   #copyright

Chew Magna

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

                                  Chew Magna

   Image:dot4gb.svg
                                  Statistics
   Population:          approx. 1200
                               Ordnance Survey
   OS grid reference:   ST577631
                                Administration
   District:            Bath and North East Somerset
   Region:              South West England
   Constituent country: England
   Sovereign state:     United Kingdom
                                    Other
   Ceremonial county:   Somerset
   Historic county:     Somerset
                                   Services
   Police force:        Avon and Somerset
   Fire and rescue:     Avon
   Ambulance:           South Western
                          Post office and telephone
   Post town:           BRISTOL
   Postal district:     BS40
   Dialling code:       01275
                                   Politics
   UK Parliament:       Wansdyke to be North East Somerset from next general
                        election.
   European Parliament: South West England

   Chew Magna ( grid reference ST575631) is a village within the Chew
   Valley in North East Somerset, England. To the south of the town is
   Chew Valley Lake. The village is on the B3130, about 10 miles from
   Bristol, 15 miles from Bath, 13 miles from the city of Wells, and 6
   miles from Bristol International Airport.

   It is just on the northern edge of the Mendip Hills (a designated Area
   of Outstanding Natural Beauty), and was designated a conservation area
   in 1978 . There are many listed buildings reflecting the history of the
   village. The River Chew flows through the village. Just outside the
   village is Chew Magna Reservoir this small Bristol Water supply
   reservoir intercepts the Winford Brook.

   It has around 1,200 residents. There are two primary schools and a
   secondary school, several shops and small businesses, three churches,
   three pubs serving the area. There is also a football pitch and
   children's play area. The village frequently wins regional categories
   in the Calor Village of the Year competition, and is currently moving
   towards zero waste status, having been described as "probably the
   greenest parish in Britain".

History

   Chew Magna is the largest village in the district, and can trace its
   importance back to Saxon times. It was a thriving woollen centre in the
   Middle Ages. The manor of Chew was held by the Bishop of Bath and
   Wells, from 1062 to 1548, and for that reason the village was called
   Chew Episcopi or Bishop's Chew. The Bishops built a palace near the
   church of St. Andrews, which was visited by Henry III in 1250. Chew
   Court is a surviving part of the palace. More recently, since about
   1600, the name has been Chew Magna because this has been the most
   important of the several villages along the banks of the River Chew.

   Around 1700 the Lord of the Manor was Sir William Jones the Attourney
   General of England and in the 1820s it was the seat of Lord Lyttelton.
   Until about 1880 the village had toll roads and a toll house to collect
   the fees.

   During the 19th and 20th centuries the importance of the wool trade in
   the village declined and it became largely a dormitory area for the
   cities of Bristol and Bath, although it has continued to be the
   commercial centre of the valley. The building of Chew Valley Lake in
   the 1950s has brought further opportunities for leisure and tourism.

Government and politics

   Chew Magna has its own Parish council which has some responsibility for
   local issues, and is part of the Chew Valley North Ward which is
   represented by one councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset
   Unitary Authority which has wider responsibilities for services such as
   education, refuse, tourism, etc. The village is a part of the Wansdyke
   constituency which elects one MP to the Westminster Parliament and part
   of the South West England constituency which elects 7 members to the
   European Parliament.

Demographics

   According to the 2001 Census the Chew Valley North Ward (which includes
   Chew Magna and Chew Stoke), had 2,307 residents, living in 911
   households, with an average age of 42.3 years. Of these 77% of
   residents describing their health as 'good', 21% of 16–74 year olds had
   no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.3% of all
   economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple
   Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 26,243 out of 32,482 wards in
   England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least
   deprived.

Schools

   Chew Magna Primary School gained an award for the use of ICT in
   Practice in 2005 for using the fantasy role-playing computer game Myst
   to support literacy and communication.

   Chew Valley School is the main secondary school (11-18 years) for the
   valley. It is situated between Chew Magna and Chew Stoke. The latest
   (2005) Ofsted Inspection Report describes this specialist Performing
   Arts College as a mixed comprehensive school with 1158 pupils on roll.
   The school is popular and oversubscribed with 196 students in the sixth
   form. The school has been successful in gaining a number of national
   and regional awards.

Famous residents

     * Richard Brock (Natural history film producer)
     * Dr Phil Hammond (GP and comedian)
     * John Sanger (1816 – 1889) ( circus proprietor)

Go Zero project

   Chew Magna is also the home of the "Go Zero" project which promotes
   education for sustainability at all levels in society, and it will seek
   to conserve and make improvements to the environment in the UK and
   overseas. The four groups within Go Zero are; Transport and Energy
   (which includes Dragonflyer Mobility, a plan to develop a range of
   integrated services that offer communities in the West of England
   cost-effective, flexible and environmentally sustainable transport),
   People and Consumption ( farmers markets, local food, skill swaps),
   Converging World (which supports campaigns and initiatives for social
   justice and development and is currently pursuing Fair Trade status for
   Chew Magna) and Waste and Recycling. It is based at Tunbridge Mill, an
   old watermill almost certainly on the site of one of the mills
   mentioned in the Domesday Survey.

