CANNINGTON
THE large ancient parish of Cannington lies on
the west bank of the river Parrett, the village
itself 5 km. north-west from Bridgwater. The
name, which is also borne by the hundred, seems
to be derived from the Quantocks, (fn. 2) and Cannington was linked with two other royal estates,
Williton and Carhampton, in King Alfred's
will. (fn. 3) From the 12th century it was the site of a
Benedictine nunnery. (fn. 4) Leland in the earlier 16th
century described it as a pretty uplandish town, (fn. 5)
and in the 1840s it was known as a genteel village
admired for its unrivalled salubrity of air. (fn. 6) The
parish formerly included part of the village of
Combwich, with its port and ferry terminal. (fn. 7) In
1881 the parish contained 4,980 a. (2,015 ha.),
much of which lay in detached pieces, particularly in the marshes north of Combwich.
Detached and peninsular pieces were transferred
to other parishes, the part of Combwich and
lands to the north, with 45 houses and 226
people, to Otterhampton in 1882 and 1886,
Coultings, with 1 house and 4 people, to Fiddington in 1884, and part of Knaplock, with 1
house and 7 people, to Stockland Bristol in 1886.
Also in 1886 Idstock and Beere, forming a
detached part of Chilton Trinity with 3 houses
and 21 people, were transferred to Cannington. (fn. 8)
The modern civil parish measures 1,650 ha.
(4,077 a.). (fn. 9)
The parish drains ENE. into the river Parrett,
which with Fenlyns rhyne (otherwise Perrymoor
brook) forms much of the eastern boundary.
Across the centre runs Cannington brook and
across the north Combwich pill into which two
smaller streams flow north across Wild moor
(otherwise South moor). The land rises from the
floodplain of the Parrett only a few metres above
sea level to the summit of Cannington Hill at 80
m. between Cannington brook and Combwich
pill, to 65 m. at Woodcock Downs on the south
boundary, and to nearly 50 m. west of Cannington Hill. The low-lying land is alluvium, with
river deposits along Cannington brook. The
higher land lies mostly on sandstone (Mercia
Mudstone in the south and south-west, Otter
Sandstone on the north side of Cannington Hill
and in the south-east) and limestone (Rodway
Siltstone on the south side of Cannington Hill
and further west, an outcrop of carboniferous
limestone at the top of the hill). (fn. 10) In the north
blue lias was quarried, and there were limekilns
in the north-west. Quarrying for building and
road stone on Cannington Hill began in the late
18th century, (fn. 11) and continues for road stone,
gravel, and aggregate in the later 20th. (fn. 12)
Mesolithic material has been found at Brymore
and in a cave at Cannington Hill. The hill is
crowned with an Iron Age hillfort, called Cynwir
or Cynwit Castle or Cannington Camp, which
has field systems nearby and seems to have been
in use during the Roman period. Also nearby
was a cemetery of up to 2,000 graves, in use from
the mid 4th to the 8th century with some earlier
material. There may have been a Roman temple
near the cemetery. Both hillfort and cemetery
have been damaged by quarrying. At Combwich
there was a settlement from the 1st to the 4th
century. (fn. 13)
The Saxon 'herpath' entered the parish via the
Parrett crossing at Combwich and seems to have
passed south of Cannington Hill through Knoll
to Ashford. (fn. 14) Settlement at Cannington may
have originated where a road south from Combwich and the 'herpath' crossed an east-west
route. The church and the later nunnery were
built on a gentle south-facing slope above a
stream. The village street north of the church
and nunnery was called King Street in the 15th
century, Cannington and Frog streets in the
early 19th, and High, Fore, and East streets in
the later 19th. Church Street may have been part
of the original north-south route; Brook Street,
to the east of the church and so named by 1861,
was part of the turnpike road by the 18th
century. Northwards there were routes to Rodway and Combwich along Rodway Lane; and
further west along Conduits Lane, later Chads
Hill, through Knap to Cannington Hill. (fn. 15) The
route from Bridgwater through the village to
Watchet was turnpiked by the Bridgwater trust
in 1759 (fn. 16) and improved in 1822, notably by
cutting the New Road from Sandford bridge
towards Chilton Trivet. (fn. 17) A turnpike gate was
recorded in 1841 and 1861, probably between
East and Fore Streets at the end of Rodway
Lane. (fn. 18) The road through Rodway north to
Combwich increased in importance when the
power station at Hinkley Point was begun in the
late 1950s. To the south, Malt Shovel Lane
bypasses the village and serves Blackmoor Farm,
crossing Blackmoor bridge. It was suggested as
a bypass for Cannington in 1822. (fn. 19) The bridge
was mentioned in 1632 (fn. 20) and was replaced in
1792. (fn. 21) Brook bridge, recorded in 1708, (fn. 22) was
probably Cannington bridge on the Bridgwater
road, which was rebuilt further east in 1929. (fn. 23)
Cannington (southern part) 1839
Apart from the church, Cannington Court, and
the almshouses, most of the buildings in the
centre of Cannington date from the late 18th or
19th century and are of brick or local stone. Frog
Cottage in East Street and two cottages in
Church Street probably date from the 17th
century and 1 Fore Street is of the mid 18th.
