Nailsea

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Nailsea

Coordinates: 51.4292° N 2.7574° W
Population	18,000
OS grid reference	ST473703
Parish	Nailsea
Unitary authority	North Somerset
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS48
Dial code	01275
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	Great Western
UK Parliament	Woodspring
European Parliament	South West England
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Nailsea is a town in North Somerset, England, about 13 km to the South West of Bristol and about 23 km to the North East of the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. Nailsea is a commuter town with an approximate population of 18,000.^[1] It is located conveniently close to major business districts such as Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare. Furthermore it is only 12 km from the port and service area at Avonmouth.

1 History and culture
2 Retail and services
3 Entertainment
4 Religion
5 Transport
6 Education
7 Area
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History and culture

Nailsea's economy initially rested on coal mining, which began as early as the sixteenth century^{[citation needed]}. By the late 1700s, the town had a large number of pits and was visited by the social reformer Hannah More who founded a Sunday school for the workers. The coal mines attracted John Robert Lucas, a glass manufacturer, in 1788, and the glassworks he established would eventually become the fourth largest of their kind in the United Kingdom^{[citation needed]}. Though the works closed down in 1873, "Nailsea" glass (mostly made by glassworkers at the end of their shift in Nailsea and at other glassworks) is still sought after by collectors around the world. The site of the glassworks has been covered by a Tesco supermarket car park (leaving it relatively accessible for future archaeological digs). Other parts of the site are currently being cleared and filled with sand ensuring that the remains of the old glassworks are preserved for the future. Remains of many of the old pits, most of which had closed down by the late nineteenth century as mining capital migrated to the richer seams of South Wales, are still visible around the town.

To the west of the town are the Nailsea moors which have been drained and farmed by many generations of farmers.

One of Nailsea's best known celebrities was Adge Cutler, who was once lead singer of The Wurzels. The Wurzels' album Live at the Royal Oak was recorded at The Royal Oak, a pub on the High Street. Cutler is buried in Christ Church graveyard.

Primary income often comes from employment in the service sector including industries such as insurance and banking, defence related employment, retail and management^{[citation needed]}. Employment within Nailsea includes work in shops, schools, estate agents and banks. Larger businesses in Nailsea include Vetco Gray, Wessex Water and Gfk NOP. Other businesses are situated at units in the town.

[edit] Retail and services

Nailsea High Street

Nailsea and Greater Bristol

Nailsea has a shopping area including Somerset Square, Crown Glass Place, Colliers Walk and a high street. There are three supermarket chains in the town and some national banks and estate agents. Nailsea has a few high-street and local clothing retailers.

There are several charity shops in Nailsea. Furthermore there are a pharmacies, health care shops, hairdressers, barbers, home improvement shops, pet shops and newsagents. Finally Nailsea has stationers, motor part, computer shops, key/shoe repair shops and a music shop. There is a lack of shops for the younger generation; Nailsea currently has no dedicated computer games shops.

On a Tuesday, a market is held in the Clevedon Road car park. Usually around 10-20 stalls are set up selling various items including meat & fish, dairy products, exotic foods, technology products, clothing and general household items. The market is busiest during the morning and is usually packed up by late afternoon, on a Tuesday parking can be harder but all of the town centre car parks are within walking distance to the market.

Usual amenities include two doctor's surgeries, an independent optician's practice, several dental practices as well as two veterinary surgeries. Nailsea currently has two petrol stations, an ESSO (formerly Shell) on the B3130 towards Wraxall and a Tesco filling station next to the Scotch Horn Centre. In nearby Backwell there is also a Texaco garage next to the railway station.

[edit] Entertainment

Nailsea has a variety of pubs and a small nightclub. For the younger generation there are several dedicated youth clubs and two Scouting divisions which organise the Nailsea Carnival and Mayfair respectively, it also has other youth groups including Girl Guiding and theatre/musical groups.

Nailsea has theatre, musical and orchestral groups. Most groups are open to all ages and meet and perform regularly at different venues including The Scotch Horn Centre, Nailsea Methodist Church, The Mizzymead Centre, The Grove Recreation Centre, Nailsea Church Hall (town hall) and local churches.

There are no purpose built cinemas in Nailsea but in nearby Clevedon there is The Curzon — the oldest purpose built and continuously running cinema in the world;^[2] The Curzon shows blockbuster and other movies. The Curzon may be restored to its original two screen capacity in the future. Nearby in Bristol there are multi-screen cinemas, the nearest being Cineworld at Hengrove or Vue at Cribbs Causeway.

In the nearby village of Wraxall there is a Zoo (Noah's Ark Zoo Farm) which has a variety of exotic, agricultural and domestic animals including rhinos, camels, monkeys, reptiles and most recently a giraffe. It offers hands on experience with animals and a chance to learn about conservation.

Finally there is a gym at The Scotch Horn Centre but Nailsea does not have public swimming pool despite a long running campaign to build one. Currently, the nearest pool is at Backwell Leisure Centre around 4 km from Nailsea.

[edit] Religion

Nailsea is mainly a Christian town hosting a number of churches: Christchurch, Holy Trinity, Nailsea Baptist Church, Nailsea Methodist Church and a Catholic Church. There is also St Quiricus & St Julietta Church in nearby Tickenham.

[edit] Transport

Nailsea and Backwell railway station

The B3130 runs through Nailsea. One can join the nearby A370 (including the Long Aston Bypass) to travel directly into Bristol or Weston-Super-Mare. From Nailsea to Bristol; traffic being well, the journey takes around 20 minutes by car. One can also travel to Clevedon and join the M5 motorway at junction 20.

Within Nailsea there are a small network of main and country roads. There is ample parking in Nailsea for free (with some restrictions) in one of its five town centre car parks.

Nailsea shares a railway station with Backwell. Nailsea and Backwell station, operated by First Great Western, is situated between Nailsea and Backwell on Station Road. The station is unmanned except during the morning rush hour. Two platforms run regular services including travel to Bristol Temple Meads, Weston-Super-Mare and villages in between. One intercity service to London Paddington also stops at the station during the morning rush hour. Unfortunately neither station platform is currently wheelchair accessible. The station has a well used car park and covered cycle parking facilities.

Finally First Badgerline runs two services to central Bristol during the week with buses as regular as every half an hour. There are services on weekends and bank holidays as well. Furthermore there is a semi-regular service to Weston-Super-Mare; both direct and via local villages.

[edit] Education

Nailsea has a secondary (comprehensive) school: Nailsea Comprehensive School, also known as Nailsea School, which has achieved Technology and Media Arts College specialist status. Nailsea also has several infants, junior and primary schools including Kings Hill C of E, Golden Valley, Hannah More Infants, St. Francis Catholic School and Grove School. There are also several playgroups as well as a special needs school: Ravenswood.