Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society
Newsletters
No 67
SPRING/SUMMER - 2003
Contents
From
the Chairman
From Betty Cloke in SANHS office
From the Hon Secretary
Obituary
Request from Historic Buildings Committee
Annual General Meeting
Programme Date Change
Archaeology on the Quantocks
Somerset Vernacular Building Research Group
A War Walk at Donyatt
Publications Workshop
The Wetwang Chariot and other Iron Age Vehicles
Early Christianity in the South West
Annual Somerset Archaeology Symposium
Visit to Steep Holm
Rocks and Fossils at a World Heritage Site
Sights, Sounds and Soggy Grounds
Geology Tour of Hungary
CBA South-West
The Council for British Archaeology
Area Archaeological Council
West Bagborough Hoard of Roman Silver
Visit to Holcombe Rogus
Visit to Meare Church and Fish House
A New History of Wedmore
Natural History Notes
Quantock Hills Joint Advisory Committee
Maps and Air Photographs
Wanted!
Standing Conference of Associated Societies AGM
Clevedon and District Archaeological Society
The Invertebrate Experience: Exploring the World of Small
Animals
Cecil Sharp in Somerset
Somerset County Museum, Taunton
Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury
Reading through
this Newsletter has made me realise afresh how many day-to-day benefits there
are for members of SANHS. These include an excellent programme embracing the
disciplines of archaeology, history and natural history; the use of our libraries
in the Somerset Studies Library and, for natural history, in the Adam Room
at the Castle; and two excellent publications: Proceedings, which brings us
up to date with research across the county, and the Newsletter, which keeps
us informed of everything that is going on and of opportunities for courses
and lectures beyond our immediate remit.
Are you making the most of your membership? Why not try something new this
year?!
In the last Newsletter
I raised the issue of attracting younger members and was pleased to have a
positive response from a number of you. We should still be glad to know of
anyone who would like to be involved in setting up some new initiatives and
in working with young people. Let me know if you can help.
Hilary Binding
From Betty Cloke in the SANHS Office
Please let
me know, if you have not already done so, if you have an email address which
we could use to send you the latest news of forthcoming events.
If you would be
willing and able to assist in any way with the packing and delivery of Proceedings
and newsletters, please let me know. This is a twice-yearly event - at the
end of February/beginning of March and end of August/beginning of September.
We already have a number of volunteers who assist with both these tasks but
more offers are welcome, for the delivery stage, in particular.
To reduce postage
costs, we try to deliver as many as possible by hand and a few members travel
all over the place to assist with this. What we would really like, is for
one or two members from a town to collect from Taunton and deliver to their
area - for example, Weston-super-Mare or Bath and Radstock and district. We
also have a large number for the Bristol area, so if you visit there and could
take some when you go, please let us know.
This is the
second newsletter that we have produced in-house, on our new photocopier.
We hope that the change has not been too detectable and that we can count
it a success. We are happy to allow members to use the photocopier by arrangement.
We would like to thank our departed editor, Steve Membery, for having slaved
away on the Newsletter for the last two years. Thank you very much Steve,
for all your effort.
We are going through a process of re-examining our activities, as every vital society should. As part of this process, the Publications Committee has been asked to review both Proceedings and the Newsletter. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, even a complaint or two might be tolerated, please do drop me a line. Also, we now need a new editor for the newsletter, so will someone kindly step forward.
Writing in January I feel able to wish you a Happy New Year. When you get this in March, I hope that the year has already proved itself to be happy.
Alex Maxwell Findlater
Harry Albert Collyer, known to his friends and associates as Larry, died suddenly in February 2002. He was a member of SANHS from 1974 when he moved to Glastonbury and restored the house, Barnside in Chilkwell Street, which his wife inherited from her father, Captain G P Bowen, who had been Custodian of Glastonbury Abbey. He was also a member of the SPAB and Glastonbury Antiquarian Society.
Request from Historic Buildings Committee
After many
years, Pam Brimacombe is retiring as correspondent to the Council for British
Archaeology, which is one of the most important roles for the Historic Buildings
Committee. We would therefore like to fill this vacancy as soon as possible
for the North Somerset District Council area.
Anyone in that area, with a knowledge of historic buildings, is most welcome
to apply.
Christopher Chanter, Chairman of Historic Buildings Committee, Telephone 01984
623872
The Society's
AGM will be held on Saturday 17th May 2003
Edington Village Hall, commencing at 10.30am
The business
meeting will be followed by Mrs Pat Hill-Cottingham's Presidential Address
which will be entitled 'Extraordinary, Exotic and Enchanting - a personal
view of Wildlife'.
In the afternoon it will be possible to visit either Catcott North Reserve
or Shapwick National Nature Reserve and the Peat Moors Centre.
Full details will be sent out before the meeting.
Please note
that that the following SANHS meetings have been changed round
and will now be as follows:
Saturday,
15th March 2003
'The Helambu Trek, Nepal'
Speakers: Derek and Pat Briggs
2.30pm in the Wyndham Hall, Taunton Castle
Saturday,
12th April 2003
'Birds of Exmoor'
Speaker: David Ballance
2.30pm in the Wyndham Hall, Taunton Castle
A symposium to explore the results of recent excavations on the Quantocks and to look at future potential. Come and join us to find out about the West Bagborough Hoard and what really happened at Dead Woman's Ditch!
Saturday
12th April 2003 Church Centre, Nether Stowey
10. 00am to 4.00pm
Small admission charge
Speakers will include
Bob Croft, Steve Minnitt, and a member of the Southern Quantock Archaeological
Survey team from King Alfred's College, Winchester.
For further details of speakers and programme, please contact Jennifer May, 01278 733156: e-mail woodjen@rockart.fsnet.co.u
Somerset Vernacular Building Research Group
'Vernacular
Interiors'
A talk by James Ayres (author of The Shell Book of the Home).
