Barwick is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Yeovil in the South Somerset district and on the border with Dorset. The parish, which includes the village of Stoford has a population of 1,289.

History

The earliest signs of habitation in the area were the relics of a Bronze Age burial which were found in 1826, a little to the north of the village of Stoford, which may be a Saxon name derived from Stow-Ford.

Settlement may go back as far as Saxon times, the earliest mention of Barwick being in 1185.

In the Middle Ages, Stoford was shown as a new town and in an Inquisition or survey of 1273 there were 74 burgages each paying 10d (ten pence) a year. The total population of the borough in 1273 was probably over 500. Stoford kept its borough status for at least 300 years. A Guildhall was mentioned in 1361 and there is proof of a separate borough court. There was still a 'borough of Stoford' in the musters of 1569.

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, 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 South Somerset, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Yeovil Rural District. The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets 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, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Yeovil county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Barwick Park

The estate originally formed part of the property of Syon Abbey, and passed through various hands after the Dissolution in the 1530s.The present house and park are thought to have been built in 1770 by John and Grace Newman, whose relations owned neighbouring Newton Surmaville.

The house was set in pleasure grounds containing a lake and grotto, while the surrounding parkland was ornamented with a Gothic lodge and a group of four follies. In the early 1800s the estate passed to a Yeovil glove manufacturer, George Messiter, and in 1830 the mansion was remodelled in a Jacobean Revival style. An orangery was constructed adjoining the north side at the same period. During the early 1900s the estate again passed through several hands, and for a period in the mid 1950s through to the 1970s the mansion was used as an approved school. During World War II, it was the location of a Prisoner of War camp, initially housing Italian prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign, and later German prisoners after the Battle of Normandy.

In the 1990s the estate was sold to a private owner, and substantial repairs were carried out to the House, orangery, and landscape structures. The site remains in private ownership. [157866]

Barwick Park Follies

Barwick Park boasts four follies. Bought by South Somerset District Council for a nominal £5 when the estate was sold in the early 1990s, these extraordinary follies are something of a mystery. Locals say they were built to give the estate labourers work during a time of depression during the 1820s. They were possibly commissioned by George Messiter of Barwick to mark the park boundaries at the four cardinal points: Jack the Treacle Eater (a stone arch topped by a round tower) to the east, the Fish Tower in the north, Messiter's Cone (also known as the Rose Tower), which is high, at the west end and the Needle to the south. However, paintings of Barwick House in the 1780s, forty years earlier, include two of the follies.

Transport

The parish contains Yeovil Junction railway station, which runs on the London–Exeter line.

Religious sites

The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene is located just off the A37 on the western end of the village, about half a mile away from the main centre of population.

The church was built at the turn of the thirteenth century and continues to offer weekly worship today. No longer with a resident vicar, these days the parish is part of the benefice of Holy Trinity, Yeovil.

The most architecturally significant feature of the church are the bench ends, dating from 1533 - the very eve of the English Reformation. The bench ends depicts scenes from village life as well as typical religious symbolism from that period such as the Green Man and the unicorn, a symbol of eternal life. There are also religious objects dating back much earlier, presumably from the church originally on the site e.g. the Norman font.

In spite of some re-ordering during the Victorian period, it is still very easy to imagine how the church would have looked almost 500 years ago. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.

Gallery

Image:Barwick Cone.jpg|The ConeImage:Jack The Treacle Eater 2.jpg|Jack the Treacle EaterImage:Barwick Fish Tower.jpg|Fish TowerImage:RoyalOakStoford.jpg|The Royal Oak in Stoford

References

1. The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Stoford, by Miranda Richardson
2. A Vision of Britain Through Time : Yeovil Rural District