Coalpit Heath

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Coalpit Heath
Bristol MMB <<A6 Coalpit Heath Viaduct.jpg
The South Wales Main Line viaduct
at Coalpit Heath
Stsaviourcoalpitheath.jpg
St Saviours Church, Coalpit Heath
Gloucestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Coalpit Heath
Location within Gloucestershire
Population1886 in 803 households (according to 2011 census) [1]
OS grid reference ST675806
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS36
Dialling code 01454
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°31′34″N2°28′12″W / 51.526°N 2.47°W / 51.526; -2.47

Coalpit Heath is a small village in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, south of Yate and east of Frampton Cotterell.

Contents

Background

Bitterwell Lake
(see Henfield) Fishing at Bitterwell Lake.JPG
Bitterwell Lake
(see Henfield)
Coalpit Heath Cricket Club
(see Ram Hill) Coalpit Heath Cricket Club.jpg
Coalpit Heath Cricket Club
(see Ram Hill)

Due to the expansion of Coalpit Heath and the neighbouring villages in the late 20th century, the borders of Coalpit Heath with Frampton Cotterell have become vague. The village contains three pubs, one post office, a 27-hole golf course (The Kendleshire), [2] and a few local shops. The village also includes a parish church, and a local primary school, The Manor CofE VC Primary school. [3]

It was founded as a coal mining settlement. One pit was on Frog Lane at ST 685 815 (to the north east of the village). Other mines operated between Mays Hill and Nibley to the north and at Ram Hill and Henfield to the south. [4] These were served by a railway line, closed some decades ago and no longer visible on the ground. In 1949 the coal ran out, and since then it has become a sought after place to live, with fields and easy accommodation. The South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group (SGMRG) has done a lot of research into the history of mining in the area. When the Kendleshire golf course was built, the remains of many bell pits were found and there are probably many more in the area.

Frampton Cotterell lies along the northwest border, but the rest of the village is surrounded by the rolling Cotswold countryside, stocked full of wildlife and country pursuits.

St. Saviour's Church lies within the village. [5] It was designed by William Butterfield in 1844 and was his first Anglican Church. [6]

Amenities used and supported by the village include Bitterwell Lake at Henfield and Coalpit Heath Cricket Club at Ram Hill.

Coalpit Heath in literature

A number of sources, including Frank Barrett's book Where Was Wonderland? A Traveller's Guide to the Settings of Classic Children's Books, cite Coalpit Heath as the setting for the Dick King Smith children's book The Sheep-Pig, later adapted for film as Babe. [7]

The South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group have written two books (more to be published soon) on Coalpit Heath and the surrounding area, including Frog Lane [8] and Kingswood Coal. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Gloucestershire</span> Local government district in Gloucestershire, England

South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingswood, South Gloucestershire</span> Town in Gloucestershire, England

Kingswood is a town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire district of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. The town is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east-northeast of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westerleigh</span> Human settlement in England

Westerleigh is a clustered village in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, it contains sources of the Frome and has an endpoint of the Frome Valley Walkway. It is 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of the M4, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Yate and 10 miles (16 km) north-east of the city of Bristol. In the south it includes a steep hill of its own 5 miles (8.0 km) from the crest of the Cotswold hills which is designated an AONB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northavon (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

Northavon was, from 1983 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Acton</span> Village in South Gloucestershire, England

Iron Acton is a village, civil parish and former manor in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about 2 miles (3 km) west of Yate and about 9 miles (14 km) northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it just to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frampton Cotterell</span> Human settlement in England

Frampton Cotterell is a large village and parish, in South Gloucestershire, South West England, on the River Frome. The village is contiguous with Winterbourne to the south-west and Coalpit Heath to the east. The parish borders Iron Acton to the north and Westerleigh to the south-east, the large town of Yate is 2.1 miles (3.4 km) away. The village is 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of the city of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pucklechurch</span> Human settlement in England

Pucklechurch is a large village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It has a current population of about 3000. The village dates back over a thousand years and was once the site of a royal hunting lodge, as it adjoined a large forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Bristol</span> Diocese of the Church of England

