The village lies in a small hollow near the summit of the Mendip range of hills, at an elevation of 260 metres (850 ft) above sea-level, and has evidence of occupation since neolithic times.[2] There are remains of leadmining activities[3] and caves in the limestone beneath the village.
It is the venue for the annual Priddy Folk Festival.[4] The Sheep Fair,[5] was last held in 2013.[6]
Etymology
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".[7]
An alternative explanation is 'The high water' from the Celticprid and the Old Englishea,[8] and another alternative suggests it could come from the Welsh word preiddiau, pronounced preidhye, meaning flock or herd.[9]
Hurdles at Priddy. No longer used but, it is said if they ever go the sheep fair will not be held again.
Lead was being worked as far back as 300 to 200 BC.[14] The area east and north-west of the village shows extensive patches of "gruffy ground". The word "gruffy" derives from the grooves that were formed where the lead ore was extracted from veins near the surface. The relatively easy opencast extraction of lead was a strong attraction for the Romans. Lead ingots found in the neighbourhood have been dated to AD 49.[7][15] The ruins of St Cuthbert's Leadworks which closed in 1908 can still be seen.[16][17] According to tradition Joseph of Arimathea and the young Jesus stayed at Priddy when they came to Somerset. It has been proposed that Joseph was a trader of Cornish tin and of the lead and copper of Somerset.[18]
Although the village is not mentioned in the Domesday Book it appears to be the subject of a lost Saxon charter of the late 7th or 8th century.[12] The parish was part of the hundred of Wells Forum.[19]
Mendip Farmers' Hunt Boxing Day meeting
Since the 1920s, the kennels for the Mendip Farmers' Hunt fox hounds have been based near the village, but the hunt was planning to relocate them to Chewton Mendip,[20] a move which has faced significant local opposition.[21][22]
The group starts a number of fox hunts from the village green, including one on Boxing Day.[23] In 2014 a decision was made by Mendip District Council to allow the development of the kennels in the village.[24]
In April 2013 the stack of sheep hurdles on the green was set alight in an arson attack.[25] In July 2013, locals remade The Hurdles.
An annual Sheep Fair[5] began in the village in 1348, moving from Wells as a result of the Black Death. It was last held in 2013.[6] The parish council and sheep fair committee cancelled the 2014 event, describing it as unsustainable.[26] The parish council dissolved the organising Sheep Fair Committee in July 2016.[27]
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 Church of St Lawrence dates from the 13th century, with some rebuilding in the 15th century and was restored in 1881–1888; it is a Grade I listed building.[29] The three bells in the church were augmented to five in 1997. The church includes a medieval altar frontal.[30]
On 29 October 2017 Metropolitan Seraphim (of the British Orthodox Church) consecrated Father David Seeds as Bishop David of Priddy.[31]
References
^"Priddy Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
