Friday 15 March 2024

Rachel Reckitt, Artist and Sculptor

Rachel Reckitt was born in St Albans in 1908.  In 1922 her father, the architect Norman Reckitt, moved the family from Hertfordshire to Golsoncott near Roadwater.  Rachel studied at the Taunton School of Art and then in the mid-1930s she moved to London to study at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art where she was taught by Iain Macnab.  She exhibited with the Society of Wood Engravers from 1933 but then turned to painting and sculpture.

In 1937 Rachel made the first of 5 sculptured signs for Somerset pubs out of metal sheeting.  Over the next 2 years she made signs for the Valiant Soldier at Roadwater, the White Horse Inn at Cleeve, the Butchers Arms in Carhampton, the Blackbird on the A38 near West Buckland and the Halfway House at Willand.  

Rachel Reckitt studied at the Hammersmith School of Building Crafts from 1940 to 1945 and also studied lithography at the Central School of Art and Design.

In the late 1960s Rachel began to learn the craft of blacksmithing with Harry and Jim Horrobin.  In 1974 she and Jim Horrobin were commissioned to make a tower screen for St Andrew's Church, Old Cleeve.  Four fibre-glass panels were painted with the patron saints of the churches in the same benefice.  Three large angels are arranged above the screen.

Examples of her work can be found in all the other parish churches around Golsoncott:

  • Jacob wrestling with the Angel at St Bartholomew's Church Rodhuish
  • Praying Figure carved from elm, St John's Church, Carhampton
  • Reredos, capitals and pulpit decorated with passion flowers and foliage at Leighland Chapel
  • Statue of St Nicholas in Withycombe

Rachel Reckitt travelled around Europe every year before and after the Second World War in search of inspiration for her work.  She died in 1995.  After her death the proceeds of her estate were used to establish a charitable trust called the Golsoncott Foundation.  Rachel was the aunt of the author Penelope Lively.

Praying Figure, Church of St John the Baptist, Carhampton

Tower screen, St Andrew's Church, Old Cleeve

St Nicholas, Withycombe

Butchers Arms, Carhampton

Butchers Arms Pub Sign, Carhampton

Pulpit, Leighland Chapel

Chancel capital, Leighland Chapel

Altar and Reredos, Leighland Chapel

Valiant Soldier pub sign, Roadwater


Jacob wrestling with the Angel, St Bartholomew's Church, Rodhuish

St Bartholomew's Church, Rodhuish

The Blackbird pub sign

Friday 1 March 2024

Larkbarrow Farm

John Knight built Larkbarrow Farm as a model farm in the 1840s.  He attempted to turn large areas of moorland on Exmoor into productive farmland.  The farmhouse and outbuildings were arranged around a courtyard.  Trees were planted on three sides of the farm to shelter it.  The first tenant was James Meadows.  He arrived in 1852 but he left by 1852 when his attempt to establish a dairy farm and produce cheese failed.  Larkbarrow was uninhabited until the 1860s when shepherds from Scotland lived in the farmhouse.  It was later used as a shooting lodge.  The farm passed to the Fortescue Estates in the late 19th century.  

During the Second World War the farmhouse was used for target practice by the army and only a few low walls remain standing today. The site has been conserved by Exmoor National Park Authority: they have capped the standing walls and cleared the undergrowth.

Another model farm was constructed c1850 half a mile to the west of Larkbarrow Farm, at Great Tom's Hill. This farm was occupied until the Second World War, when it too was used for target practice.

Larkbarrow Cottage was built between Tom's Hill Farm and Larkbarrow and was occupied until the 1920s.  In July 1923 one of the occupants, Will Little, was killed when he was struck by lightning on his way back from work at nearby Warren Farm.  The remains of Larkbarrow Cottage can still be seen.

Since 2021 Larkbarrow Farm has been used as the destination for the Exmoor Dark Sky Discovery Trail. 

