Peasedown St John
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 51°19′20″N 2°26′28″W / 51.3223°N 2.4411°W
| Peasedown St John | |
  Peasedown St John shown within Somerset |
|
| Population | 6,306[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Unitary authority | Bath and North East Somerset |
| Ceremonial county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bath |
| Postcode district | BA2 |
| Dialling code | 01761 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Wansdyke |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Peasedown St John (commonly referred to as just Peasedown) is one of the largest villages in Somerset, England. Located on a hilltop roughly 7 km south-southwest of the city of Bath, Peasedown used to be a coal mining village and includes Ashgrove on its southern side. When the last of the mines were shut in the 1950s it became a commuter village for both Bath and, to a lesser extent, Bristol. Its size has been augmented by substantial housing developments in the 1960s and 1970s and more recently in the late 1990s.
Contents |
[edit] Location
Peasedown is located on one of the many hills outside of Bath, roughly 7 km south-southwest of Bath and 20 km southeast of Bristol. The A367 (which follows the route of the Roman Fosse Way) between Lincoln and Exeter used to run through Peasedown, but it was bypassed in the mid 1990s. The majority of the village lies on the relatively flat section on the top of the hill, but the northwestern side of the village does lie on the slope of the hill. The centre of Peasedown lies at N51:18:55 W2:25:29 at an altitude of approximately 150 m above mean sea level.
The hamlets of Wellow and Shoscombe are sometimes regarded as part of Peasedown, but this is not correct, although New Buildings & Carlingcott are both still in the Parish of Peasedown St John.
[edit] History
From archaeological and documentary evidence it seems that there has been continuous occupation of the area since at least the early Iron Age. There is good evidence of Roman and Saxon villages on the site, the Saxon settlements resulting in several entries in the Domesday Book of 1086.
The hamlet of Carlingcott is known to have existed prior to 1800 but the main modern development in the area began in the 19th century as the Somerset coalfield was greatly expanded as the Industrial Revolution increased demand for coal across England. The sinking of the Braysdown colliery in 1845 provided extra impetus to expand the village.
By the second half of the 20th century there were at least six collieries within a 3 km radius of Peasedown, including Braysdown, Camerton, Dunkerton, Writhlington and Shoscombe. Evidence of these mines remains scattered around the area and is easily visible to even the casual observer.
With the closure of the coal mines in the period up to the 1950s, and the growing popularity of out-of-town living, Peasedown rapidly became a commuter village for the cities of Bath and Bristol. This was enhanced by two further phases of construction, the first in the 1950s and 1960s and the second in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Both phases involved the construction of significants amounts of what was intended as affordable family housing, the first phase being mainly in the southeast of the village consisting mostly terraced or semi-detached properties. The second more recent phase was the construction of a large number of mostly detached and semi-detached houses on the eastern side of the village between the existing developments and the A367 bypass.
[edit] Notable People from Peasedown St John
Alec Stock (30 March 1917 - 16 April 2001) English footballer and manager. Played for Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic, QPR and Yeovil Town. Managed Leyton Orient, AS Roma, QPR, Luton Town, Fulham and AFC Bournemouth. Also assistant manager of Arsenal and a director of QPR.
[edit] Cultural References
Peasedown St John was one of several local villages where budding children's author Roald Dahl, used to sell kerosene in the 1930s. As described in his autobiographical work Boy: Tales of Childhood (published 1984):
| “ | My kerosene motor-tanker had a tap at the back and when I rolled into Shepton Mallet or Midsomer Norton or Peasedown St John or Huish Champflower, the old girls and the young maidens would hear the roar of my motor and would come out of their cottages with jugs and buckets to buy a gallon of kerosene for their lamps and their heaters. It is fun for a young man to do that sort of thing. Nobody gets a nervous breakdown or a heart attack from selling kerosene to gentle country folk from the back of a tanker in Somerset on a fine summer's day. | ” |
[edit] Governance
The creation of the Peasedown civil parish is a relatively recent event, occurring in 1955 when it was formed from parts of the Camerton, Dunkerton and Wellow parishes. The 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 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 the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, 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 Bath and North East Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. It provides a single tier of local government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within their area including local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection, recycling, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. They are also responsible for education, 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 the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the Great Western Ambulance Service.
Bath and North East Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters are in Bath. Between April 1 1974 and April 1 1996, it was the Wansdyke district and the City of Bath of the county of Avon.[2] Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Bathavon Rural District.[3]
The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Wansdyke county constituency which is to become North East 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.
[edit] Population
As of the 2001 census the population of Peasedown was approximately 5,000, but owing to the recent housing developments, current estimates (as of 2005) put the population of the village at nearer 6,500. The largest identifiable population group in Peasedown is married couples aged 20-44 who comprise almost half the total population of the village. Average incomes and levels of education are in line with the national average.
[edit] Amenities
Local amenities in the Peasedown area are somewhat limited, and family-oriented, as is typical in commuter areas. The village has
- 1 Doctor's surgery (4 GPs)
- 1 Veterinary surgery
- 1 Pharmacist
- 2 Nurseries
- 1 Primary school
- 1 Village hall
- 1 Coffee Shop (The Coffee Hut)
- 3 Public houses
- 3 Fast-food outlets
- 1 Youth centre
- 3 Christian Churches (Anglican, Catholic, Methodist) and a Christadelphian Church
- 1 dentist
- 1 cricket club
- Two car dealerships at the Bath Business Park
- Good public transport links
- 1 Youth Club
- 2 Convenience Stores (Tesco Express and a Co-Op)
- 1 Football Ground
- 1 Hospital (under construction)
[edit] References
- ^ "Population Statistics for Bath & North East Somerset". Statistics and Census Information. Bath and North East Somerset. http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/councilanddemocracy/statisticsandcensusinformation/default.htm. Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
- ^ "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19950493_en_1.htm. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Bathavon Rural District
