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'{{Short description|Town in Somerset, England}} {{Good article}} {{Use British English|date=January 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Redirect|Houndstone|the Pokémon species|Houndstone (Pokémon)}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |static_image_name = Yeovil County Court.jpg |static_image_alt = red brick building with small car park in front. |static_image_caption = Yeovil County Court |coordinates = {{coord|50.9452|-2.6370|display=inline,title}} |official_name= Yeovil |population = 45,784 |population_ref = (built-up area, 2011)<ref name="population2011" /> |shire_district = [[South Somerset]] |shire_county = [[Somerset]] |region = South West England |constituency_westminster = [[Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency)|Yeovil]] |post_town = YEOVIL |postcode_district = BA20, BA21, BA22 |postcode_area = BA |dial_code = 01935 |os_grid_reference = ST552164 }} '''Yeovil''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|oʊ|v|əl}} {{Respell|YOH|vəl}}) is a town and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the district of [[South Somerset]], England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with [[Dorset]], {{convert|126|mi}} from London, {{convert|41.8|mi}} south of [[Bristol]], {{convert|6|mi}} from [[Sherborne]] and {{convert|27.6|mi}} from [[Taunton]]. The aircraft and defence industries which developed in the 20th century made it a target for bombing in the [[Second World War]]; they are still major employers. Yeovil Country Park, which includes [[Ninesprings]], is one of several open spaces with educational, cultural and sporting facilities. Religious sites include the 14th-century [[Church of St John the Baptist, Yeovil|Church of St John the Baptist]]. The town is on the [[A30 road|A30]] and [[A37 road|A37]] roads and has two railway stations. ==History== Archaeological surveys have yielded [[Palaeolithic]] burial and settlement sites mainly to the south of the modern town,<ref name="arch">{{Cite web |url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/EUS_YeovilText.pdf |title=An archaeological assessment of Yeovil |last=Gathercole |first=Clare |year=2003 |work=English Heritage Extensive Urban Survey |publisher=Somerset County Council |pages=5–6 |access-date=1 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025192858/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/EUS_YeovilText.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2012 }}</ref> particularly in Hendford, where a [[Bronze Age]] golden [[torc]] (twisted collar) was found.<ref name="bush">{{Cite book |last=Bush |first=Robin |title=Somerset: The Complete Guide |publisher=Dovecote Press |location=Wimbourne |isbn=978-1-874336-26-6 |year=1994 |author-link=Robin Bush (historian) |pages=[https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/243 243–246] |url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/243}}</ref> Yeovil is on the main [[Roman road]] from [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] to the [[Fosse Way]] at [[Ilchester]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://saxonhistory.co.uk/Location_Margary_Roman_Roads.php?ID=M47&route=47%20Dorchester%20-%20Ilchester |work=saxonhistory.co.uk |title=47 – Dorchester to Ilchester}}</ref> The route of the old road is aligned with the [[A37 road|A37]] from Dorchester, Hendford Hill, Rustywell, across the Westland site, to Larkhill Road and Vagg Lane, rejoining the A37 at the ''Halfway House'' pub in the Ilchester Road.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/roman-road-ran-through-heart-4285388 |work=somersetlive.co.uk |title=This is the Roman road that ran through the heart of Yeovil and its remnants today |author=Tomas Malloy |date=4 July 2020}}</ref> The Westland site has evidence of a small Roman town.<ref name="RomanWestland">{{Cite web |url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/15681 |title=Westland |access-date=20 January 2008 |work=Somerset Historic Environment Record}}</ref> There were several [[Roman villa]]s (estates) in the area. Finds have been made at [[East Coker]], [[West Coker]] and Lufton.<ref name="arch"/> ===Medieval times=== Yeovil was first named in a Saxon charter dated 880 as Gifle.<ref name="Goodchild">{{Cite book |title=The Borough of Yeovil |publisher=The Mayor, Alderman and Burgesses of the Borough of Yeovil |author=Goodchild, John |year=1954 |location=Yeovil |page=13}}</ref> It derives from the [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] river-name ''gifl'' "forked river", an earlier name of the [[River Yeo (South Somerset)|River Yeo]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mills |first=A.D. |title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-852758-9}}</ref> The estate was bequeathed in the will of King [[Alfred the Great]] to his youngest son [[Aethelweard (son of Alfred)|Aethelweard]].<ref>[[Anglo-Saxon charters]] [[S 1507]] (AD 873x888), King Alfred's will, translated by S. Keynes & M. Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', Harmondsworth, 1983, pp. 173–178, with notes on pp. 313–326. Identification of the estates left to Aethelweard is based on the corresponding notes to the translation.</ref> It was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] as ''Givele'', a thriving market community.<ref name="hist">{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/history.aspx |title=Yeovil's History |access-date=20 January 2008 |work=Yeovil Town}}</ref> The parish of Yeovil was part of the [[Stone (hundred)|Stone]] [[Hundred (county subdivision)|Hundred]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Somerset Hundreds |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/ |publisher=GENUKI |access-date=21 October 2011}}</ref> After the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]], the manor, later known as Hendford, was granted to the [[Count of Eu]] and his tenant Hugh Maltravers, whose descendants became [[Earl of Arundel|Earls of Arundel]] and held the [[Lord of the Manor|lordship]] until 1561.