Ashbrittle | |
---|---|
The Ashbrittle Yew Tree | |
Location within Somerset | |
Population | 225 (2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | ST051214 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Wellington |
Postcode district | TA21 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Ashbrittle is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated nine miles west of Taunton and close to the River Tone and the route of the Grand Western Canal. The village has a population of 225. [1]
The parish of Ashbrittle was part of the Milverton Hundred. [2]
The Ashbrittle Yew is a 3000– [3] 4,000 year old [4] [5] Yew tree (Taxus baccata) in the village was among the Great British Trees list that included 50 trees selected by the Tree Council in 2002 to spotlight trees in Great Britain in honour of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The tree is growing on the top of a Bronze Age Bowl barrow. It is no longer one solid tree having divided into seven separate trunks in a circle with a diameter of 42 feet (13 m). [6]
Court Place Farmhouse was built in the late 15th century and has undergone several renovations and extensions since. It is a Grade II listed building. [7]
The film Luna de Miel received its first UK showing in its restored form, in the village, after restoration by Charles Doble, on 21 June 2003. [8]
The novels Two Cows And A Vanful Of Smoke and Isabel's Skin by Peter Benson, who lived in Ashbrittle during the 1970s, are set in the village and its surrounding area.
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 Somerset West and Taunton (formed on 1 April 2019) and, before this, the district of Taunton Deane (established under the Local Government Act 1972). From 1894-1974, for local government purposes, Ashbrittle was part of Wellington Rural District. [9]
The village is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Taunton Deane county constituency. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Ashbrittle 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).
The Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a grade II* listed building. [10]
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.
Combe Florey is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district, on the West Somerset Railway. The village has a population of 261. The parish includes the hamlet of Eastcombe which is a linear settlement along the A358 Taunton-Wiliton Road.
Ash Priors is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) north west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 155.
Bathealton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Wellington and 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 194.
Bradford-on-Tone is a village and civil parish in Wellington, Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone 4 miles (6.4 km) south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish, which includes Tone Green and Hele, has a population of 622.
Chipstable is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside Heydon Hill 10 miles (16.1 km) west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 309.
Corfe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated below the Blackdown Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 253.
Curland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 225. The parish includes the hamlet of Abbey Hill.
Fitzhead is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has an estimated population of 264.
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 in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 921.
Langford Budville is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near the River Tone 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west of Wellington, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from Wiveliscombe and 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish includes the hamlets of Bindon, Lower Chipley, Lower Wellisford, Ramsey and Runnington. The parish has a population of 535.
Nynehead is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Taunton and 1.5 miles (2 km) north-west of Wellington, in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 415.
Oake is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 765.
Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 150.
Sampford Arundel is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated near Wellington and 10 miles (16.1 km) south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 268.
Stawley is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 10 miles (16.1 km) west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 279 and includes the village of Kittisford and the hamlets of Appley, Greenham and Tracebridge.
Stoke St Gregory is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about 7 miles (11 km) east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village is on a low ridge of land between the River Tone to the north and West Sedgemoor to the south. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 942.
Tolland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 9 miles (14.5 km) north west of Taunton, between the Brendon Hills and Quantock Hills, in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 81.
West Buckland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 1,189.
The Church of St John the Baptist is a Church of England parish church in Ashbrittle, Somerset. It was built in the 15th century, and is a Grade II* listed building.