Everything about Weston-super-mare totally explained
Weston-super-Mare is an
English seaside resort town, and
civil parish, in
North Somerset – part of the ceremonial county of
Somerset. Its population according to the 2001 census was 71,758.
The town is situated on the
Bristol Channel approximately south west of
Bristol and has spread along the coast between the bounding high ground of
Worlebury Hill and
Bleadon Hill. It is well known for its sandy beaches, although at low tide the sea can be over a mile from the beach front. Weston-super-Mare is the most populous
civil parish in England.
The town's motto is
"Ever Forward". It is
twinned with
Hildesheim,
Germany.
Etymology
Weston comes from the
Anglo-Saxon for the west
tun or settlement. The descriptive part of its name is unusual because it's in medieval
Latin and was first recorded by an unknown medieval church clerk, presumably to distinguish it from other Westons in the area. It is a popular myth that the description was a later
Victorian invention. It means literally "on sea". It is pronounced
mair rather than
mahrey. Also, the town's name should be pronounced with emphasis on the word "Mare", not the word "super" (for example "Weston-super-
Mare", not "Weston-
super-Mare"). Often people will spell the town's name "Weston-Super-Mare", this however is incorrect as "super" should always be spelt with a lowercase 's'.
History
Early times
Weston's oldest structure is Worlebury camp, on
Worlebury Hill, dating from the
Iron Age. The medieval church of St John has been rebuilt but its preaching cross survives. The cellars of the adjoining former rectory are said to be 17th century. The Old Thatched Cottage restaurant on the seafront carries the date 1774; it's the surviving portion of a summer cottage built by the Revd. Leeves of
Wrington.
19th century
Early in the 19th century, Weston was a small windswept village of about 30 houses, located behind a line of sand dunes fronting the sea, which had been created as an early sea wall after the
Bristol Channel floods of 1607.. Construction of the first hotel in the village started in 1808; it was called "Reeves" (now the Royal Hotel). Along with nearby
Burnham-on-Sea, Weston benefited from proximity to
Bristol,
Bath and
South Wales. The first attempt at an artificial harbour was made in the late 1820s at the islet of Knightstone and a slipway built from Anchor Head towards Birnbeck Island.
Large areas of land were released for development from the 1850s onwards. Large detached villas, for the middle classes, were built on the southern slopes of Worlebury Hill. Semi-detached and terraced housing were built on the low 'moorland', behind the sea front in an area known as South Ward. Many of these houses have now been turned into
bedsits by their owners. Most of the houses built in the Victorian era are built from stone and feature details made from local
Bath Stone, influenced by local architect
Hans Price.
In 1885 the first transatlantic telegraph cable of the
Commercial Cable Company was brought ashore and the company started a long association with the town, ending in 1962.
A second railway, the
Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway, opened on
1 December 1897, connecting Weston to
Clevedon. The terminus station was at Ashcombe Road. The railway was extended to
Portishead on
7 August 1907 but was closed on
18 May 1940.
20th century
Local traders, unhappy that visitors were not coming as far as the centre of the town, began the construction of a new pier closer to the main streets. Opened in 1904, and known as the
Grand Pier, it was originally planned to be long.
It still stands in truncated form today, although amusements and cafes have replaced the original
music-hall theatre it supported, with the present building dating from 1933. Further development occurred after
World War I, with the Winter Gardens and Pavilion (
1927), the
open air pool and an
airfield all dating from the inter-war period.
Art Deco influences can be seen in much of the town's architecture from this period.
During
World War II many
evacuees were accommodated in the town. Weston suffered several bombing raids, damaging parts of the town centre, particularly Orchard Street and Boulevard. War industries, such as aircraft and pump manufacture, were dispersed to the town. Many US troops were billeted in Weston. The troops and their equipment quickly vanished, in the run-up to
D-Day.
Residential areas include the Oldmixon, Coronation, and Bournville estates, which exhibit many examples of early to late twentieth century architecture. Newer housing has since been built towards the east of the town in North Worle and Locking Castle, locations nearer to the
M5 motorway.
The town as a whole has expanded in size considerably and at one time in the 1980s was the fastest growing municipality in
Europe. Building continues apace, with the population being close to 78,000 in 2006, although the south side of town towards
Bleadon has avoided this. Weston-super-Mare has expanded to include the established villages of Milton,
Worle,
Uphill,
Oldmixon, West Wick and
Wick St. Lawrence, as well as new areas such as
St. Georges and Locking Castle.
Hutton,
Locking,
Bleadon and
Kewstoke are under threat of urban sprawl from Weston-super-Mare.
21st century
A structure known as
Silica has been installed at Big Lamp Corner during 2006.
It is a piece of public art, an advertising sign, a retail kiosk selling newspapers and hot food (waffles and so on), as well as a bus shelter. It has been criticised by some local residents who liken it to a carrot or a space ship, although it's meant to symbolise man's harmony with the sea. This was part of
North Somerset Council's ongoing civic pride initiative that has sought to revitalise Weston-super-Mare's public spaces - which had suffered a period of decline.
