places

The Rectory

The very striking, much gabled and characterful Old Rectory is often subject of inquiry by visitors to the village. The Rev. Patch's accounts of it'sorigins are of interest:-

'There were formerly two houses on the grounds of the present Rectory (1942). One was apparently the propertyof the Prebend of Ashill and the other the Vicarage. The Vicarage was formerly 3 cottages (alms houses?). When they were made one is not known, but the Rev. Mickleburgh (1833) was responsible for enlarging them by building the drawing room and bedroom overand inserting the oak in the dining room, stained glass etc., and it may have been then the conversion took place'

Later he wrote - 'The present Rectory is obviously 2 or 3 cottages knocked into one. In Rev. Griffith's incumbency (1906 - 1936) the house was thatched, but after a fire at the Ashill Inn which threatened the Rectoy, the thatch was removed'.

A Mrs. Yarde (in 1938), states that in her younger days she was servant ot the Rev. Houghton (1884) and thta in those days another house stood on the site of the present kitchen kitchen garden, tenanted by the Vicar of Beercrocombeand owned, apparently, by the Prebendary of Ashill. The Diocesan authorities demolished this house in 1890 except for the stable. The site and garden were added to the present Rectory groundswhich originally consisted of the lawn in front of the house only.

An 'Inventory of Fixtures" largely comprised of grates and mantelsin the various rooms and a kitchen cooking range, but with a few outside tanks ( for drinking water perhaps?), is between Revs. Houghton and Griffiths, dated and signed by them in 1906. Total value "mutually arranged' was £24.

In 1839 the Rev. Alford was assessed at 16 shillings and 8 pence in tithes, and 4 pence payable to the 'Impropriator' towards maintenance of the poor of Ashill.

A Vicarage House is listed in the 'Glebe Terrier', or inventory, of 1635, but without any indication of where the house stood in relation to present day buildings.

Rowlands

Rowlands is an interesting old manor house standing on the eastern edge of the parish of Ashill in open fields. It was built in Tudor times between about 1480 - 1500 probably by the Cuffe family, and has been little altered since then. It still has it's Great Hall, about 25 feet high, with mullion windows and Elizabeth plasterwork with a biblical text at each end. Above the great fireplace is the Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth I with the plaster text above "Life and Death are of God". At one end of th hall is the original Tudor wooden screen.

It's most famous occupier was Henry Cuffe who became the private secretary and intimate friend of the great Earl of Essex, favourite of Queen Elizabeth. The Queen's private secretary was Sir Amyas Paulet, who lived at Hinton House in Hinton- St- George only about ten miles away. Surely the Royal Arms at Rowlands are sufficient evidence that the Queen came from a visit to Hinton House over here for a quiet visit with Essex (you could not display the Royal Arms in your home without express permission from the Monarch). However in 1601 Henry Cuffe persuaded Essex to tr to take the throne from the childless Queen, a venture that failed and ended with Essex's execution at the Tower of London and Henry Cuffe's hanging at Tyburn in London for treason.

Rowlands is now the home of the Speke family, who have lived in the area since before Rowlands was built ( at Jordans, Dillington House, Whitelackington Manor and Dowlish Wake Manor).

Rowlands Mill (on the same site) s a very interesting building of about 1620 with much of it's milling machinery restored to working order, and the miller's house let out for holidays.

Skipperham Well

Collinson's description of the village includes much detail of this well ( situated close to the east of the old railway embankment near the parish boundary with Beercrocombe).
''In a field in this parish belonging to the Earl of Egremont, thereis a medicinal spring, bearing the name of Skipperham Well, the water of which is of a singular propertyand has been thus analyzed:
There follow some 32 "attributes of the water including:

''The water taken from the well..... is very cold, but never freezes, has no smell, but is of a subacid and gently styptick taste, which goes off upon keeping.'

''After standing for two months, it deposited a tenacious green sediment upon the sides of the bottle, which had a putrid smell and taste, and felt like grease.'

''An infusion of ash bark in this water was turned almost instantaneously to a beautiful light green with a blueish circle at the top.'

'It may justly be ranked with the light chalybeates, and which require to be used on the spot.'

'It's uses in medicinehave generally been in the cases of scorbutick eruptions and inflammations of the eyes from the same cause. A gentleman who lately drank a large quantity, found it to create nausea and purging.'

