| Wincanton | |
Wincanton High Street |
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Wincanton
Wincanton shown within Somerset |
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| Population | 4,643 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | ST712286 |
| District | South Somerset |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WINCANTON |
| Postcode district | BA9 |
| Dialling code | 01963 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Somerton and Frome |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Wincanton is a small town in south Somerset, southwest England. The town lies on the A303 road, the main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town has a population of 4,643.[1]
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Windmill Hill was the site of a Bronze Age Beaker culture burial, and contemporary artefacts have been found on the Selwood Ridge.[2]
Prior to the Norman Conquest Wincanton and was frequently the scene of battles between the Britons, Danes and Saxons.[3] During the reign of Edmund Ironside, the English, under his command, defeated the Danes forcing them to leave England.[4]
In the Domesday Book the name of the town was spelled as Wincaleton thought to mean Pleasant town on the Cale.[5] Cockroad Wood Castle, which is now in the parish of Charlton Musgrove, was a motte and bailey castle, probably built after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.[6] The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of Ballands and Castle Orchard, and may have been built a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area. By 1086 the surrounding land was held by Walter of Douai, although no documentary evidence of the castle remains.[7]
The parish of Wincanton was part of the Norton Ferris Hundred.[8]
Wincanton was probably the site of a market in the medieval period but did not gain a market and fair charter until 1556.[9]
The town is also the point where the William of Orange gained his first advantage over King James II, in 1688.[5] A great part of the town was destroyed by fires in the years 1707,[5] and 1747.[10] In the early 19th century Wincanton was a depot for French officers, during the Napoleonic Wars.[11]
Wincanton is within the area of Somerset County Council and the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, with its own town council.[12] The town 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 town 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; their 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 South Somerset district council 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, the library, roads, public transport, trading standards and waste disposal.
It is part of the Somerton and Frome a constituency of the House of Commons. The current member of parliament is the Liberal Democrat politician David Heath CBE. He is the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons.
Residents of Wincanton also form part of the electorate for the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament which elects six MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.[13]
Wincanton Community Hospital in Dancing Lane was formerly known as Verrington Hospital and has 34 beds on two wards plus intermediate care unit.[14] It opened as an Isolation Hospital in September 1910 for patients with Scarlet Fever.[15]
The Balsam Centre is a Healthy Living Centre and also a Children's Centre for Wincanton and South East Somerset.[16]
The (War) Memorial Hall was opened on 9th. January 1959 has a stage as well as facilities for dancing or to seat 250. It also has a separate committee room that can sit 50.
Fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service.
Wincanton is situated on the north east edge of Blackmore Vale, 15 miles (24 km) north east of Yeovil, and 12 miles (19 km) north west of Shaftesbury on the extreme southeast of Somerset close to the borders of Dorset and Wiltshire.
Along with the rest of South West England, Wincanton 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).[17]
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.[17]
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 about 725 millimetres (28.5 in). 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.[17]
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Wincanton has given its name to Europe's second largest logistics company, Wincanton PLC, where it still has a base, although its head office function moved to Chippenham, Wiltshire in 2005.[18]
Wincanton is also home to Adams Foods Ltd., producer of the Pilgrim's Choice brand of Cheddar cheese, the second best selling brand in the UK.[19]
There has been an influx of foreign nationals in the last two years, especially Portuguese and Polish citizens.[20]
The Dogs (also called The Old House) was built around 1650, and was reshaped internally by Nathaniel Ireson in 1740-50. It is a grade I listed building.[21]
The town had a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway but this closed on 7 March 1966.[22]
The town lies on the A303 road, one of the main routes between London and South West England.
Primary education, up to the age of 11 is offered by Wincanton Primary School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School.[23] The history of Wincanton Primary began in 1833 when an appeal was launched to provide a National school in Wincanton and after a number of difficulties the school was built in North Street in 1838, although this had very few pupils. A school board was formed in 1871 and opened a school in the former National school buildings with over 200 pupils. In 1875 there were 206 children attending. In 1894 the board raised money for a new school to accommodate 445 children, which opened in South Street in 1897.[24]
Wincanton has one secondary school, King Arthur's Community School, which is Somerset's first specialist Sports College.[25]
The Balsam Centre is a Healthy Living Centre and also a Children's Centre.[26] Since 2005 it has received grants for the re-fitting of the training kitchen and construction and refurbishment to create a dedicated teaching area, counselling and interview rooms and a studio space for physical and community activities.[27]
The Church of St Peter and St Paul was almost totally rebuilt 1887-91 by J. D. Sedding, however parts of the tower may be remnants form an earlier church, dating from 1313, on the same site.[28] In 1793 the tower was raised by 12 feet (4 m) making it 50 feet (15 m) high, five bells were cast and a sixth added. The additional carving and north porch were added in subsequent years.[29] The churchyard include a self designed monument to the local architect Nathaniel Ireson who died in 1796.[30]
The Roman Catholic Church and Presbytery of St Luke and St Teresa was built in 1881 by the priest/architect A.J.C Scoles.[31]
There are also places of worship for Methodists, Baptists and Quakers in the town.[32]
Wincanton Museum is a small local museum in the High Street. It is housed in a late 18th or early 19th century cottage, which is a Grade II listed building,[33] which is owned by the Quakers.[34] The Museum has a collection of artefacts, documents, posters and photographs related to the social history of Wincanton and the surrounding district. There is also a replica of a Victorian kitchen and a collection of 19th and 20th century farm implements.[35] A separate room is devoted to World War I and World War II when American soldiers were stationed in the town prior to the D Day landings.[36] The museum closed in 2009, due to increased rents and the need for renovations to the building, but reopened in 2010 [34] only to close again in September 2010.[37]
The cartoonist Tony Weare was born in Wincanton.[38]
The town is the home of Wincanton Racecourse even though it is technically in the neighbouring parish of Charlton Musgrove. The track stages several big races, including the Kingwell Hurdle in February, and the CGA Chase on the same day; these races can be significant trials for the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup respectively. Several of the races at the course are shown on Channel 4.[39]
Wincanton Sports Centre was opened in 2001,[40] funded by National Lottery grant.[5]
The Sports Ground in Moor Lane provides facilities for tennis, football and bowls.[5]
The cricket club have 2 Saturday teams, 1 Sunday team and play in the recreation ground.[41]
The rugby club play at King Arthur's Community School in the town. In 2010 they won their Dorset & Wilts division of the English Rugby Union South West Division.[42]
There is also a Youth Football Club[43] which plays at Moor Lane.
Wincanton is unique in the fact that it was twinned in 2002 with a town which can only be found in fiction. As well as Gennes / Les Rosiers in France and Lahnau in Germany, Wincanton is twinned with Ankh-Morpork,[5] a fictional city state near the Circle Sea on Terry Pratchett's Discworld.[44] On 5 April 2009, a number of roads were retitled with names taken from Ankh-Morpork, such as Peach Pie Street and Treacle Mine Road,[45] after a short-list was voted upon by fans.[46] There is a shop in High Street called The Cunning Artificer, which sells collectors items relating to the Discworld.
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