Larkbarrow Ruins

Larkbarrow Ruins

Larkbarrow Ruins

Larkbarrow Ruins

Larkbarrow Ruins

Larkbarrow Ruins

Exmoor Dark Sky Discovery Trail post at Larkbarrow

Exmoor Dark Sky Discovery Trail post at Larkbarrow

Thursday 15 February 2024

The Great Flood of 1952 in Dulverton

The first 2 weeks of August 1952 were very wet in the south west of England. Then on afternoon and evening of 15th August 9 inches of rain fell over Exmoor and caused devastating floods along the courses of the Rivers East & West Lyn, Exe and Barle and their tributaries.  34 people died (28 of them in Lynmouth and Barbrook), 100 buildings  and many bridges (including Tarr Steps and Marsh Bridge) were damaged or destroyed.  In Bridge Street, Dulverton there is a plaque showing the height that the River Barle reached in the town. It was donated by two soldiers who assisted in the clean up operation.

1952 Flood plaque in Dulverton

1952 Flood plaque

Marsh Bridge - rebuilt after the 1952 floods

Decoration on Marsh Bridge

"The hedge that moved"
I was told by someone who was living at Higher Marsh in August 1952, that a section of bank and three beech trees close to the River Barle upstream of Marsh Bridge was moved wholesale by the force of the water about 50 metres downstream.  It remains in the middle of a field and the trees have carried on growing.  There is no public access to the field, so this was the best photo I could get of the trees.  The are located slightly to the left of the centre of the photo.





Thursday 1 February 2024

Stoney Littleton Long Barrow

Stoney Littleton Long Barrow was built in the early Neolithic period, probably c3800-3400 BC.   It contained the remains of over a dozen men, women and children, possibly 3 or 4 generations of the same family.  It may also have been a religious shrine and/or way of marking territory.

Most of the stone and earth used to build the long barrow were quarried from near the site but the large slabs, which form the chambers, came from outcrops over 5 miles away.  The barrow was used for about 200 years before the forecourt was filled with stone and the entrance was blocked up. There is a large fossil ammonite on the western portal stone at the entrance.

The site was rediscovered by a farmer in 1760 and the site was excavated in 1816. It was partly restored in 1858 and again more recently.  Visitors to the site can explore the tomb by crawling along the 13m narrow passage.

Stoney Littleton Long Barrow

Entrance to the long barrow

Inside the long barrow

Fossil ammonite at the entrance

Diagram showing the internal layout of the long barrow

Monday 15 January 2024

The Brick and Tile Industry in Bridgwater

The first commercial brickyards were set up in Bridgwater at the end of the 17th century.  Local clay was used.  The clay at Chilton Trinity was particularly good for making tiles. By 1850 there were 16 brickyards along both sides of the River Parrett and the brick and tile industry was the biggest employer in the town.  The largest companies were Sealys, Colthurst & Symons, Barham Brothers and John Browne/Somerset Trading Company.

James Brydges, the 1st Duke of Chandos (1673-1744), acquired the manor and lordship of Bridgwater in 1721. From 1721 until c1735 he attempted unsuccessfully to establish Bridgwater as a major industrial centre. One of his ventures was a glassworks and a 33 metre high kiln or cone was built for it in 1725 from locally made bricks.  Bottles and window glass were produced.  However, it only functioned as a glass kiln until 1734.  It was then converted to a pottery kiln and used to fire bricks and tiles.  It continued to be used as a pottery kiln until 1939.  The top part of the cone was demolished in 1943 but the lower section is still in situ at the junction of Northgate and Valetta Place and can be visited at any time.

In 1820 it was discovered that silt from the River Parrett in Bridgwater could be used to make scouring bricks.  These became known as Bath Bricks because after firing they were turned a similar colour to Bath stone.  Bath Bricks were patented by John Browne in 1827 and at its height millions of them were produced each year by 10 different Bridgwater companies and exported around the world.  They were gradually replaced in the early 20th century by kitchen scourers like Vim.

Alfred Garratt Barham started up a cement company in Bridgwater in 1858.  He was joined shortly after by his brother Francis Forster and the company became known as Barham Brothers. At first they made cement, hydraulic lime and plaster of Paris.  They later made clay products for the building trade: mainly bricks, tiles, ornamental gable ends and chimney pots.  Barham Brothers closed down in 1965.

Somerset Brick and Tile Museum is located in East Quay, Bridgwater. It is free to visit but is currently only open on Tuesdays.  You can see the inside and outside of Barham Brothers last remaining kiln, which is now a scheduled ancient monument. The rest of the museum is in a former plain tile drying shed.

