Blagdon | |
---|---|
Blagdon with the lake in the foreground | |
Location within Somerset | |
Population | 1,116 (2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | ST500589 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRISTOL |
Postcode district | BS40 |
Dialling code | 01761 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2021 census it has a population of 1,184. [2] The village is about 12 miles (19 km ) east of Weston-super-Mare and 12 miles (19 km) south west of Bristol, on the A368 road to Bath.
The village was called Blachedon in the 1086 Domesday Book and the name comes from the Old English bloec and dun meaning 'the black or bleak down'. [3]
There was a Roman presence in Blagdon from about 49 AD [4] until the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. Several Roman coins and fragments of Roman pottery have been found in the village. There were lead and silver workings in Charterhouse, about a mile and a half uphill to the south, so it is likely that the wealthier supervisors had their houses away from the toxic smoke in the village. Wade and Wade in their 1929 book Somerset suggest traces of Roman mines such as tools and pigs of lead have been found at Blagdon. [4]
The parish was part of the Hundred of Winterstoke. [5]
Blagdon is believed to have been the caput of the feudal barony held by Serlo de Burci (died c. 1086), who is recorded as holding the manor in the Domesday Book of 1086. However the caput may have been Dartington. [6] The Domesday Book recorded a land area for Blagdon approximating to 2,000 acres (8 km2), including 200 acres (0.8 km2) of woodland. Serlo left no sons and his daughter Geva was his sole heiress. She married twice: firstly to "Martin" (died before 1086), to whom she bore a son and heir Robert FitzMartin (died 1159), and secondly to William de Falaise. In 1154 Robert FitzMartin gave St Andrews Church and other land from around the East End of the village to Stanley Abbey in Wiltshire. He also gave land at Blagdon to the Knights Templar which became known as the Temple Hydon Estate. [7] Robert's son was William FitzMartin (1155–1209), whose own son and heir was William FitzMartin (died before 15 February 1216). Next to inherit was Nicholas FitzMartin (1210–1282) whose son Nicholas (died 1260)predeceased him, but had married the sole heiress of the feudal barony of Barnstaple, Maud de Tracy (died before Michaelmas 1279), daughter and sole heiress of Henry de Tracy (died 1274). Nicholas's son William FitzMartin (died 1324) thus inherited Barnstaple from his mother and Blagdon from his grandfather. On the death in 1326 of William's son William without children, his co-heirs were his surviving sister Eleanor and James Audley (died 1386) the son of his deceased sister Joan FitzMartin (died 1322). Eleanor FitzMartin (died 1342) died without children, albeit having married twice. James Audley, 2nd Baron Audley (died 1386) was Joan's son by her second husband Nicholas Audley, 1st Baron Audley (died 1316) of Heleigh Castle, Staffordshire. James Audley thus in 1342 inherited his childless aunt Eleanor's moieties of the two baronies of Barnstaple and Blagdon, thus giving him possession of the whole of each. [8] [9]
In the late eighteenth century, the famous writer and educational pioneer Hannah More, shocked at the poverty and ignorance to be found in Mendip villages, was active establishing schools in the area. In 1795 she founded a Sunday School in Blagdon, in the building now called Hannah More House. [10] About this time she wrote to William Wilberforce, the anti-slavery campaigner, about her school, "Several of the grown-up youths had been tried at the last assizes; three were children of a person lately condemned to be hanged — many thieves! Of this banditti we have enlisted one hundred and seventy; and when the clergyman, a hard man, who is also the magistrate, saw these creatures kneeling around us, whom he had seldom seen but to commit or punish in some way, he burst into tears". [11]
However, Mr Bere, the curate referred to in this letter, soon became implacably opposed to the school and after years of pressure it was forced to close. Nevertheless, the furore created made the "Blagdon Controversy" a milestone of national importance in the development of education for the labouring classes. [12]
There are several houses in the village dating from medieval times and earlier. The houses facing on to Bell Square in the north corner of the West End date from the fourteenth century. The shape of some of the existing fields suggest they are of medieval origin. [13]
In 1901 the Wrington Vale Light Railway reached Blagdon. It closed to passengers just 30 years later in 1931. Part of the line remained for freight only, but this closed in 1962.
