Mendip is a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

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_ ...

in England. The district covers a largely rural area of with a population of approximately 112,500, ranging from the

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

border in the east to part of the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south a ...

in the west. The district takes its name from the Mendip Hills which lie in its northwest. The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet but the largest town (three times larger than Shepton Mallet) is

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

. The district 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 ...

, by a merger of the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

s of

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 ...

and

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 ...

, along with Frome, Shepton Mallet,

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s, and

Frome Rural District Frome was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. The district was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of the district of M ...

Shepton Mallet Rural District Shepton Mallet 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 the Mendip dist ...

Wells Rural District Wells was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894, taking over the responsibilities of the former Wells Rural Sanitary District. Each parish elected one or more co ...

, part of

Axbridge Rural District Axbridge was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Axbridge rural sanitary district. In 1974 it was a ...

and part of Clutton Rural District. On 1 April 2023, the district will be abolished and replaced by a new unitary district for the area at present served by Somerset County Council. The new council will be known as

Somerset Council Somerset Council is the unitary authority that will replace Somerset County Council and four district councils (Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, Mendip, and Sedgemoor) on 1 April 2023. History The Conservative governments of ...

Toponymy

Several explanations for the name ''Mendip'' have been suggested. Its earliest known form is ''Mendepe'' in 1185. One suggestion is that it is derived from the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

term '. However, A D Mills derives its meaning from Celtic ', meaning mountain or hill, with an uncertain second element, perhaps Old English ' in the sense of upland, or plateau. An alternative explanation is that the name is cognate with ''Mened'' (Welsh '), a Brythonic term for upland moorland. The suffix may be a contraction of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

', meaning a valley. Possible further meanings have been identified. The first is 'the stone pit' from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

' and ' in reference to the collapsed cave systems of

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

. The second is 'Mighty and Awesome' from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

' and '.

Governance

The district falls under the jurisdiction of Mendip District Council. As of the 2019 Local elections, the Council went to No Overall Control. As of March 2022, the council has 23 Liberal Democrats, 12 Conservatives, 10 Greens, and 2 Independents

Abolition

On 1 April 2023, the council will be abolished and replaced by a new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

for the area at present served by Somerset County Council. The new council will be known as

. Elections for the new council took place in May 2022, with it running alongside Mendip and the other councils until their abolition in April 2023.

Settlements

The five main settlements in Mendip are: *

* Shepton Mallet *

Frome, Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet are the only towns in the district, as Wells has city status and Street has maintained its status as a village despite a population in excess of 11,000. Other villages and hamlets include: *

Ashwick Ashwick is a village in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, about three miles north of Shepton Mallet and seven miles east from Wells. It has also been a civil parish since 1826. The parish had a population of 1,352 according to the 201 ...

Baltonsborough Baltonsborough is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 864. As well as Baltonsborough village, the parish contains the hamlets of Ham Street, Catsham ...

– Batcombe –

Beckington Beckington is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which ...

–

Binegar Binegar is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is located on the A37 road, A37, east of Wells, Somerset, Wells, between Shepton Mallet and Chilcompton. Its population in 2011 was 313. Binegar and ...

– Bleadney –

Bowlish 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 ...

–

Buckland Dinham Buckland Dinham is a small village near Frome in Somerset, England. The village has a population of 381. The village's main industry is farming (arable and dairy), but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities of Bath and ...

– Burcott – Butleigh – Butleigh Wootton *

Chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...

–

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

– Chelynch – Chesterblake –

Chewton Mendip Chewton Mendip is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is situated north of Wells, south of Bath and Bristol on the A39 very close to the A37. The village is in a valley on the Mendip Hills and is the ...

–

Chilcompton Chilcompton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the Mendip Hills two miles south of Midsomer Norton and 3.0 miles south-west of Westfield. It is situated on the B3139 road between Radstock and Wells, close to the A ...

– Coleford – Coxley – Cranmore –

Croscombe Croscombe is a village and civil parish west of Shepton Mallet and from Wells, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is situated on the A371 road in the valley of the River Sheppey. Croscombe has a village hall, a shop, a publ ...

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

–

Dinder Dinder (which means "the house in the valley") is a small village 2½ miles west of Shepton Mallet, and 2 miles east of Wells in Somerset. It falls within the civil parish of St Cuthbert Out and the Mendip district. The river Sheppey runs ...

