Publow

Last updated

Publow
Publow bridge.JPG
Bridge over the River Chew
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Publow
Location within Somerset
Population1,119 (2011)
OS grid reference ST625643
Civil parish
  • Publow
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS39
Dialling code 01761
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°22′43″N2°32′33″W / 51.3787°N 2.5425°W / 51.3787; -2.5425 Coordinates: 51°22′43″N2°32′33″W / 51.3787°N 2.5425°W / 51.3787; -2.5425

Publow is a small village and civil parish in Bath and North East Somerset, England. It lies beside the River Chew in the Chew Valley. It is 7 miles from Bristol, 9 miles from Bath, and 4 miles from Keynsham. The principal settlement in the parish is Pensford. The parish also includes the village of Belluton and part of the village of Woollard. At the 2011 census it had a population of 1,119. [1]

Contents

History

Publow anciently belonged to the St Loes of Newton, and later came into the hands of the Hungerfords along with Compton Dando. The manor having many owners Henry Hastings (Third Earl Becher (c1517-1570)), Sir John Popham, Sir Francis Popham. [2]

It is close to the route of the ancient Wansdyke. The name Publow is believed to mean 'The public meadow' or 'The people's meadow', from the Latin publicus and the Old English leah. [3] An alternative explanation is that the name is directly from West Country Brythonic corresponding to "pobel" (people), corresponding to Modern Cornish "poble n.f, poblow n.pl (people)", giving rise to the local surname of Pople or, was that it was originally Publo or Publoe meaning Priests Hill, the nearest hill still bearing that name. [4]

The parish of Publow was part of the Keynsham Hundred, [5] All Saints' Parish Church in Publow is the resting place of the world famous clarinet player Acker Bilk (1929-2014) and his wife.

Governance

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.

The parish falls within the unitary authority of Bath and North East 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 their 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. They are 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 Great Western Ambulance Service.

Bath and North East Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters are in Bath. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Wansdyke district and the City of Bath of the county of Avon. [6] Before 1974 the parish was part of the Clutton Rural District. [7]

The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of North East Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. Publow has its own parish council, which has some responsibility for local issues and is part of the Publow and Whitchurch Ward, which is represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, which has wider responsibilities for services such as education, refuse, tourism etc. The village is a part of the North East Somerset constituency. Prior to Brexit in 2020, it was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census, the Publow and Whitchurch Ward (which includes Belluton and Pensford), had 1,087 residents, living in 429 households, with an average age of 40.8 years. Of these 73% of residents describing their health as 'good', 24% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 2.3% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 26,408 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived. [8]

Buildings

Church

Church of All Saints at Publow All Saints, Publow.jpg
Church of All Saints at Publow

The Church of All Saints dates from the 14th century has a 15th-century tower with gargoyles. The pulpit is Jacobean. It is a Grade I listed building. [9] The church consists of a west tower, nave, north aisle and porch, south aisle and porch, and chancel. The west tower has four stages with set back buttresses terminating in diagonally set pinnacles at the bell chamber stage. The nave has a clerestorey of four 2-light trefoil headed windows. The east end of the chancel has an early Perpendicular (restored) 3-light window with reticulated tracery. The pulpit dates from the early 17th century, and is made of oak with carved, arcaded panels to the upper part and rosettes on the lower part. [10]

Bridge

The bridge over the River Chew dates from the medieval period and was rebuilt and dated 1788 and 1810, and is Grade II listed. [11] The bridge developed a crack and showed other signs of potential weakness, which required extensive renovation work involving an unusual combination of cutting-edge engineering techniques and the use of traditional materials, complicated by the presence of two protected species: Daubenton's bats, which were roosting in cavities under the bridge, and white clawed crayfish in the river below. The renovation by Bath & North East Somerset Council's transportation team, and partner Mott MacDonald, working with experts from English Heritage and the Environment Agency, received a commendation at the Historic Bridge and Infrastructure Awards in London in November 2006, which were sponsored by the Institution of Civil Engineers. [12]

Grade II listed buildings

Related Research Articles

Bath and North East Somerset Non-metropolitan district in England

Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a unitary authority district in England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the ceremonial county of Somerset.

