Queen Camel is a village andcivil parish, on theRiver Cam and theA359 road, in theunitary authority ofSomerset,England. It is about 7 miles (11.3 km) north ofYeovil. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 908.^[1] The parish includes thehamlet of Wales. Nearby places areWest Camel,Sparkford andMarston Magna.

Queen Camel
St Barnabas Church
Queen Camel Location withinSomerset
Population	908 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	ST595247
Unitary authority	Somerset Council
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	YEOVIL
Postcode district	BA22
Dialling code	01935
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Glastonbury and Somerton
List of places UK England Somerset 51°01′13″N2°34′41″W / 51.0203°N 2.5780°W /51.0203; -2.5780

The name of Camel derives not from the animal, but from theCommon Brittonic language. The name is first attested incharters of the mid-tenth century (surviving in a thirteenth-century copy), asCantmel; in the original manuscript of a charter of 995, asCantmæl; and in theDomesday Book of 1086 asCamel andCamelle. It derives from the Brittonic words found today in modern Welsh ascant ("enclosure, circle, rim") andmoel ("bare"). Thus the name once meant "bare ridge" or something similar. The name is first attested with the addition ofQueen in 1280, in the Latin formCamel Reginæ. This element was introduced to distinguish Queen Camel from nearbyWest Camel and probably arises fromEdward I's donation of the estate to his wifeEleanor of Castile.^[2][3]

The site of aRomano-British settlement has been identified south west of Camel Hill Farm, which was occupied in the 2nd to 4th centuries. Stone foundations of at least three buildings have been identified.^[4]

Some historians, includingJohn Leland, believe the area surrounding the village to be the site of the final battle ofKing Arthur, theBattle of Camlann.

In the tenth century, land in Camel was granted away by the kingsEdmund I,Eadwig andEdgar the Peaceful, but by the time of theNorman Conquest in 1066 it was held byGytha of Wessex, after whom the village school, which opened in 1873, is named.^[5] In 1202 the manor was granted to Hubert de Burgh, byKing John, who gave it to the monks ofCleeve Abbey. It later returned to the crown and in 1275 was known as Camel Regis. In 1558 it was granted to SirWalter Mildmay, whose family retained it until 1929.^[6]

The parish was part of thehundred ofCatsash.^[7]

The Mildmay family lived atHazlegrove House, a substantial 17th-century house which was largely rebuilt by Carew Mildmay in 1730. It later became Hazlegrove Preparatory School, the junior school ofKing's School, Bruton.^[8]

A fire in 1634 destroyed 70 properties in the village.^[6]

Theparish 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, andneighbourhood 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 (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

The village fell within thenon-metropolitan district ofSouth Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, having previously been part ofWincanton Rural District.^[9] The district council was responsible forlocal planning andbuilding control, local roads,council housing,environmental health,markets and fairs,refuse collection andrecycling,cemeteries andcrematoria, leisure services, parks, andtourism. On 1 April 2023 theSouth Somerset district along with others in the county were abolished and a new unitary authority,Somerset Council replaced them. This now provides all services formerly provided by both the districts and the former County Council.

Queen Camel is part of theelectoral ward ofCamelot.^[10] This ward stretches fromSparkford in the north east throughMarston Magna toRimpton in the south. The total population of the ward as at the2011 census was 2,742.^[11]

It is also part of theGlastonbury and Somertoncounty constituency represented in theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom. It elects oneMember of Parliament (MP) by thefirst past the post system of election.

The Wales^[12] and Camel Bridges^[13] over theRiver Cam date from the 18th century, although one may be a rebuilding of an olderpackhorse bridge. It is 38 inches (970 mm) wide and has a total span of 15 feet (4.6 m).^[14]

The 17th-century Wales farmhouse^[15] and a row of 15th-century cottages^[16] are near the Wales bridge.There is one shop that provides all of the villages needs.

TheChurch of St Barnabas, reached from a cobbled lane, has a lofty tower, built in five stages. The church houses the second heaviest set of six bells in Europe. TheAnglican parish church dates from the 14th century with the first recorded rector being in 1317. It contains memorials to many of theMildmay family. It has been designated as a Grade Ilisted building.^[17]

• Official Parish Council Website