Pitcombe

The name Pitcombe means "the marshy valley".{{cite book|last=Bush|first=Robin|author-link=Robin Bush (historian)|title=Somerset: The Complete Guide|publisher=Dovecote Press|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/168 168]|isbn=1-874336-26-1|url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/168}}

Evidence of prehistoric activity has been found near Godminster Farm, where a Roman coin hoard was also discovered.{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18735 |title=Pitcombe |access-date=24 November 2007 |work=British History Online }}

In the Domesday Book of 1086 the manor was held by Turstin FitzRolf and already had two watermills.

Pitcombe was part of the hundred of Bruton.{{cite web|title=Bruton Hundred|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18728|work=A History of Britain|access-date=23 September 2011}}

It was on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, now disused.

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 South Somerset (established under the Local Government Act 1972). It was part of Wincanton Rural District before 1974.{{cite web|title=Wincanton RD|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10202474|work=A vision of Britain Through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=4 January 2014}}

It is also part of a 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.

Hadspen house and garden is within the parish. The house was built for William Player in the late 17th century, but has undergone several major restorations. It is built of Cary stone ashlar, with a hipped Welsh slate roof behind parapets and stone chimney stacks. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.{{NHLE | desc=Hadspen House | num=1251809 | access-date=24 November 2007}}

There is still a working quarry within the parish of Pitcombe, notably Hadspen Quarry Ltd located in Higher Hadspen. They provide the stone to the locality which gives this area in South Somerset its local unique characteristics of honey coloured buildings.

Gants Mill is an 18th-century watermill with 13th-century origins. It is a Grade II* listed building{{NHLE|num=1251831|desc=Gants Mill|access-date=31 October 2008}} and now has a turbine producing hydroelectricity.

Godminster Manor is a 15th-century manor house which underwent extensive restoration following a fire in 1924.{{NHLE|num=1251806|desc= Godminster Manor|access-date=3 January 2009}}

Cole Manor dates from the 17th century.{{NHLE|num=1251802|desc=Cole Manor|access-date=3 January 2009}}

The dismantled Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway passes through the village over a viaduct. At the north of the village is the old Cole Railway Station.

The village is the home of Bruton School for Girls.

The Newt Estate is a working estate that produces cider.{{Cite web|url=https://thenewtinsomerset.com/|title=Newt | The Newt in Somerset|website=thenewtinsomerset.com}}{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/somerset/hotels/the-newt-in-somerset-hotel/ | title=The Newt in Somerset | newspaper=The Telegraph | date=17 September 2019 }}

The church, dedicated to St Leonard, has a 15th-century tower at the west end containing six bells.{{cite web|title=Pitcombe, Somerset, St Leonard|url=http://www.keltektrust.org.uk/pitcombe.html|publisher=Keltek Trust|access-date=7 November 2015}}{{cite web|title=Churches|url=http://www.brutontown.com/churches/|publisher=Bruton|access-date=7 November 2015}} The church was rebuilt, with the exception of its tower, in 1858. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.{{NHLE | desc=Church of St Leonard | num=1251821 | access-date=24 November 2007}}

• Herbert John "Bert" Pitman MBE (1877–1961), Third Officer on board the Titanic
• Henry Hobhouse (1854–1937) Justice of the Peace and Liberal Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1885 until 1906{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18735 |title=Pitcombe |author=C R J Currie, R W Dunning (Editors), A P Baggs, M C Siraut |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |year=1999 |work=A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 7: Bruton, Horethorne and Norton Ferris Hundreds |access-date=18 June 2013 }}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Pitcombe}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080608005901/http://www.pitcombepc.org.uk/index.php parish council web site]

{{South Somerset}}

Category:Villages in South Somerset

Category:Civil parishes in Somerset