Rowberrow is a small village and former

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Shipham in the

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 ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 56. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Shipham. Rowberrow is near Churchill, close to the Dolebury Warren

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 the site of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

barrow approximately in diameter, which was excavated in 1813, and is believed to have given the village its name as Rowbarrow means 'rough hill' or 'barrow'. The parish 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. By far the most important and auth ...

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 ...

. It was formerly a mining parish producing

calamine Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication made from powdered calamine (mineral), calamine mineral that is used to treat mild itchiness. Conditions treated include sunburn, insect bites, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivy, poiso ...

Church

The parish Church of St Michael and All Angels dates from the late 14th century, however the nave, chancel and south porch were rebuilt in 1865. It is a Grade II*

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 ...

Notable residents

The author

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

lived in Rowberrow from 1970 to 1993. His daughter

Rhianna Rhianna is a feminine name and a variation of the Welsh name Rhiannon. Notable people with the name include: * Rhianna (singer) (born 1983), British singer * Rhianna Atwood, contestant on ''America's Next Top Model'' in 2010 * Rhianna Patrick (b ...

was born in the village. The author and cat lover Doreen Tovey lived in Rowberrow from the early fifties until her death in 2008.

References

External links

{{Mendip Hills Villages in Sedgemoor Former civil parishes in Somerset