Further north, Combwich seems to have been
confined to the north side of the pill until the
later 20th century and appears to be on a regular
grid, its eastern boundary defined by an earlier
line of the river bank. Brookside probably represents a quay; Ship Lane, extended into School
Lane, is the northern street, and the two were
joined by 1851 by May Pole Street, renamed
Church Street after 1868. (fn. 24)
Of three 11th-century farmsteads or hamlets
Blackmoor was still a small hamlet in the later
18th century, (fn. 25) when Chilton and Clayhill were
single farms. Other 11th-century sites, Dodesham, Pedredham, and Pillock, did not survive
the Middle Ages, perhaps partly because of
flooding in the 15th century, notably c. 1427 and
in the 1480s. (fn. 26) Pedredham was recorded in the
later 14th century (fn. 27) and the name was still in
occasional use in the early 17th century, (fn. 28) but
thereafter only Petherhams Marsh is recorded.
Brymore, Withiel, Forde (later Ashford), Knaplock, Orchard, and Putnell occur in the earlier
13th century, (fn. 29) Knoll by 1333, and Oatley in the
15th century. (fn. 30) Knoll and Oatley both seem to
have developed as scatters of houses around a
green, and a similar settlement had emerged at
Bradlake, later Bradley Green, by 1494. (fn. 31) The
first two disappeared, Knoll Green in the early
19th century. (fn. 32) Rodway was a small hamlet
perhaps arranged around a green and in existence by the early 13th century. (fn. 33) Rodway
Farmhouse, formerly Lower Rodway, and Park
Farm, formerly Higher Rodway, are threebayed houses of two storeys with attics probably
dating from the 17th century but with later
alterations.
Open arable fields, implied at Rodway in
1301, (fn. 34) have not been found on other estates in
the parish and were not mentioned again at
Rodway, although furlong names survived in
the later 14th century. (fn. 35) Common pasture on
Alden Hill, that part of Cannington Hill outside the park, belonged to Rodway manor
between the 13th and the 17th century. (fn. 36) Bradley Green, also known as Customary Green,
provided common for Chilton Trivet manor in
the 16th century. (fn. 37) It had been encroached on
by the early 19th century and only a small area,
called the common, remained in 1839. (fn. 38) Various people could feed sheep on Combwich
common, and it was used for village sports and
festivities. An attempt to claim ownership by
the purchaser of the sheep leazes failed in 1903
and the common remains public open space.
Knoll Green may have been common but had
been enclosed by 1839. (fn. 39) There appear to have
been several areas of common meadow in the
marshes mainly at Wild moor, north of Cannington Hill, which was the subject of a
private inclosure award in 1818. (fn. 40) Common
meadows east of Gurney Street were apportioned by agreement c. 1856. (fn. 41)
There were at least 36 a. of wood or underwood
recorded in 1086 (fn. 42) and there were 40 a. of wood
on Rodway manor in 1301. (fn. 43) The whole parish
had only 67 a. of woodland in 1839 (fn. 44) and 68 a.
