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Williton
Williton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. Williton station is on the West Somerset Railway line. Doniford Halt on the same line serves the nearby Haven Holiday centre. Williton is twinned with Neung-sur-Beuvron in the Loir-et-Cher département of France. History Until 1902 Williton was part of the ancient parish of Saint Decuman, which included also the town of Watchet. The parish of St Decuman was part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred. Within Williton parish, to the south-west, is Orchard Wyndham House, a Grade I listed building, which was the centre of an estate called "Orchard". Paleolithic, mesolithic and neolithic flints have been found at Doniford to the north-east of Williton while three Bronze Age barrows survive at Battlegore Burial Chamber, just north of the centre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is supported and minority-owned by charitable trust the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) and the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust (WSSRT). The WSR plc operates services using both heritage steam and diesel trains. It originally opened in 1862 between and . In 1874 it was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway. Although just a single line, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the significant number of tourists that wished to travel to the Somerset coast. The line was closed by British Rail in 1971 and reopened in 1976 as a heritage line. It is the longest standard gauge independent heritage railway in the United Kingdom. Services normally operate over just the between Min ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battlegore Burial Chamber
Battlegore Burial Chamber is a Bronze Age burial chamber located in Williton, Somerset. It is composed of three round tumulus, barrows and possibly a long, chambered barrow. The site was excavated in 1931 by George Gray. The name "Battlegore" comes from this site being attributed to the location of a Denmark, Danish raid in 918 AD or 988 AD. At least as early as the 14th century, the site was referred to as "Bytelgore", a predecessor of the word "Battlegore". Along with three nearby round barrows it has been scheduled as an ancient monument. Description The most northernly of the barrows is around in diameter and high. It is partially surrounded by a shallow ditch with a radius of . east of this barrow is a small mound about wide and high. Gray found four other mounds in addition to this small one, but he was unable to find anything that would indicate the importance of these small mounds. A large urn, found to the east of the center of the barrow, contained the cremation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orchard Wyndham
Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor near Williton in Somerset, centred on the synonymous grade I listed manor house of Orchard Wyndham that was situated historically in the parish of Watchet and about two miles south of the parish church of St Decuman's, Watchet. Parts of the manor house are medieval. It has been owned for more than 700 years by the prominent Wyndham family, who continue there as of 2015. History There is evidence of occupation of the site from Roman and Saxon times. The estate was originally called "Orchard", possibly a corruption of the Saxon family name "De Horcherd". In the 12th century the family of Elfric de Orchard held another nearby manor in Somerset, now called Orchard Portman which was inherited by the Portman family. In 1448 the estate passed into the hands of the Sydenham family of nearby Combe Sydenham, and was thenceforth known as Orchard Sydenham. The Sydenham family originated at the manor of Sydenham near Bridgwater, Somerset. Eliza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchet
Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of the Washford River on Bridgwater Bay, part of the Bristol Channel, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park. The original settlement may have been at the Iron Age fort, Daw's Castle. It then moved to the mouth of the river and a small harbour developed, named by the celts as ''Gwo Coed'' meaning "under the wood". After the Saxon conquest of the area the town developed, becoming known as Weced or Waeced, and was attacked by Vikings in the 10th century. Trade using the harbour gradually grew, despite damage during several severe storms, with import and exports of goods including those from Wansbrough Paper Mill until the 19th century when it increased with the export of iron ore, brought from the Brendon Hills via the West Somerset Minera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Williton And Freemanners (hundred)
The Hundred of Williton and Freemanners (also written as Freemanors) is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown. Each hundred had a 'fyrd', which acted as the local defence force and a court which was responsible for the maintenance of the frankpledge system. They also formed a unit for the collection of taxes. The role of the hundred court was described in the Dooms (laws) of King Edgar. The name of the hundred was normally that of its meeting-place. The Hundred of Williton and Freemanners consisted of Watchet the ancient parishes of: Bicknoller, Brompton Ralph, Brompton Regis, Brushford, Chipstable, Clatworthy, Old Cleeve, Crowcombe, St Decuman, Dodington, Dulverton, Elworthy, Exmoor Forest, Exton, Halse, Hawkridge, Huish Champflower, Kilton, Kilve, Lilstock, Monksilver, Nettlecombe, East Quantoxhead, West Quantoxhead, Radd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Decuman
