View of Dundry taken from the church tower 04

Dundry is a village and

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 ...

, situated on

Dundry Hill Dundry Hill is immediately south of Bristol, England: it includes farmland, a small number of houses and a church. It stretches east–west for some two miles. Most of the hill is within the district of North Somerset. At the hill's eastern end ...

in the northern part of the Mendip Hills, between

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the Chew Valley Lake, in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. The parish includes the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

s of Maiden Head and

East Dundry East Dundry is a south-facing hamlet some 160 metres above sea level in a sheltered valley of Dundry Hill just south of Bristol, England. The hamlet is in the parish of Dundry and about two kilometres east of its village church. The iron- ...

. The parish had a 2011 population of 829. The village lies on the route of the

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Su ...

long-distance footpath. It is a popular destination for the people of Bristol as it is known for its panoramic views of the city.

History

According to Robinson the name means 'The hill that is dry' from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''dun'' and ''dryge''. An alternative derivation is from a Celtic name, meaning ''fort of refuge''. The parish 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 ...

Chew Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion, and it increases the surface area of foods to allow a more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, ...

. Dundry is notable for its stone: the yellow oolitic limestone from local quarries such as Dundry Main Road South Quarry and the Dundry Downs (to the west of the village) is found even at Cardiff Castle, a fort originally built by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

to defend against Anglo-Saxon invasions. The stone was much used in medieval Bristol: an outstanding example being St Mary Redcliffe, an Anglican church in central Bristol. Dundry stone was extensively important into Ireland after the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasions, being used to build

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

, amongst many other prominent buildings. A large cube of stone (approximately 1.5m each edge) still stands in the churchyard: the cube is much considered to be an early advertisement for Dundry stone. The neighbouring village of

Chew Magna Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,149. To the south of the village is Che ...

has in its graveyard an early 19th-century

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

round-topped stone which bears the inscription to William Fowler ''"shot by an Highwayman on Dundry Hill 14 June 1814 aged 32 years"''.

Second World War

Being so close to Bristol, Dundry caught many of the 77 air raids (mostly in 1940 and 1941) for which Bristol had: * 919 tons of high-explosive bombs and myriad incendiary bombs * 1299 persons killed * 81,830 houses destroyed. Many bombs and anti-aircraft shells landed in Dundry. The diaryBristol Record Office accession 44394 of Doris Ogilvie of

records that: * 24 November 1940: ''Christening of William Duncan'' [born in

] ''at St James' Presbyterian Church of England, Bristol, St James Presbyterian Church, The Barton, Bristol. ... Church completely burned out that night. ... This evening a tremendous air raid began about 6pm – ended about midnight – Bristol was demolished in parts and fires started over a tremendously wide area'' 48_long-range_bombers_of_Luftwaffe_3.html" ;"title="Luftwaffe.html" ;"title="48 long-range bombers of Luftwaffe">48 long-range bombers of Luftwaffe 3">Luftwaffe.html" ;"title="48 long-range bombers of Luftwaffe">48 long-range bombers of Luftwaffe 3 ''Glare in the sky reflected on hillside opposite the house'' [The Dingle, now Dingle House]''. Shrapnel fell around the house, but vibration from bombs felt very little here – nearest ones fell North Wick, top fields near Knights'' [Walnut Farm]'', Bishopsworth etc. Next day roads partly closed for time bombs. L in Bristol and returned with tales of devastation and the amazingly good organisation and firefighting services."'' * 27 November 1940: ''The Dundry Parish Hall – 86 people sheltered this week who were driven out of Bristol from demolished houses, flooding etc.'' * Night of 3 January 1941 ''"Lawrie '' er husband' on''

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

'' duty at the wireless station '' n Dundry Downs' all night. This night there was a bad raid on Bristol. A good many bombs dropped around Russell's and Knight's farms'' orth Hill Farm and Walnut Farm, both in East Dundry': they sound like flocks of starlings coming down. Bad damage done to Bristol. One fell in Russell's bull pen and exploded."'' * On 17 January ''"Preparations for incendiary bombs going on. Small bags of sand and buckets of water to be at every corner of the house — most awkward, but adds a spice to life."'' * On 2 February ''"Lawrie continues his '' ir-raid' trenching in the kitchen garden"'' * On 12 April ''"Discovered a neat shell cap buried in the lawn, so now we have one like everyone else. This night Lawrie was on fire watch duty from 1 a.m. on. I was alone with D who slept in a basket under the kitchen table. The

decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...

''[see

]'' over the hill, a mile away, caught HEs'' [high explosive bombs] ''that night: we only felt vibrations."'' * Summer 1942 ''"All this summer has been unnaturally quiet. Only two bad nights when Bath, Somerset, Bath was blasted and set on fire in May."'' * Sunday 15 November 1942 ''"Church bells were rung everywhere for the first time to celebrate Egypt victory."''

