Tatworth is a village south of Chard 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 the county 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. It is within Tatworth and Forton

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 ...

, and the electoral ward of the same name. Tatworth is a large village, consisting of a number of smaller villages including South Chard, Perry Street and Chard Junction which are close together. The hamlet of Forton lies to the north, towards Chard.

History

A white

lias Lias may refer to: Geology * Lias Formation, a geologic formation in France *Lias Group, a lithostratigraphic unit in western Europe * Early Jurassic, an epoch People * Godfrey Lias, British author * Mohd Shamsudin Lias (born 1953), Malaysian ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

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 ...

tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae The oldest known tesserae ...

measuring x x and regularly cut on two faces was found in the area, and may be connected with 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 ...

or farmhouse by St Margaret's Lane. Part of this building was excavated in 1967 and pottery and paving found there are displayed in 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 ...

. The name of the village comes 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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''tat'' and ''worp'' meaning 'A cheerful farm'. In 1254, the spelling was Tattewurthe and was a sub-manor of Chard. In 1554 Thatteworh was granted to

William Petre Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I. Educated ...

as the 'manor and park of Tatworthy' and remained in the family until 1790. Tatworth in the 1850s extended to and had a population of 852.

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 parish was known as Chard parish (distinct from the town of Chard) until 1985 when boundary changes were made, and it was reduced in size. 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 ...

, 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 ...

, markets 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 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 ...

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. It is also 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 ...

Amenities

St John's Church, which dates from 1851, is designated 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 ...

as 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 ...

. Tatworth has a primary school, two

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 ...

– ''Ye Olde Poppe Inn'' and the ''Golden Fleece'' – and the Perry Street Club, a members-only club. It also has a McColl's shop which is also a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

. Tatworth has a number of local sports clubs. The Perry Street & District Football League was formed in Tatworth in 1903 by Charles Edward Small, the owner of the Perry Street Lace Works. Perry Street Football Club still play in the league today. There is also a cricket club and local skittles league based at Perry Street Club. Stowell Meadow is a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

References

External links

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