Wikipedia area entries around Combe Down

Combe Down
Holy Trinity Church
Combe Down Location within Somerset
Population	5,419 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	ST763625
Unitary authority	Bath and North East Somerset
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BATH
Postcode district	BA2
Dialling code	01225
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Bath
List of places UK England Somerset 51°21′40″N 2°20′31″W / 51.361°N 2.342°W / 51.361; -2.342

Combe Down is a village on the outskirts of Bath, England in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Somerset.

Combe Down village consists predominantly of 18th and 19th century Bath stone-built villas, terraces and workers' cottages; the post World War II Foxhill estate of former and present council housing; a range of Georgian, Victorian and 20th century properties along both sides of North Road and Bradford Road and the 21st century Mulberry Park development on the site of the former Ministry of Defence offices.

Location

Combe Down sits on a ridge above Bath, approximately 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) to the south of the city centre. The village is adjoined to the north by large areas of natural woodland (Fairy Wood, Long Wood, Klondyke Copse and Rainbow Wood) with public footpaths offering views overlooking the city. Parts of these woods are owned and managed by Bath & Northeast Somerset Council, but the majority are owned and managed by the National Trust and incorporate the Bath Skyline trail. To the south of the village are views of the Midford Valley.

Etymology

"Combe" or "coombe" is a word meaning a steep-sided valley derived from Old English "cumb" and possibly from the same Brythonic source as the Welsh cwm. "Down" comes from the Old English "dūn" or "dūne", shortened from adūne ‘downward’, from the phrase of dūne ‘off the hill’.^[2]

Governance

Formerly part of the parish of Monkton Combe, Combe Down was incorporated into the city of Bath in the 1950s.^[3]

There have been a number of boundary changes and local government changes affecting Combe Down.

• Before 1854: part of the ecclesiastical parish of Monkton Combe in the diocese of Bath and Wells and the civil hundred of Bath Forum in Somerset
• From 1854: part of the ecclesiastical parish of Combe Down in the diocese of Bath and Wells^[4] and the civil hundred of Bath Forum in Somerset
• Following the Public Health Act 1875: part of the civil hundred of Bath Forum in Somerset and Bath Rural Sanitary District
• Following the Local Government Act 1894: part of the civil parish of Monkton Combe in Bath Rural District Council in Somerset
• Following the Local Government Act 1933: part of the civil parish of Monkton Combe in Bathavon Rural District Council in Somerset
• Following the Local Government Commission for England (1958–1967): from 1967 part of the county borough of Bath
• Following the Local Government Act 1972 from 1974: part of the district of Bath in the county of Avon
• Following the Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995: from 1996 part of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.

Amenities

Combe Down has many local amenities including schools, churches, shops, local societies and pubs.

The local state primary school is Combe Down CEVC (Church of England Voluntary Controlled) Primary School, housed partly in a log cabin imported from Finland.^[5] The nearest state secondary school (with sixth form) is Ralph Allen School. The independent Monkton Combe School is located in the nearby village of Monkton Combe while its prep school, pre-prep and nursery are all in Combe Down village. Prior Park College, an independent Catholic secondary school, is adjacent to the village.

Shops in the centre of the original village include a co-op, a cycle shop, a delicatessen with coffee shop, two estate agencies, a pharmacy, a hair salon and a crockery hire business. There is also a suite of serviced offices available to rent. A car repair garage and an undertakers are both close to the centre of the village. There was a small branch of Barclays Bank (closed in 2018) on North Road, adjacent to a second-hand children's clothes shop, and there is a fish and chip shop on Bradford Road. The village post office closed in 2006 despite public opposition and the nearest post office branch is now located inside a grocery store in a row of shops on the Bradford Road.

There are three local pubs, an Anglican church (Holy Trinity^[6]) and a non-conformist chapel (Union Chapel^[7]) in the village. A Roman Catholic church (Saint Peter and Saint Paul) is on the edge of the village, adjacent to the Foxhill estate. The Church Rooms in the centre of the village are available for hire by local groups.

The village pubs are the King William IV,^[8] the Hadley Arms^[9] and the Forester & Flower (formerly The Foresters).

Combe Down has two flourishing rugby union clubs and a cricket club, a children's nursery, a doctors' surgery and a dentist as well as an active Cub and Scout Group (10th Bath) with its own Scouts' Hut. There are several societies, including an active local history group (the Combe Down Heritage Society), a branch of the Women's Institute and two art groups.

There is a private hospital, BMI Bath Clinic (part of BMI Healthcare), on Claverton Down Road, based at Longwood House the former home of the Mallet family of Mallet Antiques. Margaret Mary Mallett (1882 – 1959), who lived at Longwood House, and her daughters, Margaret Elizabeth Mallett (1905 – 1991) and Barbara Penelope Mallett Lock (1896 – 1978) donated 347 acres (140 ha) of land on Combe Down and Claverton Down including Rainbow Wood farm, Klondyke Copse, Fairy Wood and Bushey Norwood to the National Trust.^[10] Opposite the hospital is a 4-star hotel and health club, Combe Grove Manor, with 69 acres (28 ha) of gardens and woodland.^[11]

A public open space (Firs Field) incorporates the village war memorial and a play area with children's play equipment. Three parcels of land make up the Firs Field open space, two of which are under the control of the local Council. The deeds state that the Firs Field is intended for the recreation of the residents of Combe Down in perpetuity.^[12] Firs Field was restored to meadowland status following the successful completion of the stone mine stabilisation works in 2010. A residents' group (The Friends of Firs Field) exists to ensure the appropriate representation of local residents' interests with regard to the management of the field. In 2015 Firs Field was granted "commemorative" status and designated an official Fields in Trust "Centenary Field".^[13]

On 15 July 2014^[14] the Ralph Allen CornerStone was opened. It is run by a charity, the Combe Down Stone Legacy Trust, as a sustainable building and educational centre. The Combe Down Heritage Society has museum-standard secure archiving space in the basement where it catalogues and stores unique local heritage material, and which can be accessed by researchers.^[15]

There are daily bus services to the village from Bath city centre. The privately owned Bath 'circular tour' bus passes the outskirts of the village and down Ralph Allen Drive on its route to the city centre. The Bath Circular bus (service number 20A) passes through Combe Down. It caters for students travelling to the University of Bath and Bath Spa University.

History

It is believed that a Roman villa was situated on the southern slopes of the village somewhere below Belmont Road,^[16] the site of which was discovered in the 1850s.^[17] An inscription on a stone recovered from the area reads "PRO SALVTE IMP CES M AVR ANTONINI PII FELICIS INVICTI AVG NAEVIVS AVG LIB ADIVT PROC PRINCIPIA RVINA OPRESS A SOLO RESTITVIT". This can be translated as: "For the health of Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus, Naevius the imperial freedman, helped to restore from its foundations the procurator's headquarters which had broken down in ruins." It is thought to date from AD 212–222.^[18] Many finds from the site were taken to the Somerset County Museum at Taunton.

John Leland, the 16th century antiquarian and traveller, noted some stone mining activity in Combe Down as he passed by.

