119-694: Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset , England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue , often called the Isle of Wedmore . The parish consists of three main villages: Wedmore, Blackford and Theale, with the 17 hamlets of Bagley, Blakeway, Clewer, Crickham, Cocklake, Heath House, Latcham, Little Ireland, Middle Stoughton, Mudgley, Panborough, Sand, Stoughton Cross, Washbrook, West End, West Ham and West Stoughton. The parish of Wedmore has
238-513: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
357-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of
476-567: A Sunday school for children in Wedmore in the face of opposition from the vicar and local gentry. Wedmore's market cross was moved roughly 100 yards along The Borough in the 1830s to allow widening of the high street. Between 1881 and 1898 the Reverend Hervey produced the Wedmore Chronicle which gives a picture of the people and area at the time. In late 2018, Strongvox Homes commissioned
595-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed
714-901: A capacity of 210, aged from four to nine. On 1 September 2016, it became part of a multi-academy trust known as the Wessex Learning Trust. The trust comprises eight schools within the Cheddar Valley geographic area who together offer educational provision from ages 2–19. Hugh Sexey is a middle school and specialist Technology College in Blackford named after royal auditor Hugh Sexey (1556–1619). The school had 620 pupils in June 2012, who join aged 9 in Year 5 and stay until age 13 in Year 8, after which they go to The Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar. Hugh Sexey
833-472: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of
952-456: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have
1071-548: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in
1190-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under
1309-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as
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#17328475517561428-554: A clerical career, but after losing a lawsuit over an estate he had hoped to inherit he moved to Bristol, where he became an excise officer and later taught at the Fishponds free school . The sisters were first educated by their father, learning Latin and mathematics. Hannah was also taught by elder sisters, through whom she learned French, which she improved conversationally by spending time with French prisoners of war in Frenchay during
1547-568: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by
1666-410: A group opposing the slave trade . In the 1790s she wrote Cheap Repository Tracts on moral, religious and political topics, to distribute to the literate poor (as a retort to Thomas Paine 's Rights of Man ). Meanwhile, she broadened her links with schools she and her sister Martha had founded in rural Somerset . These curbed their teaching of the poor, allowing limited reading but no writing. More
1785-615: A house at Cowslip Green, near Wrington in northern Somerset , where she settled with her sister Martha and wrote several ethical books and tracts: Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education (1799), Hints towards Forming the Character of a Young Princess (1805), Coelebs in Search of a Wife (only nominally a story, 1809), Practical Piety (1811), Christian Morals (1813), Character of St Paul (1815) and Moral Sketches (1819). She
1904-440: A kitchen table" and to date have staged more than 60 performances of 18 productions. They recently performed Gilbert and Sullivan 's Pirates of Penzance , and in 2018 they aim to stage Verdi 's La Traviata to mark their 30th anniversary, as this was their first production. Wedmore Theatre is the longest standing arts organisation in Wedmore and has put on many productions over the past 40 years. Local people created and host
2023-501: A large Harvest Home and village parade on the playing field each year. Wedmore Playing Fields also offer sporting facilities for tennis, football, cricket and bowls. Arts events are held at Wedmore Village Hall, both those produced locally and national tours. Wedmore Opera stages large-scale classic opera in a specially designed and constructed marquee venue and also in Wedmore Village Hall. The group were founded in 1988 "around
2142-517: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
2261-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
2380-727: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Hannah More Defunct Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833)
2499-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
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#17328475517562618-413: A population of 3,318 according to the 2011 census. Its facilities include a medical and dental practice, pharmacy, butcher's, a village store with off licence, three pubs , restaurant, café and several other local shops. It is 4 miles (6 km) south of Cheddar , 7 miles (11 km) west of the city of Wells and 7 miles (11 km) north west of Glastonbury . Iron Age remains have been found in
2737-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by
2856-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have
