A stroll around the village of Pensford in the Chew Valley, North Somerset.

The large village of Pensford straddles the A37 about 4 miles south of Bristol.  I stopped for a short break there recently, with my wife, on the way home from Bristol.  We parked in Pensford’s Memorial Hall car park off Publow Lane and I had a quick stroll around the village.

I made my way back to the High Street where I came upon the village Lock Up.  Made of stone, it is octagonal and has a perfect hemispherical roof.

The Lock Up in the village of Pensford, North Somerset.

Next to the Lock Up is a bench with a plaque commemorating local man Bernard Stanley “Acker” Bilk, an accomplished clarinettist whose Stranger on the Shore became the UK’s biggest selling single of 1962 and was in the charts for 50 weeks, peaking at Number Two.

Opposite High Street on the other side of the A37 is the village war memorial commemorating 7 men lost in the First World War, and 8 men and 1 woman in World War Two.

The war memorial alongside the A37 in the village of Pensford, North Somerset.

I crossed the A37, carefully, and walked along Church Street to the Church of St. Thomas a Becket.  The church dates from the fourteenth century, and is nearly moated by the River Chew.  Be aware that the main interior is now a private home and there is obviously no admittance.  However, the three-stage fourteenth century tower is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and can be accessed. 

The Church of St. Thomas a Becket in the village of Pensford, North Somerset.  The Bristol and North Somerset Railway's 16 arch viaduct is in the background.

Very heavy rain on the night of the 16/17 July 1968 caused the River Chew to burst its banks causing the modern road bridge carrying the A37 over the river in the centre of the village to be swept away.  Ironically the village’s medieval bridge survived.

The plaque on the building adjacent to the church gates indicates the height to which the floodwater reached on that night.

The plaque on the wall by the church gates indicates the height of the flood in 1968.

The church, and most of the village, is dominated by the 16 arch viaduct built in 1873 for the Bristol and North Somerset Railway, but not used since it was deemed unsafe after the flood of 1968. 

I retraced my steps back to the car thinking another, more leisurely, visit would be worthwhile.