| Clevedon | |
|---|---|
 View of Clevedon from the air, showing thepier | |
  Clevedon Location withinSomerset | |
| Population | 22,000 [1] |
| OS grid reference | ST406714 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CLEVEDON |
| Postcode district | BS21 |
| Dialling code | 01275 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°26′17″N2°51′14″W / 51.438°N 2.854°W /51.438; -2.854 | |
Clevedon (/ˈkliːvdən/,KLEEV-dən) is a seaside town andcivil parish in theunitary authority ofNorth Somerset, England. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in theUnited Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019.[1] It lies along theSevern Estuary, among small hills that include Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of anIron Agehill fort), Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone Hill andCourt Hill, aSite of Special Scientific Interest with overlaidPleistocene deposits. It is mentioned in theDomesday Book of 1086. Clevedon grew in theVictorian period as aseaside resort.
The rocky beach has been designated as theClevedon Shore GeologicalSite of Special Scientific Interest.[citation needed]
Clevedon Pier, which opened in 1869, is one of the earliest surviving examples of a Victorianpier. On 17 October 1970, two outward spans collapsed. The pier and its buildings were restored and reopened on 27 May 1989.[citation needed]
Clevedon Marine Lake is a tidal pool holding 15,000 sq m of sea water, refreshed with salt water on spring tides. It is a safe place to play, swim and boat. It is popular with open water swimmers and an important part of Clevedon's community. It is run by a charity called Marlens, run by volunteers, who clean and maintain the lake.[2]
The name derives from theOld English,cleve meaning "cleave" or "cleft" anddon meaning "hill".[3][4]
Wain's Hill is anunivallateIron Age hill fort situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of Clevedon. The hill fort is defined by a steep, natural slope from the south and north with two ramparts to the east.[5]
The 1086Domesday Book mentions Clevedon as a holding of atenant-in-chief by the name of Mathew of Mortaigne,[6] with eight villagers and tensmallholders.[7] The parish of Clevedon formed part of thePortburyHundred.[8]
Two small rivers, theLand Yeo andMiddle Yeo, supported at least two mills. The Tuck Mills lay in the fields south ofClevedon Court and were used forfulling cloth. Other mills nearWain's Hill probably date from the early 17th century.[9]
Victorian Clevedon changed from a farming village into a popularseaside town.[10] The Victorian craze for sea bathing was met in the late 19th century bysaltwater baths next to the pier (since demolished, though foundations remain), andbathing machines on the main beach.[11]
Clevedon was the site of St Edith's Children's Home for almost 100 years until it closed in 1974. It was run by nuns of theCommunity of the Sisters of the Church, an international body in the Anglican Communion living according to the Gospel values ofpoverty, chastity and obedience.[12] The building on Dial Hill islisted,[13] so that the outside has changed little, but now contains private flats.
Clevedon was served by abranch line fromYatton opened in 1847, six years after the main line,[14] but closed in 1966.[15] The station site is nowQueen's Square, a shopping precinct.[16] The town was headquarters also for theWeston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway, which connected the three named coastal towns. It opened toWeston-super-Mare in 1897,[17] was extended toPortishead ten years later,[18] but closed in 1940.[19] Its trains crossed the road in the town centre, known asThe Triangle, preceded by a man with red and green flags.[20]
The first large-scale production ofpenicillin took place in the town.[6] In 1938Howard Florey was working atLincoln College,Oxford University withErnst Boris Chain andNorman Heatley when he readAlexander Fleming's paper on the antibacterial effects ofPenicillium notatum mould. He arranged for this to be grown in deep culture tanks at theMedical Research Council's Antibiotic Research Station in Clevedon, enabling mass production of the mould for a medicine injected into forthcomingWorld War II soldiers suffering from infections.[21]
The town has sevenelectoral wards. Their area and population are the same as mentioned above.
Clevedon falls within thenon-metropolitan district ofNorth Somersetunitary authority which replaced the Woodspringdistrict, having formerly been part ofSomerset, and between 1974 and 1996 within thecounty of Avon. Until 2010 the parliamentaryconstituency was still calledWoodspring. Following the review of parliamentary representation by theBoundary Commission for England inSomerset, this seat was renamedNorth Somerset. It elects oneMember of Parliament (MP), currentlySadik Al-Hassan of theLabour Party. It was part of theSouth West England constituency of theEuropean Parliament during the UK's tenure in theEuropean Union.
