Norton St Philip

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Norton Saint Philip
Norton St Philip (Somerset)
Norton St Philip

Norton Saint Philip shown within Somerset
Population 952[1]
OS grid reference ST775555
District Mendip
Shire county Somerset
Region South West
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
European Parliament South West England
UK Parliament Somerton and Frome
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Coordinates: 51°17′53″N 2°19′19″W / 51.298, -2.322

Norton Saint Philip is a Village in Somerset, England, located between the City of Bath and the town of Frome. The village is in the district of Mendip, and the parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome

Contents

[edit] History

The earliest signs of habitation can be found a mile to the east of the current village, where the Roman road from Bath to Poole passed. The village is later recorded in the Domesday book as supporting 20 people, three ploughs, a mill and 20 acres of meadow. A priory was founded near the village in 1232 and had links with the village until its dissolution under the orders of Henry VIII on 31 March 1540. Norton developed a thriving wool trade and became the site of a regional market, signs of which can be seen in local surnames such as Weaver.

Norton St Philip was the site of a battle during the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, and the east-west street on the village's northern edge, officially recorded as Cheneys Street, is referred to locally as Bloody Lane, reportedly as the battle caused so much bloodshed it flowed down this hill. In the aftermath of the failed rebellion Judge Jefferies conducted 12 executions on the village common, known as Churchmead or The Mead, as part of the Bloody Assizes. The route he took to The Mead is known as Jefferies Gate.

The George Inn, one of a number of establishments that claims to be Britain’s oldest tavern, is located in the centre of the village. It was built in the 14th or 15th century,[2] as a wool store for the priory at Hinton Charterhouse[3] and to accommodate travellers and merchants coming to the annual wool fairs that were held in the village from the late 13th century until 1902. In the 15th century the timber framed upper floors were added.[4] The Inn became part of the stage coach route between London and the South West; on 12 June 1668 the noted diarist Samuel Pepys, with his wife and servants, passed through Norton St Philip on their way to Bath from Salisbury.[3] The Inn was later used as the Headquarters of Monmouth's army after his retreat from Bath, and was further used as a court by Judge Jefferies.

The church of St. Philip and St. James dates from the 14th century with restoration in 1847 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.[5]

[edit] Today

Today the village is largely a dormitory settlement for the surrounding towns, and the High Street is a congested, though fast by local standards, commuting route into Bath. Recently, measures have been taken to slow down the "rat run" traffic through the village by the installation of bollards designed to inhibit through-traffic mounting the pedestrian footpath. Over recent years, the through-traffic utilising the village as a "rat run" had increased drastically, with the side effect being the increase in traffic incidents involving damage to the cars of the village's inhabitants. There is also an hourly bus service operated by First Group. New development has greatly increased the size of the village in the last generation, but there has been a significant reduction in services, with the police station, post office and shops all having closed. Facenda operated a poultry processing plant until the late '90s, when the property was burnt down. The company has since been attempting to develop the site as housing, though local objections have prevented development to date.

[edit] Gallery of images

Frontal view of "The George Inn"

View from courtyard of "The George Inn"

"The Plaine" guest house

Church of Saint Philip and Saint James

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mendip Parish Population Estimates 2002. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
  2. ^ The George Inn. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  3. ^ a b Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books, 20. ISBN 0906456983. 
  4. ^ Scott, Shane (1995). The hidden places of Somerset. Aldermaston: Travel Publishing Ltd, 37. ISBN 1902007018. 
  5. ^ Church of St. Philip and St. James. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.

[edit] External links