Nempnett Thrubwell
| Nempnett Thrubwell | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST526601 |
| Location: | 51°20’16"N, 2°40’47"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 177 (2011[1]) |
| Post town: | Bristol |
| Postcode: | BS40 |
| Dialling code: | 01275 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bath & NE Somerset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North East Somerset |
Nempnett Thrubwell is a small village and parish in the Keynsham Hundred of Somerset. It is about ten miles south-west of Bristol. The parish, which has a population of 177,[1] is sheltered by the Mendip Hills, near the River Yeo in the Chew Valley. It is the site of the Fairy Toot oval barrow.
Lying just to the north of Blagdon Lake, isolated Nempnett Thrubwell falls within the network of minor roads bounded by the A38, A368, B3114 and B3130; whilst signposted from each of these major routes, a lack of any further signposting makes it difficult to locate the village when arriving by road. The landscape is characterised by isolated farmsteads, the vernacular older buildings generally of the local Lias limestone or of render with clay-tiled roofs.
Though being largely rural[2] and consisting of one road and a few houses, Nempnett Thrubwell's curiously comedic name makes the village something of a famous local attraction.
It is the subject of the song Down In Nempnett Thrubwell by The Wurzels and is mentioned in the earlier Adge Cutler song Up The Clump.
History
The name Nempnett Thrubwell is believed to mean 'The grove at the village well' from the Celtic nemett and the Old English wiell.[3]
The Fairy Toot
In the parish, the Fairy Toot is an extensive oval barrow, formerly a chambered cairn which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, on the national monument register as '22826'.[4] The Fairy Toot south-south-west of Howgrove Farm is a mound 200 ft long, 80 ft wide and now eight feet high, retained by a stone wall. Its summit is covered with ash trees and shrubs.[5] Formerly it was considerably higher. On being opened in 1789 and essentially destroyed, it was found to contain two rows of cells, running from south to north, formed by immense stones set edgeways, and covered by others of larger dimensions. At the time it was conjectured to be a work of the Druids, but its origins are far older and probably date from the Neolithic period.[6]
Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" described it as "a remarkably fine tumulus of masonry, said to have been one of the finest in Britain, in the chambers of which skeletons have been discovered. A few vestiges of it now only remain, the rest has been used as a lime-kiln."[7]
Civil War
The village played a minor role in the English Civil War 1640–1660, just prior to the taking of Bristol by Fairfax's forces. The village lies on the direct route between Bristol and Sherborne, where Fairfax's forces had rested after The Battle of Langport in July 1645. Cromwell's cavalry is known to have stabled in the hamlet on the nights of 8–9 September 1645 just before Fairfax's final assault on Bristol on 10 September in which they played a critical role.[8]
Geography
The nearby meadows at Plaster's Green Meadows are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because it is an area of unimproved and traditionally managed species-rich meadows which support a neutral grassland community of a type which is now rare throughout Britain. The site is situated on the slopes fringing the Lias Tablelands and is underlain by Rhaetic clays and, lower down the slope Keuper Red Marl. The slowly permeable clay soils are slightly calcareous in nature and this is reflected in elements of the flora. The site is characterised by the nationally rare [ommon Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) and Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus) and dominant grasses include Sweet Vernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), Crested Dog’s-tail and Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus), while Quaking Grass (Briza media) and Yellow Oat-grass (Trisetum flavescens) are also frequent. There is a high component of herb species throughout the meadows including Saw-wort (Serratuta tinctoria), Dyer’s Greenweed (Genista tinctoria), Common Knapweed, Pepper-saxifrage (Silaum silaus), Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), Betony (Stachys officinalis) and Spiny Restharrow (Ononis spinosa). The calcareous nature of the soil is reflected by the presence of Cowslip (Primula veris), Fairy Flax (Linum catharticum), Glaucous Sedge (Carex flacca), Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) and occasional Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor). The meadows are bounded by hedges supporting numerous species including Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra), English Elm (Ulmus procera), Hazel (Corylus avellana) and Field Maple (Acer campestre). Hedgerow trees include Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa), Holly (Ilex aquifolium) and Oak (Quercus sp).[9]
Landmarks
Regilbury Park Farm, in the parish, has a farmhouse which was formerly the ancestral home of the Baber family, one time lords of the manor. Parts of the mansion remain, with mullioned windows in one large gabled wing.[10] It is a Grade II listed building.
