Cheddar
Encyclopedia
Cheddar is a large village
and civil parish in the Sedgemoor
district of the English county of Somerset
. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills
, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells
. The civil parish includes the hamlet
s of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The village, which has its own parish council, has a population of 5,093 and the parish has an acreage of 8592 acres (3,477.1 ha) as of 1961.
Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge
in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves including Gough's Cave
. The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic
times, including a Saxon
palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It is also the site of several limestone quarries. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese
and has been a centre for strawberry
growing, with the crop being transported on the Cheddar Valley line
, which closed in the late 1960s but is now a cycle path. It is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.
The village supports a variety of community groups including religious, sporting and cultural organisations. Several of these are based on the site of The Kings of Wessex School, which is the largest educational establishment.
period in Cheddar. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man
, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic
era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. There is some evidence of a Bronze Age
field system at the Batts Combe quarry
site. The remains of a Roman villa have been excavated in the grounds of the current vicarage
.
The village of Cheddar had been important during the Roman
and Saxon eras. There was a royal palace at Cheddar during the Saxon period, which was used on three occasions in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot
. The ruins of the palace were excavated in the 1960s. They are located on the grounds of The Kings of Wessex School, together with a 14th century chapel dedicated to St. Columbanus
. Roman remains have also been uncovered at the site. Cheddar was listed in the Domesday Book
of 1086 as Ceder, meaning "Shear Water", from the Old English scear and Celtic
dwr. As early as 1130 AD, the Cheddar Gorge was recognised as one of the "Four wonders of England". Historically, Cheddar's source of wealth was farming and cheese making for which it was famous as early as 1170 AD. The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred.
As early as 1527 there are records of watermill
s on the river. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were several watermills which ground corn and made paper, with 13 mills on the Yeo
at the peak, declining to seven by 1791 and just three by 1915.
In the Victorian era
it also became a centre for the production of clothing. The last mill, used as a shirt factory, closed in the early 1950s. William Wilberforce
saw the poor conditions of the locals when he visited Cheddar in 1789. He inspired Hannah More
in her work to improve the conditions of the Mendip
miners and agricultural workers. In 1801, 4400 acres (17.8 km²) of common land were enclosed under the Inclosure Acts.
Tourism of the Cheddar gorge and caves began with the opening of the Cheddar Valley Railway in 1869.
Cheddar, its surrounding villages and specifically the gorge has been subject to flooding. In the Great Flood of 1968
the flow of water washed large boulders down the gorge, washed away cars, and damaged the cafe and the entrance to Gough's Cave.
, although only about a third the population of Cheddar, is a town. This apparently illogical situation is explained by the relative importance of the two places in historic times. While Axbridge grew in importance as a centre for cloth manufacturing in the Tudor
period and gained a charter from King John
, Cheddar remained a more dispersed mining and dairy-farming village. Its population grew with the arrival of the railways in the Victorian era
and the advent of tourism.
The parish council, which has 15 members who are elected for four years, is responsible 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 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 (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.
The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district
of Sedgemoor
, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
. It was previously part of Axbridge Rural District
. Sedgemoor is responsible for local planning
and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health
, market
s and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. Somerset County Council
is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education
, social services, the library, roads, public transport, trading standards
, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
, Avon and Somerset Constabulary
and the Great Western Ambulance Service
.
It is also part of the Wells
county constituency represented in the 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, and is part of the South West England constituency
of the European Parliament
which elects six MEPs using the d'Hondt method
of party-list proportional representation
.
Cheddar is twinned with Felsberg, Germany
and Vernouillet
, France, and it has an active programme of exchange visits. Initially, Cheddar twinned with Felsberg in 1984. In 2000, Cheddar twinned with Vernouillet, which had also been twinned with Felsberg. Cheddar also has a friendship link with Ocho Rios
in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica.
Limestone
Series, which contain ooliths
and fossil
debris on top of Old Red Sandstone
, and by Dolomitic Conglomerate
of the Keuper
. Evidence for Variscan orogeny
is seen in the sheared rock and cleaved shales. In many places weathering of these strata has resulted in the formation of immature calcareous soils.
in the United Kingdom.
The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Cheddar Man
was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic
era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites. Gough's Cave
, which was discovered in 1903, leads around 400 m (437 yd) into the rock-face, and contains a variety of large rock chambers and formations. Cox's Cave
, discovered in 1837, is smaller but contains many intricate formations. A further cave houses a children's entertainment walk known as the "Crystal Quest".
Cheddar Gorge, including Cox's Cave, Gough's Cave and other attractions, has become a tourist
destination, attracting about 500,000 visitors per year.
In a 2005 poll
of Radio Times
readers, following its appearance on the 2005 television programme Seven Natural Wonders
, Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by the Dan yr Ogof
caves.
There are several large and unique Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) around the village.
