Selworthy
Selworthy maps (2 available)
Map of Somerset
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Selworthy books (7 available)
- 2 photos on Selworthy appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Selworthy
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Selworthy and Somerset
Selworthy memories
Read and share memories of Selworthy and Somerset inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Somerset below.
Somerset memories
Summer holidays
My grandparents lived in Porch Cottage in Luccombe.
I would often be taken to visit my grandparents but it was during the summer holidays I had the most fun.
Luccombe village is a magical place for a child and even more so in the summer months, it truly is one of the most beautiful places and the times I spent there are my happiest memories.
Karen Johnson granddaughter of Roy and Gladys Johnson.
A memory of Luccombe contributed by karen sankey
Church Town
In 1960 my home was just out of shot: next door to the house that is partly visible on the far right of the picture. I lived at number 18 Church Street, Church Street being the road that is accessed by turning right in the middle distance of the photo, at the bottom of Church Steps. The tree that can be seen towering above our neighbour’s house was a magnificent walnut tree, which is – sadly - no more. The cottage in the foreground (second from left) was our “corner" shop. It was my Saturday afternoon habit around that time to call in at the shop for a bar of chocolate, and also to post letters in ...read more here
A memory of Minehead contributed by Pam Gotham
My childhood in Minehead
My auntie Mary used to run the donkeys on the beach. I spent each school holiday in Minehead Swimming Pool and remember the Juke Box in the cafeteria area very well. When I first moved to Minehead in 1953 I lived in the old Gasworks Cottage right on the front down past the harbour. I would be very interested if anyone has a photo of the Old Gasworks before it was demolished in the late fifties early sixties ? I had 10 aunts and uncles in the Webber family , most of whom have passed on now, and several uncles worked voluntarily on the Minehead Lifeboat, with Uncle Alf being coxswain for a number of years and uncles Jack and ...read more here
A memory of Minehead contributed by Barry Johns
wbardry@hotmail.com
P Aden :
I was at Butlins as well. (1962 - 1964)
I remember the big dipper thing; we used to call it The Mouse. I often went up on it.
I wonder what the camp is like now. Horrible dump, blasting out rap music probably.
A memory of Minehead contributed by First name Last name
Extracts From Selworthy & Somerset books
The old gnarled trees add character to this idyllic setting. Selworthy Green is now owned by the National Trust. The thatched cottages were erected in 1828 by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland for his retired estate workers. Many of the cottages have survived, retaining their original charm.
An extract from from"Times Gone By".
The old gnarled trees add character to this idyllic setting. Selworthy Green is now owned by the National Trust. The thatched cottages were erected in 1828 by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland for his retired estate workers. Many of the cottages have survived, retaining their original charm.
An extract from from"Countryside Poems".
Redevelopment of the Parade started c1870. Lime
trees were planted in the 1880s to start the Avenue.
The buildings to the left of photograph 31223 had
just been built, replacing houses with walled gar-
dens. The building in the centre of the row, at the
end of Bancks Street, was all that remained of the
older buildings. Then a bank, it is now an estate
agents. The building protruding at the end of the
row, in Wellington Square, is now a bank. Capron’s,
the building on the far left, became a well-known
garage. It was Minehead’s first garage, established
in 1908. Two other garages were established before
the First World War but a petrol shortage during the
First World War meant horse drawn carriages and
bicycles remained popular until the 1920s.
An extract from from"Minehead Town and City Memories".
The architectural style is actually one which
is common to areas around the Bristol Channel.
The oldest cottages are based on what is known
as a ‘cross passage’ design, whereby a passage
runs straight from front to back door, dividing
the house. In the original cottages there were
usually two rooms on the upslope side of the
passage and a ‘shippon’ (cow shed) on the
downslope side. In medieval times the living
quarters would have been heated by a fire in the
middle of the floor of the main room with the
smoke simply drifting out through the thatch,
blackening the roof beams as it went.
One house near Church Steps is called the
Hearth House, implying it originated from such
a cottage. None survive in their original state
and all have been enlarged. Most were enlarged
upwards, with bedrooms added, their little semi-
dormer windows breaking the line of eaves.
When this happened, the smoke from the fire
had to be diverted, so it was usual to add a
tall chimney to the front of the house, with a
bulging bread oven at its base. This tended to
happen in the 17th century, when the town grew
prosperous and chimneys became a status symbol
for householders showing off their new wealth.
An extract from from"Minehead Town and City Memories".
A promenade walk had been established along the street in the 1880s,
when some of the gardens were removed. Now, the level of the road
was raised to prevent flooding of the cottages on the far side. Hence,
they are now partly below road level, with a retaining wall in place to
buffer them from the floods which still arise from time to time. Most
of the doorways are still equipped with slots in which to insert boards
when there are flood warnings.
An extract from from"Minehead Town and City Memories".