of woods and plantations in 1905. (fn. 45)
The park at Cannington Hill may have been
in existence in the 14th century (fn. 46) and the park
pale was recorded in 1664. (fn. 47) Described as Old
Park in the early 18th century, it was divided
into the Higher and Lower Parks and let out. (fn. 48)
Chilton Trivet park lay detached from the farm
east of the Bridgwater road. In the 1480s there
was a rabbit warren on a low hill south-east of
Gurney Street, where the name Conygars survived into the 19th century. (fn. 49) A warren east of
Cannington Hill, recorded in the 17th and 18th
centuries, was destroyed by quarrying. (fn. 50) There
was a decoy pond on the edge of the marsh north
of Cannington Hill; it was partly planted with
willows in the early 19th century. (fn. 51)
The river crossing at Combwich, alternatively
called White House passage after the inn on the
Pawlett side, was made by either boat or causeway. A ferry was probably in operation by the
mid 13th century. (fn. 52) By the 16th century its
ownership was shared, half belonging to Pawlett
Gaunts manor (fn. 53) and half divided between the
owners of Combwich in proportions which appear to go back to a division of property between
Walter Romsey and William Trivet in 1285. (fn. 54)
Thus in 1569 a quarter share in the ferry boat
had formed part of the copyhold lease granted
by Sir Robert Whitney (d. by 1568) as part of
his manor of Combwich. (fn. 55) The same share
descended on the dismemberment of the manor
to successive owners of the Anchor inn until
1786 or later. (fn. 56) One sixth share had passed by
1730 to Sir George Chudleigh as owner of the
former Trivet lands absorbed into Otterhampton manor. (fn. 57) The remaining share formed part
of Otterhampton Romsey manor. (fn. 58) Ralph
Dyaper left ferry profits to his wife and
daughter in 1630, together with possession of the
wharf. (fn. 59)
Both cattle and passengers were conveyed
across the river in the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 60)
In the later 18th century the churchwardens of
Otterhampton paid for repairs to the slip, possibly at the end of the causeway where the ferries
docked. The crossing was evidently still in use
in the late 19th century. (fn. 61)
In 1608 there were three licensed tipplers in
Cannington and three in Combwich (fn. 62) but of
seven licensed in 1609 five were at Combwich. (fn. 63)
There were six or seven licensees until the 1630s
but in 1649 the inhabitants petitioned to have
only two at Cannington. An unlicensed aleseller
was punished in 1651. (fn. 64) Numbers fluctuated but
in 1687 there were seven licensed victuallers in
Cannington parish and one or two in Combwich
in Otterhampton parish. (fn. 65)
The Red Lion in Cannington was recorded in
1706 and may have been open in 1674; (fn. 66) it ceased
to be an inn in the later 18th century (fn. 67) although
the name was still in use in 1883, probably for
a private house. (fn. 68) The Anchor, also called the
Blue Anchor or Old Blue Anchor, was recorded
in 1767 and was kept by the May family until
the 1840s. (fn. 69) It was renamed the Friendly Spirit
in 1986 and remained open in 1989. The White
Horse was recorded in 1724 but had probably
been open since c. 1700. It was last recorded in
1743. (fn. 70) A house called the Black Horse near
Clayhill was recorded in 1773 and 1861. (fn. 71) The
New Inn in Frog Street and the Globe inn in
Church Street were recorded in 1861. The former may have been open in 1851 (fn. 72) and was last
recorded in 1939. (fn. 73) The latter was open in 1989.
The Malt Shovel between Bradley Green and
Blackmoor was recorded as a public house in
1861; (fn. 74) the King's Head and the Rose and Crown
in High Street were recorded in 1841 and 1881
respectively. (fn. 75) All three remained open in 1989.
The Mermaid at Combwich was recorded in
1668 but had ceased to trade by 1708. (fn. 76) The
Three Mariners inn was open in 1673 but was
not recorded again. (fn. 77) The Anchor, formerly the
Blue Anchor, stood on the riverside at Combwich probably by 1690. (fn. 78) It was still open in 1989
and its 18th-century brick fives wall survives
beside the forecourt. The Fleur de Luce at
Combwich, recorded between 1727 and 1831, (fn. 79)
was substantially repaired between 1775 and
1782 when it was probably a private house. (fn. 80) The
Passage Boat was recorded in 1702, (fn. 81) possibly
the Ship or Old Ship named in 1730 (fn. 82) and still
open in 1989. The Bakers Arms was open in
1871 (fn. 83) and was last recorded in 1939. (fn. 84)
The Cannington friendly society or Loyal
Union was founded by 1808 and met at the
Anchor inn. It may have ceased in 1834. The
British Society, probably also known as the 13
May Club and dating from 1810, originally met
in the Anchor but later in the National school.
It had 83 members in 1872, but was dissolved
in 1874. The Combwich Club was disbanded in
1901. (fn. 85) A free library with c. 500 books was
established at Cannington by the incumbent in
1888 but was disused by 1905. (fn. 86) The Cannington
village club or institute, east of the church, was
rebuilt in 1905-6 to create a hall with a skittle
alley beneath, a reading room, a games room, a
shop, and a dwelling. (fn. 87) There was a billiard room
in Brookside, Combwich in 1939. (fn. 88)
A powder house by the river north of Combwich recorded in 1886 was later used by the
Bridgwater port sanitary authority as a cholera
hospital. (fn. 89)
In 1563 there were said to be 120 households
in Cannington and 20 at Combwich. (fn. 90) In 1801
the population was 868 rising to 1,215 in 1821
when over three quarters were under 40 and a
quarter of the houses had been built since 1811. (fn. 91)
After reaching a peak of 1,548 in 1851 the
population declined to 871 in 1921 but rose to
2,038 normally resident in 1981. (fn. 92)
Three men from Combwich and two from
Cannington were involved in the Monmouth
rebellion in 1685. (fn. 93)