Great Elm

---

title: "Great Elm" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-mendip-district", "civil-parishes-in-somerset"] description: "Village in Somerset, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-mendip-district" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Elm" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Somerset, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
country	England
official_name	Great Elm
coordinates
population	171
population_ref	(2011)
unitary_england	Somerset
lieutenancy_england	Somerset
region	South West England
constituency_westminster	Frome and East Somerset
post_town	FROME
postcode_district	BA11
postcode_area	BA
dial_code	01373
os_grid_reference	ST745495
static_image	St. Mary, Great Elm - geograph.org.uk - 209262.jpg
static_image_width	250px
static_image_caption	Church of St Mary Magdalene, Great Elm
static_image_2	[[File:Bridge over Mells River, Great Elm - geograph.org.uk - 836663.jpg
static_image_2_caption	Bridge over Mells River
::

|country = England |official_name= Great Elm |coordinates = |civil_parish= | population = 171 | population_ref =(2011) | unitary_england = Somerset | lieutenancy_england = Somerset |region= South West England |constituency_westminster= Frome and East Somerset |post_town= FROME |postcode_district= BA11 |postcode_area=BA |dial_code= 01373 |os_grid_reference= ST745495 |static_image = St. Mary, Great Elm - geograph.org.uk - 209262.jpg |static_image_width = 250px |static_image_caption = Church of St Mary Magdalene, Great Elm |static_image_2 = [[File:Bridge over Mells River, Great Elm - geograph.org.uk - 836663.jpg|alt=Stone two arch bridge over water|250px]] |static_image_2_caption = Bridge over Mells River Great Elm is a village and civil parish between Mells and Frome in Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Hapsford. In 2011 the parish had a population of 171.

History

The name Great Elm was recorded as Telma in the Domesday Book of 1086, and then as Teames in 1236 which is a contraction of aet elm at the elm tree. Little Elm developed into the village of Chantry.

At Tedbury Camp southwest of the village a pot of Roman coins was dug up in 1961.

After the Norman Conquest the manor was held by the Giffards and later by the Hidges family and then the Stracheys.

The parish was part of the hundred of Frome.

For many years in the 18th and 19th centuries Great Elm was the site of water powered mills owned by James Fussell IV.

The Stracheys owned Rock House for a period early in the 20th century.

Hapsford House on Hapsford Hill is a 19th-century country house.

The Jackdaws Music Education Trust has been based in the village since 1993.

Governance

The 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 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.

Until 2023 it was in the Non-metropolitan district of Mendip, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Frome Rural District.

Somerset Council is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

It is also part of the Frome and East Somerset county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Geography

The village lies above the Mells River in the Mendip Hills.

Vallis Vale is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which includes an ancient woodland and exposes some of Britain's most classic rock outcrops, exhibiting several of the most easily demonstrated examples of angular unconformity available.

Transport

The Macmillan Way long-distance path passes through the village, the Mendip Way passes by on the far side of the river, and the village is just off the Colliers Way, National Cycle Route 24.

The parish is crossed by a Mendip Rail railway line which carries aggregate trains from Whatley Quarry. On 6 October 2008 a freight train was hit from behind by a runaway train near Great Elm on the private line from Whatley Quarry. There were no serious injuries.

Religious sites

The Church of St Mary Magdalene dates from the 12th century and is a Grade I listed building.

References

References

1. "Great Elm Parish". Office for National Statistics.
2. Bush, Robin. (1994). "Somerset: The Complete Guide". Dovecote Press.
3. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI.
4. Thornes, Robin. (2010). "Men of iron. The Fussells of Mells". Frome Society for Local Study.
5. {{NHLE
6. "Frome RD". University of Portsmouth.
7. [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001131.pdf English Nature citation sheet for Vallis Vale] . Retrieved 10 August 2006.
8. "Investigations underway after train crash". Somerset Standard newspaper.
9. "Crash could have been caused by brake failure". Somerset Standard newspaper.
10. {{NHLE

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::