Cheddar Reservoir
is a near-circular artificial reservoir operated by Bristol Water
. Dating from the 1930s, it has a capacity of 135 million gallons (614,000 cubic metres). The reservoir is supplied with water taken from the Cheddar Yeo
, which rises in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge and is a tributary of the River Axe. The inlet grate for the 54 inches (1.4 m) water pipe that is used to transport the water can be seen next to the sensory garden
in Cheddar Gorge. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its wintering waterfowl populations.
Cheddar Wood
and the smaller Macall's Wood form a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest from what remains of the wood of the Bishops of Bath and Wells in the 13th century and of King Edmund
the Magnificent's wood in the 10th. During the 19th century, its lower fringes were grubbed out to make strawberry
fields. Most of these have been allowed to revert to woodland. The wood was coppiced until 1917. This site compromises a wide range of habitats which include ancient and secondary semi-natural broadleaved woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, and a complex mosaic of calcareous grassland
and acidic dry dwarf-shrub heath. Cheddar Wood is one of only a few English stations for Starved Wood-sedge (Carex depauperata). Purple Gromwell
(Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum), a nationally rare plant, also grows in the wood. Butterflies include Silver-washed Fritillary
(Argynnis paphia), Dark Green Fritillary
(Argynnis aglaja), Pearl-bordered Fritillary
(Boloria euphrosyne), Holby Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Brown Argus
(Aricia agestis). The slug
(Arion fasciatus), which has a restricted distribution in the south of England, and the Soldier beetle
(Cantharis fusca) also occur.
By far the largest of the SSSIs is called Cheddar Complex
and covers 441.3 hectares (1,090.5 acre) of the gorge, caves and the surrounding area. It is important for both biological and geological features. It includes four SSSIs, formerly known as Cheddar Gorge SSSI, August Hole/Longwood Swallet SSSI, GB Cavern Charterhouse SSSI and Charterhouse on-Mendip SSSI. It is partly owned by the National Trust
who acquired it in 1910 and partly managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust
.
and Callow Rock quarry
, two of the active Quarries of the Mendip Hills
where limestone
is still extracted. Operating since the early 20th century, Batts Combe is owned and operated by Hanson Aggregates
. The output in 2005 was around 4,000 tonnes of limestone per day, one third of which was supplied to an on-site lime kiln, which closed in 2009; the remainder was sold as coated or dusted aggregates. The limestone at this site is close to 99 percent carbonate
of calcium
and magnesium
(dolomite
).
The Chelmscombe Quarry finished its work as a limestone quarry in the 1950s and was then used by the Central Electricity Generating Board as a Tower testing station
. During the 1970s and 1980s it was also used to test the ability of containers of radioactive material to withstand impacts and other accidents.
, Cheddar has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea, which moderates temperature. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores
high-pressure system affects the south-west of England. Convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine; annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most 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 are most active during those seasons. 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 700 mm (27.6 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall per year 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.
, which is the most popular type of cheese
in the United Kingdom. The cheese is now made and consumed worldwide, and only one producer remains in the village.
Since the 1880s, Cheddar's other main produce has been the strawberry
,
which is grown on the south-facing lower slopes of the Mendip hills. As a consequence of its use for transporting strawberries to market, the since-closed Cheddar Valley line
became known as The Strawberry Line after it opened in 1869.
The line closed in the 1960s, when it became part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve. It ran from Yatton
to Wells
. When the rest of the line was closed and all passenger services ceased, the section of the line between Cheddar and Yatton remained open for goods traffic. It provided a fast link with the main markets for the strawberries in Birmingham
and London
, but finally closing in 1964.
Cheddar Ales
is a small brewery based in the village, producing beer for local public houses. Tourism is a significant source of employment. Around 15 percent of employment in Sedgemoor
is provided by tourism, but within Cheddar it is estimated to employ as many as 1,000 people.
The village also has a youth hostel, and a number of camping and caravan sites.
, Mendip Rotary
and Mendip Inner Wheel Club
. The clubs raise money for projects in the local community and hold annual events such as a fireworks display, duck races
in the Gorge, a dragon boat
race on the reservoir and concerts on the grounds of the nearby St Michael's Cheshire Home
.
Several notable people have been born or lived in Cheddar. Musician Jack Bessant, the bass guitarist with the band Reef
grew up on his parents' strawberry farm, and Matt Goss
and Luke Goss
, former members of Bros
, lived in Cheddar for nine months as children. Trina Gulliver
, eight-time World Professional Darts Champion, currently lives in Cheddar.
The comedian Richard Herring
grew up in Cheddar. His 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, The Headmaster's Son is based on his time at The Kings of Wessex School, where his father Keith was the headmaster. The final performance of this show was held at the school in November 2009. He also visited the school in March 2010 to perform his show Hitler Moustache.
with figures in niches, probably from the late 19th century, although the cross is now missing. It was rebuilt by Thomas, Marquis of Bath
. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
(Somerset County No 21) and Grade II* listed building.
In January 2000, the cross was seriously damaged in a traffic accident. By 2002, the cross had been rebuilt and the area around it was redesigned to protect and enhance its appearance.
