FIDDINGTON
Fiddington 1837
The ancient parish of Fiddington, including the
hamlets of Whitnell and Bonson, formerly Bonstone, (fn. 26) lay between Cannington on the east and
Nether Stowey on the west, 9 km. north-west of
Bridgwater. Parts of Spaxton lay to the north
and south. (fn. 27) The parish, irregular in shape,
occupied a shallow valley falling northwards
from 76 m. to 15m., drained by a stream which
formed part of its western boundary before
curving east through Fiddington village and
north of Bonson. The southern boundary seems
to have been influenced by two ancient routes
from the east, the Anglo-Saxon 'herpath' from
Cannington Hill to the Quantocks and another
roadway from Combwich and the Parrett crossing, which not only converged within the parish
but were joined for part of their common route
by the road between Bridgwater and Nether
Stowey. The last route had become important
by the 18th century and was turnpiked in 1759. (fn. 28)
The ancient parish was said to measure 874 a. (fn. 29)
In 1878 some land at Coultings, in the northeast, was added from Cannington, and a larger
area in the north, known as North Street and
including the Farm estate and Bonson Wood,
was transferred from Spaxton. The acreage of
Fiddington civil parish thus increased to 1,314 a. (fn. 30)
Most of the parish lies either on valley gravels
or Keuper marl, with an outcrop of sandstone
around Whitnell. There may have been a quarry
in the east, and pits in several places suggest marl
digging. (fn. 31) Two principal roads lead northwards
through the parish from the same point on the
southern boundary, one passing through Fiddington village towards Stogursey, the other
through Bonson to Coultings and thence to
Combwich. Fiddington was in existence by the
later 11th century, Bonson by the later 12th. (fn. 32)
Whitnell, south-west of Fiddington village, was
recorded in 1327. (fn. 33) Inwood Farm, first mentioned in 1558, (fn. 34) lies further south-west; Wood
Farm, referred to by 1652, (fn. 35) is in the extreme
north-east. Keenthorne House, Heathfield
Villa, and the Cottage inn are outlying houses
on the Nether Stowey to Bridgwater road. All
three main hamlets, Fiddington, Whitnell, and
Bonson, have modern infill development; at
Fiddington, arranged along a single street, bungalows and houses replaced almost all the older
cottages in the 20th century although one house
survives from the 17th century and another,
probably used by the clergy when the rectory
house was unfit, may be earlier. There is a large
caravan and camping site at Mill Farm. One
house at Whitnell may date from the late 16th
century. (fn. 36)
No references have been found either to openfield arable or to common pasture. There were
42 a. of woodland in 1086, (fn. 37) and the farm names
Wood and Inwood and the field names Copse
and Wood close in the north-east indicate its
former significance. There was no woodland in
1837. (fn. 38)
There was a licensed tippler in Fiddington in
1607 and a single licence was granted during the
17th and 18th centuries except between 1740 and
1753 when there were two. The last licence was
issued in 1753 and there was no public house in
the parish thereafter until the mid 19th century. (fn. 39) The Cottage inn, also known as the
Keenthorne inn, was first recorded in 1861
when there was also a retailer of small beer,
possibly at Bonson. (fn. 40) The Cottage inn remained
open in 1988.
Ten Fiddington men were fined following the
1497 rebellion. (fn. 41) The Fiddington revel was recorded in 1675. (fn. 42) A number of people were
presented for playing fives against the church
walls on Sunday in 1623. (fn. 43)
The population rose from 147 in 1801 to a peak
of 260 in 1851. Thereafter there was a general
decline to 156 in 1901 despite the increase in the
size of the parish. During the later 20th century,
however, the population increased considerably
to 243 normally resident in 1981. (fn. 44)