Yeovil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yeovil | |
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  Yeovil shown within Somerset |
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| Population | 41,871[1] |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | South Somerset |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | YEOVIL |
| Postcode district | BA20, BA21, 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 | |
Yeovil (pronounced /ˈjovɪl/) is a town in south Somerset, England, on the A30 and A37. It has a population of 41,871 at the 2001 census (est. 42,500 in 2006). The town lies within the local district of South Somerset and the Yeovil parliamentary constituency.
It has palaeolithic remains, was on an old Roman road and was recorded in the Domesday Book as the town of Givle. It has been a centre of the aircraft and defence industries.
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[edit] History
The name "Yeovil" comes via Anglo-Saxon from a corruption of the Celtic gifl "forked river",[2] or 'The river noble' from the Old English ea and aerel,[3] which became Givele.
Archaeological surveys have indicated signs of activity from the palaeolithic period, with burial and occupation sites located principally to the south of the modern town.[4]
Yeovil was on the main Roman road from Dorchester to the Fosse Way at Ilchester. The route of the old road is aligned with the A37 from Dorchester, Hendford Hill, Rustywell, aross the Westland site, to Larkhill Road, and Vagg Lane, rejoining the A37 at the Halfway House pub on the Ilchester Road. The Westland site has evidence of a small Roman town.[5] There were several Roman villas (estates) in the area, including finds at East Coker, West Coker and Lufton.[6][4]
First recorded in the Domesday Book as the town of Givle,[3] it features as a thriving market community, with a population of around 1000. In 1205 it was granted a charter by King John.[7] By the 14th century, the town had gained the right to elect a portreeve.[7] The Black Death exacted a heavy toll, killing approximately half the population.[3] In 1499 a major fire broke out in the town, destroying many of the wooden, thatched roofed buildings. Yeovil suffered further serious fires, in 1620 and again in 1643.[4]
At the time of the 1801 Census, the population of Yeovil was about 2,800.[7] During the 1800s Yeovil was a centre of the glove making industry and by 1853 was connected to the rest of Britain via railway and soon after, in 1856, the town gained borough status and was given a mayor. In the early 20th century Yeovil had around 11,000 inhabitants and was dominated by the defence industry, making it a target of German raids during World War II.
In April 2006 Yeovil became the first town in Britain to institute a somewhat controversial system of biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs. Individuals wishing to gain access to one of the town's nightclubs are being asked in the first instance to submit their personal details for inclusion in a central system. This includes a photograph and index fingerprint. Thereafter, each entry to one of the participating premises will require a fingerprint scan. If the system is proved successful at reducing crime and violence, it will be introduced in towns throughout the country.[8][9]
In late July 2007, South Somerset District Council plans were made public by the Western Gazette to build a £21m 'Yeovil Sports Zone' on Yeovil Recreation Ground,[10] which has been a popular open green space used by the local community for over seventy years. Residents are currently fighting to protect the Rec.[11][12] The free, informal recreational space of Mudford Rec, as it is known colloquially, was frequented by England Cricket great Ian Botham during his childhood stay in Yeovil.[13]
[edit] Governance
Officially designated as a borough in 1854, the town continued to lend its name to the area with the creation of the local government district of Yeovil on 1 April 1974 with the merging several neighbouring rural and urban districts which is today known as South Somerset.[7]
Yeovil is a 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. The constituency covers the towns of Yeovil, Chard, Crewkerne and Ilminster in Somerset. Until 1983 Somerset was split into four constituencies and Yeovil constituency also contained the towns of Ilchester, Martock and Somerton but they were moved into the newly created constituency of Somerton and Frome. From the next election, Yeovil constituency will contain Ilchester once again to equalise the populations of the Somerset constituencies. The Boundary Commission for England estimate the electorate of Yeovil constituency after the pending boundary changes to be 77,049. The current MP is David Laws, a member of the Liberal Democrats.[14]
Residents of Yeovil also form part of the electorate for the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament.[15]
[edit] Geography
Yeovil is situated at the Southern Boundary of Somerset, close to the border with Dorset, 130 miles (209 km) from London, 40 miles (64 km) south of Bristol and 30 miles (48 km) from Taunton.
The suburbs include: Summerlands, Hollands, Houndstone, Preston Plucknett, Penn Mill, New Town, Hendford.
Outlying villages include East Coker , Evershot, Halstock, Stoford, Sutton Bingham, Mudford and Yetminster. Other nearby villages include Bradford Abbas, Corscombe, Montacute (where one will find Montacute House), and Pendomer. The village of Brympton, now almost a suburb of Yeovil, contains the medieval manor of Brympton d'Evercy. Tintinhull is also a village close to Yeovil featuring the National Trust owned Tintinhull House and Gardens.