Hannah More
, a philanthropist
and educator, founded a school in the village in the late 18th century for the children of miners. Her first school was located in a 17th-century house. Now named "Hannah More's Cottage", the Grade II-listed building is used by the local community as a meeting place.
which runs from Wincanton
, to Weston-super-Mare
. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) from the route of the M5 motorway
with around a 10 miles (16.1 km) drive to junction 21 or 22.
It was on the Cheddar Valley line
, a railway line that was opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the large volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried. It ran from Yatton railway station
through to Wells (Tucker Street) railway station
and joined the East Somerset Railway
to make a through route via Shepton Mallet (High Street) railway station
to Witham
. Sections of the now-disused railway have been opened as the Strawberry Line Trail, which currently runs from Yatton to Cheddar. The Cheddar Valley line survived until the "Beeching Axe
". Towards the end of its life there were so few passengers that diesel railcar
s were sometimes used. The Cheddar branch closed to passengers on 9 September 1963 and to goods in 1964. The line closed in the 1960s, when it became part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve, and part of the National Cycle Network
route 26. The cycle route also interests with the West Mendip Way
and various other footpaths.
Cheddar has three schools belonging to the Cheddar Valley Group of Schools, twelve schools that provide Cheddar Valley's three-tier education
system. Cheddar First School has ten classes for children between 4 and 9 years. Fairlands Middle School
, a middle school
categorised as a middle-deemed-secondary school, has 510 pupils between 9 and 13. Fairlands takes children moving up from Cheddar First School as well as other first schools in the Cheddar Valley. The Kings of Wessex School, a coeducational comprehensive school
, has been rated as "outstanding" by Ofsted
. It has 1,182 students aged 13 to 18, including 302 in the sixth form
. Kings is a faith school
linked to the Church of England
. It was awarded the specialist status
of Technology College
in 2001, enabling it to develop its Information Technology
(IT) facilities and improve courses in science, mathematics and design technology. In 2007 it became a foundation school
, giving it more control over its own finances. The school owns and runs a sports centre and swimming pool, Kings Fitness & Leisure, with facilities that are used by students as well as residents. Community education project I.T. for the Terrified, which was originally set up in Wedmore in 1999, is based in an old cow shed on the school's grounds.
The Church of St Andrew
dates from the 14th century. It was restored
in 1873 by William Butterfield
. It is a Grade I listed building and contains some 15th-century stained glass
and an altar table of 1631. The chest tomb
in the chancel is believed to contain the remains of Sir Thomas Cheddar and is dated 1442. The tower, which rises to 100 feet (30 m), contains a bell dating from 1759 made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family
.
There are also churches for Roman Catholic, Methodist
and other denominations, including Cheddar Valley Community Church, who not only meet at The Kings of Wessex School on Sunday, but also have their own site on Tweentown for meeting during the week. The Baptist
chapel was built in 1831.
was built in the village, funded by the Cheddar Local Action Team.
Cheddar Football Club, founded in 1892 and nicknamed "The Cheesemen", play in the Somerset County Football League
Premier Division. In 2009 plans were revealed to move the club from its present home at Bowdens Park on Draycott Road to a new larger site.
Cheddar Cricket Club was formed in the late 19th century and moved to Sharpham Road Playing Fields in 1964. They now play in the West of England Premier League
Somerset Division. Cheddar Rugby Club, who own part of the Sharpham playing fields, was formed in 1836. The club organises an annual Cheddar Rugby Tournament. Cheddar Lawn Tennis Club, was formed in 1924, and play in the North Somerset League and also has social tennis and coaching. Cheddar Running Club organised an annual half marathon
until 2009.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish in the Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh . The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels...
district of the English county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
. The civil parish includes the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
s of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The village, which has its own parish council, has a population of 5,093 and the parish has an acreage of 8592 acres (3,477.1 ha) as of 1961.
Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves including Gough's Cave
Gough's Cave
Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is deep and is long,and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain.- History :The initial sections of...
. The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times, including a Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It is also the site of several limestone quarries. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
and has been a centre for strawberry
Garden Strawberry
The garden strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa, is a hybrid species that is cultivated worldwide for its fruit, the strawberry. The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness...
growing, with the crop being transported on the Cheddar Valley line
Cheddar Valley line
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried....
, which closed in the late 1960s but is now a cycle path. It is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.
The village supports a variety of community groups including religious, sporting and cultural organisations. Several of these are based on the site of The Kings of Wessex School, which is the largest educational establishment.
History
There is evidence of occupation from the NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period in Cheddar. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man
Cheddar Man
Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, England. The remains date to approximately 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. It is Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton....
, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. There is some evidence of a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
field system at the Batts Combe quarry
Batts Combe quarry
Batts Combe quarry, is a limestone quarry on the edge of Cheddar village on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.It has been operating since the early 20th century and is owned and operated by Singleton Birch Ltd...
site. The remains of a Roman villa have been excavated in the grounds of the current vicarage
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
.
