Great Elm

Settlement in Somerset Mendip

England

Great Elm

Egford Hill Downhill towards Frome. — Egford Hill Credit: Wayland Smith

Great Elm is a small village located in the county of Somerset, England. Situated approximately 11 miles southwest of the city of Bath, it falls within the Mendip district. The village is nestled in a picturesque rural setting, surrounded by rolling hills and farmland.

With a population of around 400 residents, Great Elm maintains a close-knit and community-oriented atmosphere. It is primarily a residential area, comprising a mix of traditional stone cottages, modern houses, and a few older farmhouses. The village is known for its charming architecture and well-preserved historic buildings, including the Grade II listed St. Mary Magdalene Church, which dates back to the 12th century.

While the village itself is relatively quiet, it benefits from excellent transport links, making it an attractive place to live for those seeking a peaceful countryside setting with easy access to nearby towns and cities. The A361 road passes through Great Elm, connecting it to Bath and the nearby town of Frome. The village is also served by regular bus services, allowing residents to travel to surrounding areas.

Great Elm offers a range of amenities for its residents, including a local pub, The Dusthole, which has a rich history dating back to the 17th century. The village also boasts a primary school, providing education for children in the area.

Overall, Great Elm provides a tranquil and picturesque setting for residents while offering convenient access to nearby urban centers, making it an appealing place to live for those seeking a rural lifestyle.

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Great Elm Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 51.24298/-2.362417 or Grid Reference ST7449. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Egford Hill

Downhill towards Frome.

Wayland Smith

Cottages in Selwood Street

Vieve Forward

Course of the Dorset and Somerset Canal

Looking west along the bed of the abandoned Dorset and Somerset Canal, constructed in about 1798, but never completed or opened. This section of the canal was intended to form part of a branch extending to Nettlebridge for the purpose of transporting coal from the Somerset coal field.

David Tyers

Remains of a balance lock on the Dorset and Somerset Canal

In 1798 the Somerset ironmaster James Fussell patented a "Balance Lock for Raising or Lowering Boats, &c.". A canal lift to his design was built and demonstrated at this site in 1800, when it successfully raised boats by about 20 feet up to the summit level of the Nettlebridge branch of the Dorset and Somerset Canal. Following the trial, construction of several more balance locks was begun at nearby Barrow Hill, but work on the canal was abandoned when funds ran out, and the locks were never completed. This balance lock was the subject of an archaeological excavation in about 2005, but nature is now taking over the site again.

David Tyers

Brick Kiln Farm Bridge

Bridge carrying Wanwards Lane across the Frome to Radstock railway (closed to passenger traffic in 1959, and to goods in 1968). It now crosses The Colliers Way (part of National Cycle Network Route 24), though the overgrown railway tracks are still in place.

David Tyers

Bed of the abandoned Dorset and Somerset Canal

The Dorset and Somerset canal was intended to ascend Barrow Hill using a flight of five boat lifts. Counting from the bottom, there is no evidence that work ever commenced on the first lift. The other four were never completed, and their chambers, set into the hillside, are overgrown and in various states of dereliction. This image was taken in the short section of canal above the third lift and looks northwest towards the chamber of the fourth.

David Tyers

Dangerfield farm

Rob Purvis

Buckland Dinham garage

Rob Purvis

The Bell at Buckland Dinham

Rob Purvis

Flowers Farm Bridge

Another small pedestrian bridge over the old railway bridge. Today it's Route 24 on the National Cycle Network, but it was originally a GWR branch line from Radstock to Frome, built in 1854 to Brunel's Broad Gauge initially, and carried coal from the local mines. A year later it began carrying passengers too. But as the viability declined passengers were stopped in 1958; freight soldiered on until the line closed completely in 1988. It made a natural cyclepath which has a tarmac surface only recently completed, but the old rails remain for much of its length. An old fashioned benchmark still exists at the foot of the arch - see ST7450 : Projecting Bracket at Barrow Hill.

Neil Owen

Projecting Bracket at Barrow Hill

The old Radstock-Frome railway line was opened in the mid-1850s, but this Ordnance Survey benchmark was installed in the early part of the 1900s. It is fairly common on the railways of the area but the type itself was replaced by the Flush Bracket shortly after the start of the Second Geodetic Levelling. Indeed, it appears to be a collector's item as the Conduit Bridge item (some 1.5Km to the west) has been removed. See ST7450 : Flowers Farm Bridge a wider location view, ST7350 : Lost! for the missing mark and Link

for the entry in the Benchmark Database.

Neil Owen

Any which way

More old-time enamel pointing fingers, adorning the undersides of bridges along the Colliers' Way. This one is Flowers Farm Bridge, with more to be enjoyed at ST7151 : Is it me?.

Neil Owen

Gate to the field

A simple gate opposite Flowers Farm Bridge - see [[[3329125]] - that allows non-motorised passage to the other field on the other side of the railway. See also ST7450 : For all travellers for the cattle grid here.

Neil Owen

For all travellers

Despite a simple cyclepath running alongside the old railway line, these gates are clearly designed to control a variety of wheeled, two-legged and four-legged users through. The adjoining bridge crossing the line is not one for motorised traffic as it leads to a field. See ST7450 : Gate to the field for the gate and [[[3329125]] for the little bridge.

Neil Owen

Onwards to Bucklands Bridge

National Route 24, leading eventually to Frome. Permission is granted to travel along it!

Neil Owen

Course of the Dorset and Somerset Canal

Looking along the bed of the abandoned canal when the wild garlic was in full bloom. This section of the Dorset and Somerset Canal was constructed in about 1798, but the canal was never completed or opened.

David Tyers

Murtry Aqueduct across the Mells River

Murtry Aqueduct was built in about 1798 to carry the Dorset and Somerset Canal across the Mells River. However, the canal was never completed or opened.

David Tyers

Murtry Aqueduct across the Mells River

North side of the three arched Murtry Aqueduct, which was built in about 1798 to carry the Dorset and Somerset Canal across the Mells River. However, the canal was never completed or opened.

David Tyers

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Great Elm is located at Grid Ref: ST7449 (Lat: 51.24298, Lng: -2.362417)

Administrative County: Somerset

District: Mendip

Police Authority: Avon and Somerset