kimerajamm
Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 785
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 Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:30 am Post subject: Her Royal Highness |
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Bilbie family of bell and clockmakers
Main article: Bilbie family
Wooden framework containing metal mechanical mechanism.
Bilbie bell kept in St Andrews Church as a memorial to the family
The Bilbie family of bell founders and clockmakers lived and worked in Chew Stoke for more than 200 years, from the late 17th century until the 19th century. They produced more than 1,350 church bells, which were hung in churches all over the West Country. Their oldest surviving bell, cast in 1698, is still giving good service in the local St Andrew's Church. The earliest Bilbie clocks date from 1724 and are highly prized. They are mostly longcase clocks, the cheapest with 30-hour movements in modest oak cases, but some have high quality eight-day movements with additional features, such as showing the high tide at Bristol docks. These latter clocks were fitted into quality cabinet maker cases and command high prices.[7][8]
Recent history
In the 20th century, Chew Stoke expanded slightly with the influx of residents from the Chew Valley Lake area. These new residents were moved to Chew Stoke when the lake was created in the 1950s.[2] In World War II, 42 children and three teachers, who had been evacuated from Avenmore school in London, were accommodated in the village.[5] On 10 July 1968, torrential rainfall, with 175 millimetres (7 in) falling in 18 hours on Chew Stoke, double the area's average rainfall for the whole of July,[9] led to widespread flooding in the Chew Valley, and water reached the first floor of many buildings.[5] The damage in Chew Stoke was not as severe as in some of the surrounding villages, such as Pensford; however, fears that the Chew Valley Lake dam would be breached caused considerable anxiety.[9][10]
On 4 February 2001, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, opened the Rural Housing Trust development at Salway Close. Each year, over a weekend in September (usually the first one), a "Harvest Home" is held with horse and pet shows, bands, a funfair, and other entertainments. The Harvest Home was cancelled for one year (1997) as a mark of respect following the death of Princess Diana in the previous week. The Radford's factory site, where refrigeration equipment was formerly manufactured, was identified as a brownfield site suitable for residential development in the 2002 Draft Local Plan of Bath and North East Somerset.[11] That plan has generated controversy about balancing land use to meet residential, social, and employment needs.[Cleveland Chat
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