River Chew River in Somerset, United Kingdom

The River Chew is a small river in England that flows for some 17 miles (27 km) through the North Somerset countryside to form the Chew Valley before merging with the River Avon.

Chew Stoke Human settlement in England

Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the affluent Chew Valley, in Somerset, England, about 8 miles (13 km) south of Bristol and 10 miles north of Wells. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is within the Bristol/Bath green belt. The parish includes the hamlet of Breach Hill, which is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Chew Stoke itself.

Pensford Human settlement in England

Pensford is the largest village in the civil parish of Publow in Somerset, England. It lies in the affluent Chew Valley, approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of Bristol, 8 miles (13 km) west of Bath and 14 miles (23 km) north of Wells. It is on the A37 road from Bristol to Shepton Mallet.

North East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

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Belluton Human settlement in England

Belluton is a village in Somerset, England. It is in the district of Bath and North East Somerset and is located due south of the city of Bristol and due west of the city of Bath. The eastern end of the village is defined by the A37 road.

Compton Martin Human settlement in England

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, between Blagdon and West Harptree.

East Harptree Human settlement in England

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.

Clutton, Somerset Village in Somerset, England

Clutton is a village and civil parish on the eastern edge of the affluent Chew Valley, close to the Cam Brook river, in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area, within the ceremonial county of Somerset, and straddles both the A37 and A39. It is located 9 miles (14 km) from Bristol and Bath, and 11 miles (18 km) from Wells. Nearby are the villages of Temple Cloud, High Littleton and Chelwood. The town of Midsomer Norton is 5 miles (8 km) away. The parish, which includes the hamlets of Clutton Hill and Northend has a population of 1,602.

Chew Valley Human settlement in England

The Chew Valley is an affluent area in North Somerset, England, named after the River Chew, which rises at Chewton Mendip, and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. Technically, the area of the valley is bounded by the water catchment area of the Chew and its tributaries; however, the name Chew Valley is often used less formally to cover other nearby areas, for example, Blagdon Lake and its environs, which by a stricter definition are part of the Yeo Valley. The valley is an area of rich arable and dairy farmland, interspersed with a number of villages.

Chelwood Human settlement in England

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West Harptree Human settlement in England

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Norton Malreward Village an civil parish in Somerset, England

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High Littleton Village in Somerset, England

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Compton Dando Human settlement in England

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Woollard Human settlement in England

Woollard is a small village on the River Chew in the affluent Chew Valley in England. It is in the Bath and North East Somerset council area and the ceremonial county of Somerset. The village is 7 miles (11 km) from Bristol, 9 miles (14 km) from Bath, and 4 miles (6.4 km) from Keynsham.

Hinton Blewett Human settlement in England

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Marksbury Human settlement in England

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Stanton Drew Human settlement in England

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Keynsham Abbey

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References

  1. "Publow Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  2. Janes, Rowland (2003). Pensford, Publow and Woollard: A Topographical History. Biografix. ISBN   0-9545125-0-2.
  3. Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN   1-874336-03-2.
  4. Robinson, W.J. (1915). West Country Churches. Bristol: Bristol Times and Mirror Ltd. pp. 97–103.
  5. "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  6. "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  7. "Clutton RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. "Neighbourhood Statistics LSOA Bath and North East Somerset 020D Publow and Whitchurch". Office for National Statistics 2001 Census. Retrieved 25 April 2006.
  9. "All Saints' Church". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
  10. Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol. Penguin Books. ISBN   0-14-071013-2.
  11. Historic England. "Publow Bridge (1129485)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 November 2006.
  12. "Award for bridge restoration team". BANES. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2010.

Bibliography