Watchet
Encyclopedia
Watchet is a harbour town
and civil parish in the English
county
of Somerset
, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated 15 miles (24.1 km) west of Bridgwater
, 15 miles (24.1 km) north-west of Taunton
, and 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Minehead
. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish. 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
.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
was written whilst travelling through Watchet and the surrounding area.
was killed and the 15th century, Grade I listed, Church of St Decuman
is dedicated to him.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
records the early port at Watchet being plundered by Danes led by Ohtor and Rhoald in 987 and 997. The parish of Watchet was part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred.
It is known that it was in frequent use by small boats in 1564 possibly for the import of salt and wine from France
. During the English Civil War
Royalist
reinforcements for the siege of Dunster Castle
was sent by sea, but the tide was on the ebb and a troop of Roundheads rode into the shallows and forced the ship to surrender, so a ship at sea was taken by a troop of horse.
The primitive jetty was damaged in a storm of 1659 and a larger, stronger pier was built in the early 18th century supported by local wool merchants, although by 1797 the largest export was kelp
made by burning seaweed for use in glass making. In the 19th century trade increased with the export of iron ore from the Brendon Hills
, paper, flour and gypsum.
Harbour trade was aided by the coming of the railway. In the mid-1860s two independent railways terminated at Watchet. The West Somerset Mineral Railway
ran down from the iron mines on the Brendon Hills, and the West Somerset Railway
came up from the Bristol & Exeter Railway at Norton Fitzwarren
. Both lines made extensive use of the harbour at Watchet from where iron ore was shipped across the Bristol Channel for smelting at Ebbw Vale
in South Wales
.
The mines and West Somerset Mineral Railway closed in 1898. The West Somerset Railway, extended from Watchet to Minehead
in 1874, survived as part of British Rail
until 1971. Reopened as a heritage railway, it still operates today.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution
stationed a lifeboat
at Watchet in 1875. The station was closed in 1944 by which time the nearby station at had been equipped with a motor lifeboat that could cover the area around Watchet. The boat was launched from the slipway at the western corner of the harbour, but the boat house was at the southern corner near the railway station and the boat was taken along the quay on a carriage. Since closure the boat house has been converted into a library.
In 1900 and 1903 a series of gales breached the breakwater and East Pier with the loss of several vessels each time and subsequent repairs.
Before World War II
at a site between Watchet and Doniford a gunnery range was established for various army units to practice anti-aircraft gunnery. Unmanned target aircraft were towed by planes from RAF Weston Zoyland
and later were fired from catapults over the sea. Little of the camp buildings survive and it is now the site of a holiday park.
The civil parish of Watchet is governed by a town council
, having previously been Watchet Urban District. Administratively, the civil parish falls within the West Somerset
local government district
and the Somerset
shire county. Administrative tasks are shared between county, district and town councils. In 2002, the parish was estimated to have a population of 4,401.
Watchet forms part of the Bridgwater and West Somerset county constituency represented in the House of Commons
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Ian Liddell-Grainger, a member of the Conservatives
.
Residents of Watchet also form part of the electorate for the South West England
constituency for elections to the European Parliament
.
The principal landmark in Watchet is the town's harbour and the surrounding quaysides and narrow streets. In commercial use until 2000, the harbour has now been converted into a marina
. The esplanade has been refurbished with new shelters, information points, and the provision of new paving in some areas, as well as railings, lamps, curved benches, planters and new tree plantings. There are several museums in the town, including the Market House Museum
, which explores the history of the town and its harbour, and the Watchet Boat Museum
, which displays the unusual local flatner boats and associated artefacts.
Adjacent to the harbour is Watchet station
. This is now an intermediate stop on the West Somerset Railway
, a largely steam
-operated heritage railway
that links Bishops Lydeard
, near Taunton
, with Minehead
. The trackbed of the old West Somerset Mineral Railway now forms a path, which can be followed from the harbour at Watchet to Washford station
, also on the West Somerset Railway.
The foreshore at Watchet is rocky, with a high 6 metres (19.7 ft) tidal range
. The cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor
show a distinct pale, greenish blue colour, resulting from the coloured alabaster
found there. The name "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote this colour.
