View source for Porlock

{{Short description|Village in Somerset, England}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country =                 England
|coordinates = {{coord|51.208796|-3.595557|display=inline,title}}
|official_name=             Porlock
|population =       1,440
|population_ref = (2011)<ref name="popn">{{cite web|title=Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes&nbsp;— SUMMARY Profiles|url=http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/files/Somerset%20Census%20Key%20Statistics%20-%20Summary%20Profiles.xls|publisher=Somerset Intelligence|access-date=4 January 2014|format=Excel}}</ref>
|shire_district =          [[Somerset West and Taunton]]
|shire_county =            [[Somerset]]
|region =                  South West England
|constituency_westminster=     [[Tiverton and Minehead (UK Parliament constituency)|Tiverton and Minehead]]
|post_town=        MINEHEAD
|postcode_district =       TA24
|postcode_area=            TA
|dial_code=      01643
|os_grid_reference=     SS886467
|static_image_name=porlockweir.JPG
|static_image_caption= [[Porlock Weir]]
|website= [https://www.porlock.co.uk/ Website]
}}
'''Porlock''' is a coastal village in [[Somerset]], England, {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} west of [[Minehead]]. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440.<ref name="popn"/>
In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in Britain,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moss |first=Stephen |date=2017-12-09 |title='Older people have pulled up the ladder': inside England's oldest and youngest towns {{!}} Inequality {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://amp.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/dec/09/ladder-england-oldest-youngest-towns-manchester-minehead |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=amp.theguardian.com}}</ref> with over 40% being of pensionable age as of 2010.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ramesh|first=Randeep|title=People in rural areas live longer, says study|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/may/25/rural-idyll-boots-life-expectancy|access-date=26 May 2010|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 May 2010}}</ref>
==History==
East of the village is [[Bury Castle, Somerset|Bury Castle]], an [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]].
There is evidence for 10th or 11th century origin for the name Porlock as Portloc or Portloca meaning enclosure by the harbour, from the Old English ''port'' and ''loca'',<ref>{{cite web | title=History of Porlock Weir| url=http://www.exmoorher.co.uk/hbsmr-web/record.aspx?UID=MEM15232-Porlock| access-date=2016-08-30}}</ref> and in the [[Domesday Book]] the village was known as "Portloc".<ref name="somharbours"/> In 914 the Vikings plundered Porlock.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/9155941|title=Óttar's Story – A Dublin Viking in Brittany, England and Ireland, A.D. 902-918|last1=Lewis|first1=Stephen M.}}</ref>
Porlock was part of the [[Hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]] of [[Carhampton (hundred)|Carhampton]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Carhampton Hundred |url=http://www.domesdaymap.co.uk/hundred/carhampton/ |work=Domesday Map |access-date=23 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008052003/http://www.domesdaymap.co.uk/hundred/carhampton/ |archive-date=8 October 2012 }}</ref>
The area has links with several Romantic poets, and [[R. D. Blackmore]], the author of ''[[Lorna Doone]]'', and is popular with visitors. The visitor centre has exhibits and displays about the local area. Also on display are the bones of an [[aurochs]], discovered on Porlock beach in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.everythingexmoor.org.uk/_P/Porlock_Visitor_Centre.php |title=Porlock Visitor Centre |access-date=20 February 2008 |work=Everything Exmor }}</ref>
==Governance==
The [[Parish councils of England|parish council]] has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and [[Neighbourhood Watch (UK)|neighbourhood watch]] groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.
The village falls within the [[non-metropolitan district]] of [[Somerset West and Taunton]], which was established on 1 April 2019. It was previously in the district of [[West Somerset]], which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], and part of [[Williton Rural District]] before that.<ref name=willitonrd>{{cite web|title=Williton RD|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10042021|work=A vision of Britain Through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=5 January 2014}}</ref> The district council is responsible for [[planning permission|local planning]] and [[Building regulations in the United Kingdom|building control]], local roads, [[council housing]], [[environmental health]], [[Market (place)|market]]s and fairs, [[refuse collection]] and [[recycling]], [[cemeteries]] and [[crematoria]], leisure services, parks, and [[tourism]].
