Lopen 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 authorit ...
in the
South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England.
The South Somerset district covers an area of ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approxim ...
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, situated west of
Yeovil
Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...
. The village has a
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 260 people.
History
The name of the village means ''Lufa's pen or fold''.
A
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
mosaic, probably from a
Roman villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
, was found in the village in 2001. The
Lopen Roman Mosaic
The Lopen Roman Mosaic is a Roman mosaic, probably from a Roman villa, in the village of Lopen, Somerset, England.
It was discovered in 2001 by George Caton, who was operating a mechanical digger and noticed small cubes of coloured stone, which t ...
was discovered by George Caton who was operating a mechanical digger and noticed small cubes of coloured stone, which turned out to be part of the floor of an eight-roomed Roman Villa and is the largest Roman Mosaic so far discovered in Britain.
Photogrammetry by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
was followed by excavation led by the
Somerset County Council archaeologist exposed and documented the mosaic in three weeks. It was then covered with sand and soil to preserve it. The work was recognised with the award of the Tarmac Finders Award (for non professionals) at the British Archaeological Awards in 2002. The stones used for the mosaic are
Blue Lias
The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...
from the surrounding hills. The fragments which were discovered in the surrounding soil were used to create a new mosaic, featuring a cantharus, using methods which would have been available in Roman times. It is now displayed in All Saints Church.
Lopen is listed in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
, with three manors, one of which was held by the
Knights Templar. These were bought by the Poulett's of
Hinton St George
Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 442.
It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some t ...
in 1560s.
The parish of Lopen was part of the
South Petherton
South Petherton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,367 in 2011 and includes the smaller village of Over Stra ...
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
.
In the 18th century the parish was noted for flax growing and for the production of linen sailcloth and twine. These industries continuing until the end of
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 opposing ...
.
A mill had first been recorded in the parish around 1285. The mill was a water/grist mill until the mid 18th, then becoming jointly used as a grain mill and for linen production.
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
Neighbourhood Watch in the United Kingdom is the largest voluntary crime prevention movement covering England and Wales with upwards of 2.3 million household members. The charity brings neighbors together to create strong, friendly and active comm ...
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 Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...
of
South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England.
The South Somerset district covers an area of ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approxim ...
, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of
Chard Rural District
Chard was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974.
It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894.
In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset.
The parishes ...
.
The district council 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 (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical, lighting, ...
, local roads,
council housing,
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, an ...
s and fairs,
refuse collection 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 and
crematoria, leisure services, parks, and
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
.
Somerset County Council 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 ...
,
social services,
libraries
A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...
, 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, typi ...
,
policing and
fire service
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
s,
trading standards
Trading Standards are the local authority departments with the United Kingdom, formerly known as ''Weights and Measures'', that enforce consumer protection legislation.
Sometimes, the Trading Standards enforcement functions of a local authority a ...
,
waste disposal
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
and strategic planning.
Lopen is part of the
Yeovil
Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...
county constituency
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...
represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
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 ...
. However, in the
Boundary Commission proposal of 2011 it would become part of a new constituency provisionally called Glastonbury and Wincanton. It elects one
Member of Parliament (MP)
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...
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 thei ...
system of election.
Geography
The parish of Lopen is bounded to the north by the
A303
The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a pri ...
Trunk Road and to the south by Lopen Brook with the road from
South Petherton
South Petherton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,367 in 2011 and includes the smaller village of Over Stra ...
to
Merriott
Merriott is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, near the town of Crewkerne and west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,979.
On Church Street, there is a well-preserved tithe barn, which is ...
,
Crewkerne
Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard all in the South Somerset district. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley – and b ...
and the south coast running through the middle. Between Lopenhead and Lopen the road crosses the ancient Roman
Fosse Way, which at this point is just a minor country lane.
The main retail outlets in the parish are the
pub
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 ...
and an organic food shop at Lopen Head, but although they are in the parish they are not really in the village itself which is located half a mile to the south. The road from Lopenhead to Lopen descends steeply through a deep and twisty cutting with no pedestrian pavement. However these outlets can be safely reached on foot by way of a footpath from the church.
Religious sites
![Lopen church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Lopen_church.jpg)
The
Anglican parish
Church of All Saints has 12th- or 13th-century origins, but was largely rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries with the north transept being added in 1833.
As Lopen chapel it was granted to
Bruton Priory
Bruton Abbey in Bruton, Somerset was founded as a house of Canons regular#Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, Augustinian canons in about 1127, and became an abbey in 1511, shortly before its dissolution in 1539. It was endowed with manors, chur ...
in 1209 becoming dependent on
South Petherton
South Petherton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,367 in 2011 and includes the smaller village of Over Stra ...
church, later passing to
Bristol Cathedral
Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...
and obtaining burial rights in 1574.
Culture
Punkie Night
Punkie Night is a traditional West Country holiday practised on the last Thursday of October in Somerset. Children will march around with a jack o'lantern, singing the following song :
It's Punkie Night tonight
It's Punkie Night tonight
Adam and ...
is celebrated in the village of
Hinton St George
Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 442.
It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some t ...
each October.
References
External links
Lopen village website
{{South Somerset
Villages in South Somerset
Civil parishes in Somerset