– Ditcheat –

Doulting Doulting is a village and civil parish east of Shepton Mallet, on the A361, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred. The parish includes the village of Bodden, which wa ...

– Draycott – Dulcote * East Lydford –

East Pennard East Pennard is a village and civil parish north west of Castle Cary, and south of Shepton Mallet, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 348. The parish includes the hamlets of Stone, Parbrook and Huxham. It is ve ...

– Easton – Emborough –

Evercreech Evercreech is a village and civil parish south east of Shepton Mallet, and north east of Castle Cary, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Stoney Stratton and the village of Chesterblade. History The ...

Farleigh Hungerford Farleigh Hungerford () is a village within the civil parish of Norton St Philip in the Mendip district, in Somerset, England, 9 miles southeast of Bath, 3½ miles west of Trowbridge on A366, between Trowbridge and Radstock in the valley of the ...

–

Faulkland Hemington is a village and civil parish north west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is located just off the A366 between Trowbridge and Radstock. The parish includes the villages of Hardington, Faulkland and Foxcote. H ...

Godney Godney is a village and civil parish near Glastonbury on the River Sheppey on the Somerset Levels in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History Near the village are the sites of the Iron Age Glastonbury Lake Village, and the now drained ...

–

Great Elm Great Elm is a village and civil parish between Mells and Frome in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Hapsford. History The name Great Elm was recorded as ''Telma'' in the Domesday Book of 1086, and th ...

– Green Ore * Henton –

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

– Holcombe – Hornblotton –

Horrington Horrington is a collection of three small villages (South Horrington, East Horrington and West Horrington) in the parish of St Cuthbert Out or east of Wells, Somerset, England. South Horrington is a relatively new village created in the late ...

–

Huxham Green Huxham is a hamlet and civil parish in the county of Devon, England and the district of East Devon and lies about 3 miles from Exeter. The parish has an area of about 800 acres and is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by Rewe, Poltimore, Ex ...

Kilmersdon Kilmersdon is a village and civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. It is located on the B3139 between Wells and Trowbridge in Wiltshire. The settlement is recorded in Wi ...

* Lamyatt –

Leigh-on-Mendip Leigh-on-Mendip or Leigh upon Mendip (on Ordnance Survey maps) is a small village on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. It lies roughly equidistant from Frome, Radstock and Shepton Mallet at about from each town. The village has several spo ...

– Leighton – Litton – Lydford-on-Fosse *

Maesbury Maesbury is a small scattered community in Shropshire, England, south of the town of Oswestry, falling within the Oswestry Rural parish. The name is derived from ''maes'', meaning ''field'' or ''plain'' in Brythonic Welsh, and ''burh'', me ...

–

Meare Meare is a village and civil parish north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Westhay. History Meare is a marshland village in typical Somerset " rhyne" c ...

– Mells * Nettlebridge – North Wootton –

Norton St Philip Norton St Philip is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The village lies about south of the city of Bath and north of the town of Frome on the eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills. It is situated on the A366 be ...

–

Nunney Nunney is a village and civil parish in the Mendip local government district within the English county of Somerset. It is located south-west of Frome and the parish includes the hamlet of Holwell. The name of the village comes from Old Englis ...

Oakhill Oakhill is a village in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, in Ashwick parish approximately north of Shepton Mallet. It lies between the A37 and the A367 (which is part of the ancient Fosse Way). Oakhill is today is mainly a commuter ...

– Oldford * Pilton – Polsham – Prestleigh –

Priddy Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north-west of Wells. It is in the local government district of Mendip. The village lies in a small hollow near the summit of the Mendip range of hills, ...

–

Pylle Pylle is a village and civil parish south west of Shepton Mallet, and from Wells, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 160. The parish includes the hamlet of Street on the Fosse. The village is very close to ...

Rode Rode may refer to: People *Ajmer Rode, Canadian writer *Bernd Michael Rode (born 1946), Austrian chemistry professor *Bernhard Rode (1725–1797), German painter *Ebbe Rode (1910–1998), Danish stage and film actor *Franc Rode (born 1934), Slove ...

–

Rodney Stoke Rodney Stoke is a small village and civil parish, located at , 5 miles north-west of Wells, in the English county of Somerset. The village is on the A371 between Draycott and Westbury-sub-Mendip. The parish includes the larger village of Dray ...

