On Saturday the 23rd September 2023 after a visit to Glastonbury Somerset, we drove on to Castle Combe in Wiltshire. We parked up in the visitor car park on Dunns Lane and walked down into the village. Castle Combe is a truly delightful example of the traditional English village.
We pass the 12th century Castle Inn.
Next to this is the market cross.
The 14th-century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was granted, stands where the three principal streets of the lower village converge. The Market Cross, a Scheduled Monument, reflects "the significance of the cloth industry in this area". Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe's two village pumps. Small stone steps near the cross were for horse riders to mount and dismount, and close by are the remains of the buttercross, built in the late 19th century from old masonry. This structure, "also known as Weavers’ Steps and ‘the stone’", is another Scheduled Monument.
The village takes its name from the 12th-century castle which stood about 1⁄3 mile (500 m) to the north. The site where the castle once stood now only contains the old earthworks and masonry, which are estimated to date from the 12th century. It is believed that the castle was constructed as the seat of the Barony of Combe under Reginald de Dunstanville either during the reign of Henry I or his son. Reginald was thought to support Empress Matilda during the Anarchy, and the castle was constructed during the wave of castle buildings of the Anarchy period.
Architecturally, little has changed since the 15th century; there are no street lights or TV aerials and, as you savour the peaceful atmosphere, you will understand why it has won the coveted “Prettiest Village in England” award so many times. Castle Combe is also a favoured location for Hollywood film and television companies.
The land above Castle Combe was originally home to a Roman Villa vacated in the 5th Century AD. Little happened until Reginald de Dunstanville built a Norman Castle on Castle Hill during the English Civil War of 1135-1154, so putting the 'Castle' into Castle Combe.
By the 14th Century this Norman castle had fallen into a state beyond repair and a new Manor House was built in the shelter of the valley below. The Manor House, now our hotel, is still on the same site today though little remains of the original structure.
The Middle Ages were to be a very prosperous time for Castle Combe when much of the village as we see today was constructed; the reason for this prosperity was the growth of a thriving cloth industry. Benefiting from the wool from huge local flocks of sheep, the fast flowing Bybrook River, fullers earth and the great skill of local weavers.
The red and white Castle Combe cloth became renowned not only in the markets of Bristol and Cirencester but also in London and abroad. With increasing size and wealth came greater stature and the right to hold a weekly market was granted by Henry VI in 1440 centred on the market cross - the focal point of the village.
The industry however diminished in the 16th Century with the slowing of the flow of the Bybrook, the cloth manufacture moved to other nearby areas in Gloucestershire, but not before Castle Combe was left with the buildings that make it the remarkable village it remains today.
Castle Combe has long been a favoured location by Hollywood film, television and advertising companies. Given that there are no TV aerials or telegraph poles in sight, the whole village makes the perfect filmset.
In 1967 'Dr Dolittle' was filmed in the village starring Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley. Castle Combe was transformed into the seaport of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh.
In recent years other major Hollywood films have been shot here such as 'Stardust' (2008), 'The Wolfman' (2009) and in 2010 Steven Spielberg shot scenes for the film adaptation of 'War Horse'. TV programmes such as 'Poirot' and 'Robin of Sherwood' have also been filmed in the village.
We stop off at the tearoom at the old stables for tea and
cake.
We stop off at the tearoom at the old stables for tea and cake.
We walk back through the village.
We pass St Andrews Church.
Although outwardly you can see signs of a thriving village from the medieval period (1066-1485), there were much earlier residents in this wooded valley. Long before the arrival of the Romans in Britain in 43 AD, there is evidence of an early Celtic tribe’s pagan temple where St Andrew’s now stands.
Originally founded in the 13th century, the church building has grown and evolved over the centuries. The nave was added in the 14th century and the tower completed in the 16th century. As a result of the church falling into serious disrepair, a substantial amount of rebuilding of the church had to take place in 1850-51. An annex to the north side of the church housing some modern amenities was completed in 2018.
Following the Norman invasion of England in 1066, lands of the defeated Saxon aristocracy were bestowed by King William I (the Conqueror) on his Knights. The Manor (estate) of “Cumbe”, as Castle Combe was then known, was bestowed on a nobleman, Humphrey de L’Isle. His daughter married Reginald de Dunstanville, who became the first Baron/Lord of Castle Combe. For over 850 years, Castle Combe was a barony and evidence of the Lords of the Manor and their families through this period can be found in the church and churchyard.
On the north side of the church is a superb carved stone monument of a Norman Knight, Sir Walter de Dunstanville, Baron of Castle Combe, who died in 1270. Above the tomb, a stained glass window displays the coats of arms of the Scrope family (pronounced “Scroop”), who were Lords of the Manor for almost 500 years before selling the estate at auction to a member of the Lancastrian Gorst family in 1867.
The tower was started in 1434 with monies from local wealthy wool merchants and from the estate of Sir John Fastolf. The tower’s beautiful fan vault ceiling is reminiscent of Bath Abbey.
The base of the tower houses one of the oldest working faceless medieval clocks in the country.
We return to the car to drive back to our cottage in Bradford-on-Avon.