The village of Cheddar had been important during the Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
and Saxon eras. There was a royal palace at Cheddar during the Saxon period, which was used on three occasions in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot
Witenagemot
The Witenagemot , also known as the Witan was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated from before the 7th century until the 11th century.The Witenagemot was an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king and whose membership was...
. The ruins of the palace were excavated in the 1960s. They are located on the grounds of The Kings of Wessex School, together with a 14th century chapel dedicated to St. Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
. Roman remains have also been uncovered at the site. Cheddar was listed in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Ceder, meaning "Shear Water", from the Old English scear and Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
dwr. As early as 1130 AD, the Cheddar Gorge was recognised as one of the "Four wonders of England". Historically, Cheddar's source of wealth was farming and cheese making for which it was famous as early as 1170 AD. The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred.
As early as 1527 there are records of watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s on the river. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were several watermills which ground corn and made paper, with 13 mills on the Yeo
Cheddar Yeo
The Cheddar Yeo is a small river in North Somerset, England. Beneath the limestone of the Mendip Hills it forms the largest underground river system in Britain. After emerging into Cheddar Gorge it flows through the village of Cheddar, where it has been used in the past to power mills...
at the peak, declining to seven by 1791 and just three by 1915.
In the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
it also became a centre for the production of clothing. The last mill, used as a shirt factory, closed in the early 1950s. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
saw the poor conditions of the locals when he visited Cheddar in 1789. He inspired Hannah More
Hannah More
Hannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...
in her work to improve the conditions of the Mendip
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
miners and agricultural workers. In 1801, 4400 acres (17.8 km²) of common land were enclosed under the Inclosure Acts.
Tourism of the Cheddar gorge and caves began with the opening of the Cheddar Valley Railway in 1869.
Cheddar, its surrounding villages and specifically the gorge has been subject to flooding. In the Great Flood of 1968
Great Flood of 1968
The Great Flood of 1968 was a flood caused by very heavy rain that struck South East England and France in mid-September 1968, with the worst on Sunday 15 September 1968, and followed earlier floods in South West England during July.-South West England:...
the flow of water washed large boulders down the gorge, washed away cars, and damaged the cafe and the entrance to Gough's Cave.
Government
Cheddar is recognised as a village. The adjacent settlement of AxbridgeAxbridge
Axbridge is a town in Somerset, England, situated in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The town population according to the 2001 census was 2,024.-History:...
, although only about a third the population of Cheddar, is a town. This apparently illogical situation is explained by the relative importance of the two places in historic times. While Axbridge grew in importance as a centre for cloth manufacturing in the Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
period and gained a charter from King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, Cheddar remained a more dispersed mining and dairy-farming village. Its population grew with the arrival of the railways in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and the advent of tourism.
The parish council, which has 15 members who are elected for four years, is responsible 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 police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch
Neighbourhood Watch (UK)
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the United Kingdom is a partnership where people come together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their...
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 falls within the Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh . The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels...
, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
. It was previously part of Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Axbridge rural sanitary district....
. Sedgemoor is responsible for local planning
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health
Environmental health
Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...
, market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
s and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county.-Area covered:...
is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
, social services, the library, roads, public transport, trading standards
Trading Standards
Trading Standards is the name given to local authority departments in the UK formerly known as Weights and Measures. These departments investigate commercial organisations that carry out trade in unethical ways or outside the scope of the law.-History:...
, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the counties of Devon and Somerset, including the unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay, in South West England...
, Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the territorial police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset, the city & county of Bristol and the unitary authorities of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts...
and the Great Western Ambulance Service
Great Western Ambulance Service
The Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust is a UK National Health Service trust providing emergency and non emergency patient transport services to Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire in the South West England region...
.
It is also part of the Wells
Wells (UK Parliament constituency)
Wells is a county constituency centred on the city of Wells in Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system...
county constituency represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
by the first past the post system of election, and is part of the South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
which elects six MEPs using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
.
Cheddar is twinned with Felsberg, Germany
Felsberg, Germany
- Geography :The landscape around Felsberg is marked by hills and small lakes, as well as the remains of gravel quarrying. As part of the West Hesse Basin, it lies in a sunken area formed by volcanic activity in the Tertiary subera. The change from partly basaltic hills to smooth river valleys is...
and Vernouillet
Vernouillet, Eure-et-Loir
Vernouillet is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.It lies adjacent to the south side of the town of Dreux.-Population:-International relations:It is twinned with Cheddar in the United Kingdom as well as Felsberg in Germany....
, France, and it has an active programme of exchange visits. Initially, Cheddar twinned with Felsberg in 1984. In 2000, Cheddar twinned with Vernouillet, which had also been twinned with Felsberg. Cheddar also has a friendship link with Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios
Ocho Ríos is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica. Although he landed in many spots along the Jamaican coast, many believe that Christopher Columbus first set foot on land in Ocho Rios...
in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica.
