CAN you guess where this week’s Mystery Photograph was taken?

Each week, the Journal invites readers to test their local knowledge by identifying a historic location from days gone by.

Last week’s Mystery Photograph was taken at Kilmerston Village Square.

Congratulations to Mr Roger Brooks on getting that correct, he said: “Today’s mystery photo is the square at Kilmersdon. It shows the cottages on the left, number 37 being the end cottage, then the wall of the churchyard in front. The cart is at the bottom of Jack and Jill Hill, the famous nursery rhyme.”

Mr James Swift, who has recently celebrated his 99th Christmas, said the photo shows Kilmersdon Church and that the corner house belonged to his aunt and uncle, who was also the church organist.

Kilmersdon is a historic village on the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, close to Radstock and Frome. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and is believed to take its name from an Old English personal name, meaning “Cynemaer’s hill”. For centuries it was an agricultural settlement and later became the centre of the medieval administrative area known as the Hundred of Kilmersdon.

At the heart of the village is the Church of St Peter and St Paul, parts of which date back to the Norman period. The church was extended in later centuries, with much of its present appearance shaped during the 15th century and restored in Victorian times. Its prominent position has long made it a focal point of village life, both spiritually and socially.

The village square lies close to the church and developed naturally as a meeting point where roads converged. Like many Somerset village squares, it would historically have been a place for everyday activity, including trading, social gatherings and community announcements.