Chard is a town and a civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon and Dorset borders, south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 14,000 and, at an elevation of , Chard is the southernmost and one of the highest towns in Somerset.

The name of the town was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the Domesday Book of 1086. After the Norman Conquest, Chard was held by the Bishop of Wells. The town's first charter was from King John in 1234. Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577, and it was further damaged during the English Civil War. A 1663 will by Richard Harvey of Exeter established Almshouses known as Harvey's Hospital. In 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion, the pretender Duke of Monmouth was proclaimed King in the Town prior to his defeat on Sedgemoor. Chard subsequently witnessed the execution and traitor's death of 12 condemned rebels, who, tried by Judge Jeffreys, were hanged near the present Tesco roundabout. The Chard Canal was a tub boat canal built between 1835 and 1842. Chard Branch Line was created in 1860 to connect the two London and South Western Railway and Bristol and Exeter Railway main lines and ran through Chard until 1965.

The town has a very unusual feature, a stream running along either side of Fore Street. One stream eventually flows into the Bristol Channel and the other reaches the English Channel. Chard Reservoir, approximately a mile north east of the town, is a Local Nature Reserve, and Snowdon Hill Quarry a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Major employers in the town include Numatic International Limited. There are a range of sporting and cultural facilities, with secondary education being provided at Holyrood Academy; religious sites including the Church of St Mary the Virgin, which dates from the late 11th century.

History

The earliest evidence of settlement near Chard is the Iron Age fort of Cotley Castle overlooking the Town near Bound's Lane. There was a small Saxon settlement centred round the Church and the area is still known as 'Old Town'. Chard's name was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it means "house on the chart or rough ground" (Old English: ćeart + renn). Before the Norman Conquest Chard was held by the Bishop of Wells. The town's first charter was from King John and another from the bishop in 1234, which delimited the town and laid out burgage holdings in lots at a rent of twelve pence per year. The parish of Chard was part of the Kingsbury Hundred,

Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577. After this time the town was largely rebuilt including Waterloo House and Manor Court House in Fore Street which were built as a house and courtroom, and have now been converted into shops and offices. In 2023, the historic Court House building was acquired by Somerset Council to safeguard its future. Further damage to the town took place during the English Civil War with both sides plundering its resources, particularly in 1644 when Charles I spent a week in the town. In 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion, the pretender James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, was proclaimed King in the Town and several locals joined his forces. Commander of the pursuing Royalist army, John Churchill, made a severe cautionary speech to the townsfolk in St Mary's. After the rebellion collapsed, Chard witnessed the execution and traitor's death of 12 of the Duke of Monmouth's rebels, who were summarily tried and condemned at Taunton Castle by Judge Jeffreys. They were hung, drawn and quartered by the 'Handcross tree' whose site was near the present Tesco roundabout. The tree was removed by the railway in 1864 amid loud local protests. and the Gifford Fox factory are examples of the sites constructed. The Guildhall was built as a Corn Exchange and Guildhall in 1834 and is now the Town Hall.

On Snowdon Hill is a small cottage which was originally a toll house built by the Chard Turnpike trust in the 1830s, to collect fees from those using a road up the hill which avoided the steep gradient.

thumb|Fore Street

Chard is the birthplace of powered flight, as it was here in 1848 that the Victorian aeronautical pioneer John Stringfellow (1799–1883) first demonstrated that engine-powered flight was possible through his work on the Aerial Steam Carriage.

Chard was a key point on the Taunton Stop Line, a World War II defensive line consisting of pillboxes and anti-tank obstacles, which runs from Axminster north to the Somerset coast near Highbridge.

Action Aid, the International Development Charity, had their headquarters in Chard when they started life in 1972 as Action in Distress. The Supporters Services department of the charity is still based in Chard.

Governance

thumb|left|[[The Guildhall, Chard|The Guildhall]]

Chard was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and remained a municipal borough until the Local Government Act 1972, when it became a successor parish in the non-metropolitan district of South Somerset. Somerset became a unitary authority on 1 April 2023.

The town council (a parish council with the status of a town) has responsibility for local issues. It evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. It initiates projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, and consults 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. It sets an annual precept (local rate) to cover its operating costs and produces annual accounts for public scrutiny. The council has a reception and offices in the Guildhall, a Grade II* listed building which was built in 1834 as a corn exchange.

