17-766: The River Sheppey has its source in a group of springs west of the village of Doulting , near Shepton Mallet in Somerset , England . It flows through the wetlands to the north of the Polden Hills and ultimately joins the River Brue . From Doulting, the Sheppey flows south west to Charlton, where parts of its course have been culverted. The river has been diverted underground for much, though not all, of its passage through Shepton Mallet. It reappears at Darshill and then flows south west through Croscombe to Dinder where it flows through
34-406: A return visit there, called 'Lines upon Doulting Sheep-slate', a "sheep-slate" being a piece of pasture used for grazing sheep. In it he says that: Grey Doulting's spire above the waste a sheeted spectre rose; And Mendip's bleak and barren heights again enclosed me round, Like faces of forgotten friends met on forgotten ground. The tithe barn at the southern end of the village dates from
51-600: Is a public house named after the river), it is channelled through the James Wear River and the Decoy Rhine to Westhay Level, where it joins Whites River and then the River Brue near Westhay . The water quality is generally good; however, there have been some discharges from sewage treatment works in the area that can contribute to nutrient levels in rivers. Signs of nutrient enrichment are noticeable at times of low flow and
68-461: Is called St Aldhelm's Well . The well head was built in the late 19th century and incorporates a wrought-iron pump handle. It is marked with a cast-iron plate with raised initials: "W.N.F.M.", and an additional brass memorial plaque dating from 1976. Folklore has attributed healing powers to the water from the well. The poet John Edmund Reade went to school in Doulting, and later wrote a poem about
85-515: Is dedicated to St Aldhelm as well. Tithe Barn, Manor Farm, Doulting The Tithe Barn at Manor Farm (also known as Abbey Barn) in Doulting , Somerset , England, was built in the 15th century, and has been designated as a Grade I listed building , and scheduled as an ancient monument . Tithe barns were used to store tithes , from the local farmers to the ecclesiastical landlords. In this case
102-743: Is the body responsible for running the majority of local services. It is also part of the Frome and East Somerset 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 was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving
119-483: The 15th century and was used to store tithes, from the local farmers to the ecclesiastical landlord at Glastonbury Abbey . Around the village there are some extensive quarries of freestone , from which Wells Cathedral and later additions to Glastonbury Abbey and other churches were built. Doulting Stone Quarry has been producing stone since Roman times. Until 1994 it was operated by Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation (part of Hanson plc since 1989), at which time
136-666: The European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation . The parish church is also dedicated to St Aldhelm and dates from the 12th century. It is a Grade I listed building , and has a tall spire rather than the towers which are more usual in Somerset. It has a two-storey porch which incorporates a carving of the Green Man into its vaulting . The local primary school
153-514: The ecology of the Sheppey is adversely affected in its upper reaches. It would appear that the Sheppey was only so called in the late 19th century. Prior to this, it may have been named Doulting Water or the River Brae. The Sheppey has been used in the past to power local industry, for example corn and textile mills in the Shepton Mallet area. There may have been more than thirty mills powered by
170-643: The grounds of Dinder House which was built in 1801 and under a bridge which pre-dates the house. It then continues west past Dulcote , Woodford and Coxley . At Coxley it is joined by the Keward Brook which carries the water from the springs in Wells which fill the moat of the Bishop's Palace. From Coxley, the river flows north through Hay Moor and North Moor , west through Ash Moor, then sharply south through Frogmore and west through Godney . At Lower Godney (where this
187-536: The landlord was Glastonbury Abbey . A tithe (from Old English teogoþa "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a (usually) voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a Christian religious organization. The stone barn has eight bays supported by buttresses and two wagon porches. The cruck roof trusses , at both ends of the barn, have timbers which have been shown by dendrochronology to have been felled between 1288 and 1290. There are some curved windbraces . The stonework
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#1732854858945204-506: The landowner terminated the tenancy and now operates the quarry as an independent business. The stone is oolite of middle Jurassic age deposited as sediments in fairly shallow coastal seas. The heritage East Somerset Railway runs just to the south of the village, and terminates at the Mendip Vale railway station . The parish council has limited responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover
221-422: The parish council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council comments on local planning applications and works with the local police, unitary 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
238-575: The river and its tributaries in the area of Shepton Mallet, Bowlish and Darshill, although fewer than this number of sites have been positively identified. Doulting Doulting is a village and civil parish 1.5 miles (2 km) east of Shepton Mallet , on the A361 , in the Mendip district of Somerset , England. The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred . The parish includes
255-662: The unitary 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 used to fall within the Non-metropolitan district of Mendip , which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 and abolished 1 April 2023 , having previously been part of Shepton Mallet Rural District , The unitary Somerset Council
272-572: The village of Bodden , which was founded in 1541 by Earl Michael Bodden (1512-1569). Notable former residents include Trish Bodden (1753-1777), who disguised herself as a man to fight in the American War of Independence (she was killed at Saratoga ), and Amrose Bowden ( sic ), the first English colonist to settle in Maine . Also a part of the parish is Prestleigh which was on the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway . The viaduct that carried it over
289-526: The village was demolished in 1996; the railway itself had been out of use for a number of years before this. There is one pub in the village, the Prestleigh Inn. Doulting village dates from the 8th century when King Ine of Wessex gave the local estate to Glastonbury Abbey after his nephew St Aldhelm died in the village in 709. In his honour the local spring which is the source of the River Sheppey
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