1.
Great Western Ambulance Service
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It was formed on 1 April 2006, from the merger of the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services. The ambulance service was acquired by neighbouring Foundation Trust South Western Ambulance Service on 1 February 2013 and it was one of twelve Ambulance Trusts providing England with free Emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving government funding for its role. The Trust headquarters was at Jenner House, Chippenham, Wiltshire, the Trust had one main call handling control room and two dispatch centres. The EOC in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, was also the hub for the Gloucestershire out-of-hours urgent care service, the emergency control centre for Wiltshire is located in the WES building in Devizes, as the Great Western Ambulance Service in Wiltshire is part of Wiltshire Emergency Services project. In common with all UK ambulance services, the control room triages and categorises 999 calls into three categories — A, B, and C, category A are potentially life-threatening emergencies requiring an immediate response. Category B are potentially serious but not life-threatening emergencies, category C require do not require an emergency response and are relayed to NHS Direct, specially trained paramedics or nurses for over-the-phone advice, GP services or Emergency Care Practitioners. Below are the targets the government has set out of ambulance trusts to meet. This caused strained relations with its recognised union, UNISON. Huge numbers of ambulance shifts were covered by private agencies, in September 2008, the Chief Executive, Tim Lynch resigned. He was replaced by an Interim Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, Marsh identified a lack of operational leadership and a competition of priorities within management and removed two Directors. In February 2009, a ceremony was held to present almost 60 staff, partner agencies, in September 2010 a specialist unit, the Hazardous Area Response Team, was established and went live after months of preparation and training. The new revamped service, operating 24/7, went live on 1 October 2010, in 2010 the trust board recommended the closure of at least one countys control room, and gave the go ahead to an Estates Review to prepare the trust for closure of local ambulance stations. In 2009, the new executive, David Whiting, previously director of operations from East Midlands Ambulance Service, was appointed as Chief Executive. He announced his resignation in November 2010, having served just nineteen months, in December 2010, the Trust announced another interim Chief Executive, Martin Flaherty of the London Ambulance Service. When Mr Flaherty leaves, and his replacement appointed, it will be the 5th Chief Executive in only 3 years, at the beginning of January 2011, UNISON announced the results of a ballot for industrial action. From those that voted, the result was 96% in favour of taking action as a form of protest against the changes implemented during 2010. Great Western Ambulance Services Wiltshire branch is a member of the Wiltshire Emergency Services project, GWAS is also supported in Wiltshire by a group of volunteer doctors who respond from home, in their own time, to incidents involving seriously sick or injured parients throughout the county. The doctors involved are all either senior GPs or hospital clinicians, the specially trained prehospital care doctors are able to supplement the skills of paramedics and other ambulance staff
2.
Bristol
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Bristol is a city and county in South West England with a population of 449,300 in 2016. The district has the 10th largest population in England, while the Bristol metropolitan area is the 12th largest in the United Kingdom, the city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively. Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon, Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373, when it became a county of itself. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities after London in tax receipts, Bristol was surpassed by the rapid rise of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham in the Industrial Revolution. Bristol was a place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497 John Cabot, a Venetian, in 1499 William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, the Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock. Bristols modern economy is built on the media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city has the largest circulating community currency in the U. K. - the Bristol pound, which is pegged to the Pound sterling. It is connected to London and other major UK cities by road, rail, sea and air by the M5 and M4, Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations, and Bristol Airport. The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017, the most ancient recorded name for Bristol is the archaic Welsh Caer Odor, which is consistent with modern understanding that early Bristol developed between the River Frome and Avon Gorge. It is most commonly stated that the Saxon name Bricstow was a calque of the existing Celtic name, with Bric a literal translation of Odor. Alternative etymologies are supported with the numerous variations in Medieval documents with Samuel Seyer enumerating 47 alternative forms. The Old English form Brycgstow is commonly used to derive the meaning place at the bridge, utilizing another form, Brastuile, Rev. Dr. Shaw derived the name from the Celtic words bras, or braos and tuile. The poet Thomas Chatterton popularised a derivation from Brictricstow linking the town to Brictric and it appears that the form Bricstow prevailed until 1204, and the Bristolian L is what eventually changed the name to Bristol. Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down, on the side of the Avon Gorge, a Roman settlement, Abona, existed at what is now Sea Mills, another was at the present-day Inns Court. Isolated Roman villas and small forts and settlements were scattered throughout the area. Bristol was founded by 1000, by about 1020, it was a centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name
3.
Bath and North East Somerset
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Bath and North East Somerset is the district of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset Council that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the county of Somerset. Its administrative headquarters is in Bath, Bath and North East Somerset covers an area of 136 square miles, of which two thirds is green belt. It stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills, the city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Westfield and the Chew Valley. The area has varied geography including river valleys and rolling hills, the history of human habitation is long but expanded massively during Roman times, and played significant roles in the Saxon era and English civil war. Industry developed from an agricultural basis to include coal mining with the coming of canals. Bath developed as a spa resort in Georgian times and remains a cultural tourism centre having gained World Heritage City status. Although BANES was only created in 1996 the area it covers has been occupied for thousands of years. The age of the monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown. Solsbury Hill has an Iron Age hill fort, the hills around Bath such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century, Bathampton Camp may have been a univallate Iron Age hill fort or stock enclosure. A Long barrow site believed to be from the Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down, the finds included a moderately large villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the Pagans Hill Roman Temple at Chew Stoke, the Saxon advance from the east seems to have been halted by battles between the British and Saxons, for example, at the siege of Badon Mons Badonicus, or Bathampton Down. This area became the border between the Romano-British Celts and the West Saxons following the Battle of Deorham in 577 AD, the Western Wandsdyke was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. The ditch is on the side, so presumably it was used by the Celts as a defence against Saxons encroaching from the upper Thames valley. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the British Celtic tribes, in 675, Osric, King of the Hwicce, set up a monastic house at Bath, probably using the walled area as its precinct. King Offa of Mercia gained control of this monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, edgar of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973. King William Rufus granted the city to a physician, John of Tours
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Cornwall
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Cornwall is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, Cornwall has a population of 551,700 and covers an area of 3,563 km2. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and this area was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, there is little evidence that Roman rule was effective west of Exeter and few Roman remains have been found. In the mid-19th century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline, subsequently, china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally, fishing and agriculture were the important sectors of the economy. Railways led to a growth of tourism in the 20th century, however, the area is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its long and varied coastline, its attractive villages, its many place-names derived from the Cornish language, and its very mild climate. Extensive stretches of Cornwalls coastline, and Bodmin Moor, are protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative Cornish Assembly. On 24 April 2014 it was announced that Cornish people will be granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The modern English name Cornwall derives from the concatenation of two ancient demonyms from different linguistic traditions, Corn- records the native Brythonic tribe, the Cornovii. The Celtic word kernou is cognate with the English word horn. -wall derives from the Old English exonym walh, the Ravenna Cosmography first mentions a city named Purocoronavis in the locality. This is thought to be a rendering of Duro-cornov-ium, meaning fort of the Cornovii. The exact location of Durocornovium is disputed, with Tintagel and Carn Brea suggested as possible sites, in later times, Cornwall was known to the Anglo-Saxons as West Wales to distinguish it from North Wales. The name appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 891 as On Corn walum, in the Domesday Book it was referred to as Cornualia and in c.1198 as Cornwal. Other names for the county include a latinisation of the name as Cornubia, the present human history of Cornwall begins with the reoccupation of Britain after the last Ice Age. The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods and it continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age people. The Common Brittonic spoken at the time developed into several distinct tongues
5.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century
6.
Dorset
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Dorset /ˈdɔːrsᵻt/ is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the county, which is governed by Dorset County Council. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres, Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, the county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of government in 1974 the countys border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth. Around half of the lives in the South East Dorset conurbation. The county has a history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorsets indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the early Middle Ages, the first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, the former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, Cornish pilot gig rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating. Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges, over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three-quarters of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site due to its geological and it features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline, there are no motorways in Dorset but a network of A roads cross the county and two railway main lines connect to London. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport, the county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is host to one of Europes largest outdoor shows. It is the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the setting of his novels. Dorset derives its name from the county town of Dorchester, the Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning place with fist-sized pebbles. It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in AD845 and in the 10th century the countys archaic name, the first human visitors to Dorset were Mesolithic hunters, from around 8000 BC. The first permanent Neolithic settlers appeared around 3000 BC and were responsible for the creation of the Dorset Cursus, from 2800 BC onwards Bronze Age farmers cleared Dorsets woodlands for agricultural use and Dorsets high chalk hills provided a location for numerous round barrows. During the Iron Age, the British tribe known as the Durotriges established a series of forts across the county—most notably Maiden Castle which is one of the largest in Europe. The Romans arrived in Dorset during their conquest of Britain in AD43, Maiden Castle was captured by a Roman legion under the command of Vespasian, and the Roman settlement of Durnovaria was established nearby
7.
