OTTERHAMPTON
Cannington (Northern part), Otterhamption, and Stockland Bristol 1838-1839
The ancient parish of Otterhampton lay between Stockland Bristol and the river Parrett 2.5 km. north of Cannington village and 8 km.
north-west of Bridgwater. (fn. 93) It included Otterhampton village, a small settlement at Hill, now
centred on Hill House, and parts of Combwich.
The eastern half of the parish beside the river
interlocked with Cannington parish, the result
of at least one division of holdings between the
estates of Cannington and Otterhampton between 1066 and 1086 and of the common
ownership of one of the Combwich estates and
Otterhampton Rumsey manor. (fn. 94) The parish also
interlocked with Stockland Bristol, upon the
church of which it was formerly dependent. (fn. 95)
Between Otterhampton and Stockland villages
the boundary follows a footpath, a stream, and
a road, and part of the south-western boundary
followed South Moor Brook. (fn. 96) The ancient parish measured 983 a. (fn. 97) In 1886 Otterhampton
acquired Steart and other detached areas from
Stockland and exchanged lands with Cannington, bringing the whole of Combwich into
Otterhampton civil parish which in 1891 was
said to measure 2,026 a. (fn. 98) In 1933 the area of
Huntspill parish west of the Parrett at Steart
estimated at 218 a. was transferred to Otterhampton. (fn. 99) The present civil parish covers 934
ha. (2,308 a.). (fn. 1)
From Combwich village (7 m.) the land rises
on marl and Blue Lias over sandstone to 38 m.
at Hill House. The remainder of the parish is
flat marshland, in the south-west on marl, alluvium, and valley gravels, and in the north and
north-east on alluvium, all below the 7.5-m.
contour. The higher ground was quarried for
lime and building stone, and brick and tile were
made from the alluvium. The southern part of
the parish is drained by the Moxhill and Putnell
rhynes and the marshlands to the north by the
South and North brooks. The flat lands along
the Parrett are protected by sea walls which have
been moved as land has been lost or gained. (fn. 2)
The name Otterhampton may indicate the
settlement of the people of the Otterham, the
marshes. (fn. 3) Otterhampton village comprising the
church, former rectory house, and one farm
which was probably the capital messuage of the
main Domesday estate, seems to have been
larger, since there is evidence of former buildings around the church. (fn. 4) There was a small
estate at Moxhill in the 11th century. (fn. 5) A settlement, known as Twye in 1348 and Twyhouse in
1620, came to be known as Hill. (fn. 6) Combwich, the
largest settlement and a small port, was shared
with Cannington until 1886. Its ancient chapel
was in Cannington parish and the history of the
village is included under Cannington. The
school and village hall bore the name Otterhampton in 1989.
The main route through the parish took traffic
to and from the port and ferry at Combwich
westwards to Nether Stowey and Stogursey. A
road from Cannington crossed this route west of
Combwich and may have led directly to Hill
before the later 18th century. This road continued through a scattered roadside settlement
north of Otterhampton village to the Steart
marshes. The road from Cannington has from
1957 led to Hinkley Point power station, and has
therefore become the principal route through the
parish. Otterhampton village lay on a road from
Coultings in Spaxton to Steart, a route which
was closed south of the rectory after 1887. (fn. 7)
Combwich Down, west of the village, was an
arable field shared between Cannington and
Otterhampton into the 19th century. The
meadows of North and South moors were similarly shared. They were not inclosed until 1867,
and parts of South moor remained divided in
strips into the 20th century. (fn. 8) A park was laid out
around Hill House in the late 18th century,
possibly for deer, and was sheltered on the north
by plantations. (fn. 9)
There was a licensed tippler in the parish in
1607 and possibly in 1630. Later public houses
were in Combwich. (fn. 10) There was said to have
been an Otterhampton club whose poles were
converted into churchwardens staves. (fn. 11)
The population rose from 176 in 1801 to 221
in 1831 when there was a shortage of houses,
only 32 for 46 households. (fn. 12) Thereafter it fluctuated between about 210 and 240; most people
lived at Combwich. (fn. 13) The growth of Combwich
during the 20th century and the inclusion of the
whole village in the civil parish account for the
increase in population to 422 in 1931, to 551 in
1971, and to 697 in 1981. (fn. 14)
Six men were fined for involvement in the
1497 rebellion, (fn. 15) and Thomas Charnock, the
alchemist, was buried at Otterhampton. (fn. 16)