Beercrocombe
The Chard Canal opened in 1842. It was the last of the main English canals and technically one of the most advanced. Yet it never paid its way and was closed within 25 years of its opening. Today it lies forgotten and abandoned, but its remains are still an impressive monument to the past, and its story still has lessons for the present.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Chard History Group. There you can get an updated version of this booklet.
Even a small village like Beercrocombe has a long and complex history. Everyone who has lived here, even if only for a very short time, has left their mark however small. For most, history does not record their lives. For others we are left with tantalising glimpses. This little book does not attempt to provide a complete history of Beercrocombe, merely a brief look at a hamlet where our predecessors have lived for over one thousand years of good times and bad.
Beercrocombe Village Green
Village Green Registration - 1970
Village Green Plan - 1970
Village Green Commons Commissioner - 1977
Village Green Transfer from SSDC to Beercrocombe Parish Council
Village Green Land Registry registration WS83817
Village Green Plan - 1970
Village Green Commons Commissioner - 1977
Village Green Transfer from SSDC to Beercrocombe Parish Council
Village Green Land Registry registration WS83817
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Beercrocombe receiving ownership of village green 17th July 2018
Photographs by Willy Vigus, click on each to enlarge or click here for slide show
Gaining Ownership of our Village Green - why did it take 50 years?
Following the requirements of the 1965 Commons Registration Act the late Tony Davies registered the village green in 1969 on behalf of the parish. He received back the registration certificate and plan, but as the parish had no Council Beercrocombe was not registered as owner. Tony Davies must have had the aspiration that Beercrocombe would be the owner of the village green, so the outcome must have been a disappointment.
At a Commons Commissioner hearing in late 1977 the ownership of Beercrocombe’s village green was considered and he directed that ownership would go to Yeovil District Council, which later became South Somerset District Council (SSDC). No one from Beercrocombe or Yeovil District Council attended the hearing, presumably because no one saw the public notices. The years passed and when SSDC came to audit their estate to register it with the Land Registry, Beercrocombe’s village green was not included. More years passed. For reasons unknown the Parish Council never raised the ownership of the village green once it had formed in 1984. However, a chance discussion last year led to the decision to find out who owned the village green. Having lost all record of it, SSDC was adamant that they did not own it. An application by the Parish Council direct to the Land Registry was rejected as the historical documents indicated that SSDC was the legal owner. A second approach to SSDC was more successful as they agreed, without declaring ownership, to transfer ownership to Beercrocombe Parish Council. The bureaucracy was sweetened by SSDC only requiring £1 for the village green. Finally, the village green was successfully registered with the Land Registry in July 2018.
As the Taunton Deane Morris Men were scheduled to perform at the village green on Tuesday 17th July 2018, the parish used the occasion to celebrate gaining its ownership with a barbecue and bubbly. Besides enjoying a village social event there was a feeling of connecting the past to the present and general satisfaction that the aspiration of the late Tony Davies in 1969 was fulfilled some 50 years later.
Following the requirements of the 1965 Commons Registration Act the late Tony Davies registered the village green in 1969 on behalf of the parish. He received back the registration certificate and plan, but as the parish had no Council Beercrocombe was not registered as owner. Tony Davies must have had the aspiration that Beercrocombe would be the owner of the village green, so the outcome must have been a disappointment.
At a Commons Commissioner hearing in late 1977 the ownership of Beercrocombe’s village green was considered and he directed that ownership would go to Yeovil District Council, which later became South Somerset District Council (SSDC). No one from Beercrocombe or Yeovil District Council attended the hearing, presumably because no one saw the public notices. The years passed and when SSDC came to audit their estate to register it with the Land Registry, Beercrocombe’s village green was not included. More years passed. For reasons unknown the Parish Council never raised the ownership of the village green once it had formed in 1984. However, a chance discussion last year led to the decision to find out who owned the village green. Having lost all record of it, SSDC was adamant that they did not own it. An application by the Parish Council direct to the Land Registry was rejected as the historical documents indicated that SSDC was the legal owner. A second approach to SSDC was more successful as they agreed, without declaring ownership, to transfer ownership to Beercrocombe Parish Council. The bureaucracy was sweetened by SSDC only requiring £1 for the village green. Finally, the village green was successfully registered with the Land Registry in July 2018.
As the Taunton Deane Morris Men were scheduled to perform at the village green on Tuesday 17th July 2018, the parish used the occasion to celebrate gaining its ownership with a barbecue and bubbly. Besides enjoying a village social event there was a feeling of connecting the past to the present and general satisfaction that the aspiration of the late Tony Davies in 1969 was fulfilled some 50 years later.