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.
Blagdon and Churchill Ward is represented by one councillor - currently Cllr Patrick Keating [14] - on the unitary authority of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. It provides a single tier of local government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within its area including local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection, recycling, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. It is also responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service.
North Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. [15] Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Axbridge Rural District. [16]
The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Wells and Mendip Hills. It was also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament, prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020..
The village is located on the northern edge of the Mendip Hills on the A368, overlooking Blagdon Lake. The headquarters of the dairy company Yeo Valley Organic is located in the village.
When describing Blagdon the names of the three former separate settlements that merged to form Blagdon are usually used: West End, East End, and Street End.
The new road serving the housing is named Baynard Close after the Lord of the Manor of Blagdon who founded the forerunner of the current village school in 1687. [17] The New Inn is a Grade II listed building. [18]
According to the 2001 Census, the Blagdon and Churchill Ward had 1,423 residents, living in 594 households, with an average age of 41.9 years. Of these 75% of residents described their health as 'good', 19% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.2% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 24,228 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived. [19] The 2011 Census highlights that the population had dropped to 1,116 within 737 hectares of land. [1] 938 of these people were of working age and 155 had no qualifications. [1] The 2021 census puts the population at 1,184 a slight increase over the previous 10 years [20]
Blagdon is served by several bus services going to Bristol, Cheddar, Wells and Weston-super-Mare. A Blagdon Minibus is available for groups to use at a small charge. The M5 motorway is easily accessible around 13 miles (21 km ) away at junctions 21 and 22. The nearest railway station is Yatton. Blagdon formerly had its own railway station as the terminus of the Wrington Vale Light Railway from 1901 to 1931 (freight traffic continued until 1950).
St Andrew's Church (Church of England) has a 116-foot tower with pinnacles and a cusped lozenge pattern parapet, with a stair turret spirelet in the north-east corner. [21] The tower dates from the 15th century and is one of the tallest in Somerset. The remainder of the church was rebuilt in 1907–09 by Lord Winterstoke (of the Wills tobacco family) [22] The tower contains a bell dating from 1716 and made by Edward Bilbie of the Bilbie family. [23] It is a Grade II* listed building [24] The lychgate to the east of the church is also a Grade II listed building in its own right. [25] Above the door are four primitive Norman carvings which survived three rebuildings. [26]
There is also a Baptist chapel, the former Methodist chapel having been converted into residential housing.
Blagdon is the setting of Chapters 8 and 9 of Victor Canning's best-selling novel of 1934, Mr Finchley Discovers his England.
Blagdon has many clubs and organisations including:
There are several Grade II listed buildings:
Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,149.
Chewton Mendip is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated 4 miles (6 km) north of Wells, 16 miles (26 km) south of Bath and Bristol on the A39 very close to the A37. The village is in a valley on the Mendip Hills, is the source of the River Chew and is therefore on the edge of the Chew Valley. The parish includes the hamlets of Bathway and Green Ore.
Congresbury is a village and civil parish on the northwestern slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England, which in 2011 had a population of 3,497. It lies on the A370 between Junction 21 of the M5 and Bristol Airport, 13 miles (21 km) south of Bristol city centre, and 7 miles (11 km) east of Weston-super-Mare. The Congresbury Yeo river flows through the village. The parish includes the hamlet of Brinsea.
Winscombe is a large village in the North Somerset unitary district of Somerset, South West England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Weston-super-Mare and 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Bristol. The Parish of Winscombe and Sandford, centred on the Parish Church of Church of St James the Great, includes the villages/hamlets of Barton, Hale, Oakridge, Nye, Sidcot and Woodborough.
Shipham is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is on the western edge of the Mendip Hills near the A38, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Bristol. The parish includes the village of Rowberrow and the hamlet of Star. The parish population, according to the 2011 census, is 1,087.
