Through the History Group – Pam Earnshaw and Jan Culverhouse recognised how much of a diverse and fascinating history we have in Bawdrip, for such a small village there are many historic points of interest.

They had the idea of having an Interpretation board on the Green to highlight the six listed buildings in the vicinity, as many walkers and cyclists come through the village because of the Sustrans cycle path that was once the railway track.

It was then decided to add another board near the railway line to highlight the history of the railway that ran through the village and a further one by the Environment Agency depot to describe the history of the King Sedgemoor Drain and The Battle of Sedgemoor.

The three boards are linked with walking trails and a leaflet to highlight more points of interest around the village.

To provide the funding it was decided to apply for Heritage Lottery Funding. With the backing of the Parish Council, a steering group of five and support of the Village, the application was submitted which was successful in January 2018. Planning permission for the boards was granted in March 2018.

A Bawdrip Trail has been created to cover the main historic features of our village. The focus will be three interpretation boards.

   Board 1 Village Green

   Board 2 Environment Agency Kings Sedgemoor Drain 

   Board 3 Sustrans Path – Former Railway 

The Group was delighted to receive the news on 16th January 2018 that their application for £7,600 of National Lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) had been successful.

Walks and talks will be held to share stories about where the Romans landed, traded and travelled, where Sedgemoor rebels marched, when trains came, went and stopped, where cows grazed, where owls, hares and skylarks still live, where the tall man worked in the smallest house and the blind willow weaver weaved and where man left its mark.

The Environment Agency helped with research into the changes in drainage patterns and how it has affected this community. There were conducted tours of the X1Vth church to see where Eleanor Lovell might have hid and the resting place of Sir Simon de Bradney who was a crusader. Finding the story of Bawdrip, through its history, its buildings and its landscape and engaging everyone in sharing and researching the facts through organised talks, walks, visits and workshops.

A Heritage Day was held in August 2017, when people attended an exhibition of photographs, shared stories and had an early preview of the interpretation boards. A summary leaflet has been created as well as further development of this website. The leaflet covers the main historic features of the village and also be available an App containing details of the wider Parish. Thus information is available in print and digital format thereby leaving a legacy for others to follow.