Queen Camel - History

History

The name "Camel" derives not from the animal but from "cantmael", the name of the place in the 10th century. "Cantmael" possibly derives from the Celtic words canto "district" and mael "bare hill" The "Queen" in the village's name is probably Queen Eleanor, the wife of Henry III, who owned land in the area in the 13th century.

Some historians, including John Leland, believe the area surrounding the village to be the site of the final battle of King Arthur, the Battle of Camlann.

In the 10th century, land in Camel was granted away by the kings Edmund I, Eadwig and Edgar the Peaceful, but by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 it was held by Gytha of Wessex, after whom the village school, which opened in 1873 is named. In 1202 the manor was granted to Hubert de Burgh, by King John, who gave it to the monks of Cleeve Abbey. It later returned to the crown and in 1275 was known as Camel Regis. In 1558 it was granted to Sir Walter Mildmay, whose family retained it until 1929.

The parish was part of the hundred of Catsash.

The Mildmay family lived at Hazelgrove House, a substantial 17th-century house which was largely rebuilt by Carew Mildmay in 1730. It later became Hazlegrove Preparatory School, the junior school of King's School, Bruton.

A fire in 1634 destroyed 70 properties in the village.