Crewkerne

Crewkerne is a town and electoral ward in south Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard. A separate civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Clapton, Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley, and borders the county of Dorset to the south. The town is on the main headwater of the River Parrett, the A30 road and the West of England railway line.
The earliest written record of Crewkerne is in the 899 will of Alfred the Great who left it to his youngest son Æthelweard. After the Norman Conquest it was held by William the Conqueror and in the Domesday Survey of 1086 was described as a royal manor. Crewkerne Castle was possibly a Norman motte castle. The town grew up in the late mediaeval period around the textile industry, its wealth demonstrated in the 15th-century Church of St Bartholomew. During the 18th and 19th centuries the main industry was cloth making, including webbing, and sails for the Royal Navy.
Local ecological sites include the Bincombe Beeches local nature reserve and the Millwater biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Crewkerne railway station is served by South Western Railway. The town is the birthplace of several notable people and has varied cultural and sporting facilities including those at Wadham School.

History

The name Crewkerne is thought to be derived from Cruc-aera; from the British cruc – a spur of a hill, and the Old English aera – a house, especially a storehouse. The town was known as Crocern, or Cruaern in the 899 will of Alfred the Great when he left it to his younger son Æthelweard, and by 1066 the manor was held by Edith Swanneck, mistress of King Harold. After the Norman Conquest the Domesday Survey of 1086 shows the so-named manor was feudally royal, a possession of William the Conqueror, and the church estate was given to the Abbaye-aux-Hommes in Caen, Normandy.
In 1499, John de Combe, a precentor of Exeter Cathedral and former vicar of Crewkerne, founded Crewkerne Grammar School. The school survived until 1904.
The parish was part of the hundred of Crewkerne.
Crewkerne Castle was possibly a Norman motte castle on a mound to the north-west of the town, which is known as Castle Hill. The town grew up in the late mediaeval period around the textile industry, its wealth preserved in its fifteenth century parish church. It later prospered as a coaching stop in the Georgian period.
The Manor Farmhouse in Henley was built from hamstone in the early 17th century, but possibly incorporates medieval fragments. The building is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. During the 18th and 19th centuries the main industry was cloth making, including webbing, and sails for the Royal Navy.

Governance

The town council takes charge of some local issues and sets an annual precept to cover its costs. It evaluates local planning applications; it works with the police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch 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 and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council. The current council, elected on 5 May 2022, consists of six Liberal Democrats, and five independents.
For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, Crewkerne parish comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, and it was part of Crewkerne Urban District before 1974. West Crewkerne has its own parish council. The parishes are within the Yeovil constituency for Westminster elections.
This electoral ward includes Misterton and at the 2011 Census had a population of 7,826.
Crewkerne Town Hall occupies part of the Victoria Hall in the Market Square. The Hamstone building was rebuilt around 1742 and altered in 1836, when a south piazza was added after the demolition of the shambles. In 1848–9 it became a museum, reading room and library and was remodelled in 1900 by Thomas Benson of Yeovil to create shops and offices. It is a Grade II listed building.

Geography

The town lies west of the River Parrett. The main residential areas are around the town centre with Kithill and Park View to the South and Wadham Park to the North.
In the northern outskirts of the town is the Bincombe Beeches, a local nature reserve which is managed by the town council and includes a line of beech trees, some of which are between 150 and 200 years old. Between 2002 and 2005 grants were obtained to improve access to the site and support the planting of new trees. The Millwater biological Site of Special Scientific Interest consists of a complex mosaic of pasture, wet grassland, tall-herb fen, standing and running water, alder and willow carr.

Climate

Along with the rest of South West England, Crewkerne has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately. Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the nation due to nearby shore/land breezes to/from seas. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately. In winter mean minimum daily readings of or are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure normally extends to the Region, yet convective cloud will on some days form inland, cutting sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around. About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

Demographics

Census	Population	Female	Male	Households	Source
2001	6,728	3,513	3,215	2,971
2011	7,000	3,646	3,354	3,233
2021	7,333	3,825	3,508	3,420

Economy

Crewkerne is a small market town centre with many cafes, shops and supermarkets. Crewkerne also has a wide selection of public houses. The largest supermarket is the Waitrose store which is around and opened in November 2008. All of the large supermarkets are situated around the South Street multi-storey car park.
Ariel Motor Company is based in Crewkerne, and is one of the UK's smallest automobile companies, with just seven employees, producing fewer than 100 cars per year. It was founded in 1991 and changed its name from Solocrest Ltd in 2001. The company's flagship car is the Ariel Atom, an extremely light, high performance car.

Culture

The Henhayes Centre provides conference facilities and has also featured exhibitions.
Crewkerne and District Museum is part of a wider heritage centre which includes local archives and a meeting room. The museum opened in 2000 in an old house with an 18th-century frontage. It was restored with the help of grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council and Crewkerne Town Council. The development of Crewkerne during the 18th and 19th centuries, with particular emphasis on the flax and linen industry is illustrated with a permanent display. Other collections relate to local archaeology, Coins and Medals, Costume and Textiles, Fine Art, Music, Personalities, Science and Technology, Social History, Weapons and War.

Transport

The following roads pass through Crewkerne:

Northbound: A356 North Street – To A303 for London and North Somerset.
Southbound: A356 South Street – To Maiden Newton and Dorchester.
Westbound: A30 West Street – To Exeter and the South West of England.
Eastbound :A30 East Street – To Yeovil and Salisbury.
Southbound: B3165 Hermitage Street – To Lyme Regis.
The closest motorway is the M5 at junction 25 for Taunton.

Crewkerne railway station, in nearby Misterton, is served by South Western Railway on what was the main south western railway line before it was outranked by the Taunton line. Trains operate to London Waterloo via , and in the opposite direction to . There is also a service provided by Great Western Railway to London Paddington. The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 19 July 1860. It was designed by Sir William Tite and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.
The town is served by Stagecoach South West with buses to Yeovil via Kithill, Misterton and Haselbury Plucknett and Chard. Buses also run to Merriott, South Petherton and Ilminster and Taunton. First West of England has service to Bridport via Beaminster and Broadwindsor, Yeovil via East Chinnock and West Coker and Chard.
It is on the route of the Monarch's Way a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester.

Education

The primary schools in Crewkerne are St. Bartholomew's on Kithill, Ashlands on North Street and Maiden Beech Primary Academy on Lyme Road.
Crewkerne Grammar School was at DeCombe House, until it closed in the late 1960s to combine into St Martin's School long on Abbey Street. Its Senior and Juniors School closed in 2003, leaving a pre-school nursery. Its gym was on Gouldsbrook Terrace, converted since.
Wadham School has students from 11 to 18 years old and includes those travelling from surrounding villages.