Tintinhull Village Welcome Pack Tintinhull House (National Trust) Crown & Victoria Public House Tintinhull (Aerial view) 1 Tintinhull Welcome Pack (Version 5) Welcome to Tintinhull On behalf of the Parish Council, I offer you a warm welcome to Tintinhull. We hope that the information given in this Welcome Pack will help you to settle more comfortably into your new home and the village. Neighbours usually become your first contacts and advisors, but please feel free to telephone any of the Councillors or Clerk for information and help. As residents, we trust that you will quickly become and feel part of this community. We have tried to gather as much useful local information as possible, but would be pleased to hear any suggestions or improvements you might have about this pack. More local information is available via our website and through its links to other local websites. Also the website carries the most up to date version of this document. We wish you many happy years in Tintinhull and hope that you will join with us in creating a vibrant and friendly community. James Pullen Chairman of the Parish Council Contents Page History of Tintinhull 3 Parish Map 5 Your Parish Councillors 6 Parish Council Meetings 6 Village Web Site 6 Village magazine 6 Parish Plan / Village Design Statement 7 Other Village Representatives 7 St Margaret’s Parish Church 7 Other religious establishments 7 Village Hall 7 Health facilities (Doctors and Dentists) 8 Vets 9 Local shops and Garden Centres 9 Education 10 Emergency Services - Police 10 Post Office 11 Public Transport 11 Sport and Recreation 11 Library 12 Recycling and Civic Amenity Sites 12 Tintinhull Clubs and Societies 13 Where to socialise 14 Nearby Supermarkets and Large Stores 14 Local shopping options 14 Local Attractions 15 Some useful Telephone Numbers 15 2 Tintinhull Welcome Pack (Version 5) Geography, historical background and village development Tintinhull is a popular and attractive conservation village lying in a rural part of South Somerset, adjacent to the ancient Fosse Way now partly followed by the A303. The village is approximately four miles northwest of Yeovil and three miles southwest of the one-time Roman town of Ilchester. In addition to modern roadways, ancient pathways connect Tintinhull with the Fosse Way, Ilchester and with Montacute two miles to the south. Tintinhull itself is sited on a low promontory set slightly inland from the Somerset Levels, between the River Yeo and Bearley Brook to the northwest and Wellhams Brook a tributary of the River Parrett, to the south. Roads, lanes and tracks radiate from the centre of the village and place it in a clear relationship with the cultivated higher land and the lower grazing areas. The village lies close to Ham Hill, the largest hill fort in Britain, and approximately half way between Yeovil and Martock. In addition to being once the centre of an agricultural community, Tintinhull has featured gloving as a significant local industry since the Middle Ages. In the 1870’s a glove factory was set up, but closed down in 2001 and converted to apartments. 19th century residential expansion of the village to accommodate the factory workers took advantage of accessible high ground along Queen Street with the building of a terraced row of dwellings. Subsequently further housing needs lead to the development along Montacute Road, towards Wellhams Brook, and to the creation of Thurlocks and Southcombe Way. There are several small outlying groups of houses, particularly at Bearley (roughly 3/4 mile on the north side of the A303). For a village of its size, Tintinhull has a rich variety of facilities and amenities. There is a Church of England voluntarily aided primary school with about 90 pupils on roll. The school occupies a 1980’s building and has a hard playground, plus a large adjoining grass play area. The parish church, St Margaret’s, built in the 13th Century avoided the fate of many similar parishes in Somerset so it retains substantial evidence of each of the Gothic building styles. Part of the tower was added about 100 years later and the church was then finished in the early 16th century. With a peal of 5 bells, the church is floodlit during evening hours of darkness. Churchwardens’ accounts survive unbroken for 245 years 1432-1678, and provide a flavour of village life. The village has a public house, a working men's club, a residential home for the retired, boarding kennels and cattery, riding, livery stables and a garage. There is also a village hall with its own car park. The hall is used by many organisations including a Drama Group, Pre-school and many other clubs. Other activities are catered for in the village - and in particular football clubs enjoy the use of a large sports field and pavilion. Allotments alongside the sports field are currently under-subscribed. The recreation ground in the village centre includes two excellent hard tennis courts