[[Somerset County Council]] is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as [[Local Education Authority|education]], [[social services]], [[library|libraries]], main roads, [[public transport]], [[police|policing]] and [[fire service]]s, [[Trading Standards|trading standards]], [[waste disposal]] and strategic planning.
As Porlock falls within the [[Exmoor National Park]] some functions normally administered by district or county councils have, since 1997, fallen under the Exmoor National Park Authority, which is known as a 'single purpose' authority, which aims to "conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Parks" and "promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Parks by the public",<ref name="ENPA">{{cite web|url=http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/index/living_in/the_authority.htm |title=The Authority |access-date=29 November 2007 |work=Exmoor National Park |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224124146/http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/index/living_in/the_authority.htm |archive-date=24 December 2007 }}</ref> including responsibility for the conservation of the historic environment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100200300400200300l |title=Exmoor National Park NMP |access-date=29 November 2007 |work=English Heritage }}</ref>
Porlock has an [[electoral ward]] called 'Porlock and District' but this stretches westwards to the [[Devon]] boundary, eastwards to [[Minehead]] and south to [[Wootton Courtenay]]. The total population of the ward at the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] was 2,338.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/porlock-and-district-e05008927#sthash.PDHD7X6F.dpbs|title=Porlock and District ward 2011|access-date= 2 March 2015}}</ref>
It is also part of the [[Tiverton and Minehead (UK Parliament constituency)|Tiverton and Minehead]] [[county constituency]] represented in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. It elects one [[Member of Parliament|Member of Parliament (MP)]] by the [[first past the post]] system of election. Prior to [[Brexit]] in 2020 it was part of the [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West England constituency]] of the [[European Parliament]].
==Geography==
[[File:Porlock Beach.JPG|thumb|left|Porlock beach]]
The village adjoins the [[Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh]] nature reserve, created from the lowland behind a high shingle embankment which was breached by the sea in the 1990s, which has now been designated as a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]. [[Copse]]s of white dead trees remind the visitor of when this was freshwater pasture.
A stream flows down a wooded [[valley|combe]] called Hawkcombe leads about three miles (5&nbsp;km) from the village up to high open moorland. The stream, called "Hawkcombe Waters", runs past a Victorian hunting lodge, called The Cleeve, then underground beneath the Overstream Hotel in the centre of the village.
The [[South West Coast Path]] goes through Porlock, many walkers stopping rather than continuing the long walk to [[Lynton]]. There is also a 'Coleridge Way' walk.
[[Culbone Church]] is said to be the smallest church in England.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Parishchs.htm |title=Parish Churches |access-date=1 May 2011 |work=Somerset County archives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005191756/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Parishchs.htm |archive-date=5 October 2013}}</ref> The main structure is 12th century. Services are still held there, despite the lack of road access&nbsp;– [[Culbone]] is a two-mile (3&nbsp;km) walk from [[Porlock Weir]], and some 3–4 miles (about 6&nbsp;km) from Porlock itself.