An open meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 16th April 2003 at Compton Dundon Village
Hall
Admission £2.00
Please book in advance by contacting Mark McDermott on 01823 286258
Discovering
World War 2 Anti-Invasion Defences - the Taunton Stop Line
Saturday 29th March
2003
10.30am to 4.00pm
An all-day field
trip led by David Hunt, a retired Army Officer.
Booking essential as numbers will be limited. Participation £3.00. Call
the SANHS office to make bookings.
After the fall of France in 1940, a German invasion of the SW of England was
considered to be a major threat. A strong defence line - the Taunton Stop
Line - was built between Highbridge and Seaton with the aim of containing
any invaders.
The Stop Line followed
waterways and railways over a course of nearly 50 miles and included some
25 miles of artificial obstacles with blocks on all roads and railways. Nearly
400 pillboxes and gun emplacements were planned; the majority of which were
constructed.
The Donyatt
area was in the centre of the expected German axis of advance and was heavily
fortified. Bridges were prepared for demolition and minefields laid. Many
of these pillboxes, machine gun posts, anti-tank gun emplacements, roadblocks,
railway blocks and tank traps‚ have survived. These give an excellent
insight into how the Army planned to hold the German invaders at this critical
time.
The day starts at 10.30am at the George Inn, Donyatt for coffee, with a full indoor briefing on the secret plans for the Line starting at 11.00am. The briefing will also include details of the various types of fortifications, the weapons that would have been used and the soldiers who were to man them. You will be able to buy lunch at the pub 12.30 - 1.30pm. After lunch, examples of representative 1940 anti-invasion fortifications will be visited and the plans for defending the Line explained on the ground. The total walk should not exceed 3 miles over roads, tracks and farmland. We may return to the pub for coffee or tea and questions.
David Hunt spent much of his service on anti-invasion duties‚ in Germany. In addition to his British military and technical training, David also attended the German Armed Forces Staff College. He therefore has a unique understanding of both the British and German military doctrines and capabilities. Since his retirement, David has been undertaking an in-depth study of the Stop Line on the ground, in the Public Records Office and at English Heritage.
The George Inn, Donyatt is at grid reference ST 339141 just west of Ilminster on the A358 and may be found on this map at www.streetmap.co.uk
Saturday 10th May 2003, 10.00am
to 4.00pm
The Meeting Room
The Library
Paul Street
Taunton
This
is how to get your writing into print
Topics to be covered include:
Self-publishing
Using new technology
Editing
Setting out references
Copyright
With experts from various
fields,
including:
History, Archaeology, and Natural History
Peter Ellis,
Editor of SANHS Proceedings
Dr Mark Anderson
Tom Mayberry (in the chair)
Price £10.00,
to include a cold lunch
Booking essential: contact SANHS office at Taunton Castle, 01823 272429
The Wetwang Chariot and other Iron Age Vehicles
Saturday
7th June 2003 2.00pm
Wyndham Hall, Taunton
Admission £5.00, students £2.50.
Anthony Spence, of the British Museum, will talk about the tradition of chariot burial in the Iron Age in Eastern Yorkshire looking, in particular, at an excavation in Wetwang village carried out in Spring 2001. Evidence from this site, supported by wider evidence of Iron Age vehicles, was used to produce a replica chariot for the The Chariot Queen in BBC2's Meet The Ancestors series and which was on display in the Somerset County Museum during the autumn of 2002.
Somerset wheelwright and carriage builder Robert Hurford will explain the practical difficulties in producing a vehicle of this kind.
Early Christianity in the South West
Day Conference
Saturday 18th October 2003 10.00am - 4.30pm
Bishop Fox's Community School, Taunton
Admission £10.00, students £5.00.
In recent times much new research has thrown light on this fascinating topic. This one-day symposium will consider the current state of understanding and likely areas for future research. The speakers will be drawn widely from those actively researching in the field, resulting in a lively and stimulating day.
Chaired by Professor Charles Thomas FSA, the speakers will include Dr. Martin Henig of Oxford University on 'The Cultural Inheritance of Paganism in SW Britain' and Chris Webster on the evidence in Somerset.
Annual Somerset Archaeology Symposium
Saturday
22nd November 2003 10.00am to 4.30pm
Bishop Fox's Community School, Taunton
Keynote speaker Bob Bewley, Head of Aerial Survey for English Heritage, on 'Aerial Archaeology in Britain & Beyond' and Helen Winton & Hazel Riley, archaeologists working for English Heritage, on 'Recent Aerial Photography in the Quantocks'.
Saturday 30th August 2003
The Archaeological Committee has arranged another visit to Steep Holm on 30th August 2003.
Those of you who booked to go in 2002 will remember that the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute because of bad weather. We hope that the visit will be able to go ahead this time. These visits are very popular so it is important to book early.
Steep Holm lies in the middle of the Bristol Channel, five miles off Weston-super-Mare. After alighting from the ferry on a pebble beach, visitors ascend to a 50-acre plateau 256 feet above sea level (so you need to be reasonably fit). There, plants such as the native wild leek, alexanders, henbane and the spectacular Steep Holm peony can be appreciated. As well as seeing Gulls and Cormorants nesting here it is also possible to spy Muntjac deer.
The history of the island stretches back to the prehistoric period and archaeological excavation has discovered an important Roman presence lasting several centuries. Vikings utilised the island, and a medieval priory was established in the 12th century. More recent heritage can be seen at the Victorian fortification with its 7-ton muzzle-loading cannons and Visitors Centre set within the barracks built in 1867.
Since 1976 the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust has sought to preserve and enhance the island's landscape, flora, fauna, natural beauty and scientific value for the benefit and education of the public.
The visit
will be led by Stan and Joan Rendell and will concentrate on the archaeological
aspects. Booking essential. £14 per head for adults, £7 for ages
5-16.