2975-579: A record of the ailments of Wedmore people over a period of 15 years. The original post office in Church Street opposite the church itself, dates from Georgian times, while the Old Vicarage was built at the end of the 15th century. The George Hotel was a 16th-century coaching inn . John Tonkin built a fashionable house, in the Italianate style, which is now the pharmacy. In 1799 Hannah More established
3094-532: A relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007
3213-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it
3332-589: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
3451-938: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at
3570-514: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there
3689-548: A step above the children's proper station. At Wedmore , the Dean of Wells was petitioned to have More removed from the school. To the Bishop of Bath and Wells she protested that her schools taught only "such coarse works as may fit them [their charges] for servants. I allow no writing for the poor. My object is... to train up the lower classes in habits of industry and piety." More refused to read Mary Wollstonecraft 's Vindication of
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3808-465: A unique knot design and dating from the 6th or 7th century, was found in the village by Tim Purnell. It has been authenticated by the British Museum and a modern copy made by local jeweller Erica Sharpe. According to the 1086 Domesday Book , Wedmore/Wetmore was one of the holdings of the Bishop of Wells with 18 cottagers, woodlands, pasture and two fisheries. In the medieval period , Wedmore
3927-510: A witty verse celebration of her friends and circle: The Bas Bleu, or, Conversation , published in 1784. Garrick wrote a prologue and epilogue to Hannah More's tragedy Percy , which was successful at Covent Garden in December 1777 and revived in 1785 with Sarah Siddons at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane . A copy of Percy was found among Mozart 's possessions in 1791. Another drama, The Fatal Falsehood , produced in 1779 after Garrick's death,
4046-578: Is also a Wessex Learning Trust member. I.T. for the Terrified was started in Wedmore in 1999, as a community project so that volunteers could share their computer skills with the local community in a user-friendly and informal setting. In 2001 it moved to the rear of The George Hotel, and in 2009 it moved to a converted cow barn in the grounds of The Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar. Historically, and apart from school services, Wedmore has been poorly served. The first regularly timed daily bus service began in
4165-506: Is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west. The population of Wedmore, recorded in the 2011 census , is 3,318. Since Wedmore has a higher level of residents born in the UK than the national average and a lower rate of residents either born in other EU countries or outside
4284-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been
4403-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have
4522-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In
4641-636: Is quoted as scolding her: "Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his face, you should consider whether or not your flattery is worth having." He would later be quoted as calling her "the finest versifatrix in the English language". Meanwhile, she became prominent in the Bluestocking group of women engaged in polite conversation and literary and intellectual pursuits. She attended the salon of Elizabeth Montagu , where she met Frances Boscawen , Elizabeth Carter , Elizabeth Vesey and Hester Chapone , some of whom would be lifelong friends. In 1782 she wrote
4760-529: Is the most populous area, the ward stretches east to Mark . Wedmore is part of the UK Parliament constituency of Wells and Mendip Hills . Wedmore has been twinned with Saint-Médard-de-Guizières in Aquitaine , France, since 1975. A piece of public art was given as a gift to the people of Wedmore in 1995 by the citizens of Saint-Médard-de-Guizières, named the "Grape Press", to mark the twentieth anniversary of
4879-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt
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4998-824: The Bristol Pound , a local currency. The street in Wrington where she was buried has been named Hannah More Close. However, the Liberal politician Augustine Birrell , in his 1906 work Hannah More Once More , claimed to have buried all 19 volumes of More's works in his garden in disgust. In 2022, More was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 6 September. Letters to, from and about Hannah More are held by Bristol Archives , including one from William Wilberforce (Ref. 28048/C/1/2) ( online catalogue ). Records relating to Hannah More appear at
5117-589: The Hairy Dragonfly ( Brachytron pratense ) and the Variable Damselfly ( Coenagrion pulchellum ). Along with the rest of South West England , Wedmore has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F ). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of
5236-742: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were
5355-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with
