{{Short description|Village in Somerset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{infobox UK place | country = England | coordinates = {{coord|51.023|-2.868|type:city(2000)_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | official_name = Curry Rivel | population = 2347 | population_ref = (2021) | unitary_england = [[Somerset Council|Somerset]] | lieutenancy_england = [[Somerset]] | region = South West England | constituency_westminster = [[Glastonbury and Somerton (UK Parliament constituency)|Glastonbury and Somerton]] | post_town = LANGPORT | postcode_district = TA10 | postcode_area = TA | dial_code = 01458 | os_grid_reference = ST391252 | static_image_name = Curry Rivel - Manor Farmhouse and church - geograph.org.uk - 438592.jpg | static_image_alt = Stone building with a road in the foregrond. In the background is the quare tower of a church. | static_image_caption = Manor Farmhouse and [[St Andrew's Church, Curry Rivel|Church of St Andrew]] | website = {{URL|https://www.curryrivelparishcouncil.gov.uk/|Parish Council}} }}
'''Curry Rivel''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in [[Somerset]], England, around {{convert|6|mi|km|0}} west of [[Somerton, Somerset|Somerton]] and {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} east of [[Taunton]] in the [[South Somerset]] district. The parish had a population of 2,347 at the 2021 census,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Curry Rivel (parish): population statistics, 2021 Census |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southwestengland/admin/somerset/E04008693__curry_rivel/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=CityPopulation.de}}</ref> and includes the hamlets of '''Burton Pynsent''', '''Wick''' and '''Wiltown'''.
==History==
The site of a Roman house has been discovered south of Fairview House. The site is on the [[Heritage at Risk Register]] due to ploughing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Supposed Roman Villa, Fair View House, Hambridge|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/53850|website=Somerset Historic Environment Record|publisher=Somerset County Council|access-date=21 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Roman house south of Fair View House, Curry Rivel – South Somerset|url=http://risk.english-heritage.org.uk/register.aspx?id=41409|website=Heritage at Risk|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=21 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221205029/http://risk.english-heritage.org.uk/register.aspx?id=41409|archive-date=21 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The name Curry Rivel comes from the [[Celtic languages|Celtic word]] {{lang|cel|crwy}}, meaning boundary and ''Rivel'' from its 12th-century landlord [[Sir Richard Revel]].<ref name="Folly Towers">{{cite web|url=http://www.follytowers.com/curryrival.html |title=Curry Rivel Column (Burton Pynsent) |publisher=Folly Towers |access-date=5 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222065624/http://www.follytowers.com/curryrival.html |archive-date=22 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 1237 the king granted Henry de l'Orti a licence to empark his woods in Curry Rivel, separating it from the control of the foresters of [[Castle Neroche]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Bond|first=James| title=Somerset Parks and Gardens | publisher=Somerset Books | page=25|year=1998|isbn=978-0861834655}}</ref>
Curry Rivel was part of the [[Hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]] of [[Abdick and Bulstone (hundred)|Abdick and Bulstone]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Abdick and Bulstone Hundred Through Time |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10133830 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |access-date=9 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Abdick and Bulstone in South Somerset|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=21175|work=A Vision Britain Through Time|access-date=9 September 2011}}</ref>
==Notable structures== [[File:Burton Pynsent Memorial.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Burton Pynsent Monument]] [[Earnshill House]] was built in 1725 by John Strachan for Henry Combe, a prominent Bristol merchant.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1249217|desc=Earnshill House |access-date=12 October 2008}}</ref>
[[Burton Pynsent House]] was built around 1756 for [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham]], after he inherited the estate from [[Sir William Pynsent, 2nd Baronet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/629|title=Burton Pynsent, Yeovil, England|work=Parks & Gardens UK|publisher=Parks and Gardens Data Services Limited (PGDS)|access-date=9 June 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041726/http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/629|url-status=dead}}</ref> It formed part of a wing on a larger earlier house, that was demolished around 1805. It has been designated as a Grade II* [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1373913|desc=Burton Pynsent House|access-date=5 July 2008}}</ref> The grounds were laid out in the mid 18th century by [[Lancelot Brown]] and [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt, Earl of Chatham]], and include early-20th-century formal gardens designed by [[Harold Peto]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/55167|title=Burton Pynsent|work=Somerset Historic Environment Record|publisher=Somerset County Council|access-date=5 July 2008}}</ref> The [[Chatham Vase]] is a stone sculpture commissioned as a memorial to [[William Pitt the Elder]] by his wife, [[Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham|Hester, Countess of Chatham]]. It was originally erected at their house in Burton Pynsent, in 1781, and moved to the grounds of [[Chevening|Chevening House]] in Kent in 1934, where it currently stands.
The {{convert|140|ft|m|0}} [[Burton Pynsent Monument|Pynsent Column]] (also known as the Curry Rivel Column, Burton Pynsent Monument, Pynsent Steeple or Cider Monument)<ref name="holt">{{cite book|last=Holt|first=Jonathan|title=Somerset Follies|date=December 2007|publisher=Akeman Press|pages=76–77|isbn=978-0-9546138-7-7}}</ref> stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about 700 m north-east of the house. It was designed in the 18th century by [[Capability Brown]] for William Pitt.<ref name="Folly Towers"/><ref>{{NHLE|num=1039561 |desc=Burton Pynsent Monument |access-date=5 July 2008 }}</ref> It was restored in the 1990s by the [[Getty Center|John Paul Getty]] Trust and English Heritage.<ref name="holt"/>
'''Midelney Place''' is a [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] country house, completed in 1866. Grade II listed and privately owned, it is set in {{convert|26|acre}} of landscaped grounds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-264348-midelney-place-walled-forecourt-and-stab? |title=Midelney Place, Walled Forecourt, and Stable |website=www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref>
==Governance== The [[Parish councils of England|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 (UK)|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 in England|local government]] purposes, since 1 April 2023, the parish comes under the [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] of [[Somerset Council]]. Prior to this, it was part of the [[non-metropolitan district]] of [[South Somerset]] (established under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]). It was part of [[Langport Rural District]] before 1974.<ref>{{cite web|title=Langport RD|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10054928|work=A vision of Britain Through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|accessdate=4 January 2014}}</ref>
The parish is part of the [[Glastonbury and Somerton (UK Parliament constituency)|Glastonbury and Somerton]] [[county constituency]], represented in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].
==Amenities== The Anglican parish [[St Andrew's Church, Curry Rivel|Church of St Andrew]] dates from the 13th century and is designated as a Grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1249281|desc=Church of St Andrew|access-date=12 October 2008}}</ref>
Education for children aged 11 and under is provided at Curry Rivel Primary School.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.curryrivel.org.uk/local-info/services.html|title=Curry Rivel - Services|website=www.curryrivel.org.uk}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist |colwidth=30em}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}} * [https://www.curryrivelparishcouncil.gov.uk/ Curry Rivel Parish Council]
{{South Somerset}}
[[Category:Villages in South Somerset]] [[Category:Civil parishes in Somerset]]