Chard, Somerset
Chard | |
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Avon and Somerset | |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Chard is a town and a
The name of the town was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the
The town has a very unusual feature, a stream running along either side of
History
The earliest evidence of settlement near Chard is the Iron Age fort of Cotley Castle overlooking the Town near Bound's Lane. There was a small Saxon settlement centred round the Church and the area is still known as 'Old Town'. Chard's name was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the
Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577.[3][6] After this time the town was largely rebuilt including Waterloo House and Manor Court House in Fore Street which were built as a house and courtroom, and have now been converted into shops and offices.[7] In 2023, the historic Court House building was acquired by Somerset Council to safeguard its future.[8] Further damage to the town took place during the English Civil War with both sides plundering its resources, particularly in 1644 when Charles I spent a week in the town.[3]
A 1663 will by Richard Harvey of Exeter established Almshouses which became Harvey's Hospital. These were rebuilt in 1870 largely of stone from previous building.[3][9] In 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion, the pretender James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, was proclaimed King in the Town and several locals joined his forces. Commander of the pursuing Royalist army, John Churchill, made a severe cautionary speech to the townsfolk in St Mary's. After the rebellion collapsed, Chard witnessed the execution and traitor's death of 12 of the Duke of Monmouth's rebels, who were summarily tried and condemned at Taunton Castle by Judge Jeffreys. They were hung, drawn and quartered by the 'Handcross tree' whose site was near the present Tesco roundabout. The tree was removed by the railway in 1864 amid loud local protests.[3]
There was a
On Snowdon Hill is a small cottage which was originally a toll house built by the Chard Turnpike trust in the 1830s,[13] to collect fees from those using a road up the hill which avoided the steep gradient.[14]
Chard is indeed the birthplace of
Chard was a key point on the Taunton Stop Line, a World War II defensive line consisting of pillboxes and anti-tank obstacles, which runs from Axminster north to the Somerset coast near Highbridge.[18] In 1938 a bomb proof bunker was built behind the branch of the Westminster Bank. During the war it was used to hold duplicate copies of the bank records in case its headquarters in London was destroyed. It was also used to store the emergency bank note supply of the Bank of England. There has also been speculation that the Crown Jewels were also stored there, however this has never been confirmed.[19]
Every year, the annual Chard Eating Competition is held with many residents turning out to see who can eat the most. In 2016, local resident Harley Richards, was the winner managing a consecutive 37 hot dogs and nettles. Harley later came back for a second helping after COVID-19 restrictions were lessened in 2021. This time consuming 39 hot dogs and nettles.[21]
Governance
Chard was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and remained a municipal borough[22] until the Local Government Act 1972, when it became a successor parish in the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset. (Somerset will be a unitary authority[23] from 1 April 2023).
The town council (a
In 2006 Chard Town Council came to the attention of the National Press when Mayor Tony Prior was found guilty of sexual discrimination and victimisation of the Town Clerk. He was ordered to pay £33,000 in compensation.[26] Prior was banned from holding public office for nine months but was returned to council (as an independent Councillor) in a 2010 by-election.[27]
The South Somerset district council is responsible for
The civil parish of Chard Town (its formal name) contains six electoral wards – Avishayes, coombe, Crimchard, Holyrood, Jocelyn and shepards lane.
Chard is part of the
Twinnings
Chard is
Geography
At an altitude of 121 metres (397 ft), Chard is one of the highest towns in Somerset, and is also the southernmost.[18] The suburbs include: Crimchard, Furnham, Glynswood, Henson Park and Old Town. Local folklore claims that the town has a very unusual and unique feature, a stream running along either side of Fore Street. One stream eventually flows into the Bristol Channel and the other reaches the English Channel.[29] This situation changed when the tributary of the Axe was diverted into the Isle; the gutter in Holyrood Street, though, still flows into the River Axe and therefore it is still true it lies on the watershed and that two gutters within the town eventually drain into the Bristol Channel and the English Channel.[30]
The 36.97 hectares (91.4 acres)
There are also caves in Chard, first recorded in a charter of 1235 as being used by stonemasons, which provided local building stone. The cave is smaller than when it was used as a quarry as part of the roof has fallen in but a cave 20 feet (6.1 m) below ground still exists with the remains of the supporting pillars left when it was being worked.[30]
Climate
Along with the rest of
Economy
Textile manufacture was important to the town during the
Chard is the home of
Another large employer in Chard was Oscar Mayer,[35] a producer of own-brand packaged ready-meals. (It is distinct from the American company of the same name owned by Kraft Foods). Oscar Mayer employed many Portuguese and, more recently, Polish workers.[36] In 2007 it was announced that the factory would be bought by Icelandic company the Alfesca Group, which owns Lyons seafoods.[36] However this deal fell through and the company announced 250 job losses.[37][38] Oscar Mayer announced on 22 October 2020 that it was considering ending production at its Chard sites. Following collective consultation with its employees, the company decided to close the Chard sites, with most of the staff employed there becoming redundant. It was expected that the transfer of Oscar Mayer's Chard manufacturing business to its other UK sites would be complete by the end of September 2021.[35]
Chard is also home to Brecknell Willis, one of the world's oldest and leading specialists in the design, construction and installation of railway electrification systems, most notably metro and light rail systems. Its largest customer, London Underground, purchases both train-borne equipment and infrastructure. Brecknell Willis occupies a site at the bottom of the hill next to the site of the old LSWR station, which is now a Tesco store. At the time of writing (August 2014) the company was preparing to move into a new purpose-built building from which all of its operations will be based. In early July 2014 the company was bought by WABTEC, bringing it into the Wabtec Rail Group as well as the Falstand Electric Group.