[edit] Climate
Along with the rest of South West England, Yeovil has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F) and shows a seasonal and a diurnal variation, but due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 °C (33.8 °F) and 2 °C (35.6 °F). July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C (69.8 °F).
The south-west of England has a favoured location with respect to the Azores high pressure when it extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Convective cloud often forms inland however, especially near hills, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. The average annual sunshine totals around 1,600 hours.
Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. Average rainfall is around 31 inches (787 mm)–35 inches (889 mm). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.[16]
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[edit] Demography
Yeovil has a population of 41,871 at the 2001 census (est. 42,500 in 2006).
| Population since 1801 - Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | |||||||||||||
| Year | 1801 | 1851 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population South Somerset[17] | 70,769 | 93,075 | 85,080 | 84,280 | 85,001 | 85,729 | 92,313 | 99,407 | 106,462 | 114,020 | 129,310 | 143,395 | 150,974 |
[edit] Economy
AgustaWestland manufactures helicopters in Yeovil,[18] and Normalair Garratt, builder of aircraft oxygen systems, is also based in the town.[19]
Yeovil's reputation as a centre of the aircraft and defence industries lived on into the 21st century despite attempts at diversification, and the creation of numerous industrial estates, the principal employer is the aviation group AgustaWestland. This firm was created through the acquisition of Westland Helicopters by Agusta in 2000. In January 1986 the proposed sale of Westland to the American Sikorski Fiat group led to a crisis in the Thatcher government, the resignation of Michael Heseltine as Defence Secretary and the resignation two weeks later of the Trade and Industry Secretary Leon Brittan after his admission of leaking of a governmental law officer's letter which harshly criticised Mr Heseltine.
British defence giant BAE Systems also operate a site which produces high-integrity networked software solutions primarily for the military.
[edit] Landmarks
The Museum of South Somerset is in Hendford.
Yeovil has two theatres, a ten-screen cinema and 18-lane ten-pin bowling alley.
Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides local health services.
One of the symbols of Yeovil is Jack the Treacle Eater, a folly consisting of a small archway topped by a turret with a statue on top. This is actually located in the village of Barwick, just to the south of the town.
[edit] Transport
The town has two railway stations on two separate railway lines. Yeovil Pen Mill is on the Bristol to Weymouth line served by the First Great Western train operating company, whilst Yeovil Junction is on the London Waterloo to Exeter line served by South West Trains. Both stations are situated some distance from the centre of Yeovil, with Pen Mill station being just under one mile to the east and Junction station being just over one mile to the south.
Yeovil also has a bus service provided by First Avon and Somerset along with coach services from Bakers and South West Tours.
[edit] Education
Yeovil is home to a number of primary and secondary schools, including Preston School, whose past pupils include actress Sarah Parish, Buckler's Mead School Sir Ian Botham's former School and Westfield School, which is also a science college. Further Education is principally offered by Yeovil College,[20] with land-based studies available through a Yeovil centre of Bridgwater College,[21] and some provision through private providers. It also contains one higher education university centre, University Centre Yeovil. The registered awarding body for the university centre is Bournemouth University.
[edit] Westfield School
Westfield School is situated on Westfield Road. It has 4 main buildings on site and over 15 different facilities. Westfield is a science college and has some of the best science facilities in somerset.[citation needed]
[edit] Religious sites
The Church of St John The Baptist dates from the late 14th century. The tower is 92 feet (28 m) high, in 4-stages with set back offset corner buttresses. It is capped by openwork balustrading eatching the parapets which are from the 19th century. There are two-light late 14th century windows on all sides at bell-ringing and bell-chamber levels, the latter having fine pierced stonework grilles. There is a stair turret to the north-west corner, with a Weather vane termination. The tower contains two bells dating from 1728 and made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family in Chew Stoke. The "Great Bell" was recast from 4,502 pounds (2,042 kg/321.6 st) to 4,992 lb (2,264 kg/356.6 st).[22] It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.[23]
[edit] Suburbs
Houndstone, Hollands, Summerlands, Penn Mill, Preston Plunkett, New Town, Hendford, Old Town.
[edit] Sport
The local football team Yeovil Town F.C. play in green and white livery. Known as the 'Glovers' (a reference to the town's glove-making past), they won promotion to Division Three as Football Conference champions.[24] They had achieved numerous FA Cup victories over Football League sides in the past 50 years, and since joining the elite they have won promotion again – as League Two champions in 2005. They came close to yet another promotion in 2007, when they reached the League One playoff final, but lost to Blackpool at the newly reopened Wembley Stadium.