<ref name="bush"/> In 1205 it was granted a charter by [[John of England|King John]].<ref name="havinden">{{Cite book |last=Havinden |first=Michael |title=The Somerset Landscape |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |location=London |series=The making of the English landscape |page=113 |isbn=0-340-20116-9 |year=1981}}</ref> By the 14th century, the town had gained the right to elect a [[portreeve]].<ref name="arch"/> The [[Black Death]] exacted a heavy toll, killing about half the population.<ref name="hist"/> In 1499 a major fire destroyed many wooden, thatch-roofed buildings in the town.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51437&strquery=Yeovil#s19 |title=Yeading – Yettington |last=Lewis |first=Samuel |year=1849 |work=A Topographical Dictionary of England |publisher=British History Online |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> Yeovil suffered further fires in 1620 and 1643.<ref name="arch"/> ===Ownership=== After the [[dissolution of the monasteries]] the lord of the manor was the family of [[John Horsey (died 1564)|John Horsey]] of [[Clifton Maybank]] from 1538 to 1610 followed by the Phelips family until 1846 when it passed to the Harbins of [[Newton Surmaville]].<ref name="bush"/> [[Babylon Hill]] across the River Yeo to the south east of the town was the site of a minor skirmish, the [[Battle of Babylon Hill]], during the [[English Civil War]], which resulted in the [[Earl of Bedford]]'s [[Roundheads]] forcing back Sir [[Ralph Hopton]]'s [[Cavalier]]s to [[Sherborne]].<ref name="bush"/> ===Development=== [[File:Yeovil railways.png|thumb|right|alt=A map showing the Exeter to London line along the bottom, the Bristol to Weymouth line down the right side, and the closed line to Taunton joining from top left|Map of railways around Yeovil]] In the 1800s Yeovil was a glove-making centre, whose the population expanded fast.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/history/political.aspx |title=Political awareness |publisher=Yeovil Town Council |access-date=23 March 2010}}</ref> In the mid-19th century it became linked to the rest of Britain by a complex of railway lines, with competition between the {{RailGauge|7ft}} [[broad gauge]] lines of the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR) and the {{RailGauge|ussg}} [[standard gauge]] lines of the [[London and South Western Railway]] (LSWR). In 1853 the Great Western Railway line was opened between Taunton and Yeovil. The town's first railway was a branch line from the [[Bristol and Exeter Railway]] near [[Taunton]] to a terminus at {{Stnlnk |Hendford}} on the western side of the town, which opened on 1 October 1853. As an associate of the GWR, this was a broad-gauge line. The GWR itself opened [[Yeovil Pen Mill railway station]] on the east side of the town as part of its [[Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway|route from London]] on 1 September 1856, extended to [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]] on 1 January 1857), and the original line from Taunton connected with this. The [[Salisbury and Yeovil Railway|LSWR route from London]] reached Hendford on 1 June 1860, but a month later the town was by-passed by an extension of the [[Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury|LSWR to Exeter]]. A new station at {{Stnlnk |Yeovil Junction}} was provided south of the town from where passengers could catch a connecting service to Hendford. On 1 June 1861 passenger trains were withdrawn from Hendford and transferred to a new, more central, [[Yeovil Town railway station]].<ref name=Railways>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=B.L. |title=Yeovil, 150 Years of Railways |year=2003 |publisher=Oakwood Press |location=Usk |isbn=0-85361-612-4}}</ref><ref name=Oakley>{{Cite book |last=Oakley |first=Mike |title=Somerset Railway Stations |publisher=Redcliffe Press |year=2006 |location=Bristol |isbn=1-904537-54-5}}</ref> In 1854, the town gained borough status and had its first mayor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/sites/YeovilTownCouncil/799.aspx |title=Former mayors of Yeovil |publisher=Yeovil Town Council |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> In the early 20th century Yeovil had around 11,000 inhabitants and was dominated by the defence industry, making it a target of German raids during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-europe/european-air-war/european-air-war-index-1940.htm |title=European Air War |work=World War II Timelines |publisher=worldwar-2.net |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> The worst bombing was in 1940 and continued until 1942. During that time 107 high-explosive bombs fell on the town, 49 people died, 68 houses were totally destroyed and 2,377 damaged.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/history/wartime.aspx |title=Wartime |publisher=Yoevil Town Council |access-date=23 March 2010}}</ref> Industrial businesses developed round the Hendford railway goods station to such a degree that a small {{Stnlnk|Hendford Halt}} was opened on 2 May 1932 for passengers, but the growth of road transport and a desire to rationalise the rail network led to half of the [[railway stations]] in Yeovil being closed in 1964. First to go was Hendford Halt, closed on 15 June along with the line to Taunton, then {{Stnlnk |Yeovil Town}} closed on 2 October. Long-distance trains from [[Yeovil Pen Mill railway station|Pen Mill]] were withdrawn on 11 September 1961, leaving only {{Stnlnk |Yeovil Junction}} with a service to London, but the service between there and Pen Mill, the two remaining stations, was also withdrawn from 5 May 1968.<ref name=Railways/><ref name=Oakley/> As a former centre of Britain's leather industry, the town is post-industrial in character. Journalist John Harris, for instance, described the towns Taunton, Yeovil and Bridgwater as a "post-industrial, hardscrabble place that contain[s] 19 of the council wards in the 20% of English areas classed as the most deprived."