East Brent is a village and
civil parish, on the eastern edge of a hill that dominates the surrounding level countryside—
Brent Knoll—close to the
M5 motorway, west of
Axbridge, 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 the county of
Somerset, in the south-west of England. The parish includes the hamlets of Rooksbridge, where the
A38 road
The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, Bristol, Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England.
The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, mak ...
crosses the
Mark Yeo
The Mark Yeo is a short river or rhyne in north Somerset, England. It starts near Mark on the Somerset Levels and flows north for about under the M5 motorway to join the River Axe near Loxton. It provided a link between the Axe and the River ...
and Edingworth.
History
The manor formed part of the great Saxon estate of Brent given by King
Ine of the West Saxons to
Glastonbury Abbey in 693 and held by the monks of the abbey until the
Dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. It was then granted to the
Duke of Somerset and subsequently passed to the Whitmores and then the Pophams,
who lived in the Grade II listed Beaconsfield House until it was sold in 2015.
East Brent was part of the
hundred of
Brent-cum-Wrington.
Abbot
John Selwood built a mansion in the village in the 15th century, which was demolished in 1708.
[
In 1851 George Anthony Denison was preferred to the valuable living of East Brent, and in the same year was made ]Archdeacon of Taunton
The Archdeacon of Taunton has been, since the twelfth century, the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells (in the Church of England). The archdeaconry includes seven deaneries.
Hist ...
. He was responsible for establishing the annual Harvest Home festival in the village.
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 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 Axbridge 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, 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 ...
is responsible for running 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.
It is also part of the Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* 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 was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EA ...
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 of party-list proportional representation.
Church and chapel
The parish Church of St Mary the Blesséd Virgin was built in the 15th century and was restored
''Restored'' is the fourth
studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard ...
in the 19th century with a chancel by William Butterfield. It is a Grade I listed building. The church has a 15th-century eagle lectern and pulpit from 1634.[
Charles Fane de Salis was the vicar in the late 19th century, before becoming Suffragan Bishop of Taunton.
A Baptist Chapel was erected in 1852 and last used for worship in 1955 before being converted into a private house.]
References
External links
East Brent Parish Council
Rooksbridge and East Brent
{{Authority control
Villages in Sedgemoor
Civil parishes in Somerset