Chard, Somerset
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chard | ||
  Chard shown within Somerset |
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| Population | 12,008 (2001 Census[1] | |
|---|---|---|
| OS grid reference | ||
| Parish | Chard | |
| District | South Somerset | |
| Shire county | Somerset | |
| Region | South West | |
| Constituent country | England | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
| Post town | CHARD | |
| Postcode district | TA20 | |
| Dialling code | 01460 | |
| Police | Avon and Somerset | |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset | |
| Ambulance | South Western | |
| European Parliament | South West England | |
| UK Parliament | Yeovil
References |
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| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | ||
Chard is a town and civil parish in the county Somerset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Devon border, 15 miles (24 km) south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 12,000 and, at an altitude of 121 metres (397 ft), is the highest town in Somerset and also the southernmost. Administratively Chard forms part of the district of South Somerset.
[edit] History
Chard was the original headquarters of Cerdic, the first King of Wessex. It is considered by some scholars that Cerdic was the basis of the legend of King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table and that Camelot was in the vicinity of Chard.[1]
The Church of St Mary the Virgin dates from the late 11th century and was rebuilt in the 15th century. The tower contains two bells dating from the 1790s and made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family in Cullompton.[2] The three-stage tower has moulded string courses and an angle stair turret in the north west corner. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.[3]
Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577.[4]
In 1685 Chard was one of the towns in which Judge Jeffreys held some of the Bloody Assizes after the failure of the Monmouth Rebellion. Chard claims to be the birthplace of aviation, as it was here in 1848 that the Victorian aeronautical pioneer John Stringfellow (1799-1883) first demonstrated that engine-powered flight was possible.
Chard is a key point on the Taunton Stop Line, a World War II defensive line consisting of pillboxes and anti-tank obstacles, which runs from Axminster north to the Somerset coast near Highbridge.
Chard was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and remained a municipal borough until the Local Government Act 1972, when it became a successor parish in the South Somerset district.
Action Aid the International Development Charity had their headquarters in Chard when they Started life in 1972 as Action in Distress. The Supporters Services department of the charity is still based in Chard.
It was the birthplace in 1812 of William Samuel Henson aviation engineer and inventor and in1873 of the politician Margaret Bondfield.
[edit] Suburbs
Crimchard, Furnham, Glynswood, Old Town
[edit] Twinnings
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Chard Museum
- Hillier Genealogy with links to the Cornelius and Harris families of Chard
- The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Chard
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chard has many schools for such a small town: Avishayes holyrood redstart chard school manor court
