![]() St Decuman’s Church, with its Holy Well should not be missed. St Decuman’s Well, near St Decuman’s Church, Watchet, Somerset This takes you straight into the site of Daws Castle. Getting to Daw’s Castle is quite straight forward, but it is quite a long climb out of Watchet up West Street and then Cleeve Hill until the footpath comes off on your right (at the time of writing). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles tell us that Watchet ( Wecedport) was raided again in 997, with much slaughtering and burning. It seems possible that Watchet was by now including the harbour as well as Daw’s Castle as, importantly, both the C and E versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle now name the place as Wecedport (although note that the word “port” could also mean trading place as well as what we today generally think of as being a port). Watchet was raided in 988 (and/or 987 – different dates are provided by different versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles) when there was great slaughter, although it seems that the Vikings lost (according to a reference I saw to a document called the Life of St Oswald). View from Daws Castle, Watchet, Somerset, looking west towards Minehead. Points further east are, of course, still possible. Although Weced was probably at Daw’s Castle it seems implausible that, even in King Alfred’s times, there would not have been some sort of settlement down at the harbour as well, before the place later became referred to as Wecedport (see below). It occurs to me that the attack of 914, which we are told took place to the east of Watchet, might just mean that it took place at what is now Watchet harbour. ![]() It is thought that the defended settlement was at what is now called Daw’s Castle, which is on the Coast Path a little to the west of today’s Watchet. Watchet was clearly vulnerable and a target. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles tell us that in the harvest-time of 914, in the rule of Edward the Elder, King Alfred’s son, the Vikings landed at night east of Watchet but were repelled by the Saxons and fled to either Steepholm or Flatholm, before crossing to Wales and then Ireland. It is important to note that Weced may not have been where Watchet is today. “Yankee Jack” at the harbour, Watchet, Somerset. Bath is also included, but this might not have been in Somerset in King Alfred’s time. Other listed burhs in Somerset are Watchet, Axbridge and Lyng . Although this document in the form currently available to us was drawn up under King Alfred’s son, King Edward the Elder, it seems likely that Weced would have also been there at the time of King Alfred, and may indeed have been part of his post-878 improvement of Wessex defences against the Vikings through the development of fortified settlements (burhs). Watchet was listed in the Burghal Hidage as Weced and is also referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles as Wæced. There is no record of Alfred having been at Watchet, although this by no means rules his presence out at some point. Watchet is on the North Somerset coast, and is a great place to visit, irrespective of its connections to the Anglo-Saxons. ![]()
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