Stoke-sub-Hamdon

Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been quarrying the golden stone that made half of Somerset look expensive, then living in the cheap seats next door. The hill above the village has been fortified, farmed, dug up and handed to a Duchy that still holds it, which tells you roughly how much say anyone here has ever had in the matter. It is the sort of place where the National Trust owns the good bits and everyone else gets on with it, five miles from Yeovil and about forty years from anything resembling a rush. People who move here for the honeyed cottages tend to discover that hamstone weathers beautifully and heats appallingly.