[edit] Notable residents
- T. S. Eliot - Famous poet, overall winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, buried in nearby East Coker.
- Jim Cregan, guitarist with original Cockney Rebel.
- Robert Harbin - born in 1526, was a mercer by profession, who lived and died in Yeovil. He is buried in St. John the Baptist Church. His house, located at the edge of town and named Newton Surmaville, was completed in 1612 Robert was granted his coat of arms in May 1612 and given the title "Gentleman". He was not knighted.
- Michael T. Davies, Traditionalist Catholic writer and public figure (born in Yeovil in 1936)
- William K. Everson - the film historian.
- PJ Harvey - singer and songwriter.
- Sarah Parish - actress.
- Sir Ian Botham - cricketer.
- Sir William Dampier - 17th Century English explorer, the first man to circumnavigate the world twice, and to map Australia. Born in nearby East Coker.
- Stuckley Wescott - Early American (17th century) settler. Co-founder, with Roger Williams and 11 others, of Providence, Rhode Island (1636), early American religious freedom asylum.
- Trevor Peacock currently lives in the area. Most famous for his role as Jim Trott in The Vicar of Dibley.
- Martin Cranie - Plays Defence for Portsmouth Football Club.
- Steve Kitch - DJ and Producer.
- Martin Day - writer.
- The Pineapple Thief - Indie band.
[edit] Media references
Yeovil is the location for the School of Lifemanship in a series of novels by Stephen Potter: Gamesmanship (1947), Lifemanship (1950), One-Upmanship (1952), Supermanship (1958), Anti-Woo (1965) and The Complete Golf Gamesmanship (1968). The books were adapted for the 1960 film School for Scoundrels, starring Alastair Sim, Terry-Thomas, Ian Carmichael and Irene Handl[25], and the opening sequence of the film was shot on location at Yeovil Town Station (since demolished). Later they were adapted by Barry Took into a BBC TV comedy series called One-Upmanship (1974-78), starring Richard Briers and Peter Jones.[26]
Yeovil is also one of the three principal locations in John Cowper Powys's 1929 novel, Wolf Solent. Powys's father, the Reverend C. F. Powys was vicar at nearby Montacute for 32 years. Yeovil is known in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as "Ivell".
In the novel The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, the character of Maddox is cited as living in the nearby village Marston Magna. In the novel, Maddox's suicide takes place in an unspecified church in Yeovil.
Local band The Chesterfields released a single called 'Last train to Yeovil' and the pop band Bubblegum Splash also released a song called '18:10 to Yeovil Junction'.
[edit] International links
There is, in Johannesburg, South Africa, a suburb called Yeoville which has a link to Yeovil. It was proclaimed in 1890 by one Thomas Yeo Sherwell, a native of Yeovil. He named the streets after his sons, friends and business associates.
[edit] References
- ^ South Somerset District Council - Population of Yeovil
- ^ Hinton St George & Rodney Stoke in South Somerset.. Church Monuments. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b c Yeovil's History. Yeovil Town. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b c Yeovil archaeological survey. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Westland. Somerset Historic Environment Record. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Museum of South Somerset. Museum of South Somerset. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b c d A brief history of Yeovil. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ BBC - Clubs to begin finger scan pilot
- ^ Guardian - Fingerprint scanners call time on yobs in Britain's Wild West
- ^ Yeovil Sports Zone. South Somerset Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ letters. Western Gazette. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Sport Zone consultation findings. South Somerset Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Botham's mum opposes Sports Zone plan. Mid Devon Star. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Alphabetical List of Constituencies and Members of Parliament. House Of Commons Information Office. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
- ^ UK MEPs for the South West. European Parliament UK Office. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ About south-west England. Met Office. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
- ^ South Somerset: Total Population. A Vision of Britain Through Time. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
- ^ History. AgustaWestland. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
- ^ Bednall, M. P.. Celebrating fifty years of Normalair - A brief history.
- ^ Yeovil College. Yeovil College. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Bridgwater College. Bridgwater College. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ Moore, James; Roy Rice & Ernest Hucker (1995). Bilbie and the Chew Valley clock makers. The authors. ISBN 0952670208.
- ^ Church of St John The Baptist. Images of England. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
- ^ Yeovil Town. Football Club History Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Internet Movie Database: School for Scoundrels
- ^ BBC TV series: One-Upmanship
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Yeovil at the Open Directory Project
- Local Histories-Yeovil
- Yeovil Town Council
- The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Yeovil , by Clare Gathercole
- BBC Somerset
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