Decuman ( lat-med, Decumanus; cy, Degyman; died ) was one of the Celtic saints who came to Somerset from South Wales, Pembrokeshire, in the seventh century, arriving on a raft (or his cloak) with a cow for a companion. There he was a pastor and physician to the local inhabitants. Life and cult Decuman is said to have been born of noble parents at Rhoscrowther in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where the church is dedicated to him. His name comes from the Latin for a farmer of tithes, which is a smallholder who paid a rent for his farm. Decuman had a chapel at nearby Pwllcrochan. Wishing to escape from worldly companions he crossed the Bristol Channel and landed at Dunster: he then became a hermit at nearby Watchet, living from the produce of his cow. There he healed the sick and acted as a pastor to the inhabitants. There Decuman is said to have been killed by a pagan. Legend tells that the holy man's head was cut off by "a certain man more venomous than an asp, more poisonous than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_lieutenant_name = Mohammed Saddiq , high_sheriff_office =High Sheriff of Somerset , high_sheriff_name = Mrs Mary-Clare Rodwell (2020–21) , area_total_km2 = 4171 , area_total_rank = 7th , ethnicity = 98.5% White , county_council = , unitary_council = , government = , joint_committees = , admin_hq = Taunton , area_council_km2 = 3451 , area_council_rank = 10th , iso_code = GB-SOM , ons_code = 40 , gss_code = , nuts_code = UKK23 , districts_map = , districts_list = County council area: , MPs = * Rebecca Pow (C) * Wera Hobhouse ( LD) * Liam Fox (C) * David Warburton (C) * Marcus Fysh (C) * Ian Liddell-Grainger (C) * James Heappey (C) * Jacob Rees-Mogg (C) * John Penrose (C) , police = Avon and Somerset Police ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A39 Road
The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St Columb Major. It then joins the route of the A30 road for around , re-emerging near Zelah to head for the south Cornish coast via Truro and Falmouth. In Cornwall and North Devon (until the junction with the A361 "North Devon Link Road"), the road is known as the Atlantic Highway, and was classified as a trunk road until 2002. Porlock Hill Porlock Hill is a section of the A39 west of the village of Porlock. The road climbs approximately in less than up onto Exmoor: a very steep hill with gradients of up to 1 in 4 and hairpin bends. In Porlock itself you will often smell burning brakes from vehicles who have just descended the hill. On 12 January 1899, the ten-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doniford Halt
Doniford Halt railway station, sometimes known as Doniford Beach Halt, is a request stop situated on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in Somerset, England. It is situated by Helwell Bay on the outskirts of Watchet. History The railway line was originally opened in 1862 and closed in 1971, but it was reopened by the West Somerset Railway on 28 August 1976. Doniford Beach Halt was opened on 27 June 1987 to serve the holiday camp built on the site of the nearby former Doniford army base. Description The curved platform is situated on the north side of the line where it passes beneath the Watchet to West Quantoxhead coast road. The platform is built from concrete panels recovered from on the former branch line from to and the shelter is a former Great Western Railway ''pagoda'' made from corrugated iron which was recovered from on the Exe Valley Railway The Exe Valley Railway was a branch line built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in Devon, Engla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old English Language
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century, and the first Old English literary works date from the mid-7th century. After the Norman conquest of 1066, English was replaced, for a time, by Anglo-Norman (a relative of French) as the language of the upper classes. This is regarded as marking the end of the Old English era, since during this period the English language was heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman, developing into a phase known now as Middle English in England and Early Scots in Scotland. Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or Ingvaeonic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. As the Germanic settlers became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain: Common Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus. Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape. In this respect, a long barrow is a long tumulus, usually constructed on top of several burials, such as passage graves. A round barrow is a round tumulus, also commonly constructed on top of burials. The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows has a broad range; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape. The method of may involve a dolmen, a cist, a mortuary enclosure, a mortuary house, or a chamber tomb. Examples of barrows include Duggleby Howe and Maeshowe. Etymology The word ''tumulus'' is Latin for 'mound' or 'small hill', which is derived fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age system proposed in 1836 by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen for classifying and studying ancient societies and history. An ancient civilization is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age because it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Bronze is harder and more durable than the other metals available at the time, allowing Bronze Age civilizations to gain a technological advantage. While terrestrial iron is naturally abundant, the higher temperature required for smelting, , in addition to the greater difficulty of working with the metal, placed it out of reach of common use until the end of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
