North Petherton
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{{infobox UK place|
|country = England
|latitude= 51.0909
|longitude= -3.0132
|official_name= North Petherton
|population = 5,190<ref name="pop" />
|shire_district= [[Sedgemoor]]
| shire_county = [[Somerset]]
|region= South West England
|Ambulance= [[South Western Ambulance Service|South Western]]
|constituency_westminster= [[Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)|Bridgwater]]
|post_town= BRIDGWATER|postcode_district = TA6
|postcode_area= TA |dial_code= 01278
|os_grid_reference= ST290329
}}
'''North Petherton''' is a small [[town]] in [[Somerset]], [[England]], situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the [[Quantock hills|Quantocks]], and close to the edge of the [[Somerset Levels]].<ref name="Gathercole">{{cite web | url= http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/cultureheritage/heritage/projects/eus/petherton/index.cfm | title= North Petherton by Clare Gathercole | work= The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey | accessdate= 2007-09-18}}</ref>
The town has a [[population]] of 5,190 ([[As of 2002|2002]] estimate).<ref name="pop">{{cite web | url= http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/statistics/contents/population/estimates/2002mye/ |title= Parish population estimates 2002 | work= Sedgemoor District Council | format= PDF | accessdate= 2007-09-18}}</ref>
Dating from at least the 10th century and an important settlement in [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] times,<ref name="Gathercole" />
North Pertherton became a town only in the late 20th century, until then claiming to be the largest [[village]] in England.
A former market and administrative centre, North Pertherton is now largely a dormitory town for workers in [[Bridgwater]], 3 miles (5 km) to the north east, and [[Taunton]], 8 miles (13 km) to the south west. The centre of the town is designated an ''Area of High [[Archaeology|Archaeological]] Potential'' ([[AHAP]]), and a number of buildings have been given [[listed building]] status.
==Toponymy==
The town is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] as ''Nortperet''. The name derives from the area's location to the north side of the [[River Parrett]], from the [[Latin]] ''Paradæ'' 'barge' and from the Old English ''nor'' ''tun''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first= Stephen |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Somerset Place Names |year=1992 |publisher=Dovecote Press |location= |isbn=1874336032 }}</ref>
==Geography==
North Petherton is situated on one of the historic communication routes through Somerset, and a [[Toll road|turnpike]] through the town was opened between Bridgwater and Taunton in the 1730s. The opening of the nearby [[M5 motorway]] in the 1970s which relieved major traffic jams on the [[A38 road|A38]] through the town, also added to the attraction of the town for [[Commuting|commuters]] and has consequently lead to the construction of several new housing estates. The town lies on the route of the [[Macmillan Ways|Macmillan Way]] [[Long-distance trail|long-distance footpath]].
In 1984 North Petherton was provided with a small [[public library]]. As a result of a revitalised [[Fundraising|fund-raising]] campaign (originally begun decades earlier), this was followed a few years later by the construction of a Community Centre which has since been extended.
The town has the [[Minster (cathedral)|minster]] [[church]] of St Mary the Virgin, with a highly decorated tower which, at {{convert|120|ft|m|0}} high, is claimed to be one of the tallest towers in the [[West Country]]. The building is mainly dated from the 15th century, with a [[minstrel]] gallery from 1623, a peal of six [[Change ringing|bells]], and a clock built in Bridgwater in 1807. It has been designated by [[English Heritage]] as a grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Church of St. Mary | work=Images of England | url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=269339 | accessdate=2007-11-19}}</ref>
The annual ''North Petherton Carnival'' is part of the [[West Country Carnival]] circuit, and takes place in November, on the Saturday after the first Thursday in November. The date of the first [[Carnival]] at [[Bridgwater]] is the preceding Friday, featuring most of the same participants.
The Walnut Tree (rebranded in the 1970s from the [[Duke of Clarence|Clarence]] Hotel, and before that as the New Inn) which now provides the only [[hotel]] accommodation in the town, was formerly in competition with the George Hotel (now closed), where monthly [[Magistrates' Court|petty sessions]] ([[court]] hearings) were formerly held.
===Parish of North Petherton===
The [[Civil parish]] of North Petherton includes the villages of '''North Newton''' (on the route of the [[Bridgwater and Taunton Canal]]) and [[Northmoor Green]] (also known as Moorland) in the Somerset Levels, as well as a number of other smaller settlements. Despite several reductions in size, with land redesignated to neighbouring parishes, North Petherton remains one of the largest parishes in Somerset at {{convert|43|km2|sqmi|1|abbr=on}}, and the largest in Sedgemoor.<ref name="Gathercole" />
===Trade and Industry===
North Petherton used to be a [[market town]], with the right to hold a [[market]] having been granted in 1318, along with the right to an annual [[fair]].
