Simonsbath () is a small village high on
Exmoor
Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
in the
English county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
on Exmoor, covering nearly but with a population, at the time of the
2001 census, of 203 in 78 households,
reducing to 156 at the
2011 census.
The
River Exe
The River Exe ( ) is a river in England that source (river), rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lie ...
rises from a valley to the north, and the
River Barle
The River Barle runs from the Chains on northern Exmoor, in Somerset, England to join the River Exe at Exebridge, Devon. The river and the Barle Valley are both designated as biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
On the Chains a ...
runs through the village and is crossed by a triple-arched medieval bridge that was extensively repaired after floods in 1952.
The settlement lies on the route of the
Two Moors Way
The Two Moors Way is a long-distance trail mostly in Devon, UK, first established in 1976. It links Dartmoor and Exmoor and has been extended to become a Devon Coast-to-Coast trail.
History
The Two Moors Way was the brainchild of Joe Turner o ...
and close to the
Macmillan Way West
The Macmillan Way West is a long-distance footpath in Somerset and Devon, England. It runs for from Castle Cary in Somerset to Barnstaple in Devon. It is one of the Macmillan Ways and connects with the main Macmillan Way at Castle Cary.
The ...
.
Toponymy
The ''-bath'' element in this place-name, not recorded before 1791, is easily accounted for: the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''bæth'' signified "water, a pool". The identity of ''Simon'' is less sure. R. J. King pointed out that the name is frequently met with in the West of England, "especially in connection with old boundary lines".
Thomas Westcote, in his ''View of Devonshire in 1630'', preserved a local tradition that "Simon" was a great hunter and Robin Hood-like figure who had his stronghold at Symonsburrow, at the highest point of the
Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills, or Blackdowns, are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys.
...
, a barrow that pre-dates even a medieval legend associated with it.
History
Simonsbath House
Simonsbath House
Simonsbath House is a historic house in Simonsbath on Exmoor in Somerset, England. The Grade II listed building is now the Simonsbath House Hotel, and outdoor activity centre. It lies in the valley of the River Barle and on the Two Moors Way fo ...
was built in 1654 by the merchant, lawyer and philosopher
James Boevey
James Boevey (1622–1696) (pronounced "Boovey") was an English merchant, lawyer and philosopher of Huguenot parentage.
Origins
He was born in London at 6 a.m. on 7 May 1622 in Mincing Lane, in the parish of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. He was the ...
(1622–1696), the warden of the
Royal forest
A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
of
Exmoor
Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
, and for 150 years his was the only house in the forest, which consists largely of
moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...
. The Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
is now the
Simonsbath House
Simonsbath House is a historic house in Simonsbath on Exmoor in Somerset, England. The Grade II listed building is now the Simonsbath House Hotel, and outdoor activity centre. It lies in the valley of the River Barle and on the Two Moors Way fo ...
Hotel and outdoor activity centre.
Sale by the King

On 4 July 1815 an Act of Parliament (55 Geo. 3. c. 138) was passed to enable the
Inclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...
of Exmoor, the summary heading of which was: "An Act for vesting in His Majesty certain parts of the Forest of Exmoor otherwise Exmore in the counties of Somerset and Devon and for enclosing the said Forest". After the Forest had been split into allotments and these had been conveyed to the persons who formerly possessed rights over the Forest, nds of the whole remained the property of the King, which equated to 10,262 acres, and was formally allotted to him as his personal property in the same way as the other shares went to the traditional graziers and owner of the tithes (
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (1787–1871), of
Holnicote, who received th of the total), etc. In 1818 the following sales particulars were published by HM Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues:
"Particulars of a freehold farm belonging to His Majesty and of the allotments (tithe free) made to His Majesty on the Inclosure of Exmoor Forest in the counties of Somerset and Devon to be sold by public tender on 23d day of July 1818, viz. the farm called Simon's Bath Farm situated within the said forest (which farm is enclosed & separated from the unenclosed land) containing by estimation 108 a(cres) 2 r(ods) 0 p(erches) & these several allotments of waste land situated in the center of the said forest contiguous & adjoining to each other and to the farm above mentioned & numbered on the map 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 and containing in the whole 10,262 a(cres) 1 r(od) 6 p(erches). In one lot".
