Blog

The piece of land known as Cocklemoor, which lies south of Bow Street between the Back River and the River Parrett, was owned by the borough of Langport until the 16th century. It was regarded as common pasture enjoyed by the burgesses, but in 1528–30 the burgesses’ rights were questioned. Subsequently it was annexed by the Crown and granted to private individuals. By 1596 the borough had bought it back and it remained in public ownership until Langport Corporation sold it in 1802 to Samuel Stuckey and his son George Stuckey. At that time it comprised seven and a half acres.

It remained in private ownership until 1938, when Stanley Williams sold it to the Somerset Rivers Catchment Board for £406 16s 11d. The Somerset Rivers Catchment Board was financed, at least in part, by precepts on the local internal drainage boards. In 1951 it became the Somerset River Board, later renamed the Somerset River Authority. In 1974, when the Somerset River Authority merged with local water boards, ownership passed to the new body, the Wessex Water Authority. In 1984, Wessex Water Authority sold a portion of Cocklemoor to Yeovil District Council (now SSDC) for a car park extension. Under the Water Act of 1989 the freehold of the remainder of Cocklemoor was transferred from the now-privatised Wessex Water to the Environment Agency, who registered their title with the Land Registry in 2010. The Town Council purchased Cocklemoor from the Environment Agency in 2016, for £10,000. This included the area known as ‘Black Bridge’ which consists of a car park and weed ramp (slipway) but not the bridge itself.