Crowcombe

Crowcombe is a village and civil parish about 5.5 miles south-east of Watchet and about 8 miles from Taunton. Its population was 489 at the 2011 census. It lies below the Quantock Hills, and it is the “central point on the Quantock Greenway”, a footpath through the area. The hills are a National Landscape, with walks and rides, and deer walks, listed on the Quantock Hills website.

The Church of the Holy Ghost has a 14th-century tower, with the rest of the building dating from the 15th century. Its carved bench-ends are dated 1534 and show subjects including the Green Man and a legend about a two-headed dragon. Lightning damaged the spire in 1724, and the top section was later removed. Crowcombe Court, a large country house built between 1724 and 1739, is Grade I listed. The village is old: the earliest record is from 854, when it was spelt “Cerawicombe” and the manor belonged to Glastonbury Abbey, and the Domesday Book of 1086 lists it as Crawcombe.

Bishop’s Lydeard, whose cottages are also filed here, is a village and civil parish 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Taunton. For the nearest towns, see Watchet on the coast, 5.5 miles north-west of the village, and Taunton inland.