Transport
From 1842 Chard was the terminus of the
In the 1860s the town became the terminus of
The LSWR's station (later known as
The town's public transport links to Taunton are now provided by First Group's
Sport
Chard has a number of local sport clubs.
Local media
Television signals are received from either the Mendip or Stockland Hill TV transmitters.
Radio stations for the area are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 97.1 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 106.6 FM and Radio Ninesprings on 104.6 FM.[55]
Local newspapers are the
Education
The original school building in Fore Street was built in 1583 a private residence for William Symes of Poundisford. In 1671 his youngest son, John, conveyed the property to 12 trustees so that it should be converted into a grammar school – according to his father's wish.[56] Today, it is known as Chard School, a private school for children ages 4 to 11.
Avishayes Community Primary School, Manor Court Community Primary School, Tatworth Primary School and The Redstart Primary School all offer primary education, while Holyrood Academy offers secondary education. The school, as of 2019, has 1,276 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18.[57]
Religious sites
The
Notable residents
- John Strong, New England colonist, politician, and one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut and Northampton, Massachusetts.[62]
- William Samuel Henson, aviation engineer and inventor, who worked with fellow Chard resident John Stringfellow to achieve the first powered flight, in 1848, in a disused lace factory, with a 10-foot (3.0 m) steam-driven flying machine.[63][64]
- It was the birthplace of
- Corporal Tirah Campaign.[65]
- Margaret Bondfield, a Labour politician and feminist and the first woman Cabinet minister in the United Kingdom was born in Chard in 1873.[66]
- Artist and curator Lucy Cox has exhibited work nationally and internationally and curated exhibitions in London.
See also
- South West England
- West Country dialects
References
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- ^ Historic England. "Waterloo House and Manor Court House (1197449)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ "Council steps in to save 16th century courthouse". Local Government News. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Harvey's Hospital and attached rear boundary walls to east and west (1197471)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ Historic England. "Bowden's Old Lace Factory (1197427)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ Historic England. "Factory Building,formerly of Gifford Fox and Company Limited (1197481)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ Historic England. "The Guildhall (1197456)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ Historic England. "Snowdon Turnpike Cottage (1197472)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7509-4057-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-415-19399-0.
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- ^ a b "Pioneers in Artificial Limbs". Chard Museum. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
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- ^ "Chard MB". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
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- ^ Historic England. "The Guildhall (1197456)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ Savill, Richard (7 October 2006). "Mayor pays £33,000 for his 'sexual thrill'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- ^ Sowden, Steve (2 July 2010). "Tony Prior is back on Chard Town Council". Newsquest Media (Southern). Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ Maclagan, Kirsty (31 August 2009). "Mayor forges links with Romanian town". Chard & Ilminister News. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
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- ^ a b "Chard Update". Oscar Mayer. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ a b Rudkin, Jess (3 July 2008). "Behind the headlines: Why Oscar Mayer had to lose 250 staff". BBC. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Jobs fears at Oscar Mayer". Chard & Ilminster News. This is the West Country. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Shadow falls on the future of Oscar Mayer Chard factory as jobs are axed". Food Manufacture.co.uk. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
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- ^ Somerset County Council archives: Canals and Canal Projects Archived 2 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
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- ^ MacDermot, E T (1931). "The Bristol and Exeter Railway". History of the Great Western Railway, volume II 1863–1921. London: Great Western Railway.
- ^ Time Tables. London: Great Western Railway. 4 October 1920. p. 73.
- ^ ISBN 1-904537-54-5.
- ^ "Timetables". Buses of Somerset. First Group. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Timetables". Buses of Somerset. First Group. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Chard Town FC". Web Teams. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ "Perry Street & District League". TheFA.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Chard Rugby Club". Pitchero. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
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- ^ "oshpds homepage". www.oshproductionstudios.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ https://www.radioninesprings.com/
- ^ Historic England. "Chard School (1205594)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
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- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary the Virgin (1297140)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
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External links