| Blagdon | |
|---|---|
 Blagdon with the lake in the foreground | |
  Blagdon Location withinSomerset | |
| 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 | |
| 51°19′37″N2°43′01″W / 51.327°N 2.717°W /51.327; -2.717 | |
Blagdon is a village andcivil parish in theceremonial county ofSomerset, within theunitary authority ofNorth Somerset, in England. It is located in theMendip Hills, a recognisedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the2021 census it has a population of 1,184.[2] The village is about 12miles (19 km) east ofWeston-super-Mare and 12 miles (19 km) south west ofBristol, on theA368 road toBath.
The village was calledBlachedon in the 1086Domesday Book and the name comes from theOld Englishbloec anddun meaning 'the black or bleak down'.[3]
There was aRoman 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 werelead andsilver 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 bookSomerset suggest traces of Roman mines such as tools and pigs of lead have been found at Blagdon.[4]
The parish was part of theHundred of Winterstoke.[5]
Blagdon is believed to have been thecaput of thefeudal barony held bySerlo de Burci (died c. 1086), who is recorded as holding the manor in theDomesday Book of 1086. However thecaput may have beenDartington.[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 heirRobert FitzMartin (died 1159), and secondly to William de Falaise. In 1154 Robert FitzMartin gave St Andrew's Church and other land from around the East End of the village toStanley Abbey inWiltshire. He also gave land at Blagdon to theKnights 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 ofBarnstaple, 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 husbandNicholas Audley, 1st Baron Audley [de;ru] (died 1316) ofHeleigh Castle, Staffordshire. James Audley thus in 1342 inherited his childless aunt Eleanor'smoieties 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 pioneerHannah 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 toWilliam 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 ofmedieval origin.[13]
In 1901 theWrington Vale Light Railway reachedBlagdon. It closed to passengers just 30 years later in 1931. Part of the line remained for freight only, but this closed in 1962.
Theparish 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, andneighbourhood 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 thevillage hall orcommunity centre,playing fields andplaygrounds, 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 theunitary authority ofNorth Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by theLocal Government Act 1992. It provides a single tier oflocal government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within its area includinglocal planning andbuilding control, local roads,council housing,environmental health,markets and fairs,refuse collection,recycling,cemeteries,crematoria, leisure services, parks, andtourism. It is also responsible foreducation,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 theAvon Fire and Rescue Service,Avon and Somerset Constabulary and theSouth Western Ambulance Service.
North Somerset's area covers part of theceremonial county ofSomerset but it is administered independently of thenon-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall inWeston-super-Mare. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was theWoodspringdistrict of thecounty of Avon.[15] Before 1974 that the parish was part of theAxbridge Rural District.[16]
The parish is represented in theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom as part of theWells and Mendip Hills. It was also part of theSouth West England constituency of theEuropean Parliament, prior toBritain leaving the European Union in January 2020..
The village is located on the northern edge of theMendip Hills on theA368, overlookingBlagdon Lake. The headquarters of the dairy companyYeo 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] TheNew Inn is a Grade IIlisted 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 toBristol,Cheddar,Wells andWeston-super-Mare. A Blagdon Minibus is available for groups to use at a small charge. The nearest railway station isYatton. Blagdon formerly had its own railway station as the terminus of theWrington 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 byLord Winterstoke (of theWills tobacco family).[22] The tower contains a bell dating from 1716 and made by Edward Bilbie of theBilbie family.[23] It is a Grade II*listed building.[24] Thelychgate 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 have survived three rebuildings.[26]
There is also aBaptist chapel, the former Methodist chapel having been converted into residential housing.
Blagdon is the setting of Chapters 8 and 9 ofVictor 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:
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)