West Somerset

The village of Cannington, on the edge of the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, can trace its past as a popular settlement back as far as 1500 years. It retains its sense of community as expressed in the name of one of its five pubs - The Friendly Spirit Inn. The pub is named after the ghost of a nun from the nearby Priory said to haunt its upstairs rooms.

The village of Cannington, on the edge of the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, can trace its past as a popular settlement back as far as 1500 years. It retains its sense of community as expressed in the name of one of its five pubs - The Friendly Spirit Inn. The pub is named after the ghost of a nun from the nearby Priory said to haunt its upstairs rooms.

The Priory has been a dominant feature of the village since it was founded in the 12th century becoming the home of a Benedictine order and the daughters of many leading Somerset families. Now a Grade 1 Listed building known as Cannington Court, it is owned by Bridgwater College and leased to EDF Energy as a national training centre. 

Cannington can boast several other notable historic buildings such as Gurney Manor and Blackmore Farm both of which have their own chapels and now offer accommodation for visitors. A stroll round the village will take in a War Memorial, Parish Church, the Cannington Brook and Pack Horse Bridge, Gurney Manor Mill and the Henry Rogers Almshouses.

The hill above the village has an iron age fort and is said to be the site of a successful Saxon defence against the Danes. The remains of a Roman villa were unearthed during preparation work for a bypass in 2014.

Today the thriving village supports a number of independent shops as well as pubs, restaurants and cafes.