'Chew Magna' () is a village within the
Chew Valley in
North East Somerset,
England. To the south of the village is
Chew Valley Lake. The village is on the B3130, about from
Bristol, from
Bath, from the city of
Wells, and from
Bristol International Airport.
It is just on the northern edge of the
Mendip Hills (a designated
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), and was designated a
conservation area in 1978.
[1]
There are many
listed buildings reflecting the history of the village. The
River Chew flows through the village. Just outside the village is
Chew Magna Reservoir this small
Bristol Water supply reservoir intercepts the
Winford Brook.
It has around 1,200 residents. There are two
primary schools and a
secondary school, several shops and small businesses, three churches, three pubs serving the area. There is also a football pitch and children's play area. The village frequently wins regional categories in the
Calor Village of the Year competition, and is currently moving towards
zero waste status, having been described as "probably the greenest parish in Britain".
[2]
History
Chew Magna is the largest village in the district, and can trace its importance back to
Saxon times. It was a thriving woollen centre in the
Middle Ages. The manor of Chew was held by the
Bishop of Bath and Wells, from 1062 to 1548, and for that reason the village was called Chew Episcopi or Bishop's Chew. The Bishops built a palace near the church of St. Andrews, which was visited by
Henry III in 1250.
[3]
Chew Court is a surviving part of the palace. More recently, since about 1600, the name has been Chew Magna because this has been the most important of the several villages along the banks of the
River Chew.
According to Robinson it was an episcopal property held by
Giso, the last Saxon bishop and the name Magna comes from the Latin meaning 'the greater'.
[4]
Around 1700 the Lord of the Manor was Sir William Jones the Attourney General of England
[5]
and in the 1820s it was the seat of
Lord Lyttelton.
[6]
Until about 1880 the village had
toll roads and a toll house to collect the fees.
[7]
During the 19th and 20th centuries the importance of the wool trade in the village declined and it became largely a
dormitory area for the cities of
Bristol and
Bath, although it has continued to be the commercial centre of the valley. The building of Chew Valley Lake in the 1950s has brought further opportunities for
leisure and
tourism.
Government and politics
Chew Magna has its own
Parish council[8]
which has some responsibility for local issues, and is part of the Chew Valley North 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 is part of the
South West England constituency of the European Parliament.
Demographics
According to the 2001 Census the Chew Valley North Ward (which includes Chew Magna and Chew Stoke), had 2,307 residents, living in 911 households, with an average age of 42.3 years. Of these 77% of residents describing their health as 'good', 21% of 16–74 year olds had no qualifications; and the area had an unemployment rate of 1.3% of all economically active people aged 16–74. In the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004, it was ranked at 26,243 out of 32,482 wards in England, where 1 was the most deprived LSOA and 32,482 the least deprived.
[9]
Schools
Chew Magna Primary School
[10]
won a
Becta award for the use of
ICT in Practice in 2005 for using the fantasy role-playing computer game ''
Myst'' to support literacy and communication.
[11]
Chew Valley School is the main
secondary school (11–18 years) for the valley.
[12]
It is situated between Chew Magna and
Chew Stoke. The latest (2004)
Ofsted Inspection Report describes this
specialist Performing Arts College as a mixed
comprehensive school with 1,158 pupils on roll, including 196 students in the sixth form.
[13]
The school is popular and oversubscribed. The school has been successful in gaining a number of national and regional awards.
Famous residents
★
Richard Brock (Natural history film producer)
★
Dr Phil Hammond (GP and comedian)
★
John Sanger (1816 – 1889) (
circus proprietor)
Go Zero project
Chew Magna is also the home of the "Go Zero" project which promotes education for sustainability at all levels in society, and it will seek to conserve and make improvements to the environment in the UK and overseas. The four groups within Go Zero are; Transport and Energy (which includes Dragonflyer Mobility, a plan to develop a range of integrated services that offer communities in the West of England cost-effective, flexible and environmentally sustainable transport), People and Consumption (
farmers' markets, local food, skill swaps), Converging World (which supports campaigns and initiatives for social justice and development and is currently pursuing
Fair Trade status for Chew Magna) and Waste and Recycling.
[14]
It is based at Tunbridge Mill, an old watermill almost certainly on the site of one of the mills mentioned in the
Domesday Survey.
Sport and recreation
Chew Magna has a
King George's Field in memorial to
King George V. Gymnasium facilities, squash courts, badminton etc., and outdoor all-weather pitches are available at the Chew Valley Leisure Centre between Chew Magna and Chew Stoke. There are a range of clubs and societies for young and old, including
Scout groups, gardening society, and the
Women's institute. There is a
cricket pitch and teams in Chew Magna.
[15]
Points of interest
Church
St Andrew's Church, Chew Magna
St Andrew's Church dates from the 12th century with a large 15th-century pinnacled
sandstone tower, a
Norman font and a
rood screen that is the full width of the church. In the church are several memorials to the Stracheys of
Sutton Court together with a wooden
effigy of a
Knight cross-legged and leaning on one elbow, in 15th century
armour, thought to be of Sir John de Hauteville or a descendant, and possibly transferred from a church at Norton Hautville before it was demolished.
[16]
Another effigy in the north chapel is of Sir John Loe and his lady. The armoured figure is 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 long and his feet rest on a
lion, while those of his lady rest on a
dog. The church was restored in 1860 and has a register commencing in 1562. The tower is about one hundred feet tall and was probably built about 1440.
