Three Shire Stones, Batheaston

The Three Shire Stones are located at the tripoint where the counties of Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire meet. In the case of Somerset, it is the historic county, rather than the modern one, as the stones are now located in the parish of Batheaston, Bath & North East Somerset.  In the case of Gloucestershire it is also the historic county, as the stones are currently located in South Gloucestershire (Marshfield parish).  The grid reference is ST 796 701.

There are three large upright stones with a horizontal capstone on top of them, arranged to look like a prehistoric megalith.  However they were apparently only erected in 1859, incorporating three smaller stones, which were erected in 1736.

The Three Shire Stones are easy to miss, as although they are on the side of an unclassified road (the Fosse Way), they are partially hidden by a stone wall immediately to the north and by trees to the south.  There is nowhere to park at the stones and they are on a surprisingly busy straight road and most of the cars drive by at speed.  There is a field gateway about 120 metres to the south and on the same side of the road as the Three Shire Stones (the west side).  It is possible to walk north along the grass verge from the parking place to get to the stones.

There are (or once were) other Three Shire Stones in England e.g. where Cumberland, Lancashire and Westmorland once met.  There are (or used to be) also Three Shire Oaks e.g. where Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire meet.

Three Shire Stones - view from the road

Three Shire Stones

Three Shire Stones - looking east towards the road

Burgundy Chapel, North Hill

The ruined Burgundy Chapel is located on the north side of North Hill, two miles north-west of Minehead and close to the coast but about 80 metres above sea level.  It is sited on the western side of the stream, which runs down Burgundy Chapel Combe.  

Burgundy Chapel dates back to the medieval period but was never very large: 25 feet long by 16 feet wide.  It was mentioned in the Luttrell's (of Dunster Castle) household accounts for 1405 as "Bircombe Chapel", so it was presumably built by them.  It may have been built as a thanksgiving for a family member returning safely from fighting in Burgundy, in what is now France, during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).

The chapel was ruined by 1717 and only a couple of walls and a doorway remain standing today.  The site was excavated in the 1940s and again in 1985, when some consolidation work was carried out to the ruins.  The site gets very overgrown during the summer months.

My thanks to Stan for allowing me to use his photos of the ruins.

Burgundy Chapel

Burgundy Chapel