LocationHome - Council info - Council members - News - Useful info - About Portishead - Sports & rec -Current Issues -
Local Developments - Clubs & Orgs - Youth Pages - Thing To Do - Local Traders - Portishead Views
LocationPortishead
lies
within North Somerset on the Bristol Channel coast, three
miles south west of the mouth of the River Avon.
Ten miles to the east is the attractive and historic
City of Bristol, while the ancient City of Bath, a Heritage
City, lies 25 miles to the south east.
In all directions around Portishead the coast and
countryside is outstandingly beautiful, with the hills of
the Cotswolds, the Mendips and the Quantocks around an
hour’s journey away as are the Cheddar Gorge and the
cities of Wells and Taunton.
Across the Bristol Channel is Cardiff, the vibrant
capital city of Wales.
Fifteen miles down the M5 is the attractive seaside
resort of Weston-super-Mare, the administrative centre of
North Somerset.
Transport
Links
Portishead
is served by the M5 motorway, three miles away, and by the
M4 interchange, a further nine miles away.
These provide easy motorway access along all four
points of the compass.
Regular and frequent bus services link the town to
Bristol, with additional good services to Cribbs Causeway,
which is a giant shopping complex, to Clevedon and Nailsea,
our sister towns, and to Weston-super-Mare.
Coaches provide services to London and other
destinations from Portishead and there is a full coach
network from Bristol which includes frequent services to
Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
The
railway linking Portishead to Bristol was axed by Beeching
in 1964, but there is now the strong possibility of
re-opening the line in the near future.
Bristol is served by two major stations, Temple Meads
and Bristol Parkway, which offer fast rail services to
London and the remainder of the country.
Temple Meads and Weston-s-Mare are readily accessed
by rail from nearby Nailsea-Backwell Station with its long
stay car park.
Bristol
Airport, 10 miles away to the south east, will open a new £4
million terminal in 2000 with an accompanying expansion of
its services
to the rest of the UK and Europe and other parts of
the world.
Commercial
shipping operates from Royal Portbury Dock and Avonmouth
Docks, three miles up-channel.
Portishead used to have commercial shipping and
pleasure steamers stopping at our docks and pier, but the
latter now ply from renovated Clevedon Pier.
When our docks have been converted into a marina and
our pier is renovated with new public access the pleasure
steamers may once more stop at Portishead.
Our
Town
When
the new developments are completed, Portishead will occupy a
rectangle of land stretching nearly three miles down the the
coast SW from Battery Point and one mile inland, with
Portishead Down and Weston Big Wood “denting” its
southern corner.
The High Street and Woodhill Road will divide this
area into almost equal E&W parts along a north-south
axis, with its centre point at the lower end of Cabstand.
Present
Features
Although
greatly enlarged in recent years, Portishead still retains
its village atmosphere from yester-year, and some of its
original village organisations are still active, such as the
Flower Show which has been held since 1863.
The
High Street still has most of its stone Victorian buildings
and is often referred to by the older residents as “The
Village”.
At Christmas time it is transformed when its entire
length is decorated with, and illuminated by, hundreds of
coloured lights. These prove as great an attraction to
persons living outside the Town as those living within. In
addition, a Victorian Evening is held at this time in the
High Street, which is closed to traffic for the occasion.
Stalls are set up on the pavements by various shops,
organisations and societies and manned by stall attendants,
some in Victorian costumes, to evoke the authentic
Dickensian spirit of Christmas at the event.
Portishead
Landmarks
There
are many fine old buildings in the town, the most noticeable
of which is the Parish Church of St. Peter, dating back to
the 14th Century and built on the site of an even earlier
church. Its square tower rises to almost 100 feet which is
larger than most other church towers in Somerset built in
that style. Its Rectors can be traced back to 1320 in the
Church Records, now housed in Taunton’s Record Office.
Outside the South Door of St. Peter’s, at the left of the
avenue of lime trees, stands the newly refurbished Village
Cross, rededicated by the Bishop of Bath & Wells on St.
Peter’s Day, 29th June1994. Until approximately 200 years
ago the Cross stood at the junction of Church Road South and
the High Street (then named Mill Street).