5474-457: The Seven Years' War . She was an assiduous, discerning student. Family tradition has it that she began writing at an early age. In 1758, Jacob established a girls' boarding school at Trinity Street, Bristol, for the elder sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, to run, while he and his wife moved to Stony Hill in the city to open a school for boys. Hannah More became a pupil in the girls' school when she
5593-502: The Tealham and Tadham Moors , a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which form part of the extensive grazing marsh and ditch systems of the Somerset Levels and Moors. The water table is high throughout the greater part of the year with winter flooding occurring annually, by over-topping of the River Brue . 113 aquatic and bankside vascular plant species have been recorded from
5712-438: The ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on
5831-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or
5950-661: The "rights of man" as "battle, murder and sudden death". Tom Hood finally accepts Anvil's conclusion: "While old England is safe I'll glory in her, and pray for her; and when she is in danger I'll fight for her and die for her." More's biographer summed up the pamphlet against Paine as "Burke for Beginners". It was well received: Porteus called it "a masterpiece of its kind, supremely excellent, greatly admired at Windsor ". Frances Boscawen thought it exceeded William Paley 's The British Public's Reasons for Contentment and Richard Owen Cambridge claimed " Swift could not have done it better." More's next anti-Jacobin tract, Remarks on
6069-463: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
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#17328475517566188-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until
6307-584: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from
6426-505: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In
6545-493: The Association to send her "two or three printed papers explaining the nature of the Association as perhaps I may use them to advantage with a friend or two, distinguished for their piety and active zeal." In 1794, when Paine published The Age of Reason , a deist attack on Christianity, Porteus again requested More's help in combating Paine's ideas, but she declined, being preoccupied with her charity-school work. However, by
6664-463: The Bible and the catechism on Sundays and during the week taught "such coarse works as may fit them for servants". In regards to her choice of subjects More declared "I allow of no writing for the poor" and that they were not to be made "scholars and philosophers". There was local opposition: Church of England vicars suspected her of advancing Methodism and some landowners saw even rudimentary literacy as
6783-517: The EU, it does not have a significant immigrant population. The educational system in the Cheddar Valley consists of first schools for children between the ages of 4 and 9, two middle schools (ages 9 to 13) and a secondary school for pupils up to the age of 18 years. Established in 1876 as Wedmore First School , and upgrading to academy status in July 2011, the first school built for Wedmore has 211 pupils, with
6902-515: The Elder . Wedmore was part of the hundred of Bempstone . Earthworks from a complex of buildings, including a hall and chapel, surrounded by a moat, have been identified. The site is believed to have been a bishop's palace demolished by John Harewel in the 1380s. In 1853 a hoard of 200 silver coins dating from the Saxon period was found in the churchyard. In 1988 a Saxon ring, made of copper alloy with
7021-518: The French Revolution to Jack Anvil and speaks in favour of a new constitution based on liberty and the "rights of man". Jack Anvil responds by praising the British constitution, saying Britain already has "the best laws in the world". He attacks French liberty as murder, French democracy as tyranny of the majority, French equality as a levelling down of social classes, French philosophy as atheism , and
7140-555: The Revolution in France for combining "the rhetoric of ancient Gaul" and the "patriot spirit of ancient Rome" with "the deepest political sagacity". Part II of the Rights of Man , Thomas Paine 's reply to Burke, appeared in 1792. The government was alarmed by its concern for the poor and call for world revolution, coupled with huge sales. Porteus visited More and asked her to write something for
7259-564: The Rights of Women (1792). While many women may be "fond of government", they are not, she believed, "fit for it": "To be unstable and capricious is but too characteristic of our sex." More turned down honorary membership of the Royal Society of Literature, seeing her "sex alone a disqualification". Those heeding Wollstonecraft's call to embrace the liberty without which women could "neither possess virtue or happiness" or reading with equal ardour
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#17328475517567378-625: The Speech of M. Dupont , condemned atheism in France. Its profits were passed to French Catholic priests exiled in England. The two pamphlets attracted praise from the Association for the Discountenancing of Vice , an evangelical publishing society founded in Dublin in 1792. The membership wrote to her in June 1793 congratulating her on it and inviting her to become an honorary member. Accepting, More asked