<ref name="The Guardian">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/14/lost-for-words-somerset-cuts-28m-of-help-for-most-vulnerable |title=Lost for Words |access-date =15 February 2018 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> ==Governance== [[File:Yeovilhospital.jpg|alt=Modern building with 7 floors of windows. In the foreground is a road with cars.|thumb|Yeovil hospital]] [[File:The old cop shop (geograph 3533186).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Yeovil Town House|Town House]]]] Officially designated as Yeovil Municipal Borough in 1854,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yeovil MB |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10153104 |work=A vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref> the town continued to lend its name to the area with the creation of the [[local government district]] of Yeovil on 1 April 1974, with the merging several neighbouring rural and urban districts, which is today known as [[South Somerset]].<ref name="YeovilTown.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/about.aspx |title=Yeovil Town: About |access-date=1 April 2012 |work=YeovilTown.com}}</ref> Some suburbs fall within the [[civil parishes in England|civil parishes]] of [[Yeovil Without]] and [[Brympton]]. Yeovil still has a town council, which took over the functions of the Charter Trustees in 1982. It has responsibility for the management of recreational and leisure facilities, open spaces and play areas.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/sites/YeovilTownCouncil/19.aspx |title=Activities and Responsibilities |publisher=Yeovil Town Council |access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> In 2005, Yeovil Town Council became the first large council in Somerset to be awarded Quality Town Council status.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/sites/YeovilTownCouncil/692.aspx |title=Yeovil Town Council |publisher=Yeovil Town Council |access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> Yeovil Town Council is based at the [[Yeovil Town House|Town House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yeovilhistory.info/townhouse.htm |title=The Town House|publisher=Yeovil History|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref> There are five [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral wards]] covering Yeovil. [[Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency)|Yeovil]] is a [[county constituency]] represented in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. It elects one [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP). It covers the Somerset towns of Yeovil, [[Chard, Somerset|Chard]], [[Crewkerne]] and [[Ilminster]]. Until 1983 [[Somerset]] was split into four constituencies and Yeovil constituency also covered [[Ilchester]], [[Martock]] and [[Somerton, Somerset|Somerton]], but these were moved into the new constituency of [[Somerton and Frome (UK Parliament constituency)|Somerton and Frome]]. From the [[United Kingdom general election, 2010|2010 general election]], Yeovil constituency regained Ilchester, to equalise the constituency populations. The [[Boundary Commission for England]] estimate that the [[constituency|electorate]] of Yeovil constituency after the boundary changes to be 77,049. The current MP is [[Marcus Fysh]] of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/marcus-fysh/4446 |title=Alphabetical List of Constituencies and Members of Parliament |publisher=House of Commons Information Office |access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> ==Geography== [[File:Yeovilrec.jpg|alt=Area with grass and trees. In the distance is a children's play area and in the foreground a path with wooden rails.|thumb|right|Preston Park]] Yeovil is in the south of Somerset, close to the border with [[Dorset]], {{convert|130|mi|km|0}} from London, {{convert|40|mi|km|0}} south of [[Bristol]] and {{convert|30|mi|km|0}} from [[Taunton]]. It lies in the centre of the [[Yeovil Scarplands]], a [[national character area|natural region]] of England. The suburbs include Summerlands, Hollands, '''Houndstone''', [[Preston Plucknett]], Penn Mill, New Town, Hendford, Old Town, Forest Hill, Abbey Manor, Great Lyde. Outlying villages include [[East Coker]], [[West Coker]], [[Hardington Mandeville]], [[Evershot]], [[Halstock]], [[Stoford, Somerset|Stoford]], [[Barwick, Somerset|Barwick]], [[Sutton Bingham]], [[Mudford]] and [[Yetminster]]. Other nearby villages include [[Bradford Abbas]], [[Thornford]] [[Corscombe]], [[Montacute]] (with [[Montacute House]]) and [[Pendomer]]. The village of [[Brympton]], now almost a suburb of Yeovil, contains the [[medieval]] [[Manorialism|manor]] of [[Brympton d'Evercy]]. [[Tintinhull]], also close to Yeovil, features the National Trust-owned [[Tintinhull|Tintinhull House and Gardens]]. [[Ninesprings|Ninesprings Country Park]] is in the south-east near Penn Hill, linked by a cycle way along the route of the old railway to Riverside Walk, Wyndham Hill and Summerhouse Hill, forming the {{convert|40|ha|acre|adj=on}} Yeovil Country Park.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/environment/countryside/country-parks-and-spaces/yeovil-country-park/ |title=Yeovil Country Park |publisher=Natural England |access-date=8 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=693 |title=Yeovil Country Park |publisher=South Somerset Council |access-date=22 March 2010}}</ref> ===Climate=== Like the rest of [[South West England]], Yeovil has a temperate climate generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is about {{convert|10|°C|°F|1}} and shows seasonal and [[Diurnal motion|diurnal]] variation, but the sea has a modifying effect. January is the coldest month, with mean minimum temperatures between {{convert|1|°C|°F|1}} and {{convert|2|°C|°F|1}}. July and August are the warmest months, with mean daily maxima around {{convert|22|°C|°F|2}}.