Dundry

History

According to Robinson the name means 'The hill that is dry' from the Old English dun and dryge. An alternative derivation is from a Celtic name, meaning fort of refuge.

The parish was part of the hundred of Chew.

Dundry is notable for its stone: the yellow oolitic limestone from local quarries such as Dundry Main Road South Quarry and the Dundry Downs (to the west of the village) is found even at Cardiff Castle, a fort originally built by the Romans to defend against Anglo-Saxon invasions. The stone was much used in medieval Bristol: an outstanding example being St Mary Redcliffe, an Anglican church in central Bristol. A large cube of stone (approximately 1.5m each edge) still stands in the churchyard: the cube is much considered to be an early advertisement for Dundry stone.

The neighbouring village of Chew Magna has in its graveyard an early 19th-century limestone round-topped stone which bears the inscription to William Fowler "shot by an Highwayman on Dundry Hill 14 June 1814 aged 32 years".

Second World War

Being so close to Bristol, Dundry caught many of the 77 air raids (mostly in 1940 and 1941) for which Bristol had:

Many bombs and anti-aircraft shells landed in Dundry. The diary of Doris Ogilvie of East Dundry records that:

Dundry Home Guard

During World War II members of the Dundry Home Guard had many draughty nights on the top of the church, on Maes Knoll, and (on Dundry Down) at the wireless complex watching out for air raids and possible troop landings by parachute and glider. Captain Knight of Walnut Farm, East Dundry served in the First World War and was in charge of the Dundry Home Guard. Fire watchers turned out to watch for fires whenever there were bombing raids. Just south of Rattledown Farm in East Dundry, there was a well-lit dummy town to deflect bombing from Bristol. In 1941, there was a Home Guard exercise for Dundry and neighbouring villages including Winford, Bishopsworth, Leigh Woods and Norton Malreward.

1968 storm

On 10 July 1968 a storm deluged the parish and neighbouring areas—172 mm (6.8 in) of rain was measured in Chew Stoke, and local streams such as Winford Brook were swollen by rain running off the slopes of Dundry Hill.

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, 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 is in the unitary authority of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. This act established a single tier of local government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within its area including local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection, recycling, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. It is also responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the Great Western Ambulance Service.

North Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Long Ashton Rural District.

The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Woodspring county constituency which is to become the North Somerset constituency at the next general election. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.

Religious sites

The Church of St Michael at Dundry is a prominent feature in its hill-top position with its tower visible for many miles around. The four-stage tower was erected by the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol as a landmark and is widely visible.

Transport

In the 1940s and 1950s the Ball family of Dundry ran the "Dundry Pioneer" bus service from Dundry Chapel via Dundry Church and the Hairpin Corner into Prince Street in central Bristol with Bedford buses. After the Dundry Pioneer, Bristol buses route 80, renumbered 373 in 1983, served Dundry.

Notable persons

Lawrence Ogilvie (1898–1980), East Dundry, plant pathologist