Redhill, Somerset
Encyclopedia
Redhill is a village in the parish of Wrington
, Somerset, England, on the A38 Bridgwater Road
about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of Bristol
and close to Bristol International Airport
. It falls within the Unitary Authority
of North Somerset
from as late as 1782. The name may simply derive from the appearance of the unmetalled road up the hill, with deep cartwheel ruts scored into the red earth. Alternatively the name may mean Roe Hill or Roe Hollow, alluding to the roe deer
which are still plentiful in the area. Some dictionaries give the name as deriving from Ragiol, a village featured in the Domesday Book
of 1086; this however, seems more likely to be Regil or Ridgehill.
is crossed by a field boundary at one end, and only about 2 feet (61 cm) high. There are also remains of a burial chamber just south of Bristol International Airport. The mound is almost gone but the cover slab remains - with a hollow in it that collects the rainwater, giving its name The Water Stone - burial chamber.
Just south of the village, in the deep hollow and a quarter of a mile beyond the church is Lye Hole, where there is a stream of water, which runs into the Congresbury Yeo
. It was the site, in July 1876 of the discovery of the remains of a Roman villa
. At Lye Hole the enclosure system, often referred to as fields, implying that they represent cultivated infields, around the villa survives and is made up of long, rather narrow fields around 30 metres (98 ft) broad. This was a settlement of the late Roman
or Roman-Saxon era.
and Broadfield Down, to the West.
In the middle 13th century, a detailed list of the tenants of the manor
shows 104 people holding from three to 40 acres (16 ha) each; eight cottagers with a garden; three millers who also had land; one priest and four freeholders. There were some very small enclosed fields (called "crofts", "closes" or "paddocks" beside outlying farmsteads on Broadfield Down and in the Lye Cross and Lye Hole area.
In the middle of the 16th century Calamine
, a zinc
ore, was found at Broadfield Down. It was then taken down the Banwell River and floated across the Bristol Channel
to Tintern
for smelting. With the use of gunpowder
in the 17th century the extractions speeded up. Iron
ore has been found during the excavations at Row of Ashes, on the boundary between Redhill and Butcombe, in the 1970s. Ore extraction and purification often utilised washing and settling lagoons, called buddles. Lye Hole Farm was referred to, as "the Washing Pool" or "at the Buddles” and there is still a field on Lye Hole Farm, called ‘Uddles’, which has a spring in it.
has been one of the main links between Bristol
and the South West of England since medieval days. It may even have far earlier roots - linking the Roman
settlement near Bristol with that at Exeter
. Local roads prior to the 18th century were poor. For Redhill and the Bridgwater Road (A38), the first attempt to form a Turnpike Trusts was made in 1727 and again in 1731. Both were frustrated by local opposition, but the necessary Act (for Bristol) was eventually passed. John Macadam
was appointed Surveyor to the Bristol Turnpike Trust in 1816 and his new process of covering the roads with a layer of crushed stone bound with tar and rolled smooth was quickly copied by all the other trusts. The Bell Inn (subsequently the Darlington Arms) provided facilities the stabling, watering and changing of horses, and carters cottages were built along the road.
The nucleus of the present village arose at the crossroads of what is now Church Road, Winters Lane, Long Lane and The Pound - which was so called because it was there that drovers would keep their livestock overnight as they travelled to market in Bristol. Winters Lane is thought to have once been the main road of Redhill leading up to the ancient settlement in Goblin Combe
. The lane was also called "The Old Drove Road" and is still called "Cooks Bridle Path" at its far end where it enters Brockley Combe
. It was "uncut" or unsurfaced until the 1920s.
