Hinton Blewitt

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.3088
longitude= -2.5832
official_name= Hinton Blewitt
population= approx. 700
unitary_england=Bath and North East Somerset
lieutenancy_england=Somerset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Wansdyke
constituency_westminster1= (North East Somerset
from next general election).
post_town= BRISTOL
postcode_district = BS
postcode_area= BS
dial_code= 01761
os_grid_reference= ST593568

Hinton Blewett (gbmapping|ST593568) is situated 5 miles north of Wells, 15 miles south of Bristol on the Northern slope of the Mendip Hills within the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and in the Chew Valley near to the source of the River Chew.

The village was known in the Domesday Book as Hantone, the Blewett part of the name coming from the Bluet family in the fourteenth century.cite book | author = Mason, Edmund J. & Mason, Doreen | year 1982 | title = Avon Villages | publisher = Robert Hale Ltd | id=ISBN 978-0-7091-9585-6 ] Hantone is believed to mean 'A poor enclosure' from the Old English "hean" and "tun". [cite book |last=Robinson |first=Stephen |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Somerset Place Names |year=1992 |publisher=The Dovecote Press Ltd |location=Wimbourne |isbn=1874336032]

The name of the village is sometimes spelled as Hinton Blewitt. There is a village green outside the pub and church, sometimes known as the "Barbary".

William Rees-Mogg took the title of Baron Rees-Mogg, of Hinton Blewitt when he was made a life peer in 1988, although it is believed he and his wife moved out of the village in the late 1990s.

Government and politics

Hinton Blewett, has a Parish council which has some responsibility for local issues, and, along with East Harptree and West Harptree, is part of the Mendip Ward which is represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority which has wider responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. The village is a part of the Wansdyke constituency, which will become North East Somerset at the next general election and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Cenusus The Mendip Ward (which includes East and West Harptree), had 1,465 residents, living in 548 households, with an average age of 39.0 years. Of these 79% of residents describing their health as 'good', 22% of 16-74 year olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.5% of all economically active people aged 16-74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 25,387 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived. [cite web | title=Neighbourhood Statistics LSOA Bath and North East Somerset 021D Mendip | work=Office of National Statistics 2001 Cenusus | url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadProfileSearch.do?profileSearchText=BS39+4DJ&searchProfiles= | accessdate=2006-04-25]

Buildings

Church

The Church of St. Margaret is largely built of Blue Lias with Doulting Stone arcade [cite book | author = Pevsner, Nikolaus | year = 1958 | title = The Buildings of England : North Somerset and Bristol | publisher = Penguin Books | id=ISBN 978-0-14-071013-7 ] probably dates from the 13th century although parts are as late as the 16th or 17th century. The five bells were cast in 1708 by the Bilbies of Chew Stoke. It includes the Coat of arms of Simon Seward (Rector 1514-1559) over the doorway. The church is a Grade I listed building (IoEentry|32823|Church of St. Margaret at Images of England)

Grade II listed buildings

* (IoEentry|32828|Middle Road Farmhouse at Images of England)
* (IoEentry|32852|K6 Telephone Kiosk at Images of England)
* (IoEentry|32827|Coley House at Images of England)
* (IoEentry|32824|The Manor House Farmhouse at Images of England)
* (IoEentry|32825|The Old Rectory at Images of England)
* (IoEentry|32826|West House Farmhouse at Images of England)

References

External links

* [http://www.somerset3d.co.uk/gallery.htm#h Photos of Hinton Blewett in 3d (Anaglyphs)]
*cite web | title=Area 6 - Hinton Blewett and Newton St Loe Plateau Lands | work=BANES Environmental Services | url=http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/environment/planningservices/Landscape/rltarea6.htm | accessdate=2006-04-23
* [http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/Maps/OS62htm/1911.htm Map of Hinton Blewitt circa 1900]