have asked my views on the Battle of Ethandun. Though I cannot claim to be a military expert, and have made but a slight study of King Alfred’s campaign against the Danes which resulted in the surrender of Guthrum and his men. I will try and state its leading features from the military standpoint.
' To begin with we seem to know with certainty the bases from which the contending forces operated. The Danes had established themselves at Chippenham , Alfred had sought refuge in the marshes of the river Parret, and was for a time in hiding. The Danes had a fleet in the Severn under Hubba and Inguar. These landed at some place on the coast of Devon which then extended as far as the river Parret.
" They there fought a battle with the men of Devon under their Ealdorman Odda and drove them into a small fortress.
" The men of Devon, however, made a successful sally by night and killed Inguar and Hubba and twelve hundred Danes, the rest of the Danes escaping to their ships.
It is evident that the Danes had a large force and were not engaged in a mere raid, but were endeavouring to hunt up AIfred. The name of the fortress occupied by Odda is given as ' Arx Cynuit,’ and this has been identified with Combwich on the left bank of the mouth of the Parret . However that may be, it is inconceivable that this battle took place anywhere but on the banks of the Parret." The result is all that concerns us now. It was that it gave Alfred and his men fresh confidence, and Alfred who had hitherto been in hiding began to make a small fort called Athelney in the centre of the marshes of the P arret; and this became without question Alfred’s base of operations.

From brean to bleadon to axe to cheddar to wells to glastonbury we have many old burial mounds suggeting to me that the neolithic living on this raised plateau looked over the somerset levels which were possibaly uninhabitable.
The distance from south wales nowadays indicates that south gloucester being dobunni territory was around the river severn and that the mouth of the river and the levels mingle
The burial cairn at stony littleton is similar to other cairns in gloucester
Belas Knap is a neolithic chambered long barrow, situated on Cleeve Hill, near Cheltenham and Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire, England
With another cairn at the area behind Kelston nr Bath

Kaerbadum or Caervaddon(Bath),

creating the hot springs there by the use of magic.

He dedicated the city to the goddess Athena or Minerva,

and in honour of her lit undying fires, whose flames turned to balls of stone as they grew low,

with new ones springing up in their stead: an embellishment of an account from the fourth-century writer Solinus of the use oflocal coalon the altars of her

temple

The Bath curse tablets

are a collection of about 130Romaneracurse tablets(ordefixionesinLatin) discovered in 1979/1980 in the English city ofBath.

The tablets invoke the intercession of the goddessSulis Minervain the return of stolen goods and to curse the perpetrators of the thefts. Inscribed mostly inBritish Latin, they have been used to attest to the everyday spoken vernacular of theRomano-Britishpopulation of the second to fourth centuries A.D.

The Roman baths at Bath — the entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is post-Roman.

TheRoman bathsand temple dedicated to the goddessSulis Minervain the English city ofBath(founded by the Romans asAquae Sulis) were excavated between 1978 and 1983 by a team led byBarry Cunliffeand Peter Davenport.[1]In 1979/1980, around 130 tablets were discovered in an excavation of the "Sacred Spring" under the King's Bath.[2]The spring had been temporarily diverted to facilitate the excavation, revealing a huge array ofRoman eraitems including the tablets.[3]

The tablets, some in a fragmentary state,[4]were small and rectangular and initially were assumed to be made of lead, although subsequent metallurgical analysis revealed that they are, in fact, made of lead alloyed with tin, with occasional traces of copper.[5]Some of the tablets were cast under pressure into thin, flexible sheets with a finish as smooth as paper whereas others appear to have been roughly hammered out from a molten lump.[6]Most of the tablets were inscribed, either withRoman capitalsor withcursive script, but the expertise of the lettering varied.[6]Some of the tablets had markings that appear to be an illiterate imitation of lettering, for example repetitive lines of crosses or sevens, and some were completely blank.[7]

The tablets were put on display in the Roman Baths Museum in Bath, where they continue to be available to be viewed by the public.[8]The inscriptions on the tablets were published in full in 1988 by historian Roger Tomlin.[9]

Inscriptions[edit]

The tablets were identified as “curse tablets” dating from the second to fourth centuries A.D. Curse tablets are small metal sheets inscribed with curses against specific people and were used in popular magic throughout theRoman world.[

Language[edit]

Most of the inscriptions are in colloquial Latin,[11]and specifically in theVulgar Latinof theRomano-Britishpopulation, known as "British Latin".[4][12]Two of the inscriptions are in a language which is not Latin, although use Roman lettering, and may be in a BritishCeltic language.If this should be the case, they would be the only examples of a written ancient British Celtic language; however, they remain undeciphered.