The town council is based atClevedon Town Hall, which was constructed in 1860 as a school.[22][23]
Clevedon is situated on and round seven hills called Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of anIron Agehill fort),[24] Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone hill andCourt Hill, the last aSite of Special Scientific Interest.[25] On a clear day there are far-reaching views across theSevern estuary toWales. When visibility is good, the islands ofSteep Holm andFlat Holm in theBristol Channel can be seen. The tidal rise and fall in theSevern Estuary and Bristol Channel can be as great as 14.5 m (48 ft),[26] second only toBay of Fundy inEastern Canada.[27][28]
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The seafront runs about half a mile from the pier to Salthouse Field, with ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand, a bowling green, tennis courts, crazy golf and other amusements. Marine Lake, once a Victorian swimming pool, is used for boating and for a small festival once a year where people can try out new sports. Salthouse Field once had a light railway round its perimeter and is used for summer donkey rides.[29]
The shore at Clevedon marries pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with the old harbour at the western edge of the town, at the mouth of theLand Yeo river. ThereJohn Ashley conceived of the idea forThe Mission to Seafarers.[30] The rocky beach has been designated asClevedon Shoregeological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is the side of a mineralised fault running east–west adjacent to the pier and forms a small cliff feature indolomiticconglomerate on the north side of Clevedon Beach, containing cream to pinkbaryte along withsulphides. Minerals identified includehaematite,chalcopyrite,tennantite,galena,tetrahedrite,bornite,pyrite,marcasite,enargite andsphalerite. Secondary alteration of this has producedidaite,Covellite and otherCopper sulphides.[31]
"Poets' Walk" is a footpath round Wain's Hill and Church Hill to the south-west of the seafront. The upper town contains many other footpaths through parks and wooded areas laid out in the 19th century. The name recalls poets who visited Clevedon, includingColeridge in 1795 andTennyson in 1834. Thelocal nature reserve covers Church Hill and Wain's Hill and includes calcareous grassland, coastal scrub and woodland.[32]
Clevedon, like the rest ofSouth West England, has a temperate climate, generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country.[33] The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C (50.0 °F).Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than in most of the United Kingdom due to the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest, with mean daily maxima around 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter, mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common.[33] In the summer, theAzores high pressure affects the south-west of England, butconvective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours.[33] Most autumn and winter rainfall results from Atlantic depressions, at their most active in those seasons. In summer, much of the rainfall is caused by the sun heating the ground, leading to convection, showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is about 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August the lightest winds. The dominant wind direction is from the south-west.[33]
The town had a population of 21,957 according to theUnited Kingdom Census 2001. Of these almost 20 per cent were over the age of 65 years and 98.8 per cent were white. Almost three-quarters of the population described themselves as Christian, with 17.4 per cent having no religion and another 7.3 per cent not stating any religion. Of the 15,408 people between 16 and 74, 72.4 per cent are economically active.[1]
Clevedon has light industry, mainly on industrial estates such as Hither Green, near theM5 motorway junction. It is also adormitory town for Bristol. TheClerical Medical pensions and investments group, part ofHBOS, was based in the town on the former site of the Hales Cakes factory, but after its closure, North Somerset Council began talks on taking over the lease.[34] Percy Daniel & Co are organ builders, whose work includes that ofBrentwood Cathedral.[35]
Yeates Removals was set up in 1910, using horses and carts for general haulage in Clevedon and surrounding areas. The company has always been run by family members.[36]
Clevedon Court is onCourt Hill, east of the town centre and close to theBristol road. It is one of the few remaining 14th-century manorial halls in England, built by Sir John de Clevedon in about 1320.[37] Since the early 18th century, the house has been owned by the Elton family, which did much building work on the house and many improvements in the town. Although the house itself now belongs to theNational Trust,[38] the associated estates are still owned by the Elton family.Sir Edmund Elton (1846–1920) was apotter at the Clevedon Elton Sunflower Pottery, who produced unusually shaped ware in richly coloured glazes, including a gold glaze of his own invention.[39]
Walton Castle is a 17th-century fort located on Castle Hill that overlooks the Walton St Mary area at the northern end of Clevedon, built some time between 1615 and 1620. It was designed as ahunting lodge forLord Poulett, a SomersetMP. TheEnglish Civil War saw the decline of Poulett's fortunes, and by 1791 the castle was derelict and being used as adairy by a local farmer.[40] In 1978, the castle was purchased for £1 by Martin Sessions-Hodge, who restored the building to its former glory.[41]
TheRoyal Pier Hotel is a Grade II listed building next to the pier.[42] It was built in 1823 by Thomas Hollyman, and originally calledThe Rock House. In 1868, the building was expanded by the local architectHans Price and renamedRock House & Royal Pier Hotel, later shortened toRoyal Pier Hotel.[43] After its closure in 2001 the building fell into disrepair,[44] but it has since been converted into luxury apartments.
