Fiddington

Fiddington is a village and civil parish 2.5 miles (4 km) north-east of Nether Stowey, and 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Bonson and Whitnell.

Fiddington
Stone building with lighter coloured square tower. In the foreground are gravestones.
Fiddington is located in Somerset
Fiddington
Fiddington
Location within Somerset
Population298 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST215405
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRIDGWATER
Postcode districtTA5
Dialling code01278
PoliceAvon and Somerset
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

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.

For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council. Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Sedgemoor, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Bridgwater Rural District.[2]

It is also part of the Bridgwater and West Somerset 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 was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Religious sites

The Church of St Martin dates from the 11th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.[3] On the south wall of the nave is a 12 inches (30 cm) Sheela na Gig.[4][5] It is unusual in having one arm aloft and the other resting on a knee. The part of the figure showing genitalia is less well defined than the upper body, possibly as a result of weathering or an attempt to obscure that part of the image at some time in the past.[6]

References
  1. "Statistics for Wards, LSOAs and Parishes — SUMMARY Profiles" (Excel). Somerset Intelligence. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. "Bridgwater RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. Historic England. "Church of St Martin (1264213)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  4. Adkins, Lesley; Roy Adkins (1992). A field guide to Somerset archaeology. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. pp. 62–63. ISBN 0-946159-94-7.
  5. "The Fiddington Sheela Na Gig". Sheela Na Gig Project. Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  6. Warren, Derrick (2005). Curious Somerset. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7509-4057-3.
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