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 an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is within the Bristol and Bath green belt. The parish includes the hamlet of Breach Hill, which is approximately southwest of Chew Stoke itself.
Chew Stoke has a long history, as shown by the number and range of its heritage-listed buildings. The village is at the northern end of Chew Valley Lake, which was created in the 1950s, close to a dam, pumping station, sailing club, and fishing lodge. A tributary of the River Chew, which rises in Strode, runs through the village.
The population of 1,038 is served by one shop, one working public house, a primary school and a bowling club. Together with Chew Magna, it forms the ward of Chew Valley North in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. Chew Valley School and its associated leisure centre are less than a mile from Chew Stoke. The village has some areas of light industry but is largely agricultural; many residents commute to nearby cities for employment.
History
Prehistory
carried out between 1953 and 1955 by Philip Rahtz and Ernest Greenfield from the Ministry of Works found evidence of extensive human occupation of the area. Consecutive habitation, spanning thousands of years from the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods, to the Bronze and Iron Ages had left numerous artefacts behind. Discoveries have included stone knives, flint blades, and the head of a mace, along with buildings and graves.Romano-Celtic temple
Chew Stoke is the site of a Romano-Celtic double-octagonal temple, possibly dedicated to the god Mercury. The temple, on Pagans Hill, was excavated by Philip Rahtz between 1949 and 1951. It consisted of an inner wall, which formed the sanctuary, surrounded by an outer wall forming an ambulatory, or covered walkway across. It was first built in the late 3rd century but was twice rebuilt, finally collapsing in the 5th century. The positioning of the temple on what is now known as Pagans Hill may seem apt, but there is no evidence for any link between the existence of the temple and the naming of the road.Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, farming was the most important activity in the area, and farming, both arable and dairy, continues today. There were also orchards producing fruits such as apples, pears, and plums. Evidence exists of lime kilns, used in the production of mortar for the construction of local churches.In the Domesday Book of 1086, Chew Stoke was listed as Chiwestoche, and was recorded as belonging to Gilbert fitz Turold. He conspired with Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy, against King William Rufus, and subsequently all his lands were seized. The next recorded owner was Lord Beauchamp of Hache. He became "lord of the manor" when the earls of Gloucester, with hereditary rights to Chew Stoke, surrendered them to him. According to Stephen Robinson, the author of Somerset Place Names, the village was then known as Chew Millitus, suggesting that it may have had some military potential. The name "Stoke", from the old English stoc, meaning a stockade, may support that idea.
The parish was part of the hundred of Chew.
Bilbie family of bell and clockmakers
The Bilbie family of bell founders and clockmakers lived and worked in Chew Stoke for more than 200 years, from the late 17th century until the 19th century. They produced more than 1,350 church bells, which were hung in churches all over the West Country. Their oldest surviving bell, cast in 1698, is still giving good service in the local St Andrew's Church. The earliest Bilbie clocks date from 1724 and are highly prized. They are mostly longcase clocks, the cheapest with 30-hour movements in modest oak cases, but some have high quality eight-day movements with additional features, such as showing the high tide at Bristol docks. These latter clocks were fitted into quality cabinet maker cases and command high prices.Recent history
In the 20th century, Chew Stoke expanded slightly with the influx of residents from the Chew Valley Lake area. These new residents were moved to Chew Stoke when the lake was created in the 1950s. In World War II, 42 children and three teachers, who had been evacuated from Avenmore school in London, were accommodated in the village. On 10 July 1968, torrential rainfall, with falling in 18 hours on Chew Stoke, double the area's average rainfall for the whole of July, led to widespread flooding in the Chew Valley, and water reached the first floor of many buildings. The damage in Chew Stoke was not as severe as in some of the surrounding villages, such as Pensford; however, fears that the Chew Valley Lake dam would be breached caused considerable anxiety.On 4 February 2001, Princess Anne opened the Rural Housing Trust development at Salway Close. Each year, over a weekend in September, a "Harvest Home" is held with horse and pet shows, bands, a funfair, and other entertainments. The Harvest Home was cancelled in 1997 as a mark of respect following the death of Princess Diana in the previous week. The Radford's factory site, where refrigeration equipment was formerly manufactured, was identified as a brownfield site suitable for residential development in the 2002 Draft Local Plan of Bath and North East Somerset. That plan has generated controversy about balancing land use to meet residential, social, and employment needs.
