Synopsis: The inspiration for today’s walk was chance to see the Alfred Jewel at The Museum of Somerset, of which today was the last day. Combined this with two designated Taunton walks. Busy day.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
Although I’m no jewellery aficionado, I thought the arrival in Taunton of a piece of jewellery thought to date from 878, the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, was an opportunity too good to miss. The beauty and elegance of the piece, as shown in various photographs, I found very appealing. I speak of what is known as The Alfred Jewel. This was being loaned by the Ashmolean in Oxford, to The Museum of Somerset, in Taunton. A chance to see the Alfred Jewel in Taunton seemed too good an opportunity to miss, and today was the last day of the loan.
To make a day of it, I spent a little time browsing the book Taunton Through Time, by Simon Haines, borrowed from my local library. This provided a background knowledge of how Taunton looks both old and new, and gave me a few pointers on what to look for around the town. In addition to this I searched out a couple of circular walks from Taunton which I discovered listed on the excellent John Harris’ Walking in Somerset web page. The two walks I selected are produced by Taunton Deane Council, available in Adobe Reader format (.pdf), and they were: Walk 10 – Taunton to Cotlake (4.4 miles) & Walk 11 – Taunton to Longaller (4 miles).
I modified the first walk, Walk 11: Taunton to Longaller, in only two respects: (1): My start point was Taunton Railway Station, therefore I mapped a walk route from the station to intersect with the walk route; (2): I chose to walk into the village of Bishop’s Hull, a suggested detour mentioned in the itinerary.
I considered both bus and train travel options to get me from Exeter to Taunton, and of the two, by far the most convenient and quickest was train. I travelled from my local Digby & Sowton railway station, to Taunton railway station. I set off early, catching my train at 07:34, and arriving in Taunton just 47 minutes later, at 08:21. As The Museum of Somerset wouldn’t be open until 10am, I had decided to complete one of my two selected walks prior to my museum visit. The only potential hazard in doing this, as far as I could see, was the danger of being well lacquered in mud by the time I arrived at the museum. More on that later.
The train journey to Taunton was pretty quiet. Part of the reason for doing this trip at the weekend is that all trains, no matter what the time of day, are off-peak, and therefore, being the cheapskate that I am, I get to travel at a considerably reduced rate. I paused for a sobering moment to gaze at the GWR Roll of Honour for the fallen of WWI from Taunton. From Taunton railway station, I cut through a little bit of suburbia, crossed over the railway lines, and then reached dog walking country, which seems to go by the name Frieze Hill. Most of the dog walkers were better equipped than me, being in their wellington boots.
As I left the station I had a rather unlikely treat when in the back streets of Taunton I came across this Art Deco building, known as Hi Point. It has the classic Art Deco rounded glass windows and some lovely decorative banding. If you like Art Deco, and find yourself in Taunton, a building I didn’t visit today but worth a look, is the Coal Orchard (one of Taunton’s Wetherspoons).
My designated walk route skirted quite closely to the village of Bishop’s Hull, and a minor deviation into the village is suggested in the walk notes, which I decided to follow. I passed a large Georgian manor house which is now a residential home, and made a mental note that it would suit me (one day). As I walked on I approached the Church of St Peter and St Paul (Grade II* Listed). It’s a church that is instantly recognisable through having two rare external features, an octagonal tower and an unusual triple-arched entrance porch on the west end.
Whilst I was taking a photographs of the church exterior a gentleman informed me that the church was open and I was invited in, although this could have been foolhardy, as my boots were already well caked. I just had to take a peek though, so I poked my head in the door. Horror of horrors, a carpet. There was however wooden flooring to the side, and I was able to stride across to that without leaving an excessive trail.
It’s an odd church, as there’s a strong mix of ancient and modern, but they coexist in reasonable harmony. Second horror of horrors, I was told there is a desire to make the church ‘multi-functional’, which would mean losing the pews. I do so hope that doesn’t happen. The army of cleaners in the church were very friendly and welcoming, and obviously cared a lot for their church, which was lovely to see.
Is there a Knights Templar connection with this church? Star of David on reredos. Alpha and Omega symbol on reredos. Close proximity to Minchin Buckland Preceptory (6 miles from Taunton) might suggest this – see my photograph of the grave slab seen at The Museum of Somerset. Also, the village of Temptleton, in Devon, with its association with Knights Templar (see Templeton on Genuki), is only 26 miles from Taunton.
I had to back-track a little to regain my path which followed the course of the River Tone for a while, and then looped along a lane and down a track to Longaller Mill (Grade II Listed). This mill, not open to the public, apparently has all it’s working machinery intact. Quite a potent force of water could be seen gushing down the mill race straight for the mill.
From the mill my path took me into fields. The map indicated that I was passing a ‘disused canal’, which I presume to have once been the Grand Western Canall which ran to Tiverton. Sadly, there was nothing I could distinguish on the ground. I was walking towards a footbridge over the railway line, and I sleep walked over it before realising that wasn’t my intended direction. I re-entered the field I had been crossing, followed the railway line for a while, before my path picked up the course of the Norton Brook.
