Allerford is a village in the county of Somerset, England, located within Exmoor National Park, and is part of the parish of Selworthy in the district of Somerset West and Taunton. It appears in Domesday Book as "Alresford – forda Ralph de Limesy Mill".
The parish was part of the hundred of Carhampton.[1]
One of the village's main attractions is the much-photographed packhorse bridge. Built as a crossing over the River Aller (from which the village gets its name), it is thought to be medieval in origin.[2][3] Nearby is the New Bridge where the A39 road crosses Horner Water. The 18 feet (5.5 m) wide pointed arch rises 8 feet (2.4 m) with a 4 feet (1.2 m) span half arch on the side for flood relief.[4] Originally the bridge was 12 feet (3.7 m) wide but another 6 feet (1.8 m) was added in 1866.[5] The packhorse bridge is an Ancient monument and has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register.[6][7]
Allerford New Bridge which carries the A39 road past the village is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade II* listed building.[8] It is also on the Heritage at Risk register because of the risks of vehicle damage and erosion.[9]
The village is also home to Allerford House, childhood home of Admiral John Moresby, who explored the coastline of New Guinea and for whom Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, was named. Other traditional sights in the village include thatched cottages, a forge and an old-fashioned red telephone box. There is also a Reading Room, built by the Acland family to foster adult education.
One of the thatched cottages operated as the local Primary School between 1821 and 1981 and is now a museum containing the West Somerset Rural Life Museum and Victorian School. The museum houses the West Somerset Photographic Archive.
^"Carhampton Hundred". Domesday Map. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
^Historic England. "Packhorse Bridge (1058014)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
^Historic England. "Packhorse Bridge at NGR SS 9051 4691 (1058014)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
^Hinchliffe, Ernest (1994). Guide to the Packhorse Bridges of England. Cicerone. p. 145. ISBN 978-1852841430.
^Otter, R.A. (1994). Civil Engineering Heritage: Southern England. London: Thomas Telford Ltd. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-7277-1971-3.
^"Allerford packhorse bridge, immediately north of Cross Lane Farm, Selworthy, West Somerset - Exmoor (NP)". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.</
^Historic England. "Allerford packhorse bridge, immediately north of Cross Lane Farm (1020776)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^Historic England. "Allerford new bridge (1006197)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^"Allerford New Bridge, Luccombe / Selworthy, West Somerset - Exmoor (NP)". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
Allerford is a village in the county of Somerset, England, located within Exmoor National Park, and is part of the parish of Selworthy in the district...
first European to discover the site of Port Moresby. Moresby was born in Allerford, Somerset, England, the son of Eliza Louisa and Admiral of the Fleet Sir...
Marine camp on the left and then passes under Norton Bridge and the new Allerford Junction where a siding has been installed on the right to serve the West...
Fred Wedlock Wedlock performing at Allerford Folk Festival in 2003 Background information Birth name Peter Frederick Wedlock Born (1942-05-23)23 May 1942...
includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brandish Street and Allerford. At 308 metres (1,010 ft) Selworthy Beacon, rising above the village,...
Northern Ireland. Kathleen Mary Prideaux. For services to the community in Allerford, Somerset. Herbert Proctor. For services to the community in Audley, Staffordshire...
Dunkery and Selworthy Beacons, and the villages and hamlets of Selworthy, Allerford, Bossington, Horner and Luccombe as well as the Dunkery and Horner Woods...
The West Somerset Rural Life Museum is a small museum in Allerford, Somerset, England. The building was built in 1821 as the village school and was closed...
donated in 1934 by Mrs Hughes in memory of her husband Alan Hughes of Lynch Allerford, Minehead. The donations were commemorated in 1935 with an event when...
the sixteenth century. At an early period they had another residence at Allerford in West Somerset, but they were seated at Trerice at least as early as...
Bridge 1834 link locks French Weir Norton Fitzwarren Lift River Tone wharf Allerford Lift Trefusis Lift Tone Aqueduct Nynehead Lift Nynehead Court Drive Winsbeer...
majority, which they then held until the council's abolition in 2019. Allerford, Ashbeer Battleton, Bickham, Bicknoller, Bilbrook, Bossington, Brandish...
(1058014)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2020. "Allerford Packhorse Bridge, Immediately North of Cross Lane Farm". ancientmonuments...
11 October 2009. "Allerford Museum". Allerford Museum. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010. "Allerford Museum". Horner Mill...
1918, Pilcher married Janet, elder daughter of Allan Hughes, of Lynch, Allerford, Somerset. They had a son, killed on active service in 1941, and a daughter...
and flows through the Holnicote Estate passing Holnicote and through Allerford, where it passes under a packhorse bridge of medieval origin. It then...
Reserve) and Selworthy Beacon, and the villages and hamlets of Selworthy, Allerford, Bossington, Horner and Luccombe. King Alfred's Tower 1772 – I Brewham...
of "Caryhayes, Carshayes, Kierhaies or Kenelhelvas" in Cornwall, or at Allerford in Somerset. However the Lysons brothers (1814) stated: "We think it extremely...
A signposted walking route to the hill goes through a wooded area of Allerford and Holnicote Plantations, and is 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Porlock...
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