|
Nailsea
Nailsea is set within an
outstandingly beautiful area of North Somerset (formerly known as Avon) between
the Bristol Channel coast and the Mendip Hills.
"The village" dates from the Saxon
period and there is an Iron Age settlement on the hillsides to the north of the
town. In the Doomsday survey of 1086 there is an entry suggesting that Nailsea
may have had a population of 28 people though, things have changed a little in the last
924 or so years.
Throughout the middle ages, Nailsea remained a
small hamlet. In the XIVth century Holy Trinity Church was built to serve the,
by then growing village. Over the next two to three centuries the agricultural
prosperity of the area is reflected by the many fine farmhouses built in and
around Nailsea, a good number of which still survive.
It is uncertain exactly when glass making
first started in
Nailsea but coal that had been mined locally since medieval times was used to
fuel the glassworks that were opened by John Lucas in the late XVIIIth century.
Nailsea Glass became widely used and by the 1830’s the glassworks had expanded
to become one of the largest in the country. Today Nailsea is famous for a
particular style of XVIIIth and XIXth century
glassware which is prized by collectors around the world.
After the closure of the glassworks in 1874,
due to the dwindling coal supplies, Nailsea’s population fell, reaching about
1700 by the turn of the twentieth century. Over the next fifty years the village
started to attract well off commuters and many substantial houses were built on
Bucklands Batch and along Station Road.
By 1953 Somerset County Council had
chosen Nailsea for the site of a new town. In 1970 work eventually began on the
transformation of the village. A new pedestrianised shopping centre was
developed (The Crown Glass Centre). Here many nationally known retailers are
represented, while other amenities include health and leisure facilities and
good schools of all grades.
Today, Nailsea is a thriving small town with
a population approaching 20,000. The community is well balanced and friendly
with around half of the residents having grown up in or around the town and half
having moved in through aspiration or corporate
relocation.
For the commuter, the City of Bristol is just
eight miles away and a main line railway station on the outskirts of Nailsea
offers both local and Intercity services (London - Paddington in 90 minutes). In
addition, near by junctions 19 and 20 of the M5 allow easy access to the
country’s motorway network. Furthermore, Bristol’s
international airport is around twenty minutes drive from Nailsea though, we do
not suffer any air traffic noise.
Local leisure prospects are many and varied
with most cultural interests catered for in the nearby historic maritime City of
Bristol (the regional capital) and also in the ancient City of Bath. Sailing and
fishing can be enjoyed on the Bristol Channel coast and at the world renowned
Chew Valley and Blagdon Lakes. The seaside resorts of the West Country,
Cornwall, Devon and Dorset can be easily reached by car while, closer at hand,
there are Sports Centres, Caving Centres, Equestrian Centres, a dry ski slope,
many challenging golf courses and some lovely walks in the vales of North
Somerset and the Mendip Hills.
Over 300 fully networked
offices including Bristol, Bath and 50 London offices |
