Cricket St Thomas

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Cricket St Thomas is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley beside the A30 road between Chard and Crewkerne in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 50, and is noted for a nearby manor house and estate, home to a large wildlife park. The name Cricket St Thomas is not related to the game of cricket, but is derived from the Anglo Saxon word "cruc," meaning a hill or ridge. The parish church is dedicated to St Thomas.

The estate is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is described as "Land of the Count of Martin" paying tax to the king for six hides, or about 720 acres (2.9 km²). It also had two slaves, six villagers, five smallholders and a variety of livestock — all valued at 100 shillings.

The Cricket St Thomas manor house was used as "Grantleigh Manor," the setting for the television series To the Manor Born featuring Audrey Fforbes Hamliton and Richard De Vere, played by Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, which aired from 1979 to 1981. The manor house, a Grade II listed building also known as "Cricket House," was developed into a resort hotel in 1999 .

The grounds of the house, known as Cricket Park, were designed by Capability Brown, and later turned into a wildlife park which now no longer existed. The wildlife park closed in 2009 and most of the larger animals were moved to other zoos around the country.

www.wild.org.uk/