Clevedon Pier opened on Easter Monday 1869.[30][45] It is now one of the earliest UK examples of a Victorianpier still in existence. After a set of legs collapsed during an insurance load check on 17 October 1970, it fell into disrepair until 1985, when it was dismantled, taken toPortishead dock for restoration, and rebuilt in 1986. In 2001, it was upgraded to a Grade Ilisted building,[45][46][47] Thepaddle steamerWaverley andmotor vesselBalmoral offer day trips by sea from Clevedon Pier to points along theBristol Channel andSevern estuary.[48] Adjoining the pier is the contemporary Toll House, built in the style of a folly castle and provided to house the pier-master.[49]
Clevedon clock tower in the town centre is decorated with "Elton ware".[50] It was completed in 1898 and donated by Sir Edmund Elton to markQueen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.[51] TheCurzon cinema dates from 1912,[52] for Victor Cox,[53] and is one of the world's oldest purpose-built, continuously operatedcinemas.[54]
Clevedon Marine Lake opened in 1929. After becoming derelict and disused after the 1960s, it was restored in 2015[55] with funding from theHeritage Lottery Fund.
The market hall on Alexandra Road was designed by the local architectHans Price.[56] A monument known as the "Spirit of Clevedon" was erected near the seafront to mark the Millennium. Unveiled in June 2000, the 5 ft (1.5 m) sculpture cost £9,000.[57] It was designed by local citizens and includes panels and plaques representing the town's history and community. Its base contains a time capsule with information on the town.[58]
Clevedon School is a secondarycomprehensive school serving the town and surrounding rural areas, with some 1,200 pupils in years 7 to 11 (Lower School) and 12 to 13 (Upper School or sixth form). It has regainedLanguage College status.[59]
There are six primaries:[60] Mary Elton Primary School, St John the Evangelist of Bath and Wells Academy TrustChurch of England School, All Saints C of E Primary School and St Nicholas's Chantry CEVC Primary School.
Mary Elton (née Stewart ofCastle Stewart), the second wife of theReverend Sir Abraham Elton, endowed local schools in the 19th century: the Mary Elton Primary School in Holland Road, Clevedon, is named after her.[61]
St John's the Evangelist Primary School was formerly based on the current site of Clevedon Library.[62][63] It moved to its current site on the Fosseway in 1991 and was opened byAnne, Princess Royal.
Yeo Moor Primary School, opened on 19 April 2010, amalgamated infant and junior schools that shared the site. The footballerJack Butland attended Yeo Moor School and Clevedon School.[64][65]
St Brandon's School was an independent boarding school until 1991[66] and a co-educational infant and junior school until 2004.[67]
A drama company,Take The Lead, fromClevedon School, has put on productions in the town.[68]
There are several churches serving the town,[69] includingSt. Andrew's church, built in the 13th century although there are thought to beSaxon foundations under the present building. It is the burial place ofArthur Hallam, subject of the poemIn Memoriam A. H. H. by his friendAlfred, Lord Tennyson.[70]
TheChurch of St John was built in 1876–1878, byWilliam Butterfield for Sir Arthur Elton.[71] The Church of All Saints was built in 1861 by C E Giles.[72] The tower of Christ Church, on Chapel Hill, is an important landmark in Clevedon, erected in 1838–1839 to designs byThomas Rickman, in an early 14th-century style.[73]
The Copse Road Chapel is an Independent Evangelical Church, built in 1851 and attributed to Foster and Wood ofBristol,[74] which also designed theUnited Reformed Church in Hill Road.[75] TheRoman CatholicChurch of the Immaculate Conception, built 1886-87, is served by theFranciscan order.[76]
The nearest railway station isYatton on theBristol to Exeter line, served byGreat Western Railway. Clevedon was previously served by abranch line from Yatton, which closed in 1966. The site of thetown station is now called the Triangle or Queen's Square. TheWeston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway also served the town.
