Blackford is a village and former
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the county of
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England, beside the
A303 road
The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a pri ...
, south west of
Wincanton
Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...
in the
South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England.
The South Somerset district covers an area of ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approxim ...
district. There are two other places called Blackford in Somerset: one is a village near
Wedmore
Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...
, the other a tiny
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in
Selworthy
Selworthy is a small village and civil parish from Minehead in Somerset, England. It is located in the National Trust's Holnicote Estate on the northern fringes of Exmoor. The parish includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brandish ...
parish between
Porlock
Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440.
In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in Britain, with over 40% being of pensionable ag ...
and Minehead.
In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 80. On the 1 April 1933 the civil parish was merged with
Compton Pauncefoot
Compton Pauncefoot is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 139 in 2011. The civil parish also includes the village w ...
. Compton Pauncefoot holds a
Parish Meeting
A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend.
In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish cou ...
twice a year and has no
Parish Council. The combined parish has approximately 130 residents and around 35 houses in each village. The civil parish is in the Blackmore Vale ward of
South Somerset District Council
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
and
Somerset County Council.
Blackford is designated as a
Conservation Area.
History
In the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
of 1086 the manor is recorded as held by
Turstin FitzRolf
Turstin fitz Rolf, also known as Turstin le Blanc and Tustein fitz Rou (Old Norse: ''Þorsteinn Hrólfsson'') played a prominent role in the Norman conquest of England and is regarded as one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror ...
. The parish of Blackford was part of the
Whitley Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
.
The village has a Reading Room which was given to the church in 1912 by Miss Emily Senior, who sold the land it stands on to the Fidelity Trust Ltd for £25. It is now leased to the Blackford Reading Room Trust to be used as a village hall. Following a programme of works in the 1990s and as part of a millennium project with the aid of lottery and other grants the hall has been completely refurbished.
Baron Blackford, of Compton Pauncefoot in the County of Somerset, was a title in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for the
barrister William James Peake Mason. He had already been created a Baronet, of Compton Pauncefoot in the County of Somerset, in the
Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1918. The titles became extinct in 1988 on the death of his great-grandson, the fourth Baron.
Geography
The stream through Blackford is a tributary of the
River Cam (Somerset)
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Yeo in the south of Somerset, England.
The Cam rises east of Yarlington (). It flows south west past North Cadbury, Sparkford, Queen Camel and West Camel, and joins the Yeo near Yeovilton ().
Othe ...
and benefitted from works in 1982 to the riverbanks in Blackford to help keep the water moving. Flooding is therefore rarer than previously in Blackford as a result. It travels from Blackford to
Compton Pauncefoot
Compton Pauncefoot is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 139 in 2011. The civil parish also includes the village w ...
and then travels under the A303 to join the Yarlington headwaters. The River Cam flows onto the Royal Naval Station where it joins the
River Yeo and the Yeo in turn flows west to the south of
Yeovilton
Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil, in South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, es ...
and through the town of
Ilchester
Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a nota ...
. The river course continues to the west and at
Langport
Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...
becomes the
River Parrett.
The stream has its headwaters in the hills around Blackford & Compton Pauncefoot together with a number of springs. The main waters come from 3 primary sources: 1. Maperton, 2. Quarry Hill, 3. Sigwells Hill. The first 2 combine in Blackford around the Crossroads/Hollow and further springs contribute at a number of points all the way through both villages.
The A303 is nearby and during construction major drainage pipes were laid at intervals that bring significant quantities of water into the stream. This contributes to the rapid rise in the stream during rainfall.
Blackford is fortunate that it is relatively high in the watercourse and consequently only local rainfall and runoff comes through the villages.
Landmarks
The village has a number of notable buildings including:
East Hall Farm, West Hall Farm, The Old Rectory, Manor Farm, Belstone Cottage, Chapel Cottage,
Old Beams. The telephone box is the iconic
K6 Telephone Kiosk
The red telephone box, a telephone booth, telephone kiosk for a payphone, public telephone designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar.
Despite ...
and was listed Grade II by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
in July 2008 following a local campaign. There are approximately 2,500 listed telephone boxes in the country.
Religious sites
The
Church of St Michael has 11th- or 12th-century origins, and has been designated by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The church is part of the Camelot Group of Parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
The tower was added in the 14th century and there were other changes around that time including the addition of south porch. More recent changes include the 17th century pulpit. There is a screen designed by
Frederick Bligh Bond
Frederick Bligh Bond (30 June 1864 – 8 March 1945), generally known by his second given name ''Bligh'', was an English architect, illustrator, archaeologist and psychical researcher.
Early life
Bligh Bond was the son of the Rev. Frederick ...
that was added in 1916 and the current organ arrived in 1970. The east window was made by the
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...
studio and installed in 1882. However the paint flaked and after lengthy discussions and deliberations a replacement was commissioned from
John Hayward (who also made the new window in
Sherborne Abbey
Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, ...
) with the subject 'The Good Shepherd'.
There was a Methodist Chapel (built circa 1840) at the end of Chapel Lane and closed in 1947. It is now art of Old Beams curtilage — but the roof was removed in the 1960s to allow a better view from the dwelling.
Chapel Cottage is the oldest house in the village and is reputed to have been a chapel with cottage attached — however there is some doubt over this. The newer, western cottage dates from the 16th Century while the eastern cottage is medieval has a stone spiral staircase and other old features.
References
External links
Blackford village websiteBlackford at British History Online
{{South Somerset
Villages in South Somerset
Former civil parishes in Somerset