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Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the
ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...
of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019.Retrieved 25 February 2021.
/ref> It lies along the Severn Estuary, among small hills that include Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of an Iron Age hill fort), Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone Hill and
Court Hill Court Hill () is a 10.45 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the town of Clevedon, North Somerset, England, notified in 1997. Pleistocene Court Hill is a Geological Conservation Review Site because it is the only examp ...
, a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
with overlaid Pleistocene deposits. It features in the '' Domesday Book'' of 1086. Clevedon grew in the
Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...
as a seaside resort and in the 20th century as a dormitory town for Bristol.


Facilities and functions

The seafront has ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand and other attractions. Salthouse Field has a light railway running round the perimeter and is used for donkey rides in the summer. The shore consists of pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with an old harbour at the western edge of the town, at the mouth of the Land Yeo. The rocky beach has been designated as the
Clevedon Shore Clevedon Shore () is a 0.38 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest adjacent to the Severn Estuary at Clevedon, North Somerset, notified in 1991. It is the side of a mineralised fault, which runs east-west adjacent to the pier, an ...
Geological
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. Clevedon Pier, which opened in 1869, is one of the earliest surviving examples of a Victorian pier. On 17 October 1970, two outward spans collapsed when the seventh set of legs from the shore failed during a routine insurance load test. A trust was eventually formed and the pier and its buildings were restored and reopened on 27 May 1989, when the Waverley paddle steamer berthed and took on passengers. Other landmarks include Walton Castle, Clevedon Court, the
Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
, and the Curzon Cinema. Clevedon's light industry is located mainly in industrial estates, including Hither Green Trading Estate near the M5 motorway junction. It is a dormitory town for Bristol. The town is home to educational, religious and cultural buildings and sports clubs.


History

The name derives 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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
, ''cleve'' meaning "cleave" or "cleft" and ''don'' meaning "hill". Wain's Hill is an univallate Iron Age hill fort situated approximately south-west of Clevedon. The hill fort is defined by a steep, natural slope from the south and north with two ramparts to the east. The 1086 Domesday Book mentions Clevedon as a holding of a tenant-in-chief by the name of Mathew of Mortaigne, with eight villagers and ten smallholders. The parish of Clevedon formed part of the
Portbury Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Gord ...
Hundred. Two small rivers, the Land Yeo and
Middle Yeo Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...
, supported at least two mills. The Tuck Mills lay in the fields south of Clevedon Court and were used for fulling cloth. Other mills near Wain's Hill probably date from the early 17th century.
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
Clevedon changed from a farming village into a popular
seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...
. The Victorian craze for sea bathing was met in the late 19th century by saltwater baths next to the pier (since demolished, though foundations remain), and bathing machines on the main beach. Clevedon was the site of St Edith's Children's Home for almost 100 years until it closed in 1974. It was run by nuns of the
Community of the Sisters of the Church The Community of the Sisters of the Church is a religious order of women in various Anglican provinces who live the vowed life of poverty, chastity and obedience. In 2012 the order had 105 sisters living in community, together with an extensive ne ...
, an international body in the Anglican Communion living according to the Gospel values of poverty, chastity and obedience. The building on Dial Hill is listed, so that the outside has changed little, but now contains private flats. Clevedon was served by a branch line from opened in 1847, six years after the main line, but closed in 1966. The station site is now ''Queen's Square'', a shopping precinct. The town was headquarters also for the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway, which connected the three named coastal towns. It opened to Weston-super-Mare in 1897, was extended to Portishead ten years later, but closed in 1940. Its trains crossed the road in the town centre, known as ''The Triangle'', preceded by a man with red and green flags. The first large-scale production of
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...
took place in the town. In 1938
Howard Florey Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey (24 September 189821 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Sir Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role in ...
was working at Lincoln College, Oxford University with
Ernst Boris Chain Sir Ernst Boris Chain (19 June 1906 – 12 August 1979) was a German-born British biochemist best known for being a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin. Life and career Chain was born in Ber ...
and Norman Heatley when he read
Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of w ...
's paper on the antibacterial effects of '' Penicillium notatum'' mould. He arranged for this to be grown in deep culture tanks at the Medical Research Council's Antibiotic Research Station in Clevedon, enabling mass production of the mould for a medicine injected into forthcoming World War II soldiers suffering from infections.