Purchase by John Knight

The highest bidder was John Knight of Lea Castle,
Wolverley
Wolverley is a village; with nearby Cookley (1 mi northeast), it forms a civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. It is 2 miles north of Kidderminster and lies on the River Stour and the Staffordshire a ...
, Worcestershire, whose bid was £50,122. He thus acquired 10,262 1/4 acres, and soon thereafter set about buying up the allotments made to the former graziers and owner of the tithes. This brought his holding to about 20,000 acres. Knight was descended from a wealthy family of Ironmasters. Knight set about converting the Royal Forest, covering land now within the
Exmoor National Park
Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
, into a huge industrial mining complex with canals and railways together with an agricultural estate. He had previously bought and reclaimed uncultivated land in Worcestershire and used similar techniques including burning rough grass, applying
lime to change the
pH, and ploughing to increase the productivity of the land. He also introduced the
Cheviot sheep
The Cheviot (Scottish Gaelic: ''A' chaora mhaol'') is a British breed of white-faced sheep. It originated in, and is named for, the Cheviot Hills in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. It is still common in this area of the United Kin ...
to the area which are now common throughout Exmoor.
Knight and his son Col. Sir
Frederick Winn Knight (1812–1897), KCB, MP, who assumed management in 1841, built most of the large farms in the central section of the moor and laid down of metalled access roads to Simonsbath. He built a stone wall around his estate, parts of which still survive. However, progress was slow, and
Richard Nicholls Worth stated in 1879 in his "Tourist's Guide to North Devon and the Exmoor district":
"The mansion was never finished; cultivation has not spread far from the farmstead centres; the walls bother the sportsman more than the deer; and the bogs are as deep, the inner recesses of the moors as wild and solitary, and the coarse grass, and the bracken, and the heathers supreme in their occupancy mile after mile, as if no effort had ever been made to redeem its mingled wildness and sterility."
19th-century expansion
The small
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
developed in the 19th century, when more houses were built along with
St Luke's Church (1856), providing a centre for the population. The church has been designated by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
as a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. At around the same time as the construction of the church, a mine was developed alongside the River Barle. The mine was originally called Wheal Maria, then changed to
Wheal Eliza. It was a copper mine from 1845–54 and then an iron mine until 1857, although the first mining activity on the site may be from 1552. A restored
Victorian water-powered sawmill in the village, which was damaged in the floods of 1992, has now been purchased by the National Park and returned to working order, making the footpath signs, gates, stiles, and bridges for various sites in the National Park.
Purchase by Fortescues

The reversion of the Simonsbath estate, (referred to also as the "Exmoor estate" by the Fortescues) comprising about 20,000 acres of Exmoor, was purchased from Sir Frederick Knight, following the early death of his only son Frederick Sebright Winn Knight, JP,
Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset, in 1879, aged only 28, by Viscount Ebrington, the future
Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue (1854–1932), whose family's principal seat was
Castle Hill,
Filleigh, ten miles SW of Simonsbath. It is thought he was mainly motivated in his purchase by his great fondness for stag-hunting; he served as master, and later chairman, of the
Devon and Somerset Staghounds
The red deer of Exmoor have been hunted since Norman times, when Exmoor was declared a Royal Forest. Collyns stated the earliest record of a pack of Staghounds on Exmoor was 1598. In 1803, the "North Devon Staghounds" became a subscription pack. ...
. A painting of him out hunting by Lionel Edwards is owned by his granddaughter Lady Margaret Fortescue. He established, with other landowners, the Badgworthy Land Company, to which were conveyed some freehold land around Badgworthy Water and also the hunting rights in perpetuity over much of the land on Exmoor and of that surrounding it. This was designed to ensure that future owners of piecemeal plots, unfavourably disposed to hunting, would not be able to restrict access to the historic wide expanses of hunting land used by the Devon & Somerset Staghounds and local foxhound packs. When Castle Hill burned down in 1934, the 5th Earl Fortescue resided with his wife and two young daughters at Simonsbath House, previously only used by the family as a hunting box, then named
Diana Lodge after the Roman goddess of the hunt, moving back to the rebuilt Castle Hill in May 1936. Lady Margaret Fortescue expressed very fond memories of her childhood at Simonsbath, where she lived between the ages of 11 and 13, having been brought up at Ebrington Manor in Gloucestershire until the family's move to Castle Hill in 1932 on the death of her grandfather the 4th Earl. She recalled in 2001 that Diana Lodge then had panelled rooms downstairs, still in existence, with primitive bedrooms upstairs, linoleum on the floor and one bathroom between the whole family. It was always cold and was heated by smoky peat fires. There was a large team of domestic staff to serve the family, including butler, footman, valet, lady's maid, housemaids, cook, kitchen maids, a scullery maid and odd-job man, some of whom lived in the village. Much of her time was spent hunting on Exmoor with the rest of her family and her young cousins, the children of her uncle Hon. Denzil Fortescue, later the 6th Earl, who had rented nearby Emmett's Grange.