Southway Southway is a large suburban housing estate in north-west Plymouth in the English county of Devon. The name is believed to have derived from the route into Plymouth often used by Buckland Abbey monks, which was known as the "South Way". Geo ...

–

Standerwick Beckington is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which ...

– Ston Easton –

Stratton-on-the-Fosse Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricultu ...

– Stoke St Michael –

Stoney Stratton Stoney may refer to: Places * Stoney, Kansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stoney Creek (disambiguation) * Stoney Pond, a man-made lake located by Bucks Corners, New York * Stoney (lunar crater) * Stoney (Martian crater ...

* Thrupe –

Trudoxhill Trudoxhill is a village and civil parish near Nunney in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History The name Trudoxhill comes from the Old English ''treow'' meaning tree, ''dox'' for dark and ''hyll'' for hill. The parish includes the vi ...

Upton Noble Upton Noble is a village and civil parish on the River Frome. It is roughly north-east of Bruton, and from Frome town centre, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. There was a 17th-century village pub called ''The Lamb Inn (''now clo ...

Vobster Mells is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, near the town of Frome. Vobster The parish includes the village of Vobster, which had a coal mine of the same name on the Somerset coalfield and a quarry, both of which are now disused. ...

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

–

Wanstrow Wanstrow is a village and civil parish south west of Frome in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Cloford. History The name of the village comes from the Old English and means ''Waendel's tree''. The Bi ...

– Waterlip – West Compton – West Lydford –

West Pennard West Pennard (or West Pennard Manor) is a village and civil parish east of Glastonbury, situated at the foot of Pennard Hill, in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet (place), hamlets of Coxbridg ...

– West Woodlands –

Westbury-sub-Mendip Westbury-sub-Mendip is a village in Somerset, England, on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills from Wells and Cheddar. The parish boundary is formed by the River Axe. History There is evidence, from flint finds, of occupation of a site ...

– Westcombe –

Westhay Westhay is a village in Somerset, England. It is situated in the parish of Meare, north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district. The name means 'The west field that is enclosed by hedges' from the Old English ''west' ...

– Whatley –

Wookey Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...

–

Wookey Hole Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is the location of the Wookey Hole show caves. Location Wookey Hole is located in the civil parish of St Cuthbert Out, in Mendip District. It is one mile north-west of the city of Wells, and l ...

– Worminster –

Witham Friary Witham Friary is a small English village and civil parish located between the towns of Frome and Bruton in the county of Somerset. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the ancient Forest of ...

* Yarley

Parishes

Transport

Major roads

* A37 from Bristol to Yeovil *

A361 The A361 is an A class road in southern England, which at is the longest three-digit A road in the UK. History When first designated in 1922, the A361 ran from Taunton (Somerset) to Banbury (Oxfordshire). It was later extended west through B ...

from the M5 to Frome * A371 from Weston-super-Mare to Wincanton * A39 from Bath to Bridgwater

Railways

Railway stations

Frome railway station Frome railway station serves a largely rural area of the county of Somerset in England, and is situated in the town of Frome. The station is located on a long branch line which loops off the main line railway, which carries services on both th ...

served by

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

on the

Heart of Wessex Line The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from to and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line a ...

and

Reading to Taunton Line Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spellin ...

East Somerset Railway

Railway stations

Cranmore railway station Cranmore is the main railway station (and also the headquarters) of the preserved East Somerset Railway, in Somerset, England. Services Various services are provided throughout the year, mainly in the spring, summer and autumn months to Mendi ...

* Cranmore West railway station * Merryfield Lane railway station *

Mendip Vale railway station Mendip Vale is the western terminus of the East Somerset Railway The East Somerset Railway is a heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former ...

served by the

East Somerset Railway The East Somerset Railway is a heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somer ...

Education

County schools (those which are not

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county are operated by Somerset County Council. For a full list of schools see:

List of schools in Somerset This is a list of schools in Somerset, England. It covers those schools within the area of Somerset Council. State funded schools Primary and first schools there were 242 state primary schools in Somerset. *Abbas and Templecombe CE Primary S ...

References

External links

Mendip District Council
* ---- {{Authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Somerset 1974 establishments in England

Toponymy

Governance

Abolition

Settlements

Parishes

Transport

Major roads

Railways

Railway stations

East Somerset Railway

Railway stations

Education

See also

References

External links