Gloucestershire
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Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the fertile valley of the River Severn. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud. Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, then a small town. The local rural community moved to the city, and Bristols population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became a county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and it later became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. The official former postal county abbreviation was Glos, rather than the frequently used but erroneous Gloucs. or Glouc. In July 2007, Gloucestershire suffered the worst flooding in recorded British history, the RAF conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas. The damage was estimated at over £2 billion, the county recovered rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven schools, two are in Stroud, one in Cheltenham and four in Gloucester. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges, all but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms, each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. Most of the old market towns have parish churches, at Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey. Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve, the mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey
8.
North Somerset
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North Somerset is a unitary authority area in England. Its area covers part of the county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the hall in Weston-super-Mare. North Somerset borders the local government areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Mendip, North Somerset contains the parliamentary constituencies of Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset. Between 1 April 1974 and 31 March 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon, the district of Woodspring was formed from the municipal boroughs of Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead urban districts, Long Ashton Rural District, and part of Axbridge Rural District. There remained some doubt as to whether the council had validly changed the name to North Somerset. North Somerset unitary council is elected every four years, with currently 61 councillors being elected at each election, since the first election to the unitary authority in 1995, the council has either been under Conservative party control, or no party has held a majority. Lawrence, Winford, Winscombe, Worle, Wraxall, Wrington Yatton North Somersets natural environment, pauls Church, Kewstoke Woodspring Priory North Somersets economy is traditionally based on agriculture, including sheep raised for wool on the Mendip Hills and dairy farming in the valleys. This is celebrated at the annual North Somerset Show, during the Georgian era tourism became a significant economic sector in the coastal towns, most notably Weston-super-Mare which grew from a small village to a large resort town. Though tourism declined in the mid to late-20th century, in common with most British coastal resorts, this sector of the economy has stabilised. In the 19th century the port city of Bristol found that modern ships had outgrown the narrow river approach. The first of these was Portishead Dock, which handled coal from South Wales, the newer Royal Portbury Dock is noted for the large volume of car imports. The population of North Somerset has doubled since the 1950s and is predicted to rise by 6,184 or 3. 0% to 2011 and by 17% to 2026. Whilst the proportion of people in North Somerset who are under 45 is lower than the national average, conversely North Somerset has a 4. 2% higher percentage of older people than the rest of England and Wales. This disparity increases with age with the percentage of the population over 75 years almost 30% higher than the national average, resulting in a relatively aged population. In 2001 there were 134,132 people of working age living in North Somerset and 91,767 were in employment and this is very close to the economic activity rate of the West of England sub-region which was 68. 8% in the 2001 census. The 2001 census stated that 1. 38% of North Somerset residents identified themselves as belonging to an ethnic group. The Unitary Authority of North Somerset, provides support for 78 schools, Weston College is the main provider of further education in the area
9.
Isles of Scilly
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The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is the southernmost location in England and the United Kingdom, the population of all the islands at the 2011 census was 2,203. Scilly forms part of the county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has had the status of a county council, the adjective Scillonian is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the land on the islands. Tourism is a part of the local economy, along with agriculture — particularly the production of cut flowers. Scilly has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and until the early 20th century its history had been one of subsistence living, farming and fishing continue, but the main industry now is tourism. The islands may correspond to the Cassiterides visited by the Phoenicians, however, the archipelago itself does not contain much tin—it may be that the islands were used as a staging post. It is likely that until recent times the islands were much larger. The word Ennor is a contraction of the Old Cornish En Noer, remains of a prehistoric farm have been found on Nornour, which is now a small rocky skerry far too small for farming. There once was an Iron Age Britain community here that extended into Roman times and this community was likely formed by immigrants from Brittany, probably the Veneti who were active in the tin trade that originated in mining activity in Cornwall and Devon. At certain low tides the sea becomes shallow enough for people to walk between some of the islands and this is possibly one of the sources for stories of drowned lands, e. g. Lyonesse. Ancient field walls are visible below the tide line off some of the islands. Some of the Cornish language place names appear to reflect past shorelines. The whole of southern England has been sinking in opposition to post-glacial rebound in Scotland, this has caused the rias on the southern Cornish coast, e. g. River Fal. Scilly has been identified as the place of exile of two heretical 4th century bishops, Instantius and Tiberianus, who were followers of Priscillian, in 995, Olaf Tryggvason became King Olaf I of Norway. 960, Olaf had raided various European cities and fought in several wars, in 986 he met a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly
10.
Somerset
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Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset is a county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park. There is evidence of occupation from Paleolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War, the city of Bath is famous for its substantial Georgian architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Somersets name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte, short for Sumortūnsǣte, an alternative suggestion is the name derives from Seo-mere-saetan meaning settlers by the sea lakes. The Old English name is used in the motto of the county, Sumorsǣte ealle, adopted as the motto in 1911, the phrase is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin, but some hill names include Brittonic Celtic elements, for example, an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682 refers to Creechborough Hill as the hill the British call Cructan and we call Crychbeorh. Some modern names are Brythonic in origin, such as Tarnock, the caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Palaeolithic period, and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. Bones from Goughs Cave have been dated to 12,000 BC, examples of cave art have been found in Avelines Hole. Some caves continued to be occupied until modern times, including Wookey Hole, the Somerset Levels—specifically dry points at Glastonbury and Brent Knoll— also have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by Mesolithic hunters. Travel in the area was facilitated by the construction of one of the worlds oldest known engineered roadways, the Sweet Track, the exact age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but it is believed to be Neolithic. There are numerous Iron Age hill forts, some of which, like Cadbury Castle, on the authority of the future emperor Vespasian, as part of the ongoing expansion of the Roman presence in Britain, the Second Legion Augusta invaded Somerset from the south-east in AD47. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around AD409, a variety of Roman remains have been found, including Pagans Hill Roman temple in Chew Stoke, Low Ham Roman Villa and the Roman Baths that gave their name to the city of Bath. After the Romans left, Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxon peoples, by AD600 they had established control over much of what is now England, but Somerset was still in native British hands. The Saxon royal palace in Cheddar was used several times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot. After the Norman Conquest, the county was divided into 700 fiefs, Somerset contains HM Prison Shepton Mallet, which was Englands oldest prison still in use prior to its closure in 2013, having opened in 1610. In the English Civil War Somerset was largely Parliamentarian, with key engagements being the Sieges of Taunton, in 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset
11.
South Gloucestershire
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South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority in South West England. It comprises multiple suburban areas to the north and east of Bristol, South Gloucestershire was created in 1996 from the northern section of the county of Avon, which was abolished at that time. The area includes multiple towns and population centres, with many of these continuing to expand in both population and industry. Many of these towns and population areas are listed under two major subheadings below, South Gloucestershire took its title for historic reasons, but as a unitary authority it is not administered as part of the shire county of Gloucestershire. It is, however, part of the county of Gloucestershire. However, under the terms of that act, the area was removed from Gloucestershire, in 1996, the county of Avon was abolished, and South Gloucestershire was created as a unitary authority comprising the former districts of Kingswood and Northavon. The area borders the city and county of Bristol, the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, the geographic area currently known as South Gloucestershire should not be confused with Southern Gloucestershire. Nor should organisations or bodies in the past titled South Gloucestershire, in the 2001 census, the population of South Gloucestershire was 245,641. In the 2011 census, this had increased to 262,767, much of the population is in towns that form the suburbs to the north and east of Bristol. There are also the large Towns of Yate and Thornbury, along with Chipping Sodbury plus the population centres of Winterbourne, and Frampton Cotterell areas. The main employers are the authority with 9,500 people and the Ministry of Defence Headquarters for Defence Procurement. Other key employers include Airbus, Rolls Royce and the Royal Mail, friends Provident and Hewlett Packard also have major offices in nearby Stoke Gifford. Many employers operate in the developed area between the northern edge of Bristol and the M5 motorway, an area sometimes described as the North Fringe of Bristol. This includes the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre, comprising The Mall regional shopping centre, East of Patchway are the Aztec West and Almondsbury business parks either side of the A38, extending to Bradley Stoke and the M4/M5 Almondsbury Interchange. Employers with sites in this area include EE and the RAC, South Gloucestershire is home to 99 primary schools and 16 secondary schools, and post-16 centres. There is one university, which was a polytechnic, The University of the West of England. In 2008, DCSF figures revealed that there was a 6. 6% overall absence in the secondary schools. The River Severn forms the edge of the area, with a wide coastal plain terminated by an escarpment
12.
Wiltshire
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Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, the county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the new county town of Trowbridge. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys, Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral, important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trusts Stourhead, near Mere. The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the county town of Wilton. Wiltshire is notable for its pre-Roman archaeology, the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK, in the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin, a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga, in 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown, at the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural,390 mills are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the 17th century English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian, the Battle of Roundway Down, a Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry currently lives on as Y Squadron, based in Swindon, around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal was built through Wiltshire, providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol to London until the development of the Great Western Railway. Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and this site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories. The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is moonrakers and this originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes. Two-thirds of Wiltshire, a rural county, lies on chalk. This chalk is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group, the largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain, which is used mainly for arable agriculture and by the British Army as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill–Milk Hill ridge in the Pewsey Vale, just to the north of Salisbury Plain, the chalk uplands run northeast into West Berkshire in the Marlborough Downs ridge, and southwest into Dorset as Cranborne Chase. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age, the Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB, a 1,730 km2 conservation area
13.
