Almondsbury
Coordinates: 51°33′24″N 2°34′21″W / 51.5567°N 2.5725°W
| Almondsbury | |
 Part of Almondsbury from The Tump. The spire is Saint Mary the Virgin church. |
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 Almondsbury
Almondsbury shown within Gloucestershire |
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| Population | 3,800 |
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| OS grid reference | ST604843 |
| Civil parish | Almondsbury |
| Unitary authority | South Gloucestershire |
| Ceremonial county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRISTOL |
| Postcode district | BS32 |
| Dialling code | 01454 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Filton and Bradley Stoke |
| List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire | |
Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England.
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[edit] Description
The village is split by a steep hill, part of the escarpment overlooking the Severn floodplain. At the bottom of the hill is Lower Almondsbury where a pub and hotel, The Bowl Inn, is situated. South Wales, the Forest of Dean, the River Severn and both Severn Bridges are visible from the higher parts of the village.
The pub takes its name from the bowl shape of the land surrounding the estuary. Parts of this whitewashed-stone inn were originally the three cottages erected in 1146 to house the monks building the adjacent church of St Mary the Virgin. The present building became a licensed inn in 1550[citation needed].
Also at the bottom of the hill is the local church, dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin.
The church and tower were built in 1140 AD. The lead-covered spire was added some time before 1619.
Another pub, The Swan Inn, is located on the A38, in the upper part of the village, almost opposite an open space known as Almondsbury Tump.
In March 2009 a community shop was opened in the village by the not-for-profit Almondsbury Community Services Association (ACSA), situated in the Old School House at 14 Church Road. The community shop is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers. The aim of the project goes beyond a village shop, being a service for the village, to support local suppliers wherever possible, and to be another focal point where people in the village can meet. A proportion of the surplus generated by the shop is returned to community projects and organisations in the village.
Sporting facilities include football sides Almondsbury Town A.F.C. and Almondsbury F.C., a cricket pitch and a rugby pitch. Almondsbury Tennis Club [1] is on the same site. The village also has a motorway police station, a garden centre, and a restaurant/pub .
[edit] Education
Education is provided by Almondsbury Church of England Primary School. This is a state maintained school. The Ofsted report, dated April 2009, rated the school as good (outstanding in places).
[edit] Notable residents
Almondsbury is the birthplace of Alex Kapranos, the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand.[1]
[edit] Civil parish
The civil parish of Almondsbury is much larger than the village. It includes the villages of Hortham, Over, Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Catbrain and Hallen. It also includes Cribbs Causeway and the site of the village of Charlton, now the western end of Filton Airfield.
When it was originally created in 1866 the civil parish also included Patchway, but not Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Hallen, Cribbs Causeway or Charlton, all of which were transferred from the parish of Henbury in 1935. The parish of Patchway was separated from Almondsbury in 1953.[2]
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Almondsbury |