Governance

The town has seven electoral wards. Their area and population are the same as mentioned above. Clevedon falls within the non-metropolitan district of North Somerset unitary authority which replaced the Woodspring district, having formerly been part of Somerset, and between 1974 and 1996 within the county of Avon. Until 2010 the parliamentary
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
was still called
Woodspring 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 th ...
. Following the review of parliamentary representation by the Boundary Commission for England in Somerset, this seat was renamed North Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP), currently Liam Fox of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. It was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament during the UK's tenure in the European Union.


Geography

Clevedon is situated on and round seven hills called Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of an Iron Age hill fort), Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone hill and
Court Hill Court Hill () is a 10.45 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the town of Clevedon, North Somerset, England, notified in 1997. Pleistocene Court Hill is a Geological Conservation Review Site because it is the only examp ...
, the last a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. On a clear day there are far-reaching views across the Severn estuary to Wales. When visibility is good, the islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm in the
Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
can be seen. The tidal rise and fall in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel can be as great as , second only to
Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...
in Eastern Canada. The seafront runs about half a mile from the pier to Salthouse Field, with ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand, a bowling green, tennis courts, crazy golf and other amusements. Marine Lake, once a Victorian swimming pool, is used for boating and for a small festival once a year where people can try out new sports. Salthouse Field has a light railway round its perimeter and is used for summer donkey rides. The shore at Clevedon marries pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with the old harbour at the western edge of the town, at the mouth of the Land Yeo river. There John Ashley conceived of the idea for
The Mission to Seafarers The Mission to Seafarers (formerly The Missions to Seamen) is a Christian welfare charity serving merchant crews around the world. It operates through a global Mission 'family' network of chaplains, staff and volunteers and provides practical, em ...
. The rocky beach has been designated as
Clevedon Shore Clevedon Shore () is a 0.38 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest adjacent to the Severn Estuary at Clevedon, North Somerset, notified in 1991. It is the side of a mineralised fault, which runs east-west adjacent to the pier, an ...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is the side of a mineralised fault running east–west adjacent to the pier and forms a small cliff feature in
dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomiti ...
conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...
on the north side of Clevedon Beach, containing cream to pink
baryte Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...
along with sulphides. Minerals identified include
haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
, chalcopyrite, tennantite,
galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...
,
tetrahedrite Tetrahedrite is a copper antimony sulfosalt mineral with formula: . It is the antimony endmember of the continuous solid solution series with arsenic-bearing tennantite. Pure endmembers of the series are seldom if ever seen in nature. Of the two, ...
, bornite, pyrite, marcasite, enargite and
sphalerite Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimen ...
. Secondary alteration of this has produced idaite, Covellite and other
Copper sulphide Copper sulfides describe a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the formula CuxSy. Both minerals and synthetic materials comprise these compounds. Some copper sulfides are economically important ores. Prominent copper sulfide minerals ...
s. "Poets' Walk" is a footpath round Wain's Hill and Church Hill to the south-west of the seafront. The upper town contains many other footpaths through parks and wooded areas laid out in the 19th century. The name recalls poets who visited Clevedon, including Coleridge in 1795 and Tennyson in 1834. The local nature reserve covers Church Hill and Wain's Hill and includes calcareous grassland, coastal scrub and woodland.


Climate

Clevedon, like the rest of South West England, has a temperate climate, generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is about .
Seasonal temperature variation Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimu ...
is less extreme than in most of the United Kingdom due to the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest, with mean daily maxima around . In winter, mean minimum temperatures of or are common. In the summer, the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, but
convective Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convect ...
cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. Most autumn and winter rainfall results from Atlantic depressions, at their most active in those seasons. In summer, much of the rainfall is caused by the sun heating the ground, leading to convection, showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is about . About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August the lightest winds. The dominant wind direction is from the south-west.


Demography

The town had a population of 21,957 according to the United Kingdom Census 2001. Of these almost 20 per cent were over the age of 65 years and 98.8 per cent were white. Almost three-quarters of the population described themselves as Christian, with 17.4 per cent having no religion and another 7.3 per cent not stating any religion. Of the 15,408 people between 16 and 74, 72.4 per cent are economically active.