During November 2012 a series of floods affected many parts of Britain. On 22 November a man died after his car was washed down a flooded brook in Chew Stoke and trapped against a small bridge.
Governance
Chew Stoke has its own nine-member parish council with responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept 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 council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, 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 and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.The village is part of the ward of Chew Valley in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, which has the wider responsibility for providing services such as education, refuse collection, and tourism. The ward is currently represented by Councillors Anna Box and David Harding, members of the Liberal Democrats. It is also part of the North East Somerset and Hanham, and was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020.
The police service is provided by Avon and Somerset Constabulary with two Community Support Officer and one police officer covering the wider Chew Valley area. The Avon Fire and Rescue Service have a fire station at Chew Magna.
Geography
The area of Chew Stoke is surrounded by arable land and dairy farms on the floor of the Chew Valley. It is located along the Strode Brook tributary of the River Chew, on the northwest side of the Chew Valley Lake. While much of the area has been cleared for farming, trees line the tributary and many of the roads. The village is built along the main thoroughfare, Bristol Road, which runs northeast to southwest. An older centre is located along Pilgrims Way, which loops onto Bristol Road and features an old stone packhorse bridge—now pedestrianised—and a 1950s Irish bridge, used as a ford in winter. The bridge is wide and has parapets. Houses line both of these roads, with residential cul-de-sacs and lanes extending from them.Chew Stoke is approximately south of Bristol, north of Wells, west of Bath, east of Weston-super-Mare, and southwest of Keynsham. It is south of Chew Magna on the B3130 road that joins the A37 and A38. The A368 crosses the valley west of the lake. The "Chew Valley Explorer" bus route 672/674, running from Bristol Bus Station to Cheddar, provides public transport access. This service is operated by CT coaches and Eurotaxis and subsidised by Bath and North East Somerset council. In 2002, a cycle route, the Chew Lake West Green Route, was opened around the western part of the lake from Chew Stoke. It forms part of the Padstow to Bristol West Country Way, National Cycle Network Route 3. It has all-weather surfacing, providing a smooth off-road facility for ramblers, mobility-challenged visitors, and cyclists of all abilities. Funding was provided by Bath and North East Somerset Council, with the support of Sustrans and the Chew Valley Recreational Trail Association. The minor roads around the lake are also frequently used by cyclists. Bristol Airport is approximately away, and the nearest train stations are Keynsham, Bath Spa, and Bristol Temple Meads.
Demography
The population of Chew Stoke, according to the census of 1801, was 517. This number increased slowly during the 19th century to a maximum of 819 but fell to around 600 by the end of the century. The population remained fairly stable until World War II. During the latter half of the 20th century, the population of the village rose to 905 people. Data for 1801–1971 is available at Britain Through Time;data for 1971–2001 is available from BANES The 2001 Census gives detailed information about the Chew Valley North ward, which includes both Chew Magna and Chew Stoke. The ward had 2,307 residents, living in 911 households, with an average age of 42.3 years. Of those, 77% of residents described their health as 'good', 21% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no work qualifications, and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.3%. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, the ward was ranked at 26,243 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived and 32,482 the least deprived. A small number of light industrial/craft premises exist at "Fairseat Workshops", formerly the site of a dairy. However, they provide little employment, and many residents commute to jobs in nearby cities. The population has increased since; in the 2011 census there were 991 residents recorded, and 1,038 in the 2021 census.