Willsbridge is a village in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

, England, located on the outskirts of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. Willsbridge Castle, situated on a prominent hillside site, was built around 1730, with crenellations added in the nineteenth century.

The village contains a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and historic buildings next to the

Siston Brook Siston Brook rises in two separate streams which issue from a ridge just north of the village of Siston, South Gloucestershire, England. The brook is approximately long and is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. Much of its course is through t ...

. The mill and barn buildings are managed by a voluntary group, Willsbridge Mill Community Refresh, for community use. The valley contains many habitats. The woodlands have carpets of

Common Bluebell ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently use ...

s, champions and resound with birdsong. The ponds are homes for

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

, toads and

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

, and dippers and kingfishers visit the stream.

Foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

and

badgers Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by their ...

live in the valley and noctule and

Greater Horseshoe Bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous bat of the genus ''Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats i ...

feed on the insects in the valley. Willsbridge was the childhood home of composer

Robert Lucas de Pearsall Robert Lucas Pearsall (14 March 1795 – 5 August 1856) was an English composer mainly of vocal music, including an elaborate setting of " In dulci jubilo" and the richly harmonic part song '' Lay a garland'' of 1840, both still often performed ...

. Though he sold the family home in 1837 after his mother's death, he continued to be credited in scores as 'Pearsall of Willsbridge.’

References

External links

Willsbridge Mill
(Willsbridge Mill Community Refresh)

Avon Wildlife Trust (archived) Nature reserves in Gloucestershire Villages in South Gloucestershire District Watermills in Gloucestershire {{SouthGloucestershire-geo-stub