NHS England
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NHS England is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health. NHS England oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the side of the NHS in England as set out in the Health. It holds the contracts for GPs and NHS dentists, the Secretary of State is publishes, annually, a document known as the mandate which specifies the objectives which the Board should seek to achieve. National Health Service Regulations are published each year to give force to the mandate. NHS England employs around 6,500 staff in 50 sites around England, most of its staff previously worked for the decommissioned primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. NHS England is the name of the NHS Commissioning Board and, before that. It was set up as a health authority of the NHS in October 2011 as the forerunner to becoming an NDPB on 1 April 2013. It was renamed NHS England on 26 March 2013 and its legal name remains the NHS Commissioning Board. Sir David Nicholson who became Chief Executive at the establishment of the Board retired at the end of March 2014 and was replaced by Simon Stevens. One of Stevens first acts was to announce a restructure of its 27 area teams in response to a requirement to reduce running costs which would reduce staffing by around 500, the 27 teams outside London were reduced to 12 in 2015. NHS England in conjunction with the other central regulators established what is called a success regime in south and mid Essex, North Cumbria and north east and it is intended to tackle “deep rooted and systemic issues that previous interventions have not tackled across whole health and care economy”. In 2016 it organised the geographical division of England into 44 Sustainability and these areas were locally agreed between NHS Trusts, local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups. A leader was appointed for each area, who is to be responsible for the implementation of the plans which are to be agreed by the component organisations and they will be working across organisational boundaries to help build a consensus for transformation and the practical steps to deliver it. Applications by GPs to reduce their catchment area are dealt with by NHS England, the case involved the decision to scrap minimum practice income guarantee. Richard Stein, a partner at Leigh Day, said the declaration could mean that patients would have to be involved in discussions on changes to the GP contract. See also General medical services The organisation was reported to be developing a strategy to support the use of health records in June 2015. This, it is hoped, could achieve up to £3.4 billion in annual savings by 2020. In April 2016 it published an index of maturity, where each of the 239 NHS trusts assessed its own readiness, capabilities
14.
Ambulance
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The word is often associated with road going emergency ambulances which form part of an emergency medical service, administering emergency care to those with acute medical problems. The term ambulance does, however, extend to a range of vehicles other than those with flashing warning lights. The term ambulance comes from the Latin word ambulare as meaning to walk or move about which is a reference to medical care where patients were moved by lifting or wheeling. The word originally meant a hospital, which follows an army in its movements. Ambulances were first used for transport in 1487 by the Spanish forces during the siege of Málaga by the Catholic Monarchs against the Emirate of Granada. During the American Civil War vehicles for conveying the wounded off the field of battle were called ambulance wagons, there are other types of ambulance, with the most common being the patient transport ambulance. These vehicles are not usually equipped with equipment, and are usually crewed by staff with fewer qualifications than the crew of emergency ambulances. Their purpose is simply to transport patients to, from or between places of treatment, in most countries, these are not equipped with flashing lights or sirens. In some jurisdictions there is a form of the ambulance used, that only carries one member of ambulance crew to the scene to provide care. In these cases a patient who requires transportation to hospital will require an ambulance to attend in addition to the first responder. The history of the ambulance begins in ancient times, with the use of carts to transport incurable patients by force, Ambulances were first used for emergency transport in 1487 by the Spanish, and civilian variants were put into operation during the 1830s. Advances in technology throughout the 19th and 20th centuries led to the modern self-powered ambulances, Ambulances can be grouped into types depending on whether or not they transport patients, and under what conditions. In some cases, ambulances may fulfil more than one function, Emergency ambulance – The most common type of ambulance, which provide care to patients with an acute illness or injury. These can be road-going vans, boats, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft or even converted vehicles such as golf carts. Patient transport ambulance – A vehicle, which has the job of transporting patients to and these can be vans, buses or other vehicles. Response units may be backed up by an ambulance which can transport the patient, or may deal with the problem on scene. These can be a variety of vehicles, from standard cars, to modified vans, motorcycles, pedal cycles. These units can function as a vehicle for officers or supervisors, Fire & Rescue services in North America often staff EMTs or Paramedics to their apparatuses to provide medical care without the need to wait for an ambulance
15.
National Health Service
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The National Health Service is the name of the public health services of England, Scotland and Wales, and is commonly used to refer to those of Northern Ireland. They were established together as one of the social reforms following the Second World War on the founding principles of being comprehensive, universal. Today, each provides a range of health services, the vast majority of which are free for people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom. Taken together, the four National Health Services in 2015-16 employed around 1.6 million people with a budget of £136.7 billion. For non-residents, the NHS is free at the time of use, for general practitioner, the NHS began on the Appointed Day of 5 July 1948. This put into practice Westminster legislation for England and Wales from 1946 and Scotland from 1947, when Clement Attlees Labour Party won the 1945 election he appointed Aneurin Bevan as Health Minister. Bevan then embarked upon what the historian of the NHS, Charles Webster. Three years after the founding of the NHS, Bevan resigned from the Labour government in opposition to the introduction of charges for the provision of dentures and glasses, the following year, Winston Churchills Conservative government introduced prescription charges. These charges were the first of many controversies over reforms to the NHS throughout its history, each of the UKs four nations have their own separate NHS, each with its own history. From its earliest days, the history of the NHS has shown its place in British society reflected and debated in film, TV, cartoons. However, some functions might be performed by one health service on behalf of another. There have been issues about cross-border payments, taken together, the four National Health Services in 2015-16 employed around 1.6 million people with a combined budget of £136.7 billion. In 2014 the total health sector workforce across the UK was 2,165,043 and this broke down into 1,789,586 in England,198,368 in Scotland,110,292 in Wales and 66,797 in Northern Ireland. The NHS is free at the time of use, for general practitioner and emergency treatment not including admission to hospital, people with the right to medical care in European Economic Area nations are also entitled to free treatment by using the European Health Insurance Card. Those from other countries with which the UK has reciprocal arrangements also qualify for free treatment, people not ordinarily resident in the UK are in general not entitled to free hospital treatment, with some exceptions such as refugees. People not ordinarily resident may be subject to an interview to establish their eligibility, patients who do not qualify for free treatment are asked to pay in advance, or to sign a written undertaking to pay, except for emergency treatment. The provision of treatment to non-UK-residents, formerly interpreted liberally, has been increasingly restricted. As of 2016 the surcharge was £200 per year, with exemptions and reductions in some cases, the systems are 98. 8% funded from general taxation and National Insurance contributions, plus small amounts from patient charges for some services
16.
South West England
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South West England is one of nine official regions of England. It is the largest in area, covering 9,200 square miles, five million people live in South West England. The region includes the West Country and much of the ancient kingdom of Wessex, other major urban centres include Plymouth, Swindon, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Exeter, Bath, Torbay, and the South East Dorset conurbation. There are eight cities, Salisbury, Bath, Wells, Bristol, Gloucester, Exeter, Plymouth and it includes two entire national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor, and four World Heritage Sites, including Stonehenge and the Jurassic Coast. The northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall, the region has by far the longest coastline in England and many seaside fishing towns. The region is at the first-level of NUTS for Eurostat purposes, key data and facts about the region are produced by the South West Observatory. Following the abolition of the South West Regional Assembly and Government Office, the region is known for its rich folklore, including the legend of King Arthur and Glastonbury Tor, as well as its traditions and customs. Cornwall has its own language, Cornish, and some regard it as a Celtic nation, the South West of England is known for Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar, Devon cream teas, crabs, Cornish pasties, and cider. It is also home to the Eden Project, Aardman Animations, the Glastonbury Festival, most of the region is located on the South West Peninsula, between the English Channel and Bristol Channel. It has the longest coastline of all the English regions, totalling over 700 miles, much of the coast is now protected from further substantial development because of its environmental importance, which contributes to the region’s attractiveness to tourists and residents. Geologically the region is divided into the largely igneous and metamorphic west and sedimentary east, Cornwall and West Devons landscape is of rocky coastline and high moorland, notably at Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor. These are due to the granite and slate that underlie the area, the highest point of the region is High Willhays, at 2,038 feet, on Dartmoor. In North Devon the slates of the west and limestones of the east meet at Exmoor National Park, the variety of rocks of similar ages seen here have led to the countys name being lent to that of the Devonian period. The east of the region is characterised by wide, flat clay vales and chalk, the vales, with good irrigation, are home to the regions dairy agriculture. The Blackmore Vale was Thomas Hardys Vale of the Little Dairies, another and these downs are the principal area of arable agriculture in the region. Limestone is also found in the region, at the Cotswolds, Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills, all of the principal rock types can be seen on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon, where they document the entire Mesozoic era from west to east. The climate of South West England is classed as oceanic according to the Köppen climate classification, the oceanic climate typically experiences cool winters with warmer summers and precipitation all year round, with more experienced in winter. Annual rainfall is about 1,000 millimetres and up to 2,000 millimetres on higher ground, summer maxima averages range from 18 °C to 22 °C and winter minimum averages range from 1 °C to 4 °C across the south-west
17.