In 1863,Sir Arthur Elton, 7th Baronet of Clevedon Court was largely responsible for the creation of the Clevedon Waterworks Company, which had built the first water works and sewage treatment works in Clevedon by 1867. Features included reservoirs to the north of Dial Hill and Old Street pumping station. As the population increased, the water works proved inadequate and a new pumping station was created on Tickenham Road in 1901, some 1.2 miles (2 km) to the north-east. The new site could be seen from Clevedon Court, and the 8th Baronet, Sir Edmund Elton, took exception to the designs of the engineerJames Mansergh. The Waterworks Company employed the architect Henry Dare Bryan to improve the appearance of the buildings, which included the pumping station, a coal shed and store, a lodge for the foreman, and the boundary wall and gates. The original pumping station was reused as a fire station. The new pumping station contained a verticaltriple-expansion engine manufactured by the Scottish companyGlenfield and Kennedy. This was upgraded to a Marshal horizontal compound engine in 1916, in turn replaced in 1938, when asteam turbine was fitted. The boiler house, engine house and chimney aregrade II listed, as largely unaltered buildings in Domestic Revival style, with the interior retaining its glazed tiling and elaborate roof trusses, although the machinery has been replaced by modern equipment, and the site is still operational.[77] Clevedon Waterworks Company were one of the first of the smaller waterworks in the region to amalgamate withBristol Water, which occurred on 1 January 1953.[78]
At the pump house, water is extracted from a well, which is 110 feet (33.53 m) deep. The upper 69 feet (21 m) are lined with brick, and the well supplies around 990,000 imperial gallons (4.5 Ml) of water to the public supply network each day.[79]
The town's location makes water sports a feature. Clevedon Canoe Club at the marine lake facilitates sea paddling trips along the North Somerset coast on theSevern Estuary,[80] and to other sites such asWye Valley andWoolacombe. Nearby is Clevedon Sailing Club.[81]
Clevedon Cricket Club, founded in 1874, competes in theWest of England Premier League.[82]
Clevedon Town Football Club dates back to the late 19th century. It was a founder member of theWestern Football League, winning its championship in the 1990s.[83] The club plays at Everyone Active Stadium, formerly Hand Stadium. AnotherNon-League football club,Clevedon United F.C., plays at Coleridge Vale. Swiss Valley Rangers FC, founded in 2000, are a junior football club, based atClevedon School, that has teams from ages under 6 to ages under 18.[84]
ClevedonBowling Club, formed in 1910, has gained several international honours.[85]
Other facilities include Clevedon Golf Club, with a Par 72, 6,500-yard course,[86] Riding Centre,[87] a Rugby Club,[88] and several others.[89]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC West andITV West Country. Television signals are received from theMendip TV transmitter.[90] Because of its proximity toWales,BBC Wales andITV Cymru Wales can also be received from theWenvoe TV transmitter.[91]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Bristol,Heart West,Greatest Hits Radio South West (formerlyThe Breeze) and Radio Clevedon, a community based station.[92]
The town is served by the local newspaper,North Somerset Times.[93]
Writers linked with the town includeSamuel Taylor Coleridge, who spent some months in a cottage in Clevedon, after his marriage to Sara Fricker,[94]William Makepeace Thackeray, a frequent guest of the Elton family atClevedon Court,[94] andGeorge Gissing (The Odd Women is set here).[95]
The final scene of a 1993 movie,The Remains of the Day, starringAnthony Hopkins,Emma Thompson andChristopher Reeve, refers to Clevedon, where it was filmed.[96][better source needed] The television movieCider with Rosie (1998) also has scenes filmed there.[97] Scenes from the 2010 film,Never Let Me Go, starringKeira Knightley were filmed in Clevedon in the summer of 2009.[98] Clevedon has its comic book superhero, Captain Clevedon.[99]
Clevedon has beentwinned withEttlingen, inBaden-Württemberg, Germany, since 1980,Épernay, France, since 1990, andMiddelkerke, Belgium, since 1991.[100]
Clevedon, in particular St Andrew's Church, was one of the settings for the townBroadchurch, a detective drama first aired on ITV on 4 March 2013.[101][102][103]
In birth order:
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Hartley Coleridge Clevedon
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