Axbridge
Encyclopedia
Axbridge is a town
in Somerset
, England, situated in the Sedgemoor
district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills
. The town population
according to the 2001 census
was 2,024.
Early inhabitants of the area almost certainly include the Romans
(who are known to have mined lead
on the top of the Mendips) and earlier still, prehistoric man, (who lived in the local caves) whose flint
tools have been found on the slopes of the local hills. The history of Axbridge can be traced back to the reign of King Alfred when it was part of the Saxons
' defence system for Wessex
against the Vikings. In the Burghal Hidage
, a list of burbs compiled in 910 it was listed as Axanbrycg. A listing of Axbridge appears in the Domesday survey of 1086 as , meaning 'axe bridge' from the Old English and .
It was part of the royal manor of Cheddar and part of the Winterstoke Hundred.
It was granted a Royal Charter
in 1202, when King John
sold most of the royal manor of Cheddar to the Bishop of Bath and Wells
. Axbridge grew in the Tudor
period as a centre for cloth manufacture, This was reflected in its early royal charters allowing it to hold markets, fairs and become a royal borough. It even had its own mint, with coins showing the town's symbol: the Lamb and Flag.
Trade was possible as the River Axe was navigable to wharves at Axbridge.
Later the town's importance declined which led to stagnation and the preservation of many historic buildings in the town centre. These include King John's Hunting Lodge
(actually a Tudor
building) which is now used as a museum.
Axbridge is a very old borough and sent members to parliament in the reigns of Edward I
and Edward III.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries iron
ore was extracted from the hill above and east of Axbridge.
Axbridge railway station
, on the Cheddar Valley line
, opened on 3 August 1869. It closed to goods traffic on 10 June 1963 and passengers on 9 September 1963. The route of the railway is now the A371
Axbridge bypass, but the station buildings and goods shed still survive.
The Square was used as the setting for a NatWest Bank
advert in the early nineties, and in particular the Town Hall which doubled as NatWest Branch. Ironically a real branch of NatWest, which was situated in the High Street, was closed not long afterwards and the premises are now private residential accommodation.
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 town 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 town 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. Each year members of the town council elect a mayor for the town.
The town falls within 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
from 1894 to 1974, which is responsible for local planning
and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health
, market
s 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 six MEPs using the d'Hondt method
of party-list proportional representation
.
is a grade I listed building.
Work on the current building began in the early 15th century, and grew from an earlier building dating back to about 1230. The church is built of limestone and decorated with Doulting stone, while the steps are an interesting example of Dolomitic Conglomerate (pudding stone). The crossing tower is over 100 feet (30.5 m) high, and holds six bells, one of which dating from 1723 was made by Edward Bilbie of the Bilbie family
. The statue on the east side is that of St John the Baptist. On the west side is a king — perhaps Henry VII
, which would place it after 1485. The North aisle ceiling retains some mediaeval painted panels, and amongst the carved bosses is the head of a Green Man
, with leaves sprouting around his face. The nave roof is Jacobean and dates from 1636. Restoration was undertaken in 1888 by J.D. Sedding, who contributed the fine parclose screens.
immediately to the south east that remains a village, Axbridge is a town. This apparently illogical situation is explained by the relative importance of the two places in historic times. While Axbridge grew in importance as a centre for cloth manufacture in the Tudor
period and gained a charter from King John
, Cheddar remained a more dispersed dairy-farming village until the advent of tourism and the arrival of the railway in the Victorian era
.
This situation is unlikely to change in the near future, with the residents of both Axbridge and Cheddar proud of their settlement's respective status and the inevitable friendly local rivalry between the two.
and Clifton
. By 1929 the workhouse had become officially known as Axbridge Poor Law Institution.
On the Saturday of the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, the annual Somerset Showcase takes place, which is a fun filled day for the whole family featuring the best Somerset has to offer, including craft displays and market, farmers' market, entertainment, exhibitions and live music in the evening. It has become a firm favourite amongst the events held in the town each year, and attracts visitors from all over the area.
September also sees the annual Blackberry Carnival, Fair in the Square and Harvest Home which was introduced in 2007. Other events throughout the year include the Progressive Supper and Santa in the Square.
Axbridge hosts a Pageant every 10 years. This started in 1967, in celebration of the opening of the bypass. The next pageant was in 1970 & there has been one every decade since then.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England, situated in the Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh . The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels...
district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
. The town population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
according to the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
was 2,024.
History
Axanbrcyg is suggested as the source of the name, meaning a bridge over the River Axe, in the early 9th century.Early inhabitants of the area almost certainly include the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
(who are known to have mined lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
on the top of the Mendips) and earlier still, prehistoric man, (who lived in the local caves) whose flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
tools have been found on the slopes of the local hills. The history of Axbridge can be traced back to the reign of King Alfred when it was part of the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
' defence system for Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
against the Vikings. In the Burghal Hidage
Burghal Hidage
The Burghal Hidage is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of the fortified burhs in Wessex and elsewhere in southern England. It offers an unusually detailed picture of the network of burhs that Alfred the Great designed to defend his kingdom from the predations of Viking invaders.-Burhs and...
, a list of burbs compiled in 910 it was listed as Axanbrycg. A listing of Axbridge appears in the Domesday survey of 1086 as , meaning 'axe bridge' from the Old English and .
It was part of the royal manor of Cheddar and part of the Winterstoke Hundred.
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1202, when King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
sold most of the royal manor of Cheddar to the Bishop of Bath and Wells
Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...
