Low Ham

Last updated

Low Ham
Low Ham church.jpg
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Low Ham
Location within Somerset
OS grid reference ST432292
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LANGPORT
Postcode district TA10 9
Dialling code 01458
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°03′36″N2°48′40″W / 51.0600°N 2.8110°W / 51.0600; -2.8110

Low Ham is a village in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset.

Contents

At the time of the Domesday Book Low Ham was part of the estate of Serlo de Burcy, and was later known as Ham Burcy and Nether Ham. [1]

Roman villa

There is evidence of occupation from Roman times with a large Roman villa which was excavated in 1946. The bath block contained a 4th-century mosaic showing the story of Aeneas and Dido. It is the earliest piece of narrative art in the country and is a unique find from Roman Britain. [2]

Church

English Heritage lists a church, without dedication to any saint, on the site of an earlier church, which was started in the early 17th century, and damaged in the Civil War, and completed in 1690. It is a Grade I listed building. [3]

In the 17th century the local Lord of the Manor, Baron Stawell, intended to build a palatial mansion next to the church but it was never completed. The original gateway was moved to Hazelgrove House (now Hazlegrove Preparatory School) in the early 19th century. [4]

Site of Special Scientific Interest

Low Ham
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location Somerset
Grid reference ST440290
InterestGeological
Area5 hectare
Notification 1988
Location map English Nature

The Low Ham SSSI at grid reference ST440290 , lies on lowest slopes of Woodbirds Hill in the adjoining civil parish of Pitney, just above the Low Ham Rhyne. It is a 12.4 acres (5.0 ha) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1988. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

This site contains a Pleistocene sedimentary sequence of sands, silts and peats, laid down in the Early Devensian. The site forms a rare example of deposits of 'interstadial' facies associated with a high sea level; these are of critical importance for British Pleistocene geology. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ham Hill, Somerset</span> Hill fort and country park in England

Ham Hill is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Scheduled Ancient Monument, Iron Age hill fort, Roman site, Local Nature Reserve and country park, to the west of Yeovil in Somerset, England.

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

Montacute is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 831. The name Montacute is thought by some to derive from the Latin "Mons Acutus", referring to the conically acute St Michael's Hill dominating the village to the west. An alternative view is that it is named after Drogo de Montagu, whose family originated from Montaigu-les-Bois, in the arrondissement of Coutances. Robert, Count of Mortain held Montacute after 1066, and Drogo was a close associate of his.

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

Nunney is a village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It is located 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Frome and the parish includes the hamlet of Holwell.

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

High Ham is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. Within the parish of High Ham, there are the villages of High Ham and Low Ham and the hamlets of Bowdens, Henley, Paradise and Picts Hill.

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

Lopen is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, situated 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 260 people.

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

Newton St Loe is a small Somerset village and civil parish located close to the villages of Corston and Stanton Prior, between Bath and Bristol in England. The majority of the village is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The parish has a population of 681.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-sub-Hamdon</span> Village in Somerset, England

Stoke-sub-Hamdon, also known as Stoke under Ham, is a large village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) west of Yeovil, with which it is linked by the A3088 road. The parish is located near the River Parrett, and includes the village of East Stoke.

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

Seavington St Mary is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated next to the village of Seavington St Michael, about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Ilminster, within the South Somerset district and had a population of 384 inhabitants at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke St Michael</span> Village and civil parish in England

Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) north east of Shepton Mallet, and 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.

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

Wanstrow is a village and civil parish 6 miles (9.7 km) south west of Frome in Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Cloford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Ham Roman Villa</span>

The Low Ham Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa located near Low Ham in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset. It is best known for the extraordinary figured mosaic depicting the story of Aeneas and Dido.

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

Sparkford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde.

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

Old Cleeve is a village 5 miles (8 km) south east of Minehead in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, and also a civil parish. The civil parish of Old Cleeve covers an area of 2,092 hectares and includes the villages of Old Cleeve, Roadwater and Washford as well as hamlets such as Bilbrook, Chapel Cleeve, Golsoncott and Leighland Chapel. Approximately half the parish lies within the Exmoor National Park. The remaining half is on the southern edge of Exmoor. The village has been in existence since the early 13th century. The village held its first council meeting in 1711. By the 1720s the parish had several churches, in which to meet. The town hall was built in 1727. The first church here was built in 1694, built by the Eastern Christian Society. This church was destroyed in a fire in 1847, and has been rebuilt and restored. In 2011, the population of the parish was 1,672.

<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">Pitcombe</span> Human settlement in England

Pitcombe is a village and civil parish 1 mile (2 km) south-west of Bruton and 5 miles (8 km) from Wincanton in Somerset, England. It has a population of 532. The parish includes the hamlets of Cole and Godminster.

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

Chilton Polden is a rural village and civil parish, situated close to Edington on the Somerset Levels to the north of the Polden Hills in Somerset, England.

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

South Petherton is a large village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, located 5 miles (8 km) east of Ilminster and 5 miles (8 km) north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,737 in 2021 and includes the smaller village of Over Stratton and the hamlets of Compton Durville, Drayton, Wigborough and Yeabridge. The River Parrett forms the eastern boundary of the parish. The village is approximately 2 miles (3 km) from East Lambrook, Martock and Lopen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church without dedication, High Ham</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church without dedication at Low Ham in the parish of High Ham, Somerset, England was formerly a private chapel to the manor. It stands on the site of an earlier church, and was started in the early 17th century, damaged in the English Civil War, and completed in 1690. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ham Hill Hillfort</span> Hillfort in Somerset, England

Ham Hill Hillfort is an Iron Age hillfort located on Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It was also occupied during the mesolithic and neolithic periods and later during Roman and medieval eras. The fort is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and the whole of the hill is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, a country park operated by Somerset Council, and is visited by over 250,000 people each year.

References

  1. ↑ "Low Ham Manors". British History Online. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
  2. ↑ "The Low Ham Roman Mosaic". Somerset Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Church without Dedication (1346080)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  4. ↑ Warren, Derrick (2005). Curious Somerset. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. pp. 83–84. ISBN   978-0-7509-4057-3.
  5. ↑ "Low Ham SSSI citation sheet" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
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.