The Village Pond

A Memory of Seavington St Michael.

When I was a child I often visited my Aunts who lived in Buckrells, the large house opposite the Volunteer Pub; one of the joys of these visits was escaping from the adults and exploring the village pond which was almost next door to the front garden. It was great fun paddling in the water and watching the ducks which were always there. I can remember being very sad when the pond water was drained and the site became a car park!

I know from research I have done recently that the pond played an important part in the production of linen . When the local flax was harvested, complete with it's roots, it was laid in the pond to rot the centre stalk which was too hard to use in the production of linen. Dependant on the weather the flax would lie in the pond for several months and, I understand, the smell was "unpleasant"!