Porlock
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Porlock memories
Read and share memories of Porlock 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
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 ...read more here
A memory of Timberscombe contributed by John Nurcombe
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
Extracts From Porlock & Somerset books
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".
One of Campbell’s White Funnel fleet, probably the ‘Britannia’, ties
up at the pier. The ‘Britannia’ was built in 1896 and was one of the
best known and one of the fastest passenger ships of its day. Its full
promenade deck and reliability in all weathers made it very popular.
It survived use as a Second World War transport and was afterwards
refitted with an additional funnel. It was eventually taken out of
service in the late 1950s.
An extract from from"Minehead Town and City Memories".
The buses on Quay Street are probably Western National service buses. The double-decker shows an advertisement for
Hatcher’s, a department store in Taunton. The Quay became the traditional starting point for bus services from Minehead.
The National service started in 1927 and ran to Dunster, Taunton, Bridgwater and Dulverton. It became the Western
National following merger with the motor services of the Great Western Railway in 1929. The buses met each train and
took passengers on to Lynton and beyond. It gradually bought out most local bus companies, except Blue Motors and Scarlet
Pimpernel. The latter specialised in excursions and, between the First World War and the 1960s, up to 44 coaches a day
left Minehead with up to 1,400 passengers for trips to the surrounding countryside. The first motor coach to operate from
Minehead in 1908 caused much opposition for its intrusiveness. Both Western National and Blue Motors continued to
start journeys here long after the pier was removed and the harbour ceased to be used by boat passengers.
An extract from from"Minehead Town and City Memories".