A [[toll road]] bypasses the 1 in 4 gradient on [[Porlock Hill]]. There is the prehistoric [[Porlock Stone Circle]] on the hill.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=1209 |title=Porlock Circle |publisher=megalithic.co.uk |access-date=11 October 2012}}</ref>
===Submerged forest===
[[File:Porlock map 1937.jpg|thumb|right|A map of Porlock from 1937]]
At low tide the remains of a [[submerged forest]] can be seen on Porlock Beach. The area was several miles inland until the sea level in the Bristol Channel rose about 7000 to 8000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/index/learning_about/looking_after_landscape/geology/geological_features.htm |title=Geological features |publisher=Exmoor National Park |access-date=21 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119140653/http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/index/learning_about/looking_after_landscape/geology/geological_features.htm |archive-date=19 January 2009 }}</ref>
==Church==
The [[Church of St Dubricius, Porlock|Church of St Dubricius]] dates from the 13th century. The spire was damaged in a storm of 1703.<ref name="somharbours">{{cite book |title=Somerset Harbours |last=Farr |first=Grahame |year=1954 |publisher=Christopher Johnson |location=London |page=154 }}</ref> The church has been designated as a grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE | desc=Church of St Dubricius| num=1173524 | access-date=20 February 2008}}</ref> Within the church is a 15th-century tomb of John Harrington who fought alongside [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] in [[France]] in 1417.<ref name="curio">{{cite book |title=Curiosities of Somerset |last=Leete-Hodge |first=Lornie |year=1985 |publisher=Bossiney Books |location=Bodmin |isbn=0-906456-98-3 |page=45 }}</ref>
==Cultural references==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2022}}
==="Person on business from Porlock"===
{{Main|Person on business from Porlock}}
In 1797, poet [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], who lived nearby at [[Nether Stowey]] (between [[Bridgwater]] and [[Minehead]]), but — due to illness — had "retired to a lonely farm house between Porlock and [[Lynton]]",<ref>Samuel Taylor Coleridge, ''Christabel, Kubla Khan, and the Pains of Sleep'', 2nd edition, William Bulmer, London, 1816. Reproduced in ''The Complete Poems'', ed. William Keach, Penguin Books, 2004.</ref> was interrupted during composition of his poem ''[[Kubla Khan]]'' by "a [[person on business from Porlock]]", and claimed he found afterwards he could not remember what had come to him in a dream.
Coleridge and [[William Wordsworth]] (who lived nearby at [[Alfoxden]]) would often roam the hills and coast on long night walks, leading to local gossip that they were 'spies' for the [[France|French]]. The Government sent an agent to investigate, but found they were "mere poets".  Their walks are celebrated by the [[Coleridge Way]] which ends in Porlock. Their friend [[Robert Southey]] published a poem titled "Porlock" in 1798.
===William Blake===
Legend has it that the area beyond [[Culbone]] towards [[Lynmouth]] where [[Glenthorne]] is now situated is where [[Jesus]] may have alighted on a trip with [[Joseph of Arimathea]].  This is said to have inspired a passage from [[William Blake]]'s famous poem, ''Milton'':
{{poemquote
|title= Milton
|source= William Blake
|text= [[And did those feet in ancient time]]
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?
}}
===Other cultural references===
A song, titled "Another one from Porlock", is found on the [[Penguin Cafe Orchestra]] album [[Union Cafe]].
In Iris Murdoch's "Bruno's Dream", Miles admonishes Diana for porlocking while he is trying to receive poetic inspiration.
The Song "13 Miles" by the punk folk band [[Skinny Lister]] details the story of the 1899 Lynmouth lifeboat launch from Porlock; where a lifeboat had to be carried 13 miles over the moor due to poor weather conditions at Lynmouth Lifeboat Station. The launch saved all 18 souls stranded at sea.
==Notable person==
*[[Michael McMaster]] (1896–1965), cricketer and [[Royal Naval Air Service]] officer
==Bibliography==
*[http://www.exmoorian.co.uk/porlock_church.htm Hook, Rev. Walter, The History of the Ancient Church of Porlock and of the Patron Saint St Dubricius and his Times]. (The author was rector of Porlock)
*Halliday, Mrs. M. The Porlock Monuments. (The author lived at Glenthorne, Porlock)
*Chadwyck Healey, C. The Ports of West Somerset.
*Grimble, Ian. The Harington Family.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Porlock}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.porlock.co.uk Porlock Tourist Association]
* [http://www.porlock.org Porlock Vale Community]
{{West Somerset}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in West Somerset]]
[[Category:Exmoor]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Somerset]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Somerset]]
[[Category:Beaches of Somerset]]