Many of the houses in the present village were built in the 20th century, but others - especially the farms - date back much further. Goblin Combe Farm, for instance, dates back to 1858. Scars Farm was built in 1884. Worship Farm was built in the 19th century. Quarry Farm, was built around 1900. Redhill Village Hall
was built in 1911, with a gift of land and funds from Mr Henry Herbert Wills
(of the W. D. & H. O. Wills tobacco family) family and furnished by the villagers. The Village Store used to be at "Banwells", opposite the Darlington Arms. A branch of the County Library was opened at the school in 1938 which was later replaced by a mobile van. Redcroft, a cul-de-sac off Winters Lane, consists of six houses and the parsonage - all built around 1910 or 1911, the houses for the estate workers of Mr Henry Herbert Wills of Barley Wood, who had purchased much of the Wrington Estate on the death of the Fourth Duke of Cleveland
(died 1891) when the estate was sold by auction (in 1896). Ashford Road (built in the 1930s) was originally planned to comprise 60 houses but the majority were never built.
evacuees from London
and Bristol were billeted in the village and the village hall was used for evacuees from Bristol air raids
and as the HQ for the local Home Guard
. Early in the 1939–1945 war, farmers on Broadfield Down received notice from the War Office
that their land was to be taken over and used as a Royal Air Force
(RAF) station. It was used throughout the war. In 1956, it was eventually purchased by Bristol City Council to become what is now Bristol International Airport.
After the Second World War electricity and mains water came to Redhill. Redacre, a cul-de-sac of six houses and bungalows, was built in 1964–65.
of the neo-Nazi band Skrewdriver
, attended by 800 people, was held in the 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) fields of "The Bungalow Inn" public house
. A marquee for the weekend-long billed “scooter and music festival” was erected by the Bungalow, after being contracted by record company "ISD records", which bills itself as the world’s “oldest and most dependable White Nationalist Movement CD label.” The actual neo-Nazi-themed event was filmed by local residents, who have on video shouts of Sieg Heil from the rally inside "The Bungalow Inn" pub premises. At least two families resultantly fled their adjacent homes due to this and other bad behaviour. The owners of "The Bungalow" pub have been investigated before for smaller events, and the licensing of the event and other incidents are presently being investigated by Avon and Somerset Police.
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 field
s and playground
s, 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 North Somerset
which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. Between April 1, 1974 and April 1, 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Axbridge Rural District
.
The parish is represented in the House of Commons
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
as part of the Woodspring
county constituency which is to become North Somerset
at next general election. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
by the first past the post system of election. It is also part of the South West England constituency
of the European Parliament
which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method
of party-list proportional representation
.
near Perry Bridge on the A38
, Bridgwater
Road .
was run by a Mrs Saunders for 19 years until the building of the new one in 1874. The school, built in 1874 cost £811.12s 6d, plus £50 for the architect, and was opened by the Bishop of Bath and Wells
. The Duke of Cleveland, who owned the major part of Wrington Parish, gave the site. School numbers varied over the years from 105 in 1879 to 17 in 1937. By this time it had become a Junior School (as from 1927). The classrooms were heated by tortoise stoves until the arrival of night storage heaters. Redhill School had its centenary celebrations in 1975. Falling numbers of children of school age finally led to the decision being made to close the School on 20 July 1984
Christ Church, Redhill's chapel of ease
was first erected in 1843 and consecrated in the following year by the Bishop of Salisbury
. Built by James Wilson
it is of Lancet style, with a west tower, a nave without aisles and a short chancel. The local inhabitants met its cost, with the Rector John Vane contributing the entire cost of the chancel, porch and tower. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building,
Its exposure to the prevailing west winds meant that rain was soon permeating the porous local limestone. In 1869, the church had to be closed so that the walls could be lined with pitch and replastered inside. The board in the church porch states that there were "315 seats, 250 of which are hereby declared to be free and unappropriated for ever". A new organ was installed in 1888 at a cost of £200.
Wrington
Wrington is a village and civil parish in North Somerset, England. It lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo river about east of Weston-super-Mare and south-east of Yatton. It is both a civil parish, with a population of 2,896, and an ecclesiastical parish...
