Publow

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Publow
Somerset
Publow bridge.JPG
Bridge over the River Chew
Location
Grid reference: ST625643
Location: 51°22’43"N, 2°32’33"W
Data
Post town: Bristol
Postcode: BS40
Dialling code: 01761
Local Government
Council: Bath & NE Somerset
Parliamentary
constituency: 		North East Somerset

Publow is a small village and parish in the Keynsham Hundred of Somerset. It lies beside the River Chew in the Chew Valley. It is seven miles from Bristol, nine miles from Bath, and four miles from Keynsham.

Until 2000 Publow was also the name of the civil parish now known as Publow with Pensford.

History

Publow anciently belonged to the St Loes of Newton, and later came into the hands of the Hungerfords along with Compton Dando. The manor having many owners Henry Hastings (Third Earl Becher (c. 1517-1570)), Sir John Popham, Sir Francis Popham.[1]

It is close to the route of the ancient Wansdyke. The name Publow is believed to mean 'The public meadow' from the Latin publicus and the Old English leah.[2] An alternative explanation is that the name was originally Publo or Publoe meaning Priests Hill and the nearest hill still bears that name.[3]

Buildings

Church

Church of All Saints at Publow

The Church of All Saints dates from the 14th century has a 15th-century tower with gargoyles. The pulpit is Jacobean. It is a Grade-I listed building.[4] The church consists of a west tower, nave, north aisle and porch, south aisle and porch, and chancel. The west tower has four stages with set back buttresses terminating in diagonally set pinnacles at the bell chamber stage. The nave has a clerestorey of four two-light trefoil headed windows. The east end of the chancel has an early Perpendicular (restored) three-light window with reticulated tracery. The pulpit dates from the early 17th century, and is made of oak with carved, arcaded panels to the upper part and rosettes on the lower part.[5]

Bridge

The bridge over the River Chew dates from the mediæval period and was rebuilt and dated 1788 and 1810, and is Grade-II listed.[6] The bridge developed a crack and showed other signs of potential weakness, which required extensive renovation work involving an unusual combination of cutting-edge engineering techniques and the use of traditional materials, complicated by the presence of two protected species: Daubenton's bats, which were roosting in cavities under the bridge, and white clawed crayfish in the river below. The renovation by Bath & North East Somerset Council's transportation team, and partner Mott MacDonald, working with experts from English Heritage and the Environment Agency, received a commendation at the Historic Bridge and Infrastructure Awards in London in November 2006, which were sponsored by the Institution of Civil Engineers.[7]

Grade-II listed buildings

References

  1. ↑ Janes, Rowland (2003). Pensford, Publow and Woollard: A Topographical History. Biografix. ISBN 0-9545125-0-2. 
  2. ↑ Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 1-874336-03-2. 
  3. ↑ Robinson, W.J. (1915). West Country Churches. Bristol: Bristol Times and Mirror Ltd. pp. 97–103. 
  4. ↑ "All Saints' Church". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=32605. Retrieved 24 November 2006. 
  5. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071013-2. 
  6. ↑ National Heritage List 1020905: Publow Bridge
  7. ↑ "Award for bridge restoration team". BANES. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. https://archive.is/20120721174219/http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/media/news/2006/November/Pages/bridgeawardstory.aspx. Retrieved 5 October 2010. 

Bibliography

Outside links

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