Norton-sub-Hamdon
| Norton-sub-Hamdon | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
| File:St Mary the Virgin, Norton-sub-Hamdon St Mary the Virgin, Norton-sub-Hamdon | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST470159 |
| Location: | 50°56’26"N, 2°45’20"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 743 (2011) |
| Post town: | Stoke-sub-Hamdon |
| Postcode: | TA14 |
| Dialling code: | 01935 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Somerset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Glastonbury and Somerton |
Norton-sub-Hamdon is a village in Somerset, ten miles west of Yeovil. The village had a recorded population of 743 in 2011.
The village of Chiselborough is half a mile to the south, and Stoke-sub-Hamdon a mile to the north.
History
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".
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. The manor 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.
About the village
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[1] and extends also to its south-east to High Wood and Bagnel Farm which is listed building.[2]
The only other listed building in the neighbourhood is the central Little Norton Mill, which is also Grade II listed;[3] its overshot waterwheel is 13 feet 9 inches in diameter and was cast by G. Parsons of the Parrett engineers.
Homefield in Rectory Lane was previously known as Folly's. It dates from the 17th century and is a Grade II* listed building.[4]
The manor house was built in the 17th century and is now in multiple occupation.[5]
The village pub, the Lord Nelson Inn, also has 17th-century origins.[6]
Parish church
The 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 98½ feet, was damaged by lightning and fire on 29 July 1894, but restored within a year, preserving the original design. 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.[7] The dovecote in the churchyard dates from the 17th century,[8] and was associated with a manor house which was demolished around 1850.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Norton-sub-Hamdon) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1003678: Ham Hill Camp (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1260595: Bagnel Farm and farm buildings (Grade II listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1241094: Little Norton Mill (Grade II listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1241341: Homefield (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1241207: The Manor House (Grade II listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1241336: Lord Nelson Inn (Grade II listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1253811: Norton-sub-Hamdon
- ↑ National Heritage List 1241076: Dovecote in churchyard south-west of church, Church of St. Mary the Virgin (Grade II listing)