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The
area may have been settled since the Bronze Age, and there is
firm evidence of Iron Age and Romano-British settlement in the
Northwick area. Essentially
marshy, and often inundated, habitation was necessarily sparse.
The
Romans, inveterate settlers and town planners, left little
evidence of their passing. Whilst Roman engineers may, or may not, have continued
the work of earlier ages in attempting to improve drainage and
coastal defences, it is almost certain that boats were launched
from the vicinity of Pill Head. A Roman camp, excavated in the 1950s in the vicinity of
Pilning school, provides evidence of legionary advances, and
scattered coin findings from the river shore add further proof.
By the early 17th century improvements to drainage and
sea defence systems finally
created the landscape that exists today. Previously extensive marshland was a barrier to the
creation of large settlements. Only in the last 80 years have the original hamlets of
Redwick and Northwick have been overtaken by the growth of
Pilning, and particularly Severn Beach.
The Cartularium Saxonicum, published
955 AD, lists Northwick as Norowican. The Saxon meaning Wic is ‘a place’ or ‘dairy
farm’. In
the Cartularium Redwick
is listed as Hreodwican; in the Domesday
Book as Redeuuiche; and in the Close
Rolls of 1230 as Radewic. Literally a place of redes (reeds).
Tradition
tells of a Church of St George, built at Northwick at the end of
the 11th century. In 1370 it is recorded that the Northwick church was in
ruins. Re-dedicated
to St Thomas in the 15th century, tithes were paid to
the Lord of the Manor of Henbury in the 16th century.
Some local farmhouses have a long history, and the Kings
Arms, a former coach house, dates from around 1641.
There
are no historical references to Pilning prior to the late 1800s.
Pil(n) is possibly a diminutive of the Welsh pyl, a pool
or creek. Ing
is a common ending of plural nouns derived from Old English,
referring to a river or the sons/descendants/people of the river
area. The
name Severn Beach first appeared with the opening of the railway
station in 1922.
By
the end of the 17th century, ferry crossings from New
Passage rivalled Aust, where ‘regular’ crossings had been
made since Roman times and earlier. Aust passage became known as Old Passage to distinguish
it from New Passage. Mail and passenger coaches travelled from Bristol.
In 1825 the New Passage Association formed, using the 30-ton steamboat “St Pierre”.
The commercial war was short lived. By 1830, with faster boats and a pier, mail coaches were
diverted to Old Passage. New Passage became an ‘also ran’.
In
1845 a rail scheme was devised, but it was 1863 before the first
train ran into New Passage. A new hotel, promenade, tea rooms and a 594 yard railway
pier, set New Passage up for prosperity. Unfortunately, one year earlier, an engineer engaged on
building the pier had the idea of a tunnel under the river.
With the backing of Great Western a bill was finally
deposited in parliament in 1872. In 1886 the tunnel opened, the New Passage ferry became
redundant. The
hotel and the tea rooms survived, but by spring of 1888 the pier
(piles 50 feet high, with a further 10 feet driven into the
river bed, waiting rooms, offices, pontoons, 14 mooring anchors,
9,510 feet of chain and 100,000 cubic feet of timber) had gone.
The current end of pier is a rebuild on the original
site. There
are 2 plaques mounted on the pier. One commemorates the Bristol & South Wales Union
Railway service, the other notes the river crossings of the
Wesley brothers.
Records
show Charles Wesley had a lucky escape in 1743, when his ship
almost foundered in stormy weather. During the civil war, the tale of the pursuit of Prince
Rupert across the English Stones, and the deaths of the pursuing
Roundheads after assurance by the ferryman of the safe crossing.
It is also recorded that Napoleonic war prisoners worked
on the sea defences in the Severn Beach area.
Despite
closure of the ferry, the railways brought an unprecedented
period of prosperity. Construction of the tunnel brought jobs for hundreds of
itinerant workers - the railways brought work for local people,
and a real alternative to farming. It was 100 years before Dr Beeching attempted to put an
end to this alternative source. By the time most local railways were closed local
industrial sites were providing alternative sources of
employment.
In
1894, with more than 8,000 other parishes, Redwick &
Northwick Parish Council was formed. Six councillors presided over a 1390 acre parish,
population 390. Minor
boundary changes saw a smaller parish - 1249 acres by 1931,
population 580. By 1951 the parish had increased to 3996 acres,
supporting a population of 1846. Although parish acreage remains the same, the current
parish council has 10 members, and a population more than double
the 1951 figure. During
the 1950s residents of SB pressed for the creation of a separate
parish. Finally,
a compromise. In
1965, R&N was renamed Pilning & Severn Beach.
To
commemorate the 100th anniversary of parish councils,
the council mounted an initiative to return the War Memorial to
Cross Hands. This
was achieved with the help of funding by ICI and Zeneca, and a
ceremony was held at the memorial in December 1994.
Prior
to 1946 the council had been an all male preserve. Since then ladies have played significant roles in
council affairs. To
date 84 men and 17 women have served as parish councillors.
There have been 21 chairmen and 12 clerks, and the
centenary meeting in December 1994 was the 768th of
the parish council. David
Lanson Roberts is the longest serving member, having clocked up
almost 36 years, between 1902 and 1938, 34 as chairman. The longest serving clerk is Wilf Keen, who recorded 41
years in post. Mr Keen and the present clerk are 2 of
4 clerks who were proprietors of the now closed Redwick
Stores. Ten
years on from the centenary the parish council continues to
serve the local community.
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