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Worle ( ) is a large village in
North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non ...
which is joined to the seaside town of
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, Oldmixon ...
on its western edge. It, however, maintains a very separate identity, and may now be bigger than its more famous neighbour. Worle pre-dates Weston and was mentioned 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 manusc ...
of 1086. In the book, it is said that Worle was owned by
Walter of Douai Walter of Douai (Old Norman: ''Wautier de Douai'') (born c.1046, died: c.1107) was a Norman knight, probably at the Battle of Hastings, and a major landowner in South West England after the Norman Conquest, being feudal baron of Bampton in Devon an ...
, and consisted of and valued at 6.5 hides. "Walter of Douai holds of the King, Worle. Edgar held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for six hides and a half." The parish church of St Martin's sits on the side of
Worlebury Hill Worlebury Hill is the name given to an upland area lying between the flatlands of Weston-super-Mare and the Kewstoke area of North Somerset, England. Worlebury Hill's rises from sea level to its highest point of , and the western end of the hill ...
and overlooks the village.


History

The name was possibly formed from the Old English ''Wor + leah'' meaning 'wood or clearing frequented by
grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...
', or perhaps 'moor
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...
'. The parish was part of the
Winterstoke The Hundred of Winterstoke is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown. Each hundred had a 'fyrd', which ...
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 de ...
. Worle has grown dramatically in the last 40 years. That initial development in the 1970s and 1980s included a large number of houses, a Sainsburys supermarket, a secondary school and an ecumenical church (St Marks). However, in recent years a larger range of facilities and amenities have opened up, including large stores, shops, a medical centre, a railway station and additional churches. Weston-super-Mare's Magistrates Court has relocated to Worle. It also has a number of active groups and societies including a
Lions club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...
. St Martin's Church was built in 1125 and rebuilt during the 14th and 15th centuries, with major restoration and extension work in 1870. The Church is now ecumenical, with
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
as well as
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
. It is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The ancient parish of Worle 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 authority ...
in 1866. The civil parish was abolished in 1933, when most of the parish was absorbed into Weston-super-Mare. Smaller areas of the parish joined
Kewstoke Kewstoke is a civil parish and village in Somerset, England, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, located next to the strip of coast called Sand Bay. Its population in the 2011 census was 1,690. History The parish was part of the Win ...
and Locking. The ''
Weston & Somerset Mercury ''The Weston, Worle & Somerset Mercury'' is a weekly paid for newspaper that covers Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding areas of Somerset and North Somerset in England. The ''Weston Mercury'' was established 1 April 1843 and was family-owned fo ...
'' is the local newspaper. Previous residents included Bristol-born children's author-illustrator and actor Peter James Trapani.


Transport

Worle is located close to junction 21 of the
M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
. Bristol is approximately away and can be accessed by the M5 or
A370 road The A370 is a primary road in England running from the A4 Bath Road, near Bristol Temple Meads railway station to Weston-super-Mare before continuing to the village of East Brent in Somerset. A more direct route from Bristol to East Brent is th ...
. There have been four different stations serving Worle since the
Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...
opened on 14 June 1841. For most of this time, the station generally known as Puxton and Worle railway station has served, despite being situated in St Georges. From 1 March 1884 until 2 January 1922 a more convenient Worle station was provided on the Loop Line. Puxton and Worle closed on 6 April 1964. There was also a Worle Town station situated much closer to the High Street but only served by the
Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway (WC&PR) was a standard gauge light railway in Somerset, England. It was conceived as a tramway in the 1880s, opening between the coastal towns of Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon in 1897 and compl ...
from 1897 to 1940. The present day
Worle railway station Worle railway station, on the Bristol to Exeter line, serves the Worle, West Wick and St Georges suburbs of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is west of Bristol Temple Meads railway station, and from London Paddington. Its th ...
is situated midway between the two former sites and was opened on 24 September 1990. Since 2008 longer express trains have been allowed to stop at Worle's short platform with the express train opening the doors of up to 4 coaches. This has enabled passengers from Worle to travel to London and all the stops in-between. Before most people had to change at either
Weston-super-Mare railway station Weston-super-Mare railway station serves the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line, from the zero point at via Box. The station is operated by Great West ...
or
Bristol Temple Meads railway station Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...
. Worle has bus connections running every ten minutes into the centre of Weston-super-Mare and bus routes to Bristol and other locations, which is adjacent to the local McDonalds and Sainsburys supermarket, the buses that serve this are: X1, A3, 3 & 7.


Education

Worle includes two secondary schools,
Worle Community School Worle Community School is a coeducational Academy located in Worle, a suburb of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England There are currently 1,377 students aged 11 to 16 in the school. The school received media attention in early 2016 afte ...
and Priory Community School, and several primary schools, including Becket Primary School, Mendip Green First School, Worle Village Primary, St Martin's Primary, Mead Vale Primary School, Herons' Moor Academy, Castle Batch Primary School and St Mark's Primary School. Mendip Green Primary School is one of the largest primary schools in the area, with 407 children of 4 – 8 years of age (2008). Mendip Green was one of the first schools in North Somerset achieving Healthy School Status, also it has Leading aspect Award, and a hearing and language resource base.


References


External links



*
Website of Worle Bellringers, St Martin's Church
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2013 Villages in North Somerset Weston-super-Mare Former civil parishes in Somerset