Buckland Dinham is a small village near

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021. Frome was one of the largest tow ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. The village has a population of 381. The village's main industry is farming (arable and dairy), but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

History

In 951, King Eadred granted land at Buckland to his relative Ælfhere. The village used to be known as Buckland Denham. Denham is believed to be a family name (there are many other villages with Denham in their name) whilst Buckland may refer to a former

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

population. Although Buckland Dinham itself does not have a manor house, it is close to Orchardleigh Estate. There are signs of prehistoric archaeology. A hand axe has been found in Lower Street (which follows the spring line). Kingsdown Camp is an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

. It is a

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, visu ...

. It is a univallate fort with an area of , and is approximately quadrilateral in shape. In the Iron Age or Roman period a drystone wall was constructed, possibly high and wide. There is an entrance on the northeast side. The fort continued to be used by the Romans. The parish of Buckland Denham was part of the

Kilmersdon Kilmersdon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. It is located on the B3139 between Wells, Somerset, Wells and Trowbridge i ...

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. The Dorset and Somerset Canal's branch to the

Somerset coalfield The Somerset Coalfield in northern Somerset, England is an area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973. It is part of a larger coalfield which stretched into southern Gloucestershire. The Somerset coalfield stretched from Cromh ...

s would have passed via the bottom end of the Buckland vale, had it ever been completed. It is now just off the route of NCR 24, the Colliers Way. The Murtry Aqueduct remains. Fussell's balance locks were built on the side of Barrow Hill, an extension of the hill on which Buckland Dinham is perched.

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 A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

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. For

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

purposes, since 1 April 2023, the parish comes under the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

Somerset Council Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unita ...

. Prior to this, it was part of the

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

of Mendip (established under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

). It was part of

Frome Rural District Frome was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. The district was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of the district of Men ...

before 1974. It is also part of the Frome and East Somerset

county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system of election.

Geography

Geographically, the village is on the side of a hill (known as Buckland Down). It looks out over a vale formed by several small streams, in particular the Buckland Brook, which leads southwards towards Frome (and other villages such as Great Elm and Mells). The Buckland Brook skirts the north-eastern side of the village.

Transport

It is on the A362 road from

Radstock Radstock is a town and civil parish on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, about south-west of Bath and north-west of Frome. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The Radsto ...

. Coming off this at the bottom of the hill is Lower Street, which subsequently turns uphill (as Sands Cross Hill) before looping back to the main road at the top of the village, opposite the ''Bell''

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

. Lanes also lead off to Lullington and Great Elm. Buckland Dinham has never had a railway station, although the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

branch from Frome to Radstock (and thence to Bristol) passes by the bottom of the valley. This is today unused by passenger trains, but

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

trains to Whatley Quarry use the line. They then seem to disappear into a clump of trees; in reality, a tunnel entrance is hidden, leading to

Vallis Vale Vallis Vale () is a 23.9 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Great Elm in Somerset, notified in 1952. Vallis Vale is an ancient woodland site and supports an Ash-Wych Elm stand type with a restricted dist ...

and the quarry.

Religious sites

The Church of St. Michael has a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, south chapel and south porch which dates from around 1200. The north chapel was added in 1325, and a further chapel to the north of the chancel and the west tower being added in 1480. It underwent restoration in the late 19th century. It has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

References

External links

Census data

{{Mendip Villages in Mendip District Civil parishes in Somerset