Broomfield, Somerset

Last updated

Broomfield
Broomfield church.jpg
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Broomfield
Location within Somerset
Population249  [1]
OS grid reference ST220318
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRIDGWATER
Postcode district TA5
Dialling code 01823
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°04′52″N3°06′50″W / 51.081°N 3.114°W / 51.081; -3.114

Broomfield is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated about five miles north of Taunton. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 249. [1]

Contents

The village is the highest village on the Quantock Hills and lies on the Quantock Greenway footpath.

History

Approximately 1 mile (2 km) from the village is the Iron Age hill fort of Ruborough Camp. There was a tunnel, which has now been filled in, which gave the camp safe access to a nearby spring for water. [2]

The estate was owned after the Norman Conquest by William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of Somerset. [3]

Broomfield was part of the hundred of Andersfield. [4]

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Sedgemoor, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Bridgwater Rural District. [5]

It is also part of the Bridgwater county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

International Music Concerts

Since 2008 the village has been home to a series of international concerts including classical music, jazz, indie, folk and performance poetry.

Events are held in barns, a large marquee, the parish church and village hall.

The concerts, known as Music on the Quantocks, have attracted some of the world's finest musicians including flautist Sir James Galway, the legendary guitarist John Williams, the European Union Orchestra, and choral groups the Hilliard Ensemble and The Sixteen.

Over 250 events have taken place. Each was sold out. Concerts are rarely advertised. News about them is available only via a mailing list.

Concerts resumed in June 2021 following a 15-month suspension due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Church

The Church of St. Mary and All Saints was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. The church contains the laboratory table of Andrew Crosse, on which he carried out electrical experiments and an obelisk in his memory is in the churchyard. [6]

Fyne Court

Fyne Court is now a National Trust-owned nature reserve and visitor centre. The Quantock Hills AONB and Somerset Wildlife Trust have their headquarters at the house. Originally the house pleasure grounds of the 19th-century amateur scientist and electrical pioneer, Andrew Crosse, whose family had owned the house from its construction. It burnt down in 1898. [2] His laboratory table on which he carried out experiments stands in the aisle of the Church of St. Mary and All Saints in Broomfield and an obelisk in his memory is in the churchyard. [6]

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Petherton</span> Human settlement in England

North Petherton is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includes Hamp, Melcombe, Shearston, Woolmersdon and Huntworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston St Mary</span> Human settlement in England

Kingston St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated at the southern end of the Quantock Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Taunton. The village has a population of 921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Quantoxhead</span> Human settlement in England

West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, 3 miles (5 km) from East Quantoxhead, 2.5 miles (4 km) from Williton and equidistant from Bridgwater and Taunton. The parish includes the hamlets of Weacombe and Lower Weacombe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fyne Court</span> National trust nature reserve in England

Fyne Court is a National Trust-owned nature reserve and visitor centre in Broomfield, Somerset, England. It was formerly an estate, and large English country house, belonging to the Crosse family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chedzoy</span> Human settlement in England

Chedzoy is a civil parish village 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Bridgwater in Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goathurst</span> Human settlement in England

Goathurst is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, around 3 miles from the town of Bridgwater. The parish includes the hamlets of Andersfield and Huntstile. The village is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sampford Brett</span> Human settlement in England

Sampford Brett is a village and civil parish situated at the south-western edge of the Quantock Hills, Somerset, England, less than 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Williton, just off the A358 road to Taunton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyng, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Lyng is a civil parish in Somerset, England, comprising the villages of West Lyng and East Lyng and the hamlet of Bankland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otterhampton</span> Human settlement in England

Otterhampton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, between Bridgwater and the Steart Peninsula. The civil parish includes the larger village of Combwich and the small village of Steart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaxton</span> Human settlement in England

Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantocks in Somerset, South West England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurloxton</span> Human settlement in England

Thurloxton is a village and civil parish 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Taunton, and 5 miles south-west of Bridgwater on the south-eastern slopes of the Quantock Hills in the county of Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holford</span> Village in West Somerset, England

Holford is a village and civil parish in West Somerset within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of Bridgwater and 6 miles (10 km) east of Williton, with a population of 392. The village is on the Quantock Greenway and Coleridge Way footpaths. The parish includes the village of Dodington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stringston</span> Human settlement in England

Stringston is a village and civil parish on the northern edge of the Quantock Hills in the English county of Somerset. The village is 10 miles (16 km) west of Bridgwater, and close to the villages of Holford, Kilve and Stogursey. In 2002, the parish was estimated to have a population of 116.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Over Stowey</span> Village and civil parish in Somerset, England

Over Stowey is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, South West England. A large part of the forest and open heath of the Quantock Hills is within the parish and it includes the hamlets of Plainsfield, Aley, Adscombe, Friarn and Bincombe. It is adjacent to Nether Stowey, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Bridgwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Quantoxhead</span> Human settlement in England

East Quantoxhead is a village in the district of Somerset West and Taunton, 3 miles (5 km) from West Quantoxhead, 4 miles (6 km) east of Williton, and 13 miles (21 km) west of Bridgwater, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilton Trinity</span> Human settlement in England

Chilton Trinity is a village and civil parish on the River Parrett, 2 miles (3 km) north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durleigh</span> Human settlement in England

Durleigh is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. According to the 2011 Census, it had a population of 548. Its nearest town is Bridgwater, which lies approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) north-east from the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enmore, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Enmore is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3 km) west of Bridgwater on the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Bare Ash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Mary & All Saints, Broomfield</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church of St Mary & All Saints in Broomfield, Somerset, England, was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Cannington</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church of St Mary is the parish church of Cannington, Somerset, England. The parish is in the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells.

References

  1. 1 2 "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 Waite, Vincent (1964). Portrait of the Quantocks. London: Robert Hale. ISBN   0-7091-1158-4.
  3. ↑ Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. p.  46. ISBN   1-874336-26-1.
  4. ↑ "Andersfield hundred through time". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  5. ↑ "Bridgwater RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 Historic England. "Church of St. Mary and All Saints (1058934)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  7. ↑ "Geoffrey Rippon grave monument in St Mary and All Saints , Broomfield, Somerset, England". Gracevstone Photographic Resource. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "Clash star Strummer dies". BBC. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Alf Bowerman". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 December 2016.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Broomfield, Somerset at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.