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Minehead in Somerset County England History and GeographyMINEHEAD, a borough, market town, and parish, in the hundred of CARHAMPTON, county of SOMERSET, 38½ miles (W.N.W.) from Somerton, and 160 (W. by S.) from London, containing 1239 inhabitants. At the Conquest this town, then called Manheved, was given by the Conqueror to William de Mohun: between the years 1550 and 1654 it was repeatedly visited by the plague, and has also at various periods suffered from fires: it is situated on the shore of the Bristol chanuel, and consists of the Church town, which is composed of mean irregular streets, on a sloping eminence called 'Greenaleigh;' the Lower town, which is the principal part, comprising some respectable streets, and the town hall, lately erected at the expense of John Fownes Luttrell, Esq.: and the Quay town, near the water's edge, including the custom-house: the quay is a solid piece of masonry, with a parapet towards the sea, into which it extends about a quarter of a mile, affording a tolerable shelter for small vessels. The climate here is so mild that myrtles and geraniums flourish in the open air during the whole winter, and vegetation is supposed to commence earlier than in any other part of England. Minehead is occasionally visited by invalids from Bristol, Bath, &c., for the purpose of sea-bathing, but its reputation as yet is not sufficient to give it the title of a bathing-place. The inhabitants were formerly engaged in foreign commerce to a great extent, and even at the commencement of the last century, forty vessels from this harbour were in constant communication with Ireland alone: at present five or six vessels only belong to the port, two of which trade with Bristol in grain, malt, bark, timber, flour, and leather, and are freighted back with grocery, iron, &c.; the rest convey similar commodities to Wales, and return with coal, culm, and limestone. A considerable number of herrings is taken on the coast; and there is an annual importation of cattle, sheep, and pigs, but the vessels return with ballast. By an act of parliament, granted in the 13th of William III., and subsequently extended, the harbour and quay are supported and kept in repair, by eleven trustees, including the lord of the manor, from certain duties chargeable upon goods entering the port. There is a custom-house, with a collector and other officers. The market, for fish and provisions, is held on Wednesday; and there is a chartered fair, for pedlary, &c., on the Wednesday in Whitsun-week. Under a charter granted by Elizabeth, the town was governed by a portreeve; but now only by two constables, who are annually elected at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The borough first sent members to parliament in the reign of Elizabeth: the elective franchise is vested in all the parishioners of Minehead, and the inhabitants of that part of the parish of Dunster which is within the manor of Minehead, who are housekeepers not receiving alms: the constables are the returning officers, and the influence of John Fownes Luttrell, Esq. is predominant. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Taunton, and diocese of Bath and Wells, rated in the king's books at £18. 9. 7., and in the patronage of John Fownes Luttrell, Esq. The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, is spacious and handsome, with an embattled tower at the west end. In the chancel is an ancient monument, supposed to be that of Judge Bracton, Chief Justice of England in the reign of Henry III., and author of the earliest treatise on the Laws of England extant; likewise a handsome statue of Queen Anne, the gift of Sir Jacob Bankes, once a representative of the borough. There is a place of worship for Baptists. A free school for thirty boys is supported by the lord of the manor. An almshouse for eleven poor and impotent persons was built and endowed by Robert Quirke, about 1648: it has been used as a parish workhouse, but is about to be restored to its original purpose. By an act of parliament passed in the 18th of Charles II. it was enacted, that the importation of cattle into Minehead should be considered a nuisance after February 1st, 1666, and that they should be forfeited, half the value to be applied for the use of the poor, and the other half given to the captors: a certain capture having been made, the moiety was laid out in the purchase of an estate, the rental of which, amounting to about £30 per annum, together with the interest of £1197. 5. 7. three per cent. consols., arising from unappropriated accumulation of income, is distributed annually to the poor in money and clothing; this charity is called the 'Cow charity.' A species of shell fish is found, at low water, on the rocks off Minehead, which affords a peculiar fluid, having the property of communicating to linen a purple tint, supposed to be similar to the murer, which produced the Tyrian purple mentioned by Pliny. The celebrated lawyer above mentioned, Henry de Bracton, is said to have been born at Bratton Court, an old English mansion here: over the principal gate-way which remains is a room called the Judge's Chamber, traditionally reported to have been his study; but the building is of a later period than the age in which he lived. Dr. Brocklesby, the friend of Johnson and Burke, distinguished as a physician and medical writer, was likewise a native of Minehead. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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