East Coker
| East Coker | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
 St Michael and All Angels' Church, East Coker | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST545125 |
| Location: | 50°54’36"N, 2°38’55"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,667 (2011[1]) |
| Post town: | Yeovil |
| Postcode: | BA20 |
| Dialling code: | 01935 |
| Local Government | |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Yeovil |
East Coker is a village and parish in Somerset. Its nearest town is Yeovil, which is situated two miles north from the village. The village has a population of 1,667.[1] The parish includes the hamlet of Vole.
History
A Roman villa was discovered in East Coker in the 18th century and subsequent excavation has discovered artefacts including a mosaic, however further work is needed to fully identify the plan of the building.[2]
In the Domesday Survey of 1086 the villages of West and East Coker were known as Cocre.[3]
The parish forms part of the hundred of Houndsborough.[4]
In 1645, soon after the Civil War, 70 people in the village died of the plague.[5]
In 2011 South Somerset Council published a plan for local housing which included a proposal for the construction of 3,700 new houses on land between East Coker and Yeovil.[6] Local opposition has been vocal.[7] It included an application, supported by Andrew Motion, for World Heritage Site listing based on associations with T. S. Eliot who wrote the poem East Coker, the second of his "Four Quartets" in 1940 after a visit to the village.[8]
Landmarks
Coker Court was built as a 15th-century manor house, and is now divided into several properties. The 18th-century portion was built by Sir William Chambers. It was used as Clare School at one time. It is listed Grade I.[9]
Helyar Almshouses built between 1640 and 1660.
Hymerford House (also known as Grove Farmhouse) dates from the 15th century and is listed Grade I.[10]
Naish Priory listed Grade I contains extant portions of a substantial and important establishment that was part of the manor of Coker and dates from the 14th century.[11]
Transport
The parish has no railway station, the nearest being Yeovil Junction on the Exeter-London Waterloo line which passes through the parish.
Religious sites
The church of St Michael in East Coker dates from the 12th century and has been designated as a Grade-II* listed building.[12] The church is the final resting place of the ashes of T. S. Eliot, whose ancestors came from the village.[13]
Notable residents
- James Bree, actor[14]
- Trevor Peacock, actor (who plays Jim Trott in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley).[15]
- William Dampier, buccaneer, sea captain, explorer, author and scientific observer.
- Gerald Basil Edwards, Guernsey-born author of The Book of Ebenezer Le Page.[16]
Notable trees
A superb specimen of the Narrow-leafed (or Smooth-leafed) Elm Ulmus minor subsp. minor survives, unscathed by Dutch elm disease, in a pasture to the south-east of the village. Measured in 2008, it was > 100 ft in height, with a d.b.h. of 33 in. Almost certainly planted as one of many ornamentals by the Helyar dynasty, the tree is a TROBI [1] UK Champion, and has been adjudged the finest freestanding specimen in Europe.[17]
The tree has been cloned at Le Pépinière Forestière de L'etat, Guémené-Penfao, France, as part of the Euforgen genetic resources conservation programme.[18]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes – SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/files/Somerset%20Census%20Key%20Statistics%20-%20Summary%20Profiles.xls. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ↑ Gathercole, Clare. "An archaeological assessment of Yeovil" (PDF). English Heritage Extensive Urban Survey. Somerset Council. p. 10. http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/EUS_YeovilText.pdf. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ "Text of the Somerset Domesday: Part 1', pp. 433–478.". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 1 (1906),. British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=117315. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ↑ "The civil war in Somerset". Somerset Council. http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Civilwar.htm. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ Sharrock, David (20 March 2011). "East Coker, TS Eliot's placid village, resists threat of housing invasion". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/20/eliot-east-coker-housing-estates. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ "East Coker and the Yeovil Urban Extension". East Coker. http://www.eastcokerparish.com/index.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ Morris, Steven (22 August 2011). "TS Eliot village bids for world heritage status". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/aug/22/ts-eliot-village-world-heritage. Retrieved 23 August 2011. "Poets, academics and residents have launched an attempt to win world heritage status for an English village beloved of TS Eliot that they say is threatened by developers. [...] The campaigners hope that heritage status could help block proposals to build 3,700 homes between the village and nearby Yeovil."
- ↑ "Coker Court". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=263665. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
- ↑ "Hymerford House". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=263719. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ↑ "Naish Priory". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=263695. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ↑ "Church of Saint Michael". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=263649. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
- ↑ Dunning, Robert (1980). Somerset & Avon. Edinburgh: Bartholomew. p. 78. ISBN 0-7028-8380-8.
- ↑ "James Bree: Actor seen in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Dr Who'". The Independent. 6 March 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/james-bree-actor-seen-in-on-her-majestys-secret-service-and-dr-who-1638459.html. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ↑ "Village votes to halt sprawl". BBC. 8 December 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/3123468.stm. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ↑ Edward Chaney, Genius Friend: G.B. Edwards and The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, (Blue Ormer Publishing, 2015)
- ↑ Heybroek, H. M., Goudzwaard, L, Kaljee, H. (2009). Iep of olm, karakterboom van de Lage Landen (:Elm, a tree with character of the Low Countries). KNNV, Uitgeverij. ISBN 978-90-5011-281-9
- ↑ Collin, E., Bilger, I., Eriksson, G. & Turok, J. (2000). The conservation of elm genetic resources in Europe, in Dunn, C. P., (Ed.) (2000) The Elms: Breeding, Conservation and Disease Management. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, USA.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about East Coker) |