Chipstable#Geography
{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{infobox UK place
|static_image_name=Chipstable.jpg
|static_image_alt=Houses and fields be3side a country lane.
|static_image_caption=Chipstable
|country = England
|coordinates = {{coord|51.0357|-3.3660|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Chipstable
|population = 309
| unitary_england = Somerset Council
| lieutenancy_england = Somerset
|region= South West England
|constituency_westminster= Tiverton and Minehead
|post_town= Taunton
|postcode_district = TA4
|postcode_area= TA
|dial_code=
|os_grid_reference= ST043271
}}
Chipstable is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside Heydon Hill {{convert|10|mi|km|1}} west of Taunton. The parish has a population of 309.{{cite web|title=Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — Summary Profiles|url=http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/files/Somerset%20Census%20Key%20Statistics%20-%20Summary%20Profiles.xls|publisher=Somerset Intelligence|accessdate=4 January 2014|format=Excel}}
The parish includes Raddington and Waterrow.
History
The name Chipstable means "Cippa's post".{{cite book|last=Bush|first=Robin|title=Somerset: The Complete Guide|publisher=Dovecote Press|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/67 67]|isbn=1-874336-26-1|url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/67}}
The manor was held by Muchelney Abbey from the Norman Conquest until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and then passing to the Bluets of Greenham in Stawley. The parishes of Chipstable and Raddington were part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred.{{cite web|title=Somerset Hundreds|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/|publisher=GENUKI|accessdate=23 October 2011}}
The village of Waterrow developed from hamlets called east and west Skirdle.
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 village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Somerset West and Taunton (formed on 1 April 2019) and, before this, the district of Taunton Deane (established under the Local Government Act 1972). From 1894-1974, for local government purposes, Chipstable was part of Wellington Rural District.{{cite web|title=Wellington RD|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10185531|work=A vision of Britain Through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|accessdate=5 January 2014}}
It is also part of the Tiverton and Minehead 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 was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Geography
The parish lies between the Brendon Hills and the River Tone.
Hurstone Farm Woodlands in Waterrow is a woodland on the banks of the River Tone, which has been designated as a local nature reserve. The woodland, hedgerows and open grassland provide a habitat for dormice, otter and several bat species. Bryophyte species include black spleenwort.{{cite web|title=Hurstone Farm Woodlands|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=35&N=&ID=900|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=23 August 2015}}
Religious sites
File:All_Saints_Church,_Chipstable.jpg
The Church of England parish Church of St Michael in Raddington dates from the 13th and 14th centuries and has been designated as a grade I listed building.{{NHLE|num=1060255|desc=Church of St Michael|accessdate=2008-10-17}}
The Church of All Saints in Chipstable village is more recent having been built in the 15th century.{{NHLE|num=1344603|desc=Church of All Saints|accessdate=2008-10-17}} The tower and part of the nave remain from a previous building of about 1239.{{cite web|title=All Saints — Chipstable|url=http://www.wiveychurches.org.uk/waterrow.html|publisher=Church of England|accessdate=18 September 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201070213/http://www.wiveychurches.org.uk/waterrow.html|archivedate=1 February 2012}}
England cricketer Jos Buttler got married here in October 2017.{{cite web|title=Bath & Wells Diocesan Association Chipstable, Somerset|url=https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1193014|publisher=Bell Board|accessdate=2 January 2018}}
Bethel Chapel, was built as a Congregational church in 1890.{{NHLE|num=1344605|desc=Bethel Chapel|accessdate=2009-01-03}}
Waterrow Church Hall was also built in Waterrow in 1908 for the people of Waterrow to save the journey uphill to Chipstable for services. Waterrow Church Hall now provides local church services for the inhabitants of Waterrow and beyond.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Chipstable}}
- [http://www.waterrow.org.uk/ Village web site]
- [http://www.wiveychurches.org.uk/ Church web site]
{{Taunton Deane}}