Stoke St Gregory
Stoke St Gregory is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village is on a low ridge of land between the River Tone to the north and West Sedgemoor to the south. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 942. History. The parish of Stoke St Gregory was part of the North Curry Hundred. The manor was held, with North Curry, from 1190 by the dean and chapter of Wells Cathedral. The parish includes the Willows and Wetlands visitor centre which offers  tours of more than 80 acres (0.12 sq mi) of withies, willow yards and basket workshops and explains the place of willow in the history of the Somerset Levels. Lovell's Farm has a withy boiler that was built in 1906. Slough Farmhouse, formerly called Slough Court, was built in the late Middle Ages as a fortified manor house. It is a Grade II* listed building. Governance. The civil parish has a parish council. The parish is in the Non-metropolitan district of Somerset West and Taunton and the non-metropolitan county of Somerset, governed by Somerset County Council. It  was previously in the district of Taunton Deane, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and part of Taunton Rural District before that. Stoke St Gregory is part of Taunton Deane 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. Church and chapel. The Church of England parish of church of St Gregory was built in the 14th century. It has some 15th- and 18th-century features, was twice restored in the  19th century and is a Grade I listed building. There is a set of 17th- or 18th-century stocks in the churchyard. Nearby may be found the grave of Bunny Austin, renowned 1930's tennis champion. The Baptist Church was built in 1895 and has stables at the rear. Williams Hall (The Village Hall). The original hall, a converted barn, had been donated by a Miss Williams in 1931. The objective of the Trust is, in the quaint language of the Trust Deed. "The provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Stoke St  Gregory without distinction of political, religious or other opinions”. The “new” Stoke St Gregory village hall - the Williams Hall - was opened in 2006. The project to replace the old hall was largely funded through the efforts of those in the village who passionately believed in a facility to serve and support the local community.