Bookings must be made directly with Mrs Rendell, Secretary of the Kenneth
Allsop Memorial Trust. (Telephone 01934 632307)
Send a cheque for the full fare, made payable to Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust, to Mrs Rendell, Stonedale, 11 Fairfield Close, Milton, Weston-super-Mare, BS22 8EA.
Try the Steep
Holm Island, Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust website
Rocks and Fossils at a World Heritage Site
Practical
Activities on the Charmouth Coast
Saturday 27th September 2003
RESERVE THE DATE NOW!
Why? To celebrate international approval of England's first natural World Heritage Site, the Committee has arranged a minibus to visit 'the Jurassic Coast' of South Dorset. It is ranked as one of the wonders of the natural world due to its outstanding geology, landscape, natural history and artistic associations.
What? There will be a special opportunity to view the Heritage Centre's exhibition, followed by a practical guided fieldwork session on the beach (the tide will be down!). 12 noon until 4.00pm.
Times? The
minibus will leave as follows:
Bridgwater (10.30am) via
Taunton and Chard to Charmouth.
Charmouth (4.00pm) return.
Cost? £4 for the guided exploration (and a donation for other expenses).
Applications will be invited at a later date, with further details.
You might like to look at the Jurassic Coast website
Sights, Sounds and Soggy Grounds
Celebrating
the diversity of Somerset wildlife
A Natural History
Symposium
to be held in Edington Village Hall on
Saturday 18th October 2003, 10.00am to 4.00pm
Contributions and contributors provisionally include:
` 'Ham Wall'
: local primary schools and Mrs P Earnshaw
` 'Sharpham Moor
Plot' : Mr G Rix
` 'The Shining Ram's
Horn' : Mrs P Hill-Cottingham
` 'Somerset's Warblers'
: Dr A P Radford
and extensive displays by a variety of other contributors.
Put the date in your diary now! Full details later.
With specialist
leaders
Saturday 14th - Saturday 28th June 2003
Two weeks
touring Hungary studying the geology, flora, fauna and social history
Budapest, the pearl of the Danube; Tihany, a paradise on Lake Balaton
Lillafüred, the wild and beautiful east of the country.
For full
details contact St Albans Travel Service, 30 Culver Road, St Albans, AL1 4ED
Telephone 01727 866533. Email sales@stalbanstravel.co.uk
AGM - 26th April 2003
The Annual General Meeting will be held at Kilmington on the A35 near Axminster on Saturday 26 April 2003. The theme for the morning lectures and afternoon field visits will be the Defence of Britain in WW2 and non-members are welcome. One of the best preserved of the strategic stop-lines is where the Yarty joins the Axe and we will have a chance to examine some of these monuments.
The Summer Outing will be on Sunday 11 May 2003 and a coach will travel from Clevedon and Weston via Taunton, to Cranborne Chase, stamping ground of the famous General Pitt?Rivers. We will visit Martin Green's museum and farm which has a multitude of sites including the famous sink-hole or shaft, 10 metres in diameter and over 25 metres deep. Bokerley Dyke, the Dorset Cursus and Knowlton Church/Henge are nearby. The coach charge including the farm/museum entry fee is expected to be £15.
For further
details please contact:
Lynne Walmsley, Hon Secretary CBA South West
52 Sylvan Road, Pennsylvania, Exeter EX4 4QE
Telephone: 01392 432184
E-mail: Walmsley@freegratis.net
The Council for British Archaeology
Report on the National AGM 2002
The AGM of the National CBA was held on Saturday 28th September 2002 at the Museum of London with Mike Farley, Vice President, in the Chair. Apologies were received from the President, Dr Francis Pryor, who was prevented from attending as a result of an accident. The main matters reported on and discussed included:
Finances: Total funds increased by £4,815 for the year ending 31st March 2002, but reserves were still low in relation to the CBA's scale of operations. Unfortunately the fund raising campaign launched with an appeal to members had not been very successful. A Marketing and Events Officer was appointed in February 2002 to investigate and aid the accomplishment of future income requirements. An online shop has been introduced on the CBA website and is proving useful.
Membership: With over 5,200 individual members and 500 institutional members the CBA is well placed to voice the concerns of the archaeological community over dangers to the historic environment. Several new applications for institutional membership were approved, including the Stuart Prior Partnership (Nancy Hollinrake and Richard Brunning) of our South West Region. The Young Archaeologists Club has some 3,000 members and 67 local branches.
National Archaeology Days: 149 venues took part in July 2001, attracting over 60,000 visitors.
Honorary Members: Charles Sparrow QC was elected an Honorary Vice President. He has been involved in archaeology since boyhood, and has been representing and advising the CBA, and promoting the interests of archaeology for over 30 years. Two Honorary Members were also unanimously elected - Pippa Henry, who has been the dynamic leader of the YAC for many years and has only recently handed over the Chair of the YAC Advisory Committee to Richard Brewer, and also Jessie Williams, who has been Hon Treasurer and Membership Secretary of CBA Wessex for several years.
CBA Activities:
The Director, George Lambrick, summarised the recent work of the CBA and the
efforts being made to increase membership and products. Online links with
Amazon were enabling a wider audience to be contacted and were proving profitable.
British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography - a pilot version was now
online and it would be fully online next year.
Information was already online about the various degree courses and other
means of studying archaeology.
Efforts are being made to get politicians to take archaeology on board and
information has been passed to the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group
regarding archaeology in education and support mechanisms for archaeological
services. Frances Griffith (Hon Vice President and Principal Archaeologist
for Devon) still watches over agri-environmental issues.
Consultations continue with English Heritage regarding the Valetta Convention.
Other concerns are the conservation of the Newport medieval ship, the redrafting
of PPG15 and 16, and the making a criminal offence of the illegal trade in
antiquities.
Stonehenge - access and interpretation still being discussed - action proposals
are due out soon.
Work concerning listed buildings (demolition and alteration) continues in
conjunction with County Societies and private individuals - about 150-200
people involved altogether.
The recent British Academy review of the CBA in relation to funding was very
favourable.