<ref name="weather">{{Cite web |title=About south-west England |work=Met Office |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/sw/ |access-date=22 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605003222/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/sw/ |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> The south-west of England is in a favoured location for the [[Azores]] high pressure zone, when it extends north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. However, [[convective]] cloud often forms inland, especially near hills, reducing the number of hours of sunshine, whose annual average annual is about 1,700 hours.<ref name="weather"/> Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic [[Low pressure area|depressions]] or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter, when most of the rain that falls in the south-west is from that source. Average rainfall is about {{convert|725|mm|in}}. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.<ref name="weather"/> {{#section:Yeovilton|weatherbox}} ==Demography== At the 2011 census, the population of the built-up area (which extends beyond Yeovil civil parish to include the urban parts of [[Yeovil Without]] and [[Brympton]] parishes) was 45,784, forming 28% of the population of [[South Somerset]] district.<ref name="population2011">{{Cite web |date=October 2017 |title=Settlement Profile: Yeovil |url=https://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/media/1347/yeovil_settlement_profile_october_2017_final.pdf |access-date=28 March 2022 |website=South Somerset District Council |page=2}}</ref> {|class="wikitable" style="clear:both;" |colspan="14" style="text-align:center;"|'''Population since 1801'''&nbsp;– Source: A Vision of Britain through Time |- !Year |'''1801''' |'''1851''' |'''1901''' |'''1911''' |'''1921''' |'''1931''' |'''1941''' |'''1951''' |'''1961''' |'''1971''' |'''1981''' |'''1991''' |'''2001''' |- !Population: South Somerset<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=831&st=Yeovil |title=South Somerset: Total Population |access-date=29 January 2009 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project}}</ref> |70,769 |93,075 |85,080 |84,280 |85,001 |85,729 |92,313 |99,407 |106,462 |114,020 |129,310 |143,395 |150,974 |} ==Economy== [[File:Westlandsyeovil.jpg|alt=Red brick factory buildings seen across roads and traffic light controlled junction.|thumb|[[Westland Helicopters]] works]] [[AgustaWestland]] manufactures helicopters in Yeovil,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.agustawestland.com/content/our-heritage-0 |title=History |access-date=14 December 2007 |work=AgustaWestland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707074715/http://www.agustawestland.com/content/our-heritage-0 |archive-date=7 July 2009}}</ref> and [[Normalair|Normalair Garratt]], (Honeywell) builder of aircraft oxygen systems, is also based there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.macraesbluebook.co.uk/company/company.cfm?company=63610_Honeywell_Normalair-Garrett_Yeovil_Somerset |title=Honeywell Normalair-Garrett |work=Macrae's Blue Book UK |publisher=Owen Media Partners Inc. |access-date=24 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006175039/http://www.macraesbluebook.co.uk/company/company.cfm?company=63610_Honeywell_Normalair-Garrett_Yeovil_Somerset |archive-date=6 October 2011}}</ref> Yeovil's role as a centre of the aircraft and defence industries continued into the 21st century, despite attempts to diversify and the creation of industrial estates. In January 1986 a proposed sale of [[Westland Helicopters]] to the US [[Sikorsky Aircraft]] group led to the [[Westland affair]], a crisis in the [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]] government, resignation of [[Michael Heseltine]] as [[Secretary of State for Defence]],<ref>Peter Jenkins, ''Mrs Thatcher's Revolution: The Ending of the Socialist Era'' (Pan, 1989), p. 192.</ref> and two weeks later of [[Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills|Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]] [[Leon Brittan]], who admitted leaking a governmental law officer's letter harshly critical of Heseltine.<ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106316 Leon Brittan to MT (24 January 1986).]</ref> AgustaWestland, created through the acquisition of Westland by Finmeccanica in 2000, remains the main employer in Yeovil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://history.whl.co.uk/page4.html |title=History |publisher=AgustaWestland |access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> [[Yeovil/Westland Airport|Yeovil Aerodrome]] {{airport codes||EGHG}}, (sometimes known as Yeovil/Westland "Judwin" to avoid confusion with nearby [[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)|RNAS Yeovilton]]), is {{convert|1|nmi|km}} west of the town centre. British defence giant [[BAE Systems]] also runs a site producing high-integrity networked software, mainly for the armed forces. [[Screwfix Direct]] based in Houndstone started life as Woodscrew Supply Company in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/hlp/press_releases.jsp |title=About Screwfix |publisher=Screwfix Ltd |access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> It is now a subsidiary of [[Kingfisher plc]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03006378/filing-history/MzE4NTM4MTM1NWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 |title=Screwfix Direct Limited: annual report to 31 January 2017 |date=August 2017 |website=Companies House |access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref> The company warehouse relocated to [[Stoke-on-Trent]] after failing to gain planning permission for expansion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3686404.stm |title=Staff fix needed at DIY website |work=BBC News |access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> Quedam Shopping Centre has some 45 shops: the usual high-street chains, several independents, and a [[multi-storey car park]] with about 650 spaces.