Economy

Clevedon has light industry, mainly on industrial estates such as Hither Green, near the M5 motorway junction. It is also a dormitory town for Bristol. The
Clerical Medical Clerical Medical is a British life assurance, pensions and investments company founded in 1824, and a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. History In 1824, Dr George Pinckard formed a committee of physicians and members of the clergy which publis ...
pensions and investments group, part of HBOS, was based in the town on the former site of the Hales Cakes factory, but after its closure, North Somerset Council began talks on taking over the lease. Percy Daniel & Co are organ builders, whose work includes that of
Brentwood Cathedral The Cathedral of St Mary and St Helen is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Brentwood, Essex, England. It is the seat of the Diocese of Brentwood. History Brentwood Cathedral began in 1861 as a parish church built in a Gothic style. This relatively sm ...
.
Yeates Removals Yeates Removals is a removals and storage company founded in 1910. Yeates Removals is located in Clevedon, Somerset, England. History Yeates was established in 1910 and initially used horse and carts for general haulage in Clevedon and the surr ...
was set up in 1910, using horses and carts for general haulage in Clevedon and surrounding areas. The company has always been run by family members.


Landmarks

Clevedon Court is on
Court Hill Court Hill () is a 10.45 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the town of Clevedon, North Somerset, England, notified in 1997. Pleistocene Court Hill is a Geological Conservation Review Site because it is the only examp ...
, east of the town centre and close to the Bristol road. It is one of the few remaining 14th-century manorial halls in England, built by Sir John de Clevedon in about 1320. Since the early 18th century, the house has been owned by the Elton family, which did much building work on the house and many improvements in the town. Although the house itself now belongs to the National Trust, the associated estates are still owned by the Elton family. Sir Edmund Elton (1846–1920) was a
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...
at the Clevedon Elton Sunflower Pottery, who produced unusually shaped ware in richly coloured glazes, including a gold glaze of his own invention. Walton Castle is a 17th-century fort located on Castle Hill that overlooks the Walton St Mary area at the northern end of Clevedon, built some time between 1615 and 1620. It was designed as a hunting lodge for Lord Poulett, a Somerset MP. The English Civil War saw the decline of Poulett's fortunes, and by 1791 the castle was derelict and being used as a
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
by a local farmer. In 1978, the castle was purchased for £1 by Martin Sessions-Hodge, who restored the building to its former glory. The Royal Pier Hotel is a Grade II listed building next to the pier. It was built in 1823 by Thomas Hollyman, and originally called ''The Rock House''. In 1868, the building was expanded by the local architect
Hans Price Hans Price (1835–1912) was the architect responsible for much of the development of Weston-super-Mare, in North Somerset, England, during the Victorian era. Life Hans Fowler Price was born in St James's parish, Bristol. He studied under Thomas ...
and renamed ''Rock House & Royal Pier Hotel'', later shortened to ''Royal Pier Hotel''. After its closure in 2001 the building fell into disrepair, but it has since been converted into luxury apartments. Clevedon Pier opened on Easter Monday 1869. It is now one of the earliest UK examples of a Victorian pier still in existence. After a set of legs collapsed during an insurance load check on 17 October 1970, it fell into disrepair until 1985, when it was dismantled, taken to Portishead dock for restoration, and rebuilt in 1986. In 2001, it was upgraded to a Grade-1 listed building, The Paddle Steamer Waverley and Motor Vessel Balmoral offer day trips by sea from Clevedon Pier to points along the
Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
and Severn estuary. Adjoining the pier is the contemporary Toll House, built in the style of a folly castle and provided to house the pier-master. Clevedon clock tower in the town centre is decorated with "Elton ware". It was completed in 1898 and donated by Sir Edmund Elton to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The Curzon cinema dates from 1912, for Victor Cox, and is one of the world's oldest purpose-built, continuously operated
cinemas A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
. Clevedon Marine Lake opened in 1929. After becoming derelict and disused after the 1960s, it was restored in 2015 with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The market hall on Alexandra Road was designed by the local architect
Hans Price Hans Price (1835–1912) was the architect responsible for much of the development of Weston-super-Mare, in North Somerset, England, during the Victorian era. Life Hans Fowler Price was born in St James's parish, Bristol. He studied under Thomas ...
. A monument known as the "Spirit of Clevedon" was erected near the seafront to mark the Millennium. Unveiled in June 2000, the sculpture cost £9,000. It was designed by local citizens and includes panels and plaques representing the town's history and community. Its base contains a time capsule with information on the town.


