| Lyng | |
|---|---|
 View of East Lyng across the levels | |
  Lyng Location within Somerset | |
| Population | 338 [1] |
| OS grid reference | ST328287 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TAUNTON |
| Postcode district | TA3 |
| Dialling code | 01823 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Lyng is a civil parish in Somerset, England, comprising the villages of West Lyng and East Lyng and the hamlet of Bankland.
The name derives from the Old English hlenc, meaning hill.
Nearby Athelney is famous for being the refuge of King Alfred the Great from the Danes before the Battle of Ethandun in 878, and the site of a monastery he founded after his victory.
East Lyng is on higher ground towards the west of Athelney. Archaeological research suggests East Lyng was a medieval settlement, and was an important fortified burh during Saxon times, [2] [3] hence the usage of the East Lyng burh and Athelney by King Alfred the Great and his army. The Balt Moor Wall dates to this period.
By the time of the Domesday census completed in 1086, Lyng was described as a small rural settlement. In 1267 a charter for a market was granted, but is no longer recorded by 1349. Despite this the settlement at East Lyng retained burh status and was recorded as such in 1498–99.
Lyng was part of the hundred of Andersfield. [4]
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; it also evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. Its 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 civil parish 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 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.
The villages occupy an east–west ridge within the Somerset Levels, with Hitchings Moor and Salt Moor to the north, and Curry Moor adjoining the River Tone to the south. The ridge falls to the east, ending at Athelney Hill near the confluence of the River Tone and River Parrett at Burrowbridge. North Moor is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its nationally important grazing marsh and ditch system on the Somerset Levels and Moors. A range of neutral grassland types supporting common and scarce plants has developed mainly due to variations in soils and management practices. Aquatic plant communities are exceptionally diverse with good populations of nationally scarce species. The site has special interest in its bird life. [6]
The ridge across the Somerset Levels has always been important for transport links. Today it carries the A361 road from Taunton to Street, and the Great Western Railway London Paddington to Penzance main line. The railway originally cut through the ridge just west of East Lyng, and traversed Hitchings Moor, but after years of being blocked by winter floods, the railway was diverted south of the ridge to join the line from Bristol at Cogload Junction.
The current church at East Lyng, which is dedicated to St Bartholomew, is thought to have been built by the monks who were displaced from Athelney Abbey when it was dissolved by King Henry VIII of England in 1539. [7] The ornate three-stage tower is of lias with hamstone dressings supported by set-back buttresses connected diagonally across the angles of the tower on the bottom two stages; these terminate as diagonal pinnacles on shafts at the third stage. The paired two-light bell-chamber windows have Somerset tracery flanked by attached shafts and pinnacles, with quatrefoil grilles. There are similar single windows on the stage below. [8]
The East Lyng churchyard contains the grave of George Marston [9] who was the artist for Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Endurance
Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay nature reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett and its tributaries drain an area of 660 square miles (1,700 km2) – about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area, with a population of 300,000.
Athelney is a village located between the villages of Burrowbridge and East Lyng in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English æþeling meaning "prince" + -ey meaning "isle". The village is best known for once being the fortress hiding place of King Alfred the Great, from where he went on to defeat the Great Heathen Army at the Battle of Edington in May 878.
North Petherton is a small 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.
Creech St Michael is a village and civil parish in Somerset, three miles east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish straddles the M5 motorway and includes several scattered settlements. The village of Creech St Michael and the hamlets of Charlton, Creech Heathfield, and Ham lie east of the motorway. The hamlets of Adsborough, Coombe, Langaller, and Walford lie west of the motorway. The parish has a population of 2,416.
Polden Hills in Somerset, England are a long, low ridge, extending for 10 miles (16 km), and separated from the Mendip Hills, to which they are nearly parallel, by a marshy tract, known as the Somerset Levels. They are now bisected at their western end by the M5 motorway and a railway, the Bristol and Exeter Railway, part of the Great Western Main Line.
Durston is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road 5 miles (8.0 km) north east of Taunton and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bridgwater in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish lies on undulating ground between the lowest slopes of the Quantock Hills and the valley of the River Tone at the Curry and Hay Moors. The parish has a population of 136.
North Curry is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish, which includes several hamlets, had a population of 1,640 in 2011.
Bawdrip is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The village is on the south side of the Polden Hills about 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Bridgwater. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 506. The parish includes the hamlets of Bradney, Horsey and Knowle.
Chedzoy is a civil parish village 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Bridgwater in Somerset, England.
Westonzoyland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Somerset Levels, 4 miles (6.4 km) south east of Bridgwater.
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.
Chilton Trinity is a village and civil parish on the River Parrett, 2 miles (3 km) north of Bridgwater in Somerset, 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.
The Church of St Gregory Stoke St Gregory, is a Church of England parish church in Somerset, England. Its parish is part of the Athelney Benefice, along with the parishes of St Michael, Burrowbridge, St Bartholomew, Lyng and SS Peter and Paul, North Curry.
The Church of St Bartholomew at East Lyng in the parish of Lyng, Somerset, England dates from the 14th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The Hundred of Andersfield is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown.
The Hundred of North Petherton is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest. Although the Hundreds have never been formally abolished, their functions ended with the establishment of county courts in 1867 and the introduction of districts by the Local Government Act 1894. The name of the hundred derives from the name of the large royal estate that covered much of the area in 1086, recorded variously as Nortpetret in the Domesday Book, Nortpedret in Liber Exoniensis and Nort Peretu in the associated tax returns. This, in turn, was derived from the area's location to the northern end of the River Parrett.
Balt Moor Wall is an earthwork and listed scheduled ancient monument in Lyng, Somerset, England, situated on the Somerset Levels to the northwest of the River Tone. The site contains the remains of a section of medieval causeway, which now forms a raised embankment between 6 metres (20 ft) and 10 metres (33 ft) wide and up to 2 metres high.