Other public space improvements have been made throughout the town such as improvements to the street scene in Grove Park Village. There has been some controversy in the town over whether the silica enhanced the town or was a waste of money. However, this debate centred round a misunderstanding of the government funds used to pay for the sculpture. Many local residents didn't realise that the money came from central government and had to be used on public art/improvements to the street scene environment. Althought a significant part of the funding also came from Weston Town Council and tourism budgets that could have been spent elsewhere. Much of this argument was covered by
the Weston & Somerset Mercury and can be found on the
the Mercury website
. Some residents considered that an attractive water fountain or garden would have been a better investment of this money.
Geography
The mainly flat landscape of Weston is dominated by
Worlebury Hill which borders the entire northern edge of the town, and
Bleadon Hill which together with the
River Axe, and
Brean Down at
Uphill form its southern border. In the centre of the town is
Ellenborough Park a
Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the range of plant species found there.
The beach lies on the western edge of the town. The upper part is sandy but, as the sea retreats a long way with the tide exposing mud flats, the town is sometimes unkindly, yet undeniably accurately, known as "Weston-super-Mud". The tidal range in this part of the
Bristol Channel is great, since the beach and mud flats are on a gentle slope. Consequently it's only at the part of the tide cycle where high tide is in the early morning and late afternoon that the sea comes well up the beach. Many day visitors see little of the sea because of this and also must be confused to see a long pier with little or no water under it. Attempting to reach the sea at these times is inadvisable as the sand gives way to mud which is very deep and has cost several people their lives over the years. Driving on the beach (which is permitted in certain areas) catches people out as they drive too close to the sea and break through the sand to the underlying mud and are then stuck.
The tidal rise and fall in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel is the second largest in the world and can be as great as . This tidal movement contributes to the deposition of natural mud in bays such as Weston. Despite the muddy brown appearance of the sea water, chemically the Bristol Channel is reasonably clean.
Transport
The main
Weston-super-Mare railway station is close to the town centre less than ten minutes walk from the sea front. Other stations are located at
Weston Milton and
Worle. Weston-super-Mare station has direct
high speed train services to
London Paddington including First Great Western's
Bristolian express service, which only serves Weston-super-Mare in the London bound direction. Weston-super-Mare main railway station also has direct services to stations such as
Bristol,
Taunton and
Cardiff Central.
Most bus services are provided by
First Group, although some services are operated by acltravel and 1-Spin Travel operate 1 weston super mare town service and a night-Bus Service to Bristol. All services call at stops in the Regent Street/Big Lamp Corner area; a few services to
Sand Bay,
Wells,
Burnham-on-Sea and
Bristol International Airport start from or run via the main railway station. Some bus services serve the main High Street.
Weston is close to Junction 21 of the
M5 motorway. In the 1990s a dual-carriageway relief road was opened from the motorway into the centre of the town. This replaced Locking Road as the designated
A370 route and avoided some of the traffic congestion along that narrower urban road.
Industry
Since the
1970s Weston has suffered a large decline in popularity, like virtually all British seaside resorts. The advent of cheap foreign holidays and the break-up of large industries like mining contributed, as working communities became less likely to holiday together. The town had become a centre of industries such as
helicopter production, and maintenance at the
GKN Westlands factory until its closure in 2002. Road transport links were improved with the
M5 motorway running close by, and the town now supports several light industries and distribution depots, including
Lidl's distribution centre for all its southern based stores, and functions partly as a
dormitory town for
Bristol.
Philip Harris Ltd moved their production unit to the town in the 1970s to join their biological supplies division, which moved from
Sheffield in 1965. Some biological supplies work still continues under different owners. Two of the town's largest employers are the local council and
Weston College, which has recently begun to offer
university degrees as a secondary campus of
Bath Spa University.
Culture
The town has a number of arts venues.
The Playhouse serves both tourists and the local population. The Winter Gardens on the seafront hosts shows, exhibitions and conferences.
The Blakehay Theatre & Community Arts Centre is a small venue housed in a former Baptist church.
Weston-super-Mare has a couple of live music venues of note. Hobbit's on Carlton Street, caters mainly for young up and coming punk and pop acts: whilst the nearby Scally's bar
(External Link) hosts local and national touring rock bands;
Juicy Lucy,
Alien Stash Tin and
Dumpy's Rusty Nuts having performed at the venue in recent years, on the other side of town The Back Bar, The London, and the Imperial hold regular open mic nights which attract a wide array of local musicians, as well as artists from further afield. Some of these include:
Ryan Inglis,
Lenny Savage,
Matt Wescott, who also have featured at the
Underground Sounds Hush Night, which runs at various venues every month around Weston.
The town was the subject of a song
Sunny Weston-super-Mare performed by local band,
The Wurzels.
The historic newspaper in the town is the
Weston & Somerset Mercury, which has been serving the population since 1843.
The
Weston and Worle News is a free weekly newspaper serving the local area.
Sport
Football team
Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. play in the
Conference South at the purpose-built
Woodspring Stadium, which opened in August 2004.
