Batheaston
| Batheaston | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST784675 |
| Location: | 51°24’23"N, 2°18’40"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,735 (2011) |
| Post town: | Bath |
| Postcode: | BA1 |
| Dialling code: | 01225 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bath & NE Somerset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North East Somerset |
Batheaston is a village in Somerset found 2 miles east of the City of Bath, on the north bank of the River Avon. The first element of the name is from the city; it was formerly simply "Easton".
This is a modest place, with a population of 2,735. It lies within the Bath Forum Hundred
History
Batheaston is named Estone in the Domesday Book of 1086; the name means simply "East Village".
In the 16th century the Lord of the Manor was John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford.[1]
In the 18th century, Sir John Riggs Miller, 1st Baronet and Anna Miller held a much-mocked fortnightly literary salon along with competitions and prizes at their house in the village. Distinguished contributions were received from the like of David Garrick, Christopher Anstey and the poet Anna Seward.
Geography
The village is overlooked by Solsbury Hill which is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and was an Iron Age hill fort occupied between 300 BC and 100 BC. It is also linked to Bathampton on the south bank of the river by way of a toll bridge. A neighbouring village on the riverbank is Bathford.
The Bybrook River which springs up near Marshfield in Gloucestershire, flows through villages such as Castle Combe and Box in Wiltshire before finally merging with the River Avon in Batheaston.
The Roman road, the Fosse Way descends into Batheaston by way of the Bannerdown hill, before joining the London Road (now the A4) also a former Roman road.[2]
At the northern end of the Bannerdown Ridge is Colerne Airfield, a Second World War RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield.
The hill is littered with former quarries of Bath Stone.[3]
The Three Shire Stones
The Three Shire Stones stand on top of the hill here. They are three vertical blocks of limestone with a large cap which mark the meeting point of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somersetshire. The stones are formed in the style of a cromlech, an ancient burial chamber; there are three small dressed stones (the original stones) inside, each dated 1736 and with the initial of one of the three counties.
It is reported that the 'cromlech' was built in 1859 erected over the top of original stones which possibly were part of a burial chamber. Local newspapers and national journals of the time report that three skeletons were found in the hole along with a James II coin whilst the work was being completed.
Each stone is approx 9–12 feet in height and weigh four to five tons a piece and the cap is of a similar size and weight.[4]
Churches
The parish church of Batheaston is the Church of St John The Baptist. It was built in the 12th century, and remodelled in the late 15th century. The west tower which has four stages with a pierced embattled parapet, setback buttresses, projecting octagonal stairs, and a turret at the south-east corner which terminates in spirelet, was rebuilt in 1834 by John Pinch the Younger of Bath. It has pointed perpendicular two-light windows with cusped heads and the east side has a canopied niche containing a figure, probably St John.[5]
Landmarks
Batheaston House was built in 1712 for Henry Walters (1667–1753) a wealthy clothiers who succeeded to the property of Batheaston through his grandfather, Henry Blanchard.[6]
Pine House dates from 1672 having been built for Richard and Mary Panton. It was extended to the north in early 18th century.[7]
Eagle House was built in the late 17th/early 18th century and then remodelled in 1724 and again in 1729 by John Wood, the Elder as his own house. The house has also been an important refuge for suffragettes who had been released from prison after hunger strikes, with trees being planted to commemorate each woman — at least 47 trees were planted between April 1909 and July 1911, including Emmeline Pankhurst, Christabel Pankhurst, Charlotte Despard, Millicent Fawcett and Lady Lytton.[8]
The Riverside studios in Batheaston have been used by several musicians to record their albums.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Batheaston) |
References
- ↑ "Mediæval Deeds of Bath and District"
- ↑ Codrington, Thomas (1903). "Chapter VII: The Foss Way". Roman Roads in Britain. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Engineering/roads/Britain/_Texts/CODROM/7*.html. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
- ↑ Map of 1884–1887
- ↑ "Three Shire Stones (Reconstruction)". The Modern Antiquarian. http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/2308. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (32147) Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Batheaston
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (32102) Batheaston House
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (32126) Pine House, Batheaston
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (32156) Eagle House, Batheaston
- Willmott Dobbie, Beatrice M. (1969). An English Rural Community: Batheaston with St Catherine. Bath University Press.