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T he last village in Somerset' I call it, going west along the A38 our parish boundary isalso the Devon county boundary. I've lived here all my married life, and have Put my heart into the life of the village.
Chairman of the School Governors, Fete committee andParish Council Chairman.
It's a lovely place for a country boy to live, It's still very much a traditional farming village--, and you won't find any large housing estates aroundthe corner or behind the church!.
Some villages in Somerset have been completelychanged by development, not always for the better This has happened to the villagewhere I grew up in, in west Somerset. Sad! I'm chairman of the parish council and to date Ihaven't heard of anyone seriously suggesting we should encourage more houses to bebuilt. No, we seem pretty contented with the way it is, I suppose a few more houses mighthelp to reduce our community tax though per-capita, Um! We're about the highest inTaunton Deane at the moment--, but Let's talk of pleasanter things.
A bit of history.
Origins of name.
Sampford is a corruption of Sandford the old medieval name derivedfrom the sandy ford across the Westford stream near the Beam Bridge Hotel, Beam Bridge hasnothing to do with the railway bridge as many people think but is so named because of the'beams' that were across the westford stream for coaches to cross.
The Arundel camefrom the Arundel family who were the Lords of The Manor.
The parish is fairly small, about 7 miles around the boundary-and within it there's thevillage Sampford Arundel and the hamlets of Sampford Moor and Whiteball and theoutlying farms and cottages, in all about 300 parishioners.
We're fortunate to have two pubs both providing good local ale and excellent grub.Sadly no shop now, but a very thriving school. There are so many organizations here inthis tiny area, playschool, cricket and football clubs, senior citizens, W.I., The SampfordPlayers, and an excellent Gardening Club.
 Our Church is called Holy Cross, with a shared vicar, Lovely villagehall, and a new village green and car park that the parish council provided.
Every year wehold a super fete and flower show.
The really nice thing about this village-parish is thatthe community is very friendly and supports almost everything that goes on,Our main claim to fame is Historical. The rail line between London and Penzance runsthrough the parish. The stretch of line from the Whiteball Tunnel to Wellington is knownas 'The Wellington Bank' That's where railway history was made in 1876 when theFlying Dutchman first reached a record speed of 50mph and 28 years later in 1904 - 'TheCity of Truro' was the first steam train to do lOOmph.
The Whiteball Tunnel is another of Brunel's great engineering feats.
When we were researching for the Sampford Arundel map I found that in the neighbouring village ofCulmstock in Devon the author of Lorna Doone Richard Dodderidge Blackmore oncewas parson and he wrote a short poem about the building of the Whiteball Tunnel. Weput an extract onto our parish map:
Before us yawns a dark brown archPaved with a ruddy runnelA thousand giant navvies marchTo delve the Whiteball Tunnel.
When you consider the period, (mid 1800's) the task involved excavating digging buildingwith no mechanical diggers like we have today was a mammoth task. The Tunnel's abouta mile in length and the job was completed in just 2 years- it's quite mind blowing I thinkThe navvies (mainly Irish) must have worked like....navviesYou can see where the expression came from.
Like my father-in-law, a real character who farmed here used to say in his Somerset drawl:
'Twan dun bi lookin' at it boi'We da talk a bit like that sno roun yer' in Sampford Arundel
Steve Sealy remembers seeing ladies in their long dresses andaprons sat outside the cottages next to the village hall.
The present old stone bridge and trackway in the goyal stillforms part of the highway, The council still maintains thebridge, The road has never been officially adopted by thecouncil.
Alvin Tucker remembers flax being grown in the parish. Flax isharvested by pulling it out of the ground. Flax ricks were builtnext to Whites Farm.Poplar trees were planted along the western boundary of thecricket field when Sir Edward DuCann MP lived atEasterlands.
The Home Guard.
In the Field next to Stony Stile, Alvin Tuckerremembers 40 gallon oil drums being set into the hedge bankand used as target practice by the homeguard. There was alsoa nissen hut in the field also used by the home guard..The remains of an old war time nissen hut can still be seen inthe goyal (bottom of Breech Hill) Used as ammunition store.During the late 40's and 50's Len Hellings used it as abarber's shop to cut men's hair on Thursday evenings, by lamplight.Alvin had his hair cut there.In a field above Millmoor there was a Homeguard observationpost, to observe the railway line and Whiteball tunnel.
The Sampford Moor area
and Dykes Farm.
At an area known asThorn Bush. Mr. E M Cload was spreading dung one day whensuddenly a strong wind blew up and two dogs the size of calvesran across the field. They had cloven hoofs and when Mr.Cloadshouted at them they disappeared. Other people tell of ghostlytales about this place. Old garden walls still remain there. Hisdaughter Jennifer remembers picking up cider apples inChalcotts orchard when a girl.Near the top of green lane there once stood a postman's resthut. It was a simple timber frame clad in corrugated iron,measuring about 8x10 ft. When mail was delivered on foot thishut provided shelter to brew up a cup of tea. An old iron hurdlein the hedge now marks the spot.There was a blacksmiths shop next to the Blue Ballpub. (Shortly to be converted into a holiday cottage).
Higher Sampford Farm.
In the early 1900's Albert PhilipPopplestone constructed a milling machine driven by a steamengine and consisting of a series of elaborate belts andpulleys.It was used for milling corn for the stock and grindingapples for cider making. Cider was then the main income fromthe farm. Alice Popplestone remembers when her husband Jimwent from door to door selling turnips and Swedes. 'He hatedit' she says.Mow Barton is an open area with a cobblestone floor, wherethe corn ricks were put.. The field known as 'irrigator'field isso called because the farm's dirty water irrigator ispermanently in the field. CalfLears field is shown on old mapsas Calf Seers. It means a sheltered place. Ideal for youngcalves.
Whiteball and Broadleigh.
 Border Cottage at Whiteball iswhere the parish and county boundary passes rightthrough the house. When parishioners perform theancient custom of Beating The Bounds, a child is lifted upto crawl over the porch at border cottage to signifyfollowing the boundary line.
Trull Farm 'once stood on land near Burcombe Mill. It wasdemolished to make way for the railway c.1842. Trull farm wasre-builf on its present site by Mr.Authors c.l930.Thisinformation was given by Steve Sealey. Mr 'Butcher' Authorshad a slaughterhouse at Whiteball. It is now a bungalow andthe steep hill that runs down to the railway bridge at Burcombeis known as slaughterhouse hill.
The Millenium map
The project was co-ordinated by John Burgess withthe help and co-operation of parishioners.The map was designed, illustrated and framed by Sandy Lister.It is dedicated to the memory of Gill Milton and will be onpermanent display in the village hallAll profit from the sale of reproductions of the parish map willgo to the church and village hall, and can be obtained from our parish council Chairman.(or Mary, his wife)
Editor's note: All pictures on this page were supplied by John Burgess. |