Education

Clevedon School is a secondary
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
serving the town and surrounding rural areas, with some 1,200 pupils in years 7 to 11 (Lower School) and 12 to 13 (Upper School or sixth form). It has regained Language College status. There are six primaries: Mary Elton Primary School, St John the Evangelist of Bath and Wells Academy Trust Church of England School, All Saints C of E Primary School and St Nicholas's Chantry CEVC Primary School. Mary Elton (née Stewart of Castle Stewart) the second wife of the Reverend Sir Abraham Elton, endowed local schools in the 19th century: the Mary Elton Primary School in Holland Road, Clevedon, is named after her. Yeo Moor Primary School, opened on 19 April 2010, amalgamated infant and junior schools that shared the site. The footballer Jack Butland attended Yeo Moor School and Clevedon School.
St Brandon's School St Brandon's School was an independent school incorporating an infant and junior school and a senior boarding school for girls, located in the town of Clevedon in Somerset, in South West England. The school was opened in 1831 and closed in 2004. ...
was an independent boarding school until 1991 and a co-educational infant and junior school until 2004. A drama company, ''Take The Lead'', from Clevedon School, has put on productions in the town.


Religious sites

There are several churches serving the town, including St. Andrew's church, built in the 13th century although there are thought to be
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
foundations under the present building. It is the burial place of Arthur Hallam, subject of the poem ''
In Memoriam A. H. H. The poem "In Memoriam A.H.H." (1850) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, is an elegy for his Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died of cerebral haemorrhage at the age of twenty-two years, in Vienna in 1833. As a sustained exercise in tetrametric ...
'' by his friend
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
. The Church of St John was built in 1876–1878, by William Butterfield for Sir Arthur Elton. The Church of All Saints was built in 1861 by C E Giles. The tower of Christ Church, on Chapel Hill, is an important landmark in Clevedon, erected in 1838–1839 to designs by Thomas Rickman, in an early 14th-century style. The Copse Road Chapel is an Independent Evangelical Church, built in 1851 and attributed to Foster and Wood of Bristol, which also designed the United Reformed Church in Hill Road. The Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception is served by the Franciscan order.


Railways

The nearest railway station is on the
Bristol to Exeter line 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 S ...
, served by
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
. Clevedon was previously served by a branch line from Yatton, which closed in 1966. The site of the town station is now called the Triangle or Queen's Square. The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway also served the town.


Sanitation

In 1863,
Sir Arthur Elton, 7th Baronet Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, 7th Baronet DL (19 April 1818 – 14 October 1883) was a writer and Liberal party politician in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the son of Sir Charles Abraham Elton, 6th Baronet. He was appointe ...
of Clevedon Court was largely responsible for the creation of the Clevedon Waterworks Company, which had built the first water works and sewage treatment works in Clevedon by 1867. Features included reservoirs to the north of Dial Hill and Old Street pumping station. As the population increased, the water works proved inadequate and a new pumping station was created on Tickenham Road in 1901, some to the north-east. The new site could be seen from Clevedon Court, and the 8th Baronet, Sir Edmund Elton, took exception to the designs of the engineer
James Mansergh James Mansergh FRS (29 April 1834 – 15 June 1905) was an English civil engineer. Mansergh was born in Lancaster. He started his career in railway work and then designed many sewerage schemes and fresh water schemes. His most famous projects ...
. The Waterworks Company employed the architect Henry Dare Bryan to improve the appearance of the buildings, which included the pumping station, a coal shed and store, a lodge for the foreman, and the boundary wall and gates. The original pumping station was reused as a fire station. The new pumping station contained a vertical
triple-expansion engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...
manufactured by the Scottish company
Glenfield and Kennedy Glenfield may refer to: ;In Australia *Glenfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney *Glenfield Park, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga * Glenfield, Western Australia ;In New Zealand: *Glenfield, New Zealand * Glenfield (New Zealand electo ...
. This was upgraded to a Marshal horizontal compound engine in 1916, in turn replaced in 1938, when a
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
was fitted. The boiler house, engine house and chimney are
grade II listed 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 ...
, as largely unaltered buildings in Domestic Revival style, with the interior retaining its glazed tiling and elaborate roof trusses, although the machinery has been replaced by modern equipment, and the site is still operational. Clevedon Waterworks Company were one of the first of the smaller waterworks in the region to amalgamate with
Bristol Water Bristol Water is a British water company which supplies 266 million litres of drinking water daily to over 1.2 million customers in a area centred on Bristol, England. It is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991. Sewerage services in th ...
, which occurred on 1 January 1953. At the pump house, water is extracted from a well, which is deep. The upper are lined with brick, and the well supplies around of water to the public supply network each day.


