Combwich

Combwich, pronounced Cumidge, is a tiny village on the banks of the River Parrett just where it joins the sea, in the parish of Otterhampton.From earliest times I think people have lived on the hilly part of the village, where they must have been safer, from enemies and from the sea. The hill is made up of marl and blue lias, Marl or marlstone is chemically a type of calcium carbonate  mud or mudstone, which varies in the amount of clay and silt in its make-up. Blue lias (doesn’t it sound wonderful!) is a geological formation which can be found in different parts of the south-west of England and Wales. As you might guess, limestone was quarried from here for buildings and houses, and possibly the church too. On the lower lands of the village there has only been intermittent settlement because of the proximity to the river and sea; often these lands were flooded marshes.

There has been recorded occupation of this pretty place since Doomsday, there was a small estate at Moxhill in the 11th century, and another small settlement, called Twye in 1348; by 1620 it had become Twyhouse in 1620 but was called just plain ‘Hill’. It’s position on the Parrett made it an ideal place for a port, exporting goods and importing timber from as far back as the 15th century. No doubt using the local materials, bricks and tiles were made nearby and there was a brick and coal yard; however this became unnavigable in the 1930s when it became silted up.

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