West Bagborough

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Map sources for West Bagborough at grid reference ST172333

West Bagborough is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated five miles north of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 394^[1].You can visit the villages homepage here: The West Bagborough Pages

[edit] The following description is taken from the village homepage (and is used with permission):

The village of West Bagborough lies on the south-west slopes of the Quantock Hills in the English county of Somerset, some eight miles from the county town of Taunton.

The village, together with the neighbouring hamlets of Shopnoller, Triscombe, Seven Ash and Westwood combine to form a parish, collectively covered by the name West Bagborough.

With a current population of around 390 the village can trace its history back to Saxon times.

The origin of the village name is open to some debate and is thought to either come from the name "Begas Barrow" (meaning badgers hill) or from an amalgamation of the family name "Baga" and the Old English word for hill "beorg", In either case by 1086, when the Doomsday book was compiled, the name had become Bageberge.

The village church, St Pancras, stands high above the main village, and allegedly owes this separation to the black death which reduced the population to below one hundred souls in the fourteenth century. In an attempt to rid themselves of this plague the villagers abandoned the original settlement and re-built, away from the church.

The village today consists of a wide variety of properties, with a wide range of building techniques and ages.

A number of properties have grade 2 listing. Due to its availability local red sandstone features heavily in buildings, both ancient and modern.

Whilst unable to boast the kind of facilities found in its larger neighbours the village does have a 16th. Century inn (The Rising Sun). A Village Hall, and a number of establishments offering accommodation.

The village also has a cricket ground which plays host not only to cricket, but also car-boot sales with probably the most scenic location in Somerset! Bagborough CC has three teams: 1st XI who play in Somerset Cricket League Division 4, 2nd XI who play in West Somerset Cricket League Division 4 and a Sunday team. More can be found out about Bagborough CC at the Bagborough CC Website

It is perhaps worth noting that, whilst the villages correct title is West Bagborough, it is commonly referred to simply as Bagborough. It is not, however, the only Bagborough in Somerset, with a much smaller hamlet near to Shepton Mallet sharing the same name. This smaller Bagborough is not shown on most maps, but is easily found on internet searches as it has one of Somerset's few vineyards/wine producers!