Crewkerne

Coordinates: 50°52′49″N 2°47′38″W / 50.8803°N 2.7939°W / 50.8803; -2.7939

Crewkerne
Church of St Bartholomew, Crewkerne
Crewkerne  Crewkerne shown within Somerset
Population	6,728 [1]
OS grid reference	ST441093
Parish	Crewkerne
District	South Somerset
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CREWKERNE
Postcode district	TA18
Dialling code	01460
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Yeovil
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Crewkerne is a town in Somerset, England, situated 9 miles (14 km) south west of Yeovil and 7 miles (11 km) east of Chard in the South Somerset district. The town lies on the River Parrett, A30 road and West of England Main Line railway. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Woolminstone and Henley where the Manor Farmhouse was built from hamstone in the early 17th century, but possibly incorporates medieval fragments. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.^[2]

The Millwater biological Site of Special Scientific Interest consists of a complex mosaic of pasture, wet grassland, tall-herb fen, standing and running water, Alder and Willow carr.^[3]

History

The name Crewkerne is thought to come from the Cruc-aera from the British - a spur of a hill, and the Old English aera - a house, especially a storehouse.^[4]

The town grew up in the late mediaeval period around the textile industry,^[5] its wealth preserved in its fifteenth century parish church. It later prospered as a coaching stop in the Georgian period.^[5] Notable Georgian buildings include Crewkerne Town Hall. During the 18th and 19th centuries the main industry was cloth making, including webbing,^[5] and sails for the Royal Navy.^[6]

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and 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.

The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Crewkerne Urban District.^[7] The 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.

Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Yeovil county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects six MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Churches

St Peter's Church, shared by the Methodists and Roman Catholics

St Bartholomew's Parish Church stands on high ground to the west of the town. The first Saxon church was founded before the end of the 9th century as a "minster", or main church of a Saxon royal estate that included an area which later became the parishes of Seaborough, Wayford and Misterton. This church was replaced after the Norman Conquest with a larger stone cruciform building, with a central tower. This was almost completely rebuilt and enlarged in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. This is, for the most part, the church building visible today. It is an excellent example of the Perpendicular style with many unusual and individual features. These include the west front, the nave, the six-light aisle windows and the Tudor-style chapels and windows in the north east corner. The building material is golden-coloured Ham Hill stone, quarried a few miles north of Crewkerne. There is a notable pair of 'green man' carvings within the church.

No major alterations have been made since the Reformation in the 1530s and 1540s, but there have been many changes to the interior to accommodate various phases of Church of England worship. Among these are an oven used for baking communion bread in the south east corner of the north chapel.^[6] During the Civil War, considerable damage was done including the destruction of nearly all of the medieval stained glass. William III of England worshipped in the church following his landing in the Glorious Revolution of 1689.^[6] By the early 19th century, all the medieval furnishings, except the Norman font had disappeared. New pews were made and the west galleries were added in 1808-11. The latest restoration that has left the church interior visible today, took place in the late 19th Century; it was more sympathetic to the church's architectural character than many Victorian restorations. At this time, the central section of the west gallery was removed to reveal the great west window and the organ was relocated to the south transept. The pews date from around 1900 and have attractive carved bench-ends. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.^[8]

Crewkerne also contains one of very few Unitarian chapels left in the West Country, Crewkerne Unitarian Church, a tiny chapel tucked away on Hermitage Street.^[9]

Schools

The two primary schools within Crewkerne are St. Bartholomew's first school which is located on Kithill and Ashlands which is located in North Street. The middle school is called Maiden Beech Middle School which is located on the B3165 Lyme Road. The school has students from ages 9 to 13 and this is where they do their Key Stage 2 SATS.

Wadham Community School has students from 13 to 18 years old and includes those travelling from surrounding villages. In November 2005, Wadham was placed into Special measures after failing an Ofsted inspection.This resulted in the headmistress Gillian Gee stepping down from her post in December, citing health concerns, alongside chair of governors Andrew Hutchings. Subsequently, the Local Education Authority head of raising achievement, Judith Richardson, stepped in for a week. Following this, the headteacher and deputy headteacher from Kings of Wessex School in Cheddar were appointed as Executive and Acting headteachers of Wadham.

The current headteacher, who has been in position since September 2006, is Mr David Derbyshire.

Twin towns

• Igny, France
• Bures-sur-Yvette, France

Town centre

Crewkerne is a small market town centre with cafes, shops and supermarkets. Crewkerne also has a wide selection of pubs all around town. The largest supermarket is the Waitrose store which is around 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m²) (Opened November 2008) this supermarket is situated next to the South Street multi-storey car park. The other smaller supermarkets are Somerfield and Co-op, but due to Co-op buying Somerfield one of them is likely to close in the near future. Crewkerne also has a swimming pool and fitness gym called the Crewkerne Aqua Centre and a sports centre situated on the Wadham School campus as well as the Henhayes day centre which can hold meetings and conferences. The main residential areas are around the town centre with Kithill and Park View to the South and Wadham Park to the North.

Transport

Road

The following major roads pass through Crewkerne Northbound: A356 North Street - To A303 for London and North Somerset. Southbound: A356 South Street- To Maiden Newton and Dorchester. Westbound: A30 West Street - To Exeter and the South West of England. Eastbound :A30 East Street - To Yeovil and Salisbury. Southbound: B3165 Hermitage Street - To Lyme Regis.

Railway Station

Trains

Crewkerne railway station is served by South West Trains on the main south western railway line with London Waterloo about 2 hours away and Exeter St Davids about an hour away. There are also trains to Plymouth, Paignton and, with a change at Salisbury, Bristol and Southampton.^[10]

The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 19 July 1860.^[11] It was deigned by Sir William Tite and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.^[12]

Buses

Stagecoach South West Service 99,99A and 99B Eastbound to Yeovil Via Kithill, Misterton and Hazelbury Plucknett (An Hourly Service) New 09 Registerd Buses and Fully disabled access Stagecoach South West Service 99,99A and 99B Westbound to Chard With Gurenteed Connection at Chard to Taunton and Wellington (An Hourly Service) New 09 Registerd Buses and Fully disabled access Stagecoach South West Service 90 Westbound to Chard Via Fornton and Winsham Stagecoach South WestService 90 Northbound to Merriott via Wadham Park / Ashlands Road Stagecoach South West Service 91 Northbound to Chard Via South Petherton and Illminster. Stagecoach South West Service 96 Westbound to Taunton Via Winsham, Chard and The Blackdown Hills Stagecoach South West Service 96 Northbound to Merriott Via Wadham Park/ Ashlands Road All these buses are part of Stagecoach South West which is finacely funded by Somerset County Council. The Services are part of Connect South Somerset. All buses are all Disable assess from the 1st of September 2009. First Bus Service 47 Southbound to Bridport via Beaminster and Broadwindsor First Bus Service 47 Eastbound to Yeovil via East Chinnock and West Coker First Bus Service 61 Westbound to Chard (SUNDAY AND BANK HOLIDAY SERVICE) First Bus Service 47 Eastbound to Yeovil (SUNDAY AND BANK HOLIDAY SERVICE) There Are also Various other weekly bus services run by First Bus like the Wednesday service to Dorchester the Summer Service to Sidmouth. Nippy buse operate in this area by calling them for requesting Also South West Coachs Operate 2 free Buses a week to Yeovil Tescos Extra

Notable residents

• Thomas Coryat^[6]
• William Dampier^[6]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Crewkerne

• Crewkerne at the Open Directory Project
• Town council
• St. Bartholomew's of Crewkerne official website
• The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Crewkerne, by Miranda Richardson