BEING born and bred in Ilminster and a member of the Ilminster History Society (IHS), I am delighted to be an occasional writer for the Chard and Ilminster News covering the oddities, curiosities, and memories of Ilminster’s past, a subject which holds such a special place in my heart as it does for many of the people who live and work here.

With a town so steeped in history, I very much hope you will join me on a journey of rediscovery, dusting off the fascinating, yet often unnoticed, remnants and recollections of days gone by and bringing them back to life.

So, with duster in hand, where does one begin?

How about the Swan Precinct, or more specifically the metal tie rings fixed to the stone wall adjoining PAWS Pet Shop and Bakery Roy-al? I wonder how many of us have hurried by and never noticed these?

Help from the IHS tells me these were connected to the livestock sales that took part in the ‘Swan Yard’, the auction ring for which being situated where the Tesco delivery bay now is for loading and unloading goods to the supermarket.

Local shop-owner Brian of BD Garden and Pet Supplies whose building sits almost adjacently to the precinct, has recollections of the metal pens still being present in the 1980s when he began trading, and the disused auction ring being a cobbled yard before sadly being replaced with tarmac as part of the supermarket development works in 2006/2007.

The Swan Precinct has associations of being used as a market yard since the first millennium, (possibly so called for its sells of swans), with the auction ring appearing on historic maps from at least 1888 until, as another local resident recollects, its active existence deceased in the late 1970s leaving only the tie rings as a tactile clue to help unravel the history of once was.

With industry booming in the 19th century, the rings would undoubtedly have also been used on non-market days to tie horses delivering groceries, barrels of beer, post, and people to the town.

If you have any memories or photographs of the livestock yard and auction ring in its heyday or before its demolishment, we would love to hear from you and share those nostalgic moments in future articles.

Email: contact@ilminsterhistory.co.uk

Webpage: Ilminster History ( https://ilminsterhistory.co.uk)

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Written by Megan Bessell, member of the Ilminster History Society