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Hemyock Castle
Ancient Heart of the Blackdowns


Web Site Contents:

This page provides links to the main sections and pages of the web site. The pages are grouped by topic.

Main Sections of the Web Site:


Comfortable Castle Cottages:

There are four comfortable cottages in the castle grounds and alongside St. Margaret's Brook. They are available for let, unfurnished. Set in the now tranquil heart of the Blackdown Hills, the castle is an excellent touring centre for Devon, Exmoor, and Dartmoor. There is a wide variety of facilities and attractions, locally and within easy travelling distance, to interest a wide range of tastes: Whatever the weather:


Visiting Hemyock Castle:

Hemyock Castle is set in the now tranquil Culm Valley in Devon, England, just a few miles from the M5 Motorway and Taunton. The site is a scheduled Ancient Monument. It is open to the public on Bank Holiday Mondays (2 to 5 pm) between Easter and September:


History, Archaeology, Glossaries and More:

Hemyock Castle is possibly on a Roman site, a Romano British farm, or a Roman stronghold. There has not yet been a proper excavation. It is a scheduled ancient monument. Perhaps future archaeologists will uncover the answer.


Hemyock Village Events:

Heritage Open Days:

Each Autumn during Heritage Open Days, many buildings in England & fifty countries across Europe are opened specially by volunteers, giving the public the opportunity of free visits.

Hemyock Castle usually holds a special free Sunday open day as part of Heritage Open Days, during the second weekend in September. In 1998, Hemyock Castle hosted a special exhibition of hand made crafts and photographs from members of the Janashakthi Bank, a self help micro credit union based in Southern Sri Lanka.

Queen's Golden Jubilee 2002:

Celebrations to mark fifty years since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne.

Asian Tsunami, Sri Lanka 2004:

Hemyock people helped relief efforts after the Asian Tsunami of 26th December 2004.

Some of our Video Files:

Anniversary of D-Day 2004:

In 1995, as part of the Hemyock Commemorations of the fiftieth anniversary of the Allied Victories in Europe and Japan (VE Day and VJ Day), Margaret Sheppard and Norman Lowman collected eyewitness accounts from over 75 resident of Hemyock, of life during the Second World War. To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day, adapted extracts are published here. To commemorate the seventieth anniversary, the text has been re-edited and published as a Kindle Book: Memories of War. The photos have been uploaded to YouTube as a series of HD slide shows.

Kindle Books and More:

Our growing collections of Kindle books, videos and other products come from our researches & the many special exhibitions at Hemyock Castle.

In 1995, Margaret Sheppard conducted a large number of interviews with residents of Hemyock, about their memories of life. Kindle books resulting from these interviews are published in the "Hemyock Memories" series.

Volume 5 is the complete WWII "Box Set" which contains all WWII volumes; 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 which cover life during World War II 1939-45. These Memories of WWII Kindle books contain over 75 eyewitness accounts by residents of Hemyock, of their life during WWII, both serving overseas and on the "Home Front." HD Slideshows of the many photos are on YouTube and also available on DVD.

Subsequent volumes in the Hemyock Memories series contains fascinating tales of long-forgotten rural life in Hemyock and the Blackdowns.

Volume 6 "Country Cures and Cider" includes traditional country cures for horses & humans; and commercial cider-making at Hemyock Castle Farm.

All proceeds from these two series of Kindle books go to Hemyock's Blackdown Support Group charity.


A selection of other interesting local events, with audio recordings:


Interesting Historical Web Sites:

(Note. Hemyock Castle can take no responsibility for external web sites.)

Historic England Geophysical Survey 14/1999:

Uk and Ireland Genealogy: Devon Pages:


Other Interesting Web Sites:

(Note. Hemyock Castle can take no responsibility for external web sites.)

Autumn Carnivals:

Each Autumn, between September and November, towns in Devon and Somerset host spectacular cycles of carnivals. The Bridgwater Carnival early in November, is reputedly the largest illuminated carnival in the world. The Somerset Carnival website provides a list of events throughout the UK.

Local Authority and Tourism Links:

The Devon Holiday Directory has over a 1000 links to web sites full of information for visitors to Devon: Attractions, towns and villages, museums and gardens, pubs, restaurants and accommodation.



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Hemyock Castle, Hemyock, CULLOMPTON, Devon, EX15 3RJ, UK.
© 2001–2023. Prepared and published by Curlew Communications Ltd