This rusty anchor hangs on the wall of a very old cottage, possibly dating back to the early 1600s, situated on the old west harbour wall at Watchet. There is a heavy old door that looks to be for a very short person and the sign over the door tells us this is Sammy Hake's Cottage. Not a lot is know about Sammy but the folk lore abounds as is often the case in very old harbour towns.

The house itself appears to have been built on part of the harbour wall evidenced by stone steps and an old mooring post dating to the 1400s which were discovered inside. Terrible storms destroyed much of this area in 1607 and it is believed that this cottage and others would then have been rebuilt in the same spot using the existing foundations.

Local records show a Sammy Hake born in 1851, the youngest child of Elizabeth, formerly of Minehead. Sammy is the only child mentioned as being resident and living with his mother in Watchet.
He appears to have made a living all his life as a labourer, until in later years he became a fisherman using nets and stakes and fishing from the beach.

During the First World War Sammy was one of the labourers who helped to tear up the railway lines of the old mineral railway, for use in the munitions industry. The rails were lifted onto a hand operated pump trolley and sent down the line for onward transportation to Wales. One of the team decided it would be a good idea to attach a sail to the trolley to make their work easier. Unfortunately it then crashed into the closed railway barriers at Washford and Sammy was one of the men who ended up with cuts and bruises for their trouble!

One of the stories about the cottage was that an older lady lived there with Sammy, her son, and a black cat. The lady had, it seemed, mystical powers and had a running supply of brandy from the sea captains who didn't want her to put a spell on them!!

Sammy did not enjoy the best of health and in later life neighbours and friends helped to care for him. One story is that he was believed to have passed away and the local amateur undertaker, Jimmy the Chippy was sent to measure him up for a coffin. During the proceedings Sammy woke up to be told by the undertaker to lie down and die like any normal man!!

Information taken from the Watchet Conservation Society newsletter, - 'Watchet Matters'' and research by Chris Saunders.

I loved the rusty anchor against the old, textured rendered wall and the trail of rust running down the wall from the salt water damage over the years.