There are two
Rugby clubs in the town; Weston-super-Mare RFC, formed in 1875, and Hornets RFC, formed in 1962. They play in South West Division One and South West Division Two (West) respectively.
Somerset County Cricket Club played First Class and One-Day matches for one week a season on a pitch prepared at Clarence Park, near the Sea Front. This began in 1914 and continued until the last “festival” in 1996.
The town is well known amongst
motocross enthusiasts for staging the Weston Super Mare
beach race every Autumn. Over 900 riders take part in the annual event, with crowds approaching 20,000 spectators. In addition, races are also held for youth riders,
sidecarcross riders and
quad bike competitors. The most recent winner of the Weston Beach Race was reigning World Motocross Champion
Steve Ramon of
Belgium.
Tourism
Weston-super-Mare is still a tourist destination, with attractions such as the long sandy beach, the
The Helicopter Museum, the
Grand Pier, the
SeaQuarium aquarium and the Weston
Miniature Railway, which is situated on the Beach Lawns, as well as a
putting green, gift shop and café. Trains on the railway are pulled by steam or petrol locomotives. Also on site is a Drive It Yourself Train. The
Paddle Steamer Waverley and
MV Balmoral offer day sea trips from Knightstone Island to various destinations along the
Bristol Channel and
Severn estuary, tickets for which are on sale at the resort's
Tourist Information Centre. Museums include the
North Somerset Museum
The
T4 on the Beach concert, hosted by
Channel 4 youth programme
T4, is a recent addition. Many well known
bands and
singers perform up to three of their hits. However, many of the
vocals are mimed as the event is being produced for live TV broadcast.
International HeliDays is usually staged at the beach lawns over a long weekend around the end of July, where helicopters from around the world are displayed, in association with the The Helicopter Museum. There is also an annual display by the
Red Arrows, usually held around the same time as the HeliDays event.
Weston Beach Race is an annual
Motorcross Enduro event in October, first held in 1982. In 2005 it attracted 1,400 competitors and around 80,000 spectators. There are a number of races for
quad bikes,
sidecars and children in addition to the main event.
Weston is also the final event on the November
West Country Carnival circuit, when a large number of brightly illuminated floats parade through the streets.
Some of the town's attractions are now past their best.
- Birnbeck Pier, to the north of the town is now derelict, although Manchester-based company Urban Splash who purchased the pier in 2006 will soon announce plans for its restoration.
- Knightstone Island historically housed a theatre, swimming pool and sauna. After years of disrepair and dereliction, the area is being redeveloped by Redrow Homes. During 2006/2007, luxury apartments and commercial outlets will be completed at this site. Consideration has been taken due to the listed building status of much of the site. Boat trips from here include the Waverley and Balmoral (see Tourism Section) and trips to Steep Holm Island as well as short trips around Weston Bay.
- The Tropicana located half way along the sea front is now derelict, but once provided an outdoor swimming pool (Lido) complex. A private developer, Henry Boot, has been selected to take forward the re-development of the Tropicana. Contracts for the new Life Station@Tropicana development were exchanged in March 2007 and will include a 96 bedroom hotel, indoor pool, cinema, bowling alley, restaurants and bars. Re-development of the Tropicana has been beset by delays and controversy, Plans will now be submitted in Autumn 2007 with opening due in Spring 2010.
Before contracts were placed a group of local residents challenged the council over its decision to appoint Henry Boot and asked to put forward their own proposals for the site.
Hockey Ever year Weston plays host to the world renowned Western Hockey festival where Hockey teams from far a field and locally compete in a tournament over the Easter weekend, there's also some drinking involved although this aspect of the tour is discouraged.
Government and politics
Made an
urban district in 1894, Weston-super-Mare became a
municipal borough in 1937. In 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972, it was merged into the
Woodspring district of the
County of Avon, and became a
Charter Trustees town.
Before 1974, Weston-super-Mare was in the
County of Somerset. When Avon was split up in 1996, it became the administrative headquarters of
North Somerset, one of the successor authorities. Weston-super-Mare regained a town council in 2000, becoming a civil parish.
The
MP for the
Weston-super-Mare parliamentary constituency is
John Penrose of the
Conservative Party, who won the seat in the
2005 General Election.
Notable residents
Well-known former residents of the town include:
A. V. Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough – Minister of Defence in the Attlee government, raised in Weston-super-Mare.
Jeffrey Archer – author, politician and convicted perjurer
Ritchie Blackmore – guitarist for Deep Purple and Rainbow
John Cleese – actor and member of Monty Python
Roald Dahl – author, journalist
Jill Dando – broadcaster and journalist
Arthur Stanley Eddington – one of the foremost astrophysicists of the early twentieth century, grew up in the town.
Rupert Graves – actor
Sean Martin – writer and film director
Mandy Miller – actress
Con O'Neill – actor
Dr Sir John Polkinghorne – particle physicist and theologian
Hans Price – architect
Paul Radmilovic – Olympic gold medal winner
Gareth Taylor – Tranmere Rovers footballer (previously with Sheffield United, Burnley and Nottingham Forest)Further Information
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