Weston, Bath
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Weston is a suburb and electoral ward of Bath in Bath and North East Somerset, South West England, located in the northwest of the city. Originally a separate village, Weston has become part of Bath as the city has grown, first through the development of Lower Weston in Victorian times and then by the incorporation of the village into the city, with the siting of much local authority housing there in the period after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The ward includes Upper Weston, Weston village, Weston Park and the lower slopes of Primrose Hill. The area known as Lower Weston, south of Weston Road, is within Newbridge ward.


History

The earliest evidence of occupation comes from two Celtic caddy spoons found in the village in 1825. There are believed to have been used as ceremonial
anointing Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or ot ...
regalia. During the 10th century, Weston had been divided into two estates. One, on the slopes of Lansdown was given by Edmund I to Aethelare in 946. Weston was the birthplace of Saint Alphege who was born around 954.Knowles pages 28, 241 Two manors with 41 households are recorded in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
of 1086: one held by Bath Abbey and the other by Arnulf de Hesding. During the 12th and 13th centuries Weston had close ties with the monks of the abbey, and in the late 13th century the first vicar of Weston was appointed by the church. Weston was part of the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
of Bath Forum, with a manorial court or halmote being held in the parish. The land continued to be owned by the church and leased to tenants until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, after which the estates in Weston reverted to the king. In 1628 the land was sold to the Corporation of London although the king continued to receive rent until 1671, when it was sold to Sir Walter Long,
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for Bath from 1679 (the Habeas Corpus Parliament) to 1681. Following the
Battle of Lansdowne The First English Civil War battle of Lansdowne, or Lansdown, was fought on 5 July 1643, at Lansdowne Hill, near Bath, Somerset, England. Although the Royalists under Lord Hopton forced the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller to re ...
in 1643, some of the defeated
Roundheads Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
took refuge in Weston. The village expanded during the 19th century with many areas being drained, the church rebuilt and new schools established. The Georgian expansion of Bath saw many houses built in Weston, and in 1834 Partis College was built nearby in Newbridge. Developments continued into the Victorian era with Weston Park and Combe Park being developed. Weston was an ancient parish extending from the River Avon to the Gloucestershire boundary north of Lansdown. It became a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in 1866. The southern parts of the parish were absorbed into Bath in 1911 and 1951, and the remaining, more rural, parts were absorbed into the civil parishes of Charlcombe and Kelston in 1953. Parts of Weston are at risk of flooding due to old watercourses, sinks and springs in the area. West Brook now runs underground below the High Street, but floods periodically. In 2013 the Weston Catchment alleviation scheme was announced to further protect the area.


Services

Bath's main hospital, the Royal United Hospital, is just over the ward boundary in Newbridge, on one of the roads from central Bath into Weston. Weston has two primary schools: Weston All Saints C.E. V.C Primary School, and St Mary's Catholic Primary School. Lower Weston is served by Newbridge School; an earlier primary school called Weston St John's closed when the primary departments at Newbridge expanded in the 1970s. Weston has many local amenities, including a recreation ground and youth club, and shops and services including a bakery, spar off licence, post office, pharmacy, a takeaway, a bike shop and a newsagents. There is also a carpet shop and two hair salons. The village is dominated by a Tesco Express supermarket. Weston village is home to the 66th Bath Scout Group who meet at the former school on the High Street. In Lower Weston, the 69th Bath Scout Group meet at the Methodist church. Bath Scouts also own a campsite on the edge of Weston at Cleeve Hill. Rainbows, Brownies and Guides also meet within the village, along with a Boys' Brigade Company.


Religious sites

The village parish church is All Saints, founded no later than 1156. The current church dates from 1832 and was designed by the local architect John Pinch the younger, except for the tower which dates from the 15th century. The Lower Weston parish church is St John's, barely a mile from Bath's city centre, and now in Kingsmead ward. There is also a Moravian church sited at the bottom of Lansdown Lane; the nearest Catholic church is St. Mary's on Julian Road.


Transport

Weston is served by three main bus routes providing connections towards Lower Weston, Newbridge, Bath City Centre, Combe Down, and Odd Down. Service 14 operates up to every 9 minutes on weekdays; up to every 12 minutes on Saturdays; and up to every 20 minutes on Sundays on the following route: :14: Eastfield Avenue → Lansdown Lane → High Street, Weston → Royal United Hospital → Combe Park → Chelsea Road → Upper Bristol Road for Royal Victoria Park and interchange with other services → City Centre James Street West → City Centre Bus Station for interchange with bus and rail services → Wells Road → Bear Flat → Bloomfield Road → Frome Road → Odd Down Noads Corner Service 9 operates between Upper Weston and City Centre Bus Station via High Street, Weston, Penn Hill Road, Newbridge Hill, Upper Bristol Road, and Bath City Centre. Services 20A/C are city circular services and provide connections to many parts of Bath. The Weston (Bath) railway station was at Lower Weston and closed in 1953, although the platform building and the stationmaster's house still exist. The station was on the Midland Railway line from Bath to Bristol and to the north, which itself closed in 1966.Oakley


References


Bibliography

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External links


All Saints Centre
– Victorian school repurposed as a community centre {{Commons category-inline, Weston, Bath Areas of Bath, Somerset Electoral wards in Bath and North East Somerset Former civil parishes in Somerset