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeoviltown.com/directory/quedamshoppingcentre.aspx |title=Quedam Shopping Centre |publisher=Yeovil Town.com |access-date=22 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302005536/http://www.yeoviltown.com/directory/quedamshoppingcentre.aspx |archive-date=2 March 2010}}</ref> In 2015, leather manufacturer Pittards bought back its 1964 purpose-built tannery in Sherborne Road, Yeovil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.leathermag.com/features/featurebouncing-back---the-resurgance-of-pittards-4623568/. |title=Bouncing back – the resurgance of Pittards – Leather International}}</ref> ==Landmarks== [[File:Jack The Treacle Eater 3.jpg|alt=Circular tower with wooden door. On the top is a small statue.|thumb|left|upright|Jack the Treacle Eater, one of the [[Barwick, Somerset|Barwick]] follies]] One symbol of Yeovil is "Jack the Treacle Eater", a [[folly]] consisting of a small archway topped by a turret with a statue on top.<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Jack the Treacle Eater |num=1057227 |access-date=5 January 2008}}</ref> This stands in the village of [[Barwick, Somerset|Barwick]], just to the south of the town. The [[hamstone]] [[Abbey Farm House, Yeovil|Abbey Farm House]] was built about 1420 by John Stourton II, known as Jenkyn,<ref>{{NHLE |num=1056512 |desc=Abbey Farm House |access-date=16 October 2008}}</ref> as was [[Abbey Barn, Yeovil|Abbey Barn]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1173463 |desc=Abbey Barn |access-date=16 October 2008}}</ref> Hendford Manor in the town centre was built about 1720 and has since been converted into offices. It is a Grade II* [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1296434 |desc=Hendford Manor |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref> [[Newton Surmaville]] is a small park and house also known as Newton House, built in 1608–1612 for Robert Harbin, a Yeovil merchant. It is a Grade I listed building.<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Newton Surmaville |num=1345788 |access-date=25 September 2007}}</ref> Yeovil's two theatres are the Octagon,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.octagon-theatre.co.uk/ |title=Octagon Theatre |publisher=Octagon Theatre |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref> and the Swan,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.swan-theatre.co.uk/ |title=Swan Theatre |publisher=Swan Theatre |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref> now a ten-screen cinema and 18-lane tenpin bowling alley. [[Yeovil District Hospital]] [[NHS Foundation Trust]] provides local health services. [[Yeovil Railway Centre]] is a small museum created in 1993 in response to [[British Rail]]'s decision to remove the [[Turntable (rail)|turntable]] from Yeovil Junction. About {{convert|0.25|mi|m}} of track along the Clifton Maybank spur is used for demonstration trains. ==Transport== The two railway stations serve separate lines. [[Yeovil Pen Mill railway station|Yeovil Pen Mill]] is on the [[Heart of Wessex Line|Bristol to Weymouth line]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Table 123: South Wales and Bristol to Portsmouth and Weymouth|work=Electronic National Rail Timetable |publisher=Network Rail |date=December 2009 |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/Dec09/timetables/Table123.pdf |access-date=26 May 2009}}</ref> served by [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] services, and [[Yeovil Junction railway station|Yeovil Junction]] is on the [[West of England Main Line|London Waterloo to Exeter line]] served by [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Table 160: London to Salisbury and Exeter |work=Electronic National Rail Timetable |publisher=Network Rail |date=December 2009|url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/eNRT/Dec09/timetables/Table160.pdf |access-date=14 December 2009}}</ref> Both are some distance from the centre of Yeovil: Pen Mill just under {{convert|1|mi|km}} to the east and Junction just over {{convert|1.75|mi|km}} to the south. [[File:Yeovil Junction SWC YJ07EHL.jpg|thumb|right|A [[South West Coaches]] shuttle service to the town centre calls at {{Stnlnk|Yeovil Junction}}]] Bus services linking the centre to Yeovil Junction are run by [[South West Coaches]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yeovil – Yeovil Junction Station – Barwick|work=Service Timetables|publisher=South West Coaches |url=http://www.southwestcoaches.co.uk/timetablefiles/SWCoaches_Timetable68.pdf |access-date=28 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714070739/http://www.southwestcoaches.co.uk/timetablefiles/SWCoaches_Timetable68.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Yeovil – Sherborne |work=Service Timetables |publisher=South West Coaches |url=http://www.southwestcoaches.co.uk/timetablefiles/SWCoaches_Timetable74.pdf |access-date=28 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714070754/http://www.southwestcoaches.co.uk/timetablefiles/SWCoaches_Timetable74.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> except on Sundays and bank holidays, when a service is operated by [[First West of England]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forest Hill – Barwick via Borough, Bus Station, Stoford |work=Timetables |publisher=FirstGroup |url=http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/bristol/timetables/timetable.php?day=3&source_id=2&service=968&routeid=1158161&operator=3&source=sp |access-date=26 May 2010}}</ref> The latter firm also operates a service to Pen Mill,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yeovil – Sherborne – Wincanton |work=Timetables |publisher=FirstGroup |url=http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/bristol/timetables/index.php?depart_from=yeovil+pen+mill&operator=3&page=1&redirect=no |access-date=26 May 2010}}</ref> Yeovil has bus services from [[First West of England]], [[First Hampshire & Dorset]], [[South West Coaches]], [[Stagecoach South West]] and [[Damory Coaches]], and coach services from [[National Express Coaches|National Express]], [[Berrys Coaches]] and South West Tours. Many of the listed services serve [[Yeovil College]]. All bus routes except First West of England local routes towards the Western side of the town serve Yeovil bus station. North Dorset Community Accessible Transport (NORDCAT) provides a bookable service to places without other forms of public transport.