Geography
The area is underlain by Black Rock slate, Burrington Oolite and Clifton Down Limestone of the CarboniferousCarboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
Limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
Series, which contain ooliths
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
and fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
debris on top of Old Red Sandstone
Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject.-Sedimentology:...
, and by Dolomitic Conglomerate
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
of the Keuper
Keuper
The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolostone, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late Triassic epochs...
. Evidence for Variscan orogeny
Variscan orogeny
The Variscan orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.-Naming:...
is seen in the sheared rock and cleaved shales. In many places weathering of these strata has resulted in the formation of immature calcareous soils.
Gorge and caves
Cheddar Gorge, which is located on the edge of the village, is the largest gorgeCanyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
in the United Kingdom.
The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Cheddar Man
Cheddar Man
Cheddar Man is the name given to the remains of a human male found in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, England. The remains date to approximately 7150 BC, and it appears that he died a violent death. It is Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton....
was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites. Gough's Cave
Gough's Cave
Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is deep and is long,and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain.- History :The initial sections of...
, which was discovered in 1903, leads around 400 m (437 yd) into the rock-face, and contains a variety of large rock chambers and formations. Cox's Cave
Cox's cave
Cox's Cave is in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is open to the public as a show cave.The cave is named after mill owner George Cox who discovered it in 1837, while quarrying limestone for a new building....
, discovered in 1837, is smaller but contains many intricate formations. A further cave houses a children's entertainment walk known as the "Crystal Quest".
Cheddar Gorge, including Cox's Cave, Gough's Cave and other attractions, has become a tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
destination, attracting about 500,000 visitors per year.
In a 2005 poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
of Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
readers, following its appearance on the 2005 television programme Seven Natural Wonders
Seven Natural Wonders
Seven Natural Wonders was a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme took an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, showed the 'seven natural wonders' of that area in a programme.The programmes were:The series...
, Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by the Dan yr Ogof
Dan yr Ogof
Dan yr Ogof is a long cave system in south Wales, five miles north of Ystradgynlais and fifteen miles south west of Brecon within the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex which is claimed to be the largest in Europe and is one of the major tourist...
caves.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Cheddar Reservoir
Cheddar Reservoir
Cheddar Reservoir is an artificial reservoir in Somerset, England, operated by Bristol Water. Dating from the 1930s it has a capacity of 135 million gallons . The reservoir is supplied with water taken from the Cheddar Yeo river in Cheddar Gorge...
is a near-circular artificial reservoir operated by Bristol Water
Bristol Water
Bristol Water supplies 300 million litres of drinking water to over 1 million customers in a area centred on Bristol, England. It is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991...
. Dating from the 1930s, it has a capacity of 135 million gallons (614,000 cubic metres). The reservoir is supplied with water taken from the Cheddar Yeo
Cheddar Yeo
The Cheddar Yeo is a small river in North Somerset, England. Beneath the limestone of the Mendip Hills it forms the largest underground river system in Britain. After emerging into Cheddar Gorge it flows through the village of Cheddar, where it has been used in the past to power mills...
, which rises in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge and is a tributary of the River Axe. The inlet grate for the 54 inches (1.4 m) water pipe that is used to transport the water can be seen next to the sensory garden
Sensory garden
A sensory garden is a garden or other plot specifically created to be accessible and enjoyable to visitors, both disabled and non-disabled. The purpose of such a provision is to provide individual and combined sensory opportunities for the user such that they may not normally experience.A sensory...
in Cheddar Gorge. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its wintering waterfowl populations.
Cheddar Wood
Cheddar Wood
Cheddar Wood is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Cheddar in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England, notified in 1967.Cheddar Wood and the smaller Macall's Wood near Cheddar Gorge, are what remains of the wood of the Bishops of Bath and Wells in the thirteenth century and of King...
and the smaller Macall's Wood form a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest from what remains of the wood of the Bishops of Bath and Wells in the 13th century and of King Edmund
Edmund I of England
Edmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
the Magnificent's wood in the 10th. During the 19th century, its lower fringes were grubbed out to make strawberry
Garden Strawberry
The garden strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa, is a hybrid species that is cultivated worldwide for its fruit, the strawberry. The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness...
fields. Most of these have been allowed to revert to woodland. The wood was coppiced until 1917. This site compromises a wide range of habitats which include ancient and secondary semi-natural broadleaved woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, and a complex mosaic of calcareous grassland
Calcareous grassland
Calcareous grassland is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover...
and acidic dry dwarf-shrub heath. Cheddar Wood is one of only a few English stations for Starved Wood-sedge (Carex depauperata). Purple Gromwell
Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum
Lithospermum purpurocaerula or Purple Gromwell is a herbaceous perennial rhizomatous plant of the genus Lithospermum, belonging to the family Boraginaceae.-Etymology:...
(Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum), a nationally rare plant, also grows in the wood. Butterflies include Silver-washed Fritillary
Silver-washed Fritillary
Argynnis paphia is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palaearctic ecozone – Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia and Japan.-Subspecies:*A. p. butleri Krulikovsky, 1909 Northern Europe, Central Europe...
(Argynnis paphia), Dark Green Fritillary
Dark Green Fritillary
The Dark Green Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.The insect has a wide range in the Palearctic ecozone - Europe, Morocco, Iran , Siberia, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan.-Subspecies:...
(Argynnis aglaja), Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Pearl-bordered Fritillary
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is orange with black spots on the upperside of its wing and has a wingspan of 38–46 mm. On the underside of the wings there is a row of silver pearly markings along the edge, which give the species its name...
(Boloria euphrosyne), Holby Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Brown Argus
Brown Argus
The Brown Argus is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:Although one of the "Blues" both sexes are brown on the uppersides with a band of orange spots at the border of each wing...
(Aricia agestis). The slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
(Arion fasciatus), which has a restricted distribution in the south of England, and the Soldier beetle
Soldier beetle
The soldier beetles, Cantharidae, are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles, related to the Lampyridae or firefly family, but being unable to produce light. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One common British species is bright red, reminding people of the red coats of soldiers, hence...
(Cantharis fusca) also occur.
By far the largest of the SSSIs is called Cheddar Complex
Cheddar Complex
The Cheddar Complex is a 441.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Cheddar around the Cheddar Gorge and north east to Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1952....
and covers 441.3 hectares (1,090.5 acre) of the gorge, caves and the surrounding area. It is important for both biological and geological features. It includes four SSSIs, formerly known as Cheddar Gorge SSSI, August Hole/Longwood Swallet SSSI, GB Cavern Charterhouse SSSI and Charterhouse on-Mendip SSSI. It is partly owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
who acquired it in 1910 and partly managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust
Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England.The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature reserves. Examples include Fyne Court, Westhay Moor,...
.
Quarries
Close to the village and gorge are Batts Combe quarryBatts Combe quarry
Batts Combe quarry, is a limestone quarry on the edge of Cheddar village on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.It has been operating since the early 20th century and is owned and operated by Singleton Birch Ltd...
and Callow Rock quarry
Callow Rock quarry
Callow Rock quarry is a limestone quarry located between Cheddar and Shipham on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.The quarry has been operating since the early 20th century and is now operated by Bardon Aggregates.-References:...
, two of the active Quarries of the Mendip Hills
Quarries of the Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone Upland in Britain and are found in northern Somerset.They are composed of three major anticlinal structures, each with a core of older Devonian sandstone and Silurian volcanic rocks...
where limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
is still extracted. Operating since the early 20th century, Batts Combe is owned and operated by Hanson Aggregates
Hanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
. The output in 2005 was around 4,000 tonnes of limestone per day, one third of which was supplied to an on-site lime kiln, which closed in 2009; the remainder was sold as coated or dusted aggregates. The limestone at this site is close to 99 percent carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
of calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
and magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
(dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
).
The Chelmscombe Quarry finished its work as a limestone quarry in the 1950s and was then used by the Central Electricity Generating Board as a Tower testing station
Tower testing station
A tower testing station is a special plant for testing various design for towers for transmission lines and similar uses. A tower testing station consists of two steel stands and one or more foundations, on which a sample of the tower can be built...
. During the 1970s and 1980s it was also used to test the ability of containers of radioactive material to withstand impacts and other accidents.
Climate
Along with the rest of South West EnglandSouth West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
, Cheddar has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea, which moderates temperature. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
high-pressure system affects the south-west of England. Convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine; annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection
Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which are most active during those seasons. 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 700 mm (27.6 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall per year 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.
Demography
The parish has a population of 5,093, with a mean age of 43 years. Residents live in 2,209 households. The vast majority of households (2,183) give their ethnic status as white.Economy
The village gave its name to Cheddar cheeseCheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
, which is the most popular type of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
in the United Kingdom. The cheese is now made and consumed worldwide, and only one producer remains in the village.
Since the 1880s, Cheddar's other main produce has been the strawberry
Garden Strawberry
The garden strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa, is a hybrid species that is cultivated worldwide for its fruit, the strawberry. The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness...
,
which is grown on the south-facing lower slopes of the Mendip hills. As a consequence of its use for transporting strawberries to market, the since-closed Cheddar Valley line
Cheddar Valley line
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried....
became known as The Strawberry Line after it opened in 1869.
The line closed in the 1960s, when it became part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve. It ran from Yatton
Yatton
Yatton is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located south-west of Bristol. Its population in 2001 was 9,176...
to Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
. When the rest of the line was closed and all passenger services ceased, the section of the line between Cheddar and Yatton remained open for goods traffic. It provided a fast link with the main markets for the strawberries in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but finally closing in 1964.
