Pictures of Brent Knoll

About Brent Knoll

Brent Knoll occupies an ancient landscape dominated by the Iron-Age fort on the summit of an isolated little round hill which rises to around 457 feet high. The fort was used by Romans and by Anglo-Saxons seeking refuge from invading Danes. From this spot visitors can gaze out over the vast flatness of Somerset and appreciate just how in 1607 the area briefly became an island cut of by rising floods. Worth mentioning, is that these lands were recorded as early as the Doomsday Book of 1086, at this time it was a sparsely populated area, with not much in the way of a living for its inhabitants, the village did not begin to prosper until better drainage of the land had been attained, making farming viable all the year round.

At the base of the hill the village straggles a long main road, this has some smart houses, shops, a couple of inns and a Norman church famous for its 15th century bench ends showing the descent from dignity to the hanging of a fox clothed as an Abbot. Visitors to the church will also note the fine tie-beam roof, Jacobean pulpit, a monument of the 17th century, and grotesque tower gargoyles. Of the inns, the Red Cow standing at the centre of the village appears to date from around the 18th century, whilst the Fox and Goose was a former coaching inn from the early part of the 19th century.

There is a delightful mix of properties which add to the rural charm of the landscape, some of these dwellings date back to the 17th century as indicated by the date over Briars Cottage (1688). Next to the pleasant Parish Hall stands Ivyclad Hall, a building from the reign of Queen Anne.

Interspersed around the area visitors will find old farmhouses with quaint farm buildings, some which have been modernised to provide holiday cottage accommodation or permanent homes. There are pleasant meadows and lovely fruit orchards filled mostly with apple trees, for fortunately cider making still flourishes in these parts.

From Brent Knoll there is easy access to the appealing sands of holiday resorts Berrow and Brean, these mostly cater for families and have more than an average share of caravan parks and amusements. A short drive inland reveals the spectacular Cheddar Gorge and a little further will take you to Wells, a small picturesque cathedral town.