Other Grade-II listed buildings
The Old Rectory, which is now a private house, dates from 1860.[11] A 19th-century black cast-iron pump, with a lion crest, curved handle and fluted finial and its retaining walls, about 10 yards north-west of Mendip Farmhouse, which is marked as a spring on Ordnance Survey maps, is Grade-II listed.[12]
Village Hall
The Victorian village hall fell into disrepair during the second half of the 20th century. It was restored over a period of years and reopened on 15 July 2006.[13]
Religious sites
The parish church, St Mary's on Knap Hill, has a tower containing five bells. The tower has set back buttresses and two arch bell openings with tracery. The tower is crowned by a parapet with blank arcading, and square pinnacles, it also has a slightly higher stair turret. The late Victorian chancel of 1897 is in the decorated style. Inside the church is a screen attributed to Pugin, although Nikolaus Pevsner is of the opinion the architect is probably Pugin the younger.[10] It is a Grade-II* listed building,[14] with a cross in the churchyard being listed Grade II.[15]
Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" described it as "a small building with a Perp. W. tower, from the W. face of which project two curious and uncanny carved heads of a man and beast. The walls of the nave still bear the original 13th cent. consecration crosses. The chancel is modern, and contains a rich modern screen and a good E. window of Munich glass. Note (1) rude Norm. S. doorway filled with Perp. tracery; (2) Norm. font carved with a curious device by some later craftsman. Near the porch in the churchyard is (1) base of ancient cross; (2) tomb of first rector — Robert — bearing an incised cross".[7]
The parish register lists christenings, marriages and burials from 1568. The lords of the manor and chief landowners, following the demise of the Bakers during the 17th century, have been the baronets Tynte of Halswell.[16] The Tyntes are probably responsible for the obelisk located at Rookery Farm in the parish.
Popular culture
The film director Phyllida Lloyd grew up in the village.[17]
Music
Nempnett Thrubwell is the subject of the song Down In Nempnett Thrubwell by The Wurzels and is mentioned in the earlier Adge Cutler song Up The Clump, which ends with the line "the moon shines bright on Nempnett Thrubwell".
The village is mentioned in the Stackridge (circa A Victory for Common Sense, 2009) song Red Squirrel: "When darkness falls / There’s a place to go / Join our militant cell / Down in Nemphnett Thrubwell".
Literature
Nempnett Thrubwell is mentioned in the 1983 book The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd.[18] The book gives alternative meanings to village names in the UK. The village is described as: "NEMPNETT THRUBWELL (n.) The feeling experienced when driving off for the first time on a brand new motorbike."
Anna's Story: Basset Mead by Alfred Fox, published in 2008, is set in the village of Nempnett Thrubwell.[19]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Nempnett Thrubwell Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11126821&c=Nempnett+Thrubwell&d=16&e=61&g=6387710&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1388523930449&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2491. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ↑ "Rural Landscapes of Bath and Northeast Somerset". Bath and Somerset. http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/rural_landscapes_-_chapters_1-6.pdf. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ↑ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1-874336-03-2.
- ↑ "The Fairy Toot long barrow 350 m SSW of Howgrove Farm". English Heritage's Record of Scheduled Monuments. http://www.magic.gov.uk/rsm/22826.pdf. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
- ↑ "Fairy Toot". http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/21791. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
- ↑ "Nempnett Thrubwell". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/NempnettThrubwell/. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Somerset by Wade, G.W. & Wade, J.H. at Project Gutenberg
- ↑ Worden, Blair (2009). The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-84888-2.
- ↑ English Nature citation sheet for Plaster's Green Meadows . Retrieved 16 July 2006.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). The Buildings of England : North Somerset and Bristol. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071013-2.
- ↑ "Old Rectory". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=32987. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
- ↑ "Pump and retaining walls". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=32990. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
- ↑ "Nempnett's new hall". Mendip Times 2 (3): 24. August 2006. http://www.mendiptimes.co.uk/.
- ↑ "Church of St. Mary". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=32985. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
- ↑ "Regilbury Park Farm". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=32988. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
- ↑ "Deeds, etc. of Kemeys-Tynte and Wharton, Halswell House, Goathurst". National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=168-ddrn&cid=-1#-1. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
- ↑ Saner, Emine (25 November 2016). "Phyllida Lloyd: a director who's determined to put women centre stage". Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/nov/25/phyllida-lloyd-director-all-female-shakespeare-trilogy-mama-mia-iron-lady. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ Adams, Douglas & John Lloyd. (1983) The Meaning of Liff, p. 100. London: Pan Books Ltd/Faber & Faber Limited. ISBN 0-330-28121-6.
- ↑ Fox, Alfred (2008). Alfred's Story: Basset Mead. AuthorHouse UK. ISBN 1-4259-6949-6.
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