Beatrix F. Cresswell’s 1909 guidebook ‘The Quantock Hills, their Combes & Villages’ says
On the way to Over Stowey, a mile from Nether Stowey, we pass Marsh Mills, a house standing at the junction of four cross roads. It is now the residence of the Misses Ward, daughters of Mr. Poole’s friend and partner; ladies whose personal reminiscences of Coleridge, Mr. Poole, and other well known individuals form a link between the twentieth century and the now historic past.
Now well into the twenty-first century we are fortunate that we can still hear the voice of Kate Ward, aged ninety-nine, talking of old ways and days gone by.
We don’t know exactly how the late David Worthy came by this fascinating memoir, but he formatted it and annotated it in preparation for publication and we are grateful to his family who have allowed us to reproduce it complete with his introduction and footnotes.
David was a local historian and a trustee of Friends of Quantock who enriched the lives of many by publishing a series of books of local history and historical images.