Batcombe, Somerset

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Batcombe
latitude= 51.1538
longitude= -2.4354
civil_parish=
population = 400
shire_district= Mendip
shire_county = Somerset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster=
post_town=
postcode_district=
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= ST695395

Batcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, situated in the steep valley of the River Alham five miles south east of Shepton Mallet. The parish has a population of 400 (2002 estimate). Batcombe village is at the heart of the parish, which also includes the hamlets of Westcombe, Spargrove and Eastcombe (historically Ashcombe).

History

The name Batcombe comes from Saxon and means "Bat's Valley".cite book |title=The hidden places of Somerset |last=Scott |first=Shane |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1995 |publisher=Travel Publishing Ltd |location=Aldermaston |isbn=1902007018 |pages=68 ]

Batcombe is thought to have been established around the year 660 CE following the Saxon invasion of Great Britain. Both settlements are recorded in the Domesday Book written after the Norman invasion of England in the year 1066. The Mendip district was, for several centuries, highly dependent on the wool industry, with which these villages were linked.

For a long time the Bisse family owned much property in Batcombe, as well as other local villages such including Spargrove.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and was restored in the 19th. The tower contains five bells dating from 1760 and made by Thomas Bilbie, of the Bilbie family, in Cullompton. [cite book |last=Moore |first=James |authorlink= |coauthors=Roy Rice & Ernest Hucker |title=Bilbie and the Chew Valley clock makers |year=1995 |publisher=The authors |location= |isbn=0952670208 ] It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. [cite web | title=Church of St. Mary the Virgin | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=268216 | accessdate=2007-10-05]

Batcombe has a war memorial dedicated to those who gave their lives in World War I.

In 1933 Batcombe village hall was built next to the village school. The hall was constructed largely of timber and was built by local villagers. By the 1990s the hall's age was beginning to show, and it was clearly rotting. In the late 1990s plans were begun for a new village hall to replace it. In 2001 the village hall was demolished, mainly by local people. Once the site had been cleared (most of the wood being recycled) the foundations were laid for the new hall. The "Batcombe Jubilee Hall" was completed in May 2002, and was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles on the 25 May 2002. The Jubilee Hall is mainly of stone construction, with two sides made of external timber. In all the project cost over UK£500,000. Just like the old village hall, the Jubilee Hall is run by the "Batcombe Village Hall Trust", a charitable organisation of volunteers who run the hall.

Legends

There is a legend among the inhabitants of Batcombe of a giant blacksmith who lived on Burn Hill at some point during the 18th century. The blacksmith would appear when called upon to perform any tasks that normal people would not be capable of such as reaching high objects. It is still said that you can call upon the blacksmith if you call out his name on Burn Hill.

References

* [http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/statistics/contents/population/estimates/2002mye/ 2002 Population estimates]

External links

* [http://www.batcombe.org.uk/ Batcombe Village Hall Website]