Shepton Montague


Shepton Montague is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the River Pitt midway between Wincanton, Bruton and Castle Cary.
It is known for its dairy farming and one of the country's main centres of organic farming.

History

The first part of the name originates from Sheep Town. The second part comes from the family of the Anglo-Norman warrior Drew de Montagu, who Feudal [land tenure in England|held the manor from] the Count of Mortain, from the Norman Conquest until the attainder in 1421 of his descendant Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury. The family's name was Latinised names|Latinised] to de Monte Acuto, meaning "from the sharp mountain", a literal translation of the name of their Normandy manor of origin Montaigu, "sharp mountain".
The parish of Shepton Montague was part of the Norton Ferris Hundred.
The manor was held from 1765 by the Phelips family of nearby Montacute House, in the parish of Montacute, Somerset, 4 miles west of Yeovil, also named after the de Montagu family, but possibly from the conically-shaped St Michael's Hill dominating the village to the west.
Sergeant Daniel Bryant, a Royal Marine who was a part of Franklin's lost expedition, was born here in 1814.

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept 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 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.
For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the parish comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of South Somerset. It was part of Wincanton Rural District before 1974.
It is also part of a county constituency represented in the British [House of Commons|House of Commons] of the Parliament of [the United Kingdom]. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Geography

is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which exposes the most important known section of Fuller's Earth Rock in England.

Religious sites

The parish Church of Saint Peter has 13th-century origins and has been designated as a Grade II listed building. It was seriously damaged by a fire in 1964 and restored two years later.
Alfred Edwin Eaton was an English clergyman and entomologist who served as the vicar of Shepton Montague. His main interests among insects were the Diptera and Ephemeroptera.