Edington, Somerset

For other uses, see Edington (disambiguation).

Edington
The Village Hall
Edington Holy Well
Edington Location within Somerset
Population	372 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference	ST385395
Unitary authority	Somerset Council
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRIDGWATER
Postcode district	TA7
Dialling code	01278
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Bridgwater and West Somerset
List of places UK England Somerset 51°09′04″N2°52′52″W / 51.151°N 2.881°W / 51.151; -2.881

	Burtle
Chilton Polden	Edington	Catcott
Stawell	Sutton Mallet

Edington is a rural village, situated on the north side of the Polden Hills in Somerset, England.

Either side of it lie the villages of Chilton Polden and Catcott, and north of it is the small village of Burtle. There is a 12th-century church, but the nearest primary school is in the village of Catcott.

Edington has a surgery ^[2] and a village hall. ^[3]

Holy Well, Edington

At the north end of the village is a Holy Well. ^[4]

History

Edington was once linked to the towns of Glastonbury and Burnham-on-Sea by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and was later a junction for the short branch to Bridgwater, which opened in 1890. Edington railway station was known as Edington Junction between 1890 and 1953, changing to Edington Burtle on the closure of the Bridgwater line and closing on 7 March 1966.

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]

The village falls within the 'West Polden' electoral ward. The ward stretches from Burtle in the north to Stawell in the south. The total ward population as at the 2011 census was 2,375. ^[6]

It is also part of the Bridgwater and West Somerset 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, and 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.

Geography

Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI is a 1083 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest consisting of land south of the River Brue managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust and is known for the variety of the bird life. The site consists of low-lying land south of the River Brue, which floods on a regular basis; land north is included in the Tealham and Tadham Moors SSSI. The site is managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust and includes the Catcott Lows National Nature Reserve, of grassland in the summer, but flood during the winter, creating a perfect habitat for wintering waterfowl and Bewick's swans, ^[7] Roe deer and several invertebrate species of scientific interest also inhabit the area, ^{[8] [9]} Catcott Heath ^[10] and Catcott North. ^[11]

References

1. "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
2. "Edington Surgery". NHS. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
3. "Edington Village Hall" . Retrieved 5 July 2023.
4. "Holy Well (Edington)". www.megalithic.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
5. "Bridgwater RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
6. "West Polden ward 2011" . Retrieved 6 March 2015.
7. "Catcott Lows". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 3 December 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. English Nature citation sheet for the site Archived September 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 6 August 2006)
9. Brown, Alan. "Catcott Lows NNR". Avalon Marshes Reserve Guides. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
10. "Catcott Heath". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
11. "Catcott North". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

Sources

• Railway information

External links

• "Edington, in A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 8, the Poldens and the Levels, ed. Robert Dunning (London: Victoria County History, 2004), 50-63". British History Online. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
• GENUKI(tm) page