and an open air heated swimming pool. The pool was first constructed before World War II, but has been extensively modernised to include filtration and heating. The village has its own magazine, available via subscription, first produced in 1953 and circulated to over 200 households. There is a well-supported 10km run each summer and also a strong Royal British Legion branch, which combines with the nearby village of Chilthorne Domer. The branch holds a popular annual autumn flower show. 2011 saw the launch of a highly successful Open Gardens scheme, which intends to run biennially. One of the largest organisations by membership is the Tintinhull Local History Group, which has its own web site http://www.tintinhull-localhistory.org.uk/. Character of the village In the heritage heart of Tintinhull, in addition to the Village Green other open grassed areas include the recreation ground with the tennis courts, child’s play ground and the open air swimming pool. These together with a variety of established trees of differing ages, provide a conspicuous example of the virtue of preserving open space within a village. It is a characteristic that has also been reflected in the layout of the developments in the southern part of the village, much of which overlooks open countryside and the large sports ground. Historic buildings, many of the 16/17C and of architectural distinction, occupy much of the residential space around the central open area. Almost all construction here is of Hamstone, forming the core of the Tintinhull Conservation Area, which extends for several hundred yards in all directions to encompass other distinctive examples of centuries old architecture including the church, Tintinhull House (a National Trust property with a renowned garden) and Tintinhull Court (the former parsonage house, partly dating back to the 12th century). The area includes the village's public house, village hall and working men's club and reaches out almost as far as the edge of the village school's grounds. Within the Conservation Area several footpaths and lanes lead from Farm Street and Church Street to adjoining pasture land and adjacent villages. 3 Tintinhull Welcome Pack (Version 5) In the north of the Conservation Area, Queen Street runs half a mile from the village centre to meet the A303. Housing is an interesting and varied mixture of old and new, with most of the road frontage now occupied. To the south of the village green, along St Margaret's Road and Vicarage Street, as far as and including Head Street, in-filling has taken up virtually all accessible frontage up to the existing approved development boundary, with predominantly modern houses and bungalows, mostly constructed of artificial stone. Further south, in Montacute Road, Thurlocks and Southcombe Way, housing is in some respects more uniform. More use has been made here of brick or rendered facing. Besides the former glove factory, the southern part of the village includes a childrens’ playground, cricket and football field and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), adjoined by an area of public allotments. Demographics The following data are extracted from the ONS 2001 census records (1991 in parentheses). 2011 census data will be available after July 2012. The village is recorded as having 408 (360) dwellings. Of these 66% (54%) were owner occupied. The remainder were rented, 20% (25%) forming part of Housing Association properties. There were 970 (1,000) inhabitants, 20% being children under the age of 16 and 18% (20%) of pensionable age. A more detailed version of the above is included with the Tintinhull Community Plan a copy of which is enclosed with this Welcome Pack 4 Tintinhull Welcome Pack (Version 5) . Map of Tintinhull Village and Parish Boundary (Blue Line) Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright 2012 5 Tintinhull Welcome Pack (Version 5) Your Parish Councillors Name Portfolio James Pullen Chairman, Sport Fields & Allotments (Chairman) Toby Banks Recreation Ground & Swimming Pool Representative Simon Cox Vice Chairman, Youth Club Representative & Village Website Peter Cushion Recreation Ground & Swimming Pool Representative Stephen Rights Of Way, Tree Warden Readwin David Trott Youth Club Reprehensive & Sports Fields Geoff Stone Highways Alex Perham Philip Horsington Highways E mail contact Parish Councillors can be contacted by e mail via a link on the web site http://www.tintinhull.net/parishcouncil/councillors The Parish Clerk - Heather Bryant Northay House, Northay, Chard, Somerset, TA20 3DN Tel: 01460 234770 Email: [email protected] Parish Council Meetings Council Meetings are held on the third Monday of the month at 7:30 pm in the Blue Room of the Village Hall. Notice of the meeting is posted on the village notice boards a week in advance and members of the public are welcome to attend. The Parish Annual Assembly takes place on the third Monday in April.