History
One suggested explanation for the derivation for the Harptree name is from "hartreg", an Old English word for a grey hollow. According to Robinson it is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Harpetreu meaning 'The military road by the wood' from the Old English herepoep and treow.
In November 1887, while searching for the source of a spring, a labourer called William Currell put his pick into a pewter vessel full of Roman coins. The jar was 6 inches (15 cm) below the surface in swampy ground. It contained 1,496 coins, five ingots of silver and a ring. The coins covered the period between the reigns of Constantine the Great and Gratian.
The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred.
Around 1870-1880 the 'East Harptree Lead Works Co Ltd' mined the area around the village for lead, but this seems to have been largely unsuccessful and did not last for many years. Smitham Chimney is a visible reminder of the work.
Read more about this topic: East Harptree
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