The name Crewkerne derives from the old British ‘cruc’, meaning a hill and ‘aern’, a house or storehouse. Local born Crewkernians still refer to Crucaern.
Anglo Saxon Crewkerne
A settlement existed in the Crewkerne area before the Anglo-Saxon period when King Alfred (871-901) developed Crewkerne as a centre of commerce and trade. The existence of a Minster, a Mint and its tax-free status, highlights the Town’s importance at that period of time. Alfred bequeathed this Royal Estate to his youngest son (Æthelweard). It remained a Royal Estate up to the Norman Conquest.
There are coins from Crewkerne Mint from the reign of King Canute (Cnut) in Stockholm Museum. This may be due to trading or Danegeld.
The only evidence of the Anglo-Saxon period in Crewkerne is the location of St Bartholomew’s. there are some minor pre-15th century features above ground level. St Bartholomew’s now stands on the site of the original Anglo-Saxon Minster. Records show that “in the vault beneath the chancel there are recumbent figures of a King and Queen with their crowns on and a railing of gilt around them”. The vaults no longer exist as in the 18th/19th centuries they were filled in.
St Bartholomew’s Street Fair, held annually in September, also dates back to Saxon times (519-1066) and the major traders market was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Fair is reputed to have been granted it’s Charter (a right granted by the King to hold a major annual regional market on the town’s streets over the specified dates) in the time of Henry III (1207-1272). The earliest surviving court record dates from 1280 and can be found in The British Museum. The fun fair dates from at least 1861. Now known as Crewkerne Charter Fair it takes place on the 1st weekend of September thanks to the Rotary Club of Crewkerne.
Medieval Crewkerne
In the late 1400s, the prosperity of the local sheep farming, wool, and textile industry enabled the rebuilding of the Norman Church as a Parish Church on a much grander scale, but this rebuilding ceased with the Reformation (1530-1540).
Some later restoration and modernisation were carried out in the late 1800s. what is visible today dates from the 15th-16th centuries, though over the years many internal alterations have been carried out.
The Crewkerne Grammar School was founded in 1499 and was rebuilt in 1626. This building is now the current church hall.
Notable alumni are Admiral Hardy (Nelson’s Flag Captain at Trafalgar) and Anthony Brooke the first White Rajah of Sarawak. Subsequently, in 1882, the Grammar School was relocated to a purpose-built building in Mount Pleasant (now De Coombe House).
In the early 17th Century many small farms combined to make sailcloth using locally grown flax whilst working their few acres. The area is especially suitable for growing flax.
18th and 19th Centuries
In 1789 a water-powered mill at Viney Bridge (South Street) was built. It was powered by using water from a tributary of the River Parrett. This mill produced linen and woollen girth webbing.
By 1828 there were 27 sailcloth firms in the area and in 1851 over 20% of the workforce was employed in the sailcloth industry. Workers’ cottages were built by the mill owners, a classic example being those in South Street associated with the Viney Bridge Mill.
In 1867 mill owner Robert Bird converted a former factory in South Street to a hospital for the poor. This was replaced by the current building in Middle Path in 1904. He also founded 6 cottages on South Street for old weavers.
In later years Viney Bridge Mill produced webbing and manufactured the parachute harness webbing for the space shuttle ‘Columbia’.
The local sailcloth known as ‘Coker Cloth’ was recognised as a superior product. It is believed to have been used for some of the sails on HMS ‘Victory’. The sail cloth was also used by the United States Navy and sails for the US Americas Cup contenders. King George V’s yacht ‘Britannia’ also used Coker Cloth sails. Britannia was used for training the British contender for the America’s Cup.
The town also supplied sailcloth and serge to the East India Company.
The textile industry continued to expand and diversify. In 1872 the first clothing factory (West Somerset & Devon Shirt Co) started in Abbey Street. At one time it had 600 employees. However, toward the end of the 19th century, decline was setting in. Sail gave way to steam and the textile industry moved north where coal and steam power were readily available. Van Heusen (shirt makers) took over the factory in 1953 shipping their shirts via Crewkerne Railway Station with its direct line to London. Until 2025 Bonsoir manufactured pyjamas on the site.
