Clevedon
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Mattbuck
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{{For|the New Zealand town|Clevedon, New Zealand}}
{{distinguish|Cliveden}}
{{infobox UK place|
|country= England
|latitude= 51.4384
|longitude= -2.8539
|official_name= Clevedon
|population = 21,957<ref name="popn"/>
|unitary_england= [[North Somerset]]
|lieutenancy_england= [[Somerset]]
|region= South West England
|constituency_westminster=[[Woodspring (UK Parliament constituency)|Woodspring]]
|post_town= CLEVEDON
|postcode_district= BS21
|postcode_area= BS
|dial_code= 01275
|os_grid_reference= ST406714
}}
'''Clevedon''' is a town in [[North Somerset]], [[England]].
The name derives from the [[Saxon language|Saxon]], 'Cleve' meaning Cleave or Cleft and 'don' meaning hill, the town being situated amongst a group of small hills alongside the [[River Severn|River Severn estuary]]. The town has a population of 21,957 according to the [[United Kingdom Census 2001]].<ref name="popn">{{cite web |url=http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/12ACB866-8DCD-471A-8959-9242648CC879/0/census_ClevedonCensusWardInfo2001.pdf |title=2001 Census Ward Information Sheet |accessdate=2008-02-20 |format=PDF |work= }}</ref>
==History==
[[Image:Clevedon Village - Somerset - circa 1907 - Project Gutenberg eBook 12287.jpg|thumbnail|left|Clevedon Village - circa 1907]]
[[Image:ClevedonFromAir2007.jpg|thumbnail|left|View of Clevedon from the air, showing the [[Clevedon Pier|pier]]]]
[[Image:ClevedonPier.jpg|thumbnail|left|[[Clevedon Pier]] and the [[River Severn|Severn estuary]]. [[Wales]] can be seen in the left of the picture]]
[[Image:ClevedonTree.jpg|thumb|left|Windswept Clevedon seafront has shaped this tree]]
Clevedon was mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] as being a holding of a tenant in chief by the name of Mathew of Mortaigne, and was listed at that time as having eight villagers, and ten [[Smallholding|smallholders]].
[[Saint Andrew|St. Andrew]]'s church, on a hill in the west of the town, was built in the [[thirteenth century]] AD, although there are thought to be [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] foundations under the present building. It is the burial place of [[Arthur Hallam]], subject of the poem ''[[In Memoriam A.H.H.]]'' by his friend [[Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson|Alfred, Lord Tennyson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=33114 |title=Parish Church of St Andrew |accessdate=2008-02-20 |format= |work=Images of England }}</ref> Other literary figures associated with the town are [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] (who spent some months living in a cottage in the town after his marriage to Sarah Fricker), [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] (a frequent guest of the Elton family at Clevedon Court), and [[George Gissing]] (''The Odd Women'' is set in the town).
[[Clevedon Court]] lies at the other end of the town, close to the road to [[Bristol]]. It is one of only a few remaining [[fourteenth century]] manorial halls in England, having been built by Sir John de Clevedon circa [[1320]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=33130 |title=Clevedon Court |accessdate=2008-02-20 |format= |work=Images of England }}</ref> Since the early [[eighteenth century]] the house has been owned by the Elton family, who were responsible for much building work on the house and many improvements in the town, and although the house itself is now owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-clevedoncourt/ |title=Clevedon Court |accessdate=2008-02-20 |format= |work=National Trust }}</ref> the associated estates are still owned by the Elton family. Sir Edmund Elton ([[1846]]-[[1920]]) was a well-regarded [[Pottery|potter]] who produced unusually-shaped ware in a variety of richly-coloured glazes, including a gold glaze of his own invention. A clock tower in the centre of the town is decorated with "Elton ware".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=33142 |title=Clock Tower |accessdate=2008-02-20 |format= |work=Images of England }}</ref>
During the [[Victorian era]] Clevedon became a popular [[seaside resort|seaside town]]. [[Clevedon Pier]] was opened on easter Monday [[1869]],<ref name="somharbours">{{cite book |title=Somerset Harbours |last=Farr |first=Grahame |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1954 |publisher=Christopher Johnson |location=London |isbn= |pages=65 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=33103 |title=The Pier, including the Tollhouse |accessdate=2008-02-20 |format= |work=Images of England }}</ref> one of the earliest examples of a Victorian [[pier]] still in existence in England. The seafront stretches for approximately half a mile from the pier to Salthouse Field, and includes ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand, a bowling green, tennis courts, crazy golf and other amusements. An addition to this list is Marine Lake, which was once a Victorian swimming pool, is now used for boating activities, as well as a small festival once a year where people can try out new sports. The Salthouse Field has a light railway running round the perimeter and is still used for donkey rides during the summer. The shore at Clevedon is a mixture of pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with the old harbour being at the western edge of the town at the mouth of the [[Land Yeo]]. It is remembered as the place at which [[Reverend Doctor John Ashley (clergyman)|John Ashley]] conceived of the idea of creating the [[Mission to Seafarers]].<ref name="somharbours"/> "Poet's Walk" is a footpath around Wains Hill and Church Hill, to the south west of the seafront, and the upper part of the town contains many other footpaths through parks and wooded areas which were laid out in the nineteenth century. The Victorian craze for bathing in the sea was catered for in the late 19th century by [[Lido (swimming pool)|saltwater baths]] adjacent to the pier (since demolished, though the foundations can still be seen), and [[bathing machine]]s on the main beach.
