View of Dundry taken from the church tower 04

Dundry is a village and civil parish, situated on Dundry Hill in the northern part of the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

, between Bristol and the

Chew Valley Lake Chew Valley Lake () is a reservoir in Chew Stoke, Chew Valley, Somerset, England. It is the fifth-largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom, with an area of . The lake, created in the early 1950s, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. ...

, in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Maiden Head and East Dundry. The parish had a 2011 population of 829. The village lies on the route of the Monarch's Way 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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''dun'' and ''dryge''. An alternative derivation is from a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

name, meaning ''fort of refuge''. The parish was part of the hundred of Chew. Dundry is notable for its stone: the yellow oolitic limestone from local quarries such as

Dundry Main Road South Quarry Dundry Main Road South Quarry () is a 0.7 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of East Dundry, North Somerset, notified in 1974. The quarry was cited in the 19th century by d'Orbigny as the English "type sect ...

and the Dundry Downs (to the west of the village) is found even at

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

, a fort originally built by the Romans to defend against

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

invasions. The stone was much used in medieval Bristol: an outstanding example being

St Mary Redcliffe St Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of Bristol, England. The church is a short walk from Bristol Temple Meads station. The church building was constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, and it ...

, an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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, 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 authorities of England, unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish ...

has in its graveyard an early 19th-century limestone round-topped stone which bears the inscription to William Fowler ''"shot by an

Highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footp ...

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 East Dundry records that: * 24 November 1940: ''Christening of William Duncan'' East Dundry">orn in East Dundry''at 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">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 Bishopsworth is the name of both a wards of the United Kingdom, council ward of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and a suburb of the city which lies within that ward. Bishopsworth contains many council estates. As well as the suburb o ...

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'' duty at the wireless station ''

n Dundry Downs N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

' 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 Orth can refer to: Places * Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States * Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria * Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United St ...

': 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 ''[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 members of the Dundry Home Guard had many draughty nights on the top of the church, on Maes Knoll, 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 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 East Dundry, 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 Starfish sites were large-scale night-time decoys created during the Blitz to simulate burning British cities. The aim was to divert German night bombers from their intended targets so they would drop their ordnance over the countryside. The sites ...

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 ...

, Leigh Woods and Norton Malreward.

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 as ...

, 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 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 or community centre, playing fields and

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

s, 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 of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. This act established a single tier of local government 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, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical, ligh ...

, local roads,

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, environmental health, markets and fairs,

refuse collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable m ...

, recycling,

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

crematoria Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, leisure services, parks, and tourism. It is also responsible for education,

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, libraries, main roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal 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 and the South Western Ambulance Service. North Somerset's area covers 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 but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the

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 ...

district of the county of Avon. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the

Long Ashton Rural District Long Ashton was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 to become part of North Somerset. The parishes ...

. The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the North Somerset constituency. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, 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 also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament 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 (EA ...

in January 2020, which elected seven

MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

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 The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

of Bristol 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 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