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Cricket St Thomas
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Cricket St Thomas is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley beside the A30 road between Chard and Crewkerne in the South Somerset district.
The village has a population of 50, and is noted for a nearby manor house and estate, home to a wildlife park.
History
The name Cricket St Thomas is not related to the game of cricket, but is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "cruc," meaning a hill or ridge.
The estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is described as "Land of the Count of Martin" paying tax to the king for six hides, or about .
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Encyclopedia
Cricket St Thomas is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley beside the A30 road between Chard and Crewkerne in the South Somerset district.
The village has a population of 50, and is noted for a nearby manor house and estate, home to a wildlife park.
History
The name Cricket St Thomas is not related to the game of cricket, but is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "cruc," meaning a hill or ridge.
The estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is described as "Land of the Count of Martin" paying tax to the king for six hides, or about . It also had two slaves, six villagers, five smallholders and a variety of livestock — all valued at 100 shillings.
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.
The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Chard Rural District. The district council are responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
Somerset County Council are responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the Yeovil 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 part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Church
The parish church is dedicated to St Thomas. It has 14th-century origins, but was almost totally rebuilt around 1868 for Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport. The church contains monuments to the families of Hood (Viscount Bridport) and their predecessors the Viscounts Nelson, who gained the title through Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson. These include, on the chancel south wall, a commemoration of Alexander Hood, who died in 1814, which was designed and signed by Sir John Soane, with a black marble base topped by a white marble monument on Ionic columns framing the memorial plaque. Mounted on the north nave wall is a fragment of the altar cloth used in the Coronation Service of Queen Elizabeth II. The church is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.
In the churchyard is a white marble monument, dating from the early 20th century, showing a figure of St Michael. It commemorates Alexander Nelson Hood, 4th Duke of Bronté, who died in 1904. A note in the church states that for many years the statue was laid flat, as the white figure at night scared too many locals. There are also two 18th-century chest tombs, made from hamstone, one of which commemorates John Northcote, who died in 1738.
Cricket House
Cricket St Thomas manor house, known as Cricket House, has 14th-century origins, but was rebuilt and considerably modified at the beginning of the 19th century for Sir Alexander Hood under the direction of Sir John Soane.
The 19th-century orangery attached to the house was later turned into a parrot house but is now used for bowling by Warner holiday guests.
In the grounds is a small garden house known as The Admirals Seat.
The house was used as "Grantleigh Manor", the setting for the television series To the Manor Born which aired from 1979 to 1981. The Manor House was then owned by the father-in-law of the writer Peter Spence. Despite the closeness depicted on screen, the Manor and Lodge are in fact about one mile (1.6 km) apart.
The Lodge was given additional features such as gateposts to give the impression it was a gatehouse, following various previous alterations. The house was again used as "Grantleigh Manor" in a 25th anniversary special of To The Manor Born shown in 2007.
The grounds of the house, known as Cricket Park, were designed by Capability Brown,
and later turned into a wildlife park. They also became home to Crinkley Bottom, a theme park created by Noel Edmonds. The project was short-lived and was later abandoned. The grounds reverted back to their previous use and the wildlife park, still open to the public, is home to 600 rare and endangered species including lemurs, primates, camels, reptiles and wildfowl.
The manor house was developed into a Warner resort hotel in 1999.
Gallery
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