The building is now a set of apartments with the name – The Pyjama Factory.
Trade
Crewkerne enjoyed many prosperous periods from the time of King Alfred. The Doomsday Book of 1086 records the Market as the ‘ second most valuable in Somerset.’
The Market Green occupied the area (3 acres) between Market Square and the Church with Church Street to the South and by Abbey Street (Carter Street) to the North.
In the mid-17th century, Crewkerne merchants supplied Lord Poulett of Hinton St. George with pencils, brushes, books of gold (gold leaf) ochre, umber, ‘Spanish’ white, and ‘Spanish’ brown for his new house.
A Market Hall was built around 1730. The 1776 Manor Estates map shows the Market Hall and Market Cross with the Shambles in front of the Market Hall.
The Shambles existed from 1511 and at one time had 37 butchers. In 1836 the Market Hall was altered and the Shambles demolished providing an open area to the front. The Market Hall was substantially rebuilt in 1900 which is the Town Hall seen today. The original arches of the Market Hall have been filled in but can be seen on the west side.
Travel & Transport
The George Hotel on Market Square is an 1832 rebuild of the original 1541 coaching inn.
By the 16th century, Crewkerne was an important meeting place for the Exeter to London route and the route from Bristol to the Dorset Coast (avoiding the treacherous voyage around Land’s End). Thomas Hutchins, 17th century postmaster, was the first person to make any part of the postal system profitable. Records show that at this time Crewkerne had ’54 beds and stabling for 130 horses’.
Royal Connections
In 1501 Catherine of Aragon stayed overnight on her way to London to be married, and in 1688 Willian III (of Orange) stayed on 7th/8th November on his way to London from Torbay and prayed in St. Bartholomew’s on Sunday 8th.
In 1651, after defeat at the Battle of Worcester, Charles II passed by Crewkerne (Monarch’s Way) as he made his way to the South Coast to escape to France.
On 2nd May 2012 Queen Elizabeth II, on her way from Yeovil to Exeter, stopped in the Town as part of her Jubilee. (See plaque on Town Hall frontage).
Thomas Hutchings, Postmaster at Crewkerne from 1619 till after 1631, organised a mail service between London and Plymouth. The Quicksilver Mail Coach was the first profitable postal system.
20th Century
The relative decline of the town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries meant there was little new building. As a result, the ‘Late Georgian’ buildings of the town centre remained substantially intact as seen today. At street level many frontages have been converted to shops.
The one major exception was the development of one of the first Council Estates in the country. This was initiated at Severalls Park, by the Blake Family, as part of the War Memorial and to alleviate the overcrowding and poor living conditions that existed in the town.
In the 1950’s a Trading Estate was created at Blacknell Lane with new and more diverse industries. Opening in 1958 it brought renewed prosperity to the town.
The Robert Bird cottages in South Street and the former Hospital were demolished in 1973 for a road widening scheme. This lead to the formation of the South Street Car Park. The Cottages were relocated to Bird’s Close. Also in the mid-1970’s the Falkland Square Shopping Precinct was developed. The name acknowledges the Blake Family, who lived in what is now Solicitors offices adjacent to the Square, and who became wealthy as a result of sheep farming in the Falkland Isles. The George Shopping Precinct was also revitalised.
21st Century
The sports facilities at the Henhayes Recreation Ground have been improved and the Aqua Centre, George Reynolds Centre and a Sports Centre at Wadham School have been built to extend the recreational and sports facilities in the town.
We still have a monthly Market, a number of antique shops and other independent traders.
Noteworthy Buildings
The oldest surviving building in the town is ‘Oscars’ Wine Bar which in parts dates from the 12th century. Candle Cottage dates from the late 1400s and was originally a medieval priests’ house. The White Hart Inn dates from 1499. The museum has a 16th Century wing to the rear (behind the 18th Century Town House frontage) and the oldest part of Merefield House dates from the mid-17th century with later. additions.
For anyone wishin to explore Crewkerne’s rich heritage and history further, the town’s Museum and Heritage Centre contains a wealth of additional information – www.crewkernemuseum.co.uk.
This information is available as a leaflet in Crewkerne Information Centre in the Town Hall.
