Kilmersdon | |
The old post office |
|
Kilmersdon
Kilmersdon shown within Somerset |
|
Population | 505 [1] |
---|---|
OS grid reference | ST695525 |
District | Mendip |
Shire county | Somerset |
Region | South West |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | RADSTOCK |
Postcode district | BA3 |
Dialling code | 01761 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | Wansdyke to be North East Somerset from next general election. |
List of places: UK • England • Somerset |
Kilmersdon is a small village located in the north of Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. The settlement is recorded in William I's Domesday book and dates back at least 1,000 years; though the core of the village dates from the mid nineteenth century.
Contents[hide] |
The name Kilmersdon means 'Cynemaer's Hill'.[2]
The parish was part of the Kilmersdon Hundred,[3]
The area has the remains of many disused coal mines which were part of the Somerset coalfield. Access to coal mining beneath Kilmersdon was through a network of tunnels from an entrance at Haydon, a nearby hamlet. Because of this, visual evidence of mining is sparse; although in the past some buildings have collapsed due to subsidence and others have evidence of movement — including the church. Kilmersdon is just off the route of NCR 24, the Colliers Way. The Kilmersdon Road Quarry is a 0.43 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Kilmersdon is said to be the "home" of the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme, the fabled hill being recently restored as part of a local Millennium scheme. Immediately adjacent to the newly restored well is Kilmersdon Primary School, which was established (though not in the current building) in 1707. Other local amenities include Norton Garden Machinery (formerly a petrol station and garage) and The Jolliffe Arms - named after the Jolliffe family, whose estate is responsible for building much of Kilmersdon. The local post office closed in 1998.
Nearby is the Ammerdown Conference and Retreat Centre. Lord Hylton's son Andrew and his family currently live at Ammerdown — the current Lord Hylton lives in Hemmington. His estate covers many of the villages around including Kilmersdon, although much of the property in this estate is run by a charitable housing association set up by Lord Hylton.
A pair of lodges, gate piers and gates, associated with Ammerdown House, which were built in 1788–94 by James Wyatt, are Grade II* listed buildings and on the English Heritage register of buildings at risk.[4][5]
Kilmersdon Parish Council covers the village of Kilmersdon, Charlton, South View and Green Parlour. 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 Frome Rural District,[6] which is 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 Somerton and Frome parliamentary 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.
Kilmersdon Church (St Peter and St Paul) is located in the centre of the village. It dates back to the Norman period, though much of the current structure was built during the Victorian era. The tower is in four stages, includes corner buttresses with shafts and pinnacles, and is connected across the angle. The tower contains a ring of six bells, the heaviest being a tenor of 21 cwt. The summit has large corner shafts with pinnacles. There are traceried 3-light bell-chamber windows with a dense quatrefoil interlace and blank 2-light windows on the two lower stages. The flanked niches were for statuary, however this is now missing. The church has a triangular lychgate designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is a Grade I listed building.[7]
|