Future Dates:
Winter General Meeting: Thursday 27th February 2003
Annual General Meeting: Saturday 27th September 2003
(both venues to be announced)
**************
Prior to the AGM members were invited to join CBA officers and staff at the British Museum to view the Great Court and the beautifully laid out new gallery devoted to prehistory and Anglo-Saxon England. Dr Roger Bland, Head of Treasure and Portable Antiquities, gave a short introduction to recent developments at the British Museum.
Following the AGM at the Museum of London, we were given a special guided visit to the nearby Roman amphitheatre in Guildhall Yard, excavated by the Museum of London Archaeological Service in 1988, and now dramatically displayed beneath the Guildhall Art Gallery. It is certainly well worth a visit.
Jean M M
Dagnall
Representative of CBA South West to National CBA
Autumn Symposium 2002
The Symposium which was held on 19th September at Thornbury, was very well attended.
Neil Holbrook, Director of Cotswold Archaeology, gave a general introduction outlining the settlement sites and the economy of the Romans in South Gloucestershire. This was followed by Jonathan Erskine, Project Manager of the Avon Archaeological Unit, and Richard Osgood, Archaeological Co-ordinator of South Gloucestershire, who described recent excavations of Roman sites in the area. Hall End near Rangeworthy, and the 2nd to 4th century village at Springfield Farm, Horton were described, and also the more recent discovery of a substantial Roman building in Lower Woods, Hawkesbury. Road works and building developments have revealed evidence of new sites.
Keith Gardner, CBA South West Editor, pointed out that although the Cotswolds had one of the best concentrations of Roman villas in the country, there were no grand villas in North Somerset except as satellites of Bath, and there were no substantial buildings before the late 2nd century. The Roman sites were rather production areas, and he argued that the land between the Rivers Axe and Avon could have been an imperial mineral estate. James Russell of BAAS gave a final overview of Roman South Gloucestershire. He considered Romano-British settlement, the road system, and burial practices.
Altogether it was a well organised, informative and stimulating day.
Jean M M Dagnall
West Bagborough Hoard of Roman Silver
In October 2001, local man James Hawkesworth discovered a hoard of 4th century Roman silver coins together with pieces of hacksilver in the parish of West Bagborough. The find was promptly reported to the coroner for West Somerset and placed in the care of the Somerset County Museum, thereby meeting the requirements of the Treasure Act. An inquest followed in April 2002 when the hoard was declared Treasure.
The hoard comprises 680 silver coins and 73 pieces of hacksilver. The coins consist of two early 2nd century denarii, presumably worth only their scrap metal value at the time of burial, and 670 siliquae and eight miliarenses dating to the mid 4th century. Most were struck in the reigns of Constantius II and Julian and predominantly derive from the mints of Arles, Lyons and Trier. The siliqua was the primary silver denomination in circulation in the 4th century. The latest coins indicate that the hoard was buried in circa AD 365 making it an unusual discovery. Whilst hoards of silver coins dating to the late 4th century and earlier 5th century are relatively common in Britain, indeed there is a notable concentration in Somerset, there are remarkably few attributable to the mid 4th century. The West Bagborough hoard therefore provides important data on the coinage in circulation at that period. Amongst the siliquae there is an unexpectedly large number of copies, a total of 52. Some were struck from high quality silver; others have a copper alloy core covered with silver sheet.
There is a total of 722gm of hacksilver. This is scrap silver that was melted down, poured out and cut up with a hammer and chisel after cooling. Individual pieces of hacksilver vary in weight from less than one gram up to 163gm suggesting that it had been divided up for a specific, though unknown, purpose.
Somerset County Council archaeologists carried out an excavation in an attempt to identify a context for the hoard. No trace of buildings or other structures was found suggesting that the hoard had been buried in isolation.
The 1996 Treasure Act was passed for the sole purpose of ensuring that finds falling within the definition of Treasure can be recorded and acquired by an appropriate museum. The finder and landowner share a reward, equivalent to the market value of the find. There is no dedicated source of funding for this purpose and the money has to be raised by the museum concerned, a process that is not guaranteed to succeed when the sums concerned are large. The West Bagborough hoard was valued at £40,650. Successful grant applications were made to the Heritage Lottery Fund and V&A/Resource Purchase Grant Fund but 10% had to be raised locally. In this context particular thanks are due to the Friends of Taunton Castle who generously contributed £2000. The hoard is now on display in the Somerset County Museum.
Stephen Minnitt
Somerset County Museum
On Saturday 5th October 2002 Christopher Chanter led a visit to Holcombe Court, Holcombe Rogus, just over the border in Devon. We were welcomed by Nigel Wiggins. The parish church is next to the house and has some fine architectural monuments to the Bluett family. There is a sloping walled garden, with a southerly aspect, a fine appurtenance to a fine house.
The house largely dates from the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Cornish branch of the Bluetts inherited from their cousins. There is some excellent armorial plasterwork. In the Great Hall is a splendid frieze, together with a fine representation of the arms of King Henry VII. On the first floor, there are two magnificent overmantels, one in the Court Room, the other in the principal reception room on that floor. That in the Court Room is a most impressive armorial of the family, with many quarterings, clearly conceived to impress the fearful felon. That in the reception room is based on a pastoral theme and is most delicately executed.
The cellars were opened to us and we also viewed the Long Gallery, above the Great Hall, and crawled about the roof space next to it. We could clearly see where the house had been extended and a new roof had been grafted on to the mediaeval original.
The visit
culminated in a most satisfying tea, which merited and certainly encouraged
generous contributions to a local charity.
Alex Maxwell Findlater
Visit to Meare Church and Fish House
Jenny Chesher of English Heritage led a visit to Meare Fish House on Saturday 16th November 2002. It was a grim day with lowering sky, which gave a truly mediaeval feeling. The fields were flooded evoking the impression of the ancient meare
We gathered at the church, where Mark McDermott gave the scholarly and lucid exposition of the history and beauties of the building, which we have learned to expect of him. Indeed it is a fine building, with much money spent on it by the Abbot of Glastonbury, whose country retreat is next to it, now the Manor.