From the Somerset County Herald of 1919:
ST. NIPPERHAM'S WELL - we are indebted to the Rev. M.J. Griffiths, Rector of Ashill, for the following reply:

' I regret that I have not been able to glean any information respecting St. Nipperham. T he well is known locally by a name sounding much more like Skipperham, which is evidently a corruption. I know nothing as to it's derivation. One of the first three Sundays in May the local custom is still carried on of the inhabitants resorting to it nad drinking and bathing in the it's waters for their healing virtues.

From the Bath University Website

St Cyprian's Well, Ashill, Somerset
Seen 17th August 1987.
This well is on strictly private land and the owners would not like the location to be too widely publicised - it is shown on the 1:25,000 map in any case. The well lies in the south-west corner of one of the fields. It consists of a two-foot square stone basin a few inches deep, with several large flat slabs set into the earth around; the water trickles out across a stone lip and forms a small stream which winds away into the bushes. The red stain left by the water reveals its chalybeate nature. The water was in times past used for the cure of scrofula and digestive complaints, and was drunk on the first three Sundays in May for its curative properties; it also had the useful ability of being able to predict national disasters by its ebbing and flowing. Today it is not quite forgotten, but far less regarded than once it was. It is a lonely but very peaceful and tranquil site.
There is doubt about the well's dedication. It appears on maps as Skipperham's Well at present but Horne derives the variant names (St Nipperham's, Skivverton's etc.) from St Cyprian. There are two saints of this name, one a martyr bishop of Carthage, the other a converted magician and bishop martyred at Antioch. It is unclear which of these is the patron of the well, or indeed why it should be dedicated to either, as they are not exactly popular saints in England and the parish church is dedicated to St Mary.

Wood Court

In the Domesday record, Ashill ( Aisele) is surveyed as two separate Manors, viz: The one containing five hides held by the Earl of Mortam (elsewhere Mortain and Morton), the Conqueror's brother, 'director of the King in Chief'. and two hides of the other partwhich was the land of the Abbey of Athelney and held by the same part as tenant of the Abbey. This latter portion formed the Manor known variously at a later period as Le Shaw, La Woode, and finally, Wood. Under Ashill in the Domesday book, mention is also made of a wood forty furlongs long and twenty broad, but the exact location of this is not now known.
In the Exchequer Lay Subsidies ( Edward III, 1327), for Ashill, the name of ' Matilda Att Woode' occurs, and the amount of her tax being 2 shillings. In 'Inq-Post Mortem 19 Ed.III, 1343, we find "La Woode' amongst the manors of John de Bello Campo (Beauchamp of Hatch) and Margaret his wife, and again in 35 Ed.III, 1361-1362, 'La Woode', as the possession of the same Margaret.
From the Patent Roll of 14 Henry IV, 1412, we find that Sir Thomas Beauchamp Kt. is granted permission to impart 230 acres of lands and woods in 'Le Shaw (Wood) below his Manor of Ayshill into Somerset".This Sir Thomas Beauchamp was the son of Sir William Beauchamp ( Earl of Warwick) whose sister, Alice, was the widow of Sir John Beauchamp, the last Lord of Hatch, who died 7/8th October, 1361. The said Alice, before her marriage with Sir Matthew de Gourney, had made over her estates in Somerset to Sir William Beauchamp ( her brother), and so in due course Wood descended to Sir Thomas Beauchamp ( of the Warwick line). Le Shaw would only be anotherform of La Woode, and if we take the Domesday hide in Somerset as 120 acres, the 250 acres of the above record represent the about the two hides which we have seen were the lands of the Abbot of Athelney.
This view is further strengthened by the fact that running through the estate is an old lane known as Nunnery Lane with Nunnery Well. In the loose vernacular of early times , this may well point to some connection with an actual nunnery on the spot in Saxon times. Just below Wood Courtare traces of very large fish ponds which were always to be found on monastic property. It was probably occupied by the Beauchamps as a hunting lodge and several 'drives' cann be traced in the adjoining park. Ashill occurs as the seat of Henry Warr, esq., and this probably refers to Wood Court
The will of James Pitman of Bickenhall who died in 1673, mentions hi 'Chattell Lease' lying in the Manor a Wood' and one life valued ay £24.
Over the door of Wood Court reads the inscription; 'This is a house that God to me has given"

