Hunstrete
Encyclopedia
Hunstrete is a small village on the River Chew
in the Chew Valley
, Bath and North East Somerset
, England
. It falls within the civil parish
of Marksbury
and is 8 miles from Bristol
, and Bath, and 5 miles from Keynsham
.
Although occupation during the Iron Age
is possible the earliest evidence are Roman coins from the emperor Carausius
, and continuous occupation during the Saxon period may have been connected with the nearby Wansdyke
. A charter of 936 suggests the land was given to a thegn
by the name of Ethelelm by Æthelstan. The manor was granted to Glastonbury Abbey
who held it until the dissolution of the monasteries
in 1539 when it was forfeit to the crown and granted to Richard Watkins. At the beginning of the 17th century it passed to the family of Sir John Popham, whose descendants sold off portions of land in the intervening years but owned Hunstrete House until 1977.
Ward, which is represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset
Unitary Authority
, which has responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. The village is a part of North East Somerset
, and part of the South West England constituency
of the European Parliament.
, Marksbury
, Woollard
and Chewton Keynsham
), had 1,111 residents, living in 428 households, with an average age of 44.5 years. Of these 71% of residents describing their health as 'good', 21% of 16-74 year olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.0% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 22,100 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.
and an icehouse
which is also a listed building.
In September 2007 a team from the television programme Time Team
visited Hunstrete to explore stories about the "Grand Mansion" which preceded the current house. It is thought that Francis Popham
, a descendant of Sir John Popham, started the construction of a 17-bay mansion; however this was abandoned after his death in 1780, and the construction which had taken place was demolished in 1830, leaving just a line of arches. The building material was used in the restoration of Prior Park
in Bath. The excavations undertaken tried to identify whether there was a previous medieval or Tudor
manor house on the site. The programme was aired on 17 February 2008, and showed that the 1780 mansion was really the addition of a new exterior to a previous building.
from an earlier large house, dating from c.1700.
River Chew
The River Chew is a small river in England. It merges with the River Avon after forming the Chew Valley.The spring from which the Chew rises is just upstream from Chewton Mendip. The river flows North West from Chewton Mendip through Litton, Chew Valley Lake, Chew Stoke, Chew Magna and Stanton Drew...
in the Chew Valley
Chew Valley
The Chew Valley is an area in North Somerset, England, named after the River Chew, which rises at Chewton Mendip, and joins the River Avon at Keynsham...
, Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It falls within the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Marksbury
Marksbury
Marksbury is a small village and civil parish in Somerset about from Keynsham and from Bath on the A39 where it meets the A368. The parish, which includes the villages of Hunstrete and Stanton Prior, has a population of 399.- History :...
and is 8 miles from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and Bath, and 5 miles from Keynsham
Keynsham
Keynsham is a town and civil parish between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, south-west England. It has a population of 15,533.It was listed in the Domesday Book as Cainesham, which is believed to mean the home of Saint Keyne....
.
History
The origin of the name Hunstrete is unclear. One explanation is that it means 'The hundred road' from the Old English hund and street. Other possible derivations are the personal name hund and Old English steort meaning a projecting piece of land or hund meaning hound or dog relating to the place where they were kept.Although occupation during the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
is possible the earliest evidence are Roman coins from the emperor Carausius
Carausius
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian...
, and continuous occupation during the Saxon period may have been connected with the nearby Wansdyke
Wansdyke (earthwork)
Wansdyke is a series of early medieval defensive linear earthworks in the West Country of England, consisting of a ditch and a running embankment from the ditch spoil, with the ditching facing north. It runs at least from Maes Knoll in historic Somerset, a hillfort at the east end of Dundry Hill...
. A charter of 936 suggests the land was given to a thegn
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
by the name of Ethelelm by Æthelstan. The manor was granted to Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
who held it until the dissolution of the monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1539 when it was forfeit to the crown and granted to Richard Watkins. At the beginning of the 17th century it passed to the family of Sir John Popham, whose descendants sold off portions of land in the intervening years but owned Hunstrete House until 1977.
Government and politics
Hunstrete is part of the FarmboroughFarmborough
Farmborough is a small village and civil parish, south west of Bath in Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,103.- History :The parish of Farmborough was part of the Keynsham Hundred,...
Ward, which is represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
Unitary Authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, which has responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. The village is a part of North East Somerset
North East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
North East Somerset is a county constituency created by the Boundary Commission for England as the successor seat to the Wansdyke Parliamentary Seat. It came into being at the 2010 general election.- Boundaries :...
, and 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.
Demographics
According to the 2001 Census, the Farmborough Ward (which includes Compton DandoCompton Dando
Compton Dando is a small village and civil parish on the River Chew in the Chew Valley in England. It is in the District of Bath and North East Somerset and ceremonial county of Somerset, and lies from Bristol, from Bath, and from Keynsham...
, Marksbury
Marksbury
Marksbury is a small village and civil parish in Somerset about from Keynsham and from Bath on the A39 where it meets the A368. The parish, which includes the villages of Hunstrete and Stanton Prior, has a population of 399.- History :...
, Woollard
Woollard
Woollard is a small village on the River Chew in the Chew Valley in England. It is in the District of Bath and North East Somerset and the ceremonial county of Somerset, and is from Bristol, from Bath, and from Keynsham....
and Chewton Keynsham
Chewton Keynsham
Chewton Keynsham is a small village on the River Chew in the Chew Valley, Somerset. It is 7 miles from Bristol, 7 miles from Bath, and 2 miles from Keynsham.The village lies on the Monarch's Way long distance footpath.- Government and politics :...
), had 1,111 residents, living in 428 households, with an average age of 44.5 years. Of these 71% of residents describing their health as 'good', 21% of 16-74 year olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.0% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 22,100 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.
Hunstrete House
Hunstrete House is a Grade II listed building dating from 1820. In its grounds are Hunstrete LakeHunstrete Lake
Hunstrete Lake is a mature lake of . Two new lakes of where constructed alongside in the 1990s. They are situated just to the south of the village of Hunstrete, Somerset; south of Bristol, and west of Bath...
and an icehouse
Icehouse (building)
Ice houses were buildings used to store ice throughout the year, prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.During the...
which is also a listed building.
In September 2007 a team from the television programme Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
visited Hunstrete to explore stories about the "Grand Mansion" which preceded the current house. It is thought that Francis Popham
Francis Popham
Sir Francis Popham was an English soldier and politician.Francis Popham was the only son of Sir John Popham and was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and the Middle Temple...
, a descendant of Sir John Popham, started the construction of a 17-bay mansion; however this was abandoned after his death in 1780, and the construction which had taken place was demolished in 1830, leaving just a line of arches. The building material was used in the restoration of Prior Park
Prior Park
Prior Park is a Palladian house, designed by John Wood, the Elder in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen, on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
in Bath. The excavations undertaken tried to identify whether there was a previous medieval or Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
manor house on the site. The programme was aired on 17 February 2008, and showed that the 1780 mansion was really the addition of a new exterior to a previous building.
Other buildings of note
Other Grade II listed buildings in the area are a pair of mid-nineteenth-century cottages, and a fragment of an arcadeArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
from an earlier large house, dating from c.1700.