Quantock Cycle,PART 8A edited version,' On Top of the  Castle at Nether Stowey'
Channel: semw52
Date: 02/07/2012

This is one of 2 videos  of the castle at Nether Stowey which is now only a large mound overlooking the village but with evidence of the Keep and its foundations seen on the very top with some stonework.This castle like many around the country was probably hastily constructed at the time of the troubles between Stephen and Matilda over the entitlement to the throne.King Henry I had wanted his daughter and only heir to become Queen but in those times it was very rare for women to have any royal power as such and many barons and nobles supported her cousin Stephen.I have ancestors who were on both sides e.g Baron Geoffrey de Mandeville died at Burwell Castle in Cambridgeshire supporting Matilda---Burwell is very much like  the one at Nether Stowey. However, on top of the mound there are panoramic scenes of Somerset, Wales, the Bristol channel--a good strategic position and out of the marshes.Later when abandoned and the stones were used to build homes in the village the nobles moved to Nether Stowey Court close to the Norman church of St Mary's which I also visited on this day along with Samuel Coleridge's cottage in Lime Street.We are surrounded by our past, our history and culture from the square mile in London to the most remote spot in the country--treasure is to be found.