Ashcott

Ashcott is a small village and civil parish located in the Sedgemoor area of Somerset in the south-west of England. The village has a population of 1,186.[1] The parish includes the hamlets of Ashcott Corner, Berhill, Buscott, Nythe and Pedwell.

Ashcott
Street scene showing road junction with houses and cars
Chapel Hill, Ashcott
Ashcott is located in Somerset
Ashcott
Ashcott
Location within Somerset
Population1,186 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST4337
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRIDGWATER
Postcode districtTA7
Dialling code01458
PoliceAvon and Somerset
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

The village has five pubs and its own brewer, Moor Beer. It has a church, shop, a primary school and an all-through independent school.

The annual Ashcott BeerFest is held on the Coronation playing fields at the end of June/beginning of July each year. It raises money for the Playing Fields, Cheeky Chimps Pre-School and the Ashcott Primary School PTA.

History

The parish of Ashcott was part of the Whitley Hundred.[2]

The Bath to Exeter coach at ‘The Piper’s Inn’, Ashcott, Somerset (1794) by John Nixon

The village was a stop for mail coaches running from Bath to Exeter, and later had a station on the Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The station was two miles away from the village, and was originally called "Ashcott and Meare", reflecting the fact that Meare was also nearby (in fact, nearer). "Meare" was dropped from the official name in 1876, though the station "running board" – the large sign on the platform – continued to give the double name until the railway line closed in 1966 under the Beeching Axe.[3]

A narrow gauge railway operated by Eclipse Peat operated from 1922 to 1983 and crossed the branch line on the level about 1/2-mile east of Ashcott station. On 29 August 1949 a train on the branch collided with a narrow gauge engine and the locomotive ended up in the adjacent Glastonbury Canal.[4]

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

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 Bridgwater Rural District.[5]

The village is part of 'East Polden' electoral ward. Although Ashcott is the most populous area the ward stretches to Moorlinch and Shapwick. The total population of the ward at the 2011 census was 2,130.[6]

It is also part of the Bridgwater and West 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.

Religious sites
All Saints Church, Ashcott, Somerset

The Anglican parish Church of All Saints dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.[7]

Notable residents

Ashcott was the birthplace of Joseph Trutch, a Canadian engineer, surveyor and politician. It is also the home to Bradley Middleton, former professional footballer and founder of The Levels School.[8][9]

References
  1. "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  3. Somerset Railway Stations, by Mike Oakley (Dovecote Press, 2002)
  4. Jacobs, Mike (2013). "The Narrow Gauge Railway at Ashcott". The Southern Way. 23: 57–63.
  5. "Bridgwater RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. "East Polden ward 2011". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  7. Historic England. "Church of All Saints (1058957)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  8. "Full-back Middleton joins Weston". 21 August 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  9. "New specialist school set to open near Bridgwater next year". Bridgwater Mercury. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
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