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Coordinates: 51°07′25″N 2°44′17″W / 51.1235°N 2.7381°W
| Street | |
  Street shown within Somerset |
|
| Population | 11,100 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Mendip |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STREET |
| Postcode district | BA16 |
| Dialling code | 01458 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Wells |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Street is a village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England, situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, two miles south-west of Glastonbury. The village has a population of 11,100.[1]
Contents |
History
Names
Lantokay
Its earliest known name of the settlement was Lantokay, meaning the sacred enclosure of Kea, a Celtic saint.
Lega (Leigh)
In the Domesday Book it was recorded as Lega, a name still used throughout the country in the modern form, "Leigh". The centre of Street is where Lower Leigh hamlet was, and the road called Middle Leigh and the community called Overleigh are to the south of the village.
Strete (Street)
In the 12th century a causeway from Glastonbury was built in order to transport stone from what is now Street for rebuilding Glastonbury Abbey after a fire, giving Street its name from the Latin "strata" - a paved road. The new causeway is about 100 yards north of a Roman road.
Pre-history: the fossil record
Quarries of the local blue lias stone were worked from as early as 12th century to the end of the 19th century. Blue lias is a kind of rock peculiar to the south western counties of England. The name itself seems to have been borrowed from Somerset quarrymen. It is found in a series of strata forming the lower division of the Jurassic series. It consists of thin blue argillaceous, or clay-like, limestone. It tends to contain many fossils. Fossils discovered in the lias include many Ichthyosaurs, one of which has been adopted as the badge of Street. There is a display of Street fossils in the Natural History Museum in London.
Early human settlement
Roman
The churchyard of the Parish Church has yielded a pre-Roman gold coin and a number of Roman pottery fragments, now in the Somerset County Museum. Remains of Roman villas exist on the south edge of Street near Marshalls Elm and Ivythorn. Buried remains of a Roman road were excavated in the early 20th century on the flood-plain of the river Brue between Glastonbury and Street.
Early Christian
The parish churchyard is on the first flood-free ground near the river Brue and was probably the first land to be inhabited. The form of the large churchyard suggests a lan, a sacred area of a kind that was built in the first half of the 6th century.
One Life of St Gildas has the saint spending some time in Glastonbury Abbey, and moving to a site by the river, where he built a chapel to the Holy Trinity and there died. The Parish Church, now Holy Trinity, has at times been known as St Gildas' church.
Middle Ages
Glastonbury Abbey controlled Street until the Dissolution.
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 Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Street Urban District,[2] which 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 Wells 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 seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
C&J Clark
The Society of Friends established itself here in the mid 17th century and among the close knit group of Quaker families were the Clarks: Cyrus, who started a business in sheepskin rugs, later joined by his brother James, who introduced the production of woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes.[3] Under James's son, William, the business flourished but most of the profits were ploughed back into employee welfare, housing and education.
C&J Clark still has its headquarters in Street, behind a frontage which includes the clock tower and water tower,[4] but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the United Kingdom. Despite strong concerns being voiced by local retailers at the time, the retail outlets have not led to a demise in the existing shops.
The Clark family mansion and its estate at the edge of the village is now owned by Millfield School. The company, through the Society of Friends also had its own small sanatorium and convalescent home on Ivythorne Hill overlooking the town. In 1931 this chalet style building was leased over the the Youth Hostel Association and became the first youth hostel in Somerset. It continues this role to the present day.
Education
- Crispin School is a secondary school teaching 11–16 year old students from Street and many local villages.
- Strode College is a further education college.
- Millfield School is an independent co-educational boarding school with a strong focus on sport.
Primary infant/junior schools include Avalon, Brookside, Hindhayes, and Elmhurst.
Leisure
Street has two public swimming pools, one indoor and one outdoor. The indoor pool forms part of the Strode complex. The outdoor pool, Greenbank, is open daily from early May until mid September each year.
The only cinema in Street was closed down and converted into a nightclub in the 1990s. Strode Theatre [1], linked to the Crispin School and Strode College complex, remains as the only venue to see films, exhibitions and live performances.
Even before the opening of Clarks Village, Street was notable for the number of shoe and sheepskin shops adorning the high street shopping area. The number of such stores has increased since 1993[citation needed] and fears of a general retail decline proved unfounded.
Religious sites
The Anglican Parish Church of The Holy Trinity dates from the 14th century but underwent extensive restoration in the 19th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[5]
The Quaker Friends Meeting House was built in 1850, by J. Francis Cottrell of Bath.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Parish population estimates". Somerset County Council. 2002. http://www.somerset.gov.uk/media/030F1/mendip_02mye.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Street Urban District
- ^ Scott, Shane (1995). The hidden places of Somerset. Aldermaston: Travel Publishing Ltd. pp. 82. ISBN 1902007018.
- ^ "Main roadside frontage to Clarks Factory, Clock Tower, 5 bay right return and Water Tower". IMages of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=267782. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ "Church of The Holy Trinity". IMages of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=267776. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ "Friends Meeting House". IMages of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=267779. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
External links
- Street Parish Council
- The Street Society
- Greenbank pool
- The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Street by Clare Gathercole
- Photos of Street in 3d (Anaglyphs)
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