Pill, Somerset

Pill

Pill Creek
Pill
Pill shown within Somerset
OS grid reference ST524757
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS20
Dialling code 01275
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament

Pill is a village in North Somerset, England, situated on the southern bank of the Avon, about 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Bristol city centre. The village is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Pill and Easton-in-Gordano (until 2011 named Easton in Gordano). The former hamlets of Lodway and Ham Green are now contiguous with Pill, and the village of Easton in Gordano is nearby. The parish extends northwest beyond the M5 motorway to include the Royal Portbury Dock.

History

The name "Pill" comes from the Welsh word pwl, which means an inlet, harbour, or pool (e.g. a creek or tidal inlet off a river or channel, or a small harbour).[1]

The original name Crockerne Pill means literally 'pottery wharf' and arose from the fact that an industrial-scale pottery thrived nearby. The Ham Green Pottery kiln was excavated about 50 years ago and is located in the fields above Chapel Pill. The pottery was made in the period from 1100 AD to 1250 AD and was exported from Pill by boat.

The so-called 'Ham Green' pottery has been found and identified in archaeological digs from the Algarve in Portugal to Iceland. It is an important archaeological 'dating tool' because the period of manufacture is so precise. Bristol City Museum has a good selection of pottery artifacts from the site and other locations showing the unique decoration and form of Ham Green pottery but the only item on display is a large jug at the M Shed.

The town was traditionally the residence of pilots,[2] who would guide boats up the Avon Gorge, between the Bristol Channel and the Port of Bristol. The port moved in the 20th century to Avonmouth and the Royal Portbury Dock. Pill was once home to 21 public houses and was known as being a rough place, to the extent that the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, says in an entry in his journals for 3 October 1755:

I rode over to Pill, a place famous from generation to generation, even as Kingswood itself, for stupid, brutal, abandoned wickedness.
The Portishead Railway viaduct in Pill.

The 1860s saw the building of the railway line between Bristol Temple Meads and Portishead. The line, which was opened to passengers in 1863, passed right through the village of Pill, with the result that a large number of buildings had to be demolished to allow its necessary straight and level passage.

The railway also consumed many acres of farm land during its construction. However, it brought new life to the area, not to mention new blood as many of the navvies working the line met and married local girls and stayed on to raise their families after the line was completed. They brought new names, some of which are still with us today, over 100 years on.

The small ferry from Pill to Shirehampton closed because of loss of trade once the opening of the Avonmouth Bridge in 1974 enabled pedestrians to walk over the Avon. Few did of course, but some rode their bicycles and many more turned to their cars. So a transport link to and from the parish of Easton-in-Gordano, one that had survived since Medieval times, was closed and the river mud has swallowed up most of the now unattended slipways. The village and its vanished ferry are commemorated in the Adge Cutler and The Wurzels song "Pill Pill".

In 1971 the Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed an inshore lifeboat at Pill. It was withdrawn in 1974.[3]

Amenities

The parish has five places of worship: St George's, Easton-in-Gordano; Christ Church, Pill; The Salvation Army, Pill Baptist Church and Pill Methodist Church.

Pill has several shops in the centre for day-to-day needs, including a Southern Co-operative food store, pharmacy, Post Office and hair salon. Pill has several take-away restaurants; however, it can no longer boast 21 pubs and currently has only four: The Kings Head, The Star, The Duke and the Pill Memorial Club, although this excludes the nearby pubs in Easton in Gordano.

It is commonly used as a place for commuting to Bristol as it has excellent transport links, being close to the M5 and Bristol.

Pill marks the start of the National Cycle Network 33 (the Wessex Cycleway), which also takes in Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Chard and Seaton.

Clubs and Societies – Easton-in-Gordano Table-Tennis Club (meets Thursday nights) has been running since 1956 when the Church Memorial Hall was opened. The Luncheon Club provides a weekly get together for the elderly on Thursdays at the Community Centre. The village is proud of all its community activities full details of which are included in the Community Diary held at the Resource Centre (Precinct).

Governance

An electoral ward with the same name exists. It has the same area and the population taken at the 2011 census was 3,525.[4]

Schools

Trivia

The Pill Ferry has been immortalised in the recent book by Shirehampton author, Mark Jones (writing as Philippa Perry), Tabitha Miggins: Ship's Cat (On the Pill Ferry).[5] The book mentions the hobblers, Pill pilots and various of Pill's public houses, most especially The Duke of Cornwall, which overlooks the old ferry slipway. Bristol-based entertainer, the late Adge Cutler, wrote a song about Pill, which is still sung by his group The Wurzels.

Ham Green Hospital

Bristol Archives holds records of Ham Green Hospital (and its predecessor institutions) including medical officers' records, letter books, patient lists and patient registers (Ref. 38224) (online catalogue). The site is now the home of Penny Brohn Cancer Care.

Notable individuals

References

  1. ↑ Longstaff, John C. (1911). Notes on Wiltshire Names (PDF). Bradford-on-Avon: William Dotesio, The Library Press. p. 43. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Pill: The village of pilots". Easton in Gordano. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  3. ↑ Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 60.
  4. ↑ "Ward population 2011.Retrieved 9 March 2015".
  5. ↑ Perry, Philippa (2013). Tabitha Miggins, Ship's Cat: (On the Pill Ferry). England: Bristol Folk Publications. ISBN 9780956353160. Preview.
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