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transport Services |url=https://yetminsterparishes.gov.uk/transport-services/ |access-date=2020-08-01 |website=Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Parish Council}}</ref> The town is on the [[A303 road|A30]] – the main route between London and the South West until it was supplanted by the [[A303 road|A303]] to its north. Junction 25 of the [[M5 motorway]], giving access to [[Bristol]] and the Midlands, is about {{Convert|20|mi|km|abbr=}} to the west, near [[Taunton]]. Yeovil is also on the mainly single-carriageway [[A37 road|A37]] north–south road between Bristol and [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]]. ==Education== [[Further education]] in Yeovil is mainly offered by [[Yeovil College]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeovil.ac.uk |title=Yeovil College |access-date=20 January 2008 }}</ref> with land-based studies available at a Yeovil centre of [[Bridgwater College]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bridgwater.ac.uk |title=Bridgwater College |access-date=20 January 2008 }}</ref> and some provision through private providers. The town also has a higher education centre, University Centre Yeovil, whose main degree-awarding body is [[Bournemouth University]], with [[University of the West of England]] offering some courses.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/whatcanistudy/coursesatuwebristol/localstudypartners/universitycentreyeovil.aspx |title=UWE Courses at University Centre Yeovil |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> Secondary education in Yeovil is provided by four schools: [[Westfield Academy, Yeovil|Westfield Academy]] on Stiby Road; [[Preston School]], with actress [[Sarah Parish]] among its past pupils; and [[Bucklers Mead Academy]] with past pupils including [[Ian Botham|Sir Ian Botham]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/9163.html |publisher=Cricinfo |title=England Players: Sir Ian Botham |access-date=28 August 2009}}</ref> ==Places of worship== [[File:Yeovilstjohns.jpg|alt=Stone building with arched windows and square tower.|thumb|[[Church of St John the Baptist, Yeovil|St John's Church]]]] The [[Anglican]] [[Church of St John the Baptist, Yeovil|Church of St John The Baptist]] dates from the late 14th century. Its {{convert|92|ft|m|0}}-high tower is in four stages, with set-back offset corner buttresses. It is capped by openwork balustrading matching the 19th-century parapets. There are two-light late 14th-century windows on all sides at bell-ringing and bell-chamber levels, the latter having fine pierced stonework grilles. There is a stair turret to the north-west corner, with a [[weather vane]] termination.<ref name="IoEstjohn"/> The church is a Grade I listed building.<ref name="IoEstjohn">{{NHLE |desc=Church of St John The Baptist |num=1055713 |access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref> Yeovil has a Roman Catholic Holy Ghost Church, three [[Methodist]] churches (Preston Road, St Marks, Chelston Avenue, and Vicarage Street), a [[Baptist]] church in South Street, the [[Salvation Army]], [[Elim Pentecostal Church]], Yeovil Community Church (Evangelical, based at The GateWay), Yeovil Family Church (New Frontiers),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stjamesyeovil.org.uk/ |title=St James' Church |publisher=St James' Church |access-date=2 February 2010}}</ref> and several other Anglican churches. There is a [[mosque]] on Sherborne Road which was opened to worshippers in May 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://yeovilislamiccentre.org.uk/|title=Yeovil Islamic Centre}}</ref> ==Sport== [[File:Huish Park, September 2007.jpg|thumb|left|[[Huish Park]]]] The town's [[association football|football]] team, [[Yeovil Town F.C.]], plays in green and white livery at [[Huish Park]], and currently competes in the [[National League (division)|National League]]. Known as the "Glovers" (referring to the town's glove-making past), it was founded in 1895 and won promotion to [[Football League Third Division|Division Three]] as [[Football Conference]] champions in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fchd.info/YEOVILT.HTM |title=Yeovil Town |access-date=11 January 2008 |work=Football Club History Database}}</ref> It had achieved numerous [[FA Cup]] victories over [[Football League]] sides in the past 50 years, and since joining the League has won promotion again – as [[Football League Two|League Two]] champions in 2005 and League One play-off winners in 2013. In women's football, [[Yeovil Town L.F.C.]] was founded in 1990 and won promotion to England's highest tier, the [[FA Women's Super League]], in 2016. Other football teams in the town include [[Westland Sports F.C.|Westland's Sports Football Club]], which plays at Alvington Lane, and Pen Mill Football Club.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}} [[Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club]], founded in 1969,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeovilolympiads.com/ |title=Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club |publisher=Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club |access-date=2 February 2010}}</ref> has produced many international athletes. The first was Eric Berry, who came 6th in the 1973 European Juniors in the hammer event. Olympians who started with the club include [[Max Robertson (athlete)|Max Robertson]] and [[Gary Jennings (athlete)|Gary Jennings]], both 400-metre hurdlers. Yeovil is home to Ivel Barbarians Rugby Club, formed in 1995 by a merger of the Yeovil and Westlands clubs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ivelrugby.com/ |title=Ivel Rugby |publisher=Ivel Rugby |access-date=11 January 2010}}</ref> [[South Somerset Warriors]] formed in 2010 and played in the [[Rugby League Conference South West Division|South West Division]] of the [[Rugby League Conference]] until it folded in 2011.