The Fish House is a building of uncertain origin, clearly associated with the fishing on the lake, which supplied the Abbot's table. On two storeys, even from this early medieval date, it seems possible that the upper floor was used for living accommodation, while the ground floor might have housed and indeed protected the boats and the catch. As we listened to Jenny, we were joined by a herd of cows clearly thirsty for knowledge, which listened with us and lowed with delight.
The Society has long been interested in this building, having spent some time and money in restoring it in the 19th century. It is now owned by English Heritage, who have recently completed a programme of restoration.
Alex Maxwell Findlater
Hazel Hudson, a member of the Society who has regularly contributed notes to 'Somerset Archaeology' over many years, and whose interpretation of the bounds of the AD956 Saxon charter of Panborough appeared in volume 127 of Proceedings (1983), has now published the results of her work in and around Wedmore over the past 25 years.
The New Wedmore Chronicles grew out of monthly articles written for the parish magazine since 1989, revised, rearranged and incorporating additional research. The title, and the red cover, are an acknowledgement to the Revd S H A Hervey, Vicar of Wedmore, whose first Wedmore Chronicles were published in the 1890s, and whose work provided the starting point and stimulus to investigate the extraordinarily rich archaeological and documentary evidence for Wedmore and its neighbouring villages.
With nearly 300 pages and over 80 illustrations, The New Wedmore Chronicles costs £14.99, plus £3.50 post and packing, and is available direct from Hazel Hudson at Bempstone Hundred, Combe Batch, Wedmore, Somerset BS28 4DU. Telephone 01934 712572, email hazelhudson@online.net
Natural History Notes by Philip Radford
2002 has not been a good year for butterflies, although numbers did increase in the welcome sunny and dry weather of September. Anyway, in July I saw the ringlet population reduced by one; I watched a vigilant Tree Pipit, perched on a hawthorn spray, fly with great agility to capture one in the air in its bill. Somehow I do not associate Tree Pipits with butterfly-catching but, probably, it is not uncommon. I was pleased to see a reasonable number of holly blue butterflies about this season, both during May and August, following recent poor years; presumably, there has been less parasitisation of the caterpillars. Sadly, there have been few marbled whites in the limestone parts of Somerset this summer, but I do not know the reason for the reduction. In late summer, with fallen apples about, I expect to note rather drunk red admirals, peacocks and small tortoiseshells which have been attracted by fermented juice. This happened again this year and, in addition, two or three visiting hornets also showed lack of co-ordination; common and red wasps were about too but appeared to be unaffected by strong drink.
Turning to birds, in late July I had good opportunities of watching a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding with its supposed father. I was impressed by the young bird's large and very red crown patch, which was emphasised by a distinct black rim. The adult male has only a red hind-crown while females have black crowns only; I feel that one can only speculate as to the reasons for woodpecker head patterning and colours. Over the Quantocks, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers nested in average numbers in 2002 but, unfortunately, there was a decline with the Lesser Spotteds, which reflects a national trend. Probably most of us are pleased to watch a Buzzard in flight and interest is added if a Raven flies to attack it; I was watching such an incident one day last August when, to my surprise, a Wood Pigeon, which had been in song, flew up as well to join the attack. Actually the Buzzard just flew on, without deviating in any way, and the Wood Pigeon went back to its tree and resumed singing.
A feature of the bird meeting at Chew Valley Lake in October was the presence of large numbers of Shovelers, swimming in small flocks and uttering hard, grunting cries. The duck breeds in the area and drakes display in spring; however, the numbers seen suggested a winter migration and, no doubt, the reservoir is a pleasant place for the colder months of the year. A male Shoveler is a truly handsome dabbling duck, with its broad, specialised bill, green head and chestnut flanks.
Drake Shovelers can have little natural camouflage but this is not so for Woodcocks, of which I noted several in Quantock woods during October. This long-billed woodland wader is streaked in browns, which blend perfectly with deciduous leaf-litter; it flies off noisily with a whirr of wings if disturbed. Robins are often woodland neighbours of Woodcocks; one may well hear a Robin singing its winter song as a Woodcock flies off. Recently, I heard a woodland Robin giving soft, intermittent hisses, which were interrupted by a few typical warbling notes. I saw no predators about and probably I will never know the significance of such utterances.
For the fungal meeting on Exmoor in late September, it had been very dry in recent weeks. In consequence, there were few fungi about although three different Cortinarius species were discovered. The Cortinarius group is always mysterious. The agarics are often poisonous and, also, are very attractive in appearance; they should indeed be treated with respect. One fungal species which has fared well on the Quantocks this autumn has been the aptly-named Dead Man's Fingers, which sprout from dead wood; understandably perhaps, these blackened digits do not appeal to some people.
Still on the theme of death, in October I came across a squashed brown rat in the dusk in a Quantock lane. A villager told me that he had seen a Tawny Owl swoop down to grasp and mantle the rat but, unfortunately, a speeding car had gone over the rat and injured the owl. The badly injured owl was lying immobile by the hedge; most birds can cope with 30 mph traffic but not when it is at 60 mph. Of course, Tawny Owls can normally kill and eat even big rats and so can several other bird species; a friend saw a Great Black-backed Gull swallow a rat entire.
Dragonflies have not had a good season because of stormy weather in early and mid-summer. However I have enjoyed excellent sightings of downy emerald dragonflies on the Mendips where, in June, some flew tirelessly over water. I have also had good views of the red-eyed damselfly, which really does have red eyes. It can be seen on water lily or pondweed leaves on ponds on the Levels or on the Mendips; binoculars are helpful in locating the insects on floating mats of vegetation. We should also look out for the small red-eyed damselfly which has now arrived in England from Continental Europe, with breeding having been proven in Kent; doubtless this will be cited as further evidence for global warming.
