Kilve

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.1788
longitude= -3.2156
official_name= Kilve
population=
shire_district= West Somerset
shire_county = Somerset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Bridgwater
post_town= Bridgwater
postcode_district = TA5
postcode_area= TA
dial_code= 01278
os_grid_reference=ST151428

Kilve is a village in West Somerset within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first A.O.N.B. to be established, in 1957.

It lies on the A39 almost exactly equidistant from Bridgwater to the East and Minehead to the West. The village includes a 17th century coaching inn, [cite web | title= The Hood Arms | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265162 | accessdate=2007-10-07] and a Post Office and stores. This part of the village, formerly known as Putsham, also contains the village hall, which was extended to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The village was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as" Clive", probably meaning cliff.cite book |last=Bush |first=Robin |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Somerset: The complete guide |year=1994 |publisher=Dovecote press |location=Wimbourne |isbn=187433627X ]

Village layout

The village actually consists of three settlements. One of these is up Pardlestone Lane, which meanders steeply southwards through mossy cottages, and a few more modern bungalows nestle into the hillside. Berta Lawrence, in her book "Quantock Country", suggests that the name Pardlestone derives from the old alternative 'Parleston', where a tiny settlement here belonged to a Saxon called Parlo. "But," she writes, "there are local inhabitants who tell of a mythical Frenchman called Pardel and an equally mythical Pardel's Stone stuck somewhere up this lane."

A further settlement lies along the ridge to the East of the village, with a steep and narrow lane running down to join Sea Lane at Meadow House, which was once the Rectory. [cite web | title= Meadow House - Former Rectory | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265175 | accessdate=2007-10-07] From half way down this lane there is a panoramic view of the coastline as far as North Hill in Minehead and across the channel to South Wales and the Brecon Beacons. In the foreground lie the Church of St Mary, the ruins of a medieval Chantry and one old barn still standing, though dilapidated, with traditional round stone pillars. Alongside the Chantry are two houses and a tea-garden. Lane End was built in traditional cob construction by the distinguished Arts and Crafts architect Norman Jewson as a summer house for himself.

A paths leads down from the Chantry through fields now used as a car-park to the beach which William Wordsworth the Romantic poet, who lived for a brief period with his sister Dorothy at Alfoxton House, described as "Kilve's delightful shore". [cite book |last=Dunning |first=Robert |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Somerset and Avon |year=1980 |publisher=John Bartholomew and Son |location=Edinburgh |isbn=0702883808 ]

Kilve Pill, where the stream from Holford runs into the sea, was once a tiny port, used for importing culm, an inferior type of coal which was used in the limeburning process. It was also the site for "glatting" which was the hunting of conger eels by dogs.cite book |title=Somerset Harbours |last=Farr |first=Grahame |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1954 |publisher=Christopher Johnson |location=London |isbn= |pages=119-120 ] On the shore a Saint Keyne Serpent can be seen, which a local legend says is a snake turned to stone, but in reality an ammonite.cite book |title=Curiosities of Somerset |last=Leete-Hodge |first=Lornie |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1985 |publisher=Bossiney Books |location=Bodmin |isbn=0906456983 |pages=45 ]

It is just possible to make out the remains of a stone jetty and the ruins of a lime kiln nearby. Here the limestone was burnt to provide farmers with the lime to spread on their fields. The limestone carrier "Laurina" was wrecked at Kilve in 1876. The Pill was long associated with smuggling and legend has it that barrels of spirits hidden in the Chantry were deliberately set fire to as the revenue men appeared on the scene. Legend also has it that the smugglers' ponies were taught to respond to the commands "whoa" and "gee up" in the reverse sense of the words. [cite web|url=http://www.smuggling.co.uk/history_landfall.html|title=Britain’s Smuggling History|work=Smugglers Britain|accessdate=2008-07-03]

Along the whole length of the stream from Holford to the shore at Kilve there were a number of working mills. Farmers appear to have used water-power in the same way as modern ones use the power from engines. The old mill in the village, now a private house, still retains its overshot wheel, but the others have long since vanished. [cite web | title=Kilve Mill and Water Wheel | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265165 | accessdate=2007-10-07]

Oil extraction

At the far end of the car park are the remains of a red brick retort, built in 1924, when it was discovered that the shale found in the cliffs was rich in oil. In 1916 it was discovered that the shale beds of the North Somerset. The beach is part of the Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest. Along this coast the cliffs are layered with compressed strata of oil-bearing shale and blue, yellow and brown lias embedded with fossils. In 1924 Dr Forbes-Leslie founded the Shaline Company to exploit them. This retort house is thought to be the first structure erected here for the conversion of shale to oil but the company was unable to raise sufficient capital and this is now all that remains of the anticipated Somerset oil boom. [cite web | title=Oil retort house | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265166 | accessdate=2007-10-07]

Kilve Court

South of the village is Kilve Court Residential Youth Centre, which runs a wide range of courses for young people including Activity Courses set in the Centre's extensive grounds and Enrichment Courses, designed to help gifted and talented children to develop their skills in subjects such as Art, Drama, English and Maths. Kilve Court is one of the few centres in the country to run instructive Creative Writing for ages up to and including 16, primarily directed by writers Beth Webb and Colin Macfarlane.

The main part of the building was built from 1702-5, in the reign of Queen Anne,by Henry Sweating, and incorporating an earlier dwelling, although alterations were made in the 1920s by Clough Williams-Ellis. [cite web | title=Kilve Court | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265163 | accessdate=2007-10-07] Somerset County Council acquired the house in 1964 and it was opened in 1965 with residential places for 26 children and four members of staff. Since that date there have been a number of extensions and the house, together with a hutted camp site on the hill above, can now accommodate a total of 166. Kilve Court is a major employer in the village.

t Mary's Church

The Church of St Mary dates back to the 14th century. In the vestry is one remaining carved arch of the ancient screen. The tower has very recently had a considerable amount of restorative work done on it, and it is now rendered and painted a shade of off-white, as the whole church was until the early years of the 20th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. [cite web | title=Church of St. Mary | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265170 | accessdate=2007-10-07]

Chantry

The chantry was founded in 1329, when a brotherhood of five monks was employed to say Mass for their founder, Simon de Furneaux. The Roll of Incumbents shows that several successive chantry priests were incumbents of Kilve parish. The chantry seems to have fallen into a ruin long before the dissolution of the monasteries, and for centuries it served as a barn for the adjacent farm. [cite web | title=Remains of Chantry, abutting East side of Chantry Cottage | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=265168 | accessdate=2007-10-07] The building stayed in use for many years, possibly by smugglers, until a fire in 1848.cite book |title=Portrait of the Quantocks |last=Waite |first=Vincent |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1964 |publisher=Robert Hale |location=London |isbn=0709111584 |pages= ]

References

External links

* [http://www.somerset3d.co.uk/gallery.htm#k Photos of Kilve in 3d (Anaglyphs)]
* [http://www.kilvecourt.org/ Kilve Court official website]