- Milverton, Somerset
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Coordinates: 51°01′20″N 3°14′56″W / 51.0221°N 3.2489°W
Milverton 
Church of St Michael, Milverton
Milverton
Milverton shown within SomersetPopulation 1,385 [1] OS grid reference ST125255 District Taunton Deane Shire county Somerset Region South West Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town TAUNTON Postcode district TA4 Dialling code 01823 Police Avon and Somerset Fire Devon and Somerset Ambulance South Western EU Parliament South West England UK Parliament Taunton Deane List of places: UK • England • Somerset Milverton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the valley of the River Tone 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 1,385.[1] The parish includes the hamlet of Preston Bowyer.
It has one public house, The Globe (The White Hart public house closed in March 2008), a convenience store, a piano dealership and workshop, a post office and a hairdresser.
Contents
History
The name of the village is believed to come from the Old English and mean settlement at the mill ford. There is evidence of a mill within the parish from the Domesday Book of 1086.[2] These referred to the site of the Town Mills on Hillfarrence Brook.[3]
Neolithic flint arrowheads have been found to the west of the village and Bronze age axe heads were discovered when the bypass, which opened in 1975, was being built.[3]
Just before the Norman Conquest Milverton was granted by Edith of Wessex to Bishop Gisa of Wells Cathedral, but this was reversed by William the Conquerer. The manor was then united with Torrington in Devon passing in 1212 to William Briwere.[3] The parish was part of the Milverton Hundred,[4]
In 1708 there was a fire which destroyed 13 properties.[2] Trade was largely based on cloth manufacture and in 1819 Lamech Swift established a silk throwing factory which employed up to 300 women and children.[3]
The village used to have a station on the Devon and Somerset Railway, which closed in 1966.
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.
The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of Taunton Deane, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wellington Rural District.[5] The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets 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 Taunton Deane 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 seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Religious sites
The Church of St Michael dates from the 13th century, on the site of an even earlier chapel, and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.[6]
Notable residents
It was the birthplace, in 1773, of Thomas Young, an English polymath who contributed to the scientific understanding of vision, light, solid mechanics, energy, physiology, and Egyptology.
John Francis Ebdon (1876 — 1952) was an English cricketer was also born in the village. Another cricketer, Australian-born Herbert Oxley Hopkins (1895–1972) died in the village.
References
- ^ a b "Taunton Deane 2002 parish population estimates". Somerset County Council. http://www.webcitation.org/5lRyCZwqu. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
- ^ a b Gathercole, Clare. "Milverton". The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey. Somerset County Council. http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/EUS_MilvertonText.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
- ^ a b c d Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press Ltd. p. 145. ISBN 1874336261.
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Wellington Rural District
- ^ "Church of St Michael". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=270451. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
External links
Towns, villages and hamlets in the Taunton Deane borough of Somerset, England 
Ashbrittle · Ash Priors · Bathealton · Bickenhall · Bishop's Hull · Bishops Lydeard · Bradford on Tone · Burrowbridge · Cheddon Fitzpaine · Chipstable · Churchstanton · Combe Florey · Comeytrowe · Corfe · Cotford St Luke · Cothelstone · Creech St Michael · Curland · Durston · Fitzhead · Halse · Hatch Beauchamp · Kingston St Mary · Langford Budville · Lydeard St Lawrence · Milverton · North Curry · Norton Fitzwarren · Nynehead · Oake · Orchard Portman · Otterford · Pitminster · Ruishton · Sampford Arundel · Staple Fitzpaine · Stawley · Stoke St Gregory · Stoke St Mary · Taunton · Thornfalcon · Tolland · Trull · Wellington · Wellington Without · West Bagborough · West Buckland · West Hatch · West Monkton · WiveliscombeCategories:- Villages in Taunton Deane
- Civil parishes in Somerset
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