Norton-sub-Hamdon

Norton-sub-Hamdon
St Mary's Church Grade I listed [1]
Aerial view of main village centre
Norton-sub-Hamdon  Norton-sub-Hamdon shown within Somerset
Population	743 (2011)[2]
OS grid reference	ST470159
District	South Somerset
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STOKE-SUB-HAMDON
Postcode district	TA14 6
Dialling code	01935
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Yeovil
List of places UK England Somerset

Coordinates: 50°56′26″N 2°45′20″W / 50.9406°N 2.7555°W / 50.9406; -2.7555

Norton-sub-Hamdon is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of the English county of Somerset, situated five miles west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 743.^[2]

The village of Chiselborough is 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to the south, and the village of Stoke-sub-Hamdon 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north.

History

The Manor House

The majority of the houses and cottages in the village are made from the local stone, hamstone, which is taken from the nearby Ham Hill, from which the village gets its name: Norton sub Hamdon means "north farm below the hill farm".^[3]

One of the Church's Stained Glass windows

After the Norman Conquest the manor was granted to Robert, Count of Mortain, who gave it to Grestein Abbey in Normandy, which administered it through Wilmington Priory in Sussex until it was confiscated by the crown in the 14th century. It was then given to the De la Pole family and inherited with the dukedom of Suffolk by the Seymours and in 1671 by the Earl of Aylesbury, before being broken up and sold off.^[3]

The parish was part of the hundred of Houndsborough.^[4]

Governance

There is a parish council.

The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It has previously been part of Yeovil Rural District,^[5] and the county of Somerset.

It is also part of the Yeovil county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Localities

Little Norton

Little Norton
The mill is in the background

Little Norton is a more or less contiguous hamlet to the east that includes the western fringe of Ham Hill an ancient hillfort (and scheduled Ancient Monument^[6] and extends also to its southeast to High Wood and Bagnel Farm which is listed building.^[7]

The only other listed building in the neighbourhood is the central Little Norton Mill, which is also Grade II listed;^[8] its overshot waterwheel is 13’' 9” (5.0 metres) in diameter and was cast by G. Parsons of the Parrett engineers.

Landmarks

Homefield in Rectory Lane was previously known as Folly's. It dates from the 17th century and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.^[9]

The manor house was built in the 17th century and is now in multiple occupation.^[10]

The village pub, the Lord Nelson Inn, also has 17th-century origins.^[11]

Education

The original primary school dates from the mid 18th century. It is situated next to the churchyard and its dovecote.^[12] A new school beside the Recreation Field was opened in 1996.

Religious sites

Church of St Mary the Virgin in Norton sub Hamdon has 13th century origins, but was largely rebuilt between 1500 and 1510. Further restoration was undertaken by Henry Wilson in 1894 and 1904. The five-stage tower, which rises 98.5 feet (30 m) was damaged by lightning and fire on 29 July 1894, but restored within a year, preserving the original design.^[13] It has a double plinth, offset corner buttresses, dividing strings, battlemented parapet with pairs of corner pinnacles extended from buttresses, and central paired pinnacles corbelled off gargoyles.^[14] The dovecote in the churchyard dates from the 17th century,^[15] and was associated with a manor house which was demolished around 1850.^[3]

Notable residents

The village is home to Paddy Ashdown, former local MP and ex-leader of the Liberal Democrats political party. He was knighted (KBE) in 2000 and became a life peer as Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon in the County of Somerset in the House of Lords after retiring from the Commons in 2001.

References

External links

• Village website

Media related to Norton Sub Hamdon at Wikimedia Commons

Towns, villages and hamlets in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England
Abbas and Templecombe Alford Aller Ansford Ash Ashill Babcary Barrington Barton St David Barwick Beercrocombe Blackford Bratton Seymour Brewham Broadway Bruton Brympton Buckland St Mary Castle Cary Chaffcombe Chard Charlton Horethorne Charlton Mackrell Charlton Musgrove Chillington Chilthorne Domer Chilton Cantelo Chiselborough Closworth Combe St Nicholas Compton Dundon Corton Denham Crewkerne Cricket St Thomas Cucklington Cudworth Curry Mallet Curry Rivel Dinnington Donyatt Dowlish Wake Drayton East Chinnock East Coker Fivehead Hambridge Hardington Mandeville Haselbury Plucknett Henstridge High Ham Hinton St George Holton Horsington Horton Huish Episcopi Ilchester Ilminster Ilton Isle Abbots Isle Brewers Keinton Mandeville Kingsbury Episcopi Kingsdon Kingstone Kingweston Knowle St Giles Langport Limington Long Load Long Sutton Lopen Lovington Maperton Marston Magna Martock Merriott Milborne Port Middle Chinnock Misterton Montacute Muchelney Mudford North Barrow North Cadbury North Cheriton North Perrott Norton-sub-Hamdon Odcombe Penselwood Pitcombe Pitney Puckington Queen Camel Rimpton Seavington St Mary Seavington St Michael Shepton Beauchamp Shepton Montague Somerton South Barrow South Cadbury South Petherton Sparkford Stocklinch Stoke-sub-Hamdon Stoke Trister Tatworth Tintinhull Wambrook Wayford West Camel West Chinnock West Coker West Crewkerne Whitelackington Whitestaunton Wincanton Winsham Yarlington Yeovil Yeovil Without Yeovilton