7497-666: The Vikings withdrew to East Anglia. The Treaty of Wedmore is a term used by some historians inferred for the events in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , outlining how in 878 the Viking leader Guthrum was baptised and accepted Alfred the Great as his godfather. No such treaty still exists but there is a document that is not specifically linked to Wedmore that is a Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum . Alfred then left Wedmore in his will to his son Edward
7616-662: The Wedmore area, and there are a number of Roman sites in the district. The name Wedmore in Old English is thought to mean "hunting lodge" or "hunting moor" and there was a Saxon royal estate in the area. Centwine gained control of the area in 682 and named it 'Vadomaer' after one of the Saxon leaders, Vado the famous. After winning the Battle of Ethandun , Alfred the Great caused the Viking leader Guthrum and his followers to be baptised at Aller and then celebrated at Wedmore. After this
7735-456: The Wedmore region. Wedmore Parish Council supported the development, saying "The neighbourhood plan will provide an element of affordable housing, which is much-needed in the village." 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
7854-517: The adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England; however, convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than
7973-724: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
8092-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
8211-529: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to
8330-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had
8449-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced
8568-453: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
8687-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
8806-416: The development of 35 new houses to the east of Wedmore First School Academy on Blackford Road, with a completion date of early 2020. The scheme comes in the wake of a previous application to build 60 homes opposite the school and 18 opposite Westholme Farm, also on Blackford Road. The development plans were called "ludicrous" and "unnecessary" by residents concerned about the strain placed on infrastructure in
8925-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
9044-448: The end of the year, More, encouraged by Porteus, decided to embark on a series of Cheap Repository Tracts , three of which appeared every month from 1795 to 1798. In January 1795, More explained to Zachary Macaulay: "Vulgar and indecent penny books were always common, but speculative infidelity brought down to the pockets and capacity of the poor forms a new era in our history. This requires strong counteraction." Her scheme developed from
9163-521: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
9282-458: The field ditches, rhynes and deep arterial watercourses. A diverse invertebrate fauna is associated in particular with ditches that have a good submerged plant community. The water beetle fauna is exceptionally rich, with the nationally rare species Hydrophilus piceus and Hydrochara caraboides together with the rare soldier flies Stratiomys furcata and Odontomyia ornata . Good numbers of dragonflies and damselflies occur including
9401-638: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
9520-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from
9639-606: The ideas of the Association for discountenancing vice, though written in a more "readable and entertaining a style". The tracts sold 300,000 copies in March and April 1795, 700,000 by July 1795 and over two million by March 1796. They urged the poor to rely on virtues of contentment, sobriety, humility, industry, reverence for the British Constitution, hatred of the French, and trust in God and
9758-664: The kindness of the gentry . Perhaps the most famous is The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain , describing a family of phenomenal frugality and contentment. This was translated into several languages. She also invited the Association for the Discountenancing of Vice to reprint her tracts in Ireland, which they did with success in more than 230 editions of 52 titles. More was shocked by the strides made for female education in France: "They run to study philosophy, and neglect their families to be present at lectures in anatomy." Intending "to escape from
9877-424: The late 1970s, it currently operates a return service from Wedmore to Bridgwater , Taunton , Glastonbury and Weston-super-Mare , each town being served on one day per week. Each service is timed to leave Wedmore at about 9:30 am, reaching Wedmore on the return in the early afternoon. The Church of St Mary is predominantly from the 15th century, although some 12th- and 13th-century work survives. The tower, which
9996-471: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
10115-488: The local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role 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
10234-432: The lower orders to counteract Paine. This prompted a pamphlet, Village Politics (1792). More called it "as vulgar as [the] heart can wish; but it is only designed for the most vulgar class of readers." The pamphlet (published pseudonymously as by "Will Chip") consists of a dialogue in plain English between Jack Anvil, a village blacksmith, and Tom Hood, a village mason. After reading Paine, Tom Hood expresses admiration for
