| Wanstrow | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Wanstrow Location withinSomerset | |
| Population | 489 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST715415 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHEPTON MALLET |
| Postcode district | BA4 |
| Dialling code | 01749 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°10′19″N2°24′32″W / 51.172°N 2.409°W /51.172; -2.409 | |
Wanstrow is a village andcivil parish 6 miles (9.7 km) south west ofFrome inSomerset, England. The parish includes the village ofCloford.
The name of the village comes from theOld English and meansWaendel's tree.[2]
TheBishop ofWells had an estate in the parish before theNorman Conquest which supported a prebend atWells Cathedral. The estate was split in two with one first called East Wanstrow, and later Church Wanstrow supporting Wells Cathedral and West Wanstrow, Wanstrow Rogers and Wanstrow Buller was given by Hugh Sexey to support the hospital atBruton.[2]
The parish was part of thehundred ofFrome.[3]
The village was involved in the production of coarse earthenware, using clay dug on Wanstrow Common, until 1826.[2]
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.
Forlocal government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under theunitary authority ofSomerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of thenon-metropolitan district ofMendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, having previously been part ofFrome Rural District.[4]
It is also part of theFrome and East Somersetcounty 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.
Cloford Quarry is a 39.92hectaregeological Site of Special Scientific Interest andGeological Conservation Review site important for the exposures of sediments ofTriassic andJurassic age which occur in major fissures within theCarboniferous Limestone. No other site in Britain shows such a variety and abundance of sediment-infilled fissures of this age.[5] Cloford Quarry was the main location used for the planet Lakertya in theDoctor Who storyTime and the Rani.
Leighton Road Cutting is anothergeological Site of Special Scientific Interest betweenEast Cranmore and Cloford which provides exposure of a series of earlyJurassiclimestones, ofLower Lias age, which are the only known outcrops of these particular rocks to occur in a normal horizontally-bedded sequence in theMendips.[6]
Wanstrow railway station was a small station on theEast Somerset Railway which opened in 1858, but the railway company did not build a station at Wanstrow. Local people paid for a small building, and a platform was built later. The station opened on 1 January 1860. It closed to passenger traffic with the rest of the line on 9 September 1963.
The manor house was built in the 17th century and has been designated as a Grade II*listed building.[7]
In Cloford there is aNorman church,dedicated to St Mary, dates from the 15th century and was rebuilt in 1856. It is Grade II* listed.[8]
In Wanstrow itself there is another 15th-century church,Church of St Mary.[9]
Wanstrow is the birthplace ofJoseph Harding, the "father ofcheddar cheese".
Media related toWanstrow at Wikimedia Commons
