Shipham

Coordinates: 51°18′50″N 2°47′46″W / 51.314°N 2.796°W / 51.314; -2.796
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Shipham
Avon and Somerset
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UK Parliament
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UK
England
Somerset
51°18′50″N 2°47′46″W / 51.314°N 2.796°W / 51.314; -2.796

Shipham (grid reference ST445575) is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is on the western edge of the Mendip Hills near the A38, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Bristol. The parish includes the village of Rowberrow and the hamlet of Star. The parish population, according to the 2011 census, is 1,087.[1]

History

Shipham was listed in the

tenant-in-chief is shown as being Roger de Courcelles.[2]

The parish was part of the

Hundred.[3]

Governance

Shipham

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. In 2008, Shipham Parish Council won the communications category of the Calor Somerset Village of the Year competition.[4]

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 Axbridge Rural District.[5]

It is also part of the

first past the post
system of election.

Geography

Shipham Hill is one of the highest points in the Mendips at 1,066 feet (325 m). The village has a panorama over Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel which is mentioned in The Secret Places of the Heart by H. G. Wells: But the loveliness of the weather did not fail, and the whole day was set in Severn landscapes. They first saw the great river like a sea with the Welsh mountains hanging in the sky behind as they came over the Mendip crest above Shipham.[6]

Near to the village is GB Cave.

The 36 miles (58 km) Limestone Link Path runs from Shipham to Cold Ashton in Gloucestershire.[7]

Mining

The substrata contain rich mineral deposits and so there were zinc and lead mines in the area. The Singing River Mine was worked in the 18th and 19th centuries for calamine (zinc carbonate), blende (zinc sulphide) and galena (lead sulphide).[8] In the 1920s it was used as an underground

potholers.[9] The 5-metre high 19th-century calamine processor is a Grade II listed building.[10]

The present landscape shows the piecemeal nature of the mining. Although the lead industry began to decline in the late 17th century, it revived in the mid 19th century when tips were re-worked. Its mining history has given rise to street names such as Hind Pits Lane, Hollow Road, and Comrade Avenue. The old mines have also meant that the soil is heavily contaminated by heavy metals such as cadmium. This was investigated in 1979. Concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc in local crops were higher than would normally be expected. Copper concentrations were normal, and the results for mercury showed that mercury translocation from soil to crops was very low. Dietary copper intakes at Shipham were a little lower than national average intakes. Four participants in the duplicate diet study, or 6% of the study population, had cadmium intakes higher than 0.4 mg per week.[11]

There is some evidence of field cultivation by the miners during the

medieval period.[12]

Religious sites

St Leonard's Church

The Anglican parish church of St Leonard was built in 1843 by James Wilson of Bath and is a Grade II listed building. Stained glass in the north window of the nave commemorates Hannah More,[13] who as part of her work to 'civilise' the people of Cheddar and the surrounding villages, particularly the lead-miners of Shipham, established the Shipham Church of England Voluntary Controlled School. A chest tomb to Amelia Day in the churchyard, 5 metres (16 ft) south of the nave, is also a listed building.[14]

Stock car racing

Main article: Mendips Raceway
A caravan demolition race at Mendips Raceway

Near Shipham for over 40 years has flourished the ¼-mile tarmac race track of Mendips Raceway, high on the Mendips. The venue is in the bowl of an old abandoned reservoir, and features the British sport of stock-car racing. The race track is perched on the edge of Batts Combe quarry with views from the edge, across Cheddar, the Cheddar Valley towards Glastonbury Tor and the Bristol Channel.

References

  1. ^ a b "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. ISBN 978-1-874336-03-7
    .
  3. ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  4. ^ "The Entry from Shipham". Calor Somerset Village of the Year 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Axbridge RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. ISBN 978-1-4264-0502-0
    .
  7. ^ "Limestone Link Path an overview of the walking route". Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 1 December 2005.
  8. ISBN 978-0-86183-390-0
    .
  9. ^ "Singing River Mine". The Mine Explorer Society web site. Retrieved 30 June 2006.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Calamine processor at N6R ST 4439 5739 (1296025)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 June 2006.
  11. PMID 6612322
    .
  12. ^ "Mendip Hills: An Archaeological Survey of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" (PDF). Somerset County Council Archaeological Projects. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
  13. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Leonard (1173932)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 June 2006.
  14. ^ Historic England. "Chest tomb to Amelia Day (1344909)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 June 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shipham.
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