imported>Entranced98: Adding short description: "Village in Somerset, England", overriding automatically generated description

2025-02-04T14:47:20Z

Adding short description: "Village in Somerset, England", overriding automatically generated description

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{{Short description|Village in Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox UK place
|static_image=File:Ditcheat Post Office - geograph.org.uk - 454919.jpg
|static_image_caption=Ditcheat post office (since closed)
|country = England
|coordinates = {{coord|51.1264|-2.5352|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Ditcheat
|civil_parish=
| population = 725
| population_ref =<ref name="popn">{{cite web|title=Ditcheat Parish|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11122730&c=Ditcheat&d=16&e=61&g=6461439&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1388574924779&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2491|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=1 January 2014}}</ref>
| unitary_england = [[Somerset Council]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Somerset]]
|region= South West England
|constituency_westminster= [[Frome and East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|Frome and East Somerset]]
|post_town= SHEPTON MALLET
|postcode_district= BA4
|postcode_area= BA
|dial_code= 01749
|os_grid_reference= ST625365
}}
'''Ditcheat''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] {{convert|4.5|mi|km|0}} south of [[Shepton Mallet]], and {{convert|2.5|mi|km|0}} north-west of [[Castle Cary]], in [[Somerset]], England. Besides the village, the parish has four hamlets: '''Wraxall''', '''Lower Wraxall''', '''[[Alhampton]]''' and '''Sutton'''.

==History==
In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, Ditcheat belonged to [[Glastonbury Abbey]] and contained 36 families.<ref name="havinden">{{cite book|last=Havinden|first=Michael|title=The Somerset Landscape|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|location=London|series=The making of the English landscape|isbn=0-340-20116-9|page=97}}</ref> The parish of Ditcheat was part of the [[Whitstone (Somerset hundred)|Whitstone]] [[Hundred (county subdivision)|Hundred]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Somerset Hundreds|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/|publisher=GENUKI|access-date=22 October 2011}}</ref>

Nearby main roads are the [[A37 road|A37]], {{convert|1.5|mi|km|0}} west of the village, connecting [[Bristol]] and [[Yeovil]], and the [[A371 road|A371]], {{convert|1|mi|km|0}} east, connecting Shepton Mallet and [[Wincanton]]. It lies near the [[River Brue]] which is crossed by Ansford bridge which dates from 1823.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1217028 |desc=Ansford Bridge |access-date=20 March 2008 }}</ref> Boulter's Bridge which spans the [[River Alham]] is of medieval origin<ref>{{NHLE |num=1345164 |desc=Boulter's Bridge |access-date=20 March 2008 }}</ref> and has been designated as a [[Scheduled Ancient Monument]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1345164&resourceID=5|title=Boulters Bridge | work=Listed Buildings Online | publisher=[[English Heritage]] | access-date=2 January 2011}}</ref> The parish is close to the Roman [[Fosse Way]].

The Manor House is a 17th-century manor house built by Sir Ralph Hopton.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1275484 |desc=Ditcheat House, or Ditcheat Manor |access-date=20 March 2008 }}</ref>

==Governance==
The [[Parish councils of England|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 (UK)|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 in England|local government]] purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] of [[Somerset Council]]. Prior to this, it was part of the [[non-metropolitan district]] of [[Mendip District|Mendip]], which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], having previously been part of [[Shepton Mallet Rural District]].<ref name=sheptonrd>{{cite web|title=Shepton Mallet RD|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10001559|work=A vision of Britain Through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref>

It is also part of the [[Frome and East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|Frome and East Somerset]] [[county constituency]] represented in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. It elects one [[Member of Parliament|Member of Parliament (MP)]] by the [[first past the post]] system of election. It was part of the [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West England constituency]] of the [[European Parliament]] prior to [[Brexit|Britain leaving the European Union]] in January 2020, which elected seven [[Members of the European Parliament|MEPs]] using the [[d'Hondt method]] of [[party-list proportional representation]].

==Religious sites==
[[File:Ditcheat church.jpg|alt=Yellow stone building with central square tower, Foregound is paths through green grass.|thumb|Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ditcheat]]

The [[Church of St Mary Magdalene, Ditcheat|Church of St Mary Magdalene]] has 12th-century origins. It has been designated by [[English Heritage]] as a Grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1345167 |desc=Church of St Mary Magdalene |access-date=20 March 2008 }}</ref>

[[The Abbey, Ditcheat|The Abbey]] is a large house (formerly known as The Priory), built as the [[rectory]] by [[John Gunthorpe]] who was rector of Ditcheat, [[Dean of Wells]] and [[Lord Privy Seal]], in 1473. The house was altered in 1667 for [[Christopher Coward]]; and given a new facade and rearranged internally in 1864–68, probably by [[James Piers St Aubyn]] for Rev. [[William Leir]]. The exterior is now mostly his [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] [[neo-Tudor]]; inside there are reused fragments and some original 15th- and 17th-century work – coffered ceilings and the arch-braced roof of the ‘chapel wing’ – but most of the elaborate Gothic work dates from the 1860s.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1275470 |desc=The Priory |access-date=20 March 2008 }}</ref>

Priors Leigh on the Alhampton Road is a former chapel, now a private home.<ref>{{cite web|title=Priors Leigh|url=http://www.chestertonhumberts.com/asset-images/rps12/brochures/SHF123545.PDF|publisher=Chesterton Humberts}}</ref>

