Uphill
Coordinates: 51°19′23″N 2°58′38″W / 51.3231°N 2.9773°W
| Uphill | |
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 Uphill
Uphill shown within Somerset |
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| OS grid reference | ST31915873 |
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| Civil parish | Weston-super-Mare |
| Unitary authority | North Somerset |
| Ceremonial county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WESTON-SUPER-MARE |
| Postcode district | BS23 |
| Dialling code | 01934 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Weston-super-Mare |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Uphill is a village in the civil parish of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England, at the southern edge of the town.
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[edit] History
There is evidence of a port at Uphill since Roman times, probably for the export of lead from the Mendip Hills.[1] It continued as a small landing stage for many centuries including the import of coal and iron and the export of local produce.[2]
The toponym, recorded in Domesday Book as Opopille, derives from the Old English uppan pylle, meaning "above the creek", referring to the mouth of the Axe,[3]
The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred.[4]
During the English Civil War the port was used to bring two regiments, about 1,500 men, of the Royalist Army from South Wales before the Battle of Langport.[5]
The Bristol to Exeter railway line runs through a steep cutting between Uphill and nearby Bleadon. This cutting is spanned by a high brick bridge known as "Devil's Bridge" and designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The former Bleadon and Uphill railway station served the village from 1871 until 1964.
[edit] Geography
Uphill is situated at the south end of Weston Bay, where the River Axe flows into the Bristol Channel, and was once a busy port. The Mendip Way long-distance footpath has its western trailhead at Uphill near the wharf.
The village is dominated on its southern side by a large hill, the southern slope of which and the quarry at its western end form the Uphill Cliff Site of Special Scientific Interest, notable for its species-rich calcareous grassland. It consists of species-rich calcareous grassland and rock-face situated on Carboniferous Limestone. Steeper banks and knolls in the grassland have a flora which includes orchids Somerset Hair Grass Koeleria vallesiana, and Honewort Trinia glauca and the Goldilocks Aster linosyris along with several species of butterfly and Weevil (Curculionoidea).[6]
A tower on the hill is the remains of a 14th-century windmill.
[edit] Religious sites
On top of the hill stands the unroofed Norman Old Church of St Nicholas". It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[7]
The present day Church of St Nicholas is situated on lower ground towards the north end of the village.[8]
[edit] Public services
Uphill is home to Weston General Hospital. Weston Hospicecare, a hospice providing palliative care to patients from the surrounding area with terminal illnesses, is also based here.
[edit] References
- ^ Newman, Paul (1976). Channel Passage. Kingsmead Press. p. 58. ISBN 901571741.
- ^ Farr, Grahame (1954). Somerset Harbours. London: Christopher Johnson. pp. 65.
- ^ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Uphill", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ Barratt, John (2005). The civil war in the south west. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. p. 116. ISBN 1844151468.
- ^ "Uphill Cliff". English Nature's SSSI Information. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000858.pdf. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
- ^ "St Nicholas, Uphill". Churches Conservation Trust. http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/findachurch/st-nicholas-uphill/?region=Somerset&offset=1. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- ^ "Uphill Church of St Nicholas". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=33246. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Uphill, Somerset |
