Wick St. Lawrence is a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
and village in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England. It falls within the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the ...
. The population of the parish, which includes Bourton, Icelton and Ebdon, in the 2011 census was 1,331.
History
The parish of
Wick St Lawrence was part of the
Winterstoke
The Hundred of Winterstoke is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown. Each hundred had a 'fyrd', which ...
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
, while Bourton was in
Portbury
Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Go ...
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
.
The 15th century village cross stands on an area of grass opposite the parish church, raised up on five ascending octagonal stone platforms. The crosshead was destroyed during the time of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
s.
It is a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
The
Ebdon Bow Bridge which carries the road from the village to nearby
Worle
Worle ( ) is a large village in North Somerset which is joined to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare on its western edge. It, however, maintains a very separate identity, and may now be bigger than its more famous neighbour. Worle pre-dates ...
over the
River Banwell
The River Banwell is a small river in Somerset, England.
It begins life as a series of springs near the Church of St Andrew in Banwell where they once filled a large pool below the church. It then flows north east of Weston-super-Mare and on to ...
was built in the late 18th or early 19th century.
In the hamlet of Ebdon there is a pub (The Ebdon), Ebdon Hair and Beauty and a playing field. There is a caravan park in Ebdon Farm.
Governance
North Somerset's area covers part of the
ceremonial county of
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
but it is administered independently of the
non-metropolitan county
A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...
. Its administrative headquarters are in the town hall in
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...
. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the
Woodspring district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
of the
county of Avon
Avon () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England that existed between 1974 and 1996. The county was named after the River Avon, which flows through the area. It was formed from the county boroughs of Bristol and Bat ...
. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the
Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge.
It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Axbridge rural sanitary district.
In 1974 it was a ...
.
Religious sites
The windows of the church are in the
Perpendicular
In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...
style, while the modest tower has a peal of six bells; the oldest of which were cast in 1655. The intricately carved stone pulpit came from
Woodspring Priory
Woodspring Priory (originally Worsprynge or Worspring) is a former Augustinian priory. It is near the scenic limestone promontory of Sand Point and Middle Hope, owned by the National Trust, beside the Severn Estuary about north-east of Weston ...
in 1536 following the
Dissolution of the Monasteries.
[Smith, Rosie & Howard. ''North Somerset Coast in Watercolours''. The Garret Press, Weston-super-Mare. ]
It has been designated as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
References
External links
{{Commons category inline, Wick St Lawrence
Photographs of St. Lawrence's Church, Wick St. Lawrence.
civil parishes in Somerset
ports and harbours of Somerset
villages in North Somerset