Charfield

Charfield
Charfield
	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Thornbury and Yate;
	List of places UK England Gloucestershire 51°37′34″N 2°24′21″W / 51.62611°N 2.4058°W

Charfield is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, south-west of Wotton-under-Edge near the Little Avon River and the villages of Falfield and Cromhall. The parish includes the hamlet of Churchend.

Village

Charfield is a medium-sized village of about 2,500 residents with three pubs, the Pear Tree, Railway Tavern and The Plough Inn, a convenience store with Post Office and two churches. There are six main housing areas. Farm Lees, Longs View, Manor Lane and Woodlands have existed for some time. Two new housing developments were built in 2018-2019: St James Mews, opposite St John's Church, and Charfield Village, at the eastern end of the village near the Renishaw PLC site. The primary school has around 250 students.

The

grade I listed building.^[2]

Governance

An

2011 census was 4,678.^[3]

The

playing field and playground

, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also of interest to the council.

The parish council is also a burial authority, and has its own burial ground in nearby

Churchend

.

Railway

The Bristol-Birmingham main railway line runs through the village. Charfield railway station closed in January 1965 but still stands, and discussions continue about the viability of re-opening it. The costs of re-opening would be shared between Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire Councils since, although the station would be in South Gloucestershire, the nearby Gloucestershire town of Wotton-under-Edge would be a principal beneficiary.

The railway line marks the division of the village between two different telephone areas (01453-54x based on Wotton-under-Edge, and 01454-26x based on Falfield). The village is on the outer limits of both areas. The village has now been fibre-enabled, allowing FTTC connections.

On 11 October 2022 it was announced that South Gloucestershire Council and Network Rail have submitted a planning application for a new train station in Charfield. The proposed station, to be built on land off Station Road in the centre of the village, will include two platforms serving north and southbound journeys, a pedestrian footbridge, a bus stop, covered cycle parking, and car parking.^[4]

Railway history

The Charfield railway disaster was a fatal train crash which occurred on 13 October 1928. The Leeds to Bristol LMS night mail train crashed under a road bridge near Charfield railway station, killing 15 and injuring 23. Amongst the dead were two children whose remains remain unidentified.

Charfield Memorial Hall and Playing Field

Charfield Memorial Hall and Playing Field is in the centre of Charfield. The Hall has recently been refurbished and the play area upgraded with new equipment.^[5]

References

^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 19 March 2015.
^ Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST JAMES (1321189)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 19 March 2015.
^ https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/planning-application-submitted-for-charfield-station
^ Charfield Community website

External links

[1] "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 19 March 2015.

[2] Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST JAMES (1321189)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 January 2020.

[3] "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 19 March 2015.

[4] ttps://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/planning-application-submitted-for-charfield-station

[5] Charfield Community website

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