West Coker
Coordinates: 50°55′08″N 2°41′29″W / 50.9189°N 2.6913°W / 50.9189; -2.6913
| West Coker | |
  West Coker shown within Somerset |
|
| OS grid reference | ST515135 |
|---|---|
| District | South Somerset |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | YEOVIL |
| Postcode district | BA22 |
| Dialling code | 01935 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Yeovil |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
West Coker is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district.
Contents |
History
The name Coker comes from Coker Water (crooked stream from the Celtic Kukro).[1]
Artifacts from early settlement in the parish include a polished stone axe and boat shaped-bronze broach. A Roman villa has been excavated and a bronze plate inscribed to the god Mars discovered.[1] From this Mars was given the title Mars Rigisamus (which means 'Greatest King' or 'King of Kings') as it depicts a standing naked male figure with a close-fitting helmet; his right hand may have once held a weapon, and he probably originally also had a shield (both are now lost). The same epithet for a god is recorded from Bourges in Gaul. The use of this epithet implies that Mars had an extremely high status, over and above his warrior function.
The manor descended with its neighbour East Coker until the 14th century when it passed to a junior branch of the Courtenay family. It was later held by the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland protectors of Edward VI and later still by the Portmans of Orchard Portman.[1]
The original manor house burned down during an attack in the Wars of the Roses,[1] although the current hamstone manor house has medieval origins, the earliest surviving portions probably being of around 1500. It is a grade I listed building.[2]
The village had a long history of growing hemp and flax for sailcloth manufacture, which made "Coker Canvas" highly prized by naval captains during the Napoleonic Wars.[1] Dawes Twine Works, a late 19th century[3] historic building in the village used for the manufacture of rope and twine, was a featured candidate on the BBC Restoration TV series in 2006.
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, 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 the responsibility of the council.
The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Yeovil Rural District.[4] The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the Yeovil county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, and 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.
Geography
Nearby is the Hardington Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve where meadows are examples of species-rich unimproved neutral grassland, which is now nationally rare. The rare French oat-grass is very abundant on the site and the fields are home to a wide variety of plant species, most notably adder's tongue, corky-fruited water-dropwort and large numbers of green-winged orchid. Invertebrates found at the site include butterflies such as Gatekeeper, Small Tortoiseshell and Common Blue. Less commonly seen are Large Skipper, Green-veined white and Green Hairstreak.[5]
Transport
The parish has no railway station, the nearest being Yeovil Junction railway station on the Exeter-London Waterloo line. There are a few bus routes, these are: Route 47 (First Hampshire & Dorset) Bridport-Yeovil which operates four journeys a day Monday to Friday and three journeys on a Saturday,[6] Routes 60/61/X61 (Stagecoach Somerset) Ilminster/Chard/Crewkerne-Yeovil which are combined to operate 11/12 journeys a day and are the main routes through the village. Also Route N8 (Nippy Bus) West Coker(Lakefields)-Yeovil operates hourly Monday to Saturday Daytime and two journeys morning peak hours to Yeovil and one peak hour return[7] and Route N14 (Nippy Bus) East Chinnock-Yeovil provides one return journey Monday-Friday daytime to give access to doctors surgeries in Yeovil.[8] The parish also has some innovative demand responsive transport provided by Nippy Bus, the N8 can be booked to pick up passengers off route in the parish after first registering and calling the company an hour before travel and will arrange a convienient time within the hours of operation to pick people up. There is also a night bus service Route N4 Crewkerne-Yeovil which operates on a demand responsive basis Wednesday-Saturday Nights, last journey from Yeovil Thursday-Saturday Nights is at 0250 in the early hours of the morning arriving in the parish around 0330.[9]
Religious sites
The Church of Saint Martin of Tours has 13th or 14th century origins but was mostly rebuilt in 1863-64.[10]
Notable residents
- Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan, GCMG (1862 – 1939) a British soldier and civil servant, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland, died in the village.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The Complete Guide. Dovecote Press. pp. 227-228. ISBN 1874336261.
- ^ "Manor House". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=263875. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ "The Former Ropewalk, 75 Metres North East of Millbrook House". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=263870. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Yeovil Rural District
- ^ Hardington Moor NNR
- ^ "First Hampshire & Dorset Timetable Route 47". Route 47 Timetable. First. http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/dorset/timetables/timetable.php?source_id=2&service=47&routeid=116631&operator=7&op_id=7&from_timetable1=1&day=1. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Nippy Bus Timetable". Route N8 Timetable. Nippy Bus. http://www.nippybus.co.uk/services/nippylink/n8/timetable.asp. Retrieved on 2009-03-15.
- ^ "Nippy Bus Timetable Route N14". Route N14 Timetable. Nippy Bus. http://www.nippybus.co.uk/services/nippylink/n14/timetable.asp. Retrieved on 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Nippy Bus How to Use Route N4". Route N4 How To. Nippy Bus. http://www.nippybus.co.uk/services/nippynightbus/n4/howto.asp. Retrieved on 2009-03-15.
- ^ "Church of Saint Martin of Tours". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=263796. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
Further reading
- Shorey, David, and Dodge, Michael and Nadine (2008). Book of West Coker: a pictorial and social history of a Somerset village, Wellington, Somerset: Halsgrove Publishing, ISBN 1841147990
External links
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