About the Parish of Winsham

Winsham is a small Parish situated near the boundaries of South Somerset, Dorset and Devon. About three quarters  of its 750 residents live in the village of Winsham, the rest in the surrounding hamlets of Ammerham, Bridge, Leigh, Purtington, Street, and Whatley.
It sits in a small sheltered valley formed by the River Axe. Winsham is recorded in the in the Doomsday Book. It has had a school for nearly three hundred years. St Stephen’s church dates from the 14th Century, and there is evidence to suggest that a Saxon church existed in Winsham well before that period. The parish also has a long history of Non-Conformism and the United Reformed Church in Fore Street has a substantial congregation.
Despite the existence of Winsham for over a thousand years, it has not produced, as far as is known, any particularly famous people. It has not had any major battles fought over its land, nor has it been the seedbed of any political ideology. In its very ordinariness it is similar to many other villages throughout the United Kingdom. It is, and has been, the home of common folk, whose lives have provided the backdrop to the more ambitious, flamboyant, and clever characters of history whose lives and works more often populate museums displays and the history books.
The purpose of this museum is to record and preserve the evidence of these ordinary lives in order to educate and entertain those that follow. It was launched in 2002,and has attracted thousands of visitors. In 2009 it underwent a major refurbishment, to make it more suitable for Broadband users.
The people of Winsham have created this museum, and in doing so are pioneers in using the World Wide Web to make available to all a wealth of information and detail about life in a small community. We hope you will find it interesting and instructive, and visit us frequently.