The village is 13 miles (20.9 km) south of Bristol, 15 miles (24.1 km) southwest of Bath and 17 miles (27 km) east of Weston-super-Mare. The village has a pub and several shops including a post office. With its close neighbour East Harptree the villages are collectively known as the Harptrees.
History
According to Stephen Robinson it is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Herpetreu meaning 'The military road by the wood' from the Old Englishherepoep and treow.[3]
Between 1154 and 1172 an estate at West Harptree was granted by William FitzJohn to the Knights Templar.[4]
The shape of some of the existing fields with cross-slope and down-slope field banks and cultivated ridges forming an interleaving irregular mosaic suggest they are of medieval origin.[5]
The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also of interest to the council.
According to the 2001 Census the Mendip Ward (which includes East Harptree and Hinton Blewett), had 1,465 residents, living in 548 households, with an average age of 39.0 years. Of these 79% of residents describing their health as 'good', 22% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.5% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 25,387 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.[9]