Sharpham is a village and civil parish on the Somerset Levels near Street and Glastonbury in the county of Somerset, England.
It is located near the River Brue.
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.
For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the parish comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Mendip District (established under the Local Government Act 1972). It was part of Wells Rural District before 1974.
It is also part of the Wells and Mendip Hills 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.
Sharpham Park estate
Sharpham Park is a historic park with evidence of use dating back to the
Bronze Age. The first known reference is a grant by King Edwy to the then Aethelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was conferred by the soon-to-be King John I to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of
Jane Seymour; the Thynne family of
Longleat; and the family of Sir Henry Gould. The house is now a private residence and Grade II*
listed building.
It was the birthplace of Sir
Edward Dyer (1543–1607) an
Elizabethan era poet and courtier, the writer
Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould (1715–1799). Also home to the Laver family, one of the largest cattle dealers in the west country in the nineteenth century.
The Sharpham Park estate is now owned by Roger Saul, founder of the Mulberry Company fashion company, and produces organic foods specialising in spelt (an ancient cereal grain).
Sharpham Moor Plot
Nearby is the Sharpham Moor Plot Site of Special Scientific Interest, where detailed plant records exist from as far back as 1915, and continue up to the present day.
Peat extraction
Peat extraction is still active around the village.
This has been a significant industry for many years in the surrounding villages of
Meare, Shapwick,
Ashcott, and Walton on
Westhay Moor, and is remembered at the Peat Moors Centre at
Westhay.
External links
