OS grid reference SS825385 Country England Post town Minehead Local time Tuesday 10:15 PM District West Somerset | Region South West Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district TA24 Shire county Somerset Population 293 (2011) | |
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Weather 8°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 87% Humidity UK Parliament Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency UK parliament constituency Bridgwater and West Somerset | ||
Withycombe is a village and civil parish 2.5 miles (4 km) south east of Dunster, and 5 miles (8 km) from Minehead within the Exmoor National Park in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Rodhuish.
Contents
Map of Withycombe, Minehead, UK
History
On Rodhuish Common, within the parish, is a univallate Iron Age hill fort.
Withycombe was part of the hundred of Carhampton.
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.
The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of West Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Williton Rural District. The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
It is also part of the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency 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 part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Religious sites
The Church of St Nicholas dates from the 13th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. Hidden in a wall recess is a figure of an unknown man with long hair and a hat, which is one of the earliest church monuments to include a hat. He is carrying a heartcase to show he died elsewhere and only his heart was brought to the church for burial.