Huish Episcopi
| Huish Episcopi | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church, Huish Episcopi | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST432265 |
| Location: | 51°2’6"N, 2°48’36"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,095 (2011) |
| Post town: | Langport |
| Postcode: | TA10 |
| Dialling code: | 01458 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Somerset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Somerton and Frome |
Huish Episcopi is a village in Somerset, at the top of the hill above Langport, which the village immediately adjoins, and four miles south-west of Somerton, in the Kilmersdon Hundred.
The village's delightful name means 'Bishop's Huish'. The name 'Huish' derives from the Old English word Hiwisc meaning "household" or a hide of land, and is found number of villages in the West Country called 'Huish'. The suffix Episcopi is Latin for 'Bishop's' as the manor belonged to the Bishops of Wells.
The parish had a recorded population of 2,095 in 2011, which includes the hamlets of Pibsbury and Wearne.
The village itself stands atop a hill, and its main road drops steeply into Langport. Much of the land of the parish though is low lying land in the Somerset Levels, with the rivers Yeo and Parrett meeting to the south west of the village.
There were once several active stone quarries in the parish, particularly around Pibsbury.
Parish church
Dominating Huish Episcopi is its imposingly tall chuch, St Mary the Virgin, which also serves neighbouring Langport. The church has also retrospectively adopted its old, pre-Reformation dedication to "The Blessed Virgin Mary".
The church is built in local blue lias stone with golden hamstone decoration. It is most noted for its classic 100-foot Somerset tower, deemed to be an architectural companion piece to St Martin's Church in Kingsbury Episcopi. St Mary's tower dates from around 1500 and was built in four stages. It is extensively embellished with pinnacles and quatrefoil panel bands. In the north-east corner is an octagonal stair turret which reaches the full height of the tower.[1]
A stained glass window by Edward Burne-Jones is also noteworthy.
The church is a Grade I listed building.[2]
The church appears on a Royal Mail stamp issued on 21 June 1972 as part of a set on British Architecture (Village Churches).
About the village
One of the most popular landmarks in Huish Episcopi is the Rose and Crown pub, which was built around 1800.[3] The pub is described at length in The Longest Crawl by Ian Marchant.[4]
History
Romano-British remains, including burials, coins and tesserae dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries have been found south of Wearne.
As the suffix 'Episcopi' in the name of the village attests, the manor belonging to a bishop, in this case the Bishops of Wells, and later of Bath and Wells. The bishops held the manor from Saxon times until 1859 when it was sold off to tenants.[5]
Economy
The largest employer in Huish Episcopi is the Southern Counties Fresh Foods Ltd new abattoir, which processes beef and sheep.
Railways
The nearby station of Langport East, on the Reading to Taunton Line, was closed in 1962, although the line itself remains open.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Huish Episcopi) |
References
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: Pevsner Architectural Guides
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (263125) Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (263130) The Rose and Crown Inn
- ↑ Marchant, Ian: 'The Longest Crawl' (Bloomsbury, 2006) ISBN 0-7475-7714-5.
- ↑ Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimbourne: Dovecote Press. p. 118. ISBN 1-874336-26-1.