Daw's Castle
, about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) west of Watchet, is a hill fort
situated on a sea cliff about 80 metres (262.5 ft) above the sea. The fort may be of Iron Age
origin, but was (re)built and fortified as a burh
by King Alfred, as part of his defence against Viking
raids from the Bristol Channel
around 878 AD
.
Cleeve Abbey
, one of the best preserved medieval monasteries
in England, lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Watchet, in the village of Washford
. Dunster Castle
is a further 4 miles (6.4 km) in the same direction.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and civil parish in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated 15 miles (24.1 km) west of Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
, 15 miles (24.1 km) north-west of Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, and 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish. The town lies at the mouth of the Washford River on Bridgwater Bay
Bridgwater Bay
Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England at the mouth of the River Parrett and the end of the River Parrett Trail. It consists of large areas of mud flats, saltmarsh, sandflats and shingle ridges, some of which are vegetated...
, part of the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...
.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and was published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 that featured a gloss...
was written whilst travelling through Watchet and the surrounding area.
History
Watchet is believed to be the place where Saint DecumanSaint Decuman
Decuman was one of the Celtic saints who came to Somerset from South Wales during the 7th century, arriving on a raft with a cow for a companion. There he was a pastor and physician to the local inhabitants.-Life and cult:...
was killed and the 15th century, Grade I listed, Church of St Decuman
Church of St Decuman, Watchet
The Church of St Decuman in Watchet, Somerset, England has a 13th century chancel with the rest of the church being from the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
is dedicated to him.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
records the early port at Watchet being plundered by Danes led by Ohtor and Rhoald in 987 and 997. The parish of Watchet was part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred.
It is known that it was in frequent use by small boats in 1564 possibly for the import of salt and wine from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
reinforcements for the siege of Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century,...
was sent by sea, but the tide was on the ebb and a troop of Roundheads rode into the shallows and forced the ship to surrender, so a ship at sea was taken by a troop of horse.
The primitive jetty was damaged in a storm of 1659 and a larger, stronger pier was built in the early 18th century supported by local wool merchants, although by 1797 the largest export was kelp
Kelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
made by burning seaweed for use in glass making. In the 19th century trade increased with the export of iron ore from the Brendon Hills
Brendon Hills
The Brendon Hills are composed of a lofty ridge of hills in the East Lyn Valley area of western Somerset, England. The terrain is broken by a series of deeply incised streams and rivers running roughly southwards to meet the River Haddeo, a tributary of the River Exe.The hills are quite heavily...
, paper, flour and gypsum.
Harbour trade was aided by the coming of the railway. In the mid-1860s two independent railways terminated at Watchet. The West Somerset Mineral Railway
West Somerset Mineral Railway
The West Somerset Mineral Railway was a line which operated in the UK county of Somerset. It ran from the ironstone mines in the Brendon Hills to the port of Watchet on the Bristol Channel. From there the ore was carried across by ship to Newport and thence to Ebbw Vale for smelting to extract...
ran down from the iron mines on the Brendon Hills, and the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
came up from the Bristol & Exeter Railway at Norton Fitzwarren
Norton Fitzwarren
Norton Fitzwarren is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 2,325.-History:...
. Both lines made extensive use of the harbour at Watchet from where iron ore was shipped across the Bristol Channel for smelting at Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
The mines and West Somerset Mineral Railway closed in 1898. The West Somerset Railway, extended from Watchet to Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
in 1874, survived as part of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
until 1971. Reopened as a heritage railway, it still operates today.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
stationed a lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
at Watchet in 1875. The station was closed in 1944 by which time the nearby station at had been equipped with a motor lifeboat that could cover the area around Watchet. The boat was launched from the slipway at the western corner of the harbour, but the boat house was at the southern corner near the railway station and the boat was taken along the quay on a carriage. Since closure the boat house has been converted into a library.
In 1900 and 1903 a series of gales breached the breakwater and East Pier with the loss of several vessels each time and subsequent repairs.
