James Clay Stuff

May 26, 2026

Treasurer’s House, Martock #50places2026

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage, the second was the Treasurer’s House in Martock.

It’s a thirty mile drive from Nether Stowey to Martock and Waze took me to the back of the church rather than the property. Not sure why, but it did mean I didn’t need to contend with parking on the busy B3165. I walked through the churchyard towards the Treasurer’s House. This National Trust house is on a tenancy, which means that for someone, it is their home. They open the house to National Trust for two afternoons a week over the summer.

Treasurer’s House

Medieval house with Great Hall, completed 1293 – with kitchen added in the 15th century. Solar Block contains an unusual wall-painting.

Current saving £231.30
One adult £5
Parking n/a
Total saving £5
Cumulative saving £332.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £236.30

This is a lovely old building, one of the oldest buildings in Somerset (and the oldest building in Martock). The great hall is very impressive and you can also see the old Tudor kitchens as well. In the house itself there is the solar block which has an original medieval painting upon it which considering that this has been a private home, that it is still there.

A lovely property and a warm welcome from the tenants who provided an in-depth tour of the property with lots of insights.

May 26, 2026

Rivergate #365photos2026

May 25, 2026

Coleridge Cottage #50places2026

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. Dyrham Park and Tyntesfield come to mind. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage.

I had been meaning to visit this property for a while, I always saw the signs for this when visiting Dunster Castle and Minehead, but never had the time, or it was closed as I came back from Dunster.

So, I planned this visit, the house opened at 11am and the others at 2pm, so it made sense to do this one first. I drove to Nether Stowey, which is on the way from Bridgwater to Minehead. I realised as I drove into the village I had been there before, when one of my children was doing a hike and needed picking up.

Expecting parking to be an issue I parked at one end of the village and walked the five minute walk to the cottage.

Inside there was a roaring log fire, which was a little surprising as it was nearly thirty degrees outside.

Coleridge Cottage

This atmospheric cottage was home to Coleridge and his family from 1797. It was during his time here in Somerset that Coleridge wrote his finest works, including ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, ‘Kubla Khan’, ‘Frost at Midnight’, ‘Christabel’ and ‘This Lime Tree Bower my Prison’. Working with William Wordsworth on their collection of poetry Lyrical Ballads, it was here in the wild west Somerset landscape that the literary movement of Romanticism was born. Coleridge Cottage has a rich and fascinating history, from a humble Georgian home, to its transformation into ‘Moore’s Coleridge Cottage Inn’ during the Victorian era. Following a major redevelopment project in 2011, you can now explore the wildflower garden, and rooms of the cottage never previously open to the public, which have been recreated as though Coleridge and his young family had just stepped out of the door…

Current saving £221.80
One adult £9.50
Parking n/a
Total saving £9.50
Cumulative saving £327.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £231.30

I spent time exploring the rooms and finding out a lot more about Coleridge and the history of the house. After that I headed out into the small garden.

I did sit for a while, but it was very hot in the sun, so I headed into the tea room for a scone and a drink.

You don’t need long to visit this house, but all the information on Coleridge and the romantic poets was really interesting. The garden was lovely as well. I walked back to my car ready to drive to the next house on the list.

May 25, 2026

Then and Now – York Minster

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I quite like those Then and Now comparison photographs that you see in books or on the Twitter or Facebook. The first of the posts in this series was of a council building in Manchester.

I always thought I should give then and now photographs a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart.

On a recent visit to York in April 2026, walking the city walls I took this photograph of York Minster with an iPhone 17 Pro Max.