BISHOP SUTTON

'Bishop Sutton' () is a small village within the Chew Valley in Somerset. It lies south of Chew Valley Lake and north of the Mendip Hills, approximately 10 miles south of Bristol on the A368, Weston-super-Mare to Bath road. Along with the neighbouring village of Stowey they form the civil parish of Stowey Sutton.
The village has a large village hall, two public houses, several shops, including the post office, a tennis club and camp site. Next to the village hall are sports pitches where Bishop Sutton F.C. play.
The main industry in the village was a coal mine owned by J. Lovell & Sons from 1835 to 1929, which was part of the Somerset coalfield, and also had a large flour mill, part of which has now been converted into flats.

Contents

Government and politics

Demographics

Church

The Elms

School

Burledge Hill

Famous residents

References

Bibliography

External links

Government and politics

Bishop Sutton, along with Stowey make up the Stowey Sutton Parish council which has some responsibility for local issues, and is part of the Chew Valley South 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 will become North East Somerset at the next general election and part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census the Chew Valley South Ward (which includes Bishop Sutton and Stowey), had 1,222 residents, living in 476 households, with an average age of 40.3 years. Of these 76% of residents describing their health as 'good', 25% of 16-74 year olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.9% of all economically active people aged 16-74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 28,854 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.^[1]

Church

The Church of the Holy Trinity in Wick Road is the Anglican parish church. The building dates from 1848 and is a Grade II listed building.^[2]
During 2006 a grant of £64,000 was received from English Heritage to replace the roof of the church.

The Elms

The Elms on Sutton Hill Road is a detached house dating from the early 18th Century which has Grade II listing building status.^[3]

School

The village school has 137 pupils aged 4-11 years on the roll. It dates back to 1842 and was originally a school for pupils up to the age of 14. At one time it was a Church school but no longer has this status. The building today consists of the original Victorian school and three detached classrooms.

Burledge Hill

Main articles: Burledge Hill

Burledge Hill is on the southern edge of the village of Bishop Sutton. The site comprises a mixture of flower rich grassland, scrub and mature hedgerows. Three fields are designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), and since November 2005 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Famous residents

★ Dr Liam Fox, a Conservative MP and member of the shadow cabinet used to live in Bishop Sutton but sold his house in 2005/6.

★ Andy Williams (footballer born 1977) was brought up in Bishop Sutton

References

1. Neighbourhood Statistics LSOA Bath and North East Somerset 021C Chew Valley South
2. Church of the Holy Trinity
3. The Elms

Bibliography

★ Chew Magna and the Chew Valley in old photographs, Durham, I. & M., , , Redcliffe Press, 1991, ISBN 1-872971-61-X

★ The Natural History of the Chew Valley, Janes, Rowland (ed), , , , 1987, ISBN 0-9545125-2-9

★ Before the Lake: Memories of the Chew Valley, Ross, Lesley (Ed.), , , The Harptree Historic Society, 2004, ISBN 0-9548832-0-9

External links

★ BANES Environmental Services Area 2 - Chew Valley

★ Chew Valley web site

★ SSSI certificates

★ 0 Bath Chew Valley Caravan Park

★ Bishop Sutton Primary School

★ Bishop Sutton Tennis Club

★ AWT Burledge Hill