Exeter
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Exeter is a cathedral city in Devon, England with a population of 127,300. It lies within the county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council, currently, the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district and is therefore under the administration of the County Council. The city is on the River Exe about 37 miles northeast of Plymouth and 70 miles southwest of Bristol, Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Britain, although there is evidence a Cornish tribe existed in Exeter before the Roman invasion. Exeter became a centre during the Middle Ages and into the Tudor times, Exeter Cathedral, founded in the mid 11th century. During the late 19th century, Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade, after the Second World War, much of the city centre was rebuilt and is now considered to be a centre for modern business and tourism in Devon and Cornwall. The name Exe is a development of the Brittonic name—meaning water or, more exactly, full of fish —that also appears in the English Axe and Esk, the Welsh Usk. Exeter began as settlements on a dry ridge ending in a spur overlooking a navigable river teeming with fish, although there have been no major prehistoric finds, these advantages suggest the site was occupied early. Coins have been discovered from the Hellenistic kingdoms, suggesting the existence of a settlement trading with the Mediterranean as early as 250 BC. Such early towns had been a feature of pre-Roman Gaul as described by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries, the Romans established a 42-acre playing-card shaped fort named Isca around AD55. To distinguish the two, the Romans also referred to Exeter as Isca Dumnoniorum, Watertown of the Dumnonii, a small fort was also maintained at Topsham, a supply depot on the route between the two was excavated at St Loyes on Topsham Road in 2010. The presence of the built up an unplanned civilian community of natives. This area was excavated in the 1970s, but could not be maintained for public view owing to its proximity to the present-day cathedral, in January 2015, it was announced that Exeter Cathedral had launched a bid to restore the baths and open an underground centre for visitors. In the late 2nd century, the ditch and rampart defences around the old fortress were replaced by a bank and wall enclosing a much larger area, although most of the visible structure is older, the course of the Roman wall was used for Exeters subsequent city walls. Thus about 70% of the Roman wall remains, and most of its route can be traced on foot, the dating of the coins so far discovered, however, suggests a rapid decline, virtually none have been discovered dated after the year 380. By that time, the city was held by the Saxons, Exeter was known to the Saxons as Escanceaster. In 876, it was attacked and briefly captured by Danish Vikings, alfred the Great drove them out the next summer. Over the next few years, he elevated Exeter to one of the four burhs in Devon and these permitted the city to fend off another attack and siege by the Danes in 893. King Athelstan again strengthened the walls around 928, and at the time drove out the remaining Britons from the city
18.
Ambulance station
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An ambulance station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of ambulance vehicles, medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies. Most stations are made up of garage bays or a parking area, some stations are equipped with a fuel pump to refuel ambulance vehicles and vehicle workshops. Larger stations may have an office or training rooms. Ambulance staff may be summoned from the station for emergencies by siren, radio or pagers, at times, crews may be required to park up at a dispatch point, away from the station to cover a certain locality. While vehicles are within the station, charging points are connected to keep the batteries charged appropriately
19.
Air ambulances in the United Kingdom
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These air ambulances fulfil both emergency medical services functions, as well as patient transport between specialist centres, or as part of a repatriation operation. The aircraft used was a General Aircraft Monospar G-ACEW operated by Highland Airways, emergency air ambulances are generally helicopter based, and used to respond to medical emergencies in support of local ambulance services. In England and Wales, all of these services are charitably funded, the ambulance staff crewing these flights are generally seconded from the local NHS ambulance service. There is a helicopter based patient transfer service, focused on cases, called the Childrens Air Ambulance. They are co-located at the Scottish Ambulance Air Base at Glasgow International Airport, there are also a number of private providers offering transport by fixed wing aircraft. The pilot was killed, and the physician and flight nurse were injured, there was no patient on board at the time. On 26 July 1998, the three man crew of the Kent Air Ambulance died when the aircraft collided with power lines and crashed in a field in Burham, initial investigation established no definitive cause for the crash, due to the fireball produced on impact. Controversy ensued when the employers, Police Aviation Services, denied liability. On 14 June 2000, four passengers and one pilot were killed when a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, chartered for a transfer from the Isle of Man. On 15 March 2005, a Britten-Norman Islander aircraft operated by Loganair crashed into the sea while descending toward Campbeltown Airport in western Scotland, the aircraft was operating an air ambulance flight on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service. The pilot and paramedic both died in the crash, Police aviation in the United Kingdom www. associationofairambulances. co. uk – The Association of Air Ambulances in the UK
20.
999 (emergency telephone number)
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999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for urgent assistance. 999 is the emergency number for the United Kingdom. All calls are answered by 999 operators, the system was introduced following a fire on 10 November 1935 in a house on Wimpole Street in which five women were killed. The first arrest – for burglary – took place a week later,9 or 99, reaching at least an operator. This enables all users including the visually impaired to easily dial the emergency number, hoax calls and improper use are an issue. For these reasons, there are frequent public information campaigns in the UK on the use of the 999 system. Alternative three-digit numbers for non-emergency calls have also introduced in recent years. 101 was introduced for non-urgent calls in England and Wales The scheme was extended to Scotland, trials of 111 as a number to access health services in the UK for urgent but not life-threatening cases began in England in 2010. The main roll-out occurred from 2011 to 2013, with a number of delays, in Scotland, the NHS24 service moved from 08454242424 to 111 on 29 April 2014. NHS Direct Wales continues to use 08454647 and those registered on the database are issued with a personal identification number that can be used in two ways. By phone – either 999 or the forces non-emergency 101 number can be used – once a person is put through to the room, they only need to say Pegasus. Their details can then be retrieved from the database and the caller can quickly get on with explaining why they have called, in person – the Pegasus PIN can be told or shown to a police officer. Pegasus is also used by the City of London Police, Dyfed Powys Police, the pan-European 112 code was introduced in the UK in April 1995 with little publicity. It connects to existing 999 circuits, the GSM standard mandates that the user of a GSM phone can dial 112 without unlocking the keypad, a feature that can save time in emergencies but that also causes some accidental calls. All mobile telephones will make emergency calls with the keypad locked, originally a valid SIM card was not required to make a 999/112 emergency call in the UK. However, as a result of numbers of untraceable hoax calls being made. Most UK mobile telephone handsets will dial 999/112 without a SIM inserted, following the blocking of SIM-less calls, in 2009 the UK networks introduced emergency call roaming. This allows a user with a valid SIM of a UK network to make calls on any network for which they have coverage
21.
General practice
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General Medical Services is the term used to describe the range of healthcare that is provided by General Practitioners as part of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The NHS specifies what GPs, as independent contractors, are expected to do, today, the GMS contract is a UK-wide arrangement with minor differences negotiated by each of the four UK health departments. A new contract is issued each year, the scheme was administered by Local Insurance Committees covering counties and conurbations which held a panel of doctors prepared to work under the scheme. The panel doctors were subject to “Terms of Service” which were lifted directly into the NHS GP contract. Lloyd Georges nationalisation of club medicine and local insurance in 1912 was the progenitor of the NHS in 1948. Lloyd George, when proposing to increase from 6 to 9 shillings per head the annual payment to panel GPs insisted, If the remuneration is increased. Up to the present the doctor has not been adequately paid, in a vast number of cases he has given his services for nothing or for payment which was utterly inadequate. There is no man here who does not know doctors who have been attending poor people without any fee or reward at all, the meaning of independent contractor in respect of GPs has not always been very clear, but was generally tied to their rejection of salaried status. However their behaviour has rarely been that of self-employed entrepreneurs and they have more often behaved as salaried professionals who defend their right to control what they do and how they do it. GPs contract arrangements were made with Local Executive Councils, and then their successors Family Practitioner Committees, Family Health Service Authorities. In England the contract is now between the GP practice and NHS England, in Scotland GP practices are contracted by the Health boards. It was agreed in August 2014 that GPs in Scotland would have a contract with negotiations taking place which would come into force from 2017/18. It is proposed that they should give up employing practice staff, the Beveridge Report of 1942 gave the impetus for White Paper under the Conservative Health Minister Henry Willink that supported the idea of salaried GP services in health centres. The capitation fees was based on the number of patients the GP had on his list, proposals to make GPs salaried professionals were rejected by the profession in 1948. In 1951 the capitation started to be based on the number of doctors, from 1948 to 2004 the contract was an individual one. Virtually every doctor working in practice had a personal contract with the local NHS and patients were registered with a named doctor. ”In 1953. The Royal College of General Practitioners was founded in November 1952 and it became a driving force in developing postgraduate training for doctors wishing to enter general practice. In 1965 GPs demanded a new contract and threatened mass resignation from the NHS, one of their complaints was that there was no provision for improvement of practices
22.