10353-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of
10472-479: The mid-1980—a regular service between Wells to the east and Burnham-on-Sea to the west. There is also a service between Glastonbury to the south-east and Shipham via Cheddar to the north. The Isle of Wedmore Rural Transport Association, known locally as the Wedmore Community Bus, consists of a voluntary committee which runs a community bus service in conjunction with Somerset County Council. Established in
10591-499: The nearby Bagley Baptist Church, also in the Wedmore parish, which has livelier services that attract young people. The village of Theale is served by Christ Church , built in 1826–28, and Blackford is served by Holy Trinity , built in 1821–23. Both churches were designed by Richard Carver . Wedmore has a number of annual festivals including the Arts Festival, a summer street fair, Wedmore by Lamplight street fair at Christmas, and
10710-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays
10829-637: The original Turnip Prize , a parody of the Turner Prize . This competition (celebrating the worst of bad modern art) takes place annually at The New Inn. There is an annual Wedmore Real Ale Festival in September. Civil parishes in England In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to
10948-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as
11067-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally
11186-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of
11305-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As
11424-552: The pedagogy of Anna Laetitia Barbauld and Elizabeth Hamilton saw More much as Wollstonecraft had seen Burke in her earlier Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790): as a writer with a "mortal antipathy to reason". Having met Hannah More and her sisters in Bath and discussed their schools and other good works, Jane Greg reported to a friend, Martha McTier in Belfast , that she found their "minds crippled in an astonishing degree". McTier
11543-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in
11662-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on
11781-419: The profits in trust to protect them from Yearsley's husband. However, Ann Yearsley wished to receive the capital and made insinuations of stealing against More, forcing her to release it. These literary and social failures prompted More's withdrawal from London intellectual circles. In the 1780s Hannah More became a friend of James Oglethorpe , who had long been concerned with slavery as a moral issue and who
11900-530: The regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection . Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall
12019-444: 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 Sedgemoor , which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , having previously been part of Axbridge Rural District . The village is in the Wedmore and Mark electoral ward . Although Wedmore
12138-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of
12257-450: The secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have
12376-509: The site of the present Village Hall. It is a Grade II listed building built of local Wedmore stone. The Sunday School Room was built in 1896 and the church was refurbished in 1901 when a porch was added. In 2008 the vestry was completely refurbished and new furniture installed. Wedmore Baptist Church had been open since 1857 on Grants Lane, but closed to parishioners in March 2010 due to a limited number of people attending services. A church committee member put this down to an increase in numbers at
12495-655: The twinning. The press is maintained by the Twinning Association and is part of the display that enabled the Wedmore in Bloom initiative achieve a Gold Award in 2009. In exchange, Wedmore gave the French town a British red phone box . Wedmore is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue , often called the Isle of Wedmore, which is composed of Blue Lias and marl . South of Wedmore are
12614-551: The world gradually", More moved in 1802 to Wrington in rural Somerset , where she had built a comfortable house and laid out a garden. She remained, however, active with several Somerset schools for the destitute that she and her sister Martha had founded from the 1780s, with Wilberforce's encouragement. She modelled the idealised hero and heroine in Coelebs in Search of Wife (1809) on the schools' prodigious benefactors: John and Louisa Harford of Blaise Castle . The schools taught
12733-593: Was 12 years old and taught there in early adulthood. In 1767, More gave up her share in the school on becoming engaged to William Turner of the Belmont Estate, Wraxall, Somerset , whom she had met when he began teaching her cousins. After six years the wedding had not taken place. Turner seemed reluctant to name a date and in 1773 the engagement was broken off. It seems this led More into a nervous breakdown, from which she recuperated in Uphill , near Weston-super-Mare . She
