The Port of Lilstock

In around 1820 Sir John Acland of Fairfield House near Stogursey built a boathouse on the beach at Lilstock where boats from South Wales could beach to bring in coal for domestic use on his estate and to burn in his lime kilns.  Pit props and lime were exported in return.  A few years later Sir John had a wooden house built at Lilstock, for his granddaughter Isabel to use, as her health was poor and her doctor prescribed sea air and light exercise.  He also built a promenade where she could walk or drive in her carriage.  

At around the same time the unnamed stream that entered the sea at Lilstock was diverted eastwards through an excavated stone lined channel with a lock gate at its seaward end, so water could be impounded.  This meant that boats could berth at high tide and be unloaded in a sheltered dock at all states of the tide.  When no boats were inside the dock, the lock gates could be opened quickly and the subsequent rush of water cleared the entrance of pebbles.

Trade increased and by 1848 a coastguard was living at Lilstock.  By 1855 the harbour also had its own customs officer.  Warehouses, a couple of houses and lime kilns were constructed on the landward side of the harbour and in 1860 a stone pier was built to protect the mouth of the harbour.  A small pavilion was built and in the 1860s and 1870s pleasure paddle steamers made regular stops at Lilstock.  There was a public house at Lilstock called the Limpet Shell.

Trade declined at the end of the 19th century and it was always a struggle to keep the harbour entrance clear of pebbles.  On 28th/29th December 1900 there was a big storm in the Bristol Channel, which badly damaged the pier and the shape of the beach was altered.  By the end of the First World War Lilstock Harbour had been abandoned.

The remains of the dock are still clearly visible, as are the ruins of the lime kilns and warehouses, although you have to battle through the undergrowth to reach them.  At low tide the remains of the pier and the stone breakwater beyond it can still be seen.

Pebble beach at Lilstock

The dock at Lilstock Harbour

Ruined warehouse at the back of the beach

Ruined warehouse at Lilstock Harbour

Ruined warehouse

Ruined warehouses

Remains of the pier at Lilstock Harbour at high tide

Remains of the pier at low tide

Pebbles across the entrance to the dock

Modern personal memorial cairn on the beach at Lilstock

Notice on the memorial cairn at Lilstock

As if by magic, a pond has appeared!

A large pond has recently appeared to the south west of the church at Cheddon Fitzpaine.  To be more accurate, it has actually reappeared - until April 2020 it was completely overgrown and almost invisible from the footpath that runs along the eastern side of it.  According to the parish council minutes of April 2020, it is an irrigation pond and belongs to Glebe Farm.  It was attracting unwanted visitors who were leaving rubbish and drug paraphernalia behind, so the decision was made to open it up and make it more visible.  It is called Edison's Pond.  Apparently Edison is or was the landowner's dog.  Presumably he likes/liked swimming in the pond.  Update 30/5/20 - the pond has now been fenced off, so the path around it is no longer accessible but the pond can be seen from the public footpath.

Edison's Pond, Cheddon Fitzpaine

Edison's Pond, Cheddon Fitzpaine

Wiveliscombe's Children of the Great War Mosaic

The Children of the Great War memorial mosaic is located in the Jubilee Gardens in West Street, Wiveliscombe.  8 panels of 12 decorative tiles, plus 22 activity tiles and 8 haiku are displayed on a post, which is over 7 feet high. They tell the story of the Home Front in the Wiveliscombe area during the First World War.

In 2014 the project to create the memorial was awarded £10,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.  Wiveliscombe Primary School children researched the history of their town and its residents during the First World War by visiting the Somerset Heritage Centre, the Museum of Somerset, the churchyard of the parish church, by talking to residents of a local care home and by doing research online.  Local artists Jo Dove and Sara Fairfax worked with 40 Wiveliscombe children to create the tiles using the sgraffito method.  The children also each wrote a haiku, some of which are included in the mosaic.  The mosaic was unveiled on 24th September 2016.

Examples of the haiku:

Dad's gone to war

See him 

When it's over

I'm here alone

With Mum

On the homefont

Feeling Sad

And Lonely

"Start sitting" 

Said Mum

During the First World War some of the farms around Wiveliscombe were used as temporary accommodation for thousands of mules, which were imported from Portugal, Ireland and North & South America to be used on the Western Front to transport food supplies, artillery and wounded soldiers.  They arrived at the port of Avonmouth and were sent by train to Wiveliscombe. They were then led through the town to nearby farms at Lambrook, Culverhay, Maundown and Whitefield.  They were allowed to rest and recover from their sea voyage for a few days before being broken into harness and trained for war work.  They were then sent by train and boat to the Western Front.  There were also mule training depots located in the Minehead and Keynsham/Saltford areas.  The 8 main panels on the mosaic tell the story of the mules' journeys.

The 22 activity tiles are displayed on the sides of the memorial.  These represent the activities that the children of Wiveliscombe would have undertaken to support their families and their community during the First World War e.g. harvesting apples, potatoes and conkers; queueing for food; knitting scarves and socks; delivering milk; feeding chickens; trapping rabbits for food and chopping wood.

Back of the memorial mosaic

Front of the memorial mosaic

The mules' sea journey

The mules arrive in Avonmouth and travel by train to Wiveliscombe

The mules recover in Wiveliscombe after their long sea journey

Mules in Somerset

Mules on the battlefield

Mules at work during the First World War

Activity tile - collecting conkers

The conkers were used to produce acetone, which was needed for the manufacture of cordite.

Activity tile - collecting waste paper

Activity tile - harvesting potatoes