By 1700, small open stone quarries were operating on Combe Down. Most of the land and the quarries were purchased by Ralph Allen in 1726 but there was as yet little habitation.^[19]

In 1791 John Collinson describes Combe Down as still undeveloped:

"On the summit of Combedown a mile northward from the church [mc], among many immense quarries of fine free stone, are large groves of firs, planted by the late Ralph Allen, esq; for the laudable purpose of ornamenting this (at that time rough and barren) hill. Among these groves is a neat range of buildings belonging to this parish. It consists of eleven houses [De Montalt Place], built of wrought stone, raised on the spot ; each of which has a small garden in front. These were originally built for the workmen employed in the quarries, but are now chiefly let to invalids from Bath who retire hither for the sake of a very fine air-, (probably rendered more salubrious by the Plantation of firs) from which many have received essential benefit. The surrounding beautiful and extensive prospects ; the wild, but pleasing irregularities of the surface and scenery, diversified with immense quarries, fine open cultivated fields, and extensive plantations of firs...".^[20]

From their 1924 history of Combe Down, D. Lee Pitcairn and Rev. Alfred Richardson state that:

"The houses in Isabella Place were built about 1800, and in 1805 when the De Montalt Mills were founded cottages were erected in Quarry Bottom and Davidge's Bottom to take the place of wooden booths which labourers and workmen had hitherto occupied for the day and in which they had sometimes slept during the week. From this time onwards the place began to develop little by little... In 1829 when the Combe Down quarries were disposed of by Mrs. Cruickshank, building further increased...".^[21]

The population increased from 1,600 in 1841 to 2,372 in 1901^[22] and was 5,419 in 2011.^[23]

Stone mines and quarries

Combe Down village sits above an area of redundant 18th and 19th century stone quarries, many of which were owned and developed by Ralph Allen in the 1720s. These quarries were fully infilled and stabilised during a central government-funded project which took place between 2005 and 2010.^[24] Over 40 quarry sites have been identified on Combe Down.^[25] Only one working quarry (Upper Lawn Quarry) remains on the edge of the village, located off Shaft Road. This supplies high quality Bath stone to the city and across the UK.^[26]

John Leland, the 16th century antiquarian and traveller, wrote in the 1500s that he approached Bath from Midford "...And about a Mile farther I can to a Village and passd over a Ston Bridge where ranne a litle broke there & they caullid Midford-Water..2 good Miles al by Mountayne and Quarre and litle wood in syte..."^[27] which could be a reference to quarrying around Horsecombe Vale, between Midford and Combe Down.

The mines at Combe Down were Oolitic (oolite) limestone mines. Stone was extracted by the "room and pillar" method, by which chambers were mined out, leaving pillars of stone to support the roof. The Bath stone used for many of the buildings in Bath – as well as for other important buildings around the United Kingdom including Buckingham Palace – was mined from beneath and around Combe Down. Many of these workings were once owned by the eighteenth century entrepreneur Ralph Allen (1694–1764). ^[28] The mines were closed in the 19th century but building work continued above ground, with some roads and houses eventually resting on only a thin crust – in places between only one and two metres deep – above large underground cavities with inadequate support.^[28]

A five-year central government-funded project began in late 2005 to stabilise and fill the abandoned mine workings. Bath and North East Somerset Council approved the planning application in June 2003 and approximately 760 village properties were included within its boundary.^[28] All mine workings inside the boundary of the planning application were stabilised using foam concrete to satisfy a 100-year design life while ensuring archaeologically important areas and bat habitats were protected. In some hydrologically sensitive areas, "stowing" – an infill with limestone aggregate – was undertaken. Archaeologically important areas were filled with sand and new bat caves and tunnels were created.^[28]

The £154.6 million grant for the works came from the Land Stabilisation Programme which was set up by the government in 1999 to deal with "abandoned non-coal mine workings which are likely to collapse and threaten life and property" and managed by English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency. The total amount included £22.7m which had already been used for emergency stabilisation work before the approval of the main project.^[28] Several public art projects celebrated the completion of the stabilisation works.^[28]

Foxhill Estate and Mulberry Park

From 1935 to 2011 the Admiralty (later part of the Ministry of Defence) owned a 46 acre site called Foxhill (previously a farm) on the Bradford Road. In 2013, the Curo housing organisation purchased the site where it is developing 700 new homes (151 of those to be social homes) with open spaces and community facilities, to be called Mulberry Park. Foxhill already had nearly 900 homes, and in 2014 Curo wanted to redevelop Queens Drive, Kewstoke Road, local shops and Sedgemoor Road. In 2018, Curo decided not to demolish the Foxhill Estate and instead will improve the existing rented properties on the estate. The development of Mulberry Park continued and is set to complete in 2024, although many properties are already occupied and a school and community centre are in full operation.^[29]

Combe Down railway tunnel

Combe Down Tunnel was opened in 1874 and emerges below the southern slopes of the village. It was once the UK's longest railway tunnel (1,829 yards) without intermediate ventilation.^[30] The tunnel now forms part of the £1.8 million Two Tunnels Greenway walking and cycling path which opened on 6 April 2013. At over a mile long, the Combe Down tunnel is the longest cycling tunnel in Britain and features an interactive light and sound installation as well as mobile phone coverage.^[31] Its custodian is Wessex Water.

Jewish burial ground

The Jewish burial ground is a site of historic value on Bradford Road and is one of only fifteen in the country to survive from the Georgian period.^[32] While the burial ground suffered a period of neglect since it ceased to be used in the early 20th century, much remains intact to serve as an important reminder of Bath's historic Jewish community. It dates from 1812, and the last recorded burial was in 1942. The site contains a small building, once thought to be a prayer house (Ohel), but more recent research by the Friends of Bath Jewish Burial Ground.^[33] who manage the site, have shown that it was a cottage used by the caretakers of the burial ground, and not used for religious purposes. English Heritage gave the Burial Ground a Grade II listing in 2006. The site contains two chest tombs and some fifty gravestones, dating from between 1842 and 1921, with both Hebrew and English inscriptions. Funds to restore the cottage, conserve the grave stones, repair the boundary wall, replace the gates and develop interpretation of the site have been obtained from a number of charitable sources and a series of restoration works have been undertaken in the period 2015-2022. The site is opened for public visiting several times a year and private access can be arranged by appointment through the Friends.^[33]

De Montalt Mill

The De Montalt paper mill stood on the southern slopes of the village during the 19th century; it gradually fell into picturesque ruin until it was converted into housing during 2007. The mill was built on land owned by Thomas Ralph Maude, Viscount Hawarden (1767–1807) in the early 19th century and was owned by John Bally (1773 – 1854), (a bookseller in Milsom Street in Bath), William Allan or Ellan (1781 – 1832) and George Steart (d.1837), all trading as paper-makers under the name of John Bally & Co.^[34]

A print dating from the 1850s shows the mill which then possessed the largest water wheel in England, measuring 56 feet (17 m) in diameter. It has subsequently been discovered that most of the coloured papers used by J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) for a good number of his approximately twenty thousand drawings and watercolours were made at De Montalt Mill.^[34] The collection is now housed in The Turner Bequest at the Tate Gallery, London. The paper was of a very high standard and the watercolour boards were made without being pasted together which ensured they remained free from mildew; however, despite the early success of the business, it failed in 1834 .^[35] The premises were then sold to wholesale stationer William Jennings Allen (1807 – 1839) .^[35] After his death it was sold to Charles Middleton Kernot (1807 – 1876) to be used as a ‘manufactory of patent interlocked and dovetailed felted cloths’ .^[35] By 1859 it was used for a laundry run by the Bath Washing Company Ltd. and later used for a variety of purposes including market gardening (1871); and cabinet making from (1875) until the lease expired in 1905 and it closed.^[36] In the 20th century cows and pigs were being reared on the site.^[37]

Various parts of the mill have Grade II listed building status, including the southern range which consisted of the apprentice shops and stores,^[38] the main east block which was the printing works where notes were printed for the Bank of England – later converted to cabinet manufacturing^[39] and the chimney.^[40] De Montalt, an Italianate villa set in the grounds is also grade II listed.^[41]

The mill and its associated buildings were converted to residential use during 2007, with the main mill building being converted into four apartments.^[42] Elements of the conversion featured in the Channel 4 television programme Grand Designs.^[43]

Local flora

A local woodland wild flower is the Bath Asparagus, also known as the Spiked Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum). The flowers appear in June after the leaves die; the leaves resemble bluebell leaves but are a softer green and not as glossy. The flowering spike is up to one metre high.^[44] At the unopened stage the flowers used to be gathered in small quantities as a fresh vegetable by local people; it was also occasionally sold in local markets, but picking the flowers today is not encouraged as wild asparagus is becoming rare. According to research carried out by Avon Wildlife Trust the plant is found throughout Europe but has only a limited UK distribution. It is possible that the flower was first brought to the Bath area as seeds carried on the wheels and hooves of Roman vehicles and animals.

