Iron Age occupation of the parish is evident from the
remains of Bat's Castle hillfort and associated earthworks.
Carhampton is on either side of the main A39 road between Williton and Minehead. It has a red sandstone church, St John the Baptist, built in the perpendicular style, which has a magnificent painted screen. The former village school is now converted into private homes and local schoolchildren attend the nearby Dunster School.
Archaeological excavation in the mid-1990s suggested the existence
of early Christian settlement and burial to the east of the village.
HMS Carhampton
Carhampton is famous for its wassailing celebration.
Wassailing in Carhampton takes place on January 17th in the orchard of
the Butchers Arms Pub. This is preceded by a smaller event in the Community
Orchard in the centre of the village next to the pub.
Carhampton Church - Saint John the Baptist
Carhampton Wassailing Song
Old apple tree, we wassail thee, And hoping thou wilt bear For the Lord
doth know where we shall be Till apples come another year. For to bear
well, and to bear well So merry let us be, Let every man take off his
hat, And shout to the old apple tree! Old apple tree, we wassail thee,
And hoping thou wilt bear Hatfuls, capfuls and three bushel bagfuls And
a little heap under the stairs, Hip, Hip, Hooray!
The church has been restored and in parts rebuilt. It
still contains a fine and richly coloured screen, evidently copied from
the one at Dunster (cp. Timberscombe), but there are no indications of
a stairway. Note (1) piscinas in S. aisle and chancel, (2) carved wall-plate
in S. aisle. There is the base of a cross in the churchyard.
On the road
to Blue Anchor there is an ancient manor-house, called Marshwood
Farm, which has in its porch some curious plaster figures.
Wassailing the Apple Trees takes place on
17th January, Old Twelfth Night, in Carhampton.
A set of customs is grouped under the
name of'wassailing.
At Carhampton the
wassail celebration
takes place in the old
orchard behind the
Butcher's Arms and includes the libation of the apple trees with cider, shooting guns, a bonfire and the singing of the Carhampton wassail song. It is held on Old Twelfth night. Similar celebrations may be found at Roadwater and Churchstanton and Brent Knoll.
The Carhampton Wassail Song
Old apple tree, we wassail thee,
And hoping thou wilt bear
For the Lord doth know where we shall be
Till apples come another year.
For to bear well, and to bloom well
So merry let us be,
Let every man take off his hat,
And shout to the old apple tree!
Old apple tree, we wassail thee,
And hoping thou wilt bear
Hatfuls, capfuls and three bushel bagsful
And a little heap under the stairs,
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
On Twelfth Night men 'go with their wassail bowl into the orchard and go about the trees to bless them and put a piece of toast upon the roots, in order to encourage it'
Apple Blossom
image supplied by kind permission of Somerset Tourism, Somerset County Council
St john the Baptist, Carhampton
Carhampton is unusual in that it had two churches from the early medieval (pre-Norman) period until the Reformation. The earlier church was sited with its graveyard to the east of the present church and was dedicated to St Carantoc, a Welsh missionary who settled in this area in the fifth century. Legend records that he encountered Prince Arthur and killed a dragon that was causing havoc in the area.
Whether Carhampton is named from Carantoc is not certain. Recent excavations and research suggest that there may have been an early monastic site near Carantoc's church. When John Leland travelled through the district during the reign of Henry VIII he mentioned two churches in Karemtokes Town. Recent excavations have identified the early burial around
The church of St John the Baptist as we know it today was mainly built m the fifteenth century although the first recorded priest mas Thomas m 1297, This church mas entirety restored between 1862 and 1864.
St john the Baptist, Carhampton
St john the Baptist, Carhampton
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