Berkley, Somerset: A Dispersed Parish, a Georgian Church, and a Medieval Poet
Berkley is a civil parish and dispersed settlement in the county of Somerset, England, lying on the north-eastern edge of the town of Frome in the Mendip district. The Church of St Mary, the parish's heart, stands approximately 2¼ miles from Frome town centre. The parish includes the hamlets of Oldford, Berkley Marsh, and Standerwick; its eastern boundary is also the county boundary with Wiltshire. The River Frome runs a short distance to the west. The A361 road connecting Trowbridge with Frome passes through the parish following a diversion built in the late 20th century.
History The earliest documentary records date to the medieval period; Somerset church registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials survive from 1531. Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of 1870–72 describes Berkley as a parish in the Frome district covering 1,927 acres, with a rateable value of £3,351 and a population of 386, noting that "Berkeley House is the seat of E. Dickinson, Esq." and that the church "is good." Landownership was concentrated in few hands; among its notable proprietors was the Prowse family. Thomas Prowse served as Member of Parliament for Somerset from 1740 to 1767, and his grandfather had acquired the Berkley estate by marriage.
Berkley's most celebrated connection with English literary history is that of Alexander Barclay (c. 1476–1552), who local tradition identifies as a native of the village. A priest and poet, Barclay is best remembered for his English translation and adaptation of German satirist Sebastian Brant's Narrenschiff, published in 1509 under the title The Shyp of Folys of the Worlde (The Ship of Fools) — the first work of its kind in English and twice as long as the original. He also wrote the first pastoral eclogues in the English language, served as chaplain at the collegiate chapel of Ottery St Mary in Devon, became a Benedictine monk at Ely, a Franciscan friar at Canterbury, and in 1520 was commissioned to provide decorations for the banquet pavilion at the Field of the Cloth of Gold — the celebrated meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France. It should be noted, however, that Barclay's birthplace remains disputed among historians; some sources place it in Scotland.
Heritage The parish's most notable building is the Church of St Mary, erected in 1751 and listed at Grade II*. Its organ has recently been restored. Also Grade II* listed, Berkley House stands immediately south of the church and served as the seat of the Prowse family during the 18th century. The parish is also home to Berkley Church of England First School, a small village school for children aged 4 to 9.
Points of interest: - Population: 314 inhabitants (2021 census). - Distances: 2¼ miles from Frome town centre; 5 km north of Frome via the A361; 19 miles from Bath; 22 miles from Bristol. - Getting there: The nearest railway station is Frome, on the line between Westbury and Weymouth (Great Western Railway).