West Camel 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 south

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, about north of the town 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 ...

. It lies either side of the River Cam, just south of 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 ...

, and has a population of 459. The parish includes the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Urgashay. Neighbouring villages include

Queen Camel Queen Camel is a village and civil parish, on the River Cam and the A359 road, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is about north of Yeovil. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 908. The parish includes the ha ...

, and Bridgehampton.

History

The name "Camel" derives not from the animal, but from the name "Cantmeel", "Cantmell" or "Cantmel", by which West Camel was formerly known. "Cantmeel" itself derives from the words ''cant'' (ridge) and ''mael'' (bare). The village was also known as Camel Abbatis for its association with

Muchelney Abbey Muchelney Abbey is an English Heritage property in the village of Muchelney in the Somerset Levels, England. The site consists of ruined walls showing the layout of the abbey buildings constructed from the 7th to 16th centuries, and the remaini ...

. This is one of many sites in England identified as a possible setting of The Strife of Camlann, related as the final battle of King Arthur. The earliest evidence of a settlement dates from before AD 940: remains of a Saxon

preaching cross A preaching cross is a Christian cross sometimes surmounting a pulpit, which is erected outdoors to designate a preaching place. In Britain and Ireland, many free-standing upright crosses – or high crosses – were erected. Some of these c ...

. The parish of West Camel later became part of the

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 ...

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 ...

. The earliest written reference to West Camel dates from 995 CE, in the form of a grant of the village by Aethelred II to the monks of Muchelney Abbey. Produce exacted for the abbey grange was held in an extant 15th-century tithe barn.

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

100 and 250 metres north of Downhead Manor Farm show the early site of houses, possibly including a manor house, tracks and a fish pond. Though it had existed since before the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, this settlement had been abandoned by the late 18th century. Running through West Camel is the Leland Trail, a footpath that follows in the footsteps of John Leland, as he traversed across South Somerset in 1535–1543, during his investigations of the district's antiquities. The Leland Trail begins at King Alfred's Tower on 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 ...

/Somerset border and ends at Ham Hill Country Park.

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. As elsewhere, 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 crime, security, and traffic. Its role also includes initiating projects for maintaining and repairing parish facilities, and 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 within its responsibility. 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 ...

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 ...

, formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It had hitherto belonged to

Yeovil Rural District Yeovil 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 controls local planning and

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...

, 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 ...

. West Camel belongs to the electoral ward of

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

. 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. The village belongs to the Somerton and Frome

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 ...

. 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.

Religious sites

The Church of All Saints dates from the late 14th century. It is a Grade I

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 ...

. Its rectory dates from the early 15th century. The older wing may form part of the Grange pertaining to Muchelney Abbey; the south wing was probably added by Rev. Henry Law between 1824 and 1836.

Notable residents

Richard Amerike Richard ap Meryk, anglicised to Richard Amerike (or Ameryk) ( 1440–1503) was an Anglo-Welsh merchant, royal customs officer and, at the end of his life, sheriff of Bristol. Several claims have been made for Amerike by popular writers of the la ...

(c. 1445–1503) was a wealthy English born merchant, Royal customs officer and Sheriff of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

descent. He was principal owner of John Cabot's ship ''Matthew'' during a voyage of exploration to North America in 1497. *

Elizabeth Benger Elizabeth Ogilvy Benger (baptised on 15 June 1775 at West Camel, Somerset, died on 9 January 1827 in London) was an English biographer, novelist and poet. Some of her poetry had a strong social message. Early life and education Elizabeth was th ...

(1775–1827), poet, novelist, and biographer of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, was baptised here on 15 June 1775.ODNB entry
Retrieved 10 March 2011. Subscription required.
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References

External links

*http://www.westcamel.org.uk/
Somerset County Councilwww.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ - archive reference Anglo-Saxon charter: Aethelred II to Muchelney Abbey:
{{South Somerset Villages in South Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset