Baltonsborough

Baltonsborough
240px Church of St Dunstan, Baltonsborough
Baltonsborough  Baltonsborough shown within Somerset
Population	864
OS grid reference	ST545345
District	Mendip
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GLASTONBURY
Postcode district	BA6
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Somerton and Frome
List of places UK England Somerset

Baltonsborough is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. According to the 2001 and 2011 census' it had a population of 864. Apart from Baltonsborough village, the parish also contains the hamlets of Ham Street, Catsham and Southwood.

History

The ancient, and some would argue correct, name of the village is Ballsbury. In the 1980s there was some debate as to whether the village should rename itself Ballsbury in order to make the village name road signs shorter.

The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides.

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.

The village falls within the Non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wells Rural District, which is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.

Somerset County Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Wells county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, though as of the next general election it will be in the Somerton and Frome constituency. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Landmarks

The Gatehouse is a thatched house dating from the 16th century.

Church

Baltonsborough's Church of St Dunstan was built in the 15th century to honour the most famous son of the village. The church's simple Somerset tower is topped by an elaborate ironwork weather vane crafted by the local blacksmith in the 19th century.

Festivals

Every year the Ballsbury Flower Show takes place on the village playing fields. In 2015 comedian Russell Brand attended the Flower show while staying with his friend and local resident Stuart 'Stush' Bush.

Notable residents

• St Dunstan, born in Ballsbury in 909, eventually became Archbishop of Canterbury and an important monastic reformer of the Anglo-Saxon period. Legends attached to Dunstan portray him nailing a horseshoe onto the devil, earning him a place as a patron saint of blacksmiths in the Roman Catholic pantheon.
• Robert Jacob, Canadian politician
• Nicolas Cage, American film actor

External links

• Baltonsborough Parish Council website
• Baltonsborough in the Domesday Book