Stoke sub Hamdon
| Stoke sub Hamdon | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Mary the Virgin |
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 Stoke sub Hamdon
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| Stoke sub Hamdon shown within Somerset | |
| Population | 1,968 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST475175 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOKE-SUB-HAMDON |
| Postcode district | TA14 6 |
| Dialling code | 01935 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Stoke-sub-Hamdon (or Stoke sub Hamdon), also known as Stoke under Ham, is a large village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) west of Yeovil, with which it is linked by the A3088 road. The parish is located near the River Parrett, and includes the village of East Stoke.
The village stretches around Ham Hill which is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Iron Age hill fort, Roman site, and country park. The hill has given its name to the distinctive quarried hamstone which is quarried from a ridge of sandy limestone rock that is elevated above the lower lying clay vales and nearby Somerset Levels. It is of particular importance to geologists because of the assemblages of fossils which it contains, the sedimentary features which it displays and the way it relates to other rocks of equivalent age in the close vicinity. The Bronze Age and Iron Age hill fort was occupied by the Durotriges tribe. A Roman milestone was found at Venn Bridge in 1930: apparently it was made as an element in a colonnade and afterwards converted to a milestone inscribed with the name of the emperor Flavius Severus who ruled in 305-306 AD.
In the 10th century the estate passed to Glastonbury Abbey, but after the Norman Conquest was held by the Robert, Count of Mortain and granted to Robert FitzIvo. It then passed down through the Beauchamps of Hatch, becoming known as Stoke Beauchamp. It was acquired by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1443 and is still held by the Duchy. The parish of Stoke was part of Tintinhull Hundred.
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