Wookey Hole

Wookey Hole

Entrance to Wookey Hole village
Wookey Hole
 Wookey Hole shown within Somerset
OS grid referenceST530474
Civil parishSt Cuthbert Out
DistrictMendip
Shire countySomerset
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WELLS
Postcode district BA5
Dialling code 01749
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentWells
List of places
UK
England
Somerset

Coordinates: 51°13′26″N 2°40′28″W / 51.2238°N 2.6744°W

Wookey Hole is a village close to Wells in Somerset, England. It is within the parish of St Cuthbert Out.

One possible origin for the name Wookey is from the Old English wocig (an animal trap).,[1] although it is also a possible alteration from a Celtic word ogo (cave) referring to Wookey Hole Caves.[2] [3]

Glencot House

The village of Wookey Hole is dominated by the Wookey Hole Caves tourist site which has show caves and a controversial crazy golf course which was built on the site of the village bowling green.[4]

The village has shops, a pub, restaurants, hotels and a campsite.

The former paper mill building, whose water wheel is powered by a small canal from the river, dates from around 1860 and is a Grade II-listed building.[5] The production of handmade paper ceased in February 2008 after the owner Gerry Cottle concluded there was no longer a market for the product, and therefore sold most of the historic machinery.

Glencot House is a Grade II listed country house dating from 1887, by Ernest George and Harold Peto, for W. S. Hodgkinson. A report of the building appeared in The Building News, 13 May 1887; the architect's drawing was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and is now at RIBA.[6]

The 18th-century Bubwith farmhouse is also a Grade II listed building,[7] as is the post office in the High Street.[8]

The Monarch's Way and Mendip Way long-distance footpaths both pass through the village, as does National Cycle Route 3. Ebbor Gorge National Nature Reserve is just outside the village.

References

  1. Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1-874336-03-2.
  2. Anderson, Flavia (1955). "Review - The Ancient Secret. In Search of the Holy Grail.". French Studies IX (3): 252–253. doi:10.1093/fs/IX.3.252.
  3. Holmes, Thomas Scott. The History of the Parish and Manor of Wookey.
  4. "Pirate ship sails into Wookey Hole Caves crazy golf row". Bristol Evening Post (This is Bristol). 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  5. "Wookey Hole Paper Mill". Images of England. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  6. "Glencot and terraces at rear". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  7. "Bubwith Farmhouse and forecourt wall". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  8. "Post Office". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-23.

External links

Media related to Wookey Hole at Wikimedia Commons