, Somerset, England, on the A38 Bridgwater Road
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,...
about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and close to Bristol International Airport
Bristol International Airport
Bristol Airport , located at Lulsgate Bottom in North Somerset, is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol, England and the surrounding area. At first it was named Bristol Lulsgate Airport and from March 1997 to March 2010 it was known as Bristol International Airport...
. It falls within the Unitary Authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
of North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its 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....
History
The earliest record of the name Redhill that has been found is on Day & Master’s map of SomersetSomerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
from as late as 1782. The name may simply derive from the appearance of the unmetalled road up the hill, with deep cartwheel ruts scored into the red earth. Alternatively the name may mean Roe Hill or Roe Hollow, alluding to the roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
which are still plentiful in the area. Some dictionaries give the name as deriving from Ragiol, a village featured in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086; this however, seems more likely to be Regil or Ridgehill.
Prehistory
There are at least three prehistoric structures in Redhill. There were at least six barrows here, though the mounds are less than 3 feet (91 cm) high. A nearby long barrowLong barrow
A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs...
is crossed by a field boundary at one end, and only about 2 feet (61 cm) high. There are also remains of a burial chamber just south of Bristol International Airport. The mound is almost gone but the cover slab remains - with a hollow in it that collects the rainwater, giving its name The Water Stone - burial chamber.
Just south of the village, in the deep hollow and a quarter of a mile beyond the church is Lye Hole, where there is a stream of water, which runs into the Congresbury Yeo
Congresbury Yeo
The River Yeo is a river which flows through North Somerset, England.- River course :...
. It was the site, in July 1876 of the discovery of the remains of a Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
. At Lye Hole the enclosure system, often referred to as fields, implying that they represent cultivated infields, around the villa survives and is made up of long, rather narrow fields around 30 metres (98 ft) broad. This was a settlement of the late Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
or Roman-Saxon era.
Saxon and medieval period
By late Saxon times and at the Norman Conquest in 1066, what is now known as Redhill comprised two of the three tythings of the Manor of Wrington (“Weritone”). These were Lye Hole, to the East of the main Bridgwater Road, adjoining ButcombeButcombe
Butcombe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The village is situated just north of Blagdon Lake, in North Somerset. The parish has a population of 232 and mainly consists of family-owned farmland...
and Broadfield Down, to the West.
In the middle 13th century, a detailed list of the tenants of the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
shows 104 people holding from three to 40 acres (16 ha) each; eight cottagers with a garden; three millers who also had land; one priest and four freeholders. There were some very small enclosed fields (called "crofts", "closes" or "paddocks" beside outlying farmsteads on Broadfield Down and in the Lye Cross and Lye Hole area.
In the middle of the 16th century Calamine
Calamine (mineral)
Calamine is a historic name for an ore of zinc. The name calamine was derived from the Belgian town of Kelmis, whose French name is "La Calamine", which is home to a zinc mine...
, a zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
ore, was found at Broadfield Down. It was then taken down the Banwell River and floated across the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
to Tintern
Tintern
Tintern is a village on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about 5 miles north of Chepstow...
for smelting. With the use of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
in the 17th century the extractions speeded up. Iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
ore has been found during the excavations at Row of Ashes, on the boundary between Redhill and Butcombe, in the 1970s. Ore extraction and purification often utilised washing and settling lagoons, called buddles. Lye Hole Farm was referred to, as "the Washing Pool" or "at the Buddles” and there is still a field on Lye Hole Farm, called ‘Uddles’, which has a spring in it.
