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PENSFORD
Pensford (Grid reference ST619637) is a village in the civil parish of Publow and Pensford in Bath and North East Somerset, England. It lies in the Chew Valley 7 miles south of Bristol and 8 miles west of Bath. It is on the A37 road from Bristol to Shepton Mallet.
History
During the 14th to 16th Centuries Pensford was a cloth centre based on local wool.
During the 19th and 20th Centuries the main industry was coal mining.
Government and politics
Pensford and 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 Wansdyke constituency which elects one MP to the Westminster Parliament and part of the South West England constituency which elects 7 members to the European Parliament.
Demographics
According to the 2001 Census The Publow and Whitchurch Ward (which includes Belluton and Publow), 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 16-74 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. [1]
Buildings
St Thomas A Beckett Church
Unused since flood damage in 1968. The church was rebuilt in 1869 although parts such as the west doorway date back to the 15th Century. [2] It is a Grade II* listed building.(Church of St. Thomas a Becket at Images of England)
Further information and pictures of the church are available from:
The Lock-up
An octagonal eighteenth century lock up where criminals and drunks could be kept for the night. [3] This is a Grade II listed building (Lock-up at Images of England) and is Scheduled as an Ancient Monument.
Pubs
During the 17th and 18th Centuries it was an important staging post for stage coaches which stopped at the George and Dragon and Rising Sun. [4]
The George and Dragon dates from 1752. It is a Grade II listed Building (George and Dragon Public House at Images of England)
Other Grade II listed buildings
The village war memorial commemorates the seven people from the village who died in each of World War I and World War II. It is a wheel cross, with a celtic-style carving, of stone set on a tapering rough-hewn stone shaft which surmounts a stone plinth which bears names and inscriptions.[5]
Transport
For centuries Pensford has been an important crossing point on the River Chew.The modern road bridge was rebuilt in 1968 after flood damage, but the much older (1839-1885) bridge, by the church, survived the flood. [6]
On the western side of the village is a disused railway viaduct, built in 1873, which was closed to trains in 1968 after the great flood of Pensford (the River Chew flooded), after which it was deemed unsafe. The last passenger train was the 9.25 a.m. from Frome to Bristol on 31st October 1959, after that there were only goods trains (mainly bringing coal from Radstock) and very occasional excursion trains. The Pensford viaduct is 995 feet long, reaches a maximum height of 95 feet to rail level and consists of sixteen arches. The viaduct is now a Grade II listed building (Pensford Viaduct at Images of England)
Surrounding Area
Nearby is Lord's Wood, Pensford
Famous Residents
Pensford is also home to the international clarinet player, Acker Bilk. Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead lived in the vilage from 1979-1981.
References
Bibliography
- Durham, I. & M. (1991). Chew Magna and the Chew Valley in old photographs. Redcliffe Press. ISBN 18729161X.
- Janes, Rowland (ed) (1987). The Natural History of the Chew Valley. ISBN 09545125.
External links
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