Wookey

Coordinates: 51°12′34″N 2°41′29″W / 51.2094°N 2.6915°W / 51.2094; -2.6915
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Bleadney
)
Not to be confused with Wookiee, Wookie, or Wookey Hole.

Wookey
Avon and Somerset
FireDevon and Somerset
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UK
England
Somerset
51°12′34″N 2°41′29″W / 51.2094°N 2.6915°W / 51.2094; -2.6915

Wookey is a village and

civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Wells, on the River Axe in Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe
travels the length of the village. There used to be a port at Bleadney on the river in the 8th century which allowed goods to be brought to within 3 miles (5 km) of Wells. Wookey is often confused with its sister village Wookey Hole (2 miles to the north), site of the Wookey Hole Caves.

History

The name Wookey is thought to come from the Old English wocig, meaning an animal trap.[2] An alternative explanation has been offered which suggests it comes from the Celtic word ogof meaning cave,[3][4] possibly appearing also as Woky.[5]

One mile north-west of Polsham, but within the parish of Wookey, are the earthwork remains of

motte and bailey castle sited on a natural hillock.[6][7]

Fenny Castle
Christ Church in Henton

The parish was part of the

Wells Forum.[8]

The now-closed

geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
.

The village included a manor house built by Bishop Jocelin of Wells in the 13th century. It was rebuilt in the sixteenth century and is now a farmhouse and Grade II* listed building.[3][9][10]

The population in 1821 was 1,040, comprising 223 families, of which 147 were employed in agriculture.[11]

The National School was founded in the village in 1844 by St Matthew's Church. From October to December 1880, H. G. Wells joined the school as a pupil-teacher aged 12, following a relative who was headteacher at that time.[12] It later became Wookey Primary School, a community primary for around 85 children aged 4 to 11 of Wookey and the surrounding area.[13]

Governance

The

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 Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wells Rural District.[14]

The village falls within the Wookey and St Cuthbert Out West

2011 census was 2,510.[15]

It is part of the

first past the post
system of election.

Religious sites

Bishop Reginald and assigned to the sub dean of the cathedral in 1209. The south chancel is thought to have been built to house the memorial to Thomas Clerke in 1556.[3] Beside the church stands the Mellifont Abbey, which was once home to Sir Jacob Wolff, 1st Baronet, where a monument to him and his wife can be seen in the church.[17] Mellifont Abbey is named after the abbey of the same name in Ireland.[3]

Notable residents

Politics

  • John Clerke (before 1525 – after 1554), politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1547, lived in Wookey.[18]
  • Thomas Clerke (c. 1485 – 1555), MP for Wells in 1547 and father of John Clerke, lived in Wookey.[19]
  • A. J. Cook (1883–1931), trade unionist, was born in Wookey.[20]
  • Henry Rolle (1589–1656), Chief Justice of the King's Bench and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1629, acquired a manor in Wookey.[21]

Other

References

  1. ^ "Wookey Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. ISBN 1-874336-03-2
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 1-874336-27-X
    .
  4. ^ Holmes, Thomas Scott. The History of the Parish and Manor of Wookey.
  5. ^ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas. National Archives; CP40/541; year 1396; 9th entry; the defendant is William Smyth, of Woky
  6. ^ "Fenny Castle". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Fenny Castle (197243)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Court Farmhouse (1058584)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Bishop's palace (1013588)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  11. ^ Greenwood, Christopher (1822). "Somersetshire delineated, by C. and J. Greenwood, 1822". Google Books. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  12. ISBN 9781841508023
    .
  13. ^ "Wookey Primary School". Wookey Primary School. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Wells RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Wookey and St Cuthbert Out West ward 2011". Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  16. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Matthew (1295105)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
  17. ^ Historic England. "Mellifont Abbey (1180119)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  18. ^ "CLERKE, John II (by 1525-54 or later), of Wookey, Som". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  19. ^ "CLERKE, Thomas (c.1485-1555), of Wookey, Som. and London". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  20. ^ "A.J. Cook". archiveswales.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  21. ^ Hunneyball, Paul (2010). Andrew Thrush; John P. Ferris (eds.). Biography of Henry Rolle published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1604-1629.
  22. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48436. Retrieved 8 February 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  23. ^ "Sir (Cyril) Arthur Pearson, 1st Bt". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  24. ^ Boardman, David (20 September 2020). "Martin Short obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wookey.
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