In the past the town hosted a ''Starkey Knight and Ford'' [[brewery]] on Fore Street (demolished in the late 1960s), several [[malt]]ings, a light engineering works (Trig Engineering, since moved to the Huntworth Business Park adjacent to the nearby Junction 25 of the M5 motorway), and in earlier times at least 7 [[watermill]]s.
[[Basket|Basket making]] and the manufacture of associated products including [[Somerset Levels#Willow|wicker]] furniture, was also a significant industry, at one time employing over 100 people in small factories and homes, until its decline in the second half of the 20th century. The products were distributed nationally via the [[railway]] station at Bridgwater. Nearby King's Cliff formerly provided a source of building stone for the town dating from at least [[Medieval]] times. The production of cloth and leather goods also used to take place in the town, the former being commemorated in the name of the road known as Dyer's Green.
Local employment is now largely restricted to [[Service sector|service businesses]] and [[Agriculture|farming]]. The extensive [[cider]] [[orchard]]s that used to surround much of the town in the 19th century had largely disappeared by the end of the 20th.
This is until most recently, with a new development of an extensive [[Cattle Market]] and [[Dairy]] just on the outskirts of the town. This will be the long term replacement of the cattle markets in both Taunton and Bridgwater. Development is on going and is scheduled for completion nearing the end of 2007.
==History==
A minor skirmish of the [[English Civil War]] took place in August 1644 outside what was then the cornhill, now the area of Fore Street between the Community Centre and the former George Inn.
North Petherton was the first town in [[England]] (and one of the few ever) to be lit by [[acetylene]] gas lighting, supplied by the ''North Petherton Rosco Acetylene Company'' (dating from at least 1898), operating from a plant in Mill Lane which has since been demolished to form a [[car park]] for the local doctor's surgery. The adjacent church was the first building supplied, no doubt acting as a useful advert. Street lights were provided in 1906. Acetylene was replaced in 1931 by [[Syngas|coal gas]] produced in Bridgwater, as well as by the provision of an [[electricity]] supply.<ref name="bho">{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18684 |title=North Petherton |accessdate=2007-11-19 |format= |work=British History Online }}</ref>
===Royal Forest of North Petherton===
The former Royal [[Forest]] (hunting ground) of North Petherton dated from long before the [[Norman Conquest]] until the 17th century, and was expanded by [[Henry II of England|Henry II]].<ref name="Gathercole" />
[[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (~1343-1400), author of ''[[Canterbury Tales|The Canterbury Tales]]'' was appointed Deputy Forester of the Royal Forest of North Petherton towards the end of his life.<ref name="localhist"/>
===Hundred of North Petherton===<!-- This section is linked from [[Bridgwater]] -->
The Royal Forest was probably similar in area to the [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] [[Hundred (division)|Hundred]] of North Petherton.<ref name="bho"/> At the time of the Norman invasion the Hundred covered a large area corresponding, today, roughly to a north–south corridor along the M5 motorway from Junction 25 near [[Taunton]], to north of Junction 23 at [[Stretcholt]], and east–west from [[Athelney]] to [[Goathurst]].
===The Alfred Jewel===
The [[Alfred Jewel]], an object about 2.5 inch long, made of filigreed gold, [[cloisonné]]-enamelled and with a rock crystal covering, was found in 1693 at Petherton Park, North Petherton.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/AlfJewel.html | work = The Anglo Saxon Index, Trinity College, Cambridge | title= Replicas of the Alfred Jewel | accessdate= 2007-09-18}}</ref>
Believed to have been owned by [[Alfred the Great]]<ref name="localhist">{{cite web |url=http://www.nthpetherton.co.uk/history.htm |title= Local History|accessdate=2007-11-19 |format= |work=North Petherton }}</ref> it is thought to have been the handle for a pointer that would have fit into the hole at its base and been used while reading a book. It is inscribed, "AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN," ("Alfred had me made"). It may be one of the "aestels" Alfred had sent to each bishopric with a copy of his translation of Pope [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory the Great]]'s book Pastoral Care. A replica of the jewel can be found in the church of St Mary.
==North Petherton School==
North Petherton has two schools, North Petherton juniors and North Petherton infants, the headteacher of the infants is Mary Harvey and the head of the juniors is Louise Chamberlain.
==See also==
*[[Baron Harding of Petherton]]
*[[South Petherton]]
*[[Forests in the United Kingdom]]
*[[:Category:Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.nthpetherton.co.uk/ North Petherton local history]
*[http://www.northpethertoncarnival.co.uk North Petherton Carnival]
*[http://www.north-petherton-rfc.co.uk/ North Petherton Rugby Football Club]
*[http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/cultureheritage/heritage/projects/eus/petherton/ North Petherton archaeology & history]
*[http://www.somerset.gov.uk/council/DivisionProfiles/North%20Petherton.pdf 1998 North Petherton Electoral Division - population statistics and map (PDF file)]
{{Somerset}}
[[Category:Towns in Somerset]]
[[Category:Sedgemoor]]
[[Category:West Country Carnival]]
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