Perhaps I have been fortunate in seeing more Somerset vipers than usual last summer although, in general, I believe that numbers have declined, at least on the Mendip Hills. Many years back I recall cavers near Priddy telling me that they regularly put adders in their Saturday evening stew. An adder must provide a satisfying high-protein meal and maybe a Buzzard realises this whilst planing down towards a resting snake; nevertheless, I trust the adder is killed before being swallowed as an internal bite could be fatal. We first see vipers on sunny days in late April or May, soon after coming out of their hibernation holes. A male and a female may bask together but often it is difficult to tell the sexes apart. When fully grown, females are longer than males, perhaps with an average of about two feet. We should not forget that adders shed their skins, so colour shades must vary. Even so, males are greyer than the brownish females; both sexes have a black zigzag pattern down the back and a V mark on the top of the head. It must be admitted that sexing can be difficult with some individual vipers; I find it a useful guide that the male's body tapers down to its end, while the female's is usually much more truncated.
Sometimes, early in the summer, two or even three adders will chase each other, later to rear up in confrontation; these are likely to be males which are competing to mate with a local female. Doubtless, the female's scent acts as a stimulus to nearby males. Last July, on more than one occasion, I saw two or three adders basking together during sunny spells and, intriguingly, some individuals were black. In this connection, it is not uncommon to come across black slow-worms in Somerset, although I understand that melanism is rare amongst grass snakes. With the black adders, I noted that a darker patterning was present down the back; clearly, the genetic colour make-up is a complex issue. Unsurprisingly, one has to move very slowly to approach basking adders, which can readily detect any movement or earth vibration.
Adders do not have a hearing mechanism of the same type as mammals; they protrude their forked tongues frequently, sensing the air, and retreat at speed if danger threatens. They will not strike at people unless they are cornered but they will chase and bite their prey victims; common lizards, mice, voles and nestling birds are all eaten, normally after having died from venom, and usually underground. Earthworms are eaten too, but I wonder if a viper would waste its venom on one? Some naturalists maintain that pregnant females, in July or August, bask alone, but I have certainly seen at least two of them together. The young are born in August or September. When I approach adders I wear rubber Wellington boots and I have assumed the snakes would be alarmed by the scent; however, when standing still in a basking patch I have known the snakes to return, at least to the periphery of the site. In autumn, the vipers, young and old, will move to a hibernating area, often a south-facing bank with plenty of mouse-holes. In winter, below ground, they stay torpid until they are warmed up by the spring sunshine.
As an endpiece, many of us see the occasional house spider in our bath and wonder how it gets anything to eat. Normally I have just one spider which rests up in the water overflow pipe but, of late, two spiders of roughly the same size have been in occupation. How many bath spiders do you have this winter?
Philip Radford
Quantock Hills Joint Advisory Committee
I attended meetings of this Committee as Society representative as follows: 18th January, 19th April, 19th July (with other representatives of the Consultative Bodies) and 18th October 2002.
At these meetings reports were given by the two Quantock Rangers, the AONB Officer and the Projects Officer. Full and useful discussion has followed.
In the past year there has been further development of the Quantock Greenway and the Forestry Commission design plan for Great Wood. Archaeological investigation has been encouraged, with projects being carried out at Will's Neck and at Dead Woman's Ditch. The Quantock Visitor Centre has been moved from Nether Stowey to Fyne Court.
It is of interest that a small colony of Tree Sparrows is present at a farm near Holford and, also, that while there is a large population of red deer on the hills, the number of mature stags has dropped significantly. Happily, the erection of traditional cast iron road signs has been encouraged in the area.
I consider it important that the Society continues to be represented as a Consultative Body on this Somerset County Council Committee.
Philip Radford
The Somerset Studies Library has been benefiting in a big way from the flight from paper to electronic media. We have recently received a donation of a couple of hundred 1:10,000 maps from DEFRA, another donation of about five thousand 1:2,500 maps from the Land Registry, and a transfer of three county sets of air photographs from County Hall. It will take a while to put everything in order, but we anticipate that these acquisitions combined with our previous holdings will make up:
- Tithe maps of ca1840 for 95% of the parishes in the old county (including BANES and North Somerset)
- Ordnance Survey County Series maps in one, two or three editions between 1882 and 1939 for the whole old county at both 1:10,560 (6 inches to a mile) and 1:2,500 (ca25"), and for Bath, Bridgwater, Clevedon, Crewkerne, Frome, Shepton Mallet, Taunton, Wellington, Wells, Weston-super-Mare and Yeovil at 1:500 (ca10')
- OS National Grid maps in one or more editions from ca1960 onwards for the whole old county at both 1:10,000 (ca6") and 1:2,500 (ca25") and for Bath, Bridgwater, Burnham, Chard, Clevedon, Crewkerne, Frome, Glastonbury and Street, Midsomer Norton, Shepton Mallet, Taunton, Wellington, Wells, Weston-super-Mare and Yeovil at 1:1,250 (ca50")
Vertical air photographs, all at ca1:10,000 or 1:12,000, taken in 1946/47 in black-and-white for about two-thirds of the old county, in 1971 (b/w) for the whole new county, in 1981 (b/w) for the whole new county, and in 1992 (colour) for the whole new county.
David Bromwich
Photographs of Somerset's Historic Buildings, both grand and vernacular
SANHS Historic Buildings section is undertaking a huge archiving project, putting our slide collections on to a digital database. This promises to be a most wonderful resource. If you think you can add your own old or new photographs usefully, please let us know. Notes with each one would be helpful. They can be returned to you after scanning. Please contact SANHS office for details.
Standing Conference of Associated Societies AGM
The 2002 Standing Conference was held in Highbridge on 5th October, hosted jointly by Burnham-on-Sea Archaeological and Natural History Society and North Sedgemoor Local History Group.