All but one of the 130 Bath curse tablets concern the restitution of stolen goods and are a type of curse tablet known as "prayers for justice".[15]The complained of thefts are generally of personal possessions from the baths such as jewellery, gemstones, money, household goods and especially clothing.[16]Theft from public baths appears to have been a common problem as it was a well-known Roman literary stereotype and severe laws existed to punish the perpetrators.[17]Most of the depositors of the tablets (the victims of the thefts) appear to have been from the lower social classes.[18]

The inscriptions generally follow the same formula, suggesting it was taken from a handbook: the stolen property is declared as having been transferred to a deity so that the loss becomes the deity’s loss; the suspect is named and, in 21 cases, so is the victim; the victim then asks the deity to visit afflictions on the thief (including death) not as a punishment but to induce the thief to hand the stolen items back.[16]The deity whose help was invoked is Sulis, and the tablets were deposited by the victims in the spring that was sacred to her.[3]

Examples[edit]

Gilt bronze head of Sulis Minerva, to whom the curse tablets were addressed, found at her temple in Bath.

A typical example reads:

"Solinus to the goddess Sulis Minerva. I give to your divinity and majesty [my] bathing tunic and cloak. Do not allow sleep or health to him who has done me wrong, whether man or woman or whether slave or free unless he reveals himself and brings those goods to your temple."

The formula "whether man or woman or whether slave or free" is typical, and the following example is unusual in two respects.

Firstly it adds the words "whether pagan or Christian" and secondly the text was written in reversed lettering:

"Whether pagan or Christian, whether man or woman, whether boy or girl, whether slave or free whoever has stolen from me, Annianus [son of] Matutina (?), six silver coins from my purse, you, Lady Goddess, are to exact [them] from him. If through some deceit he has given me...and do not give thus to him but reckon as (?) the blood of him who has invoked his upon me."[20]

Many name the suspected thieves:

"I have given to the goddess Sulis the six silver coins which I have lost. It is for the goddess to exact [them] from the names written below: Senicianus and Saturninus and Anniola."[21]

Some of the inscriptions are very specific in the afflictions requested and reveal the intensity of the victim's anger:[22]

"Docimedis has lost two gloves and asks that the thief responsible should lose their minds [sic] and eyes in the goddess' temple."[

"May he who carried off Vilbia from me become liquid as the water. May she who so obscenely devoured her become dumb"

"..so long as someone, whether slave or free, keeps silent or knows anything about it, he may be accursed in (his) blood, and eyes and every limb and even have all (his) intestines quite eaten away if he has stolen the ring or been privy (to the theft)."

Complaint about theft of a woman's cape.

Complaint about theft of Vilbia -probably a woman

Complaint about theft of a cloak and bathing tunic

A list of names

A text in British Celtic -the only words in British Celtic known to survive anywhere

Gradually the virtues of the waters became more widely known through the writings of men like Dr William Turner who in 1562 published a book about the spas of Europe, in it deliberately praising Bath to encourage his readers to travel to the town to take a cure. It was a beginning. Other works followed in quick succession and by the end of the century the benefits of Bath were recognised. The visit of Queen Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, in 1613 and 1615 sealed its destiny as a place of fashion.

Gilmore’s map of 1694 was perhaps the first tourist guide to the city. It provided a brief introduction and history, an illustrated guide to the accommodation, showed important buildings, gave a list of the taverns and, not least, portrayed detailed plans of the various baths.

Before I took coach, I went to make a hoy dive in the King’s Bath -1 shilling.

Samuel Pepy’s Diary 1668

Thomas Johnson’s evocative drawing of 1675 showing life in the King’s and Queen’s Baths. Bathing was a popular spectator sport with onlookers leering at the bodies in the water below. Naked children can be seen poised to dive for a coin tossed in by a well-dressed gentleman. The gabled buildings on the right were replaced by the first Pump Room in 1704-6.

. The baths at this time were still in a rather squalid medieval state as Johnson’s brilliant illustration shows. The arched recesses around the King’s Bath had been built in the twelfth century but the elegant balustrade over which the onlookers lounge, was donated by Sir Francis Stonor in 1624 in recognition of the cure of his gout. The smaller bath to the south, later known as the Queen’s Bath, had been added a century earlier in 1576. The huge ornamental feature in the centre of the King’s Bath was acquired two years later. The transformation was beginning.

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TheRoman Baths, Bath, 1890 .

The mineral waters of Bath led to the development of this exceptionally lovely Georgian town in the I Sth century. Under the direction of Beau Nash, the spa became the most fashionable in Britain. But it is the Roman Baths which are the focal point of the ancient historical roots of the city.

The Roman baths were not discovered until the 19th century, a little before this photograph was taken. The waters that fed the Pump Room and other parts of the Spa had also supplied water for the Roman baths, the largest of which was lead-lined and sumptuously decorated. More relics of the Roman town have since been unearthed and are now exhibited in the museum which is among the many attractions that have made Bath one of the most visited cities in Britain.