Growth of the village
The A38A38 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,...
has been one of the main links between Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and the South West of England since medieval days. It may even have far earlier roots - linking the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
settlement near Bristol with that at Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. Local roads prior to the 18th century were poor. For Redhill and the Bridgwater Road (A38), the first attempt to form a Turnpike Trusts was made in 1727 and again in 1731. Both were frustrated by local opposition, but the necessary Act (for Bristol) was eventually passed. John Macadam
John Macadam
Dr. John Macadam , was an Australian chemist, medical teacher and politician. The genus Macadamia was named after him in 1857 by his colleague Ferdinand von Mueller....
was appointed Surveyor to the Bristol Turnpike Trust in 1816 and his new process of covering the roads with a layer of crushed stone bound with tar and rolled smooth was quickly copied by all the other trusts. The Bell Inn (subsequently the Darlington Arms) provided facilities the stabling, watering and changing of horses, and carters cottages were built along the road.
The nucleus of the present village arose at the crossroads of what is now Church Road, Winters Lane, Long Lane and The Pound - which was so called because it was there that drovers would keep their livestock overnight as they travelled to market in Bristol. Winters Lane is thought to have once been the main road of Redhill leading up to the ancient settlement in Goblin Combe
Goblin Combe
Goblin Combe is a valley in North Somerset which stretches from Redhill, near Bristol International Airport on the A38 through to Cleeve on the A370. The combe is located at , and is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest originally notified in 1999, with being managed as a nature...
. The lane was also called "The Old Drove Road" and is still called "Cooks Bridle Path" at its far end where it enters Brockley Combe
Brockley Combe
Brockley Combe is a wooded combe near the village of Brockley in North Somerset, England. The combe cuts in to the western edge of the Lulsgate Plateau, the Carboniferous limestone hills which form a northern outlier of the Mendips, south west of Bristol....
. It was "uncut" or unsurfaced until the 1920s.
Many of the houses in the present village were built in the 20th century, but others - especially the farms - date back much further. Goblin Combe Farm, for instance, dates back to 1858. Scars Farm was built in 1884. Worship Farm was built in the 19th century. Quarry Farm, was built around 1900. Redhill Village Hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
was built in 1911, with a gift of land and funds from Mr Henry Herbert Wills
Henry Herbert Wills
Henry Herbert Wills was a businessman and philanthropist from Bristol.He was the son of Henry Overton Wills III and Alice Hopkinson and was born in Clifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire. He was educated at Clifton College. He was a member of the board for the Imperial Tobacco Company.His name is...
(of the W. D. & H. O. Wills tobacco family) family and furnished by the villagers. The Village Store used to be at "Banwells", opposite the Darlington Arms. A branch of the County Library was opened at the school in 1938 which was later replaced by a mobile van. Redcroft, a cul-de-sac off Winters Lane, consists of six houses and the parsonage - all built around 1910 or 1911, the houses for the estate workers of Mr Henry Herbert Wills of Barley Wood, who had purchased much of the Wrington Estate on the death of the Fourth Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland
Duke of Cleveland is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England....
(died 1891) when the estate was sold by auction (in 1896). Ashford Road (built in the 1930s) was originally planned to comprise 60 houses but the majority were never built.
Second World War
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
evacuees from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Bristol were billeted in the village and the village hall was used for evacuees from Bristol air raids
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
and as the HQ for the local Home Guard
British Home Guard
The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
. Early in the 1939–1945 war, farmers on Broadfield Down received notice from the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
that their land was to be taken over and used as a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) station. It was used throughout the war. In 1956, it was eventually purchased by Bristol City Council to become what is now Bristol International Airport.
After the Second World War electricity and mains water came to Redhill. Redacre, a cul-de-sac of six houses and bungalows, was built in 1964–65.
21st Century
In September 2008, a memorial concert for the singer Ian Stuart DonaldsonIan Stuart Donaldson
Ian Stuart Donaldson was a British Neo-Nazi singer, musician and songwriter, most known as the frontman of Skrewdriver, a British punk rock band that later became a white power rock band...
of the neo-Nazi band Skrewdriver
Skrewdriver
Skrewdriver was an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde in 1976. They later evolved into one of the first neo-Nazi rock bands, playing a leading role in the Rock Against Communism movement and becoming known as the most prominent white power skinhead...