Allium ursinum, also known as Ramsons or wild garlic, is abundant in the National Trust woodlands adjacent to Combe Down during the spring.2015.

Grade I and II listed buildings on Combe Down

There are 79 Grade I and Grade II listed buildings – a building officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance – on Combe Down, the earliest dating from 1729 and the latest from 1909. They are from three main phases of building activity.

The first phase was c. 1700–1742. These are the buildings at Combe Grove, and the buildings commissioned by Ralph Allen at Prior Park and at De Montalt Place on Church Road.

The second phase was c. 1800 – c. 1820. These are mainly buildings along Combe Road, Summer Lane, and Church Road at Isabella Place and from Claremont House to Hopecote Lodge, which were built soon after the death of Cornwallis Maude, 1st Viscount Hawarden (1729–1803) who died with substantial debts^[45] which led to the break-up of the De Montalt estate in Bath,^[46] as speculators in property and mining took the opportunity.

The third phase was Victorian, from c. 1830 to 1860. Combe Down had become known as a place for convalescence and "good air" (away from polluted cities) and, being only about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Bath, was perfect for this as well as for middle class professionals. These are mainly buildings along North Road, The Avenue, Belmont Road and Church Road east of Hopecote Lodge.

A list of these listed buildings with links to Images of England – an online photographic record of all the listed buildings in England at the date of February 2001 – is given below.

Notable residents

Henry John Patch (better known as Harry Patch, the "Last Fighting Tommy") was born in Combe Down in 1898; both his father and grandfather were Combe Down stonemasons. His family home is still in existence in Gladstone Road. Patch was briefly the third oldest man in the world^[119] and the last trench veteran of World War I, status which earned him international fame during the early 21st century. He died in July 2009, aged 111, by which time he was the last soldier to have fought in the trenches during World War One as well as the second last surviving British war veteran and one of four surviving soldiers from the conflict worldwide. His memoir, The Last Fighting Tommy (published in 2007) records his Combe Down childhood in some detail. His funeral cortège passed through Combe Down village on its way to his burial in Monkton Combe churchyard.

Herbert Lambert FRPS (1881–1936), society portrait photographer and harpsichord and clavichord maker.^[120]

Frederic Weatherly (1848–1929), the composer of the song Danny Boy, lived at Grosvenor Lodge (now renamed St Christopher )^[85] in Belmont Road during the second decade of the 20th century.^[121]

Charlie McDonnell, once the most subscribed YouTube vlogger in the United Kingdom, grew up in Combe Down before moving to London in 2010.^[122]

Chris Anderson, founder of Future Publishing and curator of TED lived at Combe Ridge on Belmont Road for some years in the late 20th and early 21st century.

Eliza Margaret Jane Humphreys (1850–1938), an English novelist using the pen name 'Rita', lived in Richardson Avenue (now The Firs) in the 1920s before moving to the house called West Brow.^[123]

References

External links

• Combe Down Heritage Society
• Combe Down CEVC Primary School
• Combe Down Nursery
• Combe Down RFC Rugby Club
• Combe Down Village News on Facebook
• Combe Down Stone Mines
• Combe Down Stone Mines Stabilisation Project
• Combe Down Surgery
• Friends of Bath Jewish Burial Ground
• Holy Trinity Church
• Monkton Prep School, Pre-Prep and Nursery
• Oldfield Old Boys RFC Rugby Club
• Ralph Allen Cornerstone
• Ralph Allen School
• Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic church
• Union Chapel
• Combe Down Art Group

Combe Down and Bathampton Down Quarries

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location within Somerset
Location	Avon
Grid reference	ST761625
Coordinates	51°21′40″N 2°20′41″W / 51.36106°N 2.34465°W / 51.36106; -2.34465
Interest	Biological
Area	15.37 acres (0.0622 km2; 0.02402 sq mi)
Notification	1991 (1991)
Natural England website

Combe Down and Bathampton Down Quarries (grid reference ST761625) make up a 6.22 hectare (15.37 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Bath and North East Somerset, England, important for its bat population. The disused quarries date from the 17th and 18th centuries and were the source of Bath stone for the city of Bath and elsewhere in the UK. A five-year project to stabilise the quarry workings was largely completed by November 2009.

Geology

Combe Down forms a plateau capped by Great Oolite limestones between the valley of the River Avon and Horsecombe Vale. The geology of the region is dominated by rocks of Middle and Early Jurassic ages. The Great Oolite is the uppermost lithology, underlain by the clays of the Fuller's Earth Formation, which in turn is underlain by limestones of the Inferior Oolite and the Midford Sands of the Lias. The Great and Inferior Oolite formations provide effective aquifers (rock in which water can be stored and pass through) for public and private water supplies.^[1]

History

The Great Oolite stone, used for building purposes, formed over 146 million years ago when the area was underneath a deep tropical sea on which ooliths were deposited. The ooliths bonded together to form the distinctive rock known as oolitic limestone or locally as Bath stone. The Romans found that it was easily worked and used it for important fortifications. During the 17th century, small quarries were opened, with major quarries being developed in the 18th century to produce the stone used for many of the buildings in Bath and elsewhere in the UK, including Buckingham Palace. Stone was extracted by the "room and pillar" method, by which chambers were mined, leaving pillars of stone to support the roof.^[1] These mines were once owned by Postmaster General Ralph Allen (1694–1764).

The mines contain a range of features including well preserved tramways, cart-roads and crane bases. The walls and pillars are studded with pick and tool marks and show evidence of the use of huge stone saws, all of which bear testimony to the variety of techniques used to extract the stone over their three hundred-year history.^[2]

No mine abandonment plans – either of the tunnels or the caverns, known as voids – were made prior to the 1872 Mining Act.^[1]

During 1989 a utilities contractor unexpectedly broke through into part of the mine complex whilst excavating a trench, which resulted in Bath City Council commissioning studies to survey the condition of the mines. It was clear that the mines were in very unstable condition, and some experts considered them to be the largest, shallowest and most unstable of their kind in Europe.^[3]

Mine and environmental survey

An underground survey of the Firs and Byfield mine areas was carried out in 1994, commissioned by Bath City Council. It was found that approximately 80% of the mines had less than 6 m cover, reducing to 2 m in some places.^[4] Irregular mining and robbing stone from supporting pillars had left the mines unstable.^[1]

