Wincanton
Wincanton | |
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Avon and Somerset | |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Wincanton (/ˈwɪŋkæntən/ or /wɪŋˈkæntən/) is a town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a population of 5,272.[1]
Etymology
The name of Wincanton is first attested in 1084, in the forms Wincainietone and Wincautone. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the name is spelled Wincaleton. The town's name comes from the name of the River Cale, which runs through the town and was in Old English called Wincawel, combined with the Old English word tūn, "estate, settlement". It thus once meant "estate on the River Cale".[2]
The origin of the name of the River Cale itself is less clear. It is first attested in a fourteenth-century copy of a
History
Windmill Hill was the site of a
Prior to the
The parish of Wincanton was part of the
Wincanton was probably the site of a market in the medieval period but did not gain a market and fair charter until 1556.[10]
The town was the scene of one of the few armed skirmishes in England during the
In the early 19th century Wincanton was a depot for French officers, during the Napoleonic Wars.[14]
By 2010 there had been an influx of foreign nationals, especially Portuguese and Polish citizens.[15]
Governance
Wincanton is within the area of
The South Somerset district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
It is part of
Community services
Wincanton Community Hospital in Dancing Lane was formerly known as Verrington Hospital and in March 2015 had 28 beds on two wards plus intermediate care unit.[18][19] It opened as an Isolation Hospital in September 1910 for patients with scarlet fever.[20]
The Balsam Centre is a Healthy Living Centre and also a Children's Centre for Wincanton and South East Somerset.[21]
The (War) Memorial Hall, which opened on 9 January 1959, has a stage as well as facilities for dancing or for seating 250. It also has a separate committee room that can seat 50.
Fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the
Geography
Wincanton is situated on the northeast edge of Blackmore Vale, 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Yeovil, and 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Shaftesbury on the extreme southeast of Somerset close to the borders of Dorset and Wiltshire.
Climate
Along with the rest of South West England, Wincanton has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F); due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 °C (34 °F) and 2 °C (36 °F). July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C (70 °F).[22]
Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic
Economy
In the late 1890s the
In order to cope with the transport problems across its quickly expanding creamery, milk bottling and doorstep delivery network, Cow & Gate formed a dedicated
In 1999, Unigate sold its remaining dairies to
Several businesses are located in Wincanton, such as Coffee Sense Coffee Roasters who won a Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Award Winner in 2017 and Boxclever Press Ltd who gained Royal recognition in 2019 when they were awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category[25]
Landmarks
The Dogs (also called The Old House) was built around 1650, and was reshaped internally by Nathaniel Ireson in 1740–50. It is a grade I listed building.[26]
Transport
The town had a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway but this closed on 7 March 1966.[27]
The town is north of the A303 road, one of the main routes between London and South West England.
The nearest railway stations are in neighbouring
The town is served twice daily by Berrys Coaches 'Superfast' service to and from London.[28]
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter. [29]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West (formerly The Breeze) on 106.6 FM, Abbey104 on 104.7 FM and Radio Ninesprings, a community based station which broadcast to the town on 104.5 FM. [30]
The town is served by the local newspaper, Western Gazette which publishes Thursdays. [31]
Education
Primary education up to the age of 11 is offered by Wincanton Primary School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School.[32] The history of Wincanton Primary began in 1833 when an appeal was launched to provide a National school in Wincanton and after a number of difficulties the school was built in North Street in 1838, although this had very few pupils. A school board was formed in 1871 and opened a school in the former National school buildings with over 200 pupils. In 1875 there were 206 children attending. In 1894 the board raised money for a new school to accommodate 445 children, which opened in South Street in 1897.[33]
Wincanton has one secondary school, King Arthur's School, which is Somerset's first specialist Sports College.[34]
The Balsam Centre is a Healthy Living Centre and also a Children's Centre.[35] Since 2005 it has received grants for the re-fitting of the training kitchen and construction and refurbishment to create a dedicated teaching area, counselling and interview rooms and a studio space for physical and community activities.[36]
Religious sites
The Church of St Peter and St Paul was almost totally rebuilt in 1887-91 by J. D. Sedding; however, parts of the tower may be remnants of an earlier church, dating from 1313, on the same site.[37] In 1793 the tower was raised by 12 feet (4 m) making it 50 feet (15 m) high; five bells were cast and a sixth added. The additional carving and north porch were added in subsequent years.[38] The churchyard includes a self-designed monument to the local architect Nathaniel Ireson who died in 1796.[39] Because of the state of the roofs, which are under repair, the church is included on the Heritage at Risk Register.[40]
The
There are also places of worship for
Culture
Wincanton Museum is a small local museum in the High Street which closed in 2010. You can now visit some of the items which were in the museum in the library which is situated in Carrington Way.