Sport and Recreation

   Chew Magna has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V.
   Gymnasium facilities, squash courts, badminton etc., and outdoor
   all-weather pitches are available at the Chew Valley Leisure Centre
   between Chew Magna and Chew Stoke. There are a range of clubs and
   societies for young and old, including scout groups, gardening society,
   and the Women's institute. There is a cricket pitch and teams in Chew
   Magna

Points of Interest

Church

   St Andrew's Church, Chew Magna
   Enlarge
   St Andrew's Church, Chew Magna

   St Andrew's Church dates from the 12th century with a large
   15th-century pinnacled sandstone tower, a Norman font and a rood screen
   that is the full width of the church. In the church are several
   memorials to the Stracheys of Sutton Court together with a wooden
   effigy of a Knight cross-legged and leaning on one elbow, in 15th
   century armour, thought to be of Sir John de Hauteville or a
   descendant, and possibly transferred from a church at Norton Hautville
   before it was demolished . Another effigy in the north chapel is of Sir
   John Loe and his lady. The armoured figure is 7 feet 4 inches long and
   his feet rest on a lion, while those of his lady rest on a dog. The
   church was restored in 1860 and has a register commencing in 1562. The
   tower is about one hundred feet tall and was probably built about 1440
   . There has been a clock on the tower since the early 1700s. There is a
   peal of eight bells in the tower. Tenor 28cwt in C. The original five
   bells were re-cast by the celebrated Thomas Bilbie of Chew Stoke in
   1735 to make a peal of six, and in 1898 four of these were re-cast and
   two were repaired by Messrs. Mears and Stainbank of London to
   commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Two additional
   bells, the gift of Brigadier Ommanney, were added in 1928 to complete
   the octave, which does still contain two of the Bilbie bells. The
   present clock, installed in 1903, plays a verse of a hymn every four
   hours, at 8 am, noon, 4 and 8 pm, with a different hymn tune for every
   day of the week. It is a Grade I listed building. The churchyard
   contains several monuments which are Grade II listed buildings in their
   own right; Churchyard cross, Edgell monument, Fowler monument and a
   group of three unidentified monuments. Within the church are wooden
   plaques commemorating the nineteen people from the village who died in
   World War I and seven from World War II, and a bronze plaque to an
   individual soldier who died in 1917.

Church House/Old School Room

   The Old School Room, Chew Magna
   Enlarge
   The Old School Room, Chew Magna

   The local school from the mid or early 15th century was in the upstairs
   room of Church house (now called the Old School Room), with the village
   Poorhouse below. This has been a venue for social activity in the
   village and in 1971 underwent major renovation. It is a Grade II*
   listed building.

Chew Court

   Chew Court, which was originally a bishop's palace, next to the church
   which was largely rebuilt in 1656, from which a little survives as the
   Chew Court of today, which includes an Elizabethan doorway with Doric
   pilasters. Chew Court is a Grade II* listed building.

Manor House

   The Manor House has Tudor origins, including a fireplace dated 1656,
   with a Gothic exterior from 1874, largely redesigned by John Norton.
   Amongst the brought-in pieces in the house are two South German Reliefs
   "The Martyrdom's of St Catherine and St Sebastian", from an altar of
   the early 16th century. There are also a series of panels in the Floris
   style, probably Flemish and with a repeating date 1562. From 1680 to
   1844 was the home to prominent Quaker families including the Vickris,
   the Summers and the Harfords. William Penn preached here in 1687. The
   house has 4.9 acre gardens laid out in the 19th Century. The Manor
   House is a Grade II* listed building and now forms part of the Sacred
   Heart Convent School . Two of the stables attached to the Manor House
   are Grade II listed.

The Beeches

   The Beeches in the High Street is a Grade II* listed building, which
   was built in 1762 for Ephraim Chancellor, although the side wings were
   added later.

Tun Bridge

   Just south of the town is a medieval Tun Bridge with three pointed
   arches including double arch rings, spanning 60 feet over the river,
   approached along one of the high pavements that are a feature of the
   village centre. The bridge is thought to date from the late 15th
   Century and is a Grade II listed building,and a Scheduled Ancient
   Monument (Avon No. 159). The raised pavement and steps are themselves
   also listed Grade II.

Other Grade II listed buildings

   Main Street and shops Chew Magna
   Enlarge
   Main Street and shops Chew Magna
   street showing site of old toll house
   Enlarge
   street showing site of old toll house
     * Lodge about 80 metres south west of The Rookery at Images of
       England
     * Rookstone House at Images of England
     * The Rookery and attached walls at Images of England
     * Elm Farmhouse at Images of England
     * Dumper's Farmhouse at Images of England
     * Harford House at Images of England
     * Stable about 30 metres west of Harford House at Images of England
     * Acacia House at Images of England
     * Barle House at Images of England
     * Holly House at Images of England
     * Igbetti House, formerly called Myrtle House, at Images of England
     * Portugal House at Images of England
     * The Sycamores at Images of England
     * Walls, railings, gates and piers attached to front of The Beeches
       at Images of England
     * Knole Hill Farmhouse at Images of England
     * Pitt's Farmhouse at Images of England
     * Church House at Images of England
     * Gate piers and wall about 5 metres east of Church House at Images
       of England
     * Baptist Chapel at Images of England
     * Fisher Lodge and Archways House at Images of England
     * Tunbridge House at Images of England
     * Highfield House House at Images of England

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chew_Magna"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
