The History of Holcombe

Today, apart from farming and pre-cast concrete production, Holcombe is a dormitory village. There is proof of Roman and Saxon occupations. On Charmborough Hill, a long chambered barrow was first excavated in 1916. Human skulls and bones of both sexes were found and flint flakes, some of which were formed into arrowheads and scrapers. Broken Roman pottery and some Roman coins were also found, showing that this was the interment site of Romano-British folk. In ancient times, this part of Somerset was called West Wales, where the Welsh held out against the Saxon invasion till the battle of Bradford.

The earliest church in Holcombe is the old St. Andrew's Church of Norman origin. Its furniture is 18th century and the church doorway still has a Norman arch, the church was probably a wooden Saxon church. In the burial grounds, the most notable memorial is to the Scott family, as Captain Robert Scott's father was the last manager of the village brewery. He lived in Holcombe House (now called Holcombe Manor House). This house, a solid, late Georgian house, was built by one of the family of Ashman Green who owned the brewery. The original Holcombe Manor, situated opposite the Holcombe Inn, was demolished around 1874. Another notable establishment was the Edford Colliery, closed in 1916, now occupied by a stone and concrete works.

The first Rector of Holcombe was appointed by the Abbot of Keynsham in 1344 and the earliest record of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, is from 1698. One interesting item is the marriage certificate of the sister of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, with the latter's signature.

The new Church of St. Andrew was built in 1884. There was also a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in the village. John Wesley preached here in 1774. This chapel was built on the site of the old village green, where cockfighting and other sports had taken place in former days