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Chris |title=SW efforts bearing fruit |journal=Forty-20 |date=July 2011 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=37 |url=https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/9122/page/37 |access-date=14 March 2017}}</ref> The Goldenstones Pool and Leisure Centre provides a {{convert|25|m|ft}} swimming pool, a teaching pool, a gym, sauna, steam room, spectator area and workout studio.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goldenstones-leisure.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=c.showPage&pageID=1 |title=Goldenstones pools and leisure centre |publisher=Goldenstones pools and leisure centre |access-date=23 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409061104/http://www.goldenstones-leisure.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=c.showPage&pageID=1&CFID=2973846&CFTOKEN=8241d8e5b186fc15-E1316A8D-FFA6-085F-C1B024E3956C201E |archive-date=9 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=44|title=Goldenstones pools and leisure centre |publisher=South Somerset District Council |access-date=23 March 2010}}</ref> Preston Sports Centre has undergone an £800,000 refurbishment, which included adding a gym and dance studio.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.1610.org.uk/centres/9/preston-sports-centre/ |title=Preston Sports Centre |publisher=1610 |access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref> In late July 2007, South Somerset District Council plans were made public by the ''[[Western Gazette]]'' to build a £21-million Yeovil Sports Zone on Yeovil Recreation Ground,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=13214 |title=Yeovil Sports Zone |work=South Somerset Council |access-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> which has been a popular open green space with the local community for over 70 years. Residents fought to protect it,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=17395 |title=Sport Zone consultation findings|work=South Somerset Council |access-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> leading to rejection of the proposals in 2009,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.yeovilexpress.co.uk/news/4034050.SPORTS_ZONE__Protestors_save_Yeovil_Rec |title=Protestors save Yeovil Rec |date=9 January 2009 |publisher=Yeovil Express |access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> and further consultations in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.yeovilexpress.co.uk/news/7987707.Council_wants_to_get_Sports_Zone_project_right___this_time_/ |title=Council wants to get Sports Zone project right – this time! |date=17 April 2010 |access-date=24 April 2010 |publisher=Yeovil Express}}</ref> The recreation space known as Mudford Rec was frequented by England cricket star [[Ian Botham]] during a childhood stay in Yeovil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.middevonstar.co.uk/archive/2007/09/06/Yeovil+News+%28ye_news_yeovil%29/1664638.Botham_s_mum_opposes_Sports_Zone_plan/ |title=Botham's mum opposes Sports Zone plan |work=Mid Devon Star |access-date=8 June 2012}}</ref> Another regeneration project would have meant demolishing Foundry House, a former glove factory, but a local campaign led to this becoming a [[listed building]]. It will now be converted into a restaurant and offices and new shop and houses built on the surrounding site.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/westerngazette/news/Work-start/article-1772289-detail/article.html |title=Work to start at last! |date=2 February 2010 |access-date=22 March 2010 |work=Western Gazette}}</ref> ==Popular culture== Yeovil is known in [[Thomas Hardy]]'s [[Wessex]] as "Ivell".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~bp10/wessex/evolution/reviews/bookman1891.shtml |title=Thomas Hardy's Wessex |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=21 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605080518/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~bp10/wessex/evolution/reviews/bookman1891.shtml |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> It is also one of three main locations in [[John Cowper Powys]]'s 1929 novel, ''[[Wolf Solent]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.south-central-media.co.uk/lit_home/100.htm |title=100 Local-Interest Writers And Works |publisher=South Central MediaScene |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref> Yeovil is the location for the fictional ''School of Lifemanship'' in a series of novels by [[Stephen Potter]]: ''Gamesmanship'' (1947), ''Lifemanship'' (1950), ''One-Upmanship'' (1952), ''Supermanship'' (1958), ''Anti-Woo'' (1965) and ''The Complete Golf Gamesmanship'' (1968). These were adapted for the 1960 film ''[[School for Scoundrels (1960 film)|School for Scoundrels]]'', starring [[Alastair Sim]], [[Terry-Thomas]], [[Ian Carmichael]] and [[Irene Handl]].<ref name="SFS">Internet Movie Database: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054279/ School for Scoundrels]</ref> Later they were adapted by [[Barry Took]] for a BBC TV comedy series, ''One-Upmanship'' (1974–1978), starring [[Richard Briers]] and [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]]. Local band [[The Chesterfields]] released a single called "Last train to Yeovil" and pop band Bubblegum Splash a song called "18:10 to Yeovil Junction".