An Environmental Impact Assessment was completed for the stabilisation scheme and submitted to the Local Planning Authority in December 2002. This highlighted that the mine is within the World Heritage Site of the City of Bath; adjacent to the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); within a conservation area, containing a number of listed buildings; a Site of Special Scientific Interest; a candidate Special Area of Conservation; of international importance for Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats; and of international geological importance, partly due to the work of William Smith.^[1]

During the access and emergency works, Oxford Archaeology produced large scale plans of visible areas and substantial photography was carried out as the modern roadways allowed access. There were also trials of video photography and laser scanning, so that a substantial record was produced of some 20% of the known workings.^[2]

The mine also lies above a Grade 1 aquifer from which water for public and private use is extracted via the springs that issue at the base of these units, in particular at the Prior Park, Whittaker and Tucking Mill springs.^[1]

Mine stabilisation project

In March 1999, the then Department of Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR) announced a Land Stabilisation Programme, based on the Derelict Land Act 1982. This was designed to "deal with abandoned non-coal mine workings which are likely to collapse and threaten life and property". A Bath and North East Somerset Council outline bid for a two-phase stabilisation project was accepted in August 1999, by English Partnerships who administered the programme for the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.^[1] A parliamentary Statutory Instrument (2002 No. 2053) was needed before the work could be undertaken.^[5]

Approximately 760 properties were included within the planning application boundary; estimates were that ca. 1660 people lived within this area, which also included a primary school, a nursery and three churches.

Foamed concrete was selected for the large-scale infilling of the old mine works: the single largest application of foamed concrete on a project in the UK. The work was largely complete by November 2009, by which time approximately 600,000 cubic metres of foamed concrete had been used to fill 25 hectares of very shallow limestone mine, making it the largest project of its kind in the world.^[6]

Biological interest

The site was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1991, for its importance as a hibernation site for several species of bat, including Greater and Lesser Horseshoe.^[7] Since 2005 it has formed part of the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation.^[8]

References

External links

• Photographs of the inside of the mine

Combe Down Tunnel

The tunnel portal in 2013
Overview
Line	Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Location	c. 2.5 miles from Bath Green Park
Operation
Opened	1874
Closed	1966 (railway)
Owner	Wessex Water
Technical
Length	1,829 yards (1,672 m)
No. of tracks	Single
Tunnel clearance	the crown of the arch is between 14'9"-18'0" above the invert.
Width	varies from 11'6"-13'7"
Grade	mostly 1 in 100 (1%) descending towards Midford (away from Bath)[1]

Combe Down Tunnel is on the now-closed Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway main line, between Midford and Bath Green Park railway station, below high ground and the southern suburbs of Bath, England, emerging below the southern slopes of Combe Down village.

Opened in 1874, this 1,829-yard (1,672 m) long disused railway tunnel was once the UK's longest without intermediate ventilation.^[2] The tunnel now forms part of the £1.8 million Two Tunnels Greenway walking and cycling path opened on 6 April 2013 and is the longest cycling tunnel in Britain.^[3] Its custodian is Wessex Water.

Overview

The tunnel was on the "Bath Extension" line of the Somerset & Dorset Railway, built in 1874. The extension effectively bankrupted the independent company. The extension line was later made double-track northwards from Evercreech Junction to the viaduct at Midford, but the substantial civil engineering works associated with the tunnel and the steep approach into Bath, including the shorter Devonshire Tunnel, caused the northernmost section to remain single-track throughout its working life. Freight trains heading south from Bath were often banked (assisted in rear) by a locomotive that detached itself from the train at the entrance to Combe Down tunnel, and then returned down the gradient to Bath. This operation was a very rare example of two trains being permitted to run within a single-line section at once, although the train engine carried an electric tablet and the banking engine a staff, both of which had to be returned to their appropriate signalling instruments before other trains could be dispatched into the section. Sometimes the banking engine would be conveying additional goods vehicles for Bath Co-op Siding (situated within the single line section), so the bank engine (carrying the bank staff) would shunt the siding on its way back to Bath Junction whilst the main train (with the single-line tablet) would continue on its way to Midford. This unusual method of working operated right up to the closure of the S&D in 1966.

Accident

Combe Down tunnel had no intermediate ventilation and there were significant problems with fumes. On 20 November 1929, the driver and fireman of a northbound goods train were overcome by smoke. The train was moving very slowly in the tunnel due to a heavy load and due to starting from a standstill at Midford. The locomotive, S&DJR 2-8-0 No. 89, continued on slowly and eventually breasted the summit of the gradient. Its downward course to Bath was accomplished more quickly, and the train ran away, crashing into the goods yard on the approach to Bath Green Park railway station, killing the driver, Henry Jennings, and two railway employees in the yard.^[4]

The fumes that overcame the footplate crew were a consequence of the restricted bore, lack of ventilation shafts, the exceptional humidity and lack of breeze, and the very slow speed of the train, running tender first. The inspecting officer, Colonel A. C. Trench recommended that maximum loads should be reduced or assistant engines provided to prevent a recurrence.^[5]

Two Tunnels Shared Path

This section of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, including the tunnels, is now incorporated into a shared-use walking and cycling path. Planning permission was approved in May 2008 and much of the funding came from a Sustrans Connect2 grant.

The fourth and final £100,000 tranche of council funding was made in the 2011/12 financial year; the tunnel was equipped with a cycle-friendly surface and LED lighting. The route was opened on 6 April 2013.

The Combe Down tunnel path has been used as the site of a 200-mile underground ultramarathon challenge called "The Tunnel".^[6][7]

See also

• List of tunnels in the United Kingdom
• Ruling gradient#Other tunnels

References

51°21′22″N 2°20′29″W / 51.3560°N 2.3415°W / 51.3560; -2.3415

Claverton Down is a suburb on the south-east hilltop edge of Bath, Somerset, England. It is linked to the Bathwick area of the city by Bathwick Hill.

Primarily a rural area with relatively few houses, it is home to the University of Bath, the headquarters of Wessex Water and a private golf course, the Bath Golf Course.

The American Museum is based at Claverton Manor, below Claverton Down on the road to the village of Claverton.^[1] Claverton Manor was designed by Jeffry Wyattville and built in the 1820s, and is a Grade I listed building.^[2]

References

51°22′30″N 2°19′26″W / 51.375°N 2.324°W / 51.375; -2.324

Prior Park
Location	Bath, Somerset, England
Coordinates	51°21′54″N 2°20′40″W / 51.36500°N 2.34444°W / 51.36500; -2.34444
Built	1742
Built for	Ralph Allen
Architect	John Wood, the Elder
Architectural style(s)	Neo-Palladian
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Prior Park (Now Prior Park College)
Designated	12 June 1950[1]
Reference no.	1394453
Location of Prior Park in Somerset

Prior Park is a Neo-Palladian house that was designed by John Wood, the Elder, and built in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

The house was built in part to demonstrate the properties of Bath stone as a building material. The design followed work by Andrea Palladio and was influenced by drawings originally made by Colen Campbell for Wanstead House in Essex as well as the twelve sided plan form of the Roman theatre (of which the house's natural setting reminded Wood).^[2] The main block had 15 bays and each of the wings 17 bays each. The surrounding parkland had been laid out in 1100 but following the purchase of the land by Allen 11.3 hectares (28 acres) were established as a landscape garden. Features in the garden include a bridge covered by Palladian arches, which is also Grade I listed.

Following Allen's death the estate passed down through his family. In 1828, Bishop Baines bought it for use as a Roman Catholic College. The house was then extended and a chapel and gymnasium built by Henry Goodridge. The house is now used by Prior Park College and the surrounding parkland owned by the National Trust.

