Mendip District

Mendip was a local government district of Somerset in England. The district covered a largely rural area of  with a population of approximately 112,500, ranging from the Wiltshire border in the east to part of the Somerset Levels in the west. The district took its name from the Mendip Hills. The administrative centre of the district was Shepton Mallet but the largest town was Frome.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, along with Frome, Shepton Mallet, and Street urban districts, and Frome Rural District, Shepton Mallet Rural District, Wells Rural District, part of Axbridge Rural District and part of Clutton Rural District.

On 1 April 2023, the district was abolished and became part of Somerset Council, a unitary authority.

Toponymy
Several explanations for the name Mendip have been suggested. Its earliest known form is Mendepe in 1185. One suggestion is that it is derived from the medieval term . However, A D Mills derives its meaning from Celtic , meaning mountain or hill, with an uncertain second element, perhaps Old English  in the sense of upland, or plateau.

An alternative explanation is that the name is cognate with Mened (Welsh ), a Brythonic term for upland moorland. The suffix may be a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon , meaning a valley. Possible further meanings have been identified. The first is 'the stone pit' from the Celtic  and  in reference to the collapsed cave systems of Cheddar. The second is 'Mighty and Awesome' from the Old English  and .

Governance

Until 2023, Mendip district fell under the jurisdiction of Mendip District Council. At the 2019 local elections, no party gained overall control.

As of March 2022, the council had 23 Liberal Democrats, 12 Conservatives, 10 Greens, and 2 Independents.

Abolition
On 1 April 2023, the council was abolished and replaced by Somerset Council, a unitary authority for the area previously served by Somerset County Council. Elections for the new council took place in May 2022, and it ran alongside Mendip and the other councils until their abolition in April 2023.

Settlements

The five main settlements of the former Mendip council were Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Street and Wells. Frome, Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet were the only towns in the district, with Wells having city status and Street maintaining its status as a village despite a population in excess of 11,000.

Other villages and hamlets included:

 Ashwick
 Baltonsborough – Batcombe – Beckington – Binegar – Bleadney – Bowlish – Buckland Dinham – Burcott – Butleigh – Butleigh Wootton
 Chantry – Charterhouse – Chelynch – Chesterblake – Chewton Mendip – Chilcompton – Coleford – Coxley – Cranmore – Croscombe
 Dean – Dinder – Ditcheat – Doulting – Draycott – Dulcote
 East Lydford – East Pennard – Easton – Emborough – Evercreech
 Farleigh Hungerford – Faulkland
 Godney – Great Elm – Green Ore
 Henton – Highbury – Holcombe – Hornblotton – Horrington – Huxham Green
 Kilmersdon
 Lamyatt – Leigh-on-Mendip – Leighton – Litton – Lydford-on-Fosse
 Maesbury – Meare – Mells
 Nettlebridge – North Wootton – Norton St Philip – Nunney
 Oakhill – Oldford
 Pilton – Polsham – Prestleigh – Priddy – Pylle
 Rode – Rodney Stoke
 Southway – Standerwick – Ston Easton – Stratton-on-the-Fosse – Stoke St Michael – Stoney Stratton
 Thrupe – Trudoxhill
 Upton Noble
 Vobster
 Walton – Wanstrow – Waterlip – West Compton – West Lydford – West Pennard – West Woodlands – Westbury-sub-Mendip – Westcombe – Westhay – Whatley – Wookey – Wookey Hole – Worminster – Witham Friary
 Yarley

Parishes

Transport

Major roads
 A37 from Bristol to Yeovil
 A361 from the M5 to Frome
 A371 from Weston-super-Mare to Wincanton
 A39 from Bath to Bridgwater

Railway stations 
 Frome, served by Great Western Railway on the Heart of Wessex Line and Reading to Taunton Line
 Served by the East Somerset Railway:
 Cranmore
 Cranmore West
 Merryfield Lane
 Mendip Vale

See also

 Grade I listed buildings in Mendip
 Grade II* listed buildings in Mendip
 List of scheduled monuments in Mendip
 2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England

References

External links
Official website, archived in March 2023

 
Former non-metropolitan districts of Somerset
1974 establishments in England
2023 disestablishments in England