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Wrington

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Wrington
Street scene showing shops and houses with cars.
Wrington High Street
Population2,896 [1]
OS grid referenceST470628
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRISTOL
Postcode districtBS40
Dialling code01934
PoliceAvon and Somerset
FireAvon
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset

Wrington is a village and civil parish in North Somerset, England. It lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo river about 9 miles (14 km) east of Weston-super-Mare and 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Yatton. It is both a civil parish, with a population of 2,896,[1] and an ecclesiastical parish. Both parishes contain the nearby village of Redhill.

History

The village dates back to Roman times and there is strong evidence of Saxon occupation.[2]

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, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, 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 of interest to the council.

The parish falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. It provides a single tier of local government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within its area including local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection, recycling, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. It is also responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the Great Western Ambulance Service.

North Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare. Between April 1 1974 and April 1 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon.[3] Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Axbridge Rural District.[4]

The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Woodspring county constituency which is to become North Somerset at next general election. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is also 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.

Church

The church of All Saints
The old rectory with the church in the background

The church of All Saints has 13th-century foundations, and was remodelled with the addition of a west tower around 1450; it was restored in 1859 with further restoration to the tower in 1948. It includes stone busts to John Locke and Hannah More dating from the early 19th century on either side of the door. The chancel has Gothic reredos by Charles Barry dating from 1832. The rood screen is from the 16th century. It has a tall four-stage tower with set-back buttresses which develop into crocketted pinnacles at the top stage. The top displays moulded string courses and a trefoil pierced triangular parapet with gargoyles and corner pinnacles. It is Grade I listed.[5] According to Freeman it is "one of the "highest achievements of architectural genius".[6] Wickham it dates from the period 1420 to 1450.[7] The belfry stair is in the south-east turret. The height of the tower is 113.5 feet (35 m) to the top of the pinnacles.[8]

The 17th century rectory is Grade II listed.[9]

Primary school

Wrington Primary School

The village primary school dates from the late 19th century and is Grade II listed.[10]

Butcombe Brewery

A major institution in the local economy is the Butcombe Brewery, a microbrewery set up in the nearby village of Butcombe in 1978 by Simon Whitmore, the managing director of Courage Western, made redundant in a restructuring, and his wife Maureen. In 2003 the business was sold to Guy Newell and Paul Horsley, and moved to an industrial estate at Wrington,[11] to be housed in a purpose-built brewery completed in March 2005; in the same year the brewery set up a joint venture with Thatcher's, the Long Ashton Cider Company, producing a keg cider. In 2008 production was 24,000 barrels a year and direct outlet numbers were about 450.[12]

Notable residents

  • Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, (c. 1587 - 17 July 1645) was born in Wrington.
  • John Locke, British philosopher, was born in Wrington.
  • George Howell (5 October 1833 - 16 September 1911) who was a prominent British trade unionist and reform campaigner in the 19th century was born in Wrington.
  • Hannah More, who worked to improve the conditions of miners and agricultural workers on the Mendip Hills. In 1785 she bought a house, in the hamlet of Paradise, near Cowslip Green, where she lived with her sister, Martha, until 1828. She spent the last five years of her life in Clifton, and died on 7 September 1833. She is buried at All Saints' church.[13] The More family tomb is a Grade II listed building.[14]
  • Dame Mary Wills resided at Wrington. She was knighted for her philanthropy.

Football Club

Wrington Redhill AFC play at the recreation ground in Wrington. The club operate a 1st team and a reserve team. The 1st team play in the Erra Somerset County League in Division 2 (west). The reserve team play in Weston super Mare and district division three. Club badge is a gold rampant Dragon(wyvern)the same as what is on the official county flag of Somerset. Club colours are yellow and black.

Wrington Cricket Club

Wrington currently has 2 senior teams. The 1st XI, is currently in the North Somerset Cricket League Saturday Division 1. The 2nd XI, is in Saturday Division 4, having been promoted the previous year in 2nd place. The club's limited overs team also finished as runners-up in the league's Butcombe Brewery KO Cup. The club also has a youth system, running teams in the North Somerset Youth Cricket Leagues at Under 17, 15, 13 and 11 levels. The clubs facilities have been improved in the last few years, and alongside an improved pitch, the club now has 2 nets, used for training sessions for all ages and levels.

References

  1. ^ a b "Parish of Wrington" (PDF). 2001 Census Parish Information Sheet. North Somerset Council. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  2. ^ "Roman Wrington". Wrington Website. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  3. ^ "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  4. ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Axbridge Rural District
  5. ^ "Church of All Saints". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  6. ^ Template:Cite article
  7. ^ Wickham, Archdale Kenneth (1965). Churches of Somerset. London: David & Charles. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Description of the church". All Saints Wrington. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  9. ^ "The Old Rectory". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  10. ^ "Wrington Primary School". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  11. ^ "Timeline". Butcombe Brewery. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  12. ^ Pints West, No. 79. Autumn 2008, Campaign for Real Ale, Bristol, p. 12
  13. ^ Toulson, Shirley (1984). The Mendip Hills: A Threatened Landscape. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 057503453X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ "More Family Monument in churchyard". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
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