History

Construction

Ralph Allen, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age of 19, in 1712, became the Postmaster.^[3] In 1742 he was elected Mayor of Bath,^[4] and was the Member of Parliament for Bath between 1757 and 1764.^[4] The building in Lilliput Alley, Bath (now North Parade Passage), which he used as a post office, became his town house.^[5]

Allen acquired the stone quarries at Combe Down and Bathampton Down.^[4] The unique honey-coloured Bath stone was used to build the Georgian city, and as a result he made a second fortune. Allen instructed John Padmire to build a wooden wagon-way from his mine on Combe Down which carried the stone down the hill, now known as Ralph Allen Drive, which runs beside Prior Park, to a wharf he constructed at Bath Locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal for onward transport to London.^[6] An engraving of Prior Park, made in 1752 from a drawing by Anthony Walker and showing the railway passing the house, is the first known railway print.^[7] Following a failed bid to supply stone to buildings in London, Allen wanted a building which would show off the properties of Bath stone as a building material.^[8][9]

Hitherto, the quarry masons had always hewn stone roughly, providing blocks of varying size. Wood required stone blocks to be cut with crisp clean edges for his distinctive classical façades.^[10] The stone was extracted by the "room and pillar" method, by which chambers were dug out, leaving pillars of stone to support the roof.^[11] Bath stone is an Oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate laid down during the Jurassic period (195 to 135 million years ago). An important feature of Bath stone is that it is a freestone, that is one that can be sawn or 'squared up' in any direction, unlike other rocks such as slate, which has distinct layers. It was extensively used in the Roman and Medieval periods on domestic, ecclesiastical and civil engineering projects such as bridges.^[12]

John Wood, the Elder was commissioned by Ralph Allen to build on the hill overlooking Bath: "To see all Bath, and for all Bath to see".^[4] Wood was born in Bath and is known for designing many of the streets and buildings of the city, such as The Circus (1754–68),^[13] St John's Hospital,^[14] (1727–28), Queen Square (1728–36), the North (1740) and South Parades (1743–48), the Mineral Water Hospital (1738–42) and other notable houses, many of which are Grade I listed buildings. Queen Square was his first speculative development. Wood lived in a house on the square,^[15] which was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the finest Palladian compositions in England before 1730".^[16]

The plan for Prior Park was to construct five buildings along three sides of a dodecagon matching the sweep of the head of the valley, with the main building flanked by elongated wings based on designs by Andrea Palladio.^[9] The plans were influenced by drawings in Vitruvius Britannicus originally made by Colen Campbell for Wanstead House in Essex, which was yet to be built.^[9][6] The main block had 15 bays and each of the wings 17 bays. Between each wing and the main block was a Porte-cochère for coaches to stop under.^[6] In addition to the stone from the local quarries, material, including the grand staircase and plasterwork, from the demolished Hunstrete House were used in the construction.^[17][18]

Construction work began in 1734 to Wood's plan but disagreements between Wood and Allen led to his dismissal and Wood's Clerk of Works, Richard Jones, replaced him and made some changes to the plans, particularly for the east wing.^[6][19] Jones also added the Palladian Bridge.^[20] The building was finished in 1743 and was occupied by Allen as his primary residence until his death in 1764.^[21]

Later use

After Allen's death in 1764, William Warburton, Allen's relative, lived in the house for some time and it was passed down to other family members and then purchased, in 1809, by John Thomas, a Bristol Quaker.^[22][8] After William Beckford sold Fonthill Abbey, in 1822, he was looking about for a suitable new seat, Prior Park was his first choice: ""They wanted too much for it," he recalled later; "I should have liked it very much; it possesses such great capability of being made a very beautiful spot."^[23] Prior Park was offered for sale after Thomas's death in 1827 but the asking price of £25,000 was not obtained and the offer of sale withdrawn.^[22]

Augustine Baines, a Benedictine, Titular Bishop of Siga and Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England, was appointed to Bath in 1817. He purchased the mansion in 1828 for £22,000 and set to work to establish two colleges in either wing of the house, which he dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul respectively, the former being intended as a lay college, the latter as a seminary. The new college never became prosperous, however. Renovations were made according to designs by Henry Goodridge in 1834 including the addition of the staircase in front of the main building.^[6][24] A gymnasium was also built in the 1830s including a courtyard for Fives,^[25] and three barrel vaulted rooms on the first floor and a terrace roof.^[26]

The seminary was closed in 1856 after a fire which, in 1836, had resulted in extensive damage and renovation and brought about financial insolvency. It was bought in 1867 by Bishop Clifford who founded a Roman Catholic Grammar School in the mansion.^[8] Prior Park operated as a grammar school until 1904. During World War I the site was occupied by the army and used for officer cadet training. Following the war, several tenants occupied the site. In 1921, the Christian Brothers acquired the building and opened a boarding school for boys in 1924, which continues today as a mixed public school.^[27]

The main building (the Mansion) has been badly burnt twice. The 1836 fire left visible damage to some stonework.^[28] The 1991 fire gutted the interior, except for parts of the basement.^[29] Unusually, the blaze started on the top floor, and spread downwards. Rebuilding took approximately three years.^[30]

Architecture

The house described by Pevsner ^[31] as "the most ambitious and most complete re-creation of Palladio's villas on English soil" was designed by John Wood the Elder, however, Wood and his patron, Allen, quarrelled and completion of the project was overseen by Richard Jones, the clerk-of-works.^[9]

The plan consists of a corps de logis flanked by two pavilions connected to the corps de logis by segmented single storey arcades. The northern façade (or garden façade) of the corps de logis is of 15 bays,^[1] the central 5 bays carry a prostyle portico of six Corinthian columns. The southern façade is more sombre in its embellishment, but has at its centre, six ionic columns surmounted by a pediment. The terminating pavilions have been much altered from their original design by Wood; he originally envisaged two pavilions at each end of the range; an unusual composition which was ignored by Jones who terminated the range with a single pavilion as is the more conventional Palladian concept.^[31] The East Wing was altered around 1830 when it was converted into a school, having included a brewhouse previously when a pedimented three-bay second floor was added by John Pensiston.^[32] Around 1834 Goodridge altered the West Wing to include a theatre, which was damaged by bombs during the Bath Blitz of 1942.^[9] The central flight of steps and urns, in Baroque style, which front the north portico were added by Goodridge in 1836.^[1]

In the 1830s Goodridge put forward plans for a large cathedral to be built in the grounds. However this was never proceeded with and instead was replaced by a plan for a small chapel to be incorporated in the west wing of the mansion.^[33] In 1844 Joseph John Scoles created the Church of St Paul which, along with the remainder of the west wing, is Grade I listed.^[34][1]

The total length of the principal elevation is between 1,200 feet (370 m) and 1,300 feet (400 m) in length. Of that, the corps de logis occupies 150 feet (46 m).^[35] The two-storey building with attics and a basement is topped with a Westmorland slate roof.^[1]

Gardens

The first park on the site was set out by John of Tours the Bishop of Bath and Wells around 1100, as part of a deer park, and subsequently sold to Humphrey Colles and then Matthew Colhurst.^[8] It is set in a small valley with steep sides, from which there are views of the city of Bath. Prior Park's 11.3 hectares (28 acres) landscape garden was laid out by the poet Alexander Pope between the construction of the house and 1764. During 1737, at least 55,200 trees, mostly elm and Scots pine, were planted, along the sides and top of the valley. No trees were planted on the valley floor. Water was channeled into fish ponds at the bottom of the valley.^[8] Later work, during the 1750s and 1760s, was undertaken by the landscape gardener Capability Brown.^[36][37] This included extending the gardens to the north and removing the central cascade making the combe into a single sweep.^[8] The garden, as it was originally laid out, influenced other designers and contributed to defining the style of garden thought of as the English garden in continental Europe.^[38]