In 2006 Chard Town Council came to the attention of the national press when mayor Tony Prior was found guilty of sexual discrimination and victimisation of the town clerk. He was ordered to pay £33,000 in compensation. Prior was banned from holding public office for nine months but was returned to council (as an independent councillor) in a 2010 by-election.

Somerset Council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, tourism, education, social services, the library, roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Police and the South Western Ambulance Service.

The civil parish of Chard Town (its formal name) elects councillors from five electoral wards: Avishayes, Combe, Crimchard, Holyrood and Jocelyn.

Chard is part of the Yeovil 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.

Twinning

Chard is twinned with Helmstedt in Germany (since 12 April 1980); Morangis, Essonne in France (since 29 May 1994); and Șeica Mare in Transylvania, Romania.

Geography

thumb|Chard reservoir

At an altitude of , Chard is one of the highest towns in Somerset, and is also the southernmost. The suburbs include: Crimchard, Furnham, Glynswood, Henson Park and Old Town. Local folklore claims that the town has a very unusual and unique feature, a stream running along either side of Fore Street. One stream eventually flows into the Bristol Channel and the other reaches the English Channel. This situation changed when the tributary of the Axe was diverted into the Isle; the gutter in Holyrood Street, though, still flows into the River Axe and therefore it is still true it lies on the watershed and that two gutters within the town eventually drain into the Bristol Channel and the English Channel.

The Chard Reservoir, around a mile northeast of the town, is a Local Nature Reserve. It is used for dog walking, fishing and birdwatching, with a bird hide having been installed. Species that are seen regularly include grey herons, kingfishers, great cormorants, little grebes, ducks and also a wide range of woodland songbirds. Others include the great white egret, cattle egret, and spotted redshank.

Snowdon Hill Quarry is a 0.6 hectare (1.3 acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts. The site shows rock exposures through the Upper Greensand and Chalk, containing fossil crustaceans which are both unique and exceptionally well-preserved making it a key locality for the study of palaeontology in Britain. The unit has been dated to the subdivision of the Chalk known as the Turrilites acutus Zone, named after one of the characteristic fossils, which was laid down in the Middle Cenomanian era between 99.6 ± 0.9 MA and 93.5 ± 0.8 MA (million years ago).

There are also caves in Chard, first recorded in a charter of 1235 as being used by stonemasons, which provided local building stone. The cave is smaller than when it was used as a quarry as part of the roof has fallen in but a cave below ground still exists with the remains of the supporting pillars left when it was being worked. The annual mean temperature is approximately . Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately . In winter mean minimum temperatures of are common. James Gillingham developed articulated artificial limbs. Chard is a key point on the Taunton Stop Line, a World War II defensive line.

right|thumb|Numatic's Henry vacuum cleaner

Chard is the home of Numatic International Limited, notable for its 'Henry' vacuum cleaners with the characteristic large smiling face. The company employs over 700 people. In contrast to competitors such as Hoover and Dyson the firm continues to manufacture in Britain. The site occupies an area of more than 10 hectares and operates continuously, producing over 4,000 products per day.

Another large employer in Chard was Oscar Mayer, However this deal fell through and the company announced 250 job losses. Oscar Mayer announced on 22 October 2020 that it was considering ending production at its Chard sites. Following collective consultation with its employees, the company decided to close the Chard sites, with most of the staff employed there becoming redundant. It was expected that the transfer of Oscar Mayer's Chard manufacturing business to its other UK sites would be complete by the end of September 2021.

Chard is also home to Brecknell Willis, one of the world's oldest and leading specialists in the design, construction and installation of railway electrification systems, most notably metro and light rail systems. Its largest customer, London Underground, purchases both train-borne equipment and infrastructure. In early July 2014 the company was bought by WABTEC, bringing it into the Wabtec Rail Group as well as the Falstand Electric Group. In 2023, the site's production facility was closed by Wabtec. The production was transferred to other Wabtec plants while the office in Chard will maintain its engineering, project management, and sales office.

Transport

thumb|left|Central Station

From 1842 Chard was the terminus of the Chard Canal, a tub boat canal that joined the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal at Creech St. Michael. It had four aqueducts, three tunnels and four inclined planes along its length. It took seven years to construct and cost about £140,000 (£ in ).