Sold by Fortescues
In 1927 the eastern part of the estate, comprising 1,745 acres, was sold to the industrialist Sir
Robert Waley Cohen
Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE (8 September 1877 – 27 November 1952) was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry.
Early life
Robert Waley Cohen was born on 8 September 1877 to a prominent Jewish family. His father was Na ...
(d.1952), who had leased Honeymead since 1924, including the farmsteads of Honeymead, Pickedstones and Winstitchen. The remainder of the estate continued to be held by the Fortescues until after the death of the 5th Earl in 1958, when the latter's eldest daughter and co-heiress, Lady Margaret Fortescue (b. 1923), sold much of the Simonsbath estate, together with much of the two Fortescue estates centred on
Challacombe and
West Buckland, to pay large death duties. The properties sold were as follows, per the sales particulars headed "The Challacombe Estate and part of the Exmoor Estate, North Devon" dated 18 September 1959:
*EXMOOR
**Driver Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Driver Cottages, Driver Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Pinkery Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Hoar Oak Herding, Lynton and Lynmouth
**Exmoor Forest Hotel, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Emmetts Grange Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Wintershead Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Wintershead Cottages, Wintershead Farm, Exmoor
**1 Wintershead Cottages, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Horsen Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor
**Wintershead Cottages, Horsen Farm, Exmoor
**2 Wintershead Cottages, Simonsbath, Exmoor
*KENTISBURY
**Breadwick Farm, Kentisbury
**Northbrook Cottage, Breadwick Farm, Kentisbury
**Bridwick Cottage, Breadwick Farm, Kentisbury
**Wistlandpound Farm, Kentisbury
*CHALLACOMBE
**Westland Farm, Challacombe
**Little Rowley, Westland Farm, Challacombe
**Whitefield Barton, Challacombe
**Twitchen Farm, Challacombe
**South Swincombe Farm, Challacombe
**Home Place Farm, Challacombe
**Shoulsbarrow Farm, Challacombe
**Buscombe Farm, Challacombe
**Rooksfoot Cottage, Shoulsbarrow Farm, Challacombe
**Barton Town Farm, Challacombe
**Challacombe Mill Farm, Challacombe
**Twineford Farm, Challacombe
**Withecombe Farm, Challacombe
**North Swincombe Farm, Challacombe
**North Barton Farm, Challacombe
**West Barton Gate Smallholding, Challacombe
**East Barton Gate Smallholding, Challacombe
**Ring of Bells Inn, Challacombe
**Bickfont Smallholding, Challacombe
**School House, Challacombe
**Village Hall, Challacombe
**2 Church Cottages, Challacombe
It was a decision she said in 2001 that she then regretted, but had been advised at the time not to burden the remaining estate with the large borrowing required to meet the tax bill. She did, however, retain what she termed "the heart of the Exmoor estate" and started to farm this land in-hand using her own employees, not renewing tenancies on farms when they expired. She established five large flocks of sheep and two large cattle herds, the latter based at Cornham and Simonsbath Barton. Simonsbath sawmill was closed down as it was unprofitable. In 1989 Lady Margaret handed over the family estates to her daughter the Countess of Arran, who, later on, sold the remainder of the Simonsbath estate, namely the Barton and Cornham, to John Ewart, a keen follower of the Staghounds, whilst Exmoor National Park purchased much of the moorland. Some of the houses, however, were retained where occupied by retired Fortescue employees.
Sold by Ewart
In June 2006 Ewart offered Simonsbath Barton estate for sale via estate agents Savills and Strutt & Parker. This estate was built originally as the home-farm for Simonsbath House, and is situated nearby. The land offered comprised 2,080 acres freehold and a further 3,788 acres rented under a grazing licence from Exmoor National Park expiring in 2031. Also included was a five-bedroom house, another of four bedrooms, and a range of buildings and cottages. The land was then generating £378,333 per annum in government farming grants and subsidies, whilst further profit was accruing from the farming operations which comprised a 640-head home-bred suckler calf herd and a flock of 2,500 Scotch Blackface ewes. The asking price was £4 1/2 million.