NHS 111
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NHS111 is a free-to-call single non-emergency number medical helpline operating in England and Scotland. The service is part of each countrys National Health Service and has replaced the telephone triage and advice provided by NHS Direct, NHS24. The transition was completed in England during February 2014 with Scotland following during April 2014, NHS Direct Wales started a phased roll-out of a similar 111 service in late 2016. NHS Direct Wales has continued to operate via 08454647, the health service of Northern Ireland will be able to introduce its own similar service using the 111 number if it chooses to do so. Arrangements to identify and secure a suitable number for England began in July 2009. In late August 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government proposed that 111 could replace the existing NHS Direct telephone helpline in England. The first trial, in County Durham and Darlington, started on 23 August 2010, with Nottingham starting on 18 November 2010, Lincolnshire on 22 November 2010, and Luton on 3 December 2010. In July 2015 NHS England decided that what was required was an urgent care access, treatment. Clinical Commissioning Groups were told to stop any procurement exercises until revised commissioning standards, in England, the service is accountable at a Clinical Commissioning Group level but was originally commissioned on a regional basis, with a number of service providers. The lack of clarity as to accountability was criticised in a Deloitte report into the launch failure by NHS Direct. As of December 2013 all NHS Direct contracts are being serviced by stability partner organisations such as ambulance trusts or GP co-operative organisations, the service operates 24 hours a day. When GP surgeries are closed normally between 6. 30pm and 8am, at weekends and at Bank Holidays the service will refer many patients to an out-of-hours service and this can also happen if practices are closed for training purposes. The service uses a decision support system which structures the response to a call. Calls are initially assessed by a handler and may be passed to a clinician. The service has been criticised for being too cautious and directing too many patients to A&E departments, gPs have complained that the service has not been inspected by the Care Quality Commission and that it may jeopardise the safety of out-of-hours services. Between 2010 and 2015 the service has handled 24 million calls with an average length of 14 minutes. 97% of calls made have been answered within 60 seconds, 10% of calls trigger the dispatch of an ambulance -93,000 in the 12 months from April 2014 to April 2015. NHS111 was launched in a number of regions in March 2013 ahead of a planned national launch in April 2013
23.
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
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Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is free to everyone, regardless of immigration or visitor status. The NHS commissions most emergency services through the 14 NHS organisations with ambulance responsibility across the UK. As with other services, the public normally access emergency medical services through one of the valid emergency telephone numbers. This led to the formation of predominantly county based ambulance services, which gradually merged up and changed responsibilities until 2006, when there were 31 NHS ambulance trusts in England. Following further changes as part of the NHS foundation trust pathway, the commissioners in each region are responsible for contracting with a suitable organisation to provide ambulance services within their geographical territory. The primary contract for each area is held by a public NHS body, of which there are 11 in England. The service was operated before reorganisation in 1974 by the St Andrews’ Ambulance Association under contract to the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was established in 1995 by parliamentary order, and serves the whole of Northern Ireland. The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust was established on 1 April 1998, there is a large market for private and voluntary ambulance services, with the sector being worth £800m to the UK economy in 2012. This places the voluntary providers in direct competition with private services, expenditure on private ambulances in England increased from £37m in 2011−12 to £67. 5m in 2013/4, rising in London from £796,000 to more than £8. 8m. In 2014−15, these 10 ambulance services spent £57.6 million on 333,329 callouts of private or voluntary services - an increase of 156% since 2010−11, in 2013, the CQC found 97% of private ambulance services to be providing good care. These private, registered services are represented by the Independent Ambulance Association, there are also a number of unregistered services operating, who do not provide ambulance transport, but only provide response on an event site. These firms are not regulated, and are not subject to the checks as the registered providers, although they may operate similar vehicles. There are a number of ambulance providers, sometimes known as Voluntary Aid Services or Voluntary Aid Societies, with the main ones being the British Red Cross. The history of the ambulance services pre-dates any government organised service. As they are in competition for work with the private ambulance providers. Voluntary organisations have also provided cover for the public when unionised NHS ambulance trust staff have taken industrial action, there are a number of smaller voluntary ambulance organisations, fulfilling specific purposes, such as Hatzola who provide emergency medical services to the orthodox Jewish community in some cities. These have however run into difficulties due to use of vehicles not legally recognised as ambulances, all emergency medical services in the UK are subject to a range of legal and regulatory requirements, and in many cases are also monitored for performance. This framework is largely statutory in nature, being mandated by government through a range of primary and secondary legislation and this requires all providers to register, to meet certain standards of quality, and to submit to inspection of those standards
24.
Emergency medical services
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This is most likely an emergency department at a hospital. In such services, the EMS is not summoned by members of the public, in some jurisdictions, EMS units may handle technical rescue operations such as extrication, water rescue, and search and rescue. Training and qualification levels for members and employees of emergency medical services vary widely throughout the world, in some systems, members may be present who are qualified only to drive ambulances, with no medical training. In contrast, most systems have personnel who retain at least basic first aid certifications, additionally many EMS systems are staffed with Advanced Life Support personnel, including paramedics, nurses, or, less commonly, physicians. Emergency care in the field has been rendered in different forms since the beginning of recorded history, the New Testament contains the parable of the Good Samaritan, where a man who was beaten is cared for by a Samaritan. Luke 10,34 - He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil, then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. Also during the Middle Ages, the Knights Hospitaller were known for rendering assistance to wounded soldiers in the battlefield, the first use of the ambulance as a specialized vehicle, in battle came about with the ambulances volantes designed by Dominique Jean Larrey, Napoleon Bonapartes chief surgeon. Larreys projects for flying ambulances were first approved by the Committee of Public Safety in 1794, in civilian ambulances, a major advance was made with the introduction of a transport carriage for cholera patients in London during 1832. This tenet of ambulances providing instant care, allowing hospitals to be spaced further apart, the first known hospital-based ambulance service operated out of Commercial Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio by 1865. In June 1887 the St John Ambulance Brigade was established to provide first aid and it was modelled on a military-style command and discipline structure. Named the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society, it served as a model for similar societies worldwide and this was followed in 1900 by New York City, who extolled its virtues of greater speed, more safety for the patient, faster stopping and a smoother ride. These first two ambulances were electrically powered with 2 hp motors on the rear axle. Canadian historians dispute this with the city of Toronto claiming The first formal training for ambulance attendants was conducted in 1892, two-way radios became available shortly after World War I, enabling for more efficient radio dispatch of ambulances in some areas. Prior to World War II, there were areas where a modern ambulance carried advanced medical equipment, was staffed by a physician. In many locations, however, ambulances were hearses - the only vehicle that could carry a recumbent patient - and were thus frequently run by funeral homes. These vehicles, which could serve either purpose, were known as combination cars, prior to World War II, hospitals provided ambulance service in many large cities. With the severe manpower shortages imposed by the war effort, it became difficult for many hospitals to maintain their ambulance operations, City governments in many cases turned ambulance services over to the police or fire department. No laws required minimal training for personnel and no training programs existed beyond basic first aid
25.
First responder
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First responders typically include police officers, deputy sheriffs, firefighters, paramedics, and rescuers. A certified first responder is one who has received certification to provide care in a certain jurisdiction, for example. A community first responder is a person dispatched to attend medical emergencies until an ambulance arrives, a wilderness first responder is trained to provide pre-hospital care in remote settings and will therefore have skills in ad hoc patient packaging and transport by non-motorized means. First responders must be trained to deal with an array of potential medical emergencies. Because of the level of stress and uncertainty associated with the position. Even with such preparation, first responders face unique risks of being the first people to aid those with unknown contagions, for example, in 2003 first responders were among the earliest victims of the previously unknown SARS virus, when they cared for patients affected with the virus. Some jurisdictions have laws defining and establishing the rights and duties of first responders. The term first responder is defined in U. S, Emergency response providers are defined by 6 U. S. C. First aider Emergency medical responder levels by U. S. state
26.
Bodmin
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Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor, the extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered to the east by Cardinham parish, to the southeast by Lanhydrock parish, to the southwest and west by Lanivet parish, Bodmin had a population of 12,778. This population had increased to 14,736 at the 2011 Census and it was formerly the county town of Cornwall until the Crown Courts moved to Truro which is also the administrative centre. Bodmin was in the administrative North Cornwall District until local government reorganisation in 2009 abolished the District, the town is part of the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency, which is represented by Scott Mann MP. Bodmin Town Council is made up of sixteen councillors who are elected to serve a term of four years, each year, the Council elects one of its number as Mayor to serve as the towns civic leader and to chair council meetings. Bodmin lies in the east of Cornwall, south-west of Bodmin Moor and it has been suggested that the towns name comes from an archaic word in the Cornish language bod and a contraction of menegh. The monks dwelling may refer to a monastic settlement instituted by St. Guron. Guron is said to have departed to St Goran on the arrival of Petroc, the hamlets of Cooksland, Dunmere and Turfdown are in the parish. St. Petroc founded a monastery in Bodmin in the 6th century, the monastery was deprived of some of its lands at the Norman conquest but at the time of Domesday still held eighteen manors, including Bodmin, Padstow and Rialton. Bodmin is one of the oldest towns in Cornwall, and the only large Cornish settlement recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, in the 15th century the Norman church of St Petroc was largely rebuilt and stands as one of the largest churches in Cornwall. Also built at that time was an abbey of canons regular, for most of Bodmins history, the tin industry was a mainstay of the economy. The name of the town derives from the Cornish Bod-meneghy. Variant spellings recorded include Botmenei in 1100, Bodmen in 1253, Bodman in 1377, an inscription on a stone built into the wall of a summer house in Lancarffe furnishes proof of a settlement in Bodmin in the early Middle Ages. It is a memorial to one Dunoatus son of Mecagnus and has dated from the 6th to 8th centuries. Arthur Langdon records three Cornish crosses at Bodmin, one was near the Berry Tower, one was outside Bodmin Gaol, there is also Carminow Cross at a road junction southeast of the town. The Black Death killed half of Bodmins population in the mid 14th century, Bodmin was the centre of three Cornish uprisings. Then, in the autumn of 1497, Perkin Warbeck tried to usurp the throne from Henry VII, Warbeck was proclaimed King Richard IV in Bodmin but Henry had little difficulty crushing the uprising
27.
