Monkton Combe
Monkton Combe | |
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Avon and Somerset | |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Monkton Combe is a village and
History
The pre-Saxon history of Monkton Combe is poorly recorded. It lay close to the Roman road from Bath to London, which has prompted the construction of a Roman villa in
Combe was settled and cultivated by the Anglo-Saxon period, when it formed part of the
It was probably given to Bath Abbey, along with other surrounding villages, in the early 1060's by either Edward the Confessor or Harold Godwinson. The Abbey had been impoverished, and Bishop Gisa made use of patronage to expand its lands. In 1086, Combe was assessed in the Domesday Book as having around twenty families, and supporting a range of agricultural activities. During the medieval period, it acquired the additional name 'Monkton', noting its ownership by the Abbey and disambiguating it from other nearby 'Combes'.
The village's industry diversified in the late 18th century, with the opening of local mines and the Somerset Coal Canal in 1800. This prompted the expansion of the village's population, and the construction of new housing to accommodate workers, built in the local Bath stone. The canal was converted to a railway in 1910, giving the village a short-lived railway station of its own. The closure of the line encouraged the further de-industrialisation of the village, with the neighbouring flock mill closing the following year, although not before the village, and its station, featured in the popular Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt.
Governance
The
The parish falls within the
Bath and North East Somerset's area covers part of the
The parish falls within the 'Bathavon South'
The parish is represented in the
Church
The parish church of St Michael, thought to have been Norman, was razed in the early 19th century and rebuilt in 1814. The 1814 church was soon found to be too small, and was rebuilt in 1865 at the initiative of the first Vicar of Monkton Combe, the Revd. Francis Pocock. It was designed by ecclesiastical architect C. E. Giles of London, and the builder was Mr. S. G. Mitchell. It was extended within just a few years to accommodate the growing number of pupils from nearby Monkton Combe School, founded by Revd. Pocock in 1868. The church is a Grade II listed building.[8]
The churchyard contains the grave of
Landmarks
The village has one
A village lock-up in the 18th century, probably circa 1776, and is located conveniently near the Wheelwrights Arms. This is now one of the village's many Grade II listed buildings, and was last used in 1905 by errant pupils to lock up the school's unpopular bursar.[10]
There were two mills from the time of the Domesday Book, which were rebuilt in the early 19th century and have survived to this day, although neither are in working order.[11]
School
Several historic in the village are owned and occupied by Monkton Combe School, particularly those along Church Lane. This is a prominent public school, which was founded in the village in 1868 by the first Vicar of Monkton Combe, Revd Francis Pocock, and retains its active Christian ethos to this day.
Gallery
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Church Road, with Monkton Combe School on the left
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The village, viewed from Brassknocker Hill to the north-east
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Church Road and the Village hall
See also
- Monkton Combe School
- Monkton Combe Halt railway station
- MV Monkton Combe
References
- ^ a b "Monkton Combe Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-171-40217-6.
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
- ^ "Bathavon RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "Bathavon South ward 2011". Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ "Somerset North East: New Boundaries Calculation". Electoral Calculus: General Election Prediction. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
- ^ "St. Michael's Church". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ "The Wheelwright's Arms". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ "Lock-up". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ "The Old Mill". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 18 July 2010.