Whitestaunton, Somerset

Whitestaunton lies in the dramatic terrain of the Devon—Somerset border, with steep-sided hills and narrow valleys, the thickly-wooded high ground affording extensive views over the surrounding district. The parish occupies the valley of a tributary of the Yarty, and stretches up to high ground on both sides, reaching over 700 ft. on Cinder hill and Longlie common in the NW., to 771 ft. on the east, and to over 825 ft. on the southern boundary.

Whitestaunton village and Northay lie in small coombes at the head of the dividing stream in the north-east of the parish, and Howley (Holleway in 1479) is on the steep hillside above the Yarty in the south-west. Cleave and Nash both occur as settlements by 1327, and Lapse, Pyle, Brownsey, and Woodhayes by 1479.

In 1644 during the Civil War while Charles I stayed at Chard the Royalist troops were housed at Whitestaunton manor-house and, presumably, in the grounds.

A Roman bath house and Edwardian folly in the village were excavated by the television series, Time Team.

“I am a fully qualified Master Butcher returning to my farming roots having established Whitestaunton Lamb. My family have farmed here since the late 1800s and my Great Grandfather and his father were both Master Butchers in their own right. So I am keeping up a family tradition going back 4 generations.”

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About Whitestaunton