Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of

Yeovilton and District 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, est ...

, 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, estimated at 1,418 in 2019. This includes Podimore (also known as Puddimore or Milton Podimore) and the hamlets of Speckington and Bridgehampton. The village includes

RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airfield of the Royal Navy and British Army, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases (the other being RNAS Culdrose) ...

and the associated

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...

History

Yeovilton is close to the route of the

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...

, a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

that linked

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

('' Isca Dumnoniorum'') in South West England to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

, via Ilchester (''

Lindinis Lindinis or Lendiniae was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Ilchester, located in the English county of Somerset in the United Kingdom. Name The name "Lindinis" appears in the 7th-century ''Ravenna Cosmography ...

''),

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

('' Aquae Sulis''), Cirencester ('' Corinium''),

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

('' Ratae Corieltauvorum'') and Newark-on-Trent. There is evidence of a Romano-British farmstead under what is now an airfield. Between 899 and 925, an estate in Yeovilton was granted by

King Edward King Edward may refer to: Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom * Edward the Elder (–924) * Edward the Martyr (–978) * Edward the Confessor (–1066) * Edward I of England (1239–1307) * Edward II of England (1284–1327) * Edward III o ...

and between 955 and 959 King Eadwig gave a further holding of five hides to

Brihtric Beorhtric (meaning "magnificent ruler"; also spelled Brihtric) (died 802) was the King of Wessex from 786 to 802, succeeding Cynewulf. During his rule, however, his wife and father-in-law had most of the power. Early life The names of his par ...

. The parish of Yeovilton was part of the hundred of Somerton, while Podimore was part of the Whitley Hundred. In 1411 the lord of the manor was John Rogers, who also held the manor of Barwick. By 1602, these had been inherited by Henry Lyte. The holding was purchased by G. D. W. Digby of

Sherborne Castle Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England, within the parish of Castleton. It stands in a park which formed a small part of the Digby estate. Old castle Sherborne Old Castle () is the ruin ...

in Dorset in 1857 and remained with the Digby family until 1919. In 1939, the village was chosen as the site for the RNAS Yeovilton air base, which was used for engagements during World War II. The associated Fleet Air Arm Museum, an aircraft museum, was opened on the site of the airfield in 1964. Since 1993 the Fleet Air Arm’s Memorial Church has been the Church of St Bartholomew in Yeovilton. The village was host to a stage start of the Tour of Britain in 2007.

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 South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, having previously been part of Yeovil Rural District. Like other district councils, it is responsible for local planning and

building control Building automation (BAS), also known as building management system (BMS) or building energy management system (BEMS), is the automatic centralized control of a building's HVAC, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical, ligh ...

, local roads,

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, environmental health, markets and fairs,

refuse collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable m ...

and recycling,

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and

crematoria Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, leisure services, parks and tourism.

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

runs the largest and most expensive local services such as education,

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, libraries, main roads, public transport,

policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning. The village is part of the Yeovil 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. On 1 March 2022 the parish was merged with

Limington Limington, also archaeically Lymington, is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, situated north of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 199. The pa ...

to form "Yeovilton and District".

Geography and climate

It lies on the north bank of the River Yeo, from which it gets its name, opposite

. The parish is largely flat, lying mostly between and above sea level, on the alluvium of the Yeo and Cam valleys and partly on clay loam on the Lower Lias. Average maximum and minimum temperatures, average rainfall, rain days and sunshine recorded in 1981–2010 at the Yeovilton

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

weather station:

Transport

The village lies south of the A303 trunk road between

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon. Buses to and from Tiverton run twice a day. There is also a daily coach service on the Tiverton–London route. The nearest railway station is

Yeovil Junction Yeovil Junction railway station is the busier, but less central, of two railway stations serving the town of Yeovil in England. The station is outside the town, in the village of Stoford. Although Yeovil is in Somerset, the station was in Dor ...

(9 miles, 14 km).

Religious sites

At Podimore the Church of Saint Peter dates from the 14th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. The Church of St Bartholomew in Yeovilton dates from around 1300 century and is a grade II* listed building. From 1642 Richard Sterne held the rectory of Yeovilton before going on to become Archbishop of York. The rector between 1762 and 1805 was

Daniel Dumaresq Daniel Dumaresq FRS (1712–1805) was an educational consultant to Russian and Polish monarchs. Early life and education Duraresq came from Trinity, Jersey, in the Channel Islands. His father was Jurat Elie Dumaresq (1674-1754), Seigneur of Au ...

after his period as an educational consultant to Russian and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

monarchs. Since 1993 the church has been owned by the Royal Navy, and it serves as the Memorial chapel for the Fleet Air Arm.

Notable people

* Robert Potter (1721–1804), a cleric born in Podimore, was the first to translate the works of Aeschylus into English.

References

External links

{{South Somerset Villages in South Somerset Former civil parishes in Somerset