Early Settlement

Evidence of early occupation has been discovered in many areas surrounding Winscombe. Early prehistoric finds include: a Palaeolithic hand axe (c.200,000 B.C.); animal bones on Sandford Hill, including lion from an inter-glacial period (c.40,000 B.C.); a scatter of worked flints including arrowheads on Callow Hill; a polished flint axe found on the slopes of Crook Peak; and a late Bronze Age socketed axe discovered near the Trig point on Wavering Down. Further evidence of occupation includes: the standing stone at Wimblestone (c.3000 B.C.); a Bronze Age barrow just outside the parish at Rowberrow (c.2000 B.C.); Iron Age hillforts at Banwell and Dolebury (c.500 B.C.); and Roman occupation at the villa site at Star and the settlement at Winthill, Banwell. In the post-Roman period, 400-700 A.D., before the Saxon conquest of Somerset in the late 7th century, hillforts such as Banwell were often re-occupied, certainly this occurred at Congresbury. The discovery of several skeletons in The Lynch, Winscombe in 1993 may indicate the position of an early Christian cemetery of this period.

So if we can assume that the 10/11th century estate of Winscombe was the same as the area of the ancient parish, then the early boundaries are those chosen to define the area in the 10th century. Certainly when Domesday Book was compiled in 1086 on the order of William I, Winscombe belonged to Glastonbury Abbey and consisted of 15 hides. The Domesday entry for Winscombe includes: 3 slaves, 28 villagers, and 6 smallholders (probably indicating about 250 people); 1 mill, 8 cows, 16 pigs, 30 sheep and 31 goats.

Winscombe remained a possession of Glastonbury Abbey until the 13th century when it was handed over to Savaric, Bishop of Bath and Wells, therefore, the Winscombe estate had belonged to Glastonbury Abbey for about 250 years. In 1239, after Savaric's death, Bishop Jocelyn gave the Manor of Winscombe to the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral.

The Parish Boundaries

Most of the boundaries follow streams, ridges on hills and old roads. The northern end of the parish is defined by the Towerhead Brook (west), Churchill Rhyne and Sandmead Rhyne (east) and the Liddy Yeo (north). The southern boundary follows the tops of the ridges of Callow Hill, Shute Shelve Hill, Wavering Down and Compton Hill nearly to Crook Peak. Almost on the boundary at the south west corner of the parish, Crook Peak has been important as a landmark and boundary from very early times, the name 'Crook' comes from Old British 'Cruc' meaning 'peak'. This boundary was there in 1067 - 'Hyrgges Tor' (Crook Peak) along the ridge, past 'Ealmes Fold' (possibly the site of Hill Farm), to 'La Scyte' (Shute Shelve) and on up to 'Calewe' (Callow-the bare hill).

Of greatest interest are those features followed by the boundaries which are the result of human activity and here we can see something of the 10th century landscape. Lyncombe Lane, Shipham Lane and Leg Lane were probably all roads in the 10th century and have implications for the late Saxon communications pattern in the parish. Between the Shipham Lane crossroad and Towerhead Brook, in the centre of the parish, the boundary follows for a short distance the main north-south road from Winscombe to Sandford.
Field boundaries are followed by the parish boundary at the western end below Crook Peak and between Uplands Cottages and Winterhead. Certainly near Winterhead the zigzag pattern suggests that the boundary merely went along pre-existing fields and boundaries.

The dispersed settlements of the parish of Winscombe, with first dates for mention in documents include: Sandford (1189); Woodborough (1235); Max (1319); Ford (1189); Barton (1068); Winscombe (1086); Winterhead (1086); Sidcot (1235); Oakridge (1290); Hale (1235); Dinghurst (1189); Nye (1189); Lyncombe (1235); Knap (1290); and Shute (1067). We now know that some settlements were deliberately laid out in the early Middle Ages by landowners such as Glastonbury Abbey and in this parish this could include Winscombe, Sidcot, Winterhead and Barton.

Documentation also provides additional information which helps us to build up a picture of the parish in the Middle Ages. The upland areas were almost certainly open common - Sandford Hill, Wavering Down, Callow Hill and Winterhead. These areas were not enclosed and farms were not built until after 1790. The best land could have been used for arable and also pasture in fallow years. The land was in strips, in some common fields, but it was not the well developed common field system that we learned about in school. The parish church at Winscombe was dedicated to St. James the Great in 1236 although it was almost certainly in existence long before that. It was probably first built in the 10th century when Glastonbury Abbey acquired the estate. It was built in a very odd position halfway up the side of a north facing slope.

Roads within the Parish

Map evidence suggests that Yadley Lane is one of the oldest roads in the parish. It forms the southern half of one continuous road line linking Sandford, Woodborough, Shute Shelve and so on. This route links two of the most important crossing points of Mendip - the Sandford 'Gap' and Shute Shelve - both of which are known from archaeological evidence to have been in use as routes across Mendip, certainly in Roman and probably in Prehistoric times and, therefore, this lane may be of equal antiquity. It provided a link between settlements and their seasonal grazing land on Sandford Moor. Secondary lanes joining Yadley Lane are: The Lynch (Saxon 'ridge'), which links the hamlets of Woodborough and Ford; Eastwell Lane, which occurs in Medieval documents, refers to a prolific big spring which must have been an important early cult centre; Church Lane (now known as Fullers Lane) is probably Medieval and this forms almost a crossroads with Yadley Lane and Eastwell Lane linking Winterhead and Sidcot with Winscombe and its church by a direct route; the Bridgwater Road has been a main road since Medieval and earlier times but prior to the 19th century, there were many small diversions eg. up Fountain Lane and through Sidcot village. Documentary evidence is lacking but the road certainly ran past Hale and over Shute Shelve and was virtually on its present line by 1792. It had probably been made with a turnpike road across the parish in the late 18th century and was still being improved in the 19th century. Here the coach road to Exeter went through with changes of horses at Cross and later the turnpike also took this route. There is still at least one milestone in the parish. Hangings took place at Shute Shelve in the 17th century.

The earliest estate map of Winscombe was produced, on behalf of the Dean & Chapter of Wells Cathedral, in 1792. This map shows the regular plans of some of the settlements such as Barton, Sidcot and Winscombe with regular plots laid out along a lane or green. On this map the hamlet of Woodborough, now known as Winscombe, shows post-medieval cottages built around a common or green and "squatters" cottages erected on former waste land alongside roads. Most information for the farms and cottages can be taken from documentary evidence of the 16th-18th centuries in addition to post-1600 houses still remaining in the parish.

Industry and Quarrying

Archaeological evidence shows that mining has taken place in the area since at least the Roman period. The first known documentary evidence for the extraction of lead ore in Winscombe is taken from mining licenses granted by the Dean and Chapter of Wells during the late 16th century. During the Commonwealth period the mines in Winscombe were owned by the State and in 1650 specific reference was made to 100 tons of lead ore being extracted from Woodborough Green during a 12 week period. There are still 'bell-pits' on Sandford Hill which probably relate to ochre mining there in early times.

Sandford Quarry has been in existence since the mid 1800s. The carboniferous limestone of Sandford Hill was used in the construction of many large building projects such as Avonmouth Docks and several railway stations including Temple Meads, Bristol. This stone was also used for making lime, and many lime kilns can still be found in Winscombe.

The largest, latest kilns are in Quarry Road but there are earlier small ones dotted about the parish near Star, Shipham Lane and Shute Shelve.

The parish was last most drastically changed in the 1960s when many new housing estates and new roads were laid out. A new school was also built at Woodborough. These developments, in a short period, enlarged the settlements far more than had happened in the previous 1000 years.