On arrival we were greeted with coffee and biscuits kindly provided by the host Societies, before the delegates from the 12 attending Societies retired for the business meeting. They were welcomed by Alex Maxwell Findlater, Hon Secretary of SANHS, in place of Hilary Binding, Chairman of SANHS, who was engaged at Wells Cathedral. Mr George Brown of North Sedgemoor Local History Group was elected to chair the meeting. The matter of a Publications Workshop, to aid societies with newsletters etc, was again on the agenda as preliminary arrangements had been made for this to be held on 9th November, until it was learnt that this date conflicted with another day school. The Publications Committee were being asked to arrange this now for spring 2003, and all Societies would be informed.
Delegates were updated regarding the future of Taunton Castle, but it was explained that SANHS could not take any action until Somerset County Council's plans were known. Consideration was still being given to possible actions.
As only one Society had brought their newsletters to pass to delegates, it was agreed that Societies should be reminded to bring copies to pass round at the next AGM.
Richard Brunning, SCC Levels and Moors Archaeologist, gave the first lecture of the morning on 'Roman Salt Production in Somerset' with many fascinating slides of his recent work at Huntspill. This site consisted of two large settling tanks where the sediment settled out of the brine taken from nearby tidal creeks. There was evidence of an oven where the brine would have been heated over a peat fire to produce the salt in lead trays, and part of a basket was found, which would have been used to carry away the salt. An interesting find was that of clay coin models of 3rd/4th century date for forging denarii - an interesting side-line for the salt workers!
Sheila Brookes then showed us slides of old Burnham and Highbridge, showing the many changes and developments in the last century.
In the afternoon there was the choice of a guided walk round Burnham, with a visit to St Andrew's Church, or a visit to St Michael's Church at Brent Knoll. On a lovely sunny afternoon the setting of St Michael's was splendid, and it was a treat to have John Page there to share with us some of his vast knowledge of the church, its history and its magnificent bench ends.
It was another very interesting day and we can look forward to next year's Standing Conference being hosted by Blagdon Local History Society, on 11th October. Bridgwater Archaeological Society will host the Conference in 2004 and Wells Local History Workshop in 2005. Moving round the County like this is a wonderful way to find out more about Somerset, and its many interesting Societies.
Jean M M
Dagnall
Representative of Associated Societies
Clevedon and District Archaeological Society
From 22nd July to 26th July 2002, 30 of our members enjoyed another very interesting study visit, this year in Pembrokeshire. We stayed at the Hotel Mariners in Haverfordwest, which proved to be a conveniently central location. Our first visit was to Haverfordwest Priory, where we were privileged to be guided by Sian Rees, HM Inspector of CADW, who spent 18 years excavating there.
The next day was spent around St Davids - the spectacular Bishop's Palace, built by Bishop Henry de Gower in the 14th century, and the Cathedral, the present building having been started before 1180 on the probable site of St David's 6th century monastery. Nearby we found the little chapels of St Justinian and St Non, of uncertain date but claiming to be the birthplace of St David. This last was a lovely peaceful spot on an isolated hillside overlooking St Non's Bay. Several of us even managed a wonderful walk along the spectacular coastal path to St David's Head promontory hillfort - well worth the effort!
There was so much to see and do in Pembrokeshire that we had to pick and choose
carefully, but we visited Carew Castle (displaying the development from Norman
fortification to Elizabethan country house), the Tidal Mill and the nearby
11th century cross. After lunch we visited the Bishop's Palace at Lamphey,
a smaller more intimate version of the Palace at St Davids, dating also from
the 14th century, before going on to the pre-conquest crosses in the Church
of St Nicholas and St Teilo at Penally. We ended the afternoon exploring the
medieval Manorbier Castle in its splendid setting overlooking an unspoilt
beach.
Our last full day was in the north of the county - the ruined St Dogmael's Abbey with more early crosses in the nearby church, and the 13th century Cilgerran Castle with its towers and curtain wall standing among woods on the rim of a steep gorge in the Teifi Valley. The highlights of the day (for me at least) were the megalithic Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber, splendidly situated high up on the Preseli Hills, and our visit to the promontory hillfort of Castell Henllys. The site has been a training excavation of York University since 1981, and several round houses have been reconstructed on their original foundations inside the ramparts, the largest being 13 metres in diameter. Another fascinating feature lately uncovered is the 'chevaux-de-brise' - an earlier Iron Age defence work consisting of a band of upright stones set firmly in the buried soil to deter unwanted visitors - a rare find in Britain.
We could hardly leave Pembrokeshire without visiting Pembroke Castle on the last morning: this is one of the largest castles in Wales, built just after the conquest on a site occupied, though not continuously, for the last 12,000 years. There was still time for a paddle in the sea at Tenby on our way home!
Once again we had had a most enjoyable few days and had learnt a lot about the history and archaeology of Pembrokeshire on our visits and the evening lectures kindly given us by CADW and the Dyfed Archaeological Trust. We thank Christine Anderson, our Past-Chairman, once again for her excellent arrangements and organisation.
Jean M M
Dagnall
The
Invertebrate Experience:
Exploring The World of Small Animals
Friday 6th June - Sunday 8th June 2003
Course Tutor:
Pat Hill-Cottingham
COURSE DETAILS
How much notice do we take of the really small animals amongst us, unless
they are eating our cabbages or prize blooms or destroying the fabric of our
homes? Yet some tiny animals are amongst the most important - food for larger
animals, pollinators of crops, recyclers of waste - and certainly fascinating
to observe at close quarters. There are thousands of types but you have to
search to find them and as for putting names to them …. ! Many invertebrates
are rare and sensitive to change, including climate change, and we have a
responsibility to protect this part of our heritage.