Bude
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Bude is a small seaside resort town in north Cornwall, England, UK, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet. It is sometimes known as Bude Haven. It lies southwest of Stratton, south of Flexbury and Poughill, Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France. Budes coast faces Bude Bay in the Celtic Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, the population of the civil parish can be found under Bude-Stratton. Its earlier importance was as a harbour, and then a source of sea sand useful for improving the moorland soil, the Victorians favoured it as a watering place, and it was a popular seaside destination in the 20th century. It lies just south of Flexbury and north of Widemouth Bay and is located along the A3073 road off the A39 road. A section of Budes coast which is located between Compass Cove to the south and Furzey Cove to the north, is a SSSI noted for its geological and biological interest, during the Variscan Orogeny the strata were heavily faulted and folded. As the sands and cliffs around Bude contain calcium carbonate, farmers used to sand from the beach. The cliffs around Bude are the ones in Cornwall that are made of Carboniferous sandstone, as most of the Cornish coast is formed of Devonian slate, granite. The stratified cliffs of Bude give their name to a sequence of rocks called the Bude Formation, many formations can be viewed from the South West Coast Path which passes through the town. Many ships have wrecked on the jagged reefs which fringe the base of the cliffs. The aftermath of the wreck of the Bencoolen was described by Robert Stephen Hawker in letters which were published in Hawkers Poetical Works, like the rest of the British Isles and South West England, Bude experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Temperature extremes at the Met Office weather station at Bude range from −11.1 °C during February 1969 to 32.2 °C in June 1976, the Met Office recorded Bude as the sunniest place in the United Kingdom during the summer of 2013 with 783 hours of sunlight. In the Middle Ages the only dwelling here was Efford Manor, the seat of the Arundells of Trerice, another chapel existed at Chapel Rock which was dedicated to Holy Trinity and St Michael. Bude Canal, which ran to Launceston, now runs only a few miles inland. Several historic wharf buildings were demolished in the 1980s, but since then the canal has undergone restoration. On 10 October 1844, during an exercise, the unnamed Bude Lifeboat capsized when the steering oar broke followed by four on the port side, the local senior school Budehaven Community School suffered a major fire in October 1999, destroying most of the older parts of the school. The school was forced to close for weeks until temporary classrooms could be brought in
28.
Camelford
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Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is ten miles north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. Lanteglos-by-Camelford is the parish in which the town is situated. The ward population at the 2011 Census was 4,001, the Town population at the same census was 865 only Camelford is in the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency represented by Scott Mann MP since 2015. Until 1974, the town was the headquarters of Camelford Rural District. The two main industrial enterprises in the area are the slate quarry at Delabole and the factory at Davidstow. The A39 road passes through the centre, a bypass has been discussed for many years. Camelford Station, some distance from the town, closed in 1966, Camelford has been linked to the legendary Camelot, and the battle of Camlann, but historians have refuted these suggestions. The name comes from the original, Brythonic name of the river in combination with cam- = crooked and the English ford, though this is not accepted by all. Camelford has sometimes been linked to Gafulford the site of a battle against the West Saxons which is likely to have been at Galford in Devon. )Nearby Slaughterbridge has been supposed to be the site of a battle. The town elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons, the first MPs sat in the Parliament of 1552 and it was later considered a rotten borough, and in 1832 the Camelford parliamentary constituency was abolished and the town became part of the East Cornwall constituency. The seal of the shows, Arg. A camel passing through a ford of water all proper with legend Sigillum Vill, michael Meacher, who visited Camelford as environment minister, called the incident and its aftermath, A most unbelievable scandal. The parish church of Camelford is at Lanteglos by Camelford though there is also a Church of St Thomas of Canterbury in the town, arthur Langdon recorded the existence of seven stone crosses in the parish, including three at the rectory. There was in medieval times a chapel of St Thomas which probably fell into disuse after the Reformation, the Rector of Lanteglos is also responsible for the adjacent parish of Advent. In Market Place is the Methodist Church, the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, visited Camelford on several occasions during his journeys in Cornwall. In the 1830s and 1840s the Camelford Wesleyan Methodist circuit underwent a secession by more than half the members to the Wesleyan Methodist Association, there is an older Methodist chapel in Chapel Street. Souls Harbour Pentecostal Church is situated on the Clease adjacent to the car park and it is affiliated with The Assemblies of God of Great Britain and was founded in 1987
29.
Carbis Bay
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Carbis Bay is a seaside resort and village in Cornwall, England, UK. It lies one mile southeast of St Ives, on the western coast of St Ives Bay, the South West Coast Path passes above the beach. Carbis Bay is almost contiguous with the town of St Ives and is in St Ives civil parish, the 2001 census gave the combined population of Carbis Bay and Lelant as 3,482. Lelant, a settlement which is one mile to the south-east, Carbis Bay. Carbis Bay railway station, above the beach, is one of six stations on the St Ives Bay Line which joins the mainline at St Erth railway station. St Erth station is the junction for the line to London Paddington. Carbis Bay overlooks the bay of the same name which is bounded to the north by Porthminster Point and to the east by Hawks Point. Hawks Point is within the Hayle Estuary and Carrack Gladden Site of Special Scientific Interest, the garden had a tea house, grotto and was a venue for Sunday School outings, Band of Hope galas, etc. By 1880 the proprietor, William Payne, claimed in an advertisement that it was ″the largest establishment of the kind in the West. ″, wheal Providence mine in Carbis Bay is the type locality of the rare mineral Connellite. The parish church, which is dedicated to St Anta and All Saints and this was the largest peal in a Cornish parish church until St Kevernes bells was increased to ten in 2001. The Carbis Bay Hotel, on the seafront, was built in 1894 by Silvanus Trevail, behind the village stands the Knill Monument, known locally as The Steeple, a 50-foot high monument to John Knill, a mayor of nearby St Ives during the 18th-century. St Uny Primary School, a Church of England School voluntarily controlled by the Diocese of Truro, is situated in Carbis Bay, media related to Carbis Bay at Wikimedia Commons St Ives Town Council Visit St Ives Information Centre
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Falmouth, Cornwall
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Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a resident population of 27,422. See also, Miss Susan Gays Falmouth chronology The name Falmouth is of English origin and it is claimed that an earlier Celtic name for the place was Peny-cwm-cuic which is the same as the anglicised Pennycomequick district in Plymouth. Falmouth was where Henry VIII built Pendennis Castle to defend Carrick Roads in 1540, the main town of the district was then at Penryn. Sir John Killigrew created the town of Falmouth shortly after 1613, in the late 16th century, under threat from the Spanish Armada, the defences at Pendennis were strengthened by the building of angled ramparts. During the Civil War, Pendennis Castle was the second to last fort to surrender to the Parliamentary Army. After the Civil War, Sir Peter Killigrew received royal patronage when he gave land for the building of the Church of King Charles the Martyr, dedicated to Charles I, the Martyr. The seal of Falmouth was blazoned as An eagle displayed with two heads and on each wing with a tower, the arms of the borough of Falmouth were Arg. The Falmouth Packet Service operated out of Falmouth for over 160 years between 1689 and 1851 and its purpose was to carry mail to and from Britains growing empire. As the most south-westerly good harbour in Great Britain, Falmouth was often the first port for returning Royal Navy ships, in 1805 news of Britains victory and Admiral Nelsons death at Trafalgar was landed here from the schooner Pickle and taken to London by stagecoach. On 2 October 1836 HMS Beagle anchored at Falmouth at the end of her noted survey voyage around the world and that evening, Charles Darwin left the ship and took the Mail coach to his family home at The Mount, Shrewsbury. The ship stayed a few days and Captain Robert FitzRoy visited the Fox family at nearby Penjerrick Gardens, darwins shipmate Sulivan later made his home in the nearby waterside village of Flushing, then home to many naval officers. In 1839 Falmouth was the scene of a gold dust robbery when £47,600 worth of gold dust from Brazil was stolen on arrival at the port, the Falmouth Docks were developed from 1858, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened Falmouth Lifeboat Station nearby in 1867. The present building dates from 1993 and also houses Her Majestys Coastguard, the RNLI operates two lifeboats from Falmouth, Richard Cox Scott, a 17-metre Severn-class all-weather boat, and Eve Park, an Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat. Near the town centre is Kimberley Park, the land pre-dates 1877, and is named after the Earl of Kimberley who leased the parks land to the borough of Falmouth. Today the park has exotic and ornate plants and trees, the Cornwall Railway reached Falmouth on 24 August 1863. The railway brought new prosperity to Falmouth, as it made it easy for tourists to reach the town and it also allowed the swift transport of the goods recently disembarked from the ships in the port. The town now has three railway stations, Falmouth Docks railway station is the original terminus and is close to Pendennis Castle and Gyllyngvase beach
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Helston
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Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and 9 miles south-west of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town on the island of Great Britain and is around 1.5 miles farther south than Penzance, the population in 2011 was 11,700. The former stannary and cattle market town is best known for the annual Furry Dance, however, the Hal-an-Tow is reputed to be of Celtic origin. The song, and music, associated with the Furry Dance is known to have written in 1911. In 2001, the town celebrated the 800th anniversary of the granting of its Charter, the name comes from the Cornish hen lis or old court and ton added later to denote a Saxon manor, the Domesday Book refers to Henliston. Only one edition refers to Henlistona and it was granted its charter by King John on 15 April 1201, for the price of forty marks of silver. It was here that tin ingots were weighed to determine the tin coinage duty due to the Duke of Cornwall when a number of towns were authorised by royal decree. A document of 1396 examined by Charles Henderson shows that the old form Hellys was still in use The manor of Helston in Kerrier was one of the seventeen Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall. The seal of the borough of Helston was St Michael his wings expanded and it is a matter of debate as to whether Helston was once a port, albeit no actual records exist. A common belief is that in the 13th-century Loe Bar formed a barrier across the mouth of the River Cober cutting the town off from the sea. Geomorphologists believe the bar was most likely formed by rising sea levels, after the last ice age, blocking the river and creating a barrier beach. The beach is formed mostly of flint and the nearest source is found offshore under the drowned terraces of the river that flowed between England and France, and now under the English Channel. Defoes description seems to be the first and possibly the origin of other sources claiming Helston to be a port in the historic period. Loe Pool is referred to in a document of 1302, implying the existence of Loe Bar at this date, if not much earlier and this could be considered the most significant piece of documentary evidence signifying Helstons former port days, though it does not prove the case. At the time of Domesday Book, Gweek had no inhabitants whilst Helston was the largest settlement in the west of Cornwall, in 1837 a plan was drawn up to open Loe Pool to shipping using a pier to counteract siltation, but it was never carried out. The site of Helstons castle is now a bowling green near the Grylls Monument, the castle was a simple pre-1086 motte and bailey structure, known as Henliston Castle, replaced in 1280 by a stone structure of a similar design for Edmund, Earl of Cornwall. By 1478 it had fallen into disuse and ruin, the Helston parliamentary constituency was created in 1298 and elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons, the Reform Act 1832 reduced the number elected to one
32.
