Visit Street, Somerset Places

Welcome to Visit Street, Somerset Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Street, Somerset

  

Street, Somerset Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Street, Somerset

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Street, Somerset history

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The settlement’s earliest known name is Lantokay, meaning the sacred enclosure of Kea, a Celtic saint. The place-name ‘Street’ is first attested in Anglo-Saxon charters from 725 and 971, where it appears as Stret. It appears as Strete juxta Glastone in a charter from 1330 formerly in the British Museum. The word is the Old English straet meaning ‘Roman road’. The centre of Street is where Lower Leigh hamlet was, and the road called Middle Leigh and the community called Overleigh are to the south of the village. In the 12th century, a causeway from Glastonbury was built to transport stone from what is now Street for rebuilding Glastonbury Abbey after a major fire in 1184. The causeway is about 100 yards (90 m) north of a Roman road running north from Ilchester. It will be seen that the name of the village predates the building of the causeway by more than four hundred years, and so the village is named after the Roman road and not the causeway. The parish of Street was part of the Whitley Hundred. Quarries of the local blue lias stone were worked from as early as the 12th century to the end of the 19th century. It is a geological formation in southern England, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago. Its age corresponds to the Rhaetian to lower Sinemurian stages of the geologic timescale, thus fully including the Hettangian stage. It is the lowest of the three divisions of the Lower Jurassic period and, as such, is also given the name Lower Lias. It consists of thin blue argillaceous, or clay-like, limestone. The Blue Lias contains many fossils, especially ammonites. Fossils discovered in the lias include many ichthyosaurs, one of which has been adopted as the badge of Street. There is a display of Street fossils in the Natural History Museum in London. The churchyard of the Parish Church has yielded one Iron Age coin, however the origin and significance is unclear, although the Dobunni were known to have produced coins in the area. A number of Roman pottery fragments, now in the Museum of Somerset. Remains of Roman villas exist on the south edge of Street near Marshalls Elm and Ivythorn. Buried remains of a Roman road were excavated in the early 20th century on the flood-plain of the river Brue between Glastonbury and Street. The parish churchyard is on the first flood-free ground near the river Brue and was probably the first land to be inhabited. The form of the large churchyard suggests a lan, a sacred area of a kind that was built in the first half of the 6th century. Llan or Lan is a common place name element in Brythonic languages such as Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Cumbric, and possibly Pictish. The original meaning of llan in Welsh is “an enclosed piece of land”, but it later evolved to mean the parish surrounding a church. One biography of St Gildas has the saint spending some time in Glastonbury Abbey, and moving to a site by the river, where he built a chapel to the Holy Trinity and there died. The Parish Church, now Holy Trinity, has at times been known as St Gildas’ church. Glastonbury Abbey controlled Street until the Dissolution. Sharpham Park is a 300-acre (1.2 km) historic park, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Street, which dates back to the Bronze Age. The first known reference is a grant by King Edwy to the then Aethelwold in 957. In 1191 Sharpham Park was conferred by the soon-to-be King John to the Abbots of Glastonbury, who remained in possession of the park and house until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. From 1539 to 1707 the park was owned by the Duke of Somerset, Sir Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane; the Thynne family of Longleat, and the family of Sir Henry Gould. Sir Edward Dyer the Elizabethan poet and courtier (died 1607) was born here in 1543. The house is now a private residence and Grade II* listed building. Sharpham was also the birthplace of the novelist and dramatist Henry Fielding (1707–54), and the cleric William Gould. Ivythorn Manor on Pages Hill was a medieval monastic house. It was rebuilt in 1488 for Abbot John Selwood of Glastonbury Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries it became a manor house owned by the Marshall and Sydenham families. Sir John Sydenham added a wing 1578 which was later demolished. By 1834 the house was largely ruined until its restoration around 1904, and a west wing was added in 1938. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Street, Somerset geography / climate

The River Brue marks the boundary with Glastonbury, to the north of Street. At the time of King Arthur, the Brue formed a lake just south of the hilly ground. This lake is one of the locations suggested by Arthurian legend as the home of the Lady of the Lake.

Climate

South West England has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F) In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland reducing the number of hours of sunshine.

You can visit Street, Somerset places with Walkfo Street, Somerset to hear history at Street, Somerset’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Street, Somerset has 44 places to visit in our interactive Street, Somerset map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Street, Somerset, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Street, Somerset places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Street, Somerset & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 44 audio facts unique to Street, Somerset places in an interactive Street, Somerset map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Street, Somerset Places Map
44 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Street, Somerset historic spots	Street, Somerset tourist destinations	Street, Somerset plaques	Street, Somerset geographic features
Walkfo Street, Somerset tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Street, Somerset

  

Best Street, Somerset places to visit

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Street, Somerset has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Street, Somerset’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Street, Somerset’s information audio spots:

Street F.C. Street Football Club are a football club based in Street in Somerset. They are currently members Western League Premier Division and play at the Tannery. The club is affiliated to the Somerset County FA.

Battle of Marshall’s Elm The Battle of Marshall’s Elm took place on 4 August 1642, during the build-up to the start of the First English Civil War. The Royalists had established their regional headquarters in Wells, but were threatened by superior Parliamentarian numbers in the vicinity. The Parliamentarians were caught in the ambush and were routed by the Royalist cavalry.

Street Mission Church Street Mission Church is a Church of England church in Street, Somerset. The church was built in 1990 on the site of an earlier tin tabernacle which had been in use since 1898.

United Reformed Church, Street The United Reformed Church was designed by Samuel Pollard and built in 1854–55. It was originally known as the Congregational Chapel.

Street Methodist Church Street Methodist Church is a Methodist church in Street, Somerset, England. It was designed by Henry Hawkins and George Alves and built in 1893.

Clarks Village Clarks Village is an outlet shopping village in Street, Somerset, England. It was established in 1993 on the site of old C&J Clark factory buildings.

Holy Trinity Church, Walton Holy Trinity Church is a Church of England church in Walton, Somerset. It was rebuilt in 1865–66 to the design of Rev. J. F. Turner and is a Grade II listed building.

Church of St Andrew, Compton Dundon The Anglican Church of St Andrew Compton Dundon, Somerset, was built in the 14th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Hospital of St Mary Magdalene, Glastonbury The Hospital of St Mary Magdalene was built around 1310 by Glastonbury Abbey. It is a Grade II* listed building, and part has been scheduled as an ancient monument.

St Benedict’s Church, Glastonbury The Anglican Church of St Benedict at Glastonbury in Somerset was built in the 14th century with the tower being added in the 15th century. It is a Grade I listed building.

Visit Street, Somerset plaques