Charfield

Charfield

St. James church, Churchend
Charfield
 Charfield shown within Gloucestershire
Population 2,538 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST7292
Civil parishCharfield
Unitary authoritySouth Gloucestershire
Ceremonial countyGloucestershire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE
Postcode district GL12
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentThornbury and Yate
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire

Coordinates: 51°37′34″N 2°24′21″W / 51.62611°N 2.4058°W / 51.62611; -2.4058

Charfield is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England lying near the Little Avon River and south-west of the town of Wotton-under-Edge. Charfield is situated near the villages of Falfield and Cromhall.

Village

Charfield is a medium-sized village of about 2500 residents (2001 census), with three pubs (Pear Tree, Railway Tavern and The Plough Inn), a convenience store with Post Office called Steve's Shop, two hairdressers, and a petrol station. It has two churches, and a large Land Rover dealership (on the site of the former railway station) with a Tyre/MOT service centre to one side. There are four main housing areas called, Farm Lees, Longs View, Manor lane, and Woodlands. The school which has a good reputation has around 250 students and recently have opened a new play area. Near to the school there is a river. This river is actually in Huntingford and Damery. Near the north end of the town is the South Gloucestershire border with Gloucestershire, the Bennett's farm, and a mile or so from one of the local employers, Renishaw.

Governance

An electoral ward with the same name exists. This ward starts in the east in Charfield and then stretches west to Falfield. The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 4,678.[2]

Railway

The Bristol-Birmingham main railway line runs through the village (part of the Cross Country Route). Charfield railway station is currently disused (it was closed in January 1965 but still stands), although 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 totally 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 and so was only recently able to get broadband. The village has now been Fibre enabled, allowing FTTC connections.

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.[3]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charfield.
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