Wookey, a village 2 m.  W. from Wells, with a station on the G.W.R.  Cheddar branch.  The church—­chiefly Perp., with a blend of E.E.—­is interesting.  The tower stair turret carries a lofty spirelet.  Note within (1) E.E. columns in N. aisle; (2) squints, especially the one on N., combined with piscina.  On the S. side of the sanctuary is a small Perp. chapel decorated with modern frescoes, containing a plain altar-tomb to Thos.  Clarke and wife, 1689.  In the churchyard is the base of a cross.  Near the church is Mellifont Abbey, built on the site of the old rectory, and ornamented with fragments of the original building.  The Court, a farm-house in the fields, was once a manorial residence of the Bishops of Bath and Wells.  It has an E.E. doorway.

Wookey Hole is a cavern (1-1/2 m. away) which gives its name (said to be a corruption of ogof, Celtic for “cavern”) to the village.  It is the oldest known cave in Great Britain, and was once inhabited (legend asserts) by an ancient witch.  It may be reached either from Wookey Station or, just as easily, from Wells.  Proceed through the hamlet to the large paper-mill and inquire at the farm opposite for a guide (fee, 1s. 6d.; 1s. each for two or more).  A pathway runs up the L. bank of the stream which feeds the paper-mill, and ends abruptly in a precipitous wall of rock.  The stream, which is the source of the Axe, will be seen issuing from a large natural archway at the base of the cliff.  An orifice in the rock enables the visitor to descend “Hell’s Ladder” to the “witch’s kitchen”—­a spacious chamber which, when illuminated by the primitive device of igniting the scattered contents of an oil-can, will be seen to contain some large stalagmites, the witch and her dog on guard; and by pursuing a further series of corridors, entry is gained to the witch’s “drawing-room” and “parlour.”  The three caverns are all of considerable extent, and have a strong resemblance to Gough’s caves at Cheddar, but are without the pendant stalactites so profusely displayed at the latter.  The gallery is 500 ft. long, and ends in a miniature lake.  Geologically the series of caverns is of much interest, on account of the varied assortment of bones of extinct cave animals once contained in them.  Cartloads of these bones are said to have been thrown on the land as manure.  Recently another collection of bones has been discovered in a hitherto unsuspected chamber near the roof of the main series.  The visitor to Wookey Hole should extend his peregrinations to Ebbor Rocks, which are close by and are worth a visit.

Woolavington, a village 4-1/2 m.  N.E. of Bridgwater (nearest stat.  Cossington, 1 m.).  The church, restored in 1882, retains little of interest.  There are piscinas in the chancel and in a small N. chapel, and a small squint in the N. chancel pier.  Note the carved stone (with sacred monogram) on the interior face of the tower.

Woolverton, a village 4 m.  N. from Frome.  The church is a small, aisleless building with a diminutive W. tower and spire.  The S. porch has a ribbed stone roof.