Stogumber

Stogumber lies between the Quantock and Brendon Hills in north west Somerset, about 12 miles from Taunton and 5 miles from the coast of the Bristol Channel. At the time that the Venn family was living in the village, it was much bigger than it is now. Currently the population is around 600 people; on the 1851 census, there were over 1450 people.

Although there is a main village, Stogumber also incorporates several hamlets, such as Vellow, Capton, Kingswood and the Vexfords. It is the mention of these hamlets in the records that helps identify one family from another as, true to any small village, certain surnames were profilic through the area.


There are still many thatched cottages in Stogumber. The village is clearly laid out on its original medieval plan and it is possible to see that many of the cottages were thatched in the past, if no longer today. We know that Esau Venn was a thatcher at least between 1819 and 1829, as well as the Venns living at Priston Fields (as yet unrelated - see Puzzles and Issues). I like to imagine which of the village cottages Esau thatched in his time.

Stogumber Parish Church, from the village