Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan
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Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal South Somerset District Council March 2012 Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan This document was drafted by Forum Heritage Services for South Somerset District Council March 2012 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ South Somerset District Council March 2012 2 Contents Part 1: Introduction Purpose and Scope of Study Consultation Planning Policy Context Part 2: Appraisal Sumary of Special Interest Location and Setting Historic Development and Archaeology Settlement Plan Archaeological Potential Spatial Analysis Character Areas: 1. Church and Vicarage (Northover) 2. Roman Road 3. Market Place environs 4. High Street 5. Church Street and Free Street Architectural and historic qualities of buildings Activity: prevailing and former uses Contribution made by key unlisted buildings Prevalent local and traditional materials Local details Contribution made by green spaces, trees, hedges and natural boundaries Key views, vistas and panoramas Degree of loss of architectural and/or historic elements Negative elements Conclusion Part 3: Management Plan Vulnerable buildings and Buildings at Risk Listed buildings Unlisted buildings Article 4 Directions Boundary revisions Proposals for enhancement Bibliography and references Consultation Glossary Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Part 1: Introduction should be designated as conservation areas…’ Purpose and Scope of study In response to these statutory The Ilchester Conservation Area requirements, this document defines Appraisal and Management Plan are and records the special architectural and seen as the first steps in a dynamic historic interest of the conservation area process, the aim of which is to preserve and identifies opportunities for and enhance the character and enhancement. It is in conformity with appearance of the Ilchester English Heritage guidance as set out in Conservation Area and to provide a Understanding Place: Conservation basis for making sustainable decisions Area Designation, Appraisal and about its future management. Management (2011). The appraisal and management plan The South Somerset Local Development aims to: Framework and the saved policies from the South Somerset Local Plan • Identify those elements of Ilchester (Adopted 2006) form the current which contribute to its character (October 2011) context for the • Identify elements which detract from conservation area policies. Overarching the character national policy on the protection and • Propose measures to maintain or management of conservation areas and improve the positive character, local the historic environment in general is distinctiveness and sense of place of contained in The National Planning Ilchester Policy Framework. Planning Policy Context: Section 69 1(a) and 2 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) defines Conservation Areas as: ‘Areas of special architectural and historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’ In addition, the Act puts particular emphasis on specific duties: ‘It shall be the duty of the local authority from time to time to review the past exercise of functions under this section and to determine whether any parts or any further parts of their area ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ South Somerset District Council March 2012 4 Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Part 2: Appraisal MAP 1: Ilchester Conservation Area ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ South Somerset District Council March 2012 5 Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Summary of special interest resultant spaces and sense of enclosure; the scale, design, type and The well-defined and consistently high materials of the buildings; boundaries quality townscape, combined with a very and the public realm; landmarks, views high quality historic building stock and and vistas, and the interaction with the relatively high number of listed natural features and the present and buildings, are the key characteristics of former pattern of activities and land the Ilchester Conservation Area. The uses. It is the particular mix of these conservation area is generally in a elements which gives Ilchester its reasonable condition. Most of the character, namely: buildings, both listed and unlisted, are in a reasonable condition and retain most • The historic street plan, layered or their early fabric or have been through with historic interventions sympathetically altered or refurbished. and influences from the Roman period onwards Material use and specification will be an • The open rural landscape setting, important part of maintaining and particularly full and glimpsed views enhancing the character and from the conservation area appearance of the conservation area • The well-defined townscape with particularly in relation to new strong building lines throughout development. • The use of Blue Lias stone for walling material and boundary walls Trees, where found form a very (often with Ham stone dressings) important part of the character and • The rich and varied use of roof appearance of the conservation area materials, particularly the presence and sit in important open semi-public or of a number of different styles of private spaces (gardens). They form a red/orange clay tile dynamic part of the townscape, with its • The consistent scale within streets mix of built frontages interspersed with and maintaining of historic plot greenery, particularly Church Street. boundaries Key open spaces to the edges of the • The understated but important mix of conservation area are vital to the sense uses to the central core of the town sitting within an open • The views to the river from the landscape setting of gently rolling historic bridge countryside. • The unusual octagonal tower of the church of St Mary Major and its The commercial core to the town is townscape significance on glimpsed understated but essential to the vitality views within the conservation area and vibrancy of the conservation area. • The presence of independent cafes, The mix of sash and casement specialist shops, restaurants and public windows often providing some houses should be maintained, supported indication of the status and and encouraged if Ilchester is to retain importance of the host building • its charm and essential town role and The Market Place and the survival of scale. an early weigh-bridge and the classically inspired market cross In summary, the character of a which act as focal points within the conservation area stems from: the town landscape setting of the area; the grouping of traditional buildings and the ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ South Somerset District Council March 2012 6 Ilchester Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan • The open character of the gardens west of the town (forming part of the Yeo to the rear of High Street backing valley floodplain ), whilst a low shoulder onto Priory Road of land that defines the southern side of • The presence of stone boundary the Yeo river valley lies to the east, walls throughout the conservation rising toward Limington ( Limington Hill ). area, a reflection of the true The landscape features of this abrupt vernacular characteristics of locally and immediate rural edge form the wider distinctive materials context of the conservation area and • The use of colour in places to form part of views out of the enliven and enrich the townscape conservation area. To the north the character and define architectural setting is less well-defined and elements of some buildings comprises the low rise of ground above Northover ( North low hills ), leaving the Location and setting raised section of the A303 road and Puddi Moor to provide a wider setting to Ilchester lies five miles north of Yeovil, in the north. south-east Somerset. The town is situated on the flood plain of the River The North low hills comprise an intricate Yeo (also known as the Ivel) where the landscape in terms of scale, containing B3151, which lies on the line of the small fields and copse plantings, whilst Roman road the Foss Way, crosses the the course of the mill stream remains in river. Another former Roman road from place. To the south of Hainbury, the Dorchester and leading north-west fields are open and primarily pasture, towards the Mendips joins the Foss Way with hedgerows trimmed low, allowing a at Ilchester for a short distance sense of open moorland to sweep up northwards before forking off to the close to the edge of the town’s north-west beyond Northover. The Foss conservation area. Way, the former main road through Ilchester has been superseded by the The conservation area’s historic open A303 dual carriageway which by-passes aspect to the south is now severed by the town to the west with a link to the the A37 link, leaving a narrow strip of Dorchester road to the south of the land between road and urban edge that town. Several historic droveways is dominated by the edge of the built running between Ilchester and the levels settlement and transport infrastructure. around Muchelney to the west leave from the western edge of the settlement. Over rising ground to the east of Both the Leland Trail and Monarch’s Ilchester Conservation