Pitney is a village and parish in Somerset, England, located east of

Langport Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...

and west of

Somerton Somerton may refer to: Places Australia * Somerton, New South Wales * Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb ** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach * Somerton, Victoria ...

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 approximat ...

district. In 2011, the village had a population of 374. Pitney is home to St John the Baptist Church, the Pitney Farm Shop, and the ''Halfway House'', selected as England's Pub of the Year in 1996 by

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is the ...

(Campaign for Real Ale).

History

The name means "Pytta's place" from Pytta the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, however there is evidence of much earlier occupation from a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

sword dating from 200 BC found on Pitney Moor. It was recorded 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 manusc ...

as ''Petenie'' supporting the alternative meaning of 'the traversing stream' 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 ...

''pæþþan'' and ''ea''. Several significant archaeological finds have been made at Pitney, including the remains of 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 ...

(roof tiles, pottery, and mosaic) uncovered in the 19th century, and the Pitney brooch, a Saxon cast bronze

openwork Openwork or open-work is a term in art history, architecture and related fields for any technique that produces decoration by creating holes, piercings, or gaps that go right through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, l ...

brooch, modelled after a late Viking design and now in the British Museum. 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 ...

manors originated in grants made to Richard Rivel (of Curry Rivel) from the Royal manor of Somerton between 1190 and 1003. The parish was part of the Pitney (hundred), Pitney Hundred (county subdivision), Hundred. Pitney Warne manor was granted to the Compton family in 1610 and split up and sold by their descendant the Duke of Devonshire in 1919. The lesser manor of Pitney Lortie was held by the Pyne family; the manor house may be the building now known as The Old Court, which has its origins prior to the 16th century. The 1848 publication, ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', describes Pitney as an agricultural village of 465 people and writes of the Roman villa:

At this place has been discovered perhaps the most perfect pavement of an ancient villa yet found in England; the ruins cover about an acre and a half of ground, and the remains of the mosaics show the former splendour of the buildings. In the principal apartment are four pavements of great beauty, with nine figures in good preservation, and four well-drawn busts; in another room is the figure of a youth striking a serpent. The late Sir Richard C. Hoare, who had the subjects illustrated by engravings, supposes, from the English costume of the chief figures, that the villa belonged to the lord of the manor, and was not raised till after the departure of the Romans.

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

, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Langport Rural District. 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, 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, policing and fire services, Trading Standards, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning. It is also part of the Somerton and Frome (UK Parliament constituency), Somerton and Frome 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.

Religious sites

Pitney's church is dedicated to Church of St John Baptist, Pitney, St John the Baptist. The west tower and south doorway to the nave date to the 14th century, with other parts from the 15th century. The chancel was Victorian restoration, restored in 1853, with additional restoration to the church in 1875. It was a daughter chapel to Huish Episcopi. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.

References

External links

{{South Somerset Villages in South Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset