History
Until 1902 Williton was part of the ancient parish of Saint Decuman, which included also the town of Watchet. The parish of St Decuman was part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred.
Within Williton parish, to the south-west, is Orchard Wyndham House, a Grade I listed building, which was the centre of an estate called "Orchard". Paleolithic, mesolithic and neolithic flints have been found at Doniford to the north-east of Williton while three Bronze Age barrows survive at Battlegore Burial Chamber, just north of the centre of Williton.
The name of Williton is Anglo-Saxon and means "estate on the Willet" (river), but there are no records relating to this period other than a 904 charter. The Willet is a brook that rises at Willet, flows north through the hamlet of Stream, and close to the former manor house of Williton, then it joins the Doniford Brook north-east of Williton. Both watercourses seem to have been known as the Willet in the 12th century. "Willet" may well be a British name. In the Domesday Survey Williton formed a royal estate with Carhampton and Cannington. In the Middle Ages the village was divided into the manors of Williton Fulford and Williton Hadley. An estate known as Williton Templar belonged to the Knights Templar, and was later known as Williton Hospital and Williton Regis. Originally the centre of the village appears to have been near the church but over time it has migrated to the north-east.
Much of the centre of Williton dates from the later 19th century but Long Street includes several 17th-century houses, as do Bridge, Priest, Robert and Shutgate Streets. Agriculture has been the prime activity in the parish while Williton village became a local government and communal centre. Its importance increased with the creation of new toll roads that today are the main roads to the village. It is an important local shopping area and from 1894 has been an administration centre. It had a workhouse for the district, which became the local hospital until 1990 but has now been converted into housing.
Doniford House has late medieval origins and was enlarged circa 1600. Beside the beach is an early 19th century lime kiln which is thought to have been in operation until the 1930s.
Before World War II at a site between Watchet and Doniford a gunnery range was established for various army units to practice anti-aircraft gunnery. Unmanned target aircraft were towed by planes from RAF Weston Zoyland and later were fired from catapults over the sea. Little of the camp buildings survive and it is now the site of a holiday park.
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