Brick and Tile Museum

Brick and Tile Museum

Poster showing Barham Brothers wares

Plan of the Barham Brothers site in Bridgwater

Workers at the entrance to the kiln

Inside the kiln

Remains of Chandos Glass Cone

Chandos Glass Cone

Monday 1 January 2024

Church Bench Ends

Most of the surviving medieval bench ends in Somerset churches date from the 15th and 16th centuries.  During this period seating was provided in churches: previously the congregations had stood for the duration of the services.  Each church commissioned the carving of its own bench ends. The majority of bench ends were made of oak.

Very little is known about the people who carved bench ends in Somerset in the 15th and 16th centuries.  The names of only two carvers are known: Simon Warman/Werman and Glosse.  Simon Warman's name or initials appear on bench ends in several churches in the Taunton area.  He was probably responsible for carving bench ends in the churches in East Quantoxhead, Monksilver, Bicknoller, Cothelstone, Bishop's Hull, Broomfield & Bishops Lydeard.  Glosse is referred to in Stogursey's church records for 1524/5.

Bench ends can have poppyhead or horizontal tops.  The bench end carvers may not have been the people who made and fitted the seats.  Money from the wool trade probably paid for many of the carved bench ends.

There are 7 main types of carved bench ends:

  • Symbols
  • Birds
  • Pelicans
  • Green Men
  • Quadrupeds
  • People
  • Plants
Symbols are usually either associated with the church or depictions of contemporary trades and crafts.  

Church symbols, which appear on bench ends include

  • Signs of the passion (e.g. a cockerel)
  • IHS (these are the 1st three letters of the name Jesus in Greek) or IHC (I & H are the 1st and 2nd letters of Jesus in Greek and C stands for Christus in Latin)
  • The rosary
  • Star of David
  • Sacred Heart
  • Holy water aspersorium and sprinkler
  • Mitre and crosier
Symbols of trades and crafts include:

  • Windmills
  • Farm equipment
  • Weaving and clothmaking equipment
  • Ships - wool trading vessels
  • Woodworking tools
Birds which appear on Somerset bench ends include those depicted as pests (e.g. doves or pigeons eating grapes), doves with olive twigs returning to Noah's ark or representing the holy spirit, storks, spoonbills, game birds and numerous unidentified birds sitting in trees.

Pelicans are symbols of piety and the eucharist.  Pelicans are often depicted on bench ends feeding their own young with their own blood having plucked their own breasts.  It is possible that pelicans were still living on the Somerset levels during the medieval period.  However this may not be the case, as they aren't depicted with webbed feet, which implies that the carvers had never seen live pelicans.

Green Men are images of human faces associated with foliage. They may have their origins in ancient mythology.  Alternatively their origins may lie with "wild-men" who lived in the woods on the fringes of society in the Middle Ages, for example Robin Hood. Or they could come from an innate part of the human psyche where the Green Man symbolises the realisation and acceptance that humanity and the world are inseparable.

There are three main types of Green Men:

  1.  Those who have faces formed of leaves
  2.  Those with faces where foliage comes out of the face, usually the mouth but   occasionally the nose, ears or eyes. This is the most common type in medieval carvings   in England
  3. Those whose face is set amongst the foliage.
Quadrupeds depicted on Somerset bench ends include real animals such as foxes, rabbits, stags, lions, horses, dogs, cats, badgers, lambs and cows and mythical creatures such as dragons and unicorns.

People on bench ends are usually either ecclesiastical (saints, angels, bishops, choristers, deacons etc)  or local tradesmen (millers, woodcutters, archers, ale drinkers, clothiers, packhorse drivers, nightwatchmen, wrestlers etc).

Plants are the most common decorations on bench ends, either as the main feature or as infill on panels with a different main design.

Ship, Bishops Lydeard

Pelican feeding its young, Bishops Lydeard

Sacred Heart, Bishops Lydeard

Anno Domini 1534, Crowcombe

There is an unusual trilogy of bench ends in St Michael's Church, Brent Knoll.  They depict the downfall and execution of a fox dressed as a bishop.  The fox may represent one of the Abbots of Glastonbury, but it is more likely that it represents Richard Fox, who was Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1492 to 1495. In 1519 he bought land in South and East Brent.  He was disliked by the Abbot of Glastonbury and a man named John Fitzjames.  