Sport

The town's location makes water sports a feature. Clevedon Canoe Club at the marine lake facilitates sea paddling trips along the North Somerset coast on the Severn Estuary, and to other sites such as Wye Valley and
Woolacombe Woolacombe is a seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley (or "combe") in the parish of Mortehoe. The beach is long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the Atlantic Ocean near the western limit of the ...
. Nearby is Clevedon Sailing Club.
Clevedon Cricket Club Clevedon Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club based in Clevedon, North Somerset. The club was established in 1874 and is one of the leading clubs around the Bristol and Somerset area. The club is located at the top of one of the seven ...
, founded in 1874, competes in the West of England Premier League. Clevedon Town Football Club dates back to the late 19th century. It was a founder member of the Western Football League, winning its championship in the 1990s. The club plays at Everyone Active Stadium, formerly Hand Stadium. Another
Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
club,
Clevedon United F.C. Clevedon United Football Club is a football club based in Clevedon, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, the club are currently members of the and play at Coleridge Vale. History Clevedon United was formed in 1974 as a me ...
, plays at Coleridge Vale. Swiss Valley Rangers FC, founded in 2000, are a junior football club, based at Clevedon School, that has teams from ages under 6 to ages under 18. Clevedon Bowling Club, formed in 1910, has gained several international honours. Other facilities include Clevedon Golf Club, with a Par 72, 6,500-yard course, Riding Centre, a Rugby Club, and several others.


Culture

Writers linked with the town include Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who spent some months in a cottage in Clevedon, after his marriage to Sara Fricker, William Makepeace Thackeray, a frequent guest of the Elton family at Clevedon Court, and George Gissing (''
The Odd Women ''The Odd Women'' is an 1893 novel by the English novelist George Gissing. Its themes are the role of women in society, marriage, morals and the early feminist movement. Title The novel's title is derived ostensibly from the notion that there wa ...
'' is set here). The final scene of a 1993 movie, '' The Remains of the Day'', starring Anthony Hopkins,
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...
and Christopher Reeve, refers to Clevedon, where it was filmed. The television movie ''
Cider with Rosie ''Cider with Rosie'' is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee (published in the US as ''Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England'', 1960). It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969) and '' A ...
'' (1998) also has scenes filmed there. Scenes from the 2010 film, '' Never Let Me Go'', starring Keira Knightley were filmed in Clevedon in the summer of 2009. Clevedon has its comic book superhero, Captain Clevedon. Clevedon has been twinned with Ettlingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, since 1980,
Épernay Épernay () is a commune in the Marne department of northern France, 130 km north-east of Paris on the mainline railway to Strasbourg. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne at the extremity of the Cubry valley which crosses it. Éperna ...
, France, since 1990, and Middelkerke, Belgium, since 1991. Clevedon, in particular St Andrew's Church, was one of the settings for the town '' Broadchurch'', a detective drama first aired on ITV on 4 March 2013.