Definition of medieval

The adjective medieval literally means “of the Middle Ages,” i.e., the period between antiquity (the Roman world) and the early modern era 

Common chronological range

Historians most often treat the Middle Ages as roughly the 5th century to the 15th century: from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (commonly dated 476) up to the Renaissance and early modern transitions around 1400–1500 

Standard subperiods and their usual dates

• Early Middle Ages: about 500–1000.
• High Middle Ages: about 1000–1300.
• Late Middle Ages: about 1300–1500.
  These are conventional labels; exact boundaries vary by region and by the historian’s focus 

What authors usually mean when they write “medieval”

• Broad cultural sense: the social, political, religious, and material world shaped by feudal institutions, Christendom, and post‑Roman societies in Europe between Late Antiquity and the Renaissance 
• In specialised works an author may narrow the term (for example, “medieval urban law” might mean 1100–1400), so check the author’s period definition in introductions or captions 

Origin and first use of the word

The English term derives from Latin medium aevum “middle age.” The modern English adjective (often spelled mediaeval earlier) was coined in the 19th century from that Latin phrase; recorded modern forms date from the early 1800s (commonly cited 1825 for the form medieval/mediaeval) 

Quick guidance for reading historical scripts

When you encounter “medieval” in a text, assume 5th–15th centuries unless the author states otherwise; for precise work always look for the author’s explicit chronological scope because usages and boundary years differ by topic and region 

Bronze Age time boundaries overview

The Bronze Age is a cultural-technical phase defined by the pervasive use of bronze (an alloy of copper with tin or arsenic), alongside associated changes in technology, trade, burial practice, and social organisation. Its absolute dates vary widely by region because metallurgy and associated cultural changes spread at different times. Below are commonly used regional ranges and practical guidance for tagging or labelling gazetteer entries.

Common regional date ranges

• Near East and Anatolia
  Early Bronze Age: c. 3300–2100 BCE; Middle Bronze Age: c. 2100–1600 BCE; Late Bronze Age: c. 1600–1200 BCE.
• Aegean (Greece and Cyclades)
  Early Bronze Age: c. 3000–2000 BCE; Middle Bronze Age: c. 2000–1600 BCE; Late Bronze Age: c. 1600–1100 BCE.
• Central and Western Europe
  Broad Bronze Age: c. 2300–800 BCE; subdivided (Early/Middle/Late) roughly as Early c. 2300–1500 BCE, Middle c. 1500–1200 BCE, Late c. 1200–800 BCE.
• British Isles (including Devon and Cornwall)
  Broad Bronze Age: c. 2500–800 BCE; Early Bronze Age often starts c. 2500–2000 BCE (after Late Neolithic/Beaker horizons), Late Bronze Age ends c. 800 BCE.
• South Asia (Indian subcontinent)
  Indus-related Bronze Age/Harappan: c. 3300–1300 BCE (mature Harappan c. 2600–1900 BCE); local Bronze-using traditions continue and overlap with early Iron use.
• East Asia
  Bronze Age in China: roughly c. 2000–771 BCE (Xia-Shang-Zhou sequences; Shang c. 1600–1046 BCE is strongly bronze-rich).
• The Americas and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa
  No true widespread Bronze Age phase comparable to Old World sequences; metallurgy often appears much later and in different forms.

Practical guidance for mapping and gazetteer work

• Use region-specific ranges rather than a single global boundary.
• For ambiguous or single-site reports, prefer relative labels: Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, or Bronze Age (broad)with a numeric range (e.g., Bronze Age c. 2500–800 BCE).
• Where chronology is uncertain, record both: cultural label(Bronze Age) and confidence/precision(e.g., high if radiocarbon dated; low if typological only).
• Include key local markers in metadata: metallurgy present; Beaker/urnfield/bronze-ritual features; radiocarbon dates range; typology links.
• Allow fields for overlapping phases (e.g., “Late Neolithic / Early Bronze Age transitional”) and for caveats like reuse or later disturbance.

Why ranges differ and how to communicate that

• Start and end dates depend on: first local alloy production; availability of tin or copper sources and trade; cultural adoption of bronze technologies; and the arrival of ironworking.
• Use wording that communicates variability: “Bronze Age (regional: c. 2500–800 BCE)”or “Bronze Age — British Isles convention: c. 2500–800 BCE”.
• When precision matters, attach dating evidence: radiocarbon ranges, stratigraphic context, or diagnostic artefact types.

Short recommended labels for database fields

• Period label: Bronze Age
• Region qualifier: e.g., British Isles
• Numeric range: e.g., c. 2500–800 BCE
• Subdivision: Early / Middle / Late (if known)
• Dating confidence: High / Medium / Low
• Dating evidence: Radiocarbon; typology; stratigraphy; historical reference

The suffix ‘ton’ constitutes a sort of test word,” says Mr. Isaac Taylor, “ by which we are able to discriminate the Anglo-Saxon settlements.”1 “A tun or ‘ton ’ was a place
surrounded by a hedge, or rudely fortified by a palisade”

The passage you quoted is part of the author’s argument that Plympton’s name is unmistakably Anglo‑Saxon, and that the key to recognising this lies in the suffix ‑ton. The PDF you have open confirms this discussion in its treatment of early Plympton history .

🏰 What ‑tonActually Signifies

The core point is that ‑ton(Old English tūn) originally meant:

• An enclosed place— literally a fenced or hedged area

• A defended homestead or settlement— often with a palisade

• A farmstead that could grow into a village or manor

So when you see a place‑name ending in ‑ton, you are almost always looking at:

• A Saxon foundation, or

• A Saxon renamingof an older site they took over.

This is why Isaac Taylor calls it a “test word”: it reliably marks Anglo‑Saxon occupation or administrative control.