Holywell
Lake
Somerset
Before the coming of the Motorways, the A38 trunk road into the West Country was notorious for its traffic jams and Bank Holiday motoring misery. The much less-used road is still there today. Three miles west of Wellington, shortly before crossing into Devon, there is a signpost on the right indicating the nearby village of Holywell Lake. The writer Ethelbert Horne in his book "Somerset Holy Wells" (1923) explained that the Holywell Lake in this village is in the garden opposite the Holywell Inn, the word 'Lake' having its old meaning - a stream or small river. He also noted that until 1770 the village was called 'Holloway'.
Photo: Rod Morris
The Parish Church for Holywell Lake is actually in the smaller hamlet of Thorne St Margaret just up the hill, next to a farm and a small cluster of pretty houses. Inside the church hangs a Roll of Honour from the Great War listing 20 men of Holywell Lake who went to fight as follows:
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Roll of Honour
The Men from Holywell Lake who responded
Reginald Anthus Army Service Corps |
The villagers today still maintain that the Holy Water of the village spring helped to bring back their men from the maelstrom of the Great War - most certainly Holywell Lake is a very Thankful Village.