Notable people
The cartoonist Tony Weare was born in Wincanton.[43]
Sports
The town gives its name to Wincanton Racecourse which is in the neighbouring parish of Charlton Musgrove.
Wincanton has a Non-League football club Wincanton Town F.C. who play at the Wincanton Sports Ground on Moor Lane.[44] The Sports Ground in Moor Lane also provides facilities for tennis and bowls.[12]
Wincanton Sports Centre was opened in 2001,[45] funded by a National Lottery grant.[12]
The cricket club, which plays in the recreation ground, has two Saturday teams and a Sunday team.[46]
The rugby union club plays at
Twinning
Wincanton is unusual in that it was
References
- ^ a b "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ISBN 9780521168557.
- ISBN 9780521168557.
- ^ "Wincanton". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 7. British History Online. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- ^ "Wincanton". Victoria County Histories. British History Online. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
- ^ "Wincanton". Somerset Guide. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-904768-67-8. p.62.
- ^ Motte and Bailey Castle, Cockroad Wood, Charlton Musgrove, Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ Richardson, Miranda. "Wincanton". Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey. Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ Archived January 25, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d "About Wincanton". Wincanton Town Council. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- ISBN 0-340-20116-9.
- ^ "Outline History of the Town". Wincanton Museum and History Society. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "South Somerset District Council Highly Rated by the Audit Commission". Wincanton Window. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
- ^ "Town Council's Role". Wincanton Town Council. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- ^ "UK MEPs for the South West". European Parliament UK Office. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
- ^ "Wincanton Community Hospital". Somerset Community Health. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "WCH". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ^ "Fete to celebrate hospital centenary". This is Somerset. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "Balsam Centre". Balsam Centre. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ a b c "About south-west England". Met Office. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
- ^ "History & Business". Wincanton Plc. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ "New look and new products for UK's Number two cheddar cheese brand". The Grocery Trader. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
- ^ "Queen's Awards for Enterprise press books". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "The Dogs (1273913)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- ^ "Wincanton". Somerset & Dorset joint Railway. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ https://book.berryscoaches.co.uk/superfast-timetables.html Superfast Timetable
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Radio Ninesprings". Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Western Gazette". British Papers. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Education". Local Authority Publishing. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "Wincanton". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 7: Bruton, Horethorne and Norton Ferris Hundreds pp. 208-232. 1999. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
- ^ "Prospectus" (PDF). King Arthur's Community School. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "The Balsam Centre". The Balsam Centre. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Balsam Project". Somerset Rural Renaissance. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Peter and St Paul (1238534)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- ^ "Stroll around Wincanton". Local Authority Publishing. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "The Nathaniel Ireson Monument". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "St Peter and St Paul, Church Street, Wincanton — South Somerset". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Roman Catholic Church and Presbytery of St Luke and St Teresa, Wincanton". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "Churches". Wincanton Town Council. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Obituaries: Tony Weare". The Independent. London. 20 December 1994. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "The Ground — Wincanton Town Football Club, Somerset". Wincantontownfc.com. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "About Us". Wincanton Sports Centre. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ "Wincanton CC". Play Cricket. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "Wincanton Rugby". Wincanton Rugby. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "Pratchett city twins with real town". BBC News. 6 December 2002.
- ^ "Roads named after Discworld books". BBC Online. 5 April 2009.
- ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Terry Pratchett's Discworld comes alive in Wincanton! (From This is The West Country)". Thisisthewestcountry.co.uk. 8 April 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "Terry Pratchett pub sign unveiled in Wincanton". BBC. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
"Both men were regulars. They used to come here after creative meetings at the Discworld Emporium a few doors down the street", said Mr Yateman [the landlord].
External links
- Wincanton at Curlie