Watercombe turnpike side gate
Watercombe turnpike Side Gate
A strange place for a toll gate?
In 1753, Turnpike Commissioners were appointed for "repairing and widening the roads" of Yeovil. At the first meeting of the Yeovil Turnpike Trust on 12 June 1753, they ordered that "three capital gates be erected" at Hendford Bridge (by today's Railway Tavern) and also known as Hendford Gate, Goar Knap (spanning Sherborne Road on the town side of the junction of St Michael's Avenue - later replaced by Yeovil Bridge Turnpike House) and the "Head of Kingston". There was also the Pen Style Stop Gate near the entrance leading from Pen Style to Newton, later replaced by Pen Style Turnpike House. Other gates at various times being Watercombe Side Gate, Combe Street Lane "Hutt Gate" - later replaced by Mudford Road Turnpike House, Milford Lane Side Gate (today's Goldcroft) and Jernegan's Hut Side Gate at Vagg.
The only source I have for the location of the Watercombe side gate is Christopher Greenwood's 1822 map of Yeovil - below. The map shows an "X" across Watercombe Lane north of the junction with Alvington Lane and is marked "Watercombe Gate".
On the face of it, this side gate appears to be somewhat redundant if it was trying to prevent the circumnavigation of Yeovil’s stop gates. Travellers approaching from Preston Plucknett would later encounter the Kingston Turnpike Gate, while those approaching from Crewkerne would encounter the Hendford Bridge Stop Gate or, later, the stop gate at the junction of Hendford Hill and Dorchester Road.
However, the fact that this was usually described as a side gate rather than a stop gate may give a clue to its location and lesser importance. Having said that, the Watercombe Side Gate was in service from at least 1795 until 1860.
Watercombe Gate was in use at least as early as 1795 when, according to an entry in the Minute Book (1753-1810) of the Yeovil Turnpike Trust of 4 March 1795 "Charles Connock be forthwith discharged and removed from the Stop-gate at Watercombe for misbehaviour". Connock was noted as "The Tenant of Kingston and Hendford Gates".
During the annual letting of toll gates, Watercombe Side Gate was usually included with Kingston Gate
map
An extract of Christopher Greenwood's 1822 map of Yeovil showing the Watercombe Gate at lower centre.
