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Northwick, South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire District geography stubsUse British English from July 2015Villages in South Gloucestershire District

Northwick is a hamlet in South Gloucestershire, England, first mentioned in 955.The hamlet lies on the River Severn, between Pilning and Aust. It was part of the tything of Northwick with Redwick in the ancient parish of Henbury. It is now in the parish of Pilning and Severn Beach. The church of St Thomas was declared redundant in 1971.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Northwick, South Gloucestershire (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Northwick, South Gloucestershire
Northwick Road,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.577363 ° E -2.635345 °
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Address

Northwick Road

Northwick Road
BS35 4HF , Pilning and Severn Beach
England, United Kingdom
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Pilning railway station
Pilning railway station

Pilning railway station is a minor station on the South Wales Main Line near Pilning, South Gloucestershire, England. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Bristol Temple Meads and is the last station on the English side before the Severn Tunnel through to Wales. Its three letter station code is PIL. It is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide the two train services per week from the station. The station was opened by the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway in 1863, but was resited in 1886 when the Severn Tunnel was opened. The station had an extensive goods yard, boasting one of the largest railway communities in the Bristol area, and operated a motorail service to Wales. In 1928 the original station was reopened on the Severn Beach Line, which allowed passengers and freight to reach Avonmouth Docks, though this only lasted until 1964. The goods yard was closed in 1965, and the station buildings later demolished, with very little in the way of facilities. Passenger services also declined, to two trains per day in the 1970s and the current service level of two trains per week in 2006. The station's footbridge was removed in 2016 as part of Great Western Main Line electrification project, meaning that only eastbound trains can now use the station. Campaigners have alleged this is part of an attempted closure by stealth, although the incident raised the station's profile nationally. Pilning is one of the least-used stations in Britain, but passenger numbers have increased in recent years due to efforts by the Pilning Station Group.

New Passage Pier railway station
New Passage Pier railway station

New Passage Pier was the original terminus of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, located on the south bank of the River Severn at New Passage, South Gloucestershire, England. At New Passage, passengers would disembark from trains and use a boat across the Severn. New Passage had been the site of a ferry from England to Wales including the use by mail and passenger coaches between Bristol and to Portskewett in south Wales. In 1825 the New Passage Association formed, using the 30-ton steamboat "St Pierre". However, the sponsorship by the Dukes of Beaufort of the Aust route, with faster boats and a pier, meant that by 1830 mail coaches were diverted there, and the New Passage declined.Construction of the new railway started in 1858 and the single-track 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge line opened from South Wales Junction, half a mile east of Bristol Temple Meads, as far as the landward end of New Passage Pier on 8 September 1863, a distance of 11 miles (18 km). The distance by rail between Bristol and Cardiff was reduced from 94 miles (151 km) to 38 miles (61 km). The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway built new piers for the ferry, that at New Passage being 546 yards (499 m) long.A steam ferry, the Saint Pierre had been built by Pride and Williams for the New Passage crossing in 1825 and it worked there until 1831. The B&SWUR bought a new steamer, the Gem in 1863 but it proved unsuitable and was soon replaced by the Relief. John Bland, a carrier and shareholder in the railway, was contracted to operate the ferry. The next vessel purchased was the Dragon Fly, this had been used by the contractors to build the piers but was too small to work as the ferry. Instead, two paddle tugs, the Ajax and the Atlas were hired in to cover for the Relief.A new paddle steamer arrived in June 1864, named Christopher Thomas after the chairman of the B&SWUR, it had been built for the company by Henderson, Coulborn and Company at Renfrew in Scotland. A slightly larger vessel named the Chepstow arrived from the same shipyard on 11 February 1875. These two continued in service until the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886. They were sold to WS Ogden at Cardiff in 1880, the Chepstow being renamed the Rover. The funnels were generally painted black with a red band.The station became redundant in 1886 following construction of the Severn Tunnel, and was closed. The pier was demolished by 1888. A plaque now marks the site, and although the building of new piling for flood defences and new concrete castings mean there is little to no trace of the railway on the land side, at low water, some remains of wooden piling can be seen below the plaque site.