Portal:somerset Did You Know 1

From Wikipedia's " Did You Know" archives:

... that St Andrews Church, Chew Stoke (pictured) includes 156 statues of angels?
... that in 1795 John Billingsley advocated straightening sections of the rivers Brue, Axe and Parrett, to increase reclamation of the Somerset Levels?
... that on March 28th 1944, a Junkers Ju88 was brought down by cannon fire from a de Havilland Mosquito of the Royal Air Force, and crashed on the drive to the historic Hestercombe House?
... that in the 18th and 19th centuries, members of Friendly Societies in the west of England would hold annual parades carrying poles topped by elaborate brass emblems?
... that Dowlish Wake was the home of John Hanning Speke who explored Africa in the mid–19th century in search of the source of the Nile?