Pawlett, Somerset

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Pawlett
Pawlett shown within Somerset
OS grid reference	ST299428
District	Sedgemoor
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRIDGWATER
Postcode district	TA7
Dialling code	01278
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Bridgwater
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Coordinates: 51°10′50″N 3°00′13″W / 51.180527, -3.003623

Pawlett is a small village 4 miles (6 km) north of Bridgwater, in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset.

The village has Roman or Saxon origins. It has a Norman church and expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries with the draining of the Somerset Levels.

During World War II it was the site of an experiemental research station examining ways to bring down barrage balloons.

Contents 1 History 2 Church 3 Notable people 4 References

[edit] History

A survey in 2003 recorded an early system of flood banks in the "Hams" around the village which may have originated in the Roman or Saxon Period. An early field system was also identified, again possibly originating in the Saxon Period.^[1] The Pawlett Hams form part of the Bridgewater Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book, and in the 12th century the Pawlett Hams, running west of the village, were known as being the richest 2,000 acres (8 km²) in England.^[2]

The name of the village is believe to come from an 11th-century estate and may refer to a stream either with stakes or below a steep-sided hill.^[3]

The village lies on a bend of the River Parrett near to its mouth and had a landing place, called Pawlett pill, by the 15th century. It continued in use in the 18th century, but by 1780 it had been blocked by Canham sluice as part of the drainage of the Somerset Levels.^[3] In the 19th century Pawlett had a jury of sewers to view rhynes and ditches and by 1936 the parish had its own water board to supervise drainage and freshwater irrigation of the Hams. It was absorbed into the Bridgwater and Pawlett drainage board in 1946.^[4]

In 1801 the population was 429, rising to 433 in 1811 and to 529 in 1821 when there were only 69 houses for 98 families. Numbers peaked at 597 in 1871 but fell from 483 in 1891 to 346 in 1901. The population thereafter increased to 374 in 1911, 462 in 1931, 672 in 1961, and 786 in 1981.^[3]

A village school, supported by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, was established in the late 18th century. In 1861 a National school was established near the church. A school board for the parish was elected in 1887 and built a school on the National school site in 1888. In 1903 there were 58 children on the register and despite some fluctuations during the intervening years there were 53 children aged 5 to 11 on the books in 1975 and 75 in 1981. A new County school opened west of the village in 1977 to replace the old building.^[5]

During the Second World War defences were constructed around Pawlett as a part of British anti-invasion preparations of World War II; nearby Pawlett Hill was a defended locality on the Taunton Stop Line. The defences mainly comprise a number of pillboxes. There was also a station for carrying out experiments relating to barrage balloons.^[6] The hanger measures 100 feet (30 m) x 70 feet (21 m) x 80 feet (24 m) high and was erected in 1940-41 The hanger was needed so that the balloon being tested need not be deflated each night. The balloon was filled with a mixture of air and hydrogen made at the Weston-super-Mare gas works. The experimental work continued until 1944.^[7][8] A Bristol Blenheim Bomber crashed in the village during the war and the remains excavated in 2007.^[9]

[edit] Church

The Norman church of St John the Baptist replaced an earlier Saxon structure and the church is thought to have been a popular station on medieval pilgrimages from Watchet to Glastonbury. The south doorway arch features three bands of decoration -- lozenges, zigzags, and a biting beasts motif on the outer ring. The baptismal font appears to be made from two separate fonts, the bottom part an inverted Saxon font topped with an upright plain Norman font.

Bell tower of St. John the Baptist church, Pawlett	South side of St. John the Baptist church	Norman arch over south door, St. John the Baptist church	Inverted Saxon baptismal font supporting upright Norman font
North window stained glass with modern-era children memorializes Rose Helena Wadden, said to have taught the first children's Sunday School class in Bridgwater.	Rood screen and altar	Pew boxes still include pegs for hanging up hats

The rood screen is 15th-century. The 20th-century North window shows Christ blessing children who are in modern dress and holding a teddy bear and toy boat.^[10] Other unusual features include pew boxes that still retain hat pegs -- reflecting a time when congregants wore hats to church. The chancel includes wide communion rails on three sides, thought to have been used for seated communion. Unusual and ancient features of the church in part owe their preservation to major renovations made in 1779. That "modernization" seems to have slaked the zeal for Victorian-era updates which eliminated such features in many other churches in the area. Sadly, crumbling of the church's blue lias stone led to its exterior being coated with cement. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.^[11]

[edit] Notable people

• Peter Haggett CBE ScD FBA (b.1933), eminent academic geographer, emeritus professor at University of Bristol, born in Pawlett.^[12]

[edit] References