Dovery Manor Museum, also known as Porlock Museum, is a
local museum
A local museum or local history museum is a type of museum that shows the historical development of a place/region (local history) using exhibits. These museums usually maintain a collection of historic three-dimensional objects which are exh ...
in
Porlock
Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440.
In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in Britain, with over 40% being of pensionable ag ...
,
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_ ...
, England.
The building was built as a
Manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
in the late 15th century and extended in the 17th century. In 1895 the building was restored by Edmund Buckle for Sir
Charles Chadwyck-Healey
Sir Charles Edward Heley Chadwyck-Healey, 1st Baronet (26 August 1845 – 5 October 1919) was a British lawyer and baronet.
Background
He was born Charles Healey, the only son of Edward Charles Healey. After his father's death, he succeeded h ...
. It is a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The museum has a collection of artefacts, photographs, press cuttings, paintings, and displays of local interest, particularly relating to
Porlock Hill
Porlock Hill is a road west of Porlock, Somerset. It is part of the A39, connecting Porlock to Lynmouth and Barnstaple in Devon and is the steepest A-road in the United Kingdom, approaching 1 in 4 (25%) in places. A parallel toll road is availab ...
on the
A39.
In particular the events of 12 January 1899 are recorded when, during a storm, the 10-ton
Lynmouth
Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built ...
lifeboat was launched but because of the ferocity of the storm could not put out to sea, and was hauled by men and 20 horses over Countisbury and Porlock hills to
Porlock Weir
Porlock Weir is a harbour settlement approximately west of the inland village of Porlock, Somerset, England. "Porlock" comes from the Old English ''port'' '' loca'', meaning an enclosure near a harbour. Porlock Weir refers to the salmon stakes a ...
where the water in the bay was less rough.
The endeavour enabled 13 seamen to be rescued.
At the rear of the building a Herb Garden is being restored with plants grown for medicinal and culinary use when the manor was built.
References
{{reflist
External links
Dovery Manor Museum- official site
Museums in Somerset
Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset
History of Somerset
Local museums in Somerset
Grade II* listed museum buildings