Priddy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Priddy | |
  Priddy shown within Somerset |
|
| Population | 679[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| 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 | Wells |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and 5 miles (8 km) north west of Wells. It is in the local government district of Mendip.
The village, lies in a small hollow near the summit of the Mendip range of hills, at an elevation of nearly 1,000 feet (305 m) above sea-level, and has evidence of occupation since neolithic times. There are also the remains of lead mining activities and caves in the limestone beneath the village.
It is the venue for the annual Folk Festival and Sheep Fair which has been held here since 1348, a pile of sheep hurdles can be seen on the village green. The village is currently campaigning against the Mendip Farmers' Hunt from moving into the village.
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[edit] Etymology
Priddy, with medieval variations of spellings such as Predy, Priddie, Pridi, Pridia, Pridie and Prydde, is a name that has been ascribed to the Welsh influence that pre-dated the arrival of the Saxon English. It has been particularly attributed to pridd (= "earth"). This might be suggestive of the Iron Age mining activities. The Latin words pratum (= a meadow) and praedium (= a farm) have given rise to such Alpine names as Preda and Prada and it has been suggested that they are also the root for the cymric word's prydd, pryddion meaning "production", as with a fertile meadow. "Priddy" could just mean "meadow land".[2]
An alternative explanation is 'The high water' from the Celtic prid and the Old English ea,[3] and another alternative suggests it could come from the Welsh word preiddiau, pronounced preidhye, meaning flock or herd.[4]
[edit] History
Nearby are the Priddy Circles a Stone circle or Henge monument, which appears to be contemporary with Stonehenge, i.e. Neolithic circa 2180 BC.[5] The North Hill location of two round barrow cemeteries, Ashen Hill and Priddy Nine-Barrows which are neighbours of the Circles, would seem to imply that the area to the northeast of Priddy held ritual significance into the Bronze Age.[6]
Lead was being worked as far back as 300 to 200 BC. The area to the east and to the north west of the village shows extensive patches of "gruffy ground". The word "gruffy" derives from the grooves that were formed where the lead ore was extracted from veins near the surface. The relatively easy opencast extraction of lead was a strong attraction for the Romans. Lead ingots found in the neighbourhood have been dated to AD49.[7][8] The ruins of St Cuthbert's Leadworks which closed in 1908 can still be seen.[9][10]
Although the village is not mentioned in the Domesday Book it appears to be the subject of a lost Saxon charter of the late 7th or 8th century.[6]
South of the village at Deer Leap is a Bronze age burial mound and the remains of a medieval settlement of Ramspit.
[edit] SSSIs & Caves
Priddy Pools, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which were originally formed when the Romans started mining lead from the area. Priddy Caves are also an SSSI with the entrance to Swildon's Hole just outside the village. Priddy Mineries is a Nature Reserve. The other Caves of the Mendip Hills in and around Priddy include; Eastwater Cavern, Hunter`s Hole, St Cuthbert's Swallet, and Wigmore Swallet.
[edit] Church
The church, dedicated to St. Lawrence, dates from the 13th century, with some rebuilding in the 15th century and was restored in 1881-88, and is a grade I listed building.[11] The three bells in the church were augmented to five in 1997. The church includes a medieval alter frontal.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Mendip Parish Population Estimates 2002. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
- ^ About Priddy. Priddy Folk Festival. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
- ^ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1874336032.
- ^ Autumn newsletter 2007 (PDF). Mendip Hills AONB. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Dunning, Robert (1983). A History of Somerset. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-461-6.
- ^ a b Mendip Hills An Archaeological Survey of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (PDF). Somerset County Council Archaeological Projects. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.
- ^ About Priddy. Priddy Folk Festival. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
- ^ Gough, J.W. (1967). The mines of Mendip. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B0000CNKWB.
- ^ Atthill, Robin (1976). Mendip: A new study. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0715372971.
- ^ Toulson, Shirley (1984). The Mendip Hills: A Threatened Landscape. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 057503453X.
- ^ Church of St Lawrence. Images of England. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
- ^ Reid, Robert Douglas (1979). Some buildings of Mendip. The Mendip Society. ISBN 0905459164.
[edit] External links
- Mendip District Council
- Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Priddy Village Web site
- Priddy Primary School
- Map of Priddy circa 1900