Launceston, Cornwall
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It is one mile west of the River Tamar, which constitutes almost the entire border between Cornwall and Devon, at its middle stage. Its gradients are generally steep particularly at a sharp south-western knoll topped by Launceston Castle, the town centre is bypassed and is no longer physically a main thoroughfare. However, the town remains figuratively the gateway to Cornwall, due to having one of the two dual carriageways into the county pass directly next to the town. The other dual carriageway and alternative main point of entry is at Saltash over the Tamar Bridge and was completed in 1962, Launceston Castle was built by Robert, Count of Mortain c.1070 to dominate the surrounding area. Launceston was the caput of the barony of Launceston and of the Earldom of Cornwall until replaced by Lostwithiel in the 13th century. Launceston was later the county town of Cornwall until 1835 when Bodmin replaced it, two civil parishes serve the town and its outskirts, of which the central more built-up administrative unit housed 8,952 residents at the 2011 census. Launcestons motto is a reference to its adherence to the Cavalier cause during the English Civil War of the mid-17th century, Dunheved was the Southwestern Brittonic name for the town in the West Saxon period. The earliest known Cornish mint was at Launceston, which operated on a scale at the time of Æthelred the Unready before Cornwall received full diocesan jurisdiction in the year 994 AD. Only one specimen is known to exist, in the reign of William the Conqueror, the mint was moved to Dunheved and remained in existence until the reign of Henry II,1160. During the reign of Henry III of England, another mint was established in Launceston, Launceston Castle, in good repair, is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, and was built by Robert, Count of Mortain c.1070 to dominate the surrounding area. Launceston was the caput of the barony of Launceston and of the Earldom of Cornwall until replaced by Lostwithiel in the 13th century. Launceston was later the county town of Cornwall until 1835 when Bodmin replaced it, in Domesday Book it is recorded that Launceston was held by the Count of Mortain, and that he had his castle there. There was land for 10 ploughs,1 villein and 13 smallholders with 4 ploughs,2 mills which paid 40/- and 40 acres of pasture, the value of the manor was only £4 though it had formerly been worth £20. The Roman Catholic martyr Cuthbert Mayne was executed at Launceston — a legacy of memorials, during the English Civil War Launceston was known to be Royale et Loyale to Charles I of England, hence its coat of arms. His son, who was later crowned Charles II of England, in 1643, the Parliamentarian forces under the command of Major General James Chudleigh advanced in an attempt to capture Launceston from the Royalists. The Royalist commander, Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton, stationed his forces on the summit of Beacon Hill, the Parliamentarians captured the foot of the hill, but were unable to dislodge the Royalist forces from the top. Hopton led a counterattack down the hill and, despite fierce fighting, Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet was committed by Prince Charles to Launceston Prison for refusing to obey Lord Hopton, Grenville had already quarrelled with General George Goring, Lord Goring. Launceston has the document in the UK signed by Mary II of England and her husband
33.
Liskeard
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Liskeard /lɪsˈkɑːrd/ is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth,14 miles west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, the town is at the head of the Looe valley in the ancient hundred of West Wivelshire and has a population of 9,417. Liskeard was the base of the former Caradon District Council and it still has a town council, there are 3 wards in Liskeard. The total population at the 2011 census was 11,366 The place name element Lis, along with ancient privileges accorded the town, a Norman castle was built here after the Conquest, which eventually fell into disuse in the later Middle Ages. By 1538 when visited by John Leland only a few insignificant remains were to be seen, Sir Richard Carew writing in 1602 concurred, Liskeard was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall. The market charter was granted by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in 1240, since then, it has been an important centre for agriculture. The seal of the borough of Liskeard was Ar, a fleur-de-lis and perched thereon and respecting each other two birds in chief two annulets and in flank two feathers. When Wilkie Collins wrote of his visit to the town in his Rambles Beyond Railways he had a low opinion of it, that abomination of desolation, a large agricultural country town. The town went through a period of prosperity during the pre-20th century boom in tin mining, becoming a key centre in the industry as a location for a stannary. Liskeard is one of the few towns in Cornwall still to have a livestock market. There is a range of restaurants, cafes and pubs in the town, Liskeard puts on a pantomime in the last week of January and holds a carnival every June. Every July, Liskeard holds an agricultural show, The Liskeard Show. St Matthews Fair was originally established by charter in 1266, the fair was re-established in 1976 which runs in September/October, every December, there is street entertainment and a lantern parade for Liskeard Lights Up, when the Christmas lights are switched on. Bodmin Moor lies to the northwest of the town, the A38 trunk road used to pass through the town centre but a dual carriageway bypass now carries traffic south of the town leaving the town centre accessible but with low traffic levels. Liskeard is one of the towns for Bodmin Moor. The town boasts St. Martins, the second largest parish church in Cornwall Built on the site of the former Norman church, other places of worship include a Roman Catholic church and Methodist chapels. The Foresters Hall now houses the Tourist Information Office and Liskeard & District Museum, the Foresters still meet in the town at the Public Rooms in West Street. Stuart House was used by Charles I as a lodging in 1644, restored, it is now used as a community building for arts, heritage and community events Luxstowe House
34.
Newquay
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Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately 20 miles west of Bodmin and 12 miles north of Truro, the town is bounded to the west by the River Gannel and its associated salt marsh, and to the east by the Porth Valley. Newquay has been expanding inland since it was founded, in 2001, the census recorded a permanent population of 19,562, increasing to 20,342 at the 2011 census. There are some burial mounds and an embankment on the area now known as The Barrowfields,400 m from Trevelgue. There were once up to fifteen barrows, but now only a few remain, excavations here have revealed charred cooking pots and a coarse pottery burial urn containing remains of a Bronze Age chieftain, who was buried here up to 3,500 years ago. In 1987, evidence of a Bronze Age village was found at Trethellan Farm and it is claimed that occupation of the site was continuous from the 3rd century BC to the 5th or 6th century AD. The curve of the headland around what is now Newquay Harbour provided natural protection from bad weather, when the village was first occupied is unknown but it is not mentioned in the Domesday Book although a local house is included. The first national British census of 1801 recorded around 1,300 inhabitants in the settlement, the construction of the current harbour started in 1832. Newquay parish was created in 1882, a mansion called the Tower was built for the Molesworth family in 1835, it included a castellated tower and a private chapel as they were devout Roman Catholics. The Tower later became the club house. After the arrival of trains in 1876, the former fishing village started to grow. Several major hotels were built around the turn of the 19th century, including the Victoria in East Street, the Atlantic, the three churches were also built soon after 1901. The arms of the district council of Newquay were Or on a saltire Azure four herrings respectant Argent. Growth of the town eastwards soon reached the area around the station, Station Road became Cliff Road around 1930. Narrowcliff was first known as Narrowcliff Promenade, and then Narrowcliff Road, on some pre-war maps it is spelt Narrowcliffe. At the time of the First World War the last buildings at the edge of the town were a little further along present-day Narrowcliff, including the Hotel Edgecumbe. Post-war development saw new houses and streets built in the Chester Road area, accompanied by ribbon development along the lane which led to St Columb Minor. This thoroughfare was modernised and named Henver Road, also some time in the 1930s, other areas also developed in the period between the wars were Pentire and the Trenance Valley
35.
