Holford is a 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 ...

West Somerset West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to f ...

within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located about west of

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

and east of Williton, with a population of 392. The village is on the

Quantock Greenway The Quantock Greenway is a footpath in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, which opened in 2001. The route of the path follows a figure of 8 centred on Triscombe, the northern loop taking in Crowcombe and Holford is , the southern loop to ...

and

Coleridge Way The Coleridge Way is a long-distance trail in Somerset and Devon, England. It was opened in April 2005, and the route links several sites associated with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge starting from Coleridge Cottage at Nether Stowey. Origi ...

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

s. The parish includes the village of Dodington. The

River Holford The River Holford is located in the east Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset England. It is approximately long. Its source is at Lady's Fountain Spring, Frog Combe which is near Halsway and above sea level before fl ...

, which runs through the village, flows to the sea at

Kilve Kilve is a village in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957. It lies on the A39 almost exactly equidistant from Brid ...

History

The parish of Holford was part of the Whitley Hundred. Holford Glen was once the site of a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

factory. The tannery was built by James Hayman, in the 16th century and is now a hotel. The waterwheel which powered the tannery is still present. Alfoxton House was built in the 18th-century and occupied by the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth, Dorothy, between July 1797 and June 1798, during the time of their friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Dodington

Dodington was an ancient parish, within the Williton and Freemanners (hundred), Williton and Freemanners Hundred. The 15th century Dodington Hall manor house contains the mechanism of a water driven spit in the cellar below the kitchen, and also has heraldic glass dating back to 1485 in parlour wing. Dodington was the site of the Buckingham Mine where copper was extracted. The mine was established before 1725 and followed earlier exploration at Perry Hill, East Quantoxhead. It was financed by the Marquis of Buckingham until 1801 when it was closed, until various attempts were made to reopen it during the 19th century. The remaining engine house is now a listed building. Dodington became a civil parish in 1866, but in 1933 the civil parish was abolished and absorbed into the civil parish of Holford.

Governance

The Parish councils of England, 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 (UK), 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 Somerset West and Taunton, which was established on 1 April 2019. It was previously in the district of

, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and part of Williton Rural District before that. The district council is responsible for planning permission, local planning and Building regulations in the United Kingdom, building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, market (place), markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as Local Education Authority, education, social services, library, libraries, main roads, public transport, police, policing and fire services, Trading Standards, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning. It is also part of the Bridgwater and West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency), Bridgwater and West Somerset county constituency represented in the British House of Commons, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament, Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Holford Kelting, just north of the village, is a 5.3 ha (13 acres) nature reserve run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust and is part of the Quantock Hills Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Ge-mare Farm Fields SSSI consists of an unimproved species-rich flood pasture community with interest enhanced by the presence of a wetter area supporting a lowland mire community. These habitats are rare both nationally and within the county of Somerset.

Religious sites

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the 19th century on the site of an earlier church going back to the 12th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. All Saints Church, Dodington, All Saints Church in Dodington was rebuilt and enlarged in the 15th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. Dodington Hall was built in the 15th century and enlarged and refenestrated in 1581. It was the home of Sir Francis Dodington who fought for the king during the English Civil War.

Cultural references

The video to Bryan Adams' hit song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" was filmed in a forest with a derelict silk mill in Holford Glen.

Notable people

* George Dodington (died 1720), George Dodington (1662–1720), British Whig Party, Whig politician * George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, politician and nobleman * Frederic Norton (1869–1946), British composer * Jack White (cricketer, born 1891), John Cornish White (known as "Farmer" or "Jack") (1891–1961), English cricket team, English cricketer * Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Noel Irwin, British Army officer

References

External links

{{West Somerset Villages in West Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset