Oakhill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Oakhill | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Population: | |
| Ordnance Survey | |
| OS grid reference: | ST635472 |
| Administration | |
| District: | Mendip |
| Shire county: | Somerset |
| Region: | South West England |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Somerset |
| Historic county: | Somerset |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire and rescue: | Somerset |
| Ambulance: | South Western |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | |
| Postal district: | |
| Dialling code: | |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Wells |
| European Parliament: | South West England |
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- For other uses, see Oakhill (disambiguation).
Oakhill, Somerset is a village located approximately 2 miles North of Shepton Mallet between the A37 and the A367 (The Fosseway).
Oakhill today is a mainly commuter village of 0.4 miles in size, but is most famous for its past activities.
The village borders with the Parish village of Ashwick and the now demolished Ashwick Grove was arguably closer to Oakhill than its neighbour. Ashwick Grove was the home of John Billingsley of Ashwick, the grandson of Nicholas Billingsley, a Presbyterian dissenter who was minister at Ashwick from 1699 to 1729.
John Billingsley was born and died in Ashwick Grove (1747 - 1847). He was buried in Ashwick Churchyard where, in the church nave, a tablet of stone containing a eulogy to Billingsley can be seen today.
John Billingsley was one of the founders of the Bath and West Society, whose show in Shepton Mallet is now known nationally as the Royal Bath and West of England Society. He was also involved with the Kennet & Avon Canal and the Somerset Coal Canal, as well as many local trusts. However, he is most remembered locally as the owner of Oakhill Brewery, famous for its Oakhill Invalid Stout.
In 1904, 57 years after Billingsley's death, the brewery constructed its own railway to take beer barrels of Oakhill Invalid Stout to the Somerset & Dorset Railway in nearby Binegar. Until the railway's construction, the brewery had used a traction engine to deliver their barrels to the station. The railway had a 2'6" gauge and traces can still be seen in the surrounding area. The brewery continued to make stout until World War I sent the brewery into decline. It was subsequently taken over by Courage Brewery and while brewing itself stopped in 1938, the malt sheds remained in use and Oakhill remained a 'brewery village' for many years. The recently constructed housing estate on the high street, 'the Old Maltings', is so called because it is sited on the former Courage brewery malting houses.[1] In 1981 brewing resurfaced in the former Oakhill Brewery building when Beacon Brewery took over the premises to brew Fosseway Bitter and later Fosseway Forty. The brewery closed in 1983 when owner Gerry Watts died, but not before he had managed to produce Fosseway Stout, a tribute beer to the former Oakhill Brewery. In 1984, the brewery plant and premises were bought by local businessman Reg Keevil. He began commercial production of beer with his new Oakhill Brewery company which operated until his retirement in 2004.
The railways too made a brief reappearance in the village of Oakhill in the 1980's, albeit in a miniature form. In the grounds of Oakhill Manor, the manor's owner, Walter Harper, opened his impressive 'ride on' replica collection to the public. Among the engines, which towed thousands of people during their time there, was a 'Pacific' replica locomotive called Robin Hood. Originally built in 1947, this locomotive ran at Weymouth on track by Radpole Lake. The story runs that the Robin Hood was on a turntable at the end of the track there when someone accidentally knocked the regulator, causing the engine to shoot forward into the lake. The local RAF base were recruited to haul the engine out again, after which they found it to only have minor damage. The story got back to the Rev.W.V. Awdry, who thought the incident worth adapting for one of his Thomas The Tank Engine books. The book in question is called "Off The Rails".
Oakhill Manor closed its doors to the public in 1985 and the collection of engines are now elsewhere around the country. The Robin Hood is now in Berkeley, Gloucester at the Cattle Country Light Railway, where it has been undergoing a restoration. A 4700 GWR 2-8-0 replica locomotive, built to order for Walter Harper and run at Oakhill Manor is also running at this track.
[edit] References
- ^ Oakhill Maltings. Images of England. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
