PORTISHEAD, SOMERSET
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'Portishead' (IPA: ) is a coastal town in North Somerset, England, with a population of 21,000 (Local council update 24/07/07).
Portishead’s history dates back to Roman times, its name derives from the ‘port at the head of the river’. The town was built on the mouth of a small tributary; the High Street once met the water at the top of the river. Iron rings, evidence of where the old fishing boats used to moor can still be seen today on the street’s stone walls.
The dominant architecture is early Victorian with some buildings maintaining their original features.
It's also one of the fastest growing towns in Europe, due to the large, flat area of land available to build on.
Portishead's dock and railway lines
Portishead dock
Around the 1860s at the height of the iron and steel era, a pier and a deep-water dock were built to accommodate the large ships that had difficulty in reaching Bristol Harbour.AwdrySmith They brought valuable cargoes from across the globe and exported local products overseas. Ships carrying coal were commonplace in Portishead Docks.Winter
Portishead power stations
The Portishead power stations were coal-fed power stations; built adjacent to the dock. Construction work started on Portishead "A" power station in 1926; and it began generating electricity in 1929 for the Bristol Corporation's Electricity Department.Crowhurst In 1937 its original six short chimney stacks were replaced by a 350 ft high stack. A second 350 ft stack was added when this power station was expanded in 1948.
Portishead "B" power station was started in 1949 and it began generating in 1955.
After 1949, the power station became part of the nationalised electricity industry; and were operated in turn by the British Electricity Authority, the Central Electricity Authority and the CEGB. They used some local coal produced in the Somerset coalfield. It was delivered by train along the Portishead branch of the Great Western Railway (GWR). The line had opened on 12 April 1867 as the Bristol and Portishead Pier and Railway Company; it opened to the dock on 5 July 1879.
The main supply of coal, however, was imported from South Wales, from Newport and Ely, by boat into the dock; it was carried by Osborn & Wallis Ltd of Bristol.
Railway stations
Portishead had two passenger stations on the GWR branch line, the main station was sited near to the centre of the village of Portishead, as it was then; and the other sited at the Pier. The construction of Portishead "B" power station caused the original railway station to be demolished and a new replacement station was opened in the High Street on 2 January 1954.
The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway
Portishead also had a second, short-lived, railway line: the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway. It ran between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon as a standard railway line; and between Clevedon and Portishead as a light railway. The Clevedon to Portishead extension opened on 7 August 1907. The whole of the line closed on 19 May 1940; and was then dismantled by the GWR.
Albright and Wilson
In 1951 Albright and Wilson set up a chemical works on the opposite side of the dock from the power stations. The chemical works produced white phosphorus from phosphate rock imported, through the docks, into the UK. Phosphate rock was stored in concrete silos on the dockside until it was required. The chemical works used electricity, provided by the power stations, to power six 7.5 megawatt electric arc furnaces (45 megawatts, total), to reduce the phosphate rock. The phosphorus was then moved by sealed railway tanks to Oldbury and to Kirkby.
Closure of the dock and associated facilities
The onset of new generating capacity at Pembroke (oil-fired) and Didcot (coal-fired) in the mid-70's brought about the closure of the older, less efficient 'A' Station. One generator (500MW) of four at each of the new power stations had almost the same output of both Portishead Stations combined ('A' Station 200MW, 'B' Station 360MW).
The newer of the two power stations ('B' Station) was converted to burn oil when the Somerset coalfields closed. The two Radstock pits ceased production in September 1973 and the last train load of coal departed on 16 November 1973. The price of oil rose steeply in the 1970s (see 1973 oil crisis and 1979 oil crisis) and the two power stations were little used after these events.
Portishead A power station was closed in 1976; and the first of its two chimney stacks, a prominent local landmark, was demolished in September 1981, followed by the second in August 1982. Portishead B power station closed in 1982 and both of its 383 ft stacks were demolished in October 1992.
Industrial activities ceased in the dock with the closure of the Power Stations.
Redevelopment of the docks
Portishead Marina
In the last few years the harbour area has been developed to provide a marina. The area of the town formerly occupied by the two power stations has also been redeveloped to provide a wide range of housing, from social housing to grand apartments. Development is also under way on the 'ashlands' to the east of the harbour, so-called because they were the dumping ground for power station waste, extending further the area of the town (still called the village) towards Portbury.
Portishead today
Portishead is primarily a dormitory town for Bristol and its environs. Employers include the Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which has its headquarters on the western edge of the town, Gordano School, and numerous care homes for the elderly, as well as more recently a major retail complex. The town has retained a 'local shop identity' - despite some larger DIY chains and supermarkets being built in recent years.
The 'marina' area continues to undergo substantial housing redevelopment, with accommodation and commercial premises being constructed.
Transportation links to Bristol and beyond have been a concern for some residents of the town. Despite representations from town groups and local politicians, plans to reopen a disused train line to Bristol have been dismissed as uneconomical. The main A369 road (known as The 'Portbury Hundred') to the nearby M5 motorway is often congested, especially during rush hours. However, the general congestion of the M5 clearly impacts upon this.
Major traffic-flow modifications have caused some controversy because they are seen by some as having caused queuing where none existed before. More than 2,000 residents signed a petition to North Somerset Council expressing outrage concerning the development, and in early 2006, more than 100 residents joined a protest march through the town centre calling for the development to be scrapped. The organiser of the petition and march was subsequently elected to the District Council as a Conservative member in the local elections of 2006 having first offered himself as a Independent candidate on this single issue. The opposition to the scheme has now dwindled to almost nothing as the traffic system has been seen to work well.
The Portishead coastline, whilst not sandy (stony/muddy) is of some environmental and geological interest. The Lake Grounds area, built in the early 20th century around an artificial lake, is the town's main park area. One of the UK's last surviving outdoor swimming pools is situated on the shore next to the Lake Grounds and is open during the summer months. Above the Lake grounds is Battery Point, where guns were placed to protect the Severn Estuary from invasion fleets.
The Bristol-based trip hop group Portishead are named after the town, despite claiming to hate the place.[1]
References
1. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=791589&c=Portishead&d=16&e=15&g=399956&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779
Further reading
★ Awdry, Christopher, (1990). ''Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies''. London: Guild Publishing.
★ Crowhurst, Ken, (2001). ''Images of England: Portishead'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2240-5.
★ Smith, Martin, (1992). ''The Railways of Bristol & Somerset'', Sherton: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-2063-9.
★ Winter, Michael T., (2005). ''The Portishead Coal Boats: A History of Osborn & Wallis Ltd, Bristol''. Lydney: Black Dwarf Publications. ISBN 1-903599-13-X.
External links
★ Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway
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