Notable people

In birth order: * Edward Tyson (1651–1708), scientist and physician, is seen as the pioneer of modern comparative anatomy. * Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), writer and father of
Hartley Coleridge Hartley Coleridge, possibly David Hartley Coleridge (19 September 1796 – 6 January 1849), was an English poet, biographer, essayist, and teacher. He was the eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His sister Sara Coleridge was a poet an ...
, spent his honeymoon in Clevedon. *
Jane Euphemia Saxby Jane Euphemia Saxby (27 January 1811 – 25 March 1898) was a British hymn writer. Life Jane Euphemia Browne was born on 27 January 1811, the daughter of William Browne of Tallantire Hall, Cumberland. In 1865, she married the Rev. Stephen H ...
, (1811-1898) poet and hymn writer *
Hartley Coleridge Hartley Coleridge, possibly David Hartley Coleridge (19 September 1796 – 6 January 1849), was an English poet, biographer, essayist, and teacher. He was the eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His sister Sara Coleridge was a poet an ...
(1796–1849), writer and son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge * Arthur Hallam (1811–1833), poet and subject of Tennyson's elegy ''
In Memoriam A.H.H. The poem "In Memoriam A.H.H." (1850) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, is an elegy for his Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died of cerebral haemorrhage at the age of twenty-two years, in Vienna in 1833. As a sustained exercise in tetrametri ...
'', is buried in Clevedon. *
Sir Arthur Elton, 7th Baronet Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, 7th Baronet DL (19 April 1818 – 14 October 1883) was a writer and Liberal party politician in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the son of Sir Charles Abraham Elton, 6th Baronet. He was appointe ...
(1818–1884), politician and local benefactor *
Emma Jane Guyton Emma Jane Guyton or Worboise (née Worboys; 1825–1887) was an English novelist, biographer and editor. Her more than 50 novels feature strong Christian values and were popular in their time. Life Guyton was born Emma Jane Worboys in Birmingham ...
(1825–1887, born Worboise), novelist and editor, died in Clevedon. *
Frances Freeling Broderip Frances Freeling Broderip (née Hood) (11 September 1830 – 3 November 1878) was an English children's writer. Early life Broderip, second daughter of Thomas Hood, the poet, who died in 1845, by his wife, Jane Reynolds, who died in 1846, wa ...
(1830–1878), children's writer, died in Clevedon. *
Mortimer Sloper Howell Mortimer Sloper Howell (3 February 1841 – 9 September 1925) was a British magistrate and scholar of Asiatic studies. Howell served his term as magistrate in the administrative region of the North-Western Provinces of British India from Octobe ...
(1841–1925), colonial magistrate and Asiatic scholar *
Edward Raymond Turner Edward Raymond Turner (1873 – 9 March 1903) was a pioneering British inventor and cinematographer. He produced the earliest known colour motion picture film footage. Biography Turner was born in 1873 in Clevedon, North Somerset, UK. In late ...
(1873–1903), an inventor of colour cinema *
Sir Arthur Elton, 10th Baronet Sir Arthur Hallam Rice Elton, 10th Baronet (10 February 1906 – 1 January 1973) was a pioneer of the British documentary film industry. Educated at Marlborough College and Jesus College, Cambridge, he was a schoolfriend of John Betjeman. After ...
(1906–1973), pioneer documentary film maker *
Jan Morris (Catharine) Jan MorrisJan Morris, Paul Clements, University of Wales Press, 2008, p. 7 (born James Humphry Morris; 2 October 192620 November 2020) was a Welsh historian, author and travel writer. She was known particularly for the ''Pax Brita ...
(1926–2020), author, travel writer and '' The Times'' journalist who participated in and announced the first ascent of Everest in 1953 * David Bryant (1931–2020), three-times world outdoors singles
bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...
champion *
Graham Tripp Graham Malcolm Tripp (29 June 1932 – 1 January 2024) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset in the 1950s. He was born at Clevedon in Somerset on 29 June 1932. Tripp was a right-handed middle-order batsman who m ...
(born 1932), county cricketer * Bob Anderson (born 1947), world professional darts champion *Sir Clive Cowdery (born 1963), businessman in insurance and financial services * Brady Haran (born 1976) YouTube video producer, lives in the town. *
John Pitts (composer) John Pitts (sometimes credited as John Michael Pitts) is a British composer, born in Surrey in 1976. Pitts studied Music at Bristol and Manchester Universities, and specializes in music for piano solo or multiple hands. He was winner of the Philh ...
(born 1976), famed composer and beloved Clevedon School teacher, taught in the town for many years *
Kate Reed Kate Amelia Reed (born 28 September 1982 in Bristol) is a British long-distance runner. She finished second at the 2006 World University Cross Country Championships and second in the team event at the 2007 European Cross Country Championships. I ...
(born 1982) British Olympic runner (Beijing 2008) 10,000 m *
Tuppence Middleton Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer. Middleton appea ...
(born 1987), film and TV actress, grew up in Clevedon. *
Luke Spiller The Struts are a British rock band formed in Derby, Derbyshire in 2012. The band consists of lead vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies. The band has cited its influences as: Queen, The D ...
(born 1988), lead singer and band member of The Struts grew up in Clevedon. * Jack Butland (born 1993), England international and
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
football goalkeeper


References


External links

*
Clevedon Town Council
* {{Good article Seaside resorts in England Towns in North Somerset Ports and harbours of Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset Populated coastal places in Somerset Beaches of Somerset