, attended by 800 people, was held in the 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) fields of "The Bungalow Inn" public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. A marquee for the weekend-long billed “scooter and music festival” was erected by the Bungalow, after being contracted by record company "ISD records", which bills itself as the world’s “oldest and most dependable White Nationalist Movement CD label.” The actual neo-Nazi-themed event was filmed by local residents, who have on video shouts of Sieg Heil from the rally inside "The Bungalow Inn" pub premises. At least two families resultantly fled their adjacent homes due to this and other bad behaviour. The owners of "The Bungalow" pub have been investigated before for smaller events, and the licensing of the event and other incidents are presently being investigated by Avon and Somerset Police.
Governance
Wrington 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 watchNeighbourhood Watch (UK)
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the United Kingdom is a partnership where people come together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, Community Safety departments of local authorities, other voluntary organisations and, above all, individuals and families who want to make their...
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
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
or community centre
Community centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
, playing field
Playing field
A playing field is a field used for playing sports or games. They are generally outdoors, but many large structures exist to enclose playing fields from bad weather. Generally, playing fields are wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand without many obstructions...
s and playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
s, 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
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
of North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its 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....
which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. Between April 1, 1974 and April 1, 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge Rural District
Axbridge was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge.It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Axbridge rural sanitary district....
.
The parish is represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
as part of the Woodspring
Woodspring (UK Parliament constituency)
Woodspring 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 by the first past the post system of election...
county constituency which is to become North Somerset
North Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
North Somerset is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
at next general election. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
by the first past the post system of election. It is also part of the South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
.
Geography
At the foot of Sutton Hill a brook rises nearby and flows past Lye Hole and Cowslip Green to join the River YeoCongresbury Yeo
The River Yeo is a river which flows through North Somerset, England.- River course :...
near Perry Bridge 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,...
, Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
Road .
Education
There was probably a school at Broadfield from the latter part of the 18th century, and a cottage, now demolished, called "The Old School House". The fees were one penny a week. This dame schoolDame school
A Dame School was an early form of a private elementary school in English-speaking countries. They were usually taught by women and were often located in the home of the teacher.- Britain :...
was run by a Mrs Saunders for 19 years until the building of the new one in 1874. The school, built in 1874 cost £811.12s 6d, plus £50 for the architect, and was opened by the Bishop of Bath and Wells
Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...
. The Duke of Cleveland, who owned the major part of Wrington Parish, gave the site. School numbers varied over the years from 105 in 1879 to 17 in 1937. By this time it had become a Junior School (as from 1927). The classrooms were heated by tortoise stoves until the arrival of night storage heaters. Redhill School had its centenary celebrations in 1975. Falling numbers of children of school age finally led to the decision being made to close the School on 20 July 1984
Religious sites
Before Christ Church was built in Redhill, worshippers had to go down to All Saints Church in Wrington, while from 1715 non-conformists used their own building.Christ Church, Redhill's chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
was first erected in 1843 and consecrated in the following year by the Bishop of Salisbury
Bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...
. Built by James Wilson
James Wilson (architect)
James Wilson was a prominent Victorian architect practising in Bath, Somerset and partner in the firm Wilson & Willcox.On 12 January 1843 he married Maria Buckley of Llanelli, and in 1846 they had a son, James Buckley Wilson, who followed his father to also became an architect.-List of Buildings:*St...
it is of Lancet style, with a west tower, a nave without aisles and a short chancel. The local inhabitants met its cost, with the Rector John Vane contributing the entire cost of the chancel, porch and tower. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building,
Its exposure to the prevailing west winds meant that rain was soon permeating the porous local limestone. In 1869, the church had to be closed so that the walls could be lined with pitch and replastered inside. The board in the church porch states that there were "315 seats, 250 of which are hereby declared to be free and unappropriated for ever". A new organ was installed in 1888 at a cost of £200.