Chedzoy

History

The village is at the western end of King's Sedgemoor and lies on an 'island' of Burtle marine sands, close to King's Sedgemoor Drain. The area was settled possibly in the Mesolithic period, and timber trackways from the 3rd to 1st millennium B.C. provided routes to other settlements on the Somerset Levels. Roman artifacts have been found in the parish.

The village is very close to the site of the 1685 Battle of Sedgemoor.

The name of the village is pronounced "Chidgey" or "Chedzey", and derives its name from being Cedd's Island. The "zoy" part of the name being derived from eg or ieg meaning island.

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 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.

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Sedgemoor, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Bridgwater Rural District.

It is also part of the Bridgwater 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, and was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs.

Religious sites

The church of St Mary dates from the 13th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. It still bears marks from the forces of the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth Rebellion, who sharpened their swords before battle.

References

References

1. "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles". Somerset Intelligence.
2. "Chedzoy". [[British History Online]].
3. Havinden, Michael. (1981). "The Somerset Landscape". [[Hodder and Stoughton]].
4. Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; CP 40/541; year 1396; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT6/R2/CP40no541a/bCP40no541adorses/IMG_0037.htm, seen as 'Chedesye'; third entry
5. Ekwall, Eilert. (1960). "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names". [[Oxford University Press]].
6. (1992). "Chedzoy". [[Institute of Historical Research]].
7. "Bridgwater RD". University of Portsmouth.
8. {{NHLE
9. Leete-Hodge, Lornie. (1985). "Curiosities of Somerset". Bossiney Books.