Sparkford is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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 ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde. It is situated near the junction 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 prima ...

from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

and the A359 from

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021. Frome was one of the largest tow ...

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

. In 1986 a bypass was built to take the main traffic on the A303 around the north of the village. The population is 617 mostly living along the old A303 and Church Road, which runs down to the former water mill and the church.

History

There is evidence for continuous occupation from Roman to Saxon times. The village is listed 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 ...

for Somerset as Spercheforde. It was held in 1086 by Fulwin from Walter de Douai having been held by Alwakin 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. 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 Catsash. In about 1335 the manor was held by Nicholas de Hanyton, while by 1370 it was held by John Lovel of Titchmarsh. The next known owner is Sir Thomas Essex who held the manor in about 1554. Richard Newman acquired Sparkford manor in 1610 and this family held it until 1792. It then passed to the Bennett family of

North Cadbury North Cadbury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wincanton, by the River Cam, Somerset, River Cam, in Somerset, England. It shares its Parish councils in England, parish council with nearby Yarlington and its civil ...

. The village appears formerly to have been situated south of the church, rather than to the north of it as at present. There are still signs of earthworks in the field that used to be called Lickhill. Some archaeological investigations have recently been carried out but the results are not yet known.

Governance

Sparkford is part of

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives ...

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

, which elects two councillors to

Somerset Council Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unita ...

. It also has a parish council which has responsibility for some local issues. The village was part of Wincanton Rural District 1894 to 1974, and

South Somerset South Somerset was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 1974 to 2023. The district covered an area of ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It had a population of appr ...

from 1974 to 2023, for which it was part of the

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with 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 ...

electoral ward. It is also part of the Glastonbury and Somerton 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 ...

Transport

Roads

The present main roads have been important for many years. The bridge was widened in 1815. The

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

for the turnpike to Wincanton still exists but is now a private house (The Octagon). The Sparkford Inn, dating from the 15th century, was an important coaching house and continues to be a popular hostelry. It used to be a meeting place for the local hunt but this is now combined with the

Blackmore Vale The Blackmore Vale (; less commonly spelt ''Blackmoor'') is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. Geography The vale is part of the Stour valley and part of ...

one. Public transport provision is sparse; South West Coaches operates routes 1 and 1B through Sparkford, eight times a day towards Yeovil and six times a day towards

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, some southwest of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells, Somerset, Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. ...

, except on Sundays.

Railway

When the railway was built through Sparkford in 1877, there was a rearrangement of the roads, but the lines of the old ones can still be seen. The track was part of the

Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained an act of Parliament giving powers to build the line in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to ...

(later

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

) and ran from Thingley Junction in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

to Weymouth. There was a station, which served a wide district, and later a siding for

milk train Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutrie ...

s for the milk factory, but both are now decommissioned. However, the track is still in use.

Milk factory

Sparkford Vale Cooperative Dairy Society had a factory by the railway from 1918 until 1938. Water for its use was taken from the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

. This factory was taken over by the Haynes Publishing Company (renowned for its car manuals) in the 1960s and has since greatly expanded.

Schools

The village school was erected in 1849 and enlarged in 1892. It was for 80 children with an average attendance of 61, with a master and mistress. It is now closed and has become the village hall. The village's primary age children now generally go to Countess Gytha Primary School in

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

. Just to the north of Sparkford is

Hazlegrove Preparatory School Hazlegrove Preparatory School is a non-selective co-educational preparatory school at Sparkford, Somerset in the south west of England. Hazlegrove is part of a foundation which also incorporates King's School, Bruton - a senior school located ...

, which is an independent preparatory school for

King's School, Bruton King's Bruton is an independent fully co-educational secondary boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Bruton, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1519 by Richard FitzJames, and received royal foundation sta ...

. In early 2011 the village hall once more became utilised for the purpose of a local playgroup. The Galhampton Pre-school re-located to Sparkford due to structural problems with Galhampton village hall. After a few years being located at Sparkford in Sept 2016 the Galhampton Pre-school closed its doors due to dwindling numbers applying to the Pre-school. It has now joined to the North Cadbury Primary School.

Church

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is still as described in 1868, but the parish is now part of a Benefice known as Cam Vale which includes Queen Camel, West Camel, Corton Denham, Weston Bampfield and Sutton Montis. The building dates from the 14th century with the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

built in 1824 by Thomas Ellis of local grey lias stone cut and squared, with

Hamstone Hamstone is a honey-coloured building stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It is a well-cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by marked bedding planes of clay inclusions and less well-cemented material which weather dif ...

dressings. The first known incumbent of the church was in 1297 and the monumental inscriptions date back to Johes Clyke, who died in 1513. It has been 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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a grade II*

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 ...

. The former rectory, which was used by the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and then used as an egg packing station, is now used for private housing. The former glebe land was also sold off for housing. The Church of the Holy Cross in Weston Bampfylde was built in the 13th century. The graveyard is also the burial site of the noted author and spiritual teacher J.G. Bennett (1897-1974) whose family were prominent in Sparkford in the 19th and earlier 20th centuries.

Amenities

Sparkford has a cricket field by the old A303 with a successful local team. There is a playing field for children off Church Road, run by a trust. Another trust looks after Sparkford Hill copse to the west of the village.

Sparkford Wood Sparkford Wood () is an 8.4 hectare (20.7 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Sparkford in Somerset, notified in 1954. Sparkford Wood is a broadleaved semi-natural woodland situated on heavy fertile soils. It dates from at ...

, to the north of the village, is privately owned and is a

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 ...

. It is generally opened to the public for charity at bluebell time.

Motor museum

The

Haynes International Motor Museum Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford near Yeovil in Somerset, England, contains over 400 cars and motorcycles and a collection of other automobilia. The museum was established in 1985 by John Harold Haynes OBE (1938–2019). It is a registered c ...

has over 340 cars and bikes and is continually growing. It is often used as a start/finish point for car and motorbike rallies.

Local businesses

Sparkford is still a centre for milk distribution. There is a well known sawmill which makes sheds and many other things. There is a caravan and camping park, Long Hazel Park, which is a convenient base to visit Somerset, as well as being a place from which to explore local attractions such as Cadbury Castle, and the

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintings ...

, and nearby towns including Castle Cary and Bruton. Long Hazel Park was established on the same ground as the Sparkford Vale Co-Operative Dairy immediately after WW2 and used as urgent post-war housing. At one time Sparkford had three garages, but one has since been demolished after the bypass was built. Wakes Garage was the centre for a bus company for many years.

Local organisations

3rd Sparkford Scout Group (Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Young Explorers) meet in the Village Hall weekly during term time and are involved in local Parish events such as the Remembrance Sunday Parade. There is also a thriving young farmers' club.

References

External links

Sparkford Parish Council WebsiteSparkford Village WebsiteSt Mary Magdalene, Sparkford
{{Authority control Villages in South Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset