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Brent Knoll is a village in Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, at the foot of a hill (correctly referred to as the Knoll at Brent) with a height of 137 metres (450 ft) dominating the low surrounding landscape of the Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels

The Somerset Levels is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, England, between the Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills hills....
. The name means Beacon Hill in Old English.

t Knoll has seen human settlement since at least the Bronze Age
Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
. It is the site of a Iron Age
Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
 hill fort
Hill fort

A hill fort is type of fortification refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age and Iron Ages....
, with multiple ramparts (multivallate) following the contours of the hill, broken only by the main entrance on the eastern side.

Before the Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels

The Somerset Levels is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, England, between the Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills hills....
 were drained, Brent Knoll was an island, known as the Isle (or Mount) of Frogs, that provided a safe haven from the water and marshes. According to legend, Ider son of Nuth, who was one of King Arthur's
King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary Britons leader who, according to medieval histories and Romance , led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century....
 knights, came to the Mount of Frogs on a quest to slay three giants who lived there.

The village of Brent Knoll lies at the south west base of the hill.






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Encyclopedia


Brent Knoll is a village in Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, at the foot of a hill (correctly referred to as the Knoll at Brent) with a height of 137 metres (450 ft) dominating the low surrounding landscape of the Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels

The Somerset Levels is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, England, between the Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills hills....
. The name means Beacon Hill in Old English.

History

Brent Knoll has seen human settlement since at least the Bronze Age
Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
. It is the site of a Iron Age
Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
 hill fort
Hill fort

A hill fort is type of fortification refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age and Iron Ages....
, with multiple ramparts (multivallate) following the contours of the hill, broken only by the main entrance on the eastern side.

Before the Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels

The Somerset Levels is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, England, between the Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills hills....
 were drained, Brent Knoll was an island, known as the Isle (or Mount) of Frogs, that provided a safe haven from the water and marshes. According to legend, Ider son of Nuth, who was one of King Arthur's
King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary Britons leader who, according to medieval histories and Romance , led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century....
 knights, came to the Mount of Frogs on a quest to slay three giants who lived there.

The village of Brent Knoll lies at the south west base of the hill. Between 1875 and 1883 the village name was changed from South Brent to Brent Knoll to avoid rail passenger confusion with the village of South Brent in Devon.

Brent Knoll railway station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway
Bristol and Exeter Railway

The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was friendly to the Great Western Railway, which had been opened between London and Bristol the previous year, and the two railways operated in collaboration....
 operated from 1875 until 4 January 1971.

Governance


The parish council
Parish council

A Parish council is a unit of local government in Great Britain....
 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
Neighbourhood Watch (UK)

The Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the United Kingdom is a partnership where people come together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their neighbourhoods better places to live....
 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
Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially 'shire districts', are a type of Districts of England in England. As originally created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement....
 of Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor

Sedgemoor is a Non-metropolitan district of Somerset in England.A low lying area of land close to sea level between the Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills hills, historically largely marsh and contains the bulk of the area also known as the Somerset Levels, including the World's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track....
, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in the United Kingdom in England and Wales, on 1 April 1974....
, having previously been part of Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge Rural District

Axbridge was a rural district in Somerset, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Axbridge rural sanitary district....
, who are responsible for local planning
Planning permission

Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings....
 and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health
Environmental health

Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural environment and built environment that may affect human health....
, market
Market

A market is any one of a variety of different systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby persons trade, and goods and services are exchanged, forming part of the economy....
s and fairs, refuse collection and recycling
Recycling

Recycling involves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virg...
, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism
Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
.

Somerset County Council are responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education
Local Education Authority

A Local Education Authority is the part of a local government in the United Kingdom, or local authority , in England and Wales that is responsible for education within that council's jurisdiction....
, social services, libraries
Library

A library is a collection of information, sources, resources, books, and services, and the structure in which it is housed: it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual....
, main roads, public transport
Public transport

Public transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire....
, policing
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
 and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Wells
Wells (UK Parliament constituency)

Wells is a county constituency centred on the city of Wells in Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system....
 county constituency represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the British monarchy and the House of Lords ....
 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators....
 by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)

South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 7 Members of the European Parliament using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation....
 of the European Parliament
European Parliament

The European Parliament is the only direct election parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union , it forms the bicameral Institutions of the European Union#Legislature of the Institutions of the European Union and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world....
 which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method

The D'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method is named after Belgium mathematician Victor D'Hondt....
 of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation

Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in multiple-winner elections ....
.

Religious sites


The Church of St Michael dates back to the 11th century but has undergone several renovations since the. The tower contains a bell dating from 1777 and made by William Bilbie of the Bilbie family
Bilbie family

The Bilbie family were bellmaking and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 1600s to the early 1800s....
. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage

English Heritage is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government with a broad remit of managing the historic built environment of England....
 as a grade I listed building
Listed building

A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance....
.

External links