History of Chipping Sodbury
Page 4 of A Short History of the Sodburys, provided by Jim Elsworth
| There are a number of properties in the street that have a
Georgian appearance but these are generally much older than the
frontages suggest. In the mid 1700’s there was a craze to make
houses fit in with the fashionable Georgian symmetrical style. New
facades were added, complete with Grecian style porches, which, at
the time, were available as “catalogue items”. In several examples
an inspection will reveal where the old top storey gabled windows
have been concealed behind the fake Georgian parapets. Communication has influenced the development of the area. The earliest route was an ancient Ridgeway known as the Jurassic Way, which runs along the ridge near the Grickstone Farm barrow and the Iron Age hillfort at Old Sodbury. Roman roads are evident in the area but, passing through Sodbury, was the salt route from Droitwich and the Pilgrims Way between Kingswood and Keynsham Abbeys. Later, coaching routes passed through Sodbury and this brought the need for coaching inns, which also served as market inns. In the late 1700’s turnpike, or toll, routes were developed. The North South route was opened up along the old Pilgrims Way towards Wickwar and the East West route was built along what is now Horse Street towards Old Sodbury and along to London. The milestone in Horse Street is a reminder of the toll road as it states “108 Miles to Hyde Park Corner”. Improved road building materials made transport easier and quicker, but the advent of the railway improved long distance travel almost beyond comprehension. The first local station to open was at Yate, 1844, and Sodbury people had to travel to Yate to access the rail network. Mr Bees ran a horse drawn flyer from the Portcullis in Chipping Sodbury to Yate Station to connect with the rail service.  The original coaching road to the east via Hatters Lane. The Tudor House is one of the oldest buildings in the town. Photograph courtesy of the Historical Society |
On 29th November 1897 the Duchess of Beaufort cut the first sod for the creation of the new railway, the Badminton Line between, Patchway and Wootton Bassett. It was six years before the station opened at Chipping Sodbury. The main purpose of the line was to provide a quicker route from the South Wales coalfields to London, but the benefit to Chipping Sodbury was enormous. Suddenly goods and passengers could reach local towns and London with ease and Chipping Sodbury became the busiest of the stations along the line and no doubt improved the wealth of the area. The age of the motorcar came in the early 1900’s and, as the 20th century developed, motor vehicles took over as the everyday means of transport. The freedom of travel by car changed the nature of Chipping Sodbury as industry and commerce took over from agriculture as the main place of employment, and commuting to work in Bristol and Bath became commonplace. The changes in employment and lifestyle have made a major impact on leisure activities. One hundred years ago work was long and holidays were short, so the spare time pursuits were less varied than those of today. The markets and fairs, Sunday School outings, following the hunts, and using the limited facilities at the Reading Rooms were part of the entertainment on offer, but sporting pursuits were followed by many people. Chipping Sodbury has a long and distinguished history of sports clubs, which in the main, have had the benefit of facilities on lands owned by the Town Trust or earlier charities. The Chipping Sodbury Golf Club celebrated its century in 2005, whilst the Cricket Club dates from 1860 and the Football club has a history going back to 1885. Of course other sports and games have been played in Sodbury for
centuries including all manner of pub games and there is even
mention of children having time off school for “Sodbury Races”.
These were horse races held between a few of the local gentry around
the 1860’s and 1870’s. |
 Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection. |