In the first scene the fox is dressed in vestments and is wearing a mitre and carrying a crozier.  There are birds, including an owl and a cockerel around the edges and at the top.  At the bottom of the main picture there are some animal heads.  In the bottom panel 2 monkeys are shown roasting a boar on a spit over a fire.

In the top panel of the 2nd scene the fox has been stripped of his vestments and has cuffs around his hind legs.  Various birds are depicted and there is a monkey (or it maybe a lion), which may be reading charges against the fox from a scroll.  In the bottom panel the box has his legs in stocks and the monkey/lion is holding a halberd.

In the 3rd scene the fox is executed by hanging.  The hanging is being carried out by 5 geese.  Two hounds are underneath awaiting the body.  A green man is depicted at the top of the bench, just under the poppyhead top.

Brent Knoll
Fox clothed as a bishop

Brent Knoll
Manacled fox

Brent Knoll
The fox is hanged by geese

Two men arguing, North Cadbury

Church and village, North Cadbury

Bearded man, North Cadbury

Unicorn, North Cadbury

West Bagborough

Two mythical creatures at the top with flowers and foliage below, West Bagborough

Feathers, West Bagborough

East Quantoxhead
Luttrell coat of arms, centaur, unicorn, alpha & omega symbols

Stars of David, East Quantoxhead

Man, Nettlecombe

Wheat and vines on poppyead top, Kingston St Mary

Oxen and yoke with foliage and fruit below,             Kingston St Mary

Rosary, Kingston St Mary

Hare below a goose, Kingston St Mary

Vase of flowers, Kingston St Mary

Weaver's shuttle below foliage, Kingston St Mary

Bench end dated 1522, Kingston St Mary

Ship, Milverton

Holy water aspersorium and sprinkler, Milverton

Man drinking ale, Milverton

Official Ship's Badge of HMS Finisterre, Milverton
A mythical seahorse is depicted on the badge, which was approved in 1945.  HMS Finisterre was completed in 1945 and scrapped in 1967.  I don't know what the connection is with Milverton.

Man, Milverton

Hatch Beauchamp
The risen Jesus stepping out of the tomb onto a guard with frightened guards on either side of him and a pelican feeding its young in the lower panel

Man, Chipstable

Holy water aspersorium and sprinkler, Chipstable

Axe, Banwell

Green Man, Monksilver

Fish and sheep with candelabrum, Monksilver

Fish/serpent/eel?, Stogursey

Somerset Dyslexia Association, Milverton

Lamb and cross, Alford

Unicorn, Dunster

Angel, Brent Knoll

Angel & coats of arms, Churchstanton

Foliage, Combe Florey

Plants, Combe Florey

Vase of flowers, Combe Florey

IHC, Combe Florey

North Cadbury
Cat with mouse over mousetrap

Bird eating grapes, Cothelstone

Woman, Hatch Beauchamp

Man, Stogursey

Poppy head at St Julian's Church, Wellow

Green Man, Crowcombe

Dragon, North Cadbury

Stork or Heron, North Cadbury

Bishops Lydeard
Windmill with birds, miller and packhorse

Fox hunt, Monksilver

Candlestick, Monksilver

IHS, Monksilver

Packhorse and its driver, North Cadbury

Stag, Monksilver

Stag, Bishops Lydeard

Dragon, Alford

St George slaying the dragon, Dunster

Bat, Crowcombe

Dove with an olive twig in its beak, East Quantoxhead

Spoonbill, Stogursey

Bishop's mitre and crosier, St Andrew's Church, Old Cleeve

Birds and Fruit, St Andrew's Church, Old Cleeve

Dragon, St Andrew's Church, Old Cleeve

A pair of shears and 4 teasels, Cheddon Fitzpaine

EG SG 1660, Cheddon Fitzpaine

Double-headed eagle, Cheddon Fitzpaine

Green man, Cheddon Fitzpaine

Simon Werman's name carved on a bench end in Broomfield Church

Further Reading:
Wright, Peter Poyntz: The Rural Bench Ends of Somerset: A study in medieval woodcarving. Published 1983 by Avebury Publishing Company