Somerset

Shervage Wood has is home to a number of traditions, perhaps because it was once perceived as being enchanted. In legend and folklore the wood was the home of a dragon known as The Gurt Vurm of Shervage Wood. The dragon was said to have the girth of at least three mature oak trees, and was the bane of the local villages eating cattle and making a general nuisance of itself. Read More »

Many places in Somerset have traditions and legends relating back to the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, locally known as the 'Duking Days'. Many Somerset people were to suffer at the hands of the authorities after the failed uprising, and Taunton Castle was the scene for some of the trails of the Bloody Assizes, when hundreds of people were sent to the Gallows by Judge Jeffries. Read More »

The Chalice Well has been associated with healing and with the Holy Grail for many years. According to legend Joseph of Arimethea placed the cup that held the blood of Christ into the well. The waters run red with Iron Oxide another association with blood. Read More »

Known as the George before the 20th century, The George and Pilgrim dates from the 1430's* and was originally owned by the Abbots of Glastonbury Abbey until its dissolution in September 1539. Read More »

Wassail originates from the Old English "waes hael", meaning "be well".  It is a mulled cider or ale seasoned with honey and spices.  Wassailing the apple trees is a traditional way of blessing th etrees to ensure a good harvest.  Villagers would gather around the apple trees making a racket to awaken the tree spirits and scare away any lingering deamons.  The strongest tre Read More »

The red sandstone Church of St Andrew in Wievliscombe was designed by Richard Carver and built between 1827-1829. It has a font and a sandstone cross which date to the 14th century, but interestingly it also has a devil legend associated with it. When the church was being built, the devil appeared riding a green dragon and started to hurl rocks at the church. Read More »

Wookey Hole is famed for "The Witch of Wookey" a giant stalagmite, which resembles a witches face in profile. Folklore tells that the stalagmite was once a witch who terrorised the local area, and was petrified by the intervention of a Glastonbury monk. Read More »