Banwell
| Banwell | |
|---|---|
 Banwell Castle | |
| Population | 2,923 [1] |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BANWELL |
| Postcode district | BS29 |
| Dialling code | 01934 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 2,923 according to the 2001 census.[1]
History
Banwell Camp, west of the village, is a univallate hillfort which have yielded flint implements from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age.[2] It was also occupied in the Iron Age.[3] In the late 1950s it was excavated by J.W. Hunt of the Banwell Society of Archaeology.[4] It is surrounded by a 4 metres (13 ft) high bank and ditch.[5]
Banwell Castle is a Victorian castle built in 1847 by John Dyer Sympson, a solicitor from London. Originally built as his home, it is now a hotel and restaurant and is a Grade II* listed building.[6]
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 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 North 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.
North 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 the town hall in Weston-super-Mare. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon.[7] Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Axbridge Rural District.[8]
The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Weston-super-Mare constituency. 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.
Geography
Banwell is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Weston-super-Mare on the A371 road and is where the western end of the A368 road begins. The village is at the west end of the northern side of the Mendip hills.
The village is located between the M5 motorway and the A38, and is used by traffic travelling from the motorway to Bristol International Airport. This traffic, together with other users of the A371 and A368, often causes the narrow streets of Banwell to become jammed.[9] There has been a campaign to bypass Banwell for many years but other villages in the area have objected as increasing the traffic capacity on the roads would create problem on their roads. The Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study in 2006 recommended that a road be built from Junction 21 of the M5 directly to Bristol International Airport, bypassing Banwell and all the other local villages, thus alleviating their concerns.[10] However, this would not benefit local traffic passing through Banwell to and from Weston-super-Mare, Wells and Bath so some traffic problems would still exist.
Banwell Caves are a 1.7 hectares (4.2 acres) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at the western end of Banwell Hill.
Along with the rest of South West England, Banwell has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F) and shows a seasonal and a diurnal variation, but due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 °C (33.8 °F) and 2 °C (35.6 °F). July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C (69.8 °F).[11]
The south-west of England has a favoured location with respect to the Azores high pressure when it extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Convective cloud often forms inland however, especially near hills, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. The average annual sunshine totals around 1,600 hours.[12] r"/>
Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. Average rainfall is around 31 inches (787 mm)–35 inches (889 mm). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.[11]
Religious sites
The mainly 15th-century parish church of St Andrew is a Grade I listed building.[13] The body of the church has a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles and a rather short chancel, considering the proportions of the rest of the church. The font dates from the 12th century and there is a carved stone pulpit from the 15th century and a carved rood screen built and set up in 1552, which escaped the Reformation. The 100 ft (30 m) high tower that contains ten bells dates from the 18th to 20th century and the clock is dated 1884. Bells dating from 1734 and 1742 were made by Thomas Bilbie, of the Bilbie family.[14]
References
- ^ a b "Parish of Banwell 2001 Census Parish Information Sheet" (PDF). North Somerset Council. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- ^ "Banwell Camp". Pastscape. English Heritage. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ^ "Archaeological Aerial Survey in the Northern Mendip Hills: A Highlight Report for the National Mapping Programme" (PDF). English Heritage. p. 32. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ^ "Banwell Camp". Fortified England. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ^ "Mendip Hills". English Heritage. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ^ "Banwell Castle detailed record". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- ^ "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Axbridge Rural District
- ^ "The problem". Bypass Banwell campaign website. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- ^ "On the right road at last?". The Weston Mercury. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- ^ a b "South West England: climate". Met Office. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- ^ "Fairlands Middle School". Fairlands Middle School. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ "Parish Church of St Andrew detailed record". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- ^ Moore, James (1995). Bilbie and the Chew Valley clock makers. The authors. ISBN 0-9526702-0-8.
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External links