On This Day in Wembury – 24 January 1938
The Western Morning News carried an advert for a modern semi-detached residence at Knighton, Wembury. The property, described as “delightful” and equipped with electric light, mains drainage, and water supply, was conveniently located on the bus route. Interested parties were directed to apply via the Sherwell family at Knighton Farm, Wembury.
Reflection
Even in the late 1930s, just before the Second World War, the Sherwells of Knighton Farm were clearly at the centre of Wembury’s housing market. Their name appears repeatedly in estate and company notices, showing how one farming family also acted as local property agents and points of contact for modernising rural housing stock.
On This Day in Wembury — 24 January 1991
The Mystery of St Werburgh’s South Porch
St Werburgh’s Church, standing high above Wembury Bay, has watched the sea for centuries. Built in the 12th century, its most curious feature is the great south porch, which faces out toward the waves and the Great Mewstone, rather than toward the village it serves. Most English churches traditionally place the entrance on the south side, but here the arrangement seems deliberately seaward.
In 1991, the Rev. Terry Freeman remarked that while porches usually faced south for shelter from the weather, he was “not too concerned about the doors — so long as they remain open.” Yet local speculation has long been more colourful. Some older villagers recalled walking to the Mewstone at low tide with dry feet, raising the question of whether an earlier settlement of Wembury was lost to the encroaching sea. The Domesday Book makes no mention of “Werburgh,” “Werebury,” or “Wembury,” fuelling theories that the village once lay further south, beneath the waves.
The mystery endures. Was the porch positioned to serve a vanished community closer to the shore, or is it simply a quirk of medieval design? Whatever the answer, St Werburgh’s remains a symbol of Wembury’s deep ties to both land and sea.
Source: Evening Herald, 24 January 1991