Fore Street in
Chard
Chard or Swiss chard (; ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; ...
,
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 was built in the late 16th and early 17th century, following a fire which destroyed much of the town in 1577.
Fore Street is a main shopping street and thoroughfare with open water channels on either side. Local folklore claims that one stream eventually flows into the
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
and the other reaches the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. This situation changed when the tributary of the Axe was diverted into the Isle; the gutter in Holyrood Street, though, still flows into the River Axe and therefore it is still true it lies on the watershed and that two gutters eventually drain into the Bristol Channel and the English Channel.
Numbers 7A,7B,9,11,13 & 13A Waterloo House and Manor Court House have been designated as Grade I
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 ...
s.
They are now on the
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...
. The
Hamstone
Hamstone is the name given to a honey-coloured building stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It is a well-cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by marked bedding planes of clay inclusions and less well-cemented material w ...
Waterloo House and Manor Court House were built in the late 16th or early 17th century. The history of the buildings is complex and not fully understood, although it is known that it was used as a court house at various periods. Worries about the condition of the buildings, and others in the row from 7 to 13 Fore Street, and the need for their preservation. has been expressed throughout the 20th century.
In 2010 when the Manor Court House, where
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
signed a peace declaration during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, was added to the
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...
one local trader complained that not enough was being done to maintain and conserve the building. Waterloo Court was built in the 16th century as a house, it has since been converted into a shop with a flat above it.
![The Guildhall, Chard (geograph 3627172)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/The_Guildhall%2C_Chard_%28geograph_3627172%29.jpg)
In 1834 the
Guildhall
A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
was built with a
doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
with a double row of
Tuscan columns along the front. It was built to replace an earlier 16th century guildhall and now serves as the town hall.
Chard Museum
Chard Museum is a small local museum in Chard, Somerset, England. It opened in 1970, in a converted 16th century listed building, with collections of exhibits about local history and displays related to the lives of notable local residents.
His ...
is housed in a 16th-century
thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
ed building which was originally four cottages. The building was converted and restored for use as a museum in 1970, and later incorporated the building next door which had been the New Inn
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
.
It houses collections of exhibits about local history and displays related to the lives of notable local residents.
The L shaped school building was built in 1583 as a private house and converted into
Chard Grammar School in 1671. It was damaged in the fire if 1727. It is 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 ...
. In 1890 it became a boarding school and then in 1972 a
preparatory school. Monmouth House, which was built between 1770 and 1790, and the 16th century chapel, are also now part of the school.
Pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
include the Dolphin Inn, which was built in 1840 and the George Hotel which was constructed in the late 18th century. The Weslyan Methodist Chapel was built in 1895 from
Flemish bond brick.
The branch of
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...
was built as a house on the site of the Chard Arms Hotel in 1849. The branch of
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...
was two houses when it was constructed around 1820. In 1938 a bomb proof bunker was built behind the branch of the
Westminster Bank
Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1834 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it continued to exist as a dormant registered non-trading company until 4 July 2017 when it ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
it was used to hold duplicate copies of the bank records in case its headquarters in London was destroyed. It was also used to store the emergency bank note supply of the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
. There has also been speculation that the
Crown Jewels were also stored there, however this has never been confirmed.
![Fore Street, Chard - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Fore_Street%2C_Chard_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1175237.jpg)
In 1991 the town council commissioned bronze sculpture from
Neville Gabie which were erected in Fore Street they are entitled Ball and Whirl. An album detailing the work and its commissioning is held by the
Chard Museum
Chard Museum is a small local museum in Chard, Somerset, England. It opened in 1970, in a converted 16th century listed building, with collections of exhibits about local history and displays related to the lives of notable local residents.
His ...
.
See also
*
List of Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The South Somerset district occupies an area of , stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district has a populatio ...
References
{{reflist, 30em
Houses completed in the 17th century
Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset
Chard, Somerset
Streets in Somerset
Roads in Somerset
Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset
Grade II* listed buildings in South Somerset
Grade II listed buildings in South Somerset