Dundry Home Guard

During

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 ...

members of the Dundry

had many draughty nights on the top of the church, on

Maes Knoll Maes Knoll (sometimes Maes tump or Maes Knoll tump) is an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset, England, located at the eastern end of the Dundry Down ridge, south of the city of Bristol and north of the village of Norton Malreward near the easter ...

, and (on Dundry Down) at the wireless complex watching out for air raids and possible troop landings by parachute and glider. Captain Knight of Walnut Farm, East Dundry served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was in charge of the Dundry Home Guard. Fire watchers turned out to watch for fires whenever there were bombing raids. 500 metres south of Rackledown Farm in

, there was a Civil Bombing QL decoy site, C1C. It was built as part of the 'C-series' of civil decoys. This QL site operated from the same operations room as a permanent Starfish site SF1B that was located 800 metres further south. These sites featured displays of muted lights to appear like urban areas during poor blackouts. Bonfires were also lit to resemble buildings under attack with the intention of tricking the bombers to release the bomb load before arriving over Bristol. In 1941, there was a Home Guard exercise for Dundry and neighbouring villages including

Winford Winford is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley, Somerset, England. It is within the unitary authority of North Somerset about south of Bristol. The parish has a population of 2,153. The parish includes the village of Felton whi ...

, Bishopsworth,

Leigh Woods Leigh Woods is a area of woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, within North Somerset opposite the English city of Bristol and north of the Ashton Court estate, of which it formed a part. St ...

and

Norton Malreward Norton Malreward is a small Somerset village and civil parish south of Bristol, England at the northern edge of the Chew Valley. In 1895 Norton Malreward was combined with the neighbouring hamlet of Norton Hawkfield (also spelt Hautville) into ...

1968 storm

On 10 July 1968 a storm deluged the parish and neighbouring areas— of rain was measured in

Chew Stoke Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the affluent Chew Valley, in Somerset, England, about south of Bristol and 10 miles north of Wells. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom ...

, and local streams such as Winford Brook were swollen by rain running off the slopes of Dundry Hill.

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 Neighbourhood Watch in the United Kingdom is the largest voluntary crime prevention movement covering England and Wales with upwards of 2.3 million household members. The charity brings neighbors together to create strong, friendly and active comm ...

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 A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

playing field Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other higher-functio ...

s 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 is in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the ...

which was created in 1996, as established by the

Local Government Act 1992 The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary C ...

. This act established a single tier of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

with responsibility for almost all local government functions within its area including local planning and

building control Building automation (BAS), also known as building management system (BMS) or building energy management system (BEMS), is the automatic centralized control of a building's HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical, lighting, ...

, local roads, council housing,

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

s and fairs, refuse collection,

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. It is also responsible for

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, social services,

libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

, main roads,

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

trading standards Trading Standards are the local authority departments with the United Kingdom, formerly known as ''Weights and Measures'', that enforce consumer protection legislation. Sometimes, the Trading Standards enforcement functions of a local authority a ...

waste disposal Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the

Avon Fire and Rescue Service Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is the fire and rescue service covering the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire in South West England. The headquarters of the service is co ...

Avon and Somerset Constabulary Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the county of Somerset and in four districts that used to be in the defunct county of Avon: Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and ...

and the

South Western Ambulance Service The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is the organisation responsible for providing ambulance services for the National Health Service (NHS) across South West England. It serves the council areas of Bath and North East ...

. North Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of

but it is administered independently of the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Woodspring

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of the

county of Avon Avon () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England that existed between 1974 and 1996. The county was named after the River Avon, which flows through the area. It was formed from the county boroughs of Bristol and Bat ...

. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Long Ashton Rural District. The parish is represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

as part of the

constituency. It elects one

Member of Parliament (MP) 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 often ...

by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system of election, currently

Liam Fox Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party, Fox has served as t ...

of the Conservative Party. It was also part of the South West England constituency of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

prior to

Britain leaving the European Union Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC o ...

in January 2020, which elected seven MEPs using the

d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest ...

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...

Religious sites

The Church of St Michael at Dundry is a prominent feature in its hill-top position with its tower visible for many miles around. The four-stage tower was erected by the Society of Merchant Venturers of

as a landmark and is widely visible.

Transport

In the 1940s and 1950s the Ball family of Dundry ran the "Dundry Pioneer" bus service from Dundry Chapel via Dundry Church and the Hairpin Corner into Prince Street in central Bristol with

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

buses. After the Dundry Pioneer, Bristol buses route 80, renumbered 373 in 1983, served Dundry.

Notable persons

Lawrence Ogilvie Lawrence Ogilvie (5 July 1898 – 16 April 1980) was a Scottish plant pathologist. From 1923, in his first job and aged only 25, when agriculture was Bermuda's major industry, Ogilvie identified the virus that had devastated the islands' high-v ...

(1898–1980), East Dundry, plant pathologist

References

External links

{{Commons category, Dundry
Dundry Parish websiteDundry Inn websiteDundry Primary School website
Civil parishes in Somerset Villages in North Somerset