Bishops Lydeard
| Bishops Lydeard | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church |
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 Bishops Lydeard
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| Bishops Lydeard shown within Somerset | |
| Population | 2,839 civil parish (2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST169298 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Taunton |
| Postcode district | TA4 |
| Dialling code | 01823 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Bishops Lydeard is a village and civil parish located in Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Taunton in the district of Taunton Deane. The civil parish had a population of 2,839 persons as recorded in the 2011 census; this figure however includes the village (and now separate parish) of Cotford St Luke.
The village is bypassed, since 1967, by the A358 road; the West Somerset Railway also runs through the area. The hamlet of East Lydeard is less than a mile to the east of the village; west of the village is Sandhill Park, an eighteenth-century country house.
The name of the village probably relates to Gisa, Bishop of Wells, who was one of the principal episcopal landowners of Somerset at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. Lydeard is a compound of two Saxon personal names Lide (Lloyd) and Geard, the latter remaining as a local name, "Yarde". As well as a personal name, geard means 'a fence, enclosure, courtyard or dwelling'.
The parish of Bishops Lydeard was part of the Kilmersdon Hundred.
Cotford St Luke is a new village, built in the southern part of Bishops Lydeard parish, which became a separate civil parish in 2011, splitting off from Bishops Lydeard.
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.
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