The History of Ammonite Lodge Guest House, Chard, Somerset

Ammonite Lodge was built in the 1780's and is thought to have been originally used as workers cottages for the brewery which stood nearby.

Over the course of two centuries it has been used for many purposes including a butcher, a tea room and a car showroom before the current use as a Guest House.

In 1985, during the course of converting the house into a Guest House, some repair work was being carried out on the 10 foot high flint garden wall at the south east corner of the garden. One of the masons removed what he thought was a loose piece of sandstone. When he examined the back of the stone, he found embedded in it, a large ammonite which had suffered some damage but in essence was an incredible specimen with open cavities. He handed it to the owner of the property and it has been passed on to each new owner ever since. It is believed that the wall in which it was lodged was built at the same time as the property itself, which means that it was there from about 1780 up until it was found in 1985.

Experts who have examined the ammonite say it is between 300 and 400 million years old.

Because it was lodged in the wall, it was decided to call the Guest House "Ammonite Lodge".