Shapwick is a village on the Polden Hills overlooking the Somerset Moors, in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. It is situated to the west 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 had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

History

Shapwick is the site of one end of the Sweet Track, a 6,000-year-old, ancient, wooden

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

, dating from the 39th century BC. In 1998 a hoard of 9,238 silver denarii (the second largest hoard ever found from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and the largest in the United Kingdom) was discovered in the remains of a previously unknown Roman villa near Shapwick. Following a Treasure Inquest in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, the hoard was valued and acquired in its entirety by Somerset County Museums Service for the sum of £265,000. It became known as the Shapwick Hoard. The parish of Shapwick was part of the Whitley

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. Due to the plan of its roads and streets academics have described it as a "typical English village". Shapwick is one of the nine Thankful Villages in Somerset — those that suffered no casualties in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Manor

The manor of Shapwick originally belonged to

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

, forming part of its Pouholt (Polden) estate in 729. It was divided into two halves in medieval times. After the dissolution of the monasteries the manor passed to Thomas Walton and then to the Rolle family. Shapwick Manor ca1910

Shapwick House was built by Sir Henry Rolle in 1630 in place of the original manor house. The property was sold in 1786/7 by Denys Rolle (1725-1797) of Stevenstone in Devon, to George Templer (1755-1819) of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

4th son of James I Templer (1722–1782) of Stover, Teigngrace. Shapwick House is a Grade II* listed building and is now an hotel. Originally it was moated but the moat was filled in during the rebuilding by Henry Bull in the first quarter of the 17th century. The manor house ( Shapwick Manor, previously known as Down House) was built after the manor was split in two. It dates from around 1475. Shapwick Manor is also a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

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. For

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of 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 ''s ...

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 We ...

, 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 Bridgwater Rural District. Policing is provided by the Avon and Somerset Constabulary. It is also part of the Wells and Mendip Hills constituency represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It elects one member of parliament (MP) by the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system of election.

Geography

Shapwick Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve It is a former raised bog lying in the basin of the River Brue. The site supports a diverse community of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. National rarities are the large marsh grasshopper (''Stethophyma grossum'') found on

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

bogs, the greater silver diving beetle (''Hydrophilus piceus'') and the lesser silver diving beetle (''Hydrochara caraboides'') which is now confined nationally to the Brue Basin Peat Moors. The adjoining Shapwick Moor has been purchased by the Hawk and Owl Trust and will be their first reserve in south west

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The land will be farmed traditionally in order to recreate the habitats of the past. The management plan for the site is being overseen by Natural England. The first steps in the creation of the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

are to reseed the land and then reintroduce Devon ruby red cattle to the site. The priority is to encourage wildlife, not human visitors and there will be no visitor centre or permanent structures, but a public footpath which crosses the site will be improved and hides built along the footpath at key vantage points. Birds identified at the site include: buzzard, sparrowhawk, kestrel,

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

, lapwing,

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

, cuckoo, woodpecker and skylark.

Religious sites

The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish Church of St Mary, which was consecrated in 1331, is an anachronism. Parts of the current building including the piscina and

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

were moved from an earlier church in fields outside the village. Its central tower is a style that was at least a century out of date. It underwent some alteration in the 15th century, particularly to tower and West end, with further restoration in 1861 by George Gilbert Scott. It has been designated as a Grade II*

Education

Shapwick was home to Shapwick School, founded in Glastonbury 1974, but moved into the village in 1984. The school closed in 2020. It was a

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

for children aged 8 to 18 with

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

. Pupils aged 13 to 18 were based at Shapwick Senior School in the village, while those aged 8 to 12 attended Shapwick Prep in nearby Burtle. In November 2010, the school was featured in November a BBC Three documentary ''Kara Tointon: Don't call me stupid'' about actress Kara Tointon who suffers from dyslexia.

Transport

Shapwick railway station was a station on the Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. It opened in 1854 and closed in 1966.

Notable residents

Politics

* Abraham Burrell (1589–1657), politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1645 to 1653, lived at Shapwick Manor. * Denys Rolle (1725–1797), politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1774, lived at Shapwick Manor. * Francis Rolle (1630–1686), lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1685, lived at Shapwick Manor. * Henry Rolle (1589–1656), Chief Justice of the King's Bench, politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1629, and father of Francis Rolle, lived at Shapwick Manor and was buried there. * Samuel Rolle ( – 1647), politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1647, was sold Shapwick Manor alongside Hugh Fortescue and Henry Rolle. * Henry Strangways (1832–1920), Australian politician, was born in Shapwick. * George Templer ( – 1819), writer, merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1790 to 1796, lived at Shapwick Manor.

Sport

* Calum Haggett (born 1990), first-class cricketer, grew up in Shapwick. * Jake Seamer (1913–2006), amateur cricketer, was born and grew up in Shapwick.

Other

* Churchill Julius (1847–1938), Anglican cleric, later the first Archbishop of New Zealand, was briefly Vicar of Shapwick in the 1870s. * Joan Marsham (1888–1972), Girl Guide leader, was born in Shapwick. * Giles E. Strangways (1819–1906), pioneer of the British colony of South Australia and grandfather of Henry Strangways, was born in Shapwick.

In popular culture

In 2012, the musician Jon Brookes (also known as 'The Advisory Circle' of the Ghost Box record label) released the electronica album ''Shapwick'' (on the Clay Pipe record label) based on "an imaginary impression of" the village and its surrounding countryside, following an unplanned car journey through the area one autumn evening: "I felt a certain energy around the place. The images created by the trees in the dark conjured inspiration and it struck me that an album could be based on an imaginary impression of this area. I had already recorded some pieces that were in search of a home and the idea formed within seconds." Shapwick also featured in songwriter Daren Hayman's Thankful Villages project in 2017. Hayman visited each of the 54 villages and recorded songs and interviews with local residents and a short film. The film for Shapwick features Darren performing his song based on the folk tale "The Mistletoe Bride" in locations around the village.

References

External links

''The Shapwick Project, Somerset: A Rural Landscape Explored''
(2007) edited by Dr Chris Gerrard and Professor Mick Aston {{Authority control Villages in Sedgemoor Somerset Levels Civil parishes in Somerset