You are here:
Porlock
Porlock maps
Historic maps of Porlock and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Porlock maps
Porlock area books
Displaying 1 of 11 books about Porlock and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Porlock
No memories of Porlock have been shared yet - be the first!
Add your memory of Porlock
or of a photo of Porlock.
Somerset memories
Porlock Hill
I remember coming down the hill in my dad's car and it was quite a worry, especially as dad said "Because it's a very steep hill they've put escape routes into the side of the hill in case your brakes failed". Me and my three bothers were very scared when he told us that. Also we saw the stag hunt hounds up on the very top.
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.
Tom & Lizzie Cook
1948 - onwards. My Mother and her two cousins were brought up by their Aunt and Uncle as above and I spent all my childhood holidays with them. Great Aunt Liz was well known for her teas for visitors and ramblers from CHA Porlock. On such an occasion all the kettles we could find would be filled and put on the range, every tea cup & saucer, milk jug and sugar bowl would be washed and placed on as many trays (with tray cloths) as were available. She had difficulty understanding decimal coinage and everyone was still only charged 2s.0d. Uncle Tom was a good horseman working at Porlock Riding Stables, Porlock Weir, and a knowledgeable countryman. He could tell a good yarn and played at many dances with his squeeze box. They are both buried in the Churchyard along with my great grandparents and great great uncle Nath who retired to Worthy Lodge from Parsonage Farm collecting tolls at the... Read more
The Timberscombe I Knew (1957-1965)
We moved to Oaktrow in January 1957 and until the house was habitable, we stayed at The Lion (prominently displayed in one of the photos). The village then had four shops, these being the Post Office towards Minehead, Mrs Yeandle's, the Coombe Stores (very successful under Basil Hewlett and his wife) and Loveridge's which was on the way to Stowey. Mrs Yeandle, a large woman, sang in the choir, Sid Loveridge was in and out of the Lion all and every evening. Barley wine and whisky was his tipple. The barley wine took the sting out of the whisky.
The Huxtable family had two filling stations, the forge was run by Sammy and Ken Grabham. Tommy Heard had Kiln Farm and Harry Bishop had Great House Farm. The school was run by Mrs Willis. There was an agricultural engineer called Les Delbridge. Other farmers living nearby were James Henderson at Allercot, Bill Edwards-Heathcote at Beasley, Mr Watts at Stowey, Major Enderby at Old Stowey and the Dru family at Bickham.
Kings Langley
The first 8 plus years of my life were spent here at Merrow Down, off the Common. The only time we were away was for a few months in 1939-40 during the Phoney War. I had various nannies, the best being Flora. She came about autumn 1940 and stayed until autumn 1942 when 'called up ' for work of national importance (day nurseries) and my mother had to cope with both my sister and I. It was a shock to her. I went to Mrs Hazlewood's school a few doors down for a year and then to The Priory. I didn't like it there and was going to London weekly for psychiatric treatment. In the spring I was sent to a sort of boarding school in Berkhamsted, with visits to psychiatrists weekly. My gullible mother swallowed everything they told her, which were a pack of lies. It was staffed by weird females and exercise consisted of walks. One of the women was called Anita and she was a blonde. She... Read more
Timberscombe 1957-1965
We moved to Oaktrow in January 1957, me travelling in the cattle truck. The rest went by car. We stayed the first week or so at the Lion Inn, Timberscombe. Oaktrow had been purchased the previous summer. We eventually moved in and gradually things got more civilised. I liked staying in the village and playing skittles at the pub. In those days there were 3 shops nearby. These were Mrs Yeandle's, the Coombe Stores and S J. Loveridge. Nearby lived 2 farmers viz Harry Bishop at Great House and Tommy Heard at Kiln Farm. Our daily, Mrs Prole, lived near the church and on the corner was Mrs Huxtable's filling station which seemed open all hours. Going towards Dunster was the post office run by the Bond's whose daughter was church organist and the Forge run by Sammy and Ken Grabham. It was more of a woodyard than a forge! Nearby was Knowle, which is now a holiday place for horseriders etc. Going towards Wheddon Cross, the next farm was... Read more
Old Stowey
My parents bought Old Stowey from Major Enderby, sadly after my father's death in 1970 the place was sold for 50.000 complete with farm workers cottages & 600 acres. I now see it's on the market with 40 acres for 1.5 million. I really loved the area but could be desolate when the cloud closed in and when the snow came. My parents are buried in Cutcombe churchyard. I would like to live near there again but am currently waiting for a visa to emmigrate to Perth in West Australia to be near my children.
