I was driving back from an unsuccessful attempt to buy a particular product, driving through an area of the town I don’t know very well. I have a rough idea of some of the shops there on the main street, and I know there are several pubs – although I don’t remember their names, but there’s only one person I know who lives there. I said it’s an area of the town, but in fact Worle is a separate village in the parish of Weston-super-Mare. Worle was held pre-conquest by Edgar, from King Edward within the Winterstoke Hundred. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as then owned by Walter of Douai who I have mentioned before because he also had the lands around Bridgwater which was named for him – Walter’s Brigg – or quay.
Back to Worle – I didn’t realise that the church in the village was so old – St Martin’s Church was built in 1125, although has been rebuilt several times since. Considering I’m so interested in old buildings it’s surprising that I haven’t explored it – no doubt I will soon! There were six almshouses in the village, which were demolished in 1938 and replaced by an air-raid shelter. There are, however quite a number of old listed buildings including the Worle Tower Observatory built in 1764 to replace an old windmill, the was memorial clock tower, and several very old listed buildings. There are three pubs, none of which I’ve been in – surprisingly, The Lamb, The Golden Lion, The King’s Head and the Nut Tree. Worle has a station, the fourth since the first one opened in 1841, which as well as local trains, has London trains stop there too. There are several primary and one secondary school, and Weston-super-Mare Magistrate’s Court is also in Worle.
Visit here to find out more about this interesting village: http://www.worlehistorysociety.net/
Lois Elsden 