The features in the gardens include a Palladian bridge (one of only 4 left in the world^[39]), Gothic temple, gravel cabinet, Mrs Allen's Grotto,^[40] ice house,^[41] lodge^[42] and three pools with curtain walls^[43] plus a serpentine lake. The Palladian bridge, which is a copy of the one at Wilton House,^[6] was built by Richard Jones,^[44] and has been designated as a Grade I listed building^[45] and Scheduled Ancient Monument.^[46][45] It was repaired in 1936.^[47]

The rusticated stone piers on either side of the main entrance gates are surmounted by entablatures and large ornamental vases,^[48] while those at the drive entrance have ornamental carved finials.^[49] The porter's lodge was built along with the main house to designs by John Wood the Elder.^[50]

In 1993, the National Trust obtained the park and pleasure grounds. In November 2006, the large-scale restoration project began on the cascade, serpentine lake and Gothic temple in the Wilderness area^[38] (as shown in special episode 28 of the Time Team). Extensive planting also took place in 2007. The Palladian Bridge is also featured on the cover of the album Morningrise by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth released in 1996.^[51][52]

References

Bibliography

• Benjamin, Lewis Saul (1910). The life and letters of William Beckford of Fonthill. Duffield.
• Borsay, Peter (2000). The image of Georgian Bath, 1700–2000: towns, heritage, and history. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-820265-3.
• Clarke, Gillian (1987). Prior Park: A complete landscape. Millstream Books. ISBN 978-0-948975-06-6.
• Colvin, Howard; Mellon, Paul (2008). A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600–1840 (4 ed.). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12508-5.
• Curl, James Stevens (2002). Georgian architecture. David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-0227-9.
• Durman, Richard (2000). Classical Buildings of Wiltshire & Bath: A Palladian Quest. Bath: Millstream Books. ISBN 978-0-948975-60-8.
• Forsyth, Michael (2003). Pevsner Architectural Guides: Bath. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10177-5.
• Goodridge, Alfred S. (1865). Transactions. Royal Institute of British Architects.
• Greenwood, Charles (1977). Famous houses of the West Country. Bath: Kingsmead Press. ISBN 978-0-901571-87-8.
• Hart, Vaughan (1989). ‘One View of a Town. Prior Park and the City of Bath’, RES: Journal of Anthropology and Aesthetics, pp. 140–157.
• Kilvert, Robert Francis (1857). Ralph Allen and Prior Park. Oxford University.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). North Somerset and Bristol: North and Bristol. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09640-8.
• Richardson, Albert E. (2001). Monumental Classic Architecture in Great Britain and Ireland. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-41534-5.
• Staff, Frank (1964). The Penny Post, 1680–1918. Lutterworth. ASIN B0000CM5GS.
• Varey, Simon (1990). Space and the eighteenth-century English novel. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-37483-5.

External links

Prior Park Landscape Garden surrounding the Prior Park estate south of Bath, Somerset, England, was designed in the 18th century by the poet Alexander Pope and the landscape gardener Capability Brown, and is now owned by the National Trust. The garden was influential in defining the style known as the "English landscape garden" in continental Europe.^[1] The garden is Grade I listed in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.^[2]

Around 1100 the site was part of a deer park set out by the Bishop of Bath and Wells John of Tours. In 1720s it was bought by Ralph Allen and landscaped to complement his new house. Further development was undertaken after the house became a seminary and then a Roman Catholic grammar school (which later became Prior Park College). In the 1990s 11.3 hectares (28 acres) of the park and pleasure grounds were acquired by the National Trust and a large scale restoration undertaken. Features of Prior Park Landscape Garden include a Palladian architecture bridge, lake and ancillary buildings.

History

Set in a small steep valley overlooking the city of Bath a park was established on the site by John of Tours, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, in around 1100 as a deer park.^[3] It was subsequently sold to Humphrey Colles, a lawyer and member of parliament for Somerset,^[4] and then another member of parliament, Matthew Colthurst.^[5][3] Even before the Dissolution of the Monasteries the walls which had enclosed the deer park had fallen into disrepair and the deer had escaped. The land was then returned to agricultural use.^[2]

18th-century design

Purchased by the local entrepreneur and philanthropist Ralph Allen in the 1720s,^[2] Prior Park's 11.3 hectares (28 acres) English landscape garden was laid out with advice from the poet Alexander Pope during the construction of the house,^[6][7][8] overseen by Allen between the years 1734 and his death in 1764.^[9] During 1737, at least 55,200 trees, mostly elm and Scots pine, were planted, along the sides and top of the valley. The valley floor remained as grassland and drainage water was channelled to form fish ponds at the bottom of the valley.^[3]

Later work, during the 1750s and 1760s, was undertaken by the landscape gardener Capability Brown;^[10][11][12] this included extending the gardens to the north, removing the central cascade and making the wooded hillside (combe) into a single sweep.^[3] "The garden was influential in defining the style of garden known as the 'English garden' in continental Europe".^[1] The gardens were laid out in two distinct areas: those on the east side of the house were set out as vegetable plots on either side of the serpentine path, while on the western side were statues and grottoes, trees and evergreens with climbing and scented plants. Exotic plants which had only recently arrived in Britain included Aristolochiaceae, Passiflora and Bignonia.^[13]

In 1828 the house and estate were purchased by Bishop Augustine Baines to create a seminary and then Bishop William Clifford for a Roman Catholic grammar school which later became Prior Park College. Further landscaping was carried out in the 1880s.^[2]

Restoration

In 1993 the park and pleasure grounds were acquired by the National Trust and it was opened to the public in 1996.^[14][15] In November 2002, a large-scale restoration project began on the cascade, serpentine lake and Gothic temple in the wilderness area, this is now complete. Extensive planting also took place in 2007. Future plans include re-roofing the grotto and building a replica Gothic temple.^[15]

Garden features

The garden's features include a Palladian architecture bridge (one of only four of this design left in the world),^[6][7][8] Gothic temple, gravel cabinet, Mrs Allen's Grotto,^[16] the ice house,^[17] lodge^[18] and three pools with curtain walls^[19] as well as a serpentine lake. The curtain wall by the lake is known as the Sham Bridge and is similar to Kent's Cascade at Chiswick House and Vunus Vale at Rousham House.^[14] Ralph Allen was also responsible for the construction of Sham Castle on a hill overlooking Bath.^[20]

The rusticated stone piers on either side of the main entrance gates are surmounted by entablatures and large ornamental vases,^[21] while those at the drive entrance have ornamental carved finials.^[22] The Porter's Lodge was built along with the main house to designs by John Wood the Elder.^[23]

Palladian bridge

The Palladian bridge, which is a copy of the one at Wilton House,^[24] has been designated as a Grade I listed building^[25] and scheduled monument.^[26][27] It was repaired in 1936.^[28]

The Palladian Bridge later featured on the cover of the 1996 album Morningrise by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth.^[29][30]

Bath Skyline

A five-minute walk from the garden leads on to the Bath Skyline, a six-mile (10 km) circular walk around the city that encompasses woodlands, meadows, an Iron Age hill-fort, Roman settlements, 18th-century follies and views over the city.^[31]

See also

• List of National Trust properties in Somerset

References

External links

• Prior Park Landscape Garden information at the National Trust

51°22′02″N 2°20′37″W / 51.36721°N 2.34374°W / 51.36721; -2.34374

The Anglican Bath Abbey Cemetery, officially dedicated as the Cemetery of St Peter and St Paul (the patron saints that Bath Abbey is dedicated to), was laid out by noted cemetery designer and landscape architect John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) between 1843 and 1844 on a picturesque hillside site overlooking Bath, Somerset, England.

