Hardington Mandeville
Encyclopedia
Hardington Mandeville is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...

 in the South Somerset
South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England.The South Somerset district covers and area of ranging from the borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 158,000...

 district. The village has a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 598.

History

The Hardington part of the name of the village means settlement of Heardred's people.

The manor was held before the Norman Conquest by Gunhilda
Gunhilda of Denmark
Gunhilda of Denmark was the first spouse of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor.-Biography:Gunhilda was a daughter of Canute the Great and Emma of Normandy. Her maternal grandparents were Richard I of Normandy and his second wife Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy.She was a sister of Harthacanute. She was a...

, the sister of Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot was King of England from 1037 to 1040. His cognomen "Harefoot" referred to his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship. He was the son of Cnut the Great, king of England, Denmark, and Norway by Ælfgifu of Northampton...

 and then by William the Conquerer. during the 12th century it was granted to the Mandeville family, from which the second part of the name is taken. It was later held by the Portmans of Orchard Portman
Orchard Portman
Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 150....

.

The parish was part of the hundred of Houndsborough
Houndsborough (hundred)
The Hundred of Houndsborough is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown. Each hundred had a 'fyrd', which acted as the local defence force and a court which...

.

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
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...

 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 town falls within the Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of South Somerset
South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England.The South Somerset district covers and area of ranging from the borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 158,000...

, which was formed on 1 April 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 England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

, having previously been part of Yeovil Rural District
Yeovil Rural District
Yeovil was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894.In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset....

. The district council is 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. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...

 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 and built environment that may affect human health...

, market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...

s and fairs, refuse collection and recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products 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...

, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

.

Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county.-Area covered:...

 is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...

, social services, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, main roads, public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

, policing
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 and fire services, trading standards
Trading Standards
Trading Standards is the name given to local authority departments in the UK formerly known as Weights and Measures. These departments investigate commercial organisations that carry out trade in unethical ways or outside the scope of the law.-History:...

, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Yeovil 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 Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 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 legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 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. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...

 of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it 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 described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...

 of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...

.

Geography

Nearby is the Hardington Moor
Hardington Moor
Hardington Moor is an 8.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Hardington Mandeville and West Coker in Somerset, notified in 1994....

 biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

 where the meadows are examples of species-rich unimproved neutral grassland, which is now nationally rare. The rare French oat-grass is very abundant on the site and the fields are home to a wide variety of plant species, most notably adder's tongue
Ophioglossum
Ophioglossum is a genus of about 25-30 species of Ophioglossales in the family Ophioglossaceae, with a cosmopolitan but primarily tropical and subtropical distribution. The name Ophioglossum comes from the Greek, and means "snake-tongue".Adders-tongues are so-called because the spore-bearing stalk...

, corky-fruited water-dropwort and large numbers of green-winged orchid
Green-winged Orchid
The Green-winged Orchid or Green-veined Orchid is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae....

. Invertebrates found at the site include butterflies such as Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper Butterfly
The Gatekeeper sometimes called the Hedge Brown is a common butterfly in the United Kingdom. It is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae in the family Nymphalidae. A similar species is the Meadow Brown; the two species can be difficult to distinguish with closed wings since underwing markings are...

, Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell
The Small Tortoiseshell is a well-known colourful butterfly.-Range:It is found in temperate Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia, Siberia, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. There are a few records from New York City which, however, are believed to have arrived human-assisted.-Subspecies:*A. u. urticae...

 and Common Blue
Common Blue
The Common Blue is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, widespread over much of the Palaearctic. Recently, Polyommatus icarus was discovered in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada by Ara Sarafian, an amateur entomologist who observed the butterfly from 2005 to 2008...

. Less commonly seen are Large Skipper
Large Skipper
The Large Skipper is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family, which occurs throughout Europe. It was long known as Ochlodes venata, but this is a Far Eastern relative. There is still some dispute whether this species should be considered a distinct species or included in O...

, Green-veined white
Green-veined White
The Green-veined White is a butterfly of the Pieridae family.-Appearance and distribution:A circumboreal species widespread across Europe and Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Japan and the Maghreb and North America...

 and Green Hairstreak
Green Hairstreak
The Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.Callophrys rubi is found in Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia Minor, Siberia, Amurland , Baluchistan and Chitral....

.

Religious sites

The Church of Saint Mary was rebuilt in 1123 on the site of an earlier church. It has had renovation work in the 15th century and again in 1864. The circular font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 is thought to be original dating from 1123, and the clock mechanism was built and installed before 1707. There are 6 bells in the tower, 3 of which are from the Purdue (Closworth
Closworth
Closworth is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated five miles south of Yeovil in the South Somerset district, on the border with Dorset. The village has a population of 192....

) foundry, with the earliest being dated 1591. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.
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