Off the Beaten Track in Somerset: January 2021

Monday 18 January 2021

The Kenn Hangings of 1830

A very ordinary looking field in the village of Kenn near Clevedon was the site of what was possibly the last public hanging in England to take place at the scene of the crime. On 8^th September 1830 35 year old William Wall, 30 year old John Rowley and 19 year old Richard Clarke were hanged for setting fire to three wheat stacks belonging to a local farmer called Benjamin Poole on 31^st October 1829.

William Wall had operated an unlicensed cider house on Duck Lane, Kenn and some of those who had frequented it had committed many crimes in the area. Wall had been fined for selling cider without a licence and it is thought that he believed that it was Benjamin Poole who had informed on him. Wall and his accomplices set fire to the ricks as an act of revenge after a night of drinking.

Husband and wife William and Mary Wall, brothers John & James Rowley, Richard Clarke and John Old were tried at the Somerset Assizes in Wells in August 1830. Isaac Old (brother of John Old) had also been one of the accused but he saved himself by giving evidence against the others. William Wall, John Rowley and Richard Clarke were found guilty and sentenced to death. John Old, James Rowley and Mary Wall were convicted of arson but were sentenced to transportation.

It was estimated that over 12,000 people turned up to witness the execution. The men had been held at Ilchester Gaol and were transported on a prison cart the 40 or so miles from there to Kenn.

William and Mary Wall had 7 children at the time of his execution and Mary gave birth to an 8^th child while she was held in Ilchester Gaol. The older children were subsequently brought up by various relatives in the Kenn area and the youngest child (a son called David) travelled to Tasmania with Mary but died in Hobart aged 2. John Rowley and Richard Clarke were not married.

A fuller account of the case written by Derek and Jane Lilly can be found on the Kenn Village website: http://kennvillage.co.uk/home-2/history-project/kenn-hangings/

Hanging Field, Kenn Street, Kenn

Friday 1 January 2021

Ashcombe Gardens, Simonsbath

Ashcombe Gardens were laid out by John Knight in around 1820 to the north of Simonsbath House and up the valley of the Ashcombe Stream. Deciduous trees and conifers were planted and terraced paths were constructed but the gardens were never completed. They were designed using "picturesque" principles. The Oxford English Dictionary defines picturesque gardening as "the arrangement of a garden so as to make it resemble a picture: a romantic style of gardening, aiming at irregular and rugged beauty".

The Fortescue family bought the Simonsbath estate from Sir Frederick Knight in 1879 to use mainly for stag hunting. Their main house was Castle Hill at Filleigh and they only used Simonsbath House for holidays and hunting parties until 1934 when Castle Hill was damaged in a fire. They moved to Simonsbath House for 2 years while Castle Hill was being repaired. They planted up Ashcombe Gardens. The Fortescues then rented out Simonsbath House to 4 different tenants from 1940-68 and the gardens became neglected and overgrown. They sold Simonsbath House in 1969 and it has been run as a hotel ever since.

Most of the trees in Ashcombe Gardens were felled in the 1940s but since then a wood of mainly oak, ash and sycamore has replaced them. The gardens are currently being restored by a group of volunteers.