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Rode (formerly Road) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the ceremonial county of Somerset in England, north-east of Frome and south-west of Trowbridge. The small settlement of Rode Hill, north-east of Rode village, is now contiguous with it. The village lies within a mile of the Wiltshire border and is the easternmost settlement in Somerset. The Wiltshire village of Southwick is 2 miles (3 km) to the north-east.


History

The village appears as "Rode" in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, but the spelling was labile from an early date: it is "Roda" in assize rolls of 1201, "la Rode" in a charter roll of 1230; by the 18th century "Road" was regarded as the usual form. This was reverted to the older spelling "Rode" by Somerset County Council in 1919. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon ''rod'', meaning a clearing. The parish was part of the
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 ...
of Frome. Rode developed from being an early crossing point of the river Frome to a large village of three manors and several mills at the time of the Norman invasion. By 1250 Rode was awarded the privilege of holding a weekly market and annual fair. The main settlement is close to the river but there is also a cluster of houses further east around St. Lawrence's church, near Seymour's Court, the Lord of the Manor's house. Rode's prominence was greatest during the 16th and 17th centuries, when the wool milling industry boomed in the South West; a success due largely to the meandering nature of its rivers, which afforded the space for the construction of mill ponds and streams, and because of its close proximity to the international port of
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. At one point Rode was home to four or five wool mills which created great wealth for the village and funded the construction of many large houses in the village, such as Rode Manor, Langham House, Merfield House and Southfield House. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries the village centre thrived enough for Rode to be known as a market town. Possibly the greatest achievement of Rode's milling industry came in the 18th century, when a consortium of Rode mills won a competition to make a robe for Queen Charlotte. In winning the prize, a business in the village invented the dye Royal Blue and received a certificate to sell it under that name. By the middle to the end of the 19th century, the wool mills of Rode were struggling, like many in the South West region, as a result of both the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
and the invention of steam power, which caused mills to move to northern industrial centres. Rode Hill was transferred from Wiltshire to Somerset in 1937. Rode is now largely a dormitory village, offering good access to
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, Bath, Trowbridge and Frome.


The murder at Road Hill House

Rode was the scene of one of the most infamous murders of the 19th century when Constance Kent was arrested by order of the town
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
s for the murder of her 3-year-old half-brother at Road Hill House (now Langham House). The case was investigated by
Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
Jack Whicher. Although released at her committal hearing, Kent was later to confess, was charged and received the mandatory death sentence. This was commuted to life imprisonment, of which she served twenty years.


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. 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 parish 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 ...
of Mendip (established 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 ...
). It was part of Frome Rural District before 1974. The village falls in the 'Rode and Norton St Philip' electoral ward. The ward has its northern edge in Norton St Philip, then it stretches south through Rode to Lullington. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 2,227. It is also part of the Frome and East Somerset county 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.


Religious sites

The Church of St Lawrence dates from the late 14th and early 15th century. It was restored in 1874 by Charles Edward Davis and is a Grade I
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 ...
. There is also a Baptist-Methodist chapel, dating from 1809, which has Grade II listed building status for the gates and walls. Christ Church at Rode Hill was built in 1824 but was declared redundant in 1995 and is now a house and violin shop.


Landmarks

Rode is home to two village pumps, a mounted plough, a wellhead pump, an elaborate village sign, a flagpole and a
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
in the form of a cross. The latter three are on the village green. A three-arch packhorse bridge crosses the River Frome. It is wide and has a total span of .


Amenities

Facilities in the village include a village school, pre-school, shop/post office, physiotherapy and acupuncture clinic, chocolate factory, recreation ground and a cricket club, which was founded in about 1895. There used to be several mills in the village, one of which has now been converted into the Mill pub. Other pubs in Rode are the Cross Keys and the Bell. Until 1962, the village was home to Fussell's Brewery, which grew up behind the Cross Keys Inn. It continued to be used as a bottling plant and distribution depot by Bass until 1992. The site was eventually sold off to a housing developer despite strong opposition from residents, as was the site of Rode Tropical Bird Gardens, an animal sanctuary and small zoo, which closed its doors to the public in 2001.


References


External links


Rode Village website

Rode First School
{{Authority control Villages in Mendip District Civil parishes in Somerset