After overlapping with my walk out for a bit, I eventually branched right, swooping in a large arc toward Taunton town centre. I followed closely the bank of the River Tone, passing parkland as I went, until arriving at French Weir, over which is a footbridge, which wasn’t my route. I continued further along the river bank before sighting Taunton Castle, and crossed the river over a footbridge at this point. Taunton Castle houses The Museum of Somerset, the important location of my objective.
On reaching the museum I overheard a member of staff saying to a visitor, of which there were many, that there was a 45 minute wait in the queue to see the Alfred Jewel. That was a tad longer than I had hoped, so I instigated the stalling manoeuvre of finding a bench in the grounds nearby to eat my lunch.
Over lunch, I gradually came round to thinking I couldn’t come this close to the Alfred Jewel and not see it. I had loaded a new book, The Two Faces of January, onto my Kindle app, so I could read that in the queue. It was worth the 45 minute wait. No matter how good photographs are, there’s a special experience to be had in seeing the real thing, especially when it is as ancient and precious as this jewel. A curator standing by the presentation case, holding a tablet PC, was very knowledgeable, and was responding interestingly to people’s enquiries.
After seeing the Alfred Jewel, I needed to be urgently on my way if I was going to complete the second of my walks. What a busy day this was turning out to be. I walked down Corporation Street, which gave me a fine view of the old Gaumont Palace Theatre, once a cinema in Art Deco style, the entrance canopy now partly obscured behind bright blue boarding. Today this place operates, as so many old cinemas do, as a bingo hall. There is this superb early photograph of the cinema on a web page that provides a brief history of the building. Sadly, you will note, the cornice which once contained the stylish lettering Gaumont Palace, has been wiped clear. Some additional old pics: The Gaumont – Flickr; Gaumont Taunton Lighting – Flickr; Gaumont Taunton Auditorium 1932 – Flickr; Gaumont Palace cinema – Flickr.
See also: Taunton, Corporation Street 1935 (Francis Frith); Odeon Taunton (Cinema Treasures); Taunton, Somerset (English Buildings).
I then passed County Hall and walked down The Crescent, a fine Georgian crescent, to gates into Vivary Park, from where my next walk would start. I crossed the Sherford Stream on a footbridge I recognised from a lovely old photograph (see below), and followed the course of the stream for a while, before heading across a field in the direction of an ancient oak.
I picked up a lane which took me into the pretty little village of Trull. I’d have liked to have poked my head into the Church of All Saints (Grade I Listed), but sadly I was a total mud splattered mess by this time, and couldn’t bring myself to sully the church with my presence. Shame.
My path continued to take me south, away from Taunton, for a little while longer, before diverting east, and then north, taking me up onto Cotlake Hill from where views were promised of both the Brendon Hills and the Quantocks.
I could make both out, and the views potentially had a lot to offer, but today, the weather was rather dismal and the light dull, and I had to imagine what the views might be like on a warm sunny day. Then I think they would be quite something.
Even today, with the weather as dreary as it was, what struck me was how easy it is to escape the centre of Taunton on foot, and soon find oneself in picturesque villages and open fields. This is sadly something no longer possible in my home town of Exeter, for which the urban sprawl has been rampant.
I descended off of Cotlake Hill with a fine views over Taunton, entering Vivary Park with its children’s adventure playground and manicured lawns. I learnt something on this walk; apparently the name of the park derives from vivaria, which means fish ponds. Although quite where the fish were, I do not know. Towering over the park is Jellalabad Barracks which has a very unusual and hard to classify style. I believe the building has been converted into flats. Wow! I bet that’s quite someplace to live.
The war memorial, which dates from 1922, is a tribute to the fallen from Taunton, for whom there is an online list of names on the Gravestone Photographic Resource web site.
The main gates and gate piers to Vivary Park, which are Grade II Listed, are something to behold. They certainly make a statement of civic pride. A clear indication, I feel, of just how important recreational space in which to relax and take a stroll was considered at the time these gates were commissioned. They would do a palace proud.
I found a bench to snack on a biscuit and take stock of the time and the trains home. I could see no point in rushing for the first available train, so I chose the second, which allowed me time to amble through Taunton on my way to the station. I reflected on the fact that apparently Taunton has two thousand listed buildings, just a few of which I’d seen today. How my home city of Exeter compares with that I don’t know. Unfortunately Exeter succumbed to WWII bombing (and the will of planners), otherwise it would have had many more than it does. One of the buildings Exeter sadly lost during the blitz was its elegant Deller’s Restaurant, and so it was interesting to note that Taunton’s Deller’s building exists to this day.
It felt a bit wintry waiting on the station platform for my train, but I felt pleased with my rather busy and very interesting day. And the exercise probably did me good. The train travel was precise and a treat to use.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 13.1 miles
Moving Time: 5hrs 05min
Stopped Time: 1hr 26min
Total Ascent: 345 metres
Maximum Elevation: 84 metres
Buses: (none)
Trains: Digby & Sowton to Taunton off-peak day return (£11.40, a saving of £4.50 on peak rate)
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