[17]
There has been a clock on the tower since the early 1700s. There is a peal of eight
bells in the tower. Tenor 28cwt in C. The original five bells were re-cast by the celebrated
Thomas Bilbie of Chew Stoke in 1735 to make a peal of six, and in 1898 four of these were re-cast and two were repaired by Messrs. Mears and Stainbank of London to commemorate the
Diamond Jubilee of
Queen Victoria. Two additional bells, the gift of Brigadier Ommanney, were added in 1928 to complete the
octave, which does still contain two of the Bilbie bells. The present
clock, installed in 1903, plays a verse of a
hymn every four hours, at 8 am, noon, 4 and 8 pm, with a different hymn tune for every day of the week.
[18]
It is a Grade I listed building.
[19][20]
The
churchyard contains several monuments which are Grade II listed buildings in their own right; Churchyard cross,
[21]
Edgell monument,
[22]
Fowler monument
[23]
and a group of three unidentified monuments.
[24]
Within the church are wooden
plaques commemorating the nineteen people from the village who died in
World War I[25]
and seven from
World War II,
[26]
and a
bronze plaque to an individual soldier who died in 1917.
Church House/Old School Room
The Old School Room, Chew Magna
The local school from the mid or early 15th century was in the upstairs room of Church house (now called the Old School Room), with the village
Poorhouse below. This has been a venue for social activity in the village and in 1971 underwent major renovation.
7
It is a Grade II
★
listed building.
[27]
Chew Court
Chew Court, which was originally a bishop's palace, next to the church which was largely rebuilt in 1656, from which a little survives as the Chew Court of today, which includes an
Elizabethan doorway with
Doric pilasters.
17
Chew Court is a Grade II
★ listed building.
[28]
Manor House
The Manor House has
Tudor origins, including a
fireplace dated 1656, with a
Gothic exterior from 1874, largely redesigned by
John Norton. Amongst the brought-in pieces in the house are two South German
Reliefs "The Martyrdom's of St Catherine and
St Sebastian", from an altar of the early 16th century. There are also a series of panels in the Floris style, probably
Flemish and with a repeating date 1562.
17
From 1680 to 1844 was the home to prominent
Quaker families including the Vickris, the Summers and the Harfords.
William Penn preached here in 1687. The house has of gardens laid out in the 19th century. The Manor House is a Grade II
★ listed building and now forms part of the Sacred Heart Convent School.
[29]
Two of the
stables attached to the Manor House are Grade II listed.
[30][31]
The Beeches
The Beeches in the High Street is a Grade II
★ listed building, which was built in 1762 for Ephraim Chancellor, although the side wings were added later.
[32]
Tun Bridge
Just south of the village is a
medieval Tun
Bridge with three pointed arches including double
arch rings, spanning over the river, approached along one of the high pavements that are a feature of the village centre. The bridge is thought to date from the late 15th century and is a Grade II listed building,
[33]
and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (Avon No. 159). The raised
pavement and steps are themselves also listed Grade II.
[34]
Other Grade II listed buildings
Main Street and shops Chew Magna
Street showing site of old toll house
★
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References
1. Keynsham & Chew Valley Local Plan, , , , Wansdyke District Council, 1986,
2. Nothing venture
3. A History of Somerset, , Robert, Dunning, Phillimore & Co, 1983, ISBN 0-85033-461-6
4. Somerset Place Names, , Stephen, Robinson, The Dovecote Press Ltd, 1992,
5. The House of Commons 1690 1715 5 Volume Set p527, Cruickshanks, , , Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-521-77221-4
6. Hansards Parliamentary Debates p779, Great Britain Parliament, , , , 1849,
7. Chew Magna and the Chew Valley in old photographs, Durham, I. & M., , , Redcliffe Press, 1991, ISBN 1-872971-61-X
8. Chew Magna Parish Council
9. Neighbourhood Statistics LSOA Bath and North East Somerset 021A Chew Valley North
10. Chew Magna Primary School
11. Educative powers lost amid the violence
12. Chew Valley School
13. Ofsted Report on Chew Valley School
14. Go Zero Project
15. Chew Magna Cricket Club
16. Avon Villages, Mason, Edmund J. & Mason, Doreen, , , Robert Hale Ltd, , ISBN 0-7091-9585-0
17. The Buildings of England : North Somerset and Bristol, Pevsner, Nikolaus, , , Penguin Books, 1958, ISBN 0-300-09640-2
18. The history of St Andrews Church Chew Magna
19. Church of St. Andrew
20. Church of St. Andrew
21. Churchyard cross
22. Edgell monument
23. Fowler monument
24. Group of 3 unidentified monuments
25. Chew Magna WWI Ref: 7490
26. Chew Magna WWII Ref: 7491
27. Old School Room
28. Chew Court
29. The Manor House
30. Stable and attached wall about 30 metres north east
31. Stable, attached wall and gate piers about 30 metres south east
32. The Beeches
33. Tun Bridge
34. Raised pavement and steps
Bibliography
★
The Natural History of the Chew Valley, Janes, Rowland (ed), , , , 1987, ISBN 0-9545125-2-9
★
A Walk Around Chew Magna, Durham, I. & M., , , Fiducia Press, 2005, ISBN 0-946217-19-X
★
The story of the village of Chew Magna, Chew Magna Women's Institute, , , Fiducia Press, 1971,
★
Chew Magna Conservation Area
External links
★
BANES Environmental Services Area 2 — Chew Valley
★
Chew Magna website
★
Chew Magna cricket club
★
Chew Valley web site
★
River Chew Web Site
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