. Axbridge grew in the Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
period as a centre for cloth manufacture, This was reflected in its early royal charters allowing it to hold markets, fairs and become a royal borough. It even had its own mint, with coins showing the town's symbol: the Lamb and Flag.
Trade was possible as the River Axe was navigable to wharves at Axbridge.
Later the town's importance declined which led to stagnation and the preservation of many historic buildings in the town centre. These include King John's Hunting Lodge
King John's Hunting Lodge
King John's Hunting Lodge is a wool-merchant's house of around 1500 in Axbridge, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.The building comprised shops on the ground floor, living areas and workshops on the first floor, and storage and sleeping areas on the second floor...
(actually a Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
building) which is now used as a museum.
Axbridge is a very old borough and sent members to parliament in the reigns of Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
and Edward III.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
ore was extracted from the hill above and east of Axbridge.
Axbridge railway station
Axbridge railway station
Axbridge railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Axbridge, Somerset. Axbridge was one of the principal stations for the transport of strawberries, which led to the line's alternative name as The Strawberry Line....
, on the Cheddar Valley line
Cheddar Valley line
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried....
, opened on 3 August 1869. It closed to goods traffic on 10 June 1963 and passengers on 9 September 1963. The route of the railway is now the A371
A371 road
The A371 is a primary road in England running from Wincanton in Somerset, to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset.The A371 starts at the A303, then passes Castle Cary, Ansford, Cannard's Grave , Shepton Mallet, Croscombe, Wells, Easton, Somerset, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Rodney Stoke, Draycott, Cheddar,...
Axbridge bypass, but the station buildings and goods shed still survive.
The Square was used as the setting for a NatWest Bank
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
advert in the early nineties, and in particular the Town Hall which doubled as NatWest Branch. Ironically a real branch of NatWest, which was situated in the High Street, was closed not long afterwards and the premises are now private residential accommodation.
Governance
The town councilTown council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
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 town council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch
Neighbourhood Watch (UK)
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the United Kingdom is a partnership where people come together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their...
groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The town 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. Each year members of the town council elect a mayor for the town.
The town falls within the non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh . The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels...
, which was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, having previously been part of Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Axbridge rural sanitary district....
from 1894 to 1974, which is responsible for local planning
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health
Environmental health
Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...
, market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
s and fairs, refuse collection and recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county.-Area covered:...
is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
, social services, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, main roads, public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
, policing
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and fire services, trading standards
Trading Standards
Trading Standards is the name given to local authority departments in the UK formerly known as Weights and Measures. These departments investigate commercial organisations that carry out trade in unethical ways or outside the scope of the law.-History:...
, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the Wells
Wells (UK Parliament constituency)
Wells is a county constituency centred on the city of Wells in Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system...
county constituency represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
which elects six MEPs using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
.
Church
The thirteenth century parish Church of St JohnChurch of St John the Baptist, Axbridge
The Church of St John the Baptist in Axbridge, Somerset, England was built in the 13th century and has been designated as a grade I listed building....
is a grade I listed building.
Work on the current building began in the early 15th century, and grew from an earlier building dating back to about 1230. The church is built of limestone and decorated with Doulting stone, while the steps are an interesting example of Dolomitic Conglomerate (pudding stone). The crossing tower is over 100 feet (30.5 m) high, and holds six bells, one of which dating from 1723 was made by Edward Bilbie of the Bilbie family
Bilbie family
The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century....
. The statue on the east side is that of St John the Baptist. On the west side is a king — perhaps Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, which would place it after 1485. The North aisle ceiling retains some mediaeval painted panels, and amongst the carved bosses is the head of a Green Man
Green Man
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
, with leaves sprouting around his face. The nave roof is Jacobean and dates from 1636. Restoration was undertaken in 1888 by J.D. Sedding, who contributed the fine parclose screens.
Village or town?
In contrast to the much larger settlement of CheddarCheddar
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...
immediately to the south east that remains a village, Axbridge is a town. This apparently illogical situation is explained by the relative importance of the two places in historic times. While Axbridge grew in importance as a centre for cloth manufacture in the Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
period and gained a charter from King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, Cheddar remained a more dispersed dairy-farming village until the advent of tourism and the arrival of the railway in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
.
This situation is unlikely to change in the near future, with the residents of both Axbridge and Cheddar proud of their settlement's respective status and the inevitable friendly local rivalry between the two.
Workhouse
The Axbridge Union workhouse was erected in 1837 at the south side of West Street in Axbridge. The Poor Law Commissioners authorised an expenditure of £4,496.17s.6d on construction of the building which was intended to accommodate 250 inmates. It was designed by Samuel T Welch who was also the architect of workhouses at WellsWells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
and Clifton
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
. By 1929 the workhouse had become officially known as Axbridge Poor Law Institution.
Events
Axbridge has a very active community and holds a number of events each year.On the Saturday of the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, the annual Somerset Showcase takes place, which is a fun filled day for the whole family featuring the best Somerset has to offer, including craft displays and market, farmers' market, entertainment, exhibitions and live music in the evening. It has become a firm favourite amongst the events held in the town each year, and attracts visitors from all over the area.
September also sees the annual Blackberry Carnival, Fair in the Square and Harvest Home which was introduced in 2007. Other events throughout the year include the Progressive Supper and Santa in the Square.
Axbridge hosts a Pageant every 10 years. This started in 1967, in celebration of the opening of the bypass. The next pageant was in 1970 & there has been one every decade since then.