Stanton Prior

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.3644
longitude= -2.4633
scale= 10000
official_name= Stanton Prior
population= c. 80
shire_district= Bath & North East Somerset
shire_county = Somerset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Wansdyke
constituency_westminster1 = Bath and North East Somerset
post_town= Bath
postcode_district = BA2
postcode_area= BA
dial_code= 01761
os_grid_reference= ST675628

Stanton Prior is a small village set in Duchy of Cornwall countryside, 6 miles southwest from the UK city of Bath, Somerset.

Stanton Prior derives its name from the old English Stantona [Notes and Queries, s6-IX: 101-120 (1884) "Oxford Journals"] (meaning Stone Town) and is reputed to be one of the smallest villages in Somerset [cite web |title=Population Profile of Somerset 1961 | url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/p551961.htm| accessdate=2007-09-22] consisting of two farms, 21 houses and a church dedicated to St Lawrence, which has its origins in the 12th century but is mainly 15th century and underwent heavy restoration in 1860. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building. [cite web | title=Church of St. Lawrence| work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=32713 | accessdate=2007-09-22] The village is one Somerset's eight Thankful Villages (from a total of 32 villages in England) [Arthur Mee, "Somerset", Hodder and Stoughton (1941)] , in which all of the men who served in the great war came home. The other seven were Aisholt, Chantry, Chelwood, Rodney Stoke, Stocklinch, Tellisford and Woolley.

Close by, on Stantonbury hill, there exists the remains of an Iron Age hill fort known as Stantonbury Camp, [cite web |title= Statonbury Hill|url=http://www.wansdyke21.org.uk/wansdyke/wanwesteast/wanwest3.htm|accessdate=2007-09-22|format= ] which lies on the line of Wansdyke. [cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=51298 |title= Stanton Prior |accessdate=2007-09-22 |format= |work=British History Online ]

Church farm in Stantion Prior is farmed organically, using crop rotation and was awarded the 2005 Silver certificate in the Habitat Award Scheme run by the Duchy of Cornwall. The lack of herbicides has allowed considerable plant diversity with a range of Countryside Stewardship options. A target is to establish a covey of grey partridge on the farm. [cite web |url=http://www.duchyofcornwall.org/naturalenvironment_habitataward.htm |title= Duke of Cornwall's Habitat Award |accessdate=2007-09-22 |format= |work=Duchy of Cornwall ]

References

External links

* [http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/maps/os62htm/1310.htm] "The Ordnance Survey 1:10560 County Series 2nd edition (c.1900)