Burnham on Sea U3A
The Somerset Villages Group
The purpose of this group is to visit some of the multitude of places within our beautiful county of Somerset in the South-West of England and to learn something of their geographical situation, their architecture, industry and history.
Visits are usually for a half day and often finish in a local hostelry for lunch.
Group Leader is Chris Lessey who can be reached on 01278 789721
 Butleigh |  Butleigh |
 Remains of a Saxon sundial. Butleigh. |  Decorative iron work above St Dunstan's, Baltonborough. |
 Buildings surrounding St. Dunstan's, Baltonborough. |  The War Memorial, Baltonsborough. |
 Barton St. David. Connections to USA presidents. |  Barton St. David. |
 Compton Dundon |  Compton Dundon |
 Compton Dundon |  The Villages Group under the Great Yew at Compton Dundon |
Our May visit took us to the village of Hinton St George, reputed to be one of the most beautiful in Somerset. It is well hidden in a maze of lanes but well worth finding. Largely developed under the Lords Poulett, hence the lovely hamstone and thatched houses etc.
A bonus was having lunch in the neighbouring village of Dowlish Wake with its packhorse bridge & cider mill. Our thanks to Rachel, Stan & Kay and also our new member June who took photos.
In July we started at the Willow & Wetlands centre at Stoke St Gregory for coffee. On to North Curry where there is a tiny brewery and a large church, ‘the cathedral of the moors’.
It is such a pretty village with over 60 listed properties, all beautifully kept, a wonderful old pub and a newish community shop run by volunteers. This is a real living and working village surviving in a modern world.
Chris Lessey.
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Photographs from the group's visit to Bleadon.
 Bleadon Man. A bronze-resin cast of the reconstruction of the iron age skull found by the Time Team in Bleadon. |  The iron age skeleton, from which the cast was made, in situ. |
 The 14th century Church of Sts Peter and Paul, Bleadon. |  The oldest artefact in the church, said to have survived from a previous church on the site. |
 The east window, a modern work of 1964. |  Tile fragments said to have been preserved from a previous church on the site dated prior to 1313. |
 Mr B Drinkwater, verger of Sts Peter and Paul, who kindly conducted a tour of the church. |
On 14th March Somerset Villages group made a visit to Mells, famous today for its Daffodil Festival.
Mells is an attractive village steeped in history and has long been associated with the nursery rhyme “Little Jack Horner”. The Horner family acquired the deeds of Mells Manor in 1543 after the dissolution of the monasteries which began in 1539. It was rebuilt by “Jack” Thomas Horner in the 16th Century and still stands today.
Mells Church of St. Andrew was built in the early 1500s with considerable internal Victorian restoration. It boasts a number of well known people buried in the church-yard viz: Ronald Knox the priest who translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English and the war poet, Siegfried Sassoon. Edwin Lutyens designed a yew walkway in the churchyard as well as the plinth to the Munnins equestrian memorial inside the church.
Much of the village is built of the hardwearing limestone from the quarries found on the outskirts. We began out visit with coffee at the 16th century Talbot Arms and finished our tour with lunch at The Vobster Inn, built in 1764.
There is a village trail which we didn’t have time to do, so I think Mells deserves another visit sometime.
Thank you Ken for a most enjoyable and informative visit.
Jan Tofield.
The following photographs were taken during the trip by Ken Henton.
 Mells Church from the main gate showing the |  Church Path approaching the north door |
 Mells Church from the north east. |  The St. Francis Window. |
 Munnins' bronze monument to Thomas Horner |  Silk tapestry designed by Burne-Jones. |
 Lutyen's First World War memorial to the |  Members of the Village group at |
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| The Somerset Villages group, planning their Christmas meal, could do no other than search for a quality restaurant, where else, but in a Somerset village. And quality Chris and Jean found for us in not one, but two neighbouring villages. Our first stop was at the Dragon House Hotel in Bilbrook. This 300 year old country house-hotel nestling on the very edge of Exmoor offered delicious coffee and tempting petits fours in an “olde worlde” atmosphere. The house was once a centre of smuggling operations in the 1700s and thus was steeped in local history.. The proprietors very kindly opened some of the bedrooms so that we could explore the house and stand on a balcony overlooking the extensive garden and beautiful countryside. What a pity the weather was not kinder to give us the clear views needed to appreciate this location to the full. Onwards then, after a brief look at Old Cleeve Church and a drenching, to Binham Manor, situated between Old Cleeve and Church Cleeve. This Jacobean house, mentioned in the 13th century as part of Clevee Abbey, and set in restored gardens is surrounded by 300 acres of farmland where Marie, Stuart and family tend their own beef cattle. Together they have lovingly and tastefully restored the house and gardens to their former glory, while retaining the integrity of the former house and bringing it up to 21st Century comfort. As for the meal, after a starter of very well presented smoked salmon I had the beef and that was as succulent and tasty as any I’ve tasted for a long time. A helping of traditional apple pie brought my lunch to a very satisfying close. Many thanks Chris and Jean for organising a delectable and memorable meal. Ken Henton. |  |
The following photographs were taken during a visit to St Decuman's Church, Watchet. Our thanks to Mr Alan Woodley a church warden for showing us round and explaining some of the history of the church.
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The photographs below were taken on a recent historic walk of old Bridgwater.
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Photographs copyright Ken Henton 2008