Cheddar Ales
Cheddar Ales
Cheddar Ales is a small independent brewery located in the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England, which produces a range of regular and seasonal beers...
is a small brewery based in the village, producing beer for local public houses. Tourism is a significant source of employment. Around 15 percent of employment in Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh . The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels...
is provided by tourism, but within Cheddar it is estimated to employ as many as 1,000 people.
The village also has a youth hostel, and a number of camping and caravan sites.
Culture and community
Cheddar has a number of active service clubs including Cheddar Vale Lions ClubLions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 191 countries around the world founded by Melvin Jones Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and...
, Mendip Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
and Mendip Inner Wheel Club
Inner Wheel Club
Inner Wheel is an international organisation that is closely linked to Rotary.Inner Wheel is an international organisation that is closely linked to Rotary.Inner Wheel is an international organisation that is closely linked to Rotary.(Before year 1989, Rotary generally prohibited women as members....
. The clubs raise money for projects in the local community and hold annual events such as a fireworks display, duck races
Rubber duck
A rubber duck is a toy shaped like a stylised Yellow-billed Duck , and is generally yellow with a flat base. It may be made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic...
in the Gorge, a dragon boat
Dragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China - Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft...
race on the reservoir and concerts on the grounds of the nearby St Michael's Cheshire Home
Leonard Cheshire
Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO and Two Bars, DFC was a highly decorated British RAF pilot during the Second World War....
.
Several notable people have been born or lived in Cheddar. Musician Jack Bessant, the bass guitarist with the band Reef
Reef (band)
Reef are an English band from Glastonbury. The band members includes Gary Stringer on vocals, Kenwyn House on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass and Dominic Greensmith on drums.-Early days:...
grew up on his parents' strawberry farm, and Matt Goss
Matt Goss
Matthew Weston Goss is an English singer and songwriter currently based in Los Angeles. He was the lead singer of 1980s pop group Bros, which also featured his twin brother Luke Goss as drummer and Craig Logan as bass player...
and Luke Goss
Luke Goss
Luke Damon Goss is an English singer and actor. Since 1994, he has been married to backing singer Shirley Lewis, , and has one stepdaughter, Carli. In January 2007, he and wife Shirley moved permanently to Los Angeles, but still maintain a residence in London...
, former members of Bros
Bros
Bros were a British band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisting of twin brothers Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan...
, lived in Cheddar for nine months as children. Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver is an English professional darts player. She is the nine-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation. Her nickname is the 'Golden Girl' and has been sponsored by the leading Global Darts Brand Winmau for over 10 years...
, eight-time World Professional Darts Champion, currently lives in Cheddar.
The comedian Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
grew up in Cheddar. His 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, The Headmaster's Son is based on his time at The Kings of Wessex School, where his father Keith was the headmaster. The final performance of this show was held at the school in November 2009. He also visited the school in March 2010 to perform his show Hitler Moustache.
Landmarks
The market cross in Bath Street dates from the 15th century, with the shelter having been rebuilt in 1834. It has a central octagonal pier, a socket raised on four steps, hexagonal shelter with six arched four-centred openings, shallow two-stage buttresses at each angle, an and embattled parapet. The shaft is crowned by an abacusAbacus
The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of...
with figures in niches, probably from the late 19th century, although the cross is now missing. It was rebuilt by Thomas, Marquis of Bath
Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath
Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath KG was a British politician who held office under George III serving as Southern Secretary, Northern Secretary and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Between 1751 and 1780 he was known as Lord Weymouth...
. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
(Somerset County No 21) and Grade II* listed building.
In January 2000, the cross was seriously damaged in a traffic accident. By 2002, the cross had been rebuilt and the area around it was redesigned to protect and enhance its appearance.
Hannah More
Hannah More
Hannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...
, a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and educator, founded a school in the village in the late 18th century for the children of miners. Her first school was located in a 17th-century house. Now named "Hannah More's Cottage", the Grade II-listed building is used by the local community as a meeting place.
Transport
The village is situated on the A371 roadA371 road
The A371 is a primary road in England running from Wincanton in Somerset, to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset.The A371 starts at the A303, then passes Castle Cary, Ansford, Cannard's Grave , Shepton Mallet, Croscombe, Wells, Easton, Somerset, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Rodney Stoke, Draycott, Cheddar,...
which runs from Wincanton
Wincanton
Wincanton is a small town in south Somerset, southwest England. The town lies on the A303 road, the main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry...
, to Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) from the route of the M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
with around a 10 miles (16.1 km) drive to junction 21 or 22.
It was on the Cheddar Valley line
Cheddar Valley line
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried....
, a railway line that was opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the large volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried. It ran from Yatton railway station
Yatton railway station
Yatton railway station serves the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. It is west of Bristol Temple Meads railway station on the Bristol to Taunton Line.-History:...
through to Wells (Tucker Street) railway station
Wells (Tucker Street) railway station
Wells railway station was the second terminus station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset after the extension from the first terminus at Cheddar was opened...
and joined the East Somerset Railway
East Somerset Railway
The East Somerset Railway is a heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway ran from Witham to Wells, meeting both the Cheddar Valley line and Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at the latter station.- History :The line was...
to make a through route via Shepton Mallet (High Street) railway station
Shepton Mallet (High Street) railway station
Shepton Mallet was a railway station on the East Somerset Railway, serving the town of Shepton Mallet in the English county of Somerset....
to Witham
Witham (Somerset) railway station
Witham railway station was a station serving the Somerset village of Witham Friary and was located on the Frome to Yeovil section of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway that opened in 1856...
