Rodney Stoke

Last updated

Rodney Stoke
Rodney Stoke church.jpg
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Rodney Stoke
Location within Somerset
Population1,326 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference ST486501
Civil parish
  • Rodney Stoke
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CHEDDAR
Postcode district BS27
Dialling code 01749
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°14′51″N2°44′09″W / 51.2476°N 2.7357°W / 51.2476; -2.7357 Coordinates: 51°14′51″N2°44′09″W / 51.2476°N 2.7357°W / 51.2476; -2.7357

Rodney Stoke is a small village and civil parish, located at grid reference ST486501 , 5 miles north-west of Wells, in the English county of Somerset. The village is on the A371 between Draycott and Westbury-sub-Mendip.

Contents

The parish includes the larger village of Draycott. South of the A371 the parish includes an area of the Somerset Levels, extending to the River Axe. North of the A371 the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills rise to an area of the parish on the Mendip plateau. The parish is therefore an area of high biodiversity supporting local rare species of plants and animal life.

History

Close to the village is Westbury Camp, which represents the remains of an Iron Age enclosed settlement [2] [3] and has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. [2] [4]

Rodney Stoke was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Stoches, meaning 'a stockaded settlement' from the Old English stoc. In 1291 the place name was recorded as Stokgifford. The Giffords were Saxon nobility at the time of Edward the Confessor with Walter Gifford (then spelt Gifard) as the Earl of Buckingham. [5]

The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred. [6]

The village was the home of, and is probably named after, Sir John Rodney (d. 1400). However Ekwall [7] indicates that Stoke Gifford was held by Richard de Rodene in 1303.

The first Baron Rodney was George Brydges Rodney (1718/19–92), a British naval admiral of Napoleonic times. [8]

It is one of the nine Thankful Villages in Somerset which suffered no fatalities during World War I. There is a memorial window in the Parish Church together with a new plaque that testifies to the village's enduring pride in their good fortune.

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.

The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wells Rural District, [9] which is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.

Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

The village is in the 'Rodney and Westbury' electoral ward. The ward starts in the north west at Draycott and passes through Rodney Stoke to end at Westbury-sub-Mendip. The total population of the ward as at the 2011 census was 2,127. [10]

It is also part of the Wells 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.

Geography

The land is noteworthy for its importance as a flight corridor and feeding ground for the Greater Horseshoe Bat. Cheddar Complex, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, lies to the north and Mascalls' Wood, an ancient woodland and Somerset Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, lies to the west. The cross roads may be the site of an old Roman road. [11]

Close to the village is the Rodney Stoke nature reserve, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Religious sites

The church of St Leonard, was built around 1175 and is a Grade I listed building. [12] The interior of the church contains a screen, bearing the date 1624, the gift of Sir Edward Rodney, [13] which includes a representation of the martyrdom of St Erasmus, who was killed by having his entrails removed. [8]

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

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

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare and 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The parish had a population of 5,755 in 2011 and an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendip District</span> Former non-metropolitan district in England

Mendip was a local government district of Somerset in England. The district covered a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km2) with a population of approximately 112,500, ranging from the Wiltshire border in the east to part of the Somerset Levels in the west. The district took its name from the Mendip Hills. The administrative centre of the district was Shepton Mallet but the largest town was Frome.

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

Axbridge is a small town in Somerset, England, on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Its population according to the 2011 census was 2,057.

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

Coleford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Mells River in the Mendip Hills five miles west of Frome. The parish has a population of 2,313 in 2011.

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

Butleigh is a small village and civil parish, located in Somerset. The nearest village to it is Barton St David, and it is located a short distance from Glastonbury and Street. Its population is 823. Butleigh has a church, small village shop, a Church of England primary school and Butleigh Nursery School.

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

Winscombe is a large village in the North Somerset unitary district of Somerset, South West England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Weston-super-Mare and 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Bristol. The Parish of Winscombe and Sandford, centred on the Parish Church of Church of St James the Great, includes the villages/hamlets of Barton, Hale, Oakridge, Nye, Sidcot and Woodborough.

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

Shipham is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is on the western edge of the Mendip Hills near the A38, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Bristol. The parish includes the village of Rowberrow and the hamlet of Star. The parish population, according to the 2011 census, is 1,087.

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

Litton is a small village and civil parish between Chewton Mendip and West Harptree in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Sherborne. Very close to the village are the Litton Reservoirs.

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

Westbury-sub-Mendip is a village in Somerset, England, on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) from Wells and Cheddar.

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

Draycott is a village in Somerset, England, neighbouring the village of Cheddar on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is now the larger village in the civil parish of Rodney Stoke.

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

Compton Bishop is a small village and civil parish, at the western end of the Mendip Hills in the English county of Somerset. It is located close to the historic town of Axbridge. Along with the village of Cross and the hamlets of Rackley and Webbington it forms the parish of Compton Bishop and Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A371 road</span> Primary road in England running from Wincanton in Somerset, to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset

The A371 is a primary road in England running from Wincanton to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, through Shepton Mallet, Croscombe, Wells, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Rodney Stoke, Draycott, Cheddar, Axbridge, Winscombe, Banwell and Weston-super-Mare.

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

Lydford-on-Fosse is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of West Lydford and hamlet of East Lydford.

<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">Trudoxhill</span> Human settlement in Somerset, England

Trudoxhill is a village and civil parish near Nunney in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.

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

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

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

Wookey is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe travels the length of the village. There used to be a port at Bleadney on the river in the 8th century which allowed goods to be brought to within 3 miles (5 km) of Wells. Wookey is often confused with its sister village Wookey Hole, site of the Wookey Hole Caves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Leonard, Rodney Stoke</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church of St Leonard in Rodney Stoke, Somerset, England, was built around 1175 and is a Grade I listed building.

Westbury Camp is a univallate Iron Age hill fort in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated in the parish of Rodney Stoke, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of the village of Draycott and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Westbury-sub-Mendip. The camp is largely situated in a hill slope. The north east defences have largely been destroyed by small quarries over the years. The narrow top of the hill bank suggests that it may have been surmounted by a dry stone wall. Along part of the east side of the camp there are traces of a berm between the bank and the outer ditch and at the western angle shallow quarry pits occur internally and externally set back from the 'rampart'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">126 Wells - Axbridge</span>

The number 126 is a bus route that operates between Wells and Axbridge. Under its previous operator, First West of England, the route was branded as Mendip Xplorer.

References

  1. ↑ "Rodney Stoke Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 Firth, Hannah (2007). Mendip from the air. Taunton: Somerset County Council. ISBN   978-0-86183-390-0.
  3. ↑ "Walton Castle". Fortified England. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Westbury Camp hillfort, N of Stoke Woods, Rodney Stoke". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council A. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  5. ↑ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN   1-874336-03-2.
  6. ↑ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  7. ↑ Ekwall, Eilert (1959). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Place-Names, 4th Edition. London: Oxford University Press.
  8. 1 2 Reid, Robert Douglas (1979). Some buildings of Mendip. The Mendip Society. ISBN   0-905459-16-4.
  9. ↑ "Wells RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Rodney and Westbury ward 2011" . Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Extensive Cropmarks, SW of Cheddar". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  12. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Leonard (1058592)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  13. ↑ "St Leonards Church". HEVAC Heritage. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  14. 1 2 Somerset Federation of Women's Institutes (1988). The Somerset Village Book. Countryside Books. ISBN   978-1853060311.
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.