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Aisholt

Aisholt photos (1 available)

Old photo of Aisholt

Aisholt maps (2 available)

Old map of Aisholt

Aisholt books (14 available)

Aisholt memories

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You can also read memories of nearby places in Somerset below.

Somerset memories

Combe Florey Primary School

The village school in Combe Florey closed in about 1958 I believe, it exists as a private house now, but I can still remember the mile long walk to and from it, through the lanes every morning and afternoon. Mum would accompany us with younger siblings in a big green metal pushchair, so for her it was twice the distance. I remember little of the actual school, except that it was one big room with tall windows and a wood burning stove in it. The playground was on the other side of the road, so we were all hearded across at playtime and shut in, and then hearded back afterwards. I dont remember how many were at ...read more here
A memory of contributed by Kathy Farmer

maternal family history and onwards dictated by my mum age 84

My name is Hilda Mary Fenn nee Hurman. I was born at Yarford in 1924. My father was William Thomas Hurman, my mother Caroline Elizabeth nee Tucker. They are buried in the village churchyard. My two sisters and I were all married in the village church in 1952 and had receptions in the village hall. As children we attended the village school - Mr Hawkins was the headmaster - we attended youth club, brownies, guides, choir, Kingston players drama group. My best friend was Margaret Mead of The Bungalow, Fulford, she lives there still. We spent our days roaming the fields, collecting milk, harvesting, riding on the hay carts. When it was the Silver Jubilee of George V and Queen Mary, ...read more here
A memory of Kingston St Mary contributed by Rosie Robinson

Halsway Manor

I discovered this amazing place in 2006 and only wish I had known of it 50 years ago as it is an oasis of rural bliss where folk musicians and dancers meet like-minded people to practise and learn from one another. I first went there to meet some folk musicians one Sunday evening so I took along my piano accordian to join in the session in the Halsway Manor bar. It was really wonderful to be able to play in such a grand atmosphere. Since then I have returned a dozen times for similar music groups and on one occasion I went along on a summer afternoon to see the maypole dancing on the Halsway Manor front lawn.
A memory of Crowcombe contributed by John Howard Norfolk

Childhood

My father came to Townsend Farm as the tenant in Sept 1940. The farmhouse is shown on the left in the picture titled Townsend. At that time I was only 15 months. My earliest memories are of the later war years. We had evacuees from Bristol living in part of the house. I also remember sitting on the garden wall which was alongside the main road and being thrown chewing gum by the American soldiers billeted at the nearby camp at Alfoxden. My brother and the boy in the other half of the house, Vernon, were green with envy when they got home from school.
My father had milking cows, milked by hand in the war ...read more here
A memory of East Quantoxhead contributed by Edwin John Summerhayes

Extracts From Aisholt & Somerset books

Taunton, Priory Lock 1888

Taunton is a town surrounded by water, with the Tone passing through its heart and the marshes not far away. It is still possible to walk along the banks of the local waterways, just as these Edwardian children did nearly a century ago. A canal to Tiverton once started from near French Weir.
An extract from from"Taunton Photographic Memories".

Taunton, from Bridge 1897

A splendid view over the heart of Taunton town. In late Victorian times many of the old buildings of Taunton were demolished and new streets were created. Notice the early marked parking spaces in the street below.
An extract from from"Taunton Photographic Memories".

West Monkton, the Stocks c1960

A fine example of a village stocks is to be seen at West Monkton, sheltered beneath the yews of the churchyard. Notice the whipping post on the right. The shelter above is of a later date, for miscreants were seldom protected from the vagaries of the English weather.
An extract from from"Taunton Photographic Memories".

Trull, Stocks in Churchyard 1906

Once much feared as a punishment, village stocks are now just a picturesque part of our history. They were mostly used for minor offences such as drunkenness and petty theft. An Act of 1376 decreed that stocks should be set up in every village as a way of controlling unruly labourers.
An extract from from"Taunton Photographic Memories".

North Curry, Jubilee Square c1960

This is really a church without a village, for only a few scattered houses and farms are nearby. A church has stood here from at least Norman times, though most of the present building is 15th-century, with a 20th-century family chapel added by Lord Portman.
An extract from from"Taunton Photographic Memories".