The History of Southstoke

There are 27 listed structures in and around the village. The Church of St James the Great, son of Zebedee, to give it its full name, is a 12th and 15th century building, restored in 1845 and keeping its remarkable Norman door.

There was, in the nineteenth century, a Fuller’s Earth mine in the area. Fuller’s Earth may sound like something Harry Potter uses to grow prize marrows, but is in fact used for filtering or purifying oils.

Monks rebuilt an old hostelry in 1498 to house travellers and pilgrims. The current pub was built on the same site in 1674.