View source for Hunstrete

{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox UK place
|static_image=[[File:Hunstrete Green.jpg|alt=Wooden seat on grassy area with building behind|240px]]
|static_image_caption=Hunstrete Green
|country =                 England
|coordinates = {{coord|51.360|-2.507|display=inline,title}}
|official_name=             Hunstrete
| population =
| population_ref = approx. 100
|unitary_england=  [[Bath and North East Somerset]]
|lieutenancy_england= [[Somerset]]
|region=                  South West England
|constituency_westminster=[[North East Somerset and Hanham (UK Parliament constituency)|North East Somerset and Hanham]]
|post_town=        BATH
|postcode_district =       BA2
|postcode_area=            BA
|dial_code=      01761
|os_grid_reference=     ST647624
}}

'''Hunstrete''' ({{gbmapping|ST625643}}) is a small village on the [[River Chew]] in the [[Chew Valley]], [[Bath and North East Somerset]], England. It falls within the [[civil parish]] of [[Marksbury]] and is {{convert|8|mi|0}} from [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Bristol]], and {{convert|5|mi|0}} from [[Keynsham]]. It is just off the [[A368 road|A368]] between Marksbury and [[Chelwood]].

== History ==

The origin of the name Hunstrete is unclear. One explanation is that it means 'The hundred road' from the [[Old English]] ''hund'' and ''street''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Stephen |title=Somerset Place Names |year=1992 |publisher=The Dovecote Press Ltd |location=Wimborne, Dorset |isbn=1-874336-03-2}}</ref> Other possible derivations are the personal name ''hund'' and [[Old English]] ''steort'' meaning a projecting piece of land, or ''hund'', meaning hound or dog, relating to the place where they were kept.<ref name=caola>{{cite book|last=Caola|first=Susan Elizabeth|title=Hunstrete: Truth and legend|year=2003|publisher=The Author|isbn=0-9546239-0-8}}</ref>

Although occupation during the [[Iron Age]] is possible the earliest evidence are Roman coins from the emperor [[Carausius]], and continuous occupation during the Saxon period may have been connected with the nearby [[Wansdyke (earthwork)|Wansdyke]]. A charter of 936 suggests the land was given to a [[thegn]] by the name of Ethelelm by [[Æthelstan]]. The manor was granted to [[Glastonbury Abbey]] who held it until the [[dissolution of the monasteries]] in 1539 when it was forfeit to the crown and granted to Richard Watkins.

At the beginning of the 17th century it passed to the family of Sir [[John Popham (Lord Chief Justice)|John Popham]], whose descendants sold off portions of land in the intervening years but owned Hunstrete House until 1977.<ref name=caola/>

== Government and politics ==

Hunstrete is part of the Bathavon South Ward, which is represented by two councillors on the [[Bath and North East Somerset]] [[Unitary Authority]], which has responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. The village is a part of [[Frome and East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|Frome and East Somerset]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/cgi-bin/calcwork.pl?seat=Somerset%20North%20East |title=Somerset North East: New Boundaries Calculation |access-date=19 September 2007 |work=Electoral Calculus: General Election Prediction |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411004822/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/cgi-bin/calcwork.pl?seat=Somerset%20North%20East |archive-date=11 April 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Prior to [[Brexit]] in 2020, it was part of the [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West England constituency]] of the European Parliament.

== Demographics ==

According to the 2001 Census, the [[Farmborough, Somerset|Farmborough]] Ward (which includes [[Compton Dando]], [[Marksbury]], [[Woollard]] and [[Chewton Keynsham]]), had 1,111 residents, living in 428 households, with an average age of 44.5 years. Of these 71% of residents describing their health as 'good', 21% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.0% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 22,100 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.<ref>{{cite web | title=Neighbourhood Statistics LSOA Bath and North East Somerset 016B Farmborough | work=Office for National Statistics 2001 Census | url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadProfileSearch.do?profileSearchText=BS39+4LW&searchProfiles= | access-date=1 May 2006 | archive-date=25 May 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525185035/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadProfileSearch.do?profileSearchText=BS39+4LW&searchProfiles= | url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Hunstrete House ==
[[File:Hunstrete House.JPG|thumb|left|Hunstrete House]]
Hunstrete House is a Grade II [[listed building]] dating from 1820.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1136457 |desc=Hunstrete House |accessdate=22 April 2006}}</ref> In its grounds are [[Hunstrete Lake]], a [[walled garden]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepighotel.com/news-and-awards/the-pig-is-expanding-its-litter!.aspx|title=THE PIG is expanding its litter|access-date=1 July 2013|archive-date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831144702/http://www.thepighotel.com/news-and-awards/the-pig-is-expanding-its-litter!.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> and an [[Icehouse (building)|icehouse]] which is also a listed building.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1312791 |desc=Icehouse about 120 metres north of Hunstrete House |accessdate=22 April 2006}}</ref>

In September 2007 a team from the television programme ''[[Time Team]]'' visited Hunstrete to explore stories about the "Grand Mansion" which preceded the current house. It is thought that Francis Popham (died 1779), a descendant of Sir [[John Popham (Lord Chief Justice)|John Popham]], started the construction of a 17-bay mansion which was, however, suspended after his death and abandoned after the death of his wife Dorothy (Hutton) in 1797.  The construction which had taken place was demolished in 1836, leaving just a line of arches. The main staircase, fireplace and chandelier were used in the restoration of [[Prior Park]] in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/11781255/Hunstrete-Grand-Mansion|title=Hunstrete Grand Mansion|work=Wessex Archeology|publisher=Videotext Communications Ltd|access-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> The excavations undertaken tried to identify whether there was a previous [[medieval]] or [[Tudor style architecture|Tudor]] manor house on the site. The programme was aired on 17 February 2008,<ref>{{cite news |first=Rowland |last=Janes |title=The time team tackles Hunstrete riddle |work=Chew Valley Gazette |date=October 2007  }}</ref> and showed that the "Grand Mansion" was really the addition of a new exterior to a previous building.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2008/hunstrete/index.html |title=Hunstrete, Somerset |access-date=17 February 2008 |work=Time Team }}</ref>

== Other buildings of note ==
Other Grade II listed buildings in the area are a pair of mid-nineteenth-century cottages,<ref name="cotts">{{NHLE |num=1129523 |desc=Pair of cottages |accessdate=18 March 2009}}</ref> and a fragment of an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] from an earlier large house, dating from c.1700.<ref name="arcade">{{NHLE |num=1129564 |desc=Arcade |accessdate=18 March 2009}}</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{subject bar|auto=y|d=y}}
*[http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Maps/OS62htm/1309.htm Map of Hunstrete circa 1900] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124063103/http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/maps/os62htm/1309.htm |date=24 January 2007 }}

{{Chew Valley}}

[[Category:Villages in Bath and North East Somerset]]
[[Category:Somerset coalfield]]