Edington is a rural village, situated on the north side of the Polden Hills in Somerset, England.
| Edington | |
|---|---|
 The Village Hall | |
 Edington Holy Well | |
  Edington Location within Somerset | |
| Population | 372 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST385395 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRIDGWATER |
| Postcode district | TA7 |
| Dialling code | 01278 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| Burtle | ||
| Chilton Polden |
  Edington  |
Catcott |
| Stawell | Sutton Mallet |
Either side of it lie the villages of Chilton Polden and Catcott, and north of it is the small village of Burtle. There is a 12th-century church, but the nearest primary school is in the village of Catcott.
Edington has a surgery[2] and a village hall.[3]
At the north end of the village is a Holy Well.[4]
History
edit
Archaeology
editThe 1888-1913 Ordnance Survey map of Edington shows the site of a Roman pottery kiln. Bronze Age palstaves have also been found at a site near Edington.[5]
The Domesday Book
editEdington was located in the hundred of Whitley and the county of Somerset. In 1086, it had a recorded population of approximately 20.7 households. [6]
Transport links
editEdington was once linked to the towns of Glastonbury and Burnham-on-Sea by the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and was later a junction for the short branch to Bridgwater, which opened in 1890. Edington railway station was known as Edington Junction between 1890 and 1953, changing to Edington Burtle on the closure of the Bridgwater line and closing on 7 March 1966.[7]
Governance
editThe 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.
For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Sedgemoor, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Bridgwater Rural District.[8]
The village falls within the 'West Polden' electoral ward. The ward stretches from Burtle in the north to Stawell in the south. The total ward population as at the 2011 census was 2,375.[9]
It is also part of the Wells and Mendip Hills 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 was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Geography
editCatcott, Edington and Chilton Moors SSSI is a 1083 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest consisting of land south of the River Brue managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust and is known for the variety of the bird life. The site consists of low-lying land south of the River Brue, which floods on a regular basis; land north is included in the Tealham and Tadham Moors SSSI. The site is managed by Somerset Wildlife Trust and includes the Catcott Lows National Nature Reserve, of grassland in the summer, but flood during the winter, creating a perfect habitat for wintering waterfowl and Bewick's swans,[10] Roe deer and several invertebrate species of scientific interest also inhabit the area,[11][12] Catcott Heath[13] and Catcott North.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "Edington Surgery". NHS. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Edington Village Hall". Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Holy Well (Edington)". www.megalithic.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ Somerset Sheet LI.NW (Map) (OS Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952 ed.). Ordnance Survey. 1886. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Powell-Smith, Anna. "Open Domesday - Edington". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Gillett, Steph (15 February 2016). The Somerset & Dorset Railway Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445650371.
- ^ "Bridgwater RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "West Polden ward 2011". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Catcott Lows". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 3 December 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ English Nature citation sheet for the site Archived September 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 6 August 2006)
- ^ Brown, Alan. "Catcott Lows NNR". Avalon Marshes Reserve Guides. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
- ^ "Catcott Heath". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Catcott North". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 18 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
Sources
editExternal links
edit- "Edington, in A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 8, the Poldens and the Levels, ed. Robert Dunning (London: Victoria County History, 2004), 50-63". British History Online. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- Dunning, Robert W. (2004). A history of the county of Somerset, Vol. 8, The Poldens and the Levels. Victoria history of the counties of England. University of London Institute of Historical Research. London: Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9781904356332. OCLC 230765091.
