Whitestaunton

Whitestaunton
Stone building with square tower. In the foreground are gravestones.
St Andrew's church
Whitestaunton
 Whitestaunton shown within Somerset
Population 256 [1]
OS grid referenceST285105
DistrictSouth Somerset
Shire countySomerset
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town CHARD
Postcode district TA20
Dialling code 01460
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentYeovil
List of places
UK
England
Somerset

Coordinates: 50°53′20″N 3°01′21″W / 50.8889°N 3.0225°W

Whitestaunton is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Northay.

History

The univallate Iron Age hill fort at Horse Pool Camp is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the village. The hill fort is an oval univallate that is 300 metres (980 ft) long and 150 metres (490 ft) wide.[2][3]

The parish of Whitestaunton was part of the South Petherton Hundred.[4]

A Roman bath house and Edwardian folly in the village were excavated by the television series Time Team.[5]

Whitestaunton Manor dates from the 15th century and is a Grade I listed building.[6]

Governance

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 South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Chard Rural District.[7] The 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, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Yeovil 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, 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.

Religious sites

The Church of St Andrew dates from the 13th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[8]

Notable residents

References

  1. "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (EXCEL). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. "Horse Pool Camp". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  3. "Whitestaunton Camp". National Monuments Record. English Heritage. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  4. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  5. "A Roman bath house and Edwardian folly". Time Team microsite. Channel 4. 11 January 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  6. "Whitestaunton Manor". Images of England. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  7. "Chard RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. "Church of St Andrew". Images of England. Retrieved 2008-02-02.

External links

Media related to Whitestaunton at Wikimedia Commons