The
Churchyard has three notable graves, that of Victor
Halliwell, a mechanic with Sir Henry Seagrave, and killed
with him on Lake Windermere in June 1930 while attempting to
set a new water speed record, and that of Commander E.
Robinson, the pilot of Mr. Neville Chamberlain’s aircraft
on that notable trip to Munich in September 1938 to meet
Adolf Hitler, and who was killed when his aircraft crashed
at Redcliffe Bay beach in November 1938; the third is the
family grave of the Weatherley’s, but, not including that
of the lyricist son Fred.
The
Grange, a Grade II Listed Building, sited at the junction of
St. Mary’s Road and the High Street, was one of three
Manor Houses in the area. Part of the building is believed
to date back to the 12th Century, with later additions made
to it. During renovations in 1979-1980 it was discovered
that the oldest part of the building had a cruck beam roof,
indicating that at one time this was the Manorial Hall where
the fire burned in the centre of the room with the smoke
escaping through the roof. This roof was believed to be the
only example of its type in Somerset.
It
was also at The Grange that The Society of Friends, or
Quakers, held their local meetings. George Fox, the founder
of The Society, met here prior to moving to their own
Meeting House in St. Mary’s Road in 1669. It is thought
that the Meeting House was not built specifically for them
but was a conversion of two earlier cottages.
Court
House Farm in Church Road South, another of the Manor
Houses, dates from the 16th Century
approximately, although a part of the building predates the
remainder of it. As it is seen today, the main building was
built in Elizabethan times and a tower at its south west
corner, added later, was believed to have been erected to
enable its merchant occupier to observe his ships entering
the mouth of the River Avon en route to Bristol Docks.
its
front gate.
The
whole of the land bounded by the two Church Roads is a
Conservation Area, which continues up Newlands Hill, or
Blind Lane to give it its old name. Amongst the public
houses in the High Street there are two of particular note
for their history. The older of the two, The Poacher, dates
from the 1600,s. It has had, not surprisingly, a variety of
alternative names, such as the Blew Anchor, Gordon Arms, and
The Anchor before finally becoming The Poacher in more
recent years.
The White Lion was formerly a water mill, and the granite grindstone from its earlier use can be seen set into the low wall fronting the High Street, replete with a plaque giving all details of the building. The building has had many uses prior to becoming a public house, including use as a Post Office before that moved in the latter part of the 19th Century to what is now Fowler’s flower shop.
Walks
in Portishead
Portishead
is fortunate in having a variety of scenery, from coastline
to woodlands. The coastal walk, known locally as Mariners’
Path up to its Beach Road West junction, proceeds south
westerly along the coastal edge to Clevedon, and this
section is believed to be part of the Wansdyke. The walk
presents a constant challenge in upkeep as erosion and land
slips frequently occur. In an easterly direction from the
Lake Grounds, the coastal path crosses the Esplanade and
Battery Point and proceeds over the East Wood ridge to
descend at the Royal Hotel. The path will soon cross the new
lock and follow the line of the sea defences to Royal
Portbury and the Avon Estuary and then onwards through the
Avon Gorge to Ashton Gate, Bristol.
An
attractive inland walk, which follows a section of the
parish boundary, starts from the coastal path at the western
boundary of the oil tanks and heads inland to the Coast Road
and back towards the town as far as Valley Road.
The boundary walk then follows Valley Road, past the
entrance to the Police Headquarters to the first right hand
bend when the foothpath enters Weston Big Wood (one of this
country’s remaining primaeval woods) and the path through
can be followed either to Clevedon Road or to Wetlands Lane
and Gordano School.
Below Weston Big Wood and divided by the road are the
sites of the Black Rock Quarries, the western one being a
favoured nesting site for raptors.
The eastern quarry is now a North Somerset Amenity
Site.
The
main entrance to Gordano School adjoins the roundabout in
St. Mary’s Road which leads up to the oldest part of
Portishead. Here are a number of old houses and cottages,
such as Springfield,
a
spacious old house probably of the 17th Century, and Capenor
Cottage and Capenor Court Cottage, both of which formed part
of the Capenor Court Estate along with now demolished
Capenor Court itself, the third Manor House. Sadly this
lovely Manor House, believed to have been the oldest in the
district, was demolished in 1968 before the advent of the
legislation which has since ensured the listing and
preservation of our old buildings.
