Canal, village, rail and road

Saturday, 14 May 2011 16:41

Our short stay above Woolhampton lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal gave us a chance to walk to the village of the same name. The road to the village, Station Road, is a car drivers game of chance.

First they may be stopped by narrowboats opening the swing bridge

The cottage here was once a canal warehouse.

Then there is another potential obstruction ....

There is a railway crossing beside the station! The barriers are a problem for pedestrians too - but they are not usually in such a hurry! It does seem strange that the station at Woolhampton is called Midgham.

But I know the answer - it is to prevent confusion with Wolverhampton - not that we would be confused, having been through and changed at Wolverhampton many a time!

1867 Brookside House - a wedding present built by the miller for his son. The old mill is opposite.

Woolhampton was originally a Saxon settlement. In the C12th the Knights Hospitallers were Lords of the Manor, with a chapel at Brimpton and the church of St Peters. The reformation and Henry the VIII changed all that and various families owned the Woolhampton Estate, including the Earl of Falmouth until the mid C20th.

Falmouth Arms, once the Lower Angel

The Earl of Falmouth left his mark in Woolhampton, the staging inn, now pub, was re-named after the family - he was a generous man, endowing charities for the local school and the village poor.

The second pub in this small village is The Angel. This one was built in 1931 to replace the demolished staging inn

The Angel

During the C19th and C20th there were many craftsmen and shopkeepers in the village. Osiers, shoemakers, a rope maker, coal merchant, blacksmith, barber, and miller to name a few.  Grocers, newsagent, post office, baker and butcher all supplied the village folk with the necessaries of living. What a busy little village it must have been.

Woodbine Cottage - once the butchers

The old bakery

Today the village is split by the busy A4 (Bath Road) and has lost some of the olde worlde charm it might have once had. However, there is still a village shop, recently re-furbished by new owners and stocking such yummies as Lardy Cake, cheese, pies and basic provisions. A very useful shop for a passing boater. We were served by the student son of boaters who was helping out the owners. His parents continually cruise on narrowboat Double Fracture.

Village shop

Next to the village shop is the "new" post office. These cottages housed the general store, post office, rope shop and bakery in the C19th

Cottages on corner of Station Road and Bath Road

I could mention more of the interesting buildings in the village, but this one amused us. It is the Jubilee Fountain, to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. It looks good from the front but has a flat featureless back. There is an artesian well beneath, about 160 foot down.

Jubilee Fountain

Finally I must mention that after our walk and shop we just HAD to sample the Rowbarge, the third pub and beside the canal. John was pleased to find that they had Sharps Doombar and I had an incaholic Crabbies ginger beer. (Hic!)

The Rowbarge

If you visit Woolhampton, either by boat or car, I recommend that you look at the village website walk here and download the map that goes with the walk.