The cemetery was consecrated on 30 January 1844. It was a private Anglican cemetery financed by W. J. Broderick, Rector of Bath Abbey.

The layout is a mixture of formal and informal arranged along a central avenue. It features a mortuary chapel, designed by Bath City Architect G. P. Manners in the then fashionable Norman Revival architectural style.^[1]

History

The cemetery is on a site that was used for Roman burials, three stone coffins and Roman coins dating to Constantine the Great and Carausius having been found when the roadway to the chapel was constructed.^[2] In 1952 a further Roman coffin was discovered during the removal of a tree root from a footpath.^[3][4]

The eccentric William Thomas Beckford was originally buried here, but moved when his former retreat of Lansdown Tower came under threat of becoming a pleasure garden and was transformed into Lansdown Cemetery in the parish of Walcot. "The best monuments are slightly neo-Grecian with canopied tops, dating from the 1840s. Note that to S. M. Hinds d.1847 signed Reeves, the Bath firm of Monumental masons, that flourished from c.1778 to 1860…."^[1]

The cemetery and mortuary chapel are Grade II* listed.^[5][6][7] 37 monuments in the cemetery are Grade II or II* listed.^[8][9] A general trend is that the most elaborate monuments belong to individuals formerly residing at the most exclusive addresses. An interesting trend seems that clerics get Gothic Revival style monuments and military men typically get Greek Revival style monuments.^[1]

The Roman Catholic Perrymead Cemetery is adjacent to Bath Abbey Cemetery.^[10][11]

Mortuary chapel

The three-bay double-height chapel was built in 1844 to designs by George Phillips Manners in the Norman Revival architectural style with a prominent west tower over a three-sided open porch / porte cochere. The chapel is built above a crypt and was planned to be flanked by open cloister wings containing a columbarium and loculi. Ever since the cemetery's closure, the chapel has also been closed and is in a deteriorating condition.^[1] It was listed Grade II historic building on 5 August 1975,^[7] but is now Grade II* listed.^[6] It remains owned by Bath Abbey, although a lease or sale was considered to Bath's Orthodox church, which never materialized.

List of prominent memorials

• Crimean War Memorial, c. 1855, an obelisk memorial of polished stone designed in the Greek Revival style.^[1]
• Robert Scott of 3 Duke Street, St James, c. 1861, a white marble memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style^[1]
• Elizabeth Hunt of 72 Pulteney Street, c. 1846, a polished stone obelisk designed in the Gothic Revival style^[1]
• Robert Harvey Forsmann of St Petersburg (records infant death), of 15 Bennet Street, Walcot, a white marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• Doverton Chalmers Greetree Swan of Island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) (records infant death) of 36 Pulteney, a white marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• John Gill (also Louise Gicnac) of 14 Bathwick Street, c. 1851, a white marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• Francis Hunt of 65 Pulteney, c. 1851, a memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• Gen. Paul Anderson of 10 Paragon Buildings, a polished stone memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• Joseph Chaning Pearce of Montague House. Lambridge, c. 1847 (House became a museum to his 200 fossil collection), a polished pink granite, and polished stone plinth, designed in the Greek Revival style (Signed Rogers of Bath)^[1]
• Sidney P. Macgreggor of Widcombe House, Widcombe, c. 1855, a marble memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style (signed by Tucker, mason)^[1]
• Ellen Maria Lamb of New Bond Street, St Michael's, c. 1856, a polished stone memorial, designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• John Pavin of 5 Cavendish Crescent, Walcot, c. 1848, a white marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• Julius Hall of 45 Pulteney Street, c. 1869, a white marble memorial obelisk designed in the Gothic Revival style^[1]
• Charles Pratt of Combe Grove Manor, c. 1844, a white marble mini temple memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• Henry John Sharpe, Merchant of New York, of Royal Hotel, St James, Doric Column on Pediment WM- designed in the Greek Revival style (Signed by Treasure Mason)^[1]
• John Collingridge of 57 Pulteney Street, c. 1855, a memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• James Weeks Williams of 6 Claremont Place, Walcot, c.1848, a marble classical revival mini temple (signed White)^[1] "The Williams Memorial^[12] is a white marble miniature open Greek temple raised up on a penant stone pedestal. Four painted sets of fluted columns with lotus and acanthus leaf capitals support a canopy over a draped urn flashed by an angel and a female mowner. The equally elaborate inscription is to Jane Wiliams who died at her residence, 17 Kensington Place, Bath, in 1848 aged 88. One side of the base commemorates 17-year-old Henry Williams, ‘who by accidentally falling off the West India docks in a dense London fog was unfortunately drowned’ in 1853."^[13] (Listed II*)^[9]
• Stothert (Family) of Hay Hill, c. 1855, a polished stone memorial designed in the Greek Revival style^[1]
• ??daria Lady Hargood of Royal Crescent, c. 1849, a memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style^[1]
• Elizabeth Ingram of 11 South Parade, c. 1845, a memorial designed in the Norman Revival architectural style
• Samuel Maxwell Hinds of 7 Raby Place, a white marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style (signed Reeves)
• Mary Ann Hunter of 7 Edward Street, c. 1869, a white marble cross memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style
• Robert Neale of Butt Ash Cottage, Widcombe, c. 1873, a white marble obelisk designed in the Gothic Revival style
• Ann Partis of 58 Pulteney, c. 1846, founder of Partis College, a white marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style (Listed II*)^[8]
• Lt. Col. Richard Tatton of Blyth, Northumberland, c. 1867, a white marble obelisk designed in the Greek Revival style
• Eleanor Moody of Pulteney Street, c. 1844
• Edwin Augustus Lawton of St Mary's Buildings, Lyncombe, c.1863, a white marble headstone designed in the Gothic Revival style
• Capt. Peter Gapper of Easton Home, Beechen Cliff, c. 1866, a white marble obelisk designed in the Greek Revival style
• Charles Hamper of the Grove, Bathampton, c.1866, a polished stone memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style
• Rose Caroline Browne of Bathampton, c. 1858, gabled memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style
• John Hay Clive of Hastings (late of Bathwick Hill), c. 1853, a memorial designed in the Greek Revival style
• Charles Rainsford Hall of Bathampton, c. 1848, a memorial designed in the Greek Revival style
• Benjamin Plim Bellamy of Beacon Hill, Walcot, c.1847, a polished stone monument designed in the Greek Revival style (Signed Reeves)
• Charles Richardson (briefly) of New Bond Street, c. 1890 (drowned in River Avon), a polished stone memorial designed in the Greek Revival style
• William Westall of 1 George's Place, Bathwick Hill, c. 1853, a polished stone obelisk memorial, designed in the Greek Revival style
• Rev. Edward Tottenham of Marlborough Buildings, Walcot, c. 1853, a polished stone memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style
• Rev. Nathan Ashby of Combe Down, (same as Tottenham above), a polished stone memorial designed in the Gothic Revival style
• John Monk Lambe of 3 Sydney Buildings, c. 1865, a memorial designed in the Greek Revival style
• Rear Admiral John Bythesea, died 1906, Crimean War VC recipient, tall Celtic granite cross.^[14]
• Arnold Ridley OBE, actor, ashes buried in parents' grave^[15]

War graves

The cemetery contains 3 Commonwealth service war graves of World War I, registered and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – a British Army Captain, a Canadian soldier and a Royal Air Force airman.^[16]

References

External links

• Bath Abbey Cemetery at Find a Grave

51°22′12″N 2°20′53″W / 51.3701°N 2.3481°W / 51.3701; -2.3481

Monkton Combe
St Michael's Church
Monkton Combe Location within Somerset
Population	554 [1]
OS grid reference	ST771620
Unitary authority	Bath and North East Somerset
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BATH
Postcode district	BA2
Dialling code	01225
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Bath
List of places UK England Somerset 51°21′25″N 2°19′37″W / 51.357°N 2.327°W / 51.357; -2.327

Monkton Combe is a village and civil parish in north Somerset, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Bath. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Tucking Mill, had a population of 554 in 2013.^[1] It was formerly known as Combe, owing to its geography, while it was also known as Monckton Combe and Combe Monckton until last century.