Alhampton is served by [[Alhampton Mission Church|Alhampton Chapel]], a small mission church and [[tin tabernacle]] which was erected in 1892.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alhamptonchapel.org/ |title=Home |publisher=Alhampton Chapel |access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> Alhampton Chapel is under the auspices of St Mary Magdalene Church in Ditcheat, both of which form part of the Fosse Trinity Benefice.
[[File:Tin_Tabernacle,_Alhampton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1495561.jpg|thumb|Alhampton Tabernacle]]
[[File:Alhampton Inn, Somerset.jpg|thumb|Alhampton Inn]]
==Community facilities==
There is a [[public house]] in Ditcheat village, called The Manor House Inn, dating from the 17th century and which used to be owned by the [[lord of the manor]].<ref>[https://whatpub.com/pubs/WSX/100/manor-house-inn-ditcheat CAMRA WhatPub.com] Manor House Inn, Ditcheat</ref>

The Alhampton Inn, also known as the Knave of Clubs, is claimed to have been an [[alehouse]] from at least the seventeenth century.<ref>[https://webmaster19437.wixsite.com/website/our-story "Alhampton Inn: Our Story"]. Retrieved 28 October 2024</ref> After it closed in 2022, a community initiative supported by the [[Plunkett Foundation]] was set up to reopen the pub, and this was successfully achieved in August 2023.<ref>[https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/23607817.alhampton-inn-reopen-community-run-pub/ "The Alhampton Inn to reopen as a community-run pub", ''Somerset County Gazette'', 23 June 2023]. Retrieved 25 August 2023</ref><ref>[https://amandabrit21.wixsite.com/the-alhampton-inn/our-story "Alhampton Inn: Our Story"]. Retrieved 25 August 2023</ref> In 2024, the pub won a Prince of Wales Award of Honour,<ref>[https://www.porterdodson.co.uk/blog/community-spirit-restores-alhampton-inn-a-triumph-of-local-collaboration "Community Spirit Restores Alhampton Inn: A Triumph of Local Collaboration", ''Porter Dobson'']. Retrieved 28 October 2024</ref> and was listed by the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' as one of the hundred best pubs in Britain.<ref>[https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/somerset-pubs-named-among-uks-9610852 Daniel Clark, "Somerset pubs named among UK's best in Daily Mail top 100", ''Somerset Live'', 12 October 2024]. Retrieved 28 October 2024</ref>

A new woodland, Haddon Wood, was established at Alhampton on 28 acres of land donated by the owner in 2013 to the [[Woodland Trust]] for the benefit of the local community.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/03/country-diary-woodland-dream-true John Vallins, "A woodland dream come true", ''The Guardian'', 3 November 2014]. Retrieved 25 August 2023</ref> The land has been planted with native and orchard trees, and has a pond.<ref>[https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/haddon-wood/ Haddon Wood, ''The Woodland Trust'']. Retrieved 25 August 2023</ref>

==Sport==
Ditcheat is home to the stables operated by [[Paul Nicholls (horse racing)|Paul Nicholls]], trainer of [[Cheltenham Gold Cup]]-winning horses [[Kauto Star]] and [[Denman (horse)|Denman]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7943837.stm |title=Gold Cup winner in village parade |date=14 March 2009 |access-date=15 March 2009 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Theodosia Alleine]] (d. 1685), nonconformist writer<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Alleine, Theodosia (fl. 1654–1677), nonconformist writer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-67079;jsessionid=106D405F5101D314938560FADBB5401A|access-date=2024-02-11|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/67079}}</ref>
*[[William Alleine]] (1614–1677), minister{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
*[[Paul Barber (farmer)|Paul Barber]] (1942–2023), farmer, cheese manufacturer and racehorse owner<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scargill |first1=Peter |title='He deserved all the success he had, what a man' - Denman owner Paul Barber dies at the age of 80 |url=https://www.racingpost.com/news/britain/paul-barber-the-dairy-farmer-and-cheese-tycoon-who-hit-the-heights-all-jumps-owners-dream-of-aD1zK7S8RWGs/ |publisher=Racing Post |access-date=11 November 2023 |date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113140326/https://www.racingpost.com/news/britain/paul-barber-the-dairy-farmer-and-cheese-tycoon-who-hit-the-heights-all-jumps-owners-dream-of-aD1zK7S8RWGs/ |archive-date=13 November 2023}}</ref>
*[[Charles Dowding]] (b.1959), horticulturalist and local resident.<ref>[https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/product/alhampton-open-gardens-afternoon "Alhampton Open Gardens Afternoon", ''CharlesDowding.co.uk'']. Retrieved 23 October 2024</ref>
*[[Paul Nicholls (horse racing)|Paul Nicholls]] (b.1962), horse racing trainer.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://ditcheatparishcouncil.org.uk/ Parish council website]
* {{OpenDomesday|ST6236|ditcheat|Ditcheat}}
* {{OpenDomesday|ST6234|alhampton|Alhampton}}

{{Mendip}}

[[Category:Villages in Mendip District]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Somerset]]

Ditcheat - Revision history

imported>Entranced98: Adding short description: "Village in Somerset, England", overriding automatically generated description