() is a small village within the
Chew Valley in
Somerset and
Civil Parish in the
North Somerset Unitary Authority in
England .. It lies between
Chew Valley Lake and
Blagdon Lake , north of the
Mendip Hills , approximately 10 miles south of
Bristol on the
A368 Road Weston Super Mare to
Bath .
The village has a population of approx 500. A spring rises near the church feeds the village
Duck pond and ultimately becomes the
River Yeo .
Compton Martin is part of the Chew Valley South Ward which is represented by one councillor on the
Bath And North East Somerset Unitary Authority which has wider responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. The village is a part of the
Wansdyke Constituency which elects one
MP to the Westminster Parliament and part of the
South West England Constituency which elects 7 members to the European Parliament.
According to the 2001 Census The Chew Valley South Ward (which includes
Nempnett Thrubwell ), had 1,032 residents, living in 411 households, with an average age of 42.1 years. Of these 74% of residents describing their health as 'good', 20% of 16-74 year olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.7% of all economically active people aged 16-74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 22,950 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.
The church, which was built in the Norman period is dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. Norman vaulting can be seen in the chancel and Jacobean work in choir stalls and organ screen. The tower is approached from the nave via a lofty Tudor panelled arch which together with the tower itself dates from the early 16th century. It is some 70 feet high and contains six 18th century bells, five of which were cast by the Bilbies of
Chew Stoke . In the north wall is a recess containing the effigy of Thomas de Moreton which was discovered in 1858.
Above the ceiling of the Bickfield Chapel there is a void which contains a
Columbarium or dovecote. This housed 140 “squabs” or pigeons in 1606 for the rector’s table.
The church is a grade I
Listed Building (), and several of the monuments in the church yard also have listed status; (), (), ()
There is evidence of habitation of the area from prehistoric times and the romans mined lead in the local hill.
The Manor of Compton was given by
William The Conqueror to Serlo de Burci. It the passed to a Norman family named Martin who gave the village the latter half of its name. The first of the Martin family in England was Martin de Tours, a powerful nobleman and a great religious benefactor. In the reign of
Henry I Of England his son Robert Fitz-Martin inherited the Manor.
In the 14th century the Manor passed to the Wake family. Alice, wife of Ralph de Wake was tried and sentenced to be burned for the murder of her husband. Perhaps she is the inspiration for the legendary White Lady, a ghostly figure said to haunt the parish.
Compton Martin was the birthplace of Saint
Wulfric (1080-1154), hermit and miracle worker.
Around 1500 Teazle farming for use in the weaving of cloth became a majorlocalindustry.
In 1770 a new whipping post was installed by the pond for corporal punishment for minor offenses such as petty larceny and vagrancy or absence from church.
It is believed that there was an
Ochre mine in the village in the past