History

The pre-Saxon history of Monkton Combe is poorly recorded. It lay close to the Roman road from Bath to London, which has prompted the construction of a Roman villa in Combe Down. More activity is noted in the sub-Roman period, when it formed the end of the western section of the protective Wansdyke, which had been designed to protect Somerset from Saxon invasion.

Combe was settled and cultivated by the Anglo-Saxon period, when it formed part of the hundred of Bath Forum.^[2][3]

It was probably given to Bath Abbey, along with other surrounding villages, in the early 1060's by either Edward the Confessor or Harold Godwinson. The Abbey had been impoverished, and Bishop Gisa made use of patronage to expand its lands. In 1086, Combe was assessed in the Domesday Book as having around twenty families, and supporting a range of agricultural activities. During the medieval period, it acquired the additional name 'Monkton', noting its ownership by the Abbey and disambiguating it from other nearby 'Combes'.

The village's industry diversified in the late 18th century, with the opening of local mines and the Somerset Coal Canal in 1800. This prompted the expansion of the village's population, and the construction of new housing to accommodate workers, built in the local Bath stone. The canal was converted to a railway in 1910, giving the village a short-lived railway station of its own. The closure of the line encouraged the further de-industrialisation of the village, with the neighbouring flock mill closing the following year, although not before the village, and its station, featured in the popular Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt.

Governance

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 car park 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 Village Hall and Village Green are the responsibility of the Village Hall Committee and not of the Parish 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 its 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. It is 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 is in Bath. Between 1 April 1974, and 1 April 1996, it was the Wansdyke district and the City of Bath of the county of Avon.^[4] Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Bathavon Rural District.^[5]

The parish falls within the 'Bathavon South' electoral ward. The ward starts in the north east at Monkton Combe and stretches south west through Wellow to Shoscombe. The total population of this ward at the 2011 census was 3,052.^[6]

The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the North East Somerset constituency.^[7] It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Church

The parish church of St Michael, thought to have been Norman, was razed in the early 19th century and rebuilt in 1814. The 1814 church was soon found to be too small, and was rebuilt in 1865 at the initiative of the first Vicar of Monkton Combe, the Revd. Francis Pocock. It was designed by ecclesiastical architect C. E. Giles of London, and the builder was Mr. S. G. Mitchell. It was extended within just a few years to accommodate the growing number of pupils from nearby Monkton Combe School, founded by Revd. Pocock in 1868. The church is a Grade II listed building.^[8]

The churchyard contains the grave of Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier who served in the First World War, and a handful of Commonwealth War Graves.

Landmarks

The village has one public house, the Wheelwright's Arms, which was built as a private house in the mid-late 18th century and later converted to an inn.^[9] It gained its name from the wheelwrighting business that worked from its yard until 1934.

A village lock-up in the 18th century, probably circa 1776, and is located conveniently near the Wheelwrights Arms. This is now one of the village's many Grade II listed buildings, and was last used in 1905 by errant pupils to lock up the school's unpopular bursar.^[10]

There were two mills from the time of the Domesday Book, which were rebuilt in the early 19th century and have survived to this day, although neither are in working order.^[11]

School

Several historic in the village are owned and occupied by Monkton Combe School, particularly those along Church Lane. This is a prominent public school, which was founded in the village in 1868 by the first Vicar of Monkton Combe, Revd Francis Pocock, and retains its active Christian ethos to this day.

Gallery

• 

  Church Road, with Monkton Combe School on the left

• 

  The village, viewed from Brassknocker Hill to the north-east

• 

  Church Road and the Village hall

See also

• Monkton Combe School
• Monkton Combe Halt railway station
• MV Monkton Combe

References

External links

• Village website
• Monkton Combe School

St Michael's Church, Monkton Combe
51°21′22″N 2°19′43″W / 51.35611°N 2.32861°W / 51.35611; -2.32861
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
History
Dedication	St. Michael
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Bath and Wells
Parish	Monkton Combe

St Michael's Church is the Church of England parish church of Monkton Combe, Somerset, England. It was also the parish church of Combe Down until the 1850s when the communities separated. It is a Grade II listed building.^[1]

Background

The structure is mostly mid-Victorian. Predominantly an example of Early English Gothic Revival, the structure has a steep pitched polychrome Welsh Slate roof and other aspects that clearly mark it from a distance as being a mid 19th Century construction. The main tower is surmounted by a gilded weather cock.

Norman Church

The village was owned by the Bath Abbey monks, hence the name Monkton Combe, and the first structure was considered to be an “ancient Norman” one. The parish minutes of 1757 give a glimpse of the small church structure having a chancel with at least two pews.^[2] “The church is a small structure, 50 feet in length and 16 feet in breadth, covered with tiles; at the west end in a little stone turret hangs two small bells. It is dedicated to St. Michael.”^[3][4]

Regency Church

“About the beginning of the 19th century, when this little old church, after long neglect, needed extensive repairs, the inhabitant instead of repairing it, pulled it down and out of its materials build a new church of about the same size, seating only 95 persons, but to their minds no doubt more comfortable. It was erected in 1814 and did not last long. The Rev. Francis Pocock, being appointed vicar of Monkton Combe in 1863, found this church in a dilapidated state, and … for the needs for the parish, and had the courage to undertake the entire rebuilding of the sacred edifice.”^[2] Revd Pocock went on to found Monkton Combe School in 1868.

Bells

The tower contains an 8-bell chime^[5] which was installed as a memorial to Rev. Francis Pocock, vicar of the parish from 1863 to 1875. It was cast by J. Taylor of Loughborough and dedicated at Easter 1927 by the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells. There are also two small ancient bells which are survivors from a previous building on this site.

Organ

The church contains a two manual pipe organ by Henry Jones and Sons.^[6]

Churchyard

The churchyard contains the grave of Harry Patch, known as the "Last Fighting Tommy" and the last surviving British Army soldier to have fought in World War I. He died aged 111 and was buried there in July 2009, near the graves of several members of his family.^[4]

List of Incumbents

See also

• List of ecclesiastical parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells

External links

• Photos of St. Michael's

References

• Rev. John Collinson, History of Somerset, 1791.
• Rev. D. Lee Pitcairn and Rev. Alfred Richardson, An Historical Guide to Monkton Combe, Combe Down and Claverton (Bath: F. Goodall Printer, 1924) 28–29.
• Bath Chronicle, July 6, 1865.
• Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol, (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1958), 229.