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=948 |title=Chesterfields |publisher=Cherry Red Records |access-date=8 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213063249/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=948 |archive-date=13 February 2014 }}</ref> The folk band [[Show of Hands]] wrote a song called "Yeovil Town" about violence and crime they experienced after playing a small gig in Yeovil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lyricsmania.com/yeovil_town_lyrics_show_of_hands.html |title=Show of Hands Yeovil Town lyrics |publisher=Lyrics Mania |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref> Yeovil is the home town of Gary Strang (played by [[Martin Clunes]]) in the TV comedy ''[[Men Behaving Badly]]''. ===International tie=== [[Johannesburg]], South Africa, has a suburb called [[Yeoville]], so named in 1890 by Thomas Yeo Sherwell, a native of Yeovil in England. He named the streets after his sons, friends and business associates. ==Notable people== {{main category|People from Yeovil}} Among several notable Yeovil people, Robert Harbin, born in 1526, was a [[Merchant|mercer]] by profession, who lived and died in Yeovil and is buried in St John the Baptist Church. His house, [[Newton Surmaville]], was completed on the edge of the town in 1612. He was granted a coat of arms in May 1612 and given the title "Gentleman", but not knighted.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.eaves-klinger-genealogy.info/p777.htm |title=The Genealogical Records of James M. & Elsie Klinger Eaves |publisher=Jim & Elsie Eaves |access-date=28 March 2010}}</ref> [[Stukeley Westcott]] was an early American settler (17th century) and co-founder with [[Roger Williams (theologian)|Roger Williams]] and 11 others, of [[Providence, Rhode Island]] (1636), an early American asylum of religious freedom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Fred A |title=An account of the English homes of three early "proprietors" of Providence |publisher=Press of E.A. Johnson & Co. |year=1921 |url=https://archive.org/stream/accountofenglish00arno/accountofenglish00arno_djvu.txt}}</ref> [[Alison Adburgham]] (1912–1997), social historian and fashion journalist, was born in Yeovil,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adburgham, Alison |url=http://guardian.calmview.eu/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=DS%2fUK%2f1989 |website=guardian.calmview.eu |publisher=Guardian Observer archive |access-date=2 August 2015}}</ref> as were film historian [[William K. Everson]] in 1929,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Profile of William K. Everson |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/48/William-K-Everson.html |website=filmreference.com}}</ref> and traditionalist Catholic writer and public figure [[Michael Davies (Catholic writer)|Michael T. Davies]] in 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2004/nov2004p13_1785.html |title=RIP Michael Davies – The passing of a true defender of the Faith |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915135715/http://ad2000.com.au/articles/2004/nov2004p13_1785.html |archive-date=15 September 2010 |author=Michael Foley |work=AD2000 |page=13 |volume=17 |issue=10 |date=November 2004}}</ref> Sportspeople from Yeovil include [[Luton Town]] defender [[Martin Cranie]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fastscore.com/people/martin-cranie |title=Martin Cranie |publisher=FastScore.com |access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> Olympic pentathlete [[Sam Weale]], and his twin brother [[Chris Weale]], who is a former professional goalkeeper.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.yeovilexpress.co.uk/news/3606691.Yeovil_s_Sam_is_gunning_for_Olympic_glory_/ |title=Yeovil's Sam is gunning for Olympic glory! |last=Sowden |first=Steve |date=19 August 2008 |publisher=Yeovil Express |access-date=2 February 2010}}</ref> [[Heather Stanning]], a gold-medallist rower in the 2012 Olympic Games, was born in Yeovil.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19071987 Helen Glover & Heather Stanning enter Olympics history.]</ref> England Women's Rugby World Cup winner 2014 and freedom of the town holder [[Marlie Packer]] is from Yeovil.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/22/england-marlie-packer-interview-rfu-rugby-union |title=England's Marlie Packer: 'I thought it was all over. I'd lose my job, lose my rugby' |last=Bull |first=Andy |date=22 January 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> The arts are represented by [[Jim Cregan]], a guitarist with [[Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel]],<ref>{{Cite web |url={{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p67280 |pure_url=yes}} |title=Jim Cregan |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> musician [[John Parish]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.last.fm/music/John+Parish |title=John Parish |publisher=Last fm |access-date=2 February 2010}}</ref> and his younger sister, actress [[Sarah Parish]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2004/10/28/sarah_parish_blackpool_feature.shtml |title=Yeovil's Sarah Parish in Blackpool |date=2 December 2004 |publisher=BBC |access-date=2 February 2010}}</ref> Artist [[Flora Twort]] was born in Yeovil in 1893.<ref name=Twort>{{Cite web |url=http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=turte_twort&id=P972 |title=Ancestry chart of John Turte & Katerina Holmsby |publisher=Rootsweb |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref> Charlie Perratt (and his brother, although a bit less important and well known) - infamous mathematician and serial rapist. He very much embodies the spirit of Yeoville. Last year, he was awarded the ==See also== {{Portal|Somerset}} *[[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Yeovil}} *{{curlie|/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Somerset/Yeovil/|Yeovil}} *[http://www.yeoviltown.com/ Yeovil Town Council] *[http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/media/463344/102._yeovil_economic_profile.pdf Economy of Yeovil] {{Somerset}} {{South Somerset}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Yeovil| ]] [[Category:Towns in South Somerset]] [[Category:Civil parishes in Somerset]] [[Category:Market towns in Somerset]]'