Rodney Stoke

Coordinates: 51°14′51″N 2°44′09″W / 51.2476°N 2.7357°W / 51.2476; -2.7357
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Rodney Stoke
Avon and Somerset
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°14′51″N 2°44′09″W / 51.2476°N 2.7357°W / 51.2476; -2.7357

Rodney Stoke is a small village and

civil parish, located at grid reference ST486501, 5 miles north-west of Wells, in the English county of Somerset. The village is on the A371 between Draycott and Westbury-sub-Mendip
.

The parish includes the larger village of Draycott. South of the A371 the parish includes an area of the Somerset Levels, extending to the River Axe. North of the A371 the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills rise to an area of the parish on the Mendip plateau. The parish is therefore an area of high biodiversity supporting local rare species of plants and animal life.

History

Close to the village is

Scheduled Ancient Monument.[2][4]

Rodney Stoke was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Stoches, meaning 'a stockaded settlement' from the Old English stoc. In 1291 the place name was recorded as Stokgifford. The Giffords were Saxon nobility at the time of Edward the Confessor with Walter Gifford (then spelt Gifard) as the Earl of Buckingham.[5]

The parish was part of the

Hundred.[6]

The village was the home of, and is probably named after, Sir John Rodney (d. 1400). However Ekwall[7] indicates that Stoke Gifford was held by Richard de Rodene in 1303.

The first

Baron Rodney was George Brydges Rodney (1718/19–92), a British naval admiral of Napoleonic times.[8]

It is one of the nine Thankful Villages in Somerset which suffered no fatalities during World War I. There is a memorial window in the Parish Church together with a new plaque that testifies to the village's enduring pride in their good fortune.

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 parish comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip (established under the Local Government Act 1972). It was part of Wells Rural District before 1974.[9]

The village is in the 'Rodney and Westbury'

2011 census was 2,127.[10]

It is also part of the

first past the post
system of election.

Geography

The land is noteworthy for its importance as a flight corridor and feeding ground for the

Nature Reserve, lies to the west. The cross roads may be the site of an old Roman road.[11]

Close to the village is the Rodney Stoke nature reserve, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Religious sites

The

St Erasmus, who was killed by having his entrails removed.[8]

Notable residents

  • Edward Rodney (1590–1657), MP for Wells and Somerset at various times between 1621 and 1642, lived in Rodney Stoke and was buried there.[14]
  • John Rodney (died 1400), MP for Somerset, 1391–1393, lived in Rodney Stoke.
  • Frances Southwell (died 1659), courtier and wife of Edward Rodney, lived in Rodney Stoke.[14]
  • Thomas Tremlett (1834–1894), first-class cricketer, was born in Rodney Stoke.

References

  1. ^ "Rodney Stoke Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-86183-390-0
    .
  3. ^ "Walton Castle". Fortified England. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  4. Somerset County Council
    A. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  5. ISBN 1-874336-03-2
    .
  6. ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  7. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1959). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Place-Names, 4th Edition. London: Oxford University Press.
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-905459-16-4
    .
  9. ^ "Wells RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Rodney and Westbury ward 2011". Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Extensive Cropmarks, SW of Cheddar". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Leonard (1058592)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  13. ^ "St Leonards Church". HEVAC Heritage. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-1853060311
    .
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