Simonsbath sawmill
The sawmill is situated a hundred yards in front of Simonsbath House, close to the River Barle, from which a
leat
A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Othe ...
extends to drive the machinery. It was built by John Knight, between 1818 and 1841, and was refurbished by Viscount Ebrington in 1898. In 1996 it was bought by Exmoor National Park Authority and was restored in 2002–03 with Heritage Lottery Funding, with the intention of using it to make gates and footpath signposts. However, in 2010 production was ceased, and it is now in the care of a volunteer group. It is a very rare survival of an estate sawmill that still retains its 19th-century machinery.
Governance
The civil parish of Exmoor has its own
parish council which has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and
neighbourhood watch
A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...
groups 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.
For
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
purposes, since 1 April 2023, the parish comes under the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
of
Somerset Council
Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unita ...
. Prior to this, it was part of the
non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...
of
Somerset West and Taunton
Somerset West and Taunton was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 2019 to 2023. It was established on 1 April 2019 by the Somerset West and Taunton (Local Government Changes) Order 2018. The council replaced the Taunton Dean ...
(formed on 1 April 2019) and, before this, the district of
West Somerset
West Somerset was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the English county of Somerset from 1974 to 2019. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the List of English dist ...
(established under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
). It was part of
Dulverton Rural District before 1974.
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
with the name 'Greater Exmoor' also exists. This extends from ''Simonsbath'' to the
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
boundary in the west, and
Cutcombe in the east plus
Hawkridge in the south east. The total population of this ward at the abovementioned election was 1,123.
It is also part of the
Tiverton and Minehead constituency represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
. It elects one
Member of Parliament (MP) by the
first past the post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system of election.
Geography

Simonsbath is above sea level, in the valley of the
River Barle
The River Barle runs from the Chains on northern Exmoor, in Somerset, England to join the River Exe at Exebridge, Devon. The river and the Barle Valley are both designated as biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
On the Chains a ...
. On the
Chains
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...
is a reservoir known as Pinkery Pond. It was formed by damming the River Barle, in the 19th century by John Knight and his son, and was originally intended to be . The purpose is unknown but close to the pond is the remains of a small canal.
On the moor north of the village is
Exe Head, which is the source of the
River Exe
The River Exe ( ) is a river in England that source (river), rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lie ...
. It lies on peaty soils over rocks dating from the mid
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
(to which this area gave its name) to early
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
periods.
Quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
and
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
mineralisation can be detected in outcrops and subsoil. The Devonian
Kentisbury Slates are exposed in the small quarry by white water.
The mean annual temperature is 8.3 °C (47 °F). The average annual total rainfall is , although fell in the 24-hour period preceding 10 a.m. on 16 August 1952, which was one of the contributory factors leading to the flooding in
Lynmouth
Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn River, West Lyn and East Lyn River, East Lyn rivers, in a gorge directly below the neighbouring town of Lynton, w ...
.
Demography
Estimates from the 2001 census show Simonsbath as having a population of 300 in 110 households, 99.7% of which are white and 0.3% Asian or Asian British.
The Exmoor Forest Inn
The Exmoor Forest Inn was originally known as the Refreshment House, then from 1885 The William Rufus Inn and then The Exmoor Forest Hotel in 1901. For a while it was split in half with the nearest part to the road being the Temperance Hotel, until re-united in 1909. It was teetotal until 1933 when the parish of Exmoor was granted its excise licence.
In 2005 the term 'Inn' was reinstated to the name, when the building was renovated.
When known as the William Rufus Inn, it was said to be the haunt of the noted Exmoor Highwayman Tom Faggus, who married 'Girt Jan Ridds' sister whose exploits are recorded in 'Lorna Doone'. Once it was said, Faggus's enemies laid a trap to catch him in the Inn, but Faggus whistled for his strawberry mare Winnie who jumped through the window and kicked all her masters enemies away from him. Faggus jumped on the mare's back and escaped.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Map of Simonsbath c. 1900Exmoor Fuels LtdThe Exmoor Chimney Sweep Ltd
{{West Somerset
Exmoor
Villages in West Somerset