Can this course help you? There are plenty of botanists around (plants have a definite advantage, they don't run away!), but far fewer invertebrate specialists so this course could even give you an edge in the environmental world! You may have some or even a lot of knowledge, or none at all, but this course is designed to help you all. You may be looking for help in community projects, churchyard management, village greens and ponds, or gaining confidence to initiate workshops yourself - this course will help you. The information packs will assume no knowledge but enable you to develop skills and interest in whatever group takes your fancy as well as provide more detailed information for the skilled naturalist. Tuition will be both in whole groups and small-group workshop-based, with choices built in. You will be introduced to sampling and collecting techniques in grassland, woodland, hedgerow, stream and pond around Nettlecombe Court. You will be able to try simple identification keys that can be used in the field as well as more advanced keys in the laboratory. Tutors are all qualified graduates with plenty of experience in running workshops and will be able to give one-to-one help.
The course is varied, a mixture of work and play, talks and games and an object quiz for fun. There will be displays, a guide to invertebrate photography, books, keys and a comprehensive set of handouts. Above all, there will be a chance to work with, discuss and chat with other people with similar interests.
THE COURSE
TUTOR
Pat Hill-Cottingham is a graduate zoologist, qualified teacher and environmental
consultant. She has had extensive experience running A Level field courses
and, as Education Secretary for the Somerset Invertebrates Group, organises
and runs invertebrate identification workshops. She also teaches postgraduate
trainees at the Somerset Environmental Records Centre and runs the Managers'
Training Days for Somerset Wildlife Trust. She is passionate about water snails
and ferns and is at present researching a PhD with the Open University. Pat
will be heading a team of professional graduates, experienced in teaching
and ecology and with a range of specialisms.
WHAT TO BRING
A hand lens is essential and binoculars can be useful. There will be opportunity
for tuition in invertebrate photography so, if you want to take advantage
of this, bring your camera. All fieldwork will be based around the Centre.
TIMES OF
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Residents should arrive between 4.00pm and 6.00pm on the Friday evening. Tea
and cake will be available on arrival and the Centre bar will open at 6.00pm.
Non residents should arrive at about 6.00pm. Anyone wishing to use local B&B
accommodation can get information from the Centre. Dinner will be served at
6.30pm after which coffee will be served and an introduction to the Centre
given by the Warden and the Course Tutor. Departure will be after tea on the
Sunday. Non-residents should arrive at the Centre at 9.00am on Saturday and
Sunday to start the day's activities.
Any further
enquiries, domestic or administrative should be addressed to:
The Administrator, Leonard Wills Field Centre, Nettlecombe Court, Williton,
Taunton, Somerset TA4 4HT.
Any enquiries
about the details of the course only should be addressed to:
Pat Hill-Cottingham, Mill House, 18 High Lane, Shapwick, Bridgwater, Somerset,
TA7 9NB, telephone 01458 210557 or email hillcottingham@yahoo.co.uk
Organised by Somerset Invertebrates Group in collaboration with the Field Studies Council.
22nd August 2003 is the centenary date of Cecil Sharp's arrival in Somerset that started him on a lifetime's work collecting English and American folksongs as well as recording most of the Morris dances we still perform today. Two separate events will mark these achievements.
There will be two study days at Dillington House, Ilminster.
· Thursday 21st August - with papers presented on folksong research and history; Somerset singers and social history context; folk music in education etc.
·
Friday 22nd August will have a session on Folk Revival and folk music today
plus a talk on Rev Charles Marson, vicar of Hambridge, collaborator with Sharp
and a founder member of the Christian Socialist Society.
Friday afternoon will involve a minibus excursion to visit the homes of Sharp's
singers and conclude with tea at Hambridge Vicarage where the song collection
began.
SANHS members are particularly welcome to attend one or both days.
The cost is £33 each day and full details will be available from Folk South West, The Stables, Montacute House, Montacute TA15 6XP, telephone 01935 822911, email philippa@folksw.org.uk
There will
also be a weekend festival of song and dance from 22nd to 24th August in Hambridge
village itself and tickets can be booked at the above address.
Somerset
County Museum, Taunton
Exhibition Programme
To 29th March
'Natural Visions' - creative wildlife photography by Heather Angel
5th to 27th April 'Somerset Dragons' researched by Brian Wright
3rd May to 14th June 'Silence at Ramscliffe' - a portrait of this Devon farm
during the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001
28th June to 26th July Miniatures by members of the Hilliard Society
Somerset
Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury
Demonstrations and Events
March
29th until 11th May 'A Giraffe and a Teapot' - recent work by Judy Willoughby
April
Saturday 5th Bee Keeping Demonstration
Sunday 6th Spinning & Weaving Demonstrations
Monday 21st Feathered Friends - display of farmyard birds including rare breeds
May
Saturday 3rd Bee Keeping Demonstration
Sunday 11th Countryside Rally and Spring Plant Sale
Vintage agricultural machinery and Friends Bring & Buy Sale for your garden
needs
Spinning and Weaving Demonstrations
17th until 29th June 'The Willow Landscape and its People' - paintings and
drawings by Kate Lynch
Also demonstrations and workshops connected with the willow landscape
June
Saturday 7th Bee Keeping Demonstration
Sunday 15th Local Food Fair - varied produce to buy
Spinning and Weaving Demonstrations
July
5th until 17th August 'Glastonbury - Rituals and Festivals' - photographs
by Ann Cook of the Carnival, Festivals and Pilgrimage
Saturdays 5th & 12th Bee Keeping Demonstration
Sunday 20th Spinning & Weaving Demonstrations
August
Sunday 3rd Bee Keeping and Honey Extraction Demonstration
Saturday 16th The Romans - Workshop for children, with John Smith - please
book in advance
Sunday 17th Spinning and Weaving Demonstrations
23rd until 5th October Pottery and Wood Engraving Exhibition by Kevin de Choisy
and Peter Reddick
Sunday 31st Spinning and Weaving Demonstrations
September
Saturday 6th Bee Keeping Demonstration
It is possible
that changes may have to be made to the above programme, so please telephone
beforehand and to check details of times, etc. telephone 01458 831197