Kingsbury Episcopi Explained

Country:England
Static Image Name:Kingsburyepiscopi.jpg
Static Image Alt:Yellow stone building with square tower.
Static Image Caption:The west tower of St Martin's, Kingsbury Episcopi
Coordinates:50.9852°N -2.8088°W
Official Name:Kingsbury Episcopi
Population:1,307
Population Ref:(2011)[1]
Shire District:South Somerset
Shire County:Somerset
Region:South West England
Constituency Westminster:Glastonbury and Somerton
Post Town:MARTOCK
Postcode District:TA12
Postcode Area:TA
Dial Code:01935
Os Grid Reference:ST433209

Kingsbury Episcopi is a village and civil parish on the River Parrett in Somerset, England, situated 9miles north west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,307.[1] The parish includes the villages of West Lambrook, East Lambrook and Thorney.

History

The "Episcopi" part of the village's name means "of the Bishop" in Latin. It refers to the fact that the village belonged to the Bishop of Bath and Wells and not the nearby abbey at Muchelney.

The parish was part of the Kingsbury Hundred,[2]

Thorney suffered serious flooding during the Winter flooding of 2013–14 on the Somerset Levels.

Governance

The village falls within the Curry Rivel and Langport electoral division for elections to Somerset Council.[3] It was formerly part of South Somerset district from 1974 to 2023, and part of Langport Rural District from 1894 to 1974.[4]

It is also part of the Glastonbury and Somerton constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Landmarks

Other historic buildings in the village include many old houses, a public house called the Wyndham Arms, a Wesleyan church and an octagonal village lock-up that was used to detain drunks and suspected criminals.

The East Lambrook Manor dates from the 15th century.[5] It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. The garden was planted by Margery Fish from 1938 until her death in 1969. She wrote several books on cottage gardens and held the National Collection of Geraniums,[6] and a collection of snowdrops.[7]

Religious sites

Kingsbury Episcopi's church of St Martin boasts an ornate Somerset Tower, 99feet tall, made of stone from nearby Ham Hill. Pevsner describes the chancel and chapels of the church as "gloriously lit" and advises visiting on a fine morning. He writes that the nave is older than the rest of the church, "no doubt of before 1400, and not yet infected with the later exuberance" of the Late Perpendicular style of the tower and other parts of St Martin's.[8] Poyntz Wright suggests the west tower was built in 1515.[9] It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.

The church of St James in East Lambrook dates from the 12th century.

Culture

Kingsbury is known for its May Festival which is held on the May Day Bank Holiday and attracts over 4,000 visitors. Another popular attraction is the Lowland Games, where events include mud wrestling, river raft racing and bale racing, while locally brewed cider is available.[10]

Other nearby places of interest include the Burrow Hill Cider Farm.

The mid-summer Lowland Games have been held near the village of Thorney annually since 1984.[10]

The River Parrett Trail, a walking route that follows the course of the river, passes through the village.[11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles. Somerset Intelligence. 4 January 2014. Excel.
  2. Web site: Somerset Hundreds. GENUKI. 16 October 2011.
  3. Web site: Somerset Maps - Somerset Intelligence.
  4. Web site: Langport RD. A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. 4 January 2014.
  5. Web site: East Lambrook Manor Garden, East Lambrook . 2008-02-06 . Somerset Historic Environment Record .
  6. Web site: East Lambrook Manor Garden . 2008-02-06 . Gardenvisit.com .
  7. News: Snowdrops: White magic . https://web.archive.org/web/20080111010837/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/main.jhtml?xml=/gardening/2008/01/05/garden-snowdrop105.xml . dead . 2008-01-11 . 2008-02-06 . The Daily Telegraph . London . Val . Bourne . 2008-01-04.
  8. Book: Pevsner, Nikolaus . The buildings of England, South and West Somerset . Nikolaus Pevsner . 1958 . Penguin Books (Reprinted by Yale Univ Press, 2003) .
  9. Book: Poyntz Wright, Peter . The Parish Church Towers of Somerset, Their construction, craftsmanship and chronology 1350 - 1550 . 1981 . Avebury Publishing Company . 0-86127-502-0 .
  10. Web site: Lowland Games. 14 January 2015.
  11. https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=River+Parrett+Trail LDWA