The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east as Swindon. The diocese is headed by the Bishop of Bristol and the Episcopal seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, commonly known as Bristol Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingswood, Surrey</span> Human settlement in England

Kingswood or Kingswood with Burgh Heath is a residential area on the North Downs in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. Part of the London commuter belt, Kingswood is just to the east of the A217 separating it from Tadworth and has a railway station. Burgh Heath in its north is combined with it to form a ward. Reigate is 3.6 miles (5.8 km) south of its centre and London is 15.5 miles (24.9 km) to the north northeast. Kingswood with Burgh Heath had a population of 6,891 in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Michael's Church, Winterbourne</span> Building in Bristol, England

St Michael the Archangel Church or simply St Michael's Church is an Anglican parish church located in Winterbourne, South Gloucestershire, on the northern fringe of Bristol. It was built in the 12th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Hill Colliery</span>

Ram Hill Colliery, was a privately owned colliery in the Coalpit Heath area north-east of Bristol, England. It operated between about 1825 and 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henfield, Gloucestershire</span> Human settlement in England

Henfield is a hamlet in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is between Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh, adjoining the hamlet of Ram Hill immediately to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siston Brook</span> River in England

Siston Brook rises in two separate streams which issue from a ridge just north of the village of Siston, South Gloucestershire, England. The brook is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. Much of its course is through the eastern suburbs of Bristol, although it remains outside the city boundaries. Tributaries include the Warmley Brook and an unnamed tributary from Bridgeyate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Coalfield</span> Coalfield in west England

The Bristol Coalfield is a geologically complex coalfield in the west of England. Comprising the coal-bearing rocks arranged around the Coalpit Heath Syncline and Kingsdown Anticline, it extends beneath the eastern parts of the city of Bristol and northwards through southern Gloucestershire. The coalfield is sometimes referred to together with the Somerset Coalfield, which lies to its south, as the Bristol and Somerset Coalfield. There are also two outlying coal-mining areas, the Severn Coalfield and the Nailsea Basin which are described below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Hill</span> Human settlement in England

Ram Hill is a hamlet in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is located between Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh and adjoins the hamlet of Henfield immediately to the south. In the Mudge Map 1815, Ram Hill was known as Nutridge Hill, and was linked to Westerleigh by Broad Lane and to Mays Hill by Frog Lane.

Gloucester 1 is an English rugby union league which sits at the ninth level of league rugby union in England for teams based primarily in the county of Gloucestershire but also on occasion teams from Bristol. Promoted clubs move into Gloucester Premier and relegated clubs drop into either Gloucester 2 North or Gloucester 2 South depending on location. Each year clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.

The Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway was an early mineral railway, opened in two stages in 1832 and 1834, which connected collieries near Coalpit Heath with Bristol, at the river Avon. Horse traction was used. It was later taken over by the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, and much of the route became part of the main line between Birmingham and Bristol, though that was later by-passed and closed. Part of it now forms the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avon and Gloucestershire Railway</span>

The Avon and Gloucestershire Railway also known as The Dramway was an early mineral railway, built to bring coal from pits in the Coalpit Heath area, north-east of Bristol, to the River Avon opposite Keynsham. It was dependent on another line for access to the majority of the pits, and after early success, bad relations and falling traffic potential dogged most of its existence.

References

  1. "Coalpit Heath" (PDF). South Gloucestershire.
  2. "The Kendleshire". The Kendleshire. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  3. "The Manor Church of England Primary School". The Manor Church of England Primary School. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. Ordnance survey one-inch map of Great Britain, Sheet 156 Bristol and Stroud, Seventh series 1949, 1963 revision
  5. "St Saviour's Church". St Saviour's Church. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. "Beginnings". Coalpit Heath. Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  7. Smith, Joseph (13 July 2018). "The Bristol farm which inspired Babe the pig could be turned into houses – but author Dick King-Smith's family is fighting back". Bristol Live. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  8. Frog Lane Colliery (PDF). South Gloucestershire Mining Research Group. 2009. ISBN   9781899889334. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011.
  9. Kingswood Coal. South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group. 2008. ISBN   978-0-9553464-2-2. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011.