Cottages (now demolished) at Heywood Farm
The Book of Nynehead - A Village on the River Tone was published as a limited subscriber edition in November 2003, priced at £19.95. [It is currently - 22.xii.06 - being remaindered for £5 by Smiths!] It is a large format (A4), 160-page hardback book including over 200 historic photographs, maps, drawings and other illustrations. The book will be a superb memento for all those who live in or have a connection with the parish of Nynehead
In 1971, when Nynehead was the venue for the World Ploughing Championships, a handful of local people produced a small exhibition and a leaflet to tell visitors about the village. This led to the formation of the Nynehead and District Local History Society which over 30 years later continues to flourish with 50 members drawn from Nynehead, Wellington and nearby villages. The Book of Nynehead brings together for the first time the results of the society's research, combined with much new material; however this volume is not the final word on Nynehead's past and it is hoped that readers will be encouraged to explore further the history of this fascinating village.
Everyday life has changed fundamentally over the past 200 years but there is much that remains special about Nynehead: the mixed blessing of the River Tone; Nynehead Court and its gardens; the fine Parish Church; a lost parkland; distinctive rural buildings; the Grand Western Canal; and the enigma of the Nynehead ‘Hollow’ - combined with the influence of the Sanford family over three centuries.
The small, scattered village of Nynehead lies on the River Tone about seven miles upstream of the Somerset country town of Taunton. In the 1780s it was described as being "pleasantly situated in a country well wooded and watrd, and agreeably intersperd with small hills and vales".
The Book of Nynehead was published between two very different anniversaries. In 1904 the railway engine ‘City of Truro’ passed through Nynehead on its way from its record-breaking 100mph run near Wellington, while 2004 is the tercentenary of the death of the philosopher John Locke, who had close ties with Nynehead.