. Sections of the now-disused railway have been opened as the Strawberry Line Trail, which currently runs from Yatton to Cheddar. The Cheddar Valley line survived until the "Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
". Towards the end of its life there were so few passengers that diesel railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
s were sometimes used. The Cheddar branch closed to passengers on 9 September 1963 and to goods in 1964. The line closed in the 1960s, when it became part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve, and part of the National Cycle Network
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
route 26. The cycle route also interests with the West Mendip Way
Mendip Way
The Mendip Way is an long-distance footpath across the Mendip Hills from Weston-super-Mare to Frome. It is divided into two sections.The West Mendip Way was opened in 1979 and starts at the Bristol Channel at Uphill Cliff. It climbs the Mendip escarpment affording views over the Somerset Levels....
and various other footpaths.
Education
Three-tier education
Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types. A similar experiment was also trialled in Scotland....
system. Cheddar First School has ten classes for children between 4 and 9 years. Fairlands Middle School
Fairlands Middle School
Fairlands Middle School is a middle school with 510 pupils aged between 9 and 13,located in Cheddar, Somerset, England.The school, which was established in 1976,...
, a middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
categorised as a middle-deemed-secondary school, has 510 pupils between 9 and 13. Fairlands takes children moving up from Cheddar First School as well as other first schools in the Cheddar Valley. The Kings of Wessex School, a coeducational comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, has been rated as "outstanding" by Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
. It has 1,182 students aged 13 to 18, including 302 in the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
. Kings is a faith school
Faith school
A faith school is a British school teaching a general curriculum but with a particular religious character or has formal links with a religious organisation. It is distinct from an institution mainly or wholly teaching religion and related subjects...
linked to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. It was awarded the specialist status
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
of Technology College
Technology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...
in 2001, enabling it to develop its Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
(IT) facilities and improve courses in science, mathematics and design technology. In 2007 it became a foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
, giving it more control over its own finances. The school owns and runs a sports centre and swimming pool, Kings Fitness & Leisure, with facilities that are used by students as well as residents. Community education project I.T. for the Terrified, which was originally set up in Wedmore in 1999, is based in an old cow shed on the school's grounds.
Religious sites
Church of St Andrew, Cheddar
The Church of St Andrew in Cheddar, Somerset, England dates from the 14th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.The church was restored in 1873 by William Butterfield. It contains some 15th-century stained glass and an altar table of 1631...
dates from the 14th century. It was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1873 by William Butterfield
William Butterfield
William Butterfield was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement . He is noted for his use of polychromy-Biography:...
. It is a Grade I listed building and contains some 15th-century stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
and an altar table of 1631. The chest tomb
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
in the chancel is believed to contain the remains of Sir Thomas Cheddar and is dated 1442. The tower, which rises to 100 feet (30 m), contains a bell dating from 1759 made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family
Bilbie family
The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century....
.
There are also churches for Roman Catholic, Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and other denominations, including Cheddar Valley Community Church, who not only meet at The Kings of Wessex School on Sunday, but also have their own site on Tweentown for meeting during the week. The Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
chapel was built in 1831.
Sport
Kings Fitness & Leisure, situated on the grounds of The Kings of Wessex School, provides a venue for various sports and includes a 20-metre swimming pool, racket sport courts, a sports hall, dance studios and a gym. A youth sports festival was held on Sharpham Road Playing Fields in 2009. In 2010 a skateparkSkatepark
A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...
was built in the village, funded by the Cheddar Local Action Team.
Cheddar Football Club, founded in 1892 and nicknamed "The Cheesemen", play in the Somerset County Football League
Somerset County Football League
The Somerset County Football League is a football competition based in England. It sits at step 7 of the National League System. It is a feeder to the Western League Division One and has promoted a club in five of the last seven seasons - Hengrove Athletic, Portishead, Radstock Town, Oldland...
Premier Division. In 2009 plans were revealed to move the club from its present home at Bowdens Park on Draycott Road to a new larger site.
Cheddar Cricket Club was formed in the late 19th century and moved to Sharpham Road Playing Fields in 1964. They now play in the West of England Premier League
West of England Premier League
The West of England Premier League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the West of England and is a designated ECB Premier League....
Somerset Division. Cheddar Rugby Club, who own part of the Sharpham playing fields, was formed in 1836. The club organises an annual Cheddar Rugby Tournament. Cheddar Lawn Tennis Club, was formed in 1924, and play in the North Somerset League and also has social tennis and coaching. Cheddar Running Club organised an annual half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
until 2009.