In the 1860s the town became the terminus of two railway lines. The first was opened in 1863 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as a short branch line from their main line. This approached the town from the south. The second and longer line was opened by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) in 1866 and ran northwards, close to the route of the canal, to join their main line near . From 1917 they were both operated by one company, but services were mostly advertised as though it was still two separate lines. It was closed to passengers in 1962 and freight traffic was withdrawn a few years later..

Part of the Taunton Stop Line has been incorporated into Route 33 of the National Cycle Network, which runs from Bristol to Seaton. The section between Chard and Ilminster follows a purpose-built traffic-free railway path that also formed part of the Stop Line. and route 99, which both run hourly during weekdays. There is also a service to Yeovil via Crewkerne provided by South West Coaches

Sport

Chard has a number of local sport clubs. Chard Town F.C. play football in the Somerset County League, whilst a number of Chard football clubs play in the Perry Street and District League.

The Rugby union club, Chard RFC, was formed in 1876. The Club runs 3 Senior sides, with the 1stXV playing currently in South West One (west) achieving promotion to National League 3 South West on 26 April 2014 beating Old Towcestrians in the playoff final. Chard Hockey Club was established in 1907 and it now runs three male and three female sides. There are also facilities for cricket, tennis, bowls, darts and golf. The Wessex Pool League is also played in a number of Pubs in Chard, along with the Chard and District Darts League.

Local media

Television signals are received from either the Mendip or Stockland Hill TV transmitters.

Radio stations for the area are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 97.1 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West on 106.6 FM and Radio Ninesprings on 104.6 FM.

Local newspapers are the Chard and Ilminster News, Somerset County Gazette, Somerset Guardian and Standard and Somerset Live.

Education

thumb|left|[[Chard School]]

The original school building in Fore Street was built in 1583 a private residence for William Symes of Poundisford. In 1671 his youngest son, John, conveyed the property to 12 trustees so that it should be converted into a grammar school – according to his father's wish. Today, it is known as Chard School, a private school for children ages 4 to 11.

Avishayes Community Primary School, Manor Court Community Primary School, Tatworth Primary School and The Redstart Primary School all offer primary education, while Holyrood Academy offers secondary education. The school, as of 2019, has 1,276 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18.

thumb|Baptist church

Religious sites

The Anglican Church of St Mary the Virgin dates from the late 11th century and was rebuilt in the 15th century. The tower contains eight bells, of which two were made in the 1790s by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family in Cullompton. The three-stage tower has moulded string courses and an angle stair turret in the north-west corner. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. There is a church room, built in 1827. The Baptist Church in Holyrood Street was built in 1842.

Notable residents

thumb|upright|[[William Samuel Henson]]

thumb|upright|[[Margaret Bondfield, 1900]]

  • Thomas Cogan (1545?–1607), an English physician.
  • John Sandford (c.1565–1629), clergyman and academic, a grammarian of the Romance languages.
  • John Strong (1610–1699), New England colonist, politician, and one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut and Northampton, Massachusetts.
  • John Bond (1612–1676), jurist, Puritan clergyman, member of the Westminster Assembly, and Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
  • Robert Adkins (1626–1685), one of the most notable of the two thousand ejected ministers of 1662.
  • Samuel Thomas (1627–1693), a nonjuring clergyman and controversialist.
  • Henry Thompson (1797–1878), an English cleric and author.
  • William Samuel Henson (1812–1888), aviation engineer and inventor, who worked with fellow Chard resident John Stringfellow (1799–1883) to achieve the first powered flight, in 1848, in a disused lace factory, with a steam-driven flying machine.
  • James Gillingham (1839–1924), pioneered the development of articulated artificial limbs
  • Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953), a politician and feminist; the first UK woman Cabinet minister.
  • Frederick Dwelly (1881–1957), the first Dean of Liverpool.
  • Sir Cullum Welch (1895–1980), Army officer, businessman and Lord Mayor of London, 1956/1957.
  • Lucy Cox (born 1988), an abstract artist, who has exhibited work nationally and internationally and curated exhibitions in London.

Sport

  • Pat Beasley (1913–1986), footballer and manager who played in 406 games and one for England
  • Ben Hamer (born 1987), football goalkeeper, has played over 340 games

See also

  • South West England
  • West Country dialects

References

  • The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Chard