Before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
at a site between Watchet and Doniford a gunnery range was established for various army units to practice anti-aircraft gunnery. Unmanned target aircraft were towed by planes from RAF Weston Zoyland
RAF Weston Zoyland
thumb|C-47s of the 306th Troop Carrier SquadronRAF Station Weston Zoyland is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London...
and later were fired from catapults over the sea. Little of the camp buildings survive and it is now the site of a holiday park.
Governance
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
, having previously been Watchet Urban District. Administratively, the civil parish falls within the West Somerset
West Somerset
West Somerset is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covers a largely rural area, with a population of 35,075 in an area of ....
local government district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
and the Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
shire county. Administrative tasks are shared between county, district and town councils. In 2002, the parish was estimated to have a population of 4,401.
Watchet forms part of the Bridgwater and West Somerset county constituency represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Ian Liddell-Grainger, a member of the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Residents of Watchet also form part of the electorate for the South West England
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
constituency for elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Landmarks
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
. The esplanade has been refurbished with new shelters, information points, and the provision of new paving in some areas, as well as railings, lamps, curved benches, planters and new tree plantings. There are several museums in the town, including the Market House Museum
Market House Museum
The Market House Museum is a small museum in Watchet, Somerset, England.The building was constructed in 1820 on the site of the previous market house which had been demolished in 1805. It was converted into a museum in 1979. It is a Grade II listed building....
, which explores the history of the town and its harbour, and the Watchet Boat Museum
Watchet Boat Museum
Watchet Boat Museum is a small museum in Watchet, Somerset, England.It is housed in an old Victorian goods shed, built in 1862, next to Watchet railway station on the heritage West Somerset Railway....
, which displays the unusual local flatner boats and associated artefacts.
Adjacent to the harbour is Watchet station
Watchet railway station
Watchet railway station is a station on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in Somerset, England. It is situated in the small harbour town of Watchet.-History:...
. This is now an intermediate stop on the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
, a largely steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
-operated heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
that links Bishops Lydeard
Bishops Lydeard
Bishops Lydeard is a village and civil parish located in Somerset, England, bypassed, since 1967, by the A358 road and West Somerset Railway north-west of Taunton in the district of Taunton Deane...
, near Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, with Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
. The trackbed of the old West Somerset Mineral Railway now forms a path, which can be followed from the harbour at Watchet to Washford station
Washford railway station
Washford railway station is a station on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in England. The station is situated in the village of Washford, which is itself within the civil parish of Old Cleeve in the county of Somerset.-History:...
, also on the West Somerset Railway.
The foreshore at Watchet is rocky, with a high 6 metres (19.7 ft) tidal range
Tidal range
The tidal range is the vertical difference between the high tide and the succeeding low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth...
. The cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor
Blue Anchor
Blue Anchor is a seaside village, in the parish of Old Cleeve, close to Carhampton in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The village takes its name from a 17th century inn....
show a distinct pale, greenish blue colour, resulting from the coloured alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
found there. The name "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote this colour.
Daw's Castle
Daw's Castle
Daw's Castle is a sea cliff hill fort just west of Watchet, a harbour town in Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.The name comes from Thomas Dawe, who owned castell field in 1537....
, about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) west of Watchet, is a hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
situated on a sea cliff about 80 metres (262.5 ft) above the sea. The fort may be of Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
origin, but was (re)built and fortified as a burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
by King Alfred, as part of his defence against Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raids from the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
around 878 AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
.
Cleeve Abbey
Cleeve Abbey
Cleeve Abbey is a medieval monastery located near the village of Washford, in Somerset, England. The abbey was founded in the late twelfth century as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order. Over its 350-year monastic history Cleeve was undistinguished amongst the abbeys of its order,...
, one of the best preserved medieval monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in England, lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Watchet, in the village of Washford
Washford
Washford is a small village on the Washford River in the English county of Somerset. It is within the civil parish of Old Cleeve and is best known as the site of Cleeve Abbey, one of the best-preserved medieval monasteries in England...
. Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century,...
is a further 4 miles (6.4 km) in the same direction.
External links
- Watchet Town Council
- The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Watchet, by Clare Gathercole
- Visit Watchet