- For other meanings, see Wookie
Wookie may refer to:* Wookiee, a hairy alien species in Star Wars* Wookiee, a hairy, unkempt Deadhead named after the Star Wars species.* Wookey, a village and civil parish 2 miles from Wells in Somerset, England...
.
Wookey is a village and
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
west of
WellsWells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral....
, on the
River AxeThe River Axe is a river in south west England. The river rises from the ground at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and runs through a V-shaped valley...
in the
MendipMendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. It covers an area of land ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of...
district of
SomersetSomerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county 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...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is perhaps best known today for the nearby Wookey Hole Caves. The parish includes the village of
Henton and the nearby
hamletsA hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community...
of
Yarley and
Bleadney where the
River AxeThe River Axe is a river in south west England. The river rises from the ground at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and runs through a V-shaped valley...
, travels the length of the village. There used to be a port at Bleadney on the river in the 8th century which allowed goods to be brought to within of Wells.
The name Wookey is thought to come from the Old English
wocig, meaning an animal trap.
- For other meanings, see Wookie
Wookie may refer to:* Wookiee, a hairy alien species in Star Wars* Wookiee, a hairy, unkempt Deadhead named after the Star Wars species.* Wookey, a village and civil parish 2 miles from Wells in Somerset, England...
.
Wookey is a village and
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
west of
WellsWells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral....
, on the
River AxeThe River Axe is a river in south west England. The river rises from the ground at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and runs through a V-shaped valley...
in the
MendipMendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. It covers an area of land ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of...
district of
SomersetSomerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county 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...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is perhaps best known today for the nearby Wookey Hole Caves. The parish includes the village of
Henton and the nearby
hamletsA hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community...
of
Yarley and
Bleadney where the
River AxeThe River Axe is a river in south west England. The river rises from the ground at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and runs through a V-shaped valley...
, travels the length of the village. There used to be a port at Bleadney on the river in the 8th century which allowed goods to be brought to within of Wells.
History
The name Wookey is thought to come from the Old English
wocig, meaning an animal trap. An alternative explanation has been offered which suggests it comes from the Celtic word
ogof meaning cave.
The now-closed
Wookey StationWookey Station is a 0.04 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Wells and Wookey Hole in Somerset, notified in 1997....
, once lying on
Cheddar Valley lineThe Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, that was opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the large volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried....
branch of the
Bristol and Exeter RailwayThe 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....
, is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The village included a manor house built by Bishop
Jocelin of WellsJocelin of Wells, also known as Jocelinus Thoteman or Jocelin Troteman, was a medieval Bishop of Bath and Wells. He was the brother of Hugh de Wells, who became Bishop of Lincoln. Jocelin became a canon of Wells Cathedral before 1200, and was elected bishop in 1206...
in the 13th century. It was rebuilt in the sixteenth century and is now a farmhouse and Grade II*
listed building.
The population in 1821 was 1,040, comprising 223 families, of which 147 were employed in agriculture.
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 watchThe 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 village falls within the
Non-metropolitan districtNon-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As originally created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of
MendipMendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. It covers an area of land ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of...
, which was formed on April 1, 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972The 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 Wells Rural District, who are responsible for
local planningPlanning 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 healthEnvironmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health...
,
marketA 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. It is an arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange things...
s and fairs, refuse collection and
recyclingRecycling involves 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...
, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
.
Somerset County CouncilSomerset 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
educationA Local Education Authority was the part of a local council, or local authority , in England and Wales that was responsible for education within that council's jurisdiction...
, social services,
librariesA library is a collection of sources, resources, 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. In the more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can mean the collection,...
, main roads,
public transportPublic 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.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...
,
policingA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the
WellsWells is a county constituency centred on the city of Wells in Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament to the 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 CommonsThe 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 646 members, who are known as "Members...
of the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
. It elects one
Member of Parliament (MP)A Member of Parliament 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. Members of...
by the first past the post system of election, and part of the
South West England constituencySouth 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 ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union , it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
which elects seven MEPs using the
d'Hondt methodThe d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method is named after Belgian mathematician Victor d'Hondt...
of
party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections returning multiple candidates...
.
Religious sites
St Matthew's churchThe Church of St Matthew in Wookey, Somerset, England dates from the twelfth century and is a Grade I listed building.The church was granted to the dean of Wells by Bishop Robert, rebuilt by Bishop Reginald and assigned to the sub dean of the cathedral in 1209...
dates from the twelfth century and is a Grade I listed building. It was granted to the dean of
WellsWells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral....
by
Bishop RobertRobert or sometimes Robert of Lewes was a medieval Bishop of Bath.-Life:He was a native of England, but his ancestry was Flemish, probably of noble birth. His birthdate and when he became a monk are not known. He was a Cluniac and a monk of Lewes Priory and a protege of Henry of Blois who employed...
, rebuilt by
Bishop ReginaldReginald fitz Jocelin was a medieval Bishop of Bath and an Archbishop of Canterbury-elect in England. A member of an Anglo-Norman noble family, he was the son of a bishop, and was educated in Italy. He was a household clerk for Thomas Becket, but by 1167 he was serving King Henry II of England...
and assigned to the sub dean of the
cathedralWells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....
in 1209. The south chancel is thought to have been built to house the memorial to Thomas Clerke in 1556. Beside the church stands the 19th-century Mellifont Abbey, which is named after the
abbey of the same nameMellifont Abbey , located in County Louth, was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland.-Origins:Founded in 1142 on the orders of Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, Mellifont Abbey sits on the banks of the River Mattock, some ten km from Drogheda.By 1170, Mellifont had one hundred...
in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
.
Notable residents
Wookey was the birthplace of the trade unionist
A.J. CookArthur James Cook , known as A. J. Cook, was a British coal miner and trade union leader. He is remembered as one of the United Kingdom's best known miners’ leaders and a key component of the National Minority Movement around the General Strike of 1926.Born to Todd and Julie Cook on 24 August,...
, and of Sir Arthur Pearson, the publisher and philanthropist.
The science fiction writer and social theorist,
H. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many genres, including contemporary novels, history, and social commentary....
, taught as a pupil-teacher for his uncle at the
National SchoolA national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
, a state-funded Anglican-dominated school in Wookey, between October and December 1880.
External links