Compton Martin is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset and in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority in England. The parish has a population of 508. It lies between Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon Lake, north of the Mendip Hills, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Bristol on the A368 road Weston-super-Mare to Bath.
East Harptree is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Wells and 15 miles (24.1 km) south of Bristol, on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills overlooking the Chew Valley. The parish has a population of 644. The parish includes the hamlet of Coley.
Temple Cloud is a village in the Chew Valley in Somerset on the A37 road. It is in the civil parish of Temple Cloud with Cameley and in the council area of Bath and North East Somerset. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Bristol and 5 miles (8 km) from the town of Midsomer Norton. The villages of Cameley and Clutton are nearby.
West Harptree is a small village and civil parish in the Chew Valley, Somerset within the unitary district of Bath and North East Somerset. The parish has a population of 439.
Ubley is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Bath and North East Somerset about 9 miles (14.5 km) south of Bristol. It is just south-east of Blagdon Lake, just off the A368 between Compton Martin and Blagdon.
Norton Malreward is a small Somerset village and civil parish 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Bristol, England at the northern edge of the Chew Valley. In 1895 Norton Malreward was combined with the neighbouring hamlet of Norton Hawkfield into a single parish, which has a population of 246.
Cameley is a village in the civil parish of Temple Cloud with Cameley, within the Chew Valley in Somerset, and on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area just off the A37 road. It is located 11 miles (18 km) from Bristol, Bath and Wells. The nearest town is Midsomer Norton, which is 6 miles (10 km) away. The parish has a population of 1,292 and includes the village of Temple Cloud.
Westbury-sub-Mendip is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The village is on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills, 4 miles (6.4 km) from Wells and Cheddar.
King John's Hunting Lodge is a wool-merchant's house built c. 1460, long after the death of King John in 1216, in Axbridge, a town in the English county of Somerset. It is a jettied timber-frame building of three storeys, occupying a corner plot on the town square. The building has served a variety of purposes with shops on the ground floor and workshops and living quarters on the first and second floors. At one time part of the building was occupied by the King's Head Inn; a sculpture of a king's head, which acted as a sign for the pub, is preserved within and a replica is attached to the outside. The lodge was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1971, and repairs were undertaken to reverse significant deterioration to the building.
Rodney Stoke is a small village and civil parish, located at grid reference ST486501, 5 miles north-west of Wells, in the English county of Somerset. The village is on the A371 between Draycott and Westbury-sub-Mendip.
Burrington is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated in the unitary authority of North Somerset, 5 miles (8.0 km) north east of Axbridge and about 10 miles (16 km) east of Weston-super-Mare. The parish includes the hamlets of Bourne and Rickford and has a population of 464.
Compton Bishop is a small village and civil parish, at the western end of the Mendip Hills in the English county of Somerset. It is located close to the historic town of Axbridge. Along with the village of Cross and the hamlets of Rackley and Webbington it forms the parish of Compton Bishop and Cross.
Charterhouse, also known as Charterhouse-on-Mendip, is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Priddy, in the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The area between Charterhouse and Cheddar Gorge including Velvet Bottom and Ubley Warren is covered by the Cheddar Complex Site of Special Scientific Interest. In 1931 the parish had a population of 68.
The historic manor of Tawstock was situated in North Devon, in the hundred of Fremington, 2 miles south of Barnstaple, England. According to Pole the feudal baron of Barnstaple Henry de Tracy made Tawstock his seat, apparently having abandoned Barnstaple Castle as the chief residence of the barony. Many of the historic lords of the manor are commemorated by monuments in St Peter's Church, the parish church of Tawstock which in the opinion of Pevsner contains "the best collection in the county apart from those in the cathedral", and in the opinion of Hoskins "contains the finest collection of monuments in Devon and one of the most notable in England".
The Anglican Church Of St Andrew in Blagdon, within the English county of Somerset, was built in the 15th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.