12852-505: Was a rapid writer. Her work, though discursive and animated, was deficient in form. Her popularity may be explained by her originality and forceful subject-matter. The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 did not worry More initially, but by 1790 she was writing, "I have conceived an utter aversion to liberty according to the present idea of it in France. What a cruel people they are!" She praised Edmund Burke 's Reflections on
12971-456: Was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson , Reynolds and Garrick , who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol , she taught at a school her father founded there and began writing plays. She became involved in the London literary elite and a leading Bluestocking member. Her later plays and poetry became more evangelical. She joined
13090-404: Was built around 1400, with its set-back buttresses, includes triple two-light bell chamber windows; those to the centre are louvred, those to each side blank. The gardens that surround the church are best viewed from the top of this tower. St Mary's Church is a Grade I listed building . Wedmore Methodist Church, on Sand Road, was built in 1817 replacing an earlier chapel which was built in 1795 on
13209-451: Was close to William Wilberforce and Zachary Macaulay , sympathising with their evangelical views. Her poem Slavery appeared in 1788. For many years she was a friend of Beilby Porteus , Bishop of London and a leading abolitionist , who drew her into a group of anti-slave traders that included Wilberforce, Charles Middleton and also James Ramsay at Teston in Kent . In 1785 More bought
13328-512: Was induced to accept a £200 annuity from Turner as compensation. This freed her for literary pursuits. In the winter of 1773–1774, she went to London with her sisters, Sarah and Martha – the first of many such trips at yearly intervals. Some verses she had written on David Garrick's version of King Lear led to an acquaintance with him. She later moved to Bath , where she stayed between 1792 and 1802 on Great Pulteney Street . More's first literary efforts were pastoral plays written while she
13447-454: Was less successful and she stopped writing for the stage. However, a tragedy entitled The Inflexible Captive appeared in 1818. In 1781 she met Horace Walpole and corresponded with him. At Bristol she discovered the poet Ann Yearsley . When Yearsley became destitute, More raised a considerable sum of money for her benefit. Lactilla, as Yearsley was known, published Poems, on Several Occasions in 1785, earning about £600. More and Montagu held
13566-476: Was noted for her political conservatism , being described as an anti-feminist , a "counter-revolutionary", or a conservative feminist . Born in 1745 at Fishponds in the parish of Stapleton , near Bristol , Hannah More was the fourth of five daughters of Jacob More (1700–1783), a schoolmaster from a strong Presbyterian family in Harleston, Norfolk , who had joined the Church of England . He sought to pursue
13685-598: Was proud that in her school for poor girls her pupils "do not gabble over the testament only" and that she had those who "can read Fox and Pitt ". More in 1820 donated money to Philander Chase , the first Episcopal Bishop of Ohio for the foundation there of Kenyon College . A portrait of More hangs in its Peirce Hall. In Hannah More's last years, philanthropists from all parts made pilgrimages to Wrington, and after 1828 to Clifton , where she died on 7 September 1833. More left about £30,000, chiefly in legacies to charitable institutions and religious societies. The residue
13804-435: Was still teaching and suitable for young ladies to act. The first was The Search after Happiness , written in 1762. By the mid-1780s over 10,000 copies of this had been sold. Among her literary models was Metastasio , on whose opera Attilio Regulo she based a drama, The Inflexible Captive . In London, More sought to associate with the literary elite, including Samuel Johnson , Joshua Reynolds and Edmund Burke . Johnson
13923-540: Was the centre for the surrounding agricultural area, with weekly markets as well as a larger annual one. The market cross dates from the 14th century. In the 17th century Dr John Westover built a mental hospital to which patients came from all over the West Country . This is believed to have been England's first private lunatic asylum. The doctor is thought to have treated his patients compassionately, ensuring that they had luxuries such as playing cards and tobacco. He kept
14042-543: Was to go to a new Church of St Philip and St Jacob in Bristol. She was buried beside her sisters at the Church of All Saints, Wrington , which has a bust of her in the south porch, beside one of the local son John Locke . Several local schools and St. Michael's Church (Reisterstown, Maryland) are named after More. Hannah More Primary School was built in Bristol Old Market in the 1840s. Her image appeared in 2012 on
14161-687: Was working with Granville Sharp as an early abolitionist. More published Sacred Dramas in 1782, which rapidly ran through 19 editions. These and the poems Bas-Bleu and Florio (1786) mark a gradual transition to graver views, expressed in prose in Thoughts on the Importance of the Manners of the Great to General Society (1788) and An Estimate of the Religion of the Fashionable World (1790). By this time she
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