Ilchester

Coordinates: 51°00′04″N 2°40′57″W / 51.0011°N 2.6825°W / 51.0011; -2.6825

Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a notable settlement in the county; around the 12th and 13th centuries it was effectively the county town. It had, however, declined in size and importance by the beginning of the 18th century, and the last markets were held in 1833. In 1889 the historic corporation that had governed the town (the Bailiff and Burgesses) was dissolved.

Ilchester is alternatively called Ivelchester (after the River Ivel) and the electoral ward of South Somerset District Council is named Ivelchester.

Geography

The parish, which includes the former village of Sock Dennis, or Stock-Dennis, and the old parish of Northover, has a population of 2,153. Sock Dennis lies on the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath.

Ilchester (UK Parliament constituency)

Ilchester was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament until 1832. It was one of the most notoriously corrupt rotten boroughs.

History

The constituency was a parliamentary borough in Somerset, first represented in the English Parliament in 1298 but thereafter returning MPs only occasionally until its right to representation was revived by a resolution of the House of Commons in 1621. The borough comprised the parish of Ilchester, originally a market town of some size but greatly declined by the 19th century; its former lace and silk industries were almost entirely extinct, and it subsisted mainly on trade arising from its position on the main road between London and Exeter. In 1831, the population of the borough was approximately 965, and contained 231 houses; the whole town, which extended slightly beyond the borough boundaries, had 248 houses.

Ilchester (disambiguation)

Ilchester is a village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England.

Ilchester may also refer to: