Stogumber () 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 ...

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, on the eastern flank of the

Brendon Hills The Brendon Hills are a range of hills in west Somerset, England. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor and are included within the Exmoor National Park. The highest point of the range is Lype Hill at above sea level with a secon ...

. Besides Stogumber village itself, the parish includes the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Ashbeer, Capton, Escott, Higher Vexford, Kingswood, Lower Vellow, Lower Vexford, Preston, and Vellow. The village is on the route of the

Samaritans Way South West Samaritans Way South West is a Long-distance footpath in South West England. It was officially opened on 21 April 2004 by the Ramblers Vice Chairman, the Samaritans (charity) Chief Executive and a farmer from Gloucestershire who headed the Farm ...

History

The name 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 ...

''Stoke'', meaning 'place' or 'dairy farm', with the addition in 1225 of the personal name ''Gunner''. Approximately north-west of the village is Curdon Camp a

univallate A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

. The camp was nearly completely destroyed by

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

and

bulldozing A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks ...

. The parish of Stogumber was part of the Williton and Freemanners

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 ...

. The manor of Stogumber was held from 1286 by the Andleys family, and later by the Sydenhams (1396–1626) and Notleys (from 1896). Five

fulling Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

mills were established in the village between the 13th and 18th century to support the clothmaking industry. A 19th-century limekiln in Lower Vellow was originally attached to a quarry.

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 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 ...

Somerset West and Taunton Somerset West and Taunton is a local government district in Somerset, England. It was established on 1 April 2019 by the Somerset West and Taunton (Local Government Changes) Order 2018. The council replaced the Taunton Deane and West Somerset co ...

, which was established on 1 April 2019. It was previously in the district of

West Somerset West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to f ...

, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and part of

Williton Rural District Williton 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 West Somerset. The parishes ...

before that. 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 ...

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 ...

. Somerset County Council is responsible for running other 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 Bridgwater and West Somerset

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 ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. 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.

Landmarks

Combe Sydenham Combe Sydenham is an historic manor in Somerset, England. The 15th-century manor house, called Combe Sydenham House is in the parish of Stogumber, Somerset and is situated just within the boundary of Exmoor National Park. It is a Grade I lis ...

is a Grade I listed 15th-century manor house. Hartrow Manor was a late-16th-century manor house.

Transport

Stogumber railway station is an intermediate station on the

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which i ...

, now a steam-operated heritage railway operating between Bishops Lydeard, near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, and Minehead.

Religious sites

The parish Church of St Mary dates from the late 13th century. It has been designated as 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 ...

. It was founded as a Saxon minster with a chapelry at Bicknoller and other dues payable from property in Monksilver, Clatworthy and

Elworthy Elworthy is a small village and civil parish in the Brendon Hills south-east of Watchet, and west of Taunton, in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Willett. History On the Brendon H ...

. The Old Vicarage which is a now private dwelling, was built in the 15th century. The old brewhouse behind the vicarage is medieval in origin. The Chantry chapel in Vellow was licensed as the Chapel of Our Lady Sweetwell in 1542. The Baptist Church in Brook Street dates from the 19th century.

Notable residents

* George Fredrick Curtis (1906–2005), the founding

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

University of British Columbia Faculty of Law , mottoeng = Let justice be done though the heavens fall , type = Public Law School , endowment = , head_label = Dean , head = Ngai Pindell , established = , city = Vancouver , state = Br ...

was born in the village. * Elizabeth Sydenham of

married Sir Francis Drake in the village in 1583. * Richard Tucker Founder of (now)

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, in 1633 was born in Stogumber in 1594.New England Historical Genealogical Register,: Volume 53 1899

In literature

John de Stogumber is the name of a chaplain in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's play '' Saint Joan''. The name was selected after Shaw contacted the local rector to check that there was no-one living with the surname. Gabriel Stogumber is the name of a

Bow Street Runner The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in 1 ...

investigating the robbery of a consignment of newly minted gold sovereigns in

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother ...

's novel ''

The Toll-Gate ''The Toll-Gate'' is a Regency novel by Georgette Heyer, which takes place in 1817.See http://www.georgette-heyer.com/chron.html Unlike many of Heyer's historical novels which concentrate on a plucky heroine, this one follows the adventures of a ...

''.

References

External links

* The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey
Stogumber
by Clare Gathercole
Stogumber village websiteStogumber Church website
{{West Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset Villages in West Somerset