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Croscombe is a village and civil parish west of
Shepton Mallet 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 ...
and from
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 ...
, in the
Mendip Mendip may refer to: *Mendip District, a local government district of Somerset, England * Mendip Hills, a group of hills in Somerset, England ** Mendip Way, a footpath across the Mendip Hills **Mendip TV Mast, a transmitter in the Mendips area *For ...
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 public house, a Church, a chapel and a school.


History

North-east of the village and within the parish boundary is
Maesbury Castle Maesbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort within the parish of Croscombe on the Mendip Hills, just north of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. It has been listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The name is derived from ''maes'', meaning ''fiel ...
, an Iron Age hill fort. It was first recorded in 706 when King Ine of Wessex referred to the village as ''Correges Cumb''. The parish of Croscombe was part of the
Whitstone Whitstone is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is roughly halfway between the towns of Bude and Launceston. The population at the 2011 census was 590. History The earliest mention of the village is in the Dome ...
Hundred. Croscombe emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries with a boom in the wool trade. During this period many houses,
cottages A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...
and hostelries were built and the church was reconstructed. During the Industrial Revolution, silk, mining, quarrying and
milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using rota ...
replaced the wool trade. In 1848 the River Sheppey powered two mills for grinding corn, one for winding silk, and another used as a stocking manufactory.
The Old Manor Norbury Manor is a 15th-century Elizabethan manor house and the adjoining 13th-century stone-built medieval Norbury Hall, known as The Old Manor in Norbury near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. It is a Grade I listed building. The manor was owned by t ...
was built around 1460–89 as a rectorial manor house for Hugh Sugar, the Treasurer of Wells Cathedral. It was altered in the 16th and 18th centuries, and in the 20th century by the Landmark Trust. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The village cross was put in place in the 19th century, replacing an older one which had been there since the 14th century. It is heavily weathered (the rock type is
oolite Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 ...
- a soft limestone), especially on the front right where it serves as a seat for patrons of the adjacent public house now known as '''The Cross bed and breakfast. In August 1861 the local waywardens decided that the village cross was a hindrance to the public way and endeavoured to remove it. The villagers were much against this and when masons from a neighbouring city began the act of despoiling it, the villagers gathered around the cross in its defence and a melee ensued involving both men and women inhabitants. The demolishing party were eventually driven off but not before the shaft had been broken and its finial broken in two. A flag was hoisted by the villagers bearing upon it the legend "Be Faithful" . During that night around 30 villagers volunteered to bivouac around the cross to guard it during the night. No other attempt has been made to remove the cross since. The village's public house is ''The George Inn''.


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 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
Mendip Mendip may refer to: *Mendip District, a local government district of Somerset, England * Mendip Hills, a group of hills in Somerset, England ** Mendip Way, a footpath across the Mendip Hills **Mendip TV Mast, a transmitter in the Mendips area *For ...
, 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 Wells Rural District, which 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, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical, ligh ...
, local roads,
council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
, environmental health, markets and fairs,
refuse collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable m ...
and recycling,
cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
and
crematoria Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
, leisure services, parks and tourism.
Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...
is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education,
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
, libraries, main roads, public transport,
policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning. The village falls in the 'Croscombe and Pilton'
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
. The ward stretches from ''Croscombe'' in the north east to Pilton in the south. North Wootton is also included. The total parish population at the 2011 census was 2,284. It is also part of the
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 ...
county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election. It was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to
Britain leaving the European Union Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EA ...
in January 2020, which elected seven
MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.


Religious sites

The large Church of St Mary the Virgin is of particular interest, having an unusual spire for Somerset, and Jacobean interior woodwork of national renown. It is primarily from the 15th and 16th centuries with 19th-century
restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
. It includes a peal of six bells, the earliest dated 1613, and an organ from 1837. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The Old Rectory (also known as Parsonage House) was built in the 17th century and rebuilt in the 18th. It is a Grade II listed building. In 2014 it was announced by the
Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...
that the house would be purchased, for £900,000 as a residence for
Peter Hancock Peter Hancock (born 26 July 1955) is a retired Church of England bishop. He served as the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 2014 to 2021, having previously been the Bishop of Basingstoke, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Winchester, from 2010 to ...
the incoming Bishop of Bath and Wells as an alternative to living at the traditional Bishop's Palace in
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 ...
, to provide him with more privacy. This proposition was strongly opposed by the populace and eventually abandoned. The rectory was resold.


References


External links

{{Mendip Villages in Mendip District Civil parishes in Somerset