Stogursey

Stogursey is the name of a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is about a mile from the cottage we stayed at and 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the north. On the beach near Stogursey are the remains of a submerged forest dated to 2500 B.C.   A Romano-British coin hoard was discovered in 1999. It contained 1,097 base silver radiates (a Roman coin  containing 20 parts bronze to 1 part silver), the remains of a pottery vessel and 50 copper alloy coins.

It takes its name from the manor of Stoke. By 1086 it was in the possession of William de Falaise, who had recently married Geva, daughter of Serlo de Burci, and widow of Martin "de Wallis". Early in the 12th century, William and Geva's daughter, Emma, was betrothed to William de Courcy, and the couple received the manor of Stoke upon their wedding. The manor was renamed Stoke Courcy, and is now known as Stogursey.  Stogursey Castle was probably built in the 12th century.  The best-known member of the family was John de Courcy, who made himself virtual Prince of Ulster after conquering it in 1177.

The church of St Andrew, built around 1117 by William de Falaise as a Benedictine priory church is believed to incorporate earlier features.  The interior contains two Norman fonts.  At floor level in the south arch is a Sanctuary Ring installed in the 13th century. In Medieval England criminals could find a Place of Refuge in a church for up to forty days and then admit their crime or stand trial. If they admitted their felony they would forfeit their possessions and go into exile. The sanctuary ring in the Church of St Andrew was installed 1243 after a murderer, John de Rechich, was granted sanctuary and then absconded before his trial which meant that the priory was liable for his fine.

The lichens on the gravestones are many and varied showing how clean the air is around here.

Wick Barrow, near Stogursey, is associated with pixies. It is said that a ploughman working nearby once mended a pixie's broken peel, and the pixie baked a cake to reward him.  [A peel is a shovel-like tool used by bakers to slide loaves of bread, pastries, and other baked goods into and out of an oven.]