Quantock Education

Kilve

There is more to Kilve than you see from your car.
Kilve is a village in two parts.
The old part of Kilve grew up near the sea.
Kilve people have always made good use of this water supply. In medieval times they dammed it to make freshwater fishponds for Kilve Manor.
This is how it the Manor looked in 1847. The old buildings near the sea made good hiding places for smuggled goods.
A year later, there was a terrible fire. It badly damaged the old buildings. People say that the fire got going so quickly because the buildings were full of smuggled brandy barrels! Now the walls must be supported to stop them falling down.
The beach was useful for other things too, like eel hunts!
Once, they tried to get the oil out of the layers of shale in the cliffs.
People used water from the stream to turn huge wheels, like this one attached to Nether Mill.
The wheel was on the outside of this building. It turned heavy millstones inside, to grind wheat into flour.
Things changed in the 1750s when they built a new road from Nether Stowey to Minehead. It went near Kilve, through a place called Putsham,
The Putsham end of Kilve became more popular than the Chantry end. People started to build houses along the new road. This is Kilve main road in about 1920.
People passing through might stop and buy things…
..or top up with petrol.
As people were able to travel more, they wanted to stay in Kilve to enjoy the hills and the beach. The old Rectory became a hotel and a new Rectory was built near the main road.
Kilve is still a busy place. Lots of visitors come here.
The old village school is half way between Kilve and East Quantoxhead. It closed years ago…
...but there are always lots of children here.
Schools from all around stay here:

Kilve Church

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