Clevedon was served by a short [[Clevedon branch line|branch line]] from the main railway at [[Yatton]], opened in [[1847]], six years after the main line itself. This continued in operation for passengers until [[1961]],<ref>{{Cite book
| author = Mike Oakley
| title = ''Somerset Railway Stations''
| edition = 2002
| publisher = Dovecote Press
| page = p41
}}</ref> and the site of the station is now ''Queen's Square'', a shopping precinct. Another railway also served the town, the [[Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway]], which opened in [[1897]] and closed in [[1940]].<ref>Colin G Maggs, (1990). ''The Weston Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway'': The Oakwood Press. ISBN=0853613885</ref><ref>Peter Strange, (1989). ''The Weston Clevedon & Portishead Railway'' : Twelveheads Press. ISBN=0906294193</ref> Trains crossed the road at The Triangle, preceded by a man with a red flag.
At the dawn of the twentieth century Clevedon was still a popular resort and the [[Curzon cinema]] was built, which is the oldest purpose-built, continuously operated [[movie theatre|cinema]] in the world.
[[Image:ClevedonPier.JPG|thumb|right|Clevedon Pier head]]
The rocky beach and the sedate nature of the amusements on offer meant that Clevedon lost almost all of its residential holiday trade by the middle of the twentieth century, though it is still a popular resort for [[day-tripper]]s.
==The modern town==
Clevedon is now part of the [[North Somerset]] [[unitary authority]], having formerly been part of [[Somerset]], and between [[1974]] and [[1996]] the [[county of Avon]].
Clevedon has a certain amount of light industry, mainly in industrial estates including Hither Green Trading Estate near the [[M5 motorway]] junction, and it is also a [[dormitory town]] for [[Bristol]]. The Clerical Medical pensions and investments group, part of [[HBOS]], has its headquarters in the town on the former site of the Hales Cakes factory.
[[Clevedon Community School]] is a large secondary [[comprehensive school]] serving the whole town and the surrounding rural areas. There are also several primary schools in the town including Mary Elton Primary School, John the Evangelist CE VA Primary School, Yeo Moor Primary School, All Saints C Of E Primary School and St.Nicholas' Chantry CEVC Primary School.
Clevedon is situated on and round seven hills called Chruchill, Wain's hill (which is topped by the remains of an [[iron age]] [[hill fort]]<ref name="scott">{{cite book |title=The hidden places of Somerset |last=Scott |first=Shane |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1995 |publisher=Travel Publishing Ltd |location=Aldermaston |isbn=1902007018 |pages=37 }}</ref>, Dial hill, Stawberry hill, Castle hill, Hangstone hill and Court hill. On a clear day there are far reaching views across the [[River Severn|Severn estuary]] to [[Wales]]. When the visibility is particularly good the island of [[Lundy]] in the [[Bristol Channel]] can be seen.
The [[PS Waverley|Paddle Steamer Waverley]] and [[MV Balmoral|Motor Vessel Balmoral]] offer day sea trips from Clevedon Pier to various destinations along the [[Bristol Channel]] and [[River Severn|Severn estuary]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
* [[Clevedon Pier]]
* [[Curzon Cinema, Clevedon|Curzon Cinema]]
* [[North Somerset]]
== External links ==
{{commonscat|Clevedon}}
* [http://www.clevedon.gov.uk Clevedon Town Council]
* [http://www.clevedon-civic-society.org.uk Clevedon Civic Society]
* [http://www.wcandpr.org.uk Weston, Clevedon, & Portishead Railway]
* [http://www.somerset3d.co.uk/gallery.htm#c Photos of Clevedon in 3d (Anaglyphs)]
* {{dmoz|/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Somerset/Clevedon/|Clevedon}}
* [http://www.clevedonweather.co.uk/ Clevedon - Live Weather Conditions and WeatherCam]
{{Somerset}}
[[Category:North Somerset]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in England]]
[[Category:Towns in Somerset]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of Somerset]]
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