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Puxton is a village and civil parish, north west of Axbridge in the unitary authority of North Somerset within 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, England. The civil parish includes the isolated hamlets of East Hewish and West Hewish.


History

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 ac ...
Hundred. Puxton was part of the manor of
Banwell Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 2,919 according to the 2011 census. History Banwell Camp, east of the village, is a univallate hillfort which h ...
held by the Bishop of Bath and Wells until the reign of Henry VI when it passed to the St Loe or De Sancto Laudo family who held it for over 100 years.
Puxton Park Puxton is a village and civil parish, north west of Axbridge in the unitary authority of North Somerset within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The civil parish includes the isolated hamlets of East Hewish and West Hewish. History ...
, a family attraction with small animals, a falconry centre and farm shop, opened in 2007. The park gained some notability when it was revealed that they will not allow any single people to visit under the assumption that they are all paedophiles.


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 falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. It provides a single tier of local government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within their 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. They are 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 are 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 Axbridge Rural District. The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Weston-super-Mare county constituency. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.


Geography

Nearby is
Puxton Moor Puxton Moor () is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the North Somerset Levels, near Puxton, North Somerset, notified in 1994. It is a large area of pasture land networked with species-rich rhynes, now owned and managed as a nat ...
, 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 ...
. It is a large area of pasture land networked with species-rich
rhyne A rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne (Gloucestershire), or reen (South Wales) (all pronounced "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a term used in parts of England and Wales for a drainage ditch, or canal ...
s, now owned and managed as a nature reserve by
Avon Wildlife Trust The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon — now Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, in England. It has its headquarters in Bristol and run ...
. The rhynes contain rare plants such as frogbit and
rootless duckweed ''Wolffia arrhiza'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names spotless watermeal and rootless duckweed, belonging to the Araceae, a family rich in water-loving species, such as '' Arum'' and ''Pistia''. It is the smallest vascu ...
, along with many scarce invertebrates such as the
hairy dragonfly ''Brachytron'' is a monotypic genus of European dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae containing the hairy dragonfly (''Brachytron pratense''), also known as the hairy hawker or spring hawker. Description The hairy dragonfly is named for its hairy ...
and water scorpion. Birds seen at the site include; skylark, reed and sedge warblers,
Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian whimbrel or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This specie ...
, whitethroat and reed bunting. The site also contains a relict Roman landscape which is evident in many of the fields; Medieval earthworks are also present.


Transport

The nearest railway station is
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 ...
.
Puxton and Worle railway station There are 22 disused railway stations in the between and , 12 of which have structures that can still be seen from passing trains. Most were closed in the 1960s but four of them, especially around , were replaced by stations on new sites. 13 s ...
was opened on 14 June 1841 a little further east. It was originally named 'Banwell Road' but this was changed to 'Worle' on 3 August 1869. On 1 March 1884 the
Weston Loop Line Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia ...
was opened and a new 'Worle' station provided on this, just west of the new
Worle Junction Worle ( ) is a large village in North Somerset which is joined to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare on its western edge. It, however, maintains a very separate identity, and may now be bigger than its more famous neighbour. Worle pre-dates ...
. This station closed on 2 January 1922 so the original station, which had been known as 'Puxton' during this time, was renamed "Puxton and Worle". Puxton was a railhead for the milk trains of the
London Co-operative Society The London Co-operative Society (LCS) was a consumer co-operative society in the United Kingdom. History The Society was formed in September 1920 by the amalgamation of the Stratford Co-operative Society and the Edmonton Co-operative Society, ...
, who built a creamery next to the station, which was served by its own private siding. The station closed on 6 April 1964. The platforms and station master's house can still be seen immediately east of Puxton level crossing, which is still controlled by a Great Western Railway-built
signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
. A goods shed was demolished sometime between 2004 and 2008 to make way for new buildings. On the opposite side of the line is an old milk depot that was rail-connected from 1925 to 1966 but is now used by a business that repairs road goods vehicles. The village is close to the junction of the M5 motorway and
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 ...
.


The Holy Saviour Church

The Parish Church of St Saviour dates from the 13th century. It is a small, mostly unaltered medieval church with a leaning tower due to the peaty foundations which the church was built upon, and has the royal arms of 1751 over the south door. It is a Grade I listed building.


Puxton and Stephen Rippon

Stephen Rippon Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
is a leading archaeologist on the Romano-British and
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- ...
period and has carried out extensive archaeological work on Puxton developing his ideas of Wetland reclamation of the Somerset Levels.


References


External links


Puxton Parish Council
{{North Somerset Levels Villages in North Somerset Civil parishes in Somerset