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West Somerset was a
local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
in the English county of
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 ...
from 1974 to 2019. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to figures released by the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
in 2009, the population of West Somerset had the oldest average age in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
at 52. The largest centres of population were the coastal towns of
Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...
(population 10,000) and Watchet (4,400). The council's administrative
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
were located in the village of
Williton Williton is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39 road, A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton. Williton station i ...
, with an additional office in Minehead. In September 2016, West Somerset and
Taunton Deane Taunton Deane was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of ...
councils agreed in principle to merge the districts into one (with one council) subject to consultation. The new district would not be a unitary authority: it would still be part of the Somerset County Council area. In March 2018 both councils voted in favour of the merger and it came into effect on 1 April 2019, with the first elections to the new council in May 2019. The new authority was known as
Somerset West and Taunton Somerset West and Taunton was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 2019 to 2023. It was established on 1 April 2019 by the Somerset West and Taunton (Local Government Changes) Order 2018. The council replaced the Taunton Dean ...
Council.


History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, 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 ...
, by a merger of the previous urban districts of Minehead and Watchet, along with Dulverton Rural District and
Williton Rural District Williton was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of West Somerset. The parishe ...
.


Listed buildings

There were 33 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 ...
s in West Somerset: the oldest are Culbone Church (one of the smallest churches in England, and pre- Norman in origin) and Tarr Steps, which some say originates in the
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 ...
, although others date them from around 1400. Dunster has the greatest concentration of Grade I listed buildings including
Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a English country house, country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo ...
, the Yarn Market, Gallox Bridge and Priory Church of St George. Other sites include manor houses such as Nettlecombe Court and Orchard Wyndham. The most recent buildings included in the list are Crowcombe Court which was completed in 1739 and the Church of St John the Baptist in Carhampton which was rebuilt in 1863. There are numerous religious structures in Somerset, with the largest number being
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
parish churches, dating from Norman or
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
eras. Some of the churches are included in the
Somerset towers The Somerset towers are a collection of distinctive, mostly spireless Gothic church towers in the county of Somerset in south west England. Description Newspaper columnist and editor Simon Jenkins has cited the towers as one of England's fi ...
, a collection of distinctive, mostly
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
less Gothic church towers.


Financial difficulties

In 2012 financial difficulties at the council, including a £1 million reduction over three years, lead to plans to outsource most of the services provided to the population and make most of the staff redundant. It was proposed that some services may be shared with
Taunton Deane Taunton Deane was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of ...
council. In December 2012 the grant received from central government was increased by 0.9% meaning the council had £3.8million to spend on the provision of services.


Geography

West Somerset benefits from one of the most scenic landscapes in England. Nearly two-thirds of the western land area of the district forms part of Exmoor National Park, designated in 1954, while on the eastern edge of the district are the
Quantock Hills The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956. Natural England have desi ...
, which in 1956 became the first
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
created in the UK. Large areas of Exmoor and the Quantock Hills are also designated as
Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
because of their value for wildlife. The West Somerset Railway runs through most of the district, from Bishop's Lydeard in the south east to Minehead in the north west. Operated mainly as a tourist attraction, the railway runs mostly
steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
and some
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...
s.


Governance

West Somerset District Council was elected every four years, with 28
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s being elected at each election. From the first election to the council in 1973 to the 1995 election the council had a majority of
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
s. Since then the Conservative Party won a majority at the 2003 election, but independents took a majority back at the 2007 election. Following the election in 2011 the Conservatives regained a majority, which they then held until the council's abolition in 2019.


Settlements

* Allerford, Ashbeer * Battleton, Bickham, Bicknoller, Bilbrook, Bossington, Brandish Street, Bratton,
Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...
, Brompton Ralph,
Brompton Regis Brompton Regis (formerly known as Kingsbrompton) is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England about north-east of Dulverton. It is situated on the River Pulham in the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park, close to Wimbleball L ...
, Brushford * Carhampton, Chapel Cleeve, Churchtown, Clatworthy, Crowcombe, Crowcombe Heathfield, Culbone, Cutcombe * Dulverton, Dunster *
East Quantoxhead East Quantoxhead is a village, from West Quantoxhead, east of Williton, and west of Bridgwater, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset, England. History Above the village at Black Ball Camp are an Iron Age ...
, Elworthy, Escott, Exford, Exton * Flaxpool * Halsway, Hawkridge, Higher Vexford,
Holford Holford is a village and civil parish in Somerset within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located about west of Bridgwater and east of Williton, with a population of 392. The village is on the Quantock Greenway and ...
, Huish Champflower *
Kilve Kilve is a village in Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957. It lies on the A39 road, A39 almost exactly equidistant from Bridgwater to the east and Minehead t ...
, Kilton,
Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population ...
, Kingswood * Lawford, Leighland Chapel, Lilstock, Lower Vellow, Lower Vexford, Lower Weacombe, Luccombe, Luxborough,
Lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the Rive ...
, Lyncombe *
Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...
, Monksilver * Oare, Oareford, Old Cleeve * Pooltown, Porlock, Preston * Roadwater * St Audries,
Sampford Brett Sampford Brett is a village and civil parish situated at the south-western edge of the Quantock Hills, Somerset, England, less than south of Williton, just off the A358 road to Taunton. Geography It lies in a shallow valley cut by the Sampford ...
,
Selworthy Selworthy is a small village and civil parish from Minehead in Somerset, England. It is located in the National Trust's Holnicote Estate on the northern fringes of Exmoor. The parish includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brand ...
,
Simonsbath Simonsbath () is a small village high on Exmoor in the England, English ceremonial county, county of Somerset. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated civil parish on Exmoo ...
, Skilgate, Stoke Pero,
Stogumber Stogumber () is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills. Besides Stogumber village itself, the parish includes the hamlets of Ashbeer, Capton, Escott, Higher Vexford, Kingswood, Lower Vellow, Lo ...
,
Stogursey Stogursey is a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the north. The ...
, Stringston * Timberscombe, Tivington, Torre, Treborough, Triscombe * Upton * Vellow *
Washford Washford is a village on the Washford River in the civil parish of Old Cleeve, Somerset, England. The village is next to Cleeve Abbey, one of the best-preserved medieval monasteries in England. It centred in a valley close to the Bristol Ch ...
, Watchet, Weacombe, West Quantoxhead,
Williton Williton is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39 road, A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton. Williton station i ...
, Winsford, Withycombe,
Withypool Withypool (formerly Widepolle, Widipol, Withypoole) is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Withypool and Hawkridge, in the Somerset (district), Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, near the ...
, Woodford, Wootton Courtenay * Yarde


Parishes


Education

County schools (those which are not
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county were operated by Somerset County Council. For a full list of schools see:
List of schools in Somerset A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


See also

*
Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset West Somerset is a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the English county of Somerset. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special ar ...
* Quay West Radio


References


External links


West Somerset District Council
{{West Somerset Districts of England established in 1974 Former non-metropolitan districts of Somerset Somerset West and Taunton