Farther
up St. Mary’s Road, set into its right bank, is St.
Mary’s Well, or Simmery Well, the waters of which local
legend records as having healing properties for bad
eyesight.
At its top the road meets Newlands Hill, formerly
Blind Lane, now closed to traffic. A walk down Newlands Hill
brings you at its bottom back into Church Road South.
Mention
needs to be made of another ancient woodland which lies
between Woodlands Road and Pier Road, namely Eastwood. This
was designated a Nature Reserve in 1994 and lies within the
Eastwood Conservation Area. The wood encloses the Broad Walk
along its ridge, and this descends to Pier Road just above
the Royal Hotel. In Victorian times the Royal Hotel was used
as accommodation for those about to embark from Portishead
Pier for the Americas, and hence many ocean voyagers’ feet
have strolled the wooded seclusion of Broad Walk before
boarding ship. Broad Walk is now under conservation
management and has been restored to its former Victorian
glory. From Broad Walk it is possible to see the Welsh coast
as well as panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
As has been mentioned elsewhere, the seaward slope of
Eastwood bears the remains of an Iron Age camp-site.
Other
walks include that from Church Road South to St. Mary’s
Road through the Garstons, and the Chicken Path from Slade
Road to the junction of Newlands Hill where an extended view
of the Gordano Valley may be obtained. On the eastern
boundary of Highdown School lies the junction of The Deans
with Down Road, and off that The Downs. Before the houses
were built there on open land The Deans was known as Donkey
Lane. It is possible to walk from The Downs across the
fields to Wetlands Lane adjacent to St. Mary’s Road. This
walk affords yet more panoramic views across the Gordano
Valley in the direction of Bristol.
Perhaps
one of the best known sites in Portishead is Portishead
Point, known locally as Battery Point, which is situated at
the northern end of the promenade. This had been a fortified
site since the time of Elizabeth I. During the Civil War it
underwent a four day siege by The Parliamentary forces, and
by means of a simultaneous blockade of the River Avon Prince
Rupert forced the eventual surrender of the City of Bristol.
During
the Napoleonic Wars Battery Point was again manned by the
military, while in the First World War of 1914-1918 the
Point was excavated for the construction of underground
ammunition bunkers, store rooms, etc., to serve the military
stationed there as a guard unit for the Bristol Channel
approaches. Between wars the rooms were used as tea rooms
for the many visitors, but once more in World War II they
reverted back to military use when two 4” naval guns were
sited there to protect the approaches, and Battery Point was
closed to the public for the duration of the war. The reason
for its military significance lies in the deep water
shipping channel close by the coast, flowing between Battery
Point and the red port-hand Newcome Buoy 1000 yards (915
metres) off-shore. Large ocean-going
vessels pass closer to the land at Battery Point than to any other part of the UK coastline.
A
Famous Portishead Family
The
father of the family, Dr. Frederick Weatherly, was a local
GP and was also a man of considerable influence in the town.
He spent most of his free time in local politics,
established, and became the first Chairman of the Long
Ashton Rural District Council, a large authority of which
North Weston and Redcliffe Bay were only a small part. Dr.
Weatherly is buried with his wife and some of their thirteen
children in the
Parish
Church where there is also a commemorative window.
Fred
Weatherly, the son, was born and spent his childhood in
Portishead, living in Woodhill Road.
In his autobiography, Piano and Gown - a very
readable book - Fred wrote that the memories of his
childhood in Portishead, his mother’s loving affection and
the stories she told in those years had the greatest
influence upon his later life.
The themes of many of the 3000 lyrics and poems he
subsequently penned can be traced back to those early years.
His more famous lyrics
include “Danny Boy”, “Roses of Picardy”,
“The Holy City” and “Up Fom Somerzet”; all are still
very popular.
He also wrote poetry and books, but he was a
barrister by profession, later becoming a KC.
He was remembered with a Celebratory Memorial Service
in St. Peter’s, the Parish Curch, on the 4th October,
1998, the 150th anniversary of his birth.