Mendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km) ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 110,000. The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet but the largest town (three times larger than Shepton Mallet) is Frome, pronounced "Froome" and spelt that way until about 1890.
The distric...
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Mendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km) ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 110,000. The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet but the largest town (three times larger than Shepton Mallet) is Frome, pronounced "Froome" and spelt that way until about 1890.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, along with Frome, Shepton Mallet, Street urban districts, and Frome Rural District, Shepton Mallet Rural District, Wells Rural District, and part of Axbridge Rural District and part of Clutton Rural District.
Several explanations for the name "Mendip" have been suggested. Its earliest known form is Mendepe in 1185. One suggestion is that it is derived from the medieval term "Myne-deepes". However, A D Mills derives...
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