	Back to History

The Rectory The very striking, much gabled and characterful Old Rectory is often subject of inquiry by visitors to the village. The Rev. Patch's accounts of it'sorigins are of interest:- 'There were formerly two houses on the grounds of the present Rectory (1942). One was apparently the propertyof the Prebend of Ashill and the other the Vicarage. The Vicarage was formerly 3 cottages (alms houses?). When they were made one is not known, but the Rev. Mickleburgh (1833) was responsible for enlarging them by building the drawing room and bedroom overand inserting the oak in the dining room, stained glass etc., and it may have been then the conversion took place' Later he wrote - 'The present Rectory is obviously 2 or 3 cottages knocked into one. In Rev. Griffith's incumbency (1906 - 1936) the house was thatched, but after a fire at the Ashill Inn which threatened the Rectoy, the thatch was removed'. A Mrs. Yarde (in 1938), states that in her younger days she was servant ot the Rev. Houghton (1884) and thta in those days another house stood on the site of the present kitchen kitchen garden, tenanted by the Vicar of Beercrocombeand owned, apparently, by the Prebendary of Ashill. The Diocesan authorities demolished this house in 1890 except for the stable. The site and garden were added to the present Rectory groundswhich originally consisted of the lawn in front of the house only. An 'Inventory of Fixtures" largely comprised of grates and mantelsin the various rooms and a kitchen cooking range, but with a few outside tanks ( for drinking water perhaps?), is between Revs. Houghton and Griffiths, dated and signed by them in 1906. Total value "mutually arranged' was £24. In 1839 the Rev. Alford was assessed at 16 shillings and 8 pence in tithes, and 4 pence payable to the 'Impropriator' towards maintenance of the poor of Ashill. A Vicarage House is listed in the 'Glebe Terrier', or inventory, of 1635, but without any indication of where the house stood in relation to present day buildings.
Rowlands Rowlands is an interesting old manor house standing on the eastern edge of the parish of Ashill in open fields. It was built in Tudor times between about 1480 - 1500 probably by the Cuffe family, and has been little altered since then. It still has it's Great Hall, about 25 feet high, with mullion windows and Elizabeth plasterwork with a biblical text at each end. Above the great fireplace is the Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth I with the plaster text above "Life and Death are of God". At one end of th hall is the original Tudor wooden screen. It's most famous occupier was Henry Cuffe who became the private secretary and intimate friend of the great Earl of Essex, favourite of Queen Elizabeth. The Queen's private secretary was Sir Amyas Paulet, who lived at Hinton House in Hinton- St- George only about ten miles away. Surely the Royal Arms at Rowlands are sufficient evidence that the Queen came from a visit to Hinton House over here for a quiet visit with Essex (you could not display the Royal Arms in your home without express permission from the Monarch). However in 1601 Henry Cuffe persuaded Essex to tr to take the throne from the childless Queen, a venture that failed and ended with Essex's execution at the Tower of London and Henry Cuffe's hanging at Tyburn in London for treason. Rowlands is now the home of the Speke family, who have lived in the area since before Rowlands was built ( at Jordans, Dillington House, Whitelackington Manor and Dowlish Wake Manor). Rowlands Mill (on the same site) s a very interesting building of about 1620 with much of it's milling machinery restored to working order, and the miller's house let out for holidays.
Skipperham Well Collinson's description of the village includes much detail of this well ( situated close to the east of the old railway embankment near the parish boundary with Beercrocombe). ''In a field in this parish belonging to the Earl of Egremont, thereis a medicinal spring, bearing the name of Skipperham Well, the water of which is of a singular propertyand has been thus analyzed: There follow some 32 "attributes of the water including: ''The water taken from the well..... is very cold, but never freezes, has no smell, but is of a subacid and gently styptick taste, which goes off upon keeping.' ''After standing for two months, it deposited a tenacious green sediment upon the sides of the bottle, which had a putrid smell and taste, and felt like grease.' ''An infusion of ash bark in this water was turned almost instantaneously to a beautiful light green with a blueish circle at the top.' 'It may justly be ranked with the light chalybeates, and which require to be used on the spot.' 'It's uses in medicinehave generally been in the cases of scorbutick eruptions and inflammations of the eyes from the same cause. A gentleman who lately drank a large quantity, found it to create nausea and purging.' From the Somerset County Herald of 1919: ST. NIPPERHAM'S WELL - we are indebted to the Rev. M.J. Griffiths, Rector of Ashill, for the following reply: ' I regret that I have not been able to glean any information respecting St. Nipperham. T he well is known locally by a name sounding much more like Skipperham, which is evidently a corruption. I know nothing as to it's derivation. One of the first three Sundays in May the local custom is still carried on of the inhabitants resorting to it nad drinking and bathing in the it's waters for their healing virtues. From the Bath University Website St Cyprian's Well, Ashill, Somerset Seen 17th August 1987. This well is on strictly private land and the owners would not like the location to be too widely publicised - it is shown on the 1:25,000 map in any case. The well lies in the south-west corner of one of the fields. It consists of a two-foot square stone basin a few inches deep, with several large flat slabs set into the earth around; the water trickles out across a stone lip and forms a small stream which winds away into the bushes. The red stain left by the water reveals its chalybeate nature. The water was in times past used for the cure of scrofula and digestive complaints, and was drunk on the first three Sundays in May for its curative properties; it also had the useful ability of being able to predict national disasters by its ebbing and flowing. Today it is not quite forgotten, but far less regarded than once it was. It is a lonely but very peaceful and tranquil site. There is doubt about the well's dedication. It appears on maps as Skipperham's Well at present but Horne derives the variant names (St Nipperham's, Skivverton's etc.) from St Cyprian. There are two saints of this name, one a martyr bishop of Carthage, the other a converted magician and bishop martyred at Antioch. It is unclear which of these is the patron of the well, or indeed why it should be dedicated to either, as they are not exactly popular saints in England and the parish church is dedicated to St Mary.
Wood Court In the Domesday record, Ashill ( Aisele) is surveyed as two separate Manors, viz: The one containing five hides held by the Earl of Mortam (elsewhere Mortain and Morton), the Conqueror's brother, 'director of the King in Chief'. and two hides of the other partwhich was the land of the Abbey of Athelney and held by the same part as tenant of the Abbey. This latter portion formed the Manor known variously at a later period as Le Shaw, La Woode, and finally, Wood. Under Ashill in the Domesday book, mention is also made of a wood forty furlongs long and twenty broad, but the exact location of this is not now known. In the Exchequer Lay Subsidies ( Edward III, 1327), for Ashill, the name of ' Matilda Att Woode' occurs, and the amount of her tax being 2 shillings. In 'Inq-Post Mortem 19 Ed.III, 1343, we find "La Woode' amongst the manors of John de Bello Campo (Beauchamp of Hatch) and Margaret his wife, and again in 35 Ed.III, 1361-1362, 'La Woode', as the possession of the same Margaret. From the Patent Roll of 14 Henry IV, 1412, we find that Sir Thomas Beauchamp Kt. is granted permission to impart 230 acres of lands and woods in 'Le Shaw (Wood) below his Manor of Ayshill into Somerset".This Sir Thomas Beauchamp was the son of Sir William Beauchamp ( Earl of Warwick) whose sister, Alice, was the widow of Sir John Beauchamp, the last Lord of Hatch, who died 7/8th October, 1361. The said Alice, before her marriage with Sir Matthew de Gourney, had made over her estates in Somerset to Sir William Beauchamp ( her brother), and so in due course Wood descended to Sir Thomas Beauchamp ( of the Warwick line). Le Shaw would only be anotherform of La Woode, and if we take the Domesday hide in Somerset as 120 acres, the 250 acres of the above record represent the about the two hides which we have seen were the lands of the Abbot of Athelney. This view is further strengthened by the fact that running through the estate is an old lane known as Nunnery Lane with Nunnery Well. In the loose vernacular of early times , this may well point to some connection with an actual nunnery on the spot in Saxon times. Just below Wood Courtare traces of very large fish ponds which were always to be found on monastic property. It was probably occupied by the Beauchamps as a hunting lodge and several 'drives' cann be traced in the adjoining park. Ashill occurs as the seat of Henry Warr, esq., and this probably refers to Wood Court The will of James Pitman of Bickenhall who died in 1673, mentions hi 'Chattell Lease' lying in the Manor a Wood' and one life valued ay £24. Over the door of Wood Court reads the inscription; 'This is a house that God to me has given"