Temple Cloud

Temple Cloud
Temple Cloud
	The Temple Inn
	Temple Cloud Location within Somerset
Population	approx. 1,000
OS grid reference	ST621580
Civil parish	Temple Cloud with Cameley;
Unitary authority	Bath and North East Somerset;
Ceremonial county	Somerset;
Region	South West;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS39
Dialling code	01761
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	North East Somerset and Hanham;
	List of places UK England Somerset 51°19′11″N 2°32′36″W / 51.3197°N 2.5432°W

Temple Cloud (grid reference ST621580) is a village in the Chew Valley in Somerset on the A37 road. It is in the civil parish of Temple Cloud with Cameley and in the council area of Bath and North East Somerset. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Bristol and 5 miles (8 km) from the town of Midsomer Norton. The villages of Cameley and Clutton are nearby.

The Temple in the place name possibly relates to the Knights Templar who held the manors of Cameley and Cloud around 1200.^[1] Cloud is thought to come from the personal name Cloda.^[2] It has been suggested that Cloud derives from the Old English ‘clud’ meaning rocky outcrop (the neighbouring village Clutton has the same derivation).

There were several coal mines in and around the village as a part of the Somerset coalfield, but these have all since closed.

Government and politics

Temple Cloud is part of the Mendip Ward, which is represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, which has responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. Mendip ward stretches from Temple Cloud to East Harptree. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 2,683.^[3]

The village is a part of the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. Prior to Brexit in 2020, it was a part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census, the Mendip Ward (which includes West Harptree and Hinton Blewett), had 1,465 residents, living in 548 households, with an average age of 39.0 years. Of these 79% of residents describing their health as 'good', 22% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.5% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 25,387 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.^[1]

Church

Temple Cloud is included in the Anglican parish of Clutton with Cameley.^[4]
Its church is located in the centre of the village; built in the 1920s, it was dedicated to St Barnabas in 1926.^[5]

Notable buildings

Temple Cloud has a number of buildings that are listed for their historical or heritage value, including the Temple Inn.

The Old Court is a Grade II listed former magistrates' court house with police cells, built in 1857 in baronial style.

References

^ This is not confirmed and there are several theories about the derivation of the name. it has been suggested that there may have been a Roman temple in the area. Faith, Juliet (2009). The Knights Templar in Somerset. The History Press. pp. 59–86. ISBN 9780752452562.
^ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1-874336-03-2.
^ "Mendip ward 2011". Retrieved 8 March 2015.
^ "Parish of Clutton with Cameley - St Barnabas". Retrieved 27 June 2016.
^ "A Church Near you - St Barnabas". Retrieved 27 June 2016.