Barwick, Somerset
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Barwick | |
  Barwick shown within Somerset |
|
| Population | 1,289[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | South Somerset |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | YEOVIL |
| Postcode district | BA22 |
| Dialling code | 01935 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Yeovil |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Barwick is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated two miles south of Yeovil in the South Somerset district and on the border with Dorset.
Settlement may go back as far as Saxon times, with the earliest mention of Barwick is in 1185. The village has a population of 1,289.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Barwick Park
The estate had originally formed part of the property of Syon Abbey, and passed through various hands after the Dissolution in the 1530s. The present house and park are thought to have been built in 1770 by John and Grace Newman, whose relations owned neighbouring Newton Surmaville.
The house was set in pleasure grounds containing a lake and grotto, while the surrounding parkland was ornamented with a gothic lodge and a group of four follies. In the early 1800s the estate passed to a Yeovil glove manufacturer, George Messiter, and in 1830 the mansion was remodelled in a Jacobean Revival style. An orangery was constructed adjoining the north side at the same period.[2] During the early 1900s the estate again passed through several hands, and for a period in the mid 1950s the mansion was used as an approved school. During World War II, it was the location of a Prisoner of War camp, initially housing Italian prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign, and later German prisoners post the Battle of Normandy.
In the 1990s the estate was sold to a private owner, and substantial repairs were carried out to the House, orangery, and landscape structures. The site remains in private ownership [1]
[edit] Barwick Park Follies
Barwick Park boasts four follies. Bought by South Somerset District Council for a nominal £5 when the estate was sold in the early 1990s, these extraordinary follies are something of a mystery. Locals say they were built to give the estate labourers work during a time of depression during the 1820s. They were possibly commissioned by George Messiter of Barwick to mark the park boundaries at the four cardinal points: Jack the Treacle Eater (a rought stone arch topped by a round tower) to the east,[3] the Fish Tower in the north,[4] Messiter's Cone (also known as the Rose Tower), which is 75 feet (23 m) high,[5] at the west[6] end and the Needle to the south.[7] However, paintings of Barwick house in the 1780s, forty years earlier, include two of the follies.
[edit] St Mary Magdalene Church
The church is located just off the A37 on the western end of the village, about 1/2 mile away from the main centre of population.
The church was built at the turn of the thirteenth century and continues to offer weekly worship today. No longer with a resident Vicar, these days the parish is part of the benefice of Holy Trinity, Yeovil.
The most architecturally significant feature of the church are the benchends, dating from 1533 - the very eve of the English Reformation. The benchends depicts scenes from village life as well as typical religious symbolism from that period such as the Green Man and the unicorn, a symbol of eternal life. There are also religious objects dating back much earlier, presumably from the church originally on the site e.g. the Norman font
In spite of some re-ordering during the Victorian period, it is still very easy to imagine how the church would have looked almost 500 years ago. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.[8]
[edit] Gallery
 The Cone |
 Jack the Treacle Eater |
 Fish Tower |
[edit] References
- ^ a b 2002 population estimates. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ Barwick House and orangery. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ Jack the Treacle Eater. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ The Fish Tower. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books, 91. ISBN 0906456983.
- ^ The Rose Tower. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ Needle Obelisk. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
