Chilton Polden is a rural village and
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 authority ...
, situated close to
Edington Eddington or Edington may refer to:
People
*Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician
*Eddington (surname), people with the surname
Places
Australia
* Eddington, Victoria
United Kingdom
* Eddington, Berkshire
* Eddington, Cambridge
* Ed ...
on the
Somerset Levels to the north of the
Polden Hills Polden may refer to:
* Chilton Polden, rural village and civil parish near Edington, north of the Polden Hills in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England
* East Polden Grasslands, Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Polden Hills in Somer ...
in the
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part Wes ...
district 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.
History
The name of the village is thought to derive from its position on limestone and from the hill on which part of the parish lies. The form ''Chelton upon Poledowne'' is found in 1664. The Polden estate was given to
Glastonbury Abbey by
Æthelheard of Wessex in 729.
Chilton Priory
Chilton Priory (ST373389) (sometimes Stradling's Tower) is a Grade 2 listed folly, later extended to become a country house prominently located on Polden Hill, overlooking Bath Road, close to Chilton Polden, Parish of Polden Wheel, Somerset. The ...
(also known as Stradling's Folly) was originally built as a
folly, and subsequently enlarged to become a country house. The tower and wing at the rear were built in 1838, for
William Stradling. Stradling also incorporated various pieces of buildings and archaeological relics from around the county, especially materials from a Roman Villa at
Chedzoy
Chedzoy (alternatively Chedzey) is a civil parish village east of Bridgwater in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset.
History
The village is at the western end of King's Sedgemoor and lies on an 'island' of Burtle marine sands, close to King's S ...
. The upper windows,
battlements and grotesque heads came from a demolished castle at
Enmore and the
pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...
s from an old church tower 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 ...
. The staircase turret came from a church in
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...
and three of the windows in the nave from a chapel at
Slapeland. The Priory has more recently been home to
Katherine Maltwood
Katharine Emma Maltwood (née Sapsworth) was a writer and artist on the esoteric and occult. Throughout her childhood, she was reared to be an artist. Her parents were progressive, and they pushed each of their children equally to achieve their ...
who was an artist and became known as the discoverer of the Glastonbury Zodiac (otherwise known as the
Temple of the Stars
The Temple of the Stars is an alleged ancient temple claimed to be situated around Glastonbury in Somerset, England.
Origin
The temple is claimed by some to depict a colossal landscape zodiac, a map of the stars on a gigantic scale, formed by fe ...
), an enormous geomantic creation surrounding the Tor at
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
. The Temple was another
folly tower A folly tower is a tower that has been built as an architectural folly, that is, constructed for ornamental rather than practical reasons.
Folly towers are common in Britain and Ireland, and often do have some practical value as landmarks, or as vie ...
, built by Stradling in the early 19th incorporating re-used 15th features.
The village gives its name to the ambling piano piece ''The Way to Polden'' (Op. 76) by British composer
York Bowen.
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
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non-m ...
of
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part Wes ...
, 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
Bridgwater Rural District,
which 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
Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...
,
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
s 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
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
,
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
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
.
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 ...
is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
,
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
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
,
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.
It is also part of the
Bridgwater and West Somerset county constituency represented in the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
. It elects one
Member of Parliament (MP) by the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system of election, and was part of the
South West England constituency of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
prior to
Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven
MEPs
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
using the
d'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
of
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
.
Geography
Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI is a
biological Site of Special Scientific Interest consisting of land south of the
River Brue managed by
Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England.
The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature ...
and is known for the variety of the
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
life. The site consists of low-lying land south of the
River Brue, which floods on a regular basis; land north is included in the
Tealham and Tadham Moors
Tealham and Tadham Moors () is a 917.6 hectare (2267.3 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Wedmore in Somerset, notified in 1985.
Land south of this site is included in Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI.
Tealha ...
SSSI. The site is managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust and includes the Catcott Lows National
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
, of grassland in the summer, but flood during the winter, creating a perfect habitat for wintering waterfowl and
Bewick's swans,
Roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
and several invertebrate species of scientific interest also inhabit the area,
[English Nature citation sheet for the site](_blank)
. Retrieved 6 August 2006. Catcott Heath and Catcott North.
Religious sites
![Church of St Edward, Chilton Polden (geograph 4908119)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Church_of_St_Edward%2C_Chilton_Polden_%28geograph_4908119%29.jpg)
The
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
parish church of St Edward has 15th-century origins and was rebuilt in 1889 by Henry Edwards. The Parish Room in the churchyard dates from the 14th century.
References
{{Sedgemoor
Villages in Sedgemoor
Somerset Levels
Civil parishes in Somerset