Witham Friary

Witham Friary
Witham Friary
	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Somerton and Frome;
	List of places UK England Somerset 51°10′08″N 2°21′58″W / 51.169°N 2.366°W

Witham Friary is a small English village and civil parish located between the towns of Frome and Bruton in the county of Somerset. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the ancient Forest of Selwood.

History

The parish was part of the

Frome.^[2]

The village takes its name from a technically confused reference (a friary is generally a house of Franciscans and in any case not of Carthusians) to the

scheduled ancient monument.^[4]

Part of the priory now serves as

apsidal chancel, built of local limestone rubble, supported on each side by four massive flying buttresses. The plastered interior is entered through a Norman style doorway. Inside the church is a scraped octagonal font dating from around 1450. The Jacobean pulpit contains medieval work and there is a royal arms of 1660 at the west end. The stained glass windows contain fragments of medieval glass, with the windows in the south being made by Sir Ninian Comper. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.^[9]

The former Village Reading Rooms are in a thirteenth-century building which was once a dovecote associated with the Priory. They are

grade II* listed building^[10] but are included on Mendip District Council Historic Buildings at Risk Register.^[11]

The village has older roots. A wealth of nearby tumuli is indicative of ancient human settlement. An archaeological dig in 1985 discovered a neolithic axe and a Roman road.^[6] The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it supported 11 villagers.^[6]

The former railway station at Witham was the end of a branch line through Shepton Mallet, Wells and Cheddar. The branch closed to passengers in 1963, but Witham station stayed open for another 3 years (last day of service on Saturday 1st October 1966) although the main line to Exeter remains open. The nearest railway station is Bruton. Part of the redundant line that ran to Shepton Mallet now forms the East Somerset Railway.^[12]

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 village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Frome Rural District.^[13]

It is also part of the

first past the post

system of election.

Public House

public house. Purpose-built along with farm buildings in 1866 or 1867 for the Duke of Somerset's estate, it takes its name from the family name of the Duke of Somerset

.

The pub is noted by CAMRA because of its beautifully preserved interior, and is included in their National Inventory of Historic Pubs.^[14]

Water Dispute

Since the 19th century, the village water supply has come from the estate of the Duke of Somerset rather than from a commercial water company. The estate's decision to terminate the supply is a cause for local concern.^[15]^[16]

Geography and Geology

The village lies near the source of the

Cornbrash

.

Building the Dream

In 2004 the village hosted a reality television programme broadcast on Channel 4 called Building the Dream, hosted by Linda Barker. Couples competed to win a dream home in the village.^[18] A local production company, Zeal, was responsible.^[19]

References

^ "Witham Friary Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
^ "Witham Friary Somerset". A Vision of Britain through time. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
^
ISBN 0-905459-16-4
.

^ "Witham-Friary (St Mary)". British History Online. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Land adjoining Gramarye, Witham Friary, Somerset" (PDF). Context One Archaeological Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ "Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to 2006". Measuring worth.com. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ "Local History — Witham Friary". Somerset Larders.com. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1058224)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ Historic England. "Former Village Reading Room, Witham Friary (1175244)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
^ "Historic Buildings at Risk Register". Mendip District Council. p. Entry 44. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
^ "History of the ESR". East Somerset Railway. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ "Frome RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
^ "South West England". CAMRA National Inventory of Heritage Pubs. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ Morris, Steven (31 May 2006). "Village left high and dry by lord of manor". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ "Water Supply to the village of Witham Friary". Mendip District Council. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
^ "Somerset Frome from Witham Friary to Frome". Environment Agency Flood Warning. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
^ "UK Game Shows". Retrieved 28 August 2007.
^ "Zeal TV". Retrieved 28 August 2007.

External links

[popn-1] "Witham Friary Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

[genuki-2] "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 8 October 2011.

[3] "Witham Friary Somerset". A Vision of Britain through time. Retrieved 15 December 2015.

[reid-4] 
ISBN 0-905459-16-4
.

[5] "Witham-Friary (St Mary)". British History Online. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[contextone-6] "Land adjoining Gramarye, Witham Friary, Somerset" (PDF). Context One Archaeological Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[7] "Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to 2006". Measuring worth.com. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[8] "Local History — Witham Friary". Somerset Larders.com. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[9] Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1058224)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[10] Historic England. "Former Village Reading Room, Witham Friary (1175244)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 September 2016.

[11] "Historic Buildings at Risk Register". Mendip District Council. p. Entry 44. Retrieved 5 September 2016.

[12] "History of the ESR". East Somerset Railway. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[fromerd-13] "Frome RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.

[14] "South West England". CAMRA National Inventory of Heritage Pubs. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[15] Morris, Steven (31 May 2006). "Village left high and dry by lord of manor". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[16] "Water Supply to the village of Witham Friary". Mendip District Council. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.

[17] "Somerset Frome from Witham Friary to Frome". Environment Agency Flood Warning. Retrieved 4 October 2010.

[18] "UK Game Shows". Retrieved 28 August 2007.

[19] "Zeal TV". Retrieved 28 August 2007.

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