Washford is a village on the

Washford River The Washford River rises at near Luxborough in the Brendon Hills and flows through Somerset to the Bristol Channel at Watchet. The river valley passes through the Cleeve Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest, and close to Cleeve Abbey ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

Old Cleeve Old Cleeve (https://www.oldcleeveparishcouncil.org/) is a village south east of Minehead in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, and also a civil parish. The civil parish of Old Cleeve covers an area of and includes th ...

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 ...

, England. The village is next to

Cleeve Abbey Cleeve Abbey is a medieval monastery located near the village of Washford, in Somerset, England. It is a Grade I listed building and has been scheduled as an ancient monument. The abbey was founded in the late twelfth century as a house for m ...

, one of the best-preserved

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

in England. It centred in a valley close to the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River S ...

on the

A39 road The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lyn ...

east of the resort town of

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

and southwest of the port of

Watchet Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth ...

. The village lies on the route of the Somerset Way and Celtic Way Exmoor Option.

History

Geography

Washford is southeast of Old Cleeve. The parish is in

West Somerset West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non-unitary district in England. According to fi ...

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

and Somerset

shire county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

Washford railway station Washford railway station is a station on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in England. The station is situated in the village of Washford, which is itself within the civil parish of Old Cleeve in the county of Somerset. History T ...

is a station on the

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which ...

, a

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

-operated

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

. The station is the headquarters of the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust and contains a number of historic artefacts from the

Somerset and Dorset Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, SDJR or S&DJR, was an England, English railway line connecting Bath, Somerset, Bath (in north-east Somerset) and Bournemouth (now in south-east Dorset but then in Hampshire), with ...

. The village also had a station on the

West Somerset Mineral Railway The West Somerset Mineral Railway was a standard gauge line in Somerset, England. Originally expected to be long its length as built was , with a branch to Raleigh's Cross Mine. The line's core purpose was to carry iron ore northwards fro ...

. Since 1933 there has been a broadcasting station at Washford. The front parts of the old transmitter building are now part of the

Tropiquaria Tropiquaria Zoo is a small tropical house and zoo in West Somerset, England. It is located from Taunton and from Minehead. It is based in a 1930s art deco BBC radio transmitter hall of Washford transmitting station, which is now a Grade II li ...

wildlife park and house their tropical hall, aquarium, the

Washford Radio Museum Washford Radio Museum has been re-located to 'The Radio Museum' at the former Anchor Inn, 5, Anchor Street, Watchet, Somerset, TA23 0AZ. References External links - official site and photos Museums in Somerset Telecommunications museums G ...

and the Shadowstring Puppet Theatre. Washford has a primary school, Old Cleeve Church of England School, which currently educates about 100 three- to nine-year-old children. Washford has a few shops, including a post office and a hairdresser.

Landmarks

Washford has a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

chapel, which is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. The village of Washford has two inns: the Washford Inn and the White Horse Inn, which is a free house. By the river and preserved

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

is Abbey Mill House, which is 18th-century and is also a listed building.House

References

External links

Washford Inn – pub and hotel

White Horse Inn – pub with accommodation

{{West Somerset Villages in West Somerset