Wookey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 51°12′34″N 2°41′29″W / 51.2094°N 2.6915°W
| Wookey | |
  Wookey shown within Somerset |
|
| Population | 1,376 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Mendip |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WELLS |
| Postcode district | BA5 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Wells |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
- For other meanings, see Wookie.
Wookey is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is perhaps best known today for the nearby Wookey Hole Caves. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe, travels the length of the village. There used to be a port at Bleadney on the river in the 8th century which allowed goods to be brought to within 3 miles (5 km) of Wells.
Contents |
[edit] History
The name Wookey is thought to come from the Old English wocig, meaning an animal trap.[2] An alternative explanation has been offered which suggests it comes from the Celtic word ogof meaning cave.[3]
The now-closed Wookey Station, once lying on Cheddar Valley line branch of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The village included a manor house built by Bishop Jocelin of Wells in the 13th century. It was rebuilt in the sixteenth century and is now a farmhouse and Grade II* listed building.[4][3]
The population in 1821 was 1,040, comprising 223 families, of which 147 were employed in agriculture.[5]
For further reading on Wookey, a parish that once extended from the top of the Mendip hills and down the valley of the Axe, refer to the comprehensive "The Parish of Wookey :a New History" by Hasler and Luker published by Wookey Local History Group 1997. This hard back, 300page volume with many maps and photographs, together with appendices on population, place names (to up date you on the real meaning of Wookey), etc is now out of print but may be obtained via the public lending system or read in the libraries of the British Museum, Cambridge, Oxford, Dublin, Edinburgh Universities. B G Luker PS the port at Bleadney was not on the Axe but on the river that formerly ran past Glastonbury north west across the levels and through the Bleadney gap to join the Axe. This river now flows west from Glastonbury as the Brue and remains at Bleadney only as the last end of the Wookey mill stream, known erroneously as the Lower River Axe - it is not a river, it is not lower and it is not the Axe!
[edit] 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, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wells Rural District,[6] who are responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the 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, and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
[edit] Religious sites
St Matthew's church dates from the twelfth century and is a Grade I listed building.[7] It was granted to the dean of Wells by Bishop Robert, rebuilt by Bishop Reginald and assigned to the sub dean of the cathedral in 1209. The south chancel is thought to have been built to house the memorial to Thomas Clerke in 1556.[3] Beside the church stands the 19th-century Mellifont Abbey,[8] which is named after the abbey of the same name in Ireland.[3]
[edit] Notable residents
Wookey was the birthplace of the trade unionist A.J. Cook, and of Sir Arthur Pearson, the publisher and philanthropist.
The science fiction writer and social theorist, H. G. Wells, taught as a pupil-teacher for his uncle at the National School, a state-funded Anglican-dominated school in Wookey, between October and December 1880.
[edit] References
- ^ "Mendip Parish Population Estimates 2002". Somerset County Council. http://www.somerset.gov.uk/media/030F1/mendip_02mye.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
- ^ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1874336032.
- ^ a b c d Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. ISBN 187433627X.
- ^ "Court Farmhouse". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=268186. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
- ^ "Somersetshire delineated, by C. and J. Greenwood, 1822". Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=c6sHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA210&dq=wookey&as_brr=1. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Wells Rural District
- ^ "Church of St Matthew". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=268176. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
- ^ "Mellifont Abbey". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=268182. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
[edit] External links
 Bleadney Village Sign |
 The village of Bleadney viewed from Barrow Causeway |
 Christ Church in Henton |
