Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway

M5 motorway

The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...

, in South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Description

The village is split by a steep hill, part of the escarpment overlooking the Severn floodplain. At the bottom of the hill is Lower Almondsbury where a pub and hotel, The Bowl Inn, is situated. South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

, the Forest of Dean

Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...

, the River Severn

River Severn

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

 and both Severn Bridges

Severn crossing

Severn crossing is a term used to refer to the two motorway crossings over the River Severn estuary between England and Wales. The two crossings are:*The Severn Bridge *The Second Severn Crossing...

 are visible from the higher parts of the village.

The pub takes its name from the bowl shape of the land surrounding the estuary. Parts of this whitewashed-stone inn were originally the three cottages erected in 1146 to house the monks building the adjacent church of St Mary the Virgin. The present building became a licensed inn in 1550 .

Also at the bottom of the hill is the local church, dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin.

The church and tower were built in 1140 AD. The lead-covered spire was added some time before 1619.

Another pub, The Swan Inn, is located on the A38

A38 road

The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...

, in the upper part of the village, almost opposite an open space known as Almondsbury Tump.

In March 2009 a community shop was opened in the village by the not-for-profit Almondsbury Community Services Association (ACSA), situated in the Old School House at 14 Church Road. The community shop is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers. The aim of the project goes beyond a village shop, being a service for the village, to support local suppliers wherever possible, and to be another focal point where people in the village can meet. A proportion of the surplus generated by the shop is returned to community projects and organisations in the village.

Sporting facilities include football sides Almondsbury Town A.F.C. and Almondsbury F.C.

Almondsbury F.C.

Almondsbury UWE F.C. are English association football club based in Almondsbury, near Bristol, England. They play in Division One of the Western League, at The Field, just 220 yards from their near neighbours Almondsbury Town...

, a cricket pitch and a rugby pitch. Almondsbury Tennis Club http://almondsburytennis.org.uk is on the same site. The village also has a motorway police station

Police station

A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...

, a garden centre

Garden centre

A garden centre is a retail firm that sells plants and products related to gardens as its primary business. It is open to the public, with facilities to care for and display plants.- UK :...

, and a restaurant/pub .

Education

Education is provided by Almondsbury Church of England Primary School. This is a state maintained school. The Ofsted report, dated April 2009, rated the school as good (outstanding in places).

Notable residents

Almondsbury is the birthplace of Alex Kapranos

Alex Kapranos

Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley , commonly known as Alex Kapranos, is a United Kingdom-based musician who is the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand.-Early life:...

, the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand (band)

Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...

.

Civil parish

The civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Almondsbury is much larger than the village. It includes the villages of Hortham, Over, Easter Compton

Easter Compton

Easter Compton is a village in the civil parish of Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire, England. It is situated at the bottom of a hill near Junction 17 of the M5 Motorway on the B4055....

, Compton Greenfield

Compton Greenfield

Compton Greenfield is a small hamlet of farms and spread out houses to the south east of Easter Compton, in South Gloucestershire. Its main feature is the parish church of All Saints which has a Norman arch in its porch. The name derives not from its rural location but from being at one time part...

, Catbrain

Catbrain

Catbrain Hill, simply known as Catbrain, is a small village near the north of Bristol, at the edge of neighbouring district South Gloucestershire, England. It is located by Cribbs Causeway, on a road that contains many car dealerships....

 and Hallen

Hallen, Gloucestershire

Hallen is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, just north of the Bristol city boundary. It is southwest of Easter Compton, northeast of Avonmouth and northwest of Henbury...

. It also includes Cribbs Causeway

Cribbs Causeway

Cribbs Causeway is a road in South Gloucestershire, England, just north of Bristol, which has given its name to a large out-of-town shopping centre, including retail parks and an enclosed shopping centre known as The Mall...

 and the site of the village of Charlton

Charlton, Bristol

Charlton was the name of a small village in Gloucestershire, England, demolished in the late 1940s. It was located between Filton and Cribbs Causeway immediately north of Bristol.-History:...

, now the western end of Filton Airfield.

When it was originally created in 1866 the civil parish also included Patchway

Patchway

Patchway is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated northwest of central Bristol. The town is a housing overflow for Bristol being contiguous to Bristol's urban area, and is often regarded as a large outer suburb. Nearby are the other Bristol satellite towns of Filton and Bradley Stoke....

, but not Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Hallen, Cribbs Causeway or Charlton, all of which were transferred from the parish of Henbury

Henbury

Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately 5 mi northwest of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle estate Blaise Hamlet and Lawrence Weston to the west...

in 1935. The parish of Patchway was separated from Almondsbury in 1953.

External links

• Almondsbury Church
• Almondsbury Community Services Organisation
• (http://www.almondsburyprimary.ik.org/)
• Almondsbury Parish Council website