Priddy
| Priddy | |
|---|---|
 Priddy Green |
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 Priddy
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| Priddy shown within Somerset | |
| Population | 624 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST527508 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WELLS |
| Postcode district | BA5 |
| Dialling code | 01749 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Wells. It is in the local government district of Mendip.
The village lies in a small hollow near the summit of the Mendip range of hills, at an elevation of nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea-level, and has evidence of occupation since neolithic times. There are also the remains of lead mining activities and caves in the limestone beneath the village.
It is the venue for the annual Folk Festival and Sheep Fair, which has been held here since 1348.
Priddy, with medieval variations of spellings such as Predy, Priddie, Pridi, Pridia, Pridie and Prydde, is a name that has been ascribed to the Welsh influence that pre-dated the arrival of the Saxon English. It has been particularly attributed to pridd (= "earth"). This might be suggestive of the Iron Age mining activities. The Latin words pratum (= a meadow) and praedium (= a farm) have given rise to such Alpine names as Preda and Prada and it has been suggested that they are also the root for the cymric words prydd, pryddion meaning "production", as with a fertile meadow. "Priddy" could just mean "meadow land".
An alternative explanation is 'The high water' from the Celtic prid and the Old English ea, and another alternative suggests it could come from the Welsh word preiddiau, pronounced preidhye, meaning flock or herd.
In 1977 a Mesolithic hut site was excavated at Priddy. Nearby are the Priddy Circles a Stone circle or Henge monument, which appears to be contemporary with Stonehenge, i.e. Neolithic circa 2180 BC. The North Hill location of two round barrow cemeteries, Ashen Hill and Priddy Nine-Barrows which are neighbours of the Circles, would seem to imply that the area to the north-east of Priddy held ritual significance into the Bronze Age. South of the village at Deer Leap is a Bronze age burial mound and the remains of a medieval settlement of Ramspit. Drove Cottage Henge is a Neolithic ceremonial location to the east of the village.
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Wikipedia