Croscombe

Coordinates: 51°11′54″N 2°34′44″W / 51.1982°N 2.5789°W / 51.1982; -2.5789

Croscombe
The course of the River Sheppey has been substantially 'managed' on its way through Croscombe, as this weir area demonstrates. The Sheppey was the main power source for many of the mills which operated in Croscombe in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Croscombe  Croscombe shown within Somerset
Population	606 [1]
OS grid reference	ST595445
District	Mendip
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WELLS
Postcode district	BA5
Dialling code	01749
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Wells
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Village cross

Croscombe is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3 km) west of Shepton Mallet and 4 miles (6 km) from Wells, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is situated on the A371 road in the valley of the River Sheppey.

Croscombe also has a village hall, a shop and post office, a chapel, and a school.

History

North-east of the village and within the parish boundary is Maesbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort.

It was first recorded in 706 when King Ine of Wessex referred to the village^[2] as Correges Cumb. The parish of Croscombe was part of the Whitstone Hundred.^[3] Croscombe emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries with a boom in the wool trade. During this period many houses, cottages and hostelries were built and the church was reconstructed.

During the Industrial Revolution, silk, mining, quarrying and milling replaced the wool trade. In 1848 the River Sheppey powered two mills for grinding corn, one for winding silk, and another used as a stocking manufactory.^[4]

The Old Manor was built around 1460–89 as a rectorial manor house for Hugh Sugar, the Treasurer of Wells Cathedral. It was altered in the 16th and 18th centuries, and in the 20th century by the Landmark Trust.^[5] It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.^[6]

The village cross was put in place in the 19th century, replacing an older one which had been there since the 14th century. It is heavily weathered (the rock type is oolite - a soft limestone), especially on the front right where it serves as a seat for patrons of the adjacent Bull Terrier public house.^[7] The village's other public house is The George Inn.

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 Shepton Mallet Rural District,^[8] who are 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 are 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.

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, and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Religious sites

The large Church of St Mary the Virgin is of particular interest, having an unusual spire for Somerset, and Jacobean interior woodwork of national renown.^[5] It is primarily from the 15th and 16th centuries with 19th century restoration. It includes a peal of six bells, the earliest dated 1613, and an organ from 1837. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.^[9]

References

1. ^ "Parish Population Statistics". ONS Census 2001. Somerset County Council. http://www.webcitation.org/5lRyC5ccr. Retrieved 2009-12-14. 
2. ^ "Croscombe village website". http://mendipcm.web-labs.co.uk/templates/t05.asp?site=104. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
3. ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 
4. ^ "Croscombe (St Mary)". British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50907#s12. Retrieved 2007-09-14. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Scott, Shane (1995). The hidden places of Somerset. Aldermaston: Travel Publishing Ltd. p. 63. ISBN 1902007018. 
6. ^ "The Old Manor". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=267525. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
7. ^ "Village Cross adjacent to The Bull Terrier". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=267529. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
8. ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Shepton Mallet Rural District
9. ^ "Church of St Mary the Virgin". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=267501. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 

External links

Media related to Croscombe at Wikimedia Commons