- Meare
-
Coordinates: 51°10′12″N 2°46′44″W / 51.1700°N 2.7789°W
Meare 
Meare Fish House
Meare
Meare shown within SomersetPopulation 1,238 [1] OS grid reference ST455415 District Mendip Shire county Somerset Region South West Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town GLASTONBURY Postcode district BA6 Dialling code 01458 Police Avon and Somerset Fire Devon and Somerset Ambulance South Western EU Parliament South West England UK Parliament Wells List of places: UK • England • Somerset Meare is a village and civil parish 3 miles (4.8 km) north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Westhay.
Contents
History
Meare is a marshland village in typical Somerset "rhyne" country, standing on the site of pre-historic lake dwellings. The site of the Meare Lake Village is marked by groups of mounds. It has been occupied for thousands of years and some of the archaeological finds are now being reported.[2]
A 14th-century fish house at Meare was once the abode of Glastonbury Abbey fishermen,[3] who fished the, now drained, Meare Pool. The Manor Farmhouse was built at the same time as the summer residence of the Abbots from Glastonbury Abbey and is now a farmhouse. Along with its outbuildings the farmhouse has been designated as a Grade I listed building.[4]
The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides.[5]
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 Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wells Rural District,[6] which 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 Wells 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.
Religious sites
The parish Church of St Mary was formerly in the keeping of Glastonbury Abbey, and dates from 1323. It was built for Abbot Adam of Sodbury, and is a Grade I listed building.[7]
References
- ^ "Parish Population Statistics". ONS Census 2001. Somerset County Council. http://www.webcitation.org/5lRyC5ccr. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
- ^ "The Meare Lake Village". Gallica. http://www.gallica.co.uk/meare/. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
- ^ "The Abbot's Fish House". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=267765. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
- ^ "Manor Farmhouse with attached range of outbuuildings". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=267769. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Wells Rural District
- ^ "Church of St Mary". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=267766. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
External links
Media related to Meare at Wikimedia CommonsTowns, villages and hamlets in the Mendip district of Somerset, England 
Ashwick · Baltonsborough · Batcombe · Beckington · Berkley · Binegar · Buckland Dinham · Chewton Mendip · Chilcompton · Coleford · Cranmore · Croscombe · Ditcheat · Doulting · Downhead · East Lydford · East Pennard · Emborough · Evercreech · Frome · Glastonbury · Godney · Great Elm · Hemington · Holcombe · Kilmersdon · Lamyat · Leigh-on-Mendip · Litton · Lullington · Lydford-on-Fosse · Meare · Mells · Milton Clevedon · North Wootton · Norton St Philip · Nunney · Pilton · Priddy · Pylle · Rode · Rodney Stoke · Rudge · Selwood · Sharpham · Shepton Mallet · St Cuthbert Out · Stoke St Michael · Ston Easton · Stratton-on-the-Fosse · Street · Tellisford · Trudoxhill · Upton Noble · Walton · Wanstrow · Wells · West Bradley · West Lydford · West Pennard · Westbury-sub-Mendip · Whatley · Witham Friary · Wookey · Wookey HoleCategories:- Villages in Mendip
- Somerset Levels
- Civil parishes in Somerset
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
