Combwich (
) is a village in the parish of
Otterhampton within the
Sedgemoor district of
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
, between
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
and the
Steart Peninsula.
The village lies on Combwich Reach as the
River Parrett flows to the sea and was the site of an ancient ferry crossing.
In the
Domesday book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
it was known as Comiz which means 'The settlement at the short, broad, open valley' (from Old English cumb). This is clearly a reference to the valley of exactly this topographical description, immediately to the south of the village, and through which the South Moor Brook flows westwards into the River Parrett. One derivation of -wich is thought to be from Latin 'vicus', and there are archaeological indications that there was a settlement at Combwich in the Romano-British period, based around a ferry across the Parrett at this point. The exact meaning of the second element here is uncertain at present, as Old English ''-wic'' can have a variety of meanings attributed to it.
It served as a port for the export of local produce and the import of timber from the 15th century. It also served the local brick and coal yard until the creek silted up in the 1930s.
Brick and tile making was first recorded in the village in 1842.
As of 2019, Combwich wharf is being used for the delivery of large equipment for the building of
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
The Steart Peninsula has flooded many times during the last millennium. The most severe recent floods occurred in 1981. By 1997, a combination of
coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...
,
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
and wave action had made some of the defences distinctly fragile and at risk from failure. As a result, in 2002 The
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and en ...
produced the
Stolford
Stogursey is the name of a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the no ...
to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study to examine options for the future.
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Combwich
Village website
Villages in Sedgemoor
Somerset Levels
Ports and harbours of Somerset