Penzance
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Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, in England, United Kingdom. It is well known for being the most westerly town in Cornwall and is about 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, Gulval, granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 21,200. There are no early documents mentioning an actual dedication to St Anthony which seems to depend entirely on tradition, until the 1930s this history was also reflected in the choice of symbol for the town, the severed holy head of St John the Baptist. It can still be seen on the civic regalia of the Mayor of Penzance, about 400 prehistoric stone axes, known as Group 1 axes and made from greenstone, have been found all over Britain, which from petrological analysis appear to come from west Cornwall. Although the quarry has not been identified, it has suggested that the Gear. A significant amount of trade is indicated as many have been elsewhere in Britain. The earliest evidence of settlement in Penzance is from the Bronze Age, the defensive earthwork known as Lescudjack Castle is not excavated, but almost certainly belongs to the Iron Age. A single rampart encloses three acres of hilltop, and would have dominated the approach to the area from the east, there are no signs of the additional ramparts reported by William Hals in about 1730, and the site is now surrounded by housing with allotments. Until recently, there was evidence for anything but an early and short Roman occupation of Cornwall. In August 1899 two coins of Vespasian were found in an ancient trench in Penzance Cemetery, the coins were eight feet below ground together with some cow bones, and are now in the Penlee House Museum. A1934 find from the Alverton area is described as a ″coin of the reign of Constantine the Great″, a 30 mm sestertius was found on a building site in or around Penzance about ten years previously, and was presented to the Royal Institution of Cornwall. The Hundred of Penwith had its ancient centre at Connerton, now buried beneath the sands of Gwithian Towans at Gwithian, a Hundred was a Saxon administrative unit which was sub-divided into tithings. The Manor of Alverton, with an area of 64 Cornish acres, the manor included Penzance as well as parts of Madron, Paul, St Buryan and Sancreed. Although Penzance is not mentioned in the document the Domesday Book. Domesday records that in 1066 the Manor of Alwarton was owned by Alward who was dispossessed by Robert, Count of Mortain, the name Alward and tun, a personal name combined with a town or settlement suffix, indicate Saxon land ownership. In around 1800 the chapel was converted to a fish cellar, a carving in Ludgvan granite thought to be of St Anthony was removed in about 1830 and was used in the wall of a pig sty which was further vandalised in 1850 when a stranger. Taking fancy to the countenance and rough hands, they were broken off
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Redruth
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Redruth is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census, Camborne and Redruth together form the largest urban area in Cornwall and before local government reorganisation were an urban district. The name Redruth derives from its older Cornish name, Rhyd-ruth and it is the -ruth which means the colour red. Traditionally in the Penwith Hundred, the town has developed away from the original settlement and this location is a steeply wooded valley, with Carn Brea on one side and the now-called Bullers Hill on the other. The presence of shallow lodes of tin and copper lying east to west made it a site for extracting metals, including, tin, lead. The first settlers stayed by a crossing in the river and started extracting metal ores, historically, Redruth was a small market town overshadowed by its neighbours until a boom in the demand for copper ore during the 18th century. Copper ore had mostly been discarded by the Cornish tin-mining industry but was now needed to make brass, surrounded by copper ore deposits, Redruth quickly became one of the largest and richest mining areas in Britain and the towns population grew markedly, although most miners families remained poor. The Mining Exchange was built in 1880 as a place for the trading of mineral stock, Redruth was making its transition from a market town dominated by mines and industry to a residential centre. By the end of the 19th century, the Cornish mining industry was in decline, to find employment, many miners emigrated to the newer mining industries in the Americas, Australasia and South Africa. Cornwalls last fully operational mine, South Crofty at Pool between Redruth and Camborne, closed in March 1998, Redruth School, a Technology College, is a secondary school and sixth form college, for ages 11–18. Primary schools within the town include Pennoweth School, Treleigh School, Treloweth Community Primary School, Trewirgie Infant School, the Curnow Community Special School caters for students with special needs. The Parish Church of St Uny, which is distance from the town centre, is of Norman foundation but was rebuilt in 1756. The patron saint is also honoured at Lelant, the tower is two centuries earlier and the whole church is built of granite. A chapel of ease was built in the town in 1828, other places of worship include the Wesleyan Church of 1826, the Free Methodist Church of 1864 and the Quaker Meeting House of 1833. The former post office in Alma Place is now known as the Cornish Studies Centre, the Mining Exchange building is now used as a housing advice centre. The house now called Murdoch House in the middle of Cross Street was erected in the 1660s as a chapel, william Murdoch lived in it from 1782 to 1798. During this time, he worked on local tin and copper mines, erecting engines on behalf of Boulton and he fitted the house out with gas lighting from coal gas – this was the first house in the world with this type of lighting. In the 19th century, the house was used as a tea room, in 1931 Mr A. Pearce Jenkin, a leading citizen of Redruth purchased the house and gave it as a gift to the Society of Friends
37.
Saltash
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Saltash is a town and civil parish in southeast Cornwall, England, UK. It has a population of 14,964, which rose to 16,184 at the 2011 census and it lies in the south east of Cornwall, facing Plymouth over the River Tamar. It was in the Caradon district until March 2009 and is known as the Gateway to Cornwall, Saltash means ash tree by the salt mill. Saltash is the largest town within the East Cornwall area and is one of the largest in Cornwall, Saltash is the location of Isambard Kingdom Brunels Royal Albert Bridge, opened by HRH Prince Albert on 2 May 1859. It takes the line across the River Tamar. Alongside it is the Tamar Bridge, a bridge carrying the A38 trunk road. Saltash railway station is close to the town centre and it was hoped that the empty buildings could be restored as a visitor centre for the bridge, but they have instead been purchased by a property developer. The station is served by a train service, with some direct High Speed services to. Stagecoach South West, Plymouth Citybus, and Go Cornwall Bus operate bus services from Saltash, into Plymouth city centre, Launceston, Liskeard, Looe, and Polperro. The cottage of Mary Newman, Sir Francis Drakes first wife, nearby are the castles at Trematon and Ince, as well as the nature reserve at Churchtown Farm, where there are some wonderful walks, with stunning views of the river. Burrell House near Saltash was built in 1621 and has a wing dated 1636, the entrance side was altered in the 18th century. The town expanded in the 1990s with the addition of the new estate Latchbrook. In the summer of 2009 the Saltash postcode area was judged as the most desirable place to live in Great Britain in a survey that included statistics from school results, the history of Saltash is linked to the passage, or ferrying place across the Tamar. The original ferry became established by fishermen for those passing to and from the monastery at St Germans and to Trematon Castle. After the Norman Conquest, Robert, Count of Mortain, who held the castle and manor at Trematon, took the market from the canons at St. Germans and established it at Saltash. The Count granted Trematon and other manors to the de Valletorts, in the twelfth century a borough was founded, and Saltash became the only franchised seaport between Dartmouth and Fowey. This fact has given rise to the Saltash saying, Saltash was a borough town, in medieval times the ferry was part of the manor of Trematon, held by the Valletorts. The Antony Passage Ferry, which is mentioned in documents as early as 1324, was situated within the St Stephens suburb of Saltash civil parish, the route linked Jupiter Point, Antony Passage and Passage Point
38.
St Austell
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St Austell is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated on the south coast, approximately 10 miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon. Named after Saint Austol, one of the earliest references to the village of St Austell is in John Lelands Itinerary, where he says At S. Austelles is nothing notable but the paroch chirch. Not long after William Cookworthy discovered china clay at Tregonning hill in west Cornwall, Clay mining soon took over from tin and copper mining as the principal industry in the area, and this eventually contributed enormously to the growth of the town. This meant that shops and businesses took root, providing more jobs. This, along with other factors, led to St Austell becoming one of the ten most important commercial centres of Cornwall. Work began in 1963 on the precinct which included shops, offices and flats, the design was by Alister MacDonald & Partners. The town centre underwent a £75 million redevelopment process. The redevelopment attracted heavy opposition from its outset, in October 2007, the South West of England Regional Development Agency and project developers David McLean announced that the new development would be named White River Place. It was also announced that 50% of shop units had been leased to high street stores, with New Look, Peacocks, Bonmarché and Wilkinson opening new stores. This would mean New Look relocating from its current premises in Fore Street, the Torchlight Carnival was revived in November 2009 as a direct result of public demand through a survey conducted with local residents. The Torchlight Procession has become an important event in the calendar, heralding in the Winter celebrations and drawing thousands of people from across Cornwall. The event is run by a group of non affiliated volunteers. The St Austell and Clay Country Eco-town is a plan for new settlements around St Austell on old Imerys sites. It was given government approval in July 2009. In July 2011, the Cornwall Council strategic planning committee voted to approve a £250 million beach resort scheme at Carlyon Bay, the development was initially proposed in 2003. The arms of St Austell are Arg, St Austell is in the parliamentary constituency of St Austell and Newquay which was created in 2010 by the Boundary Commission for England. Before 2010 it was in the Truro and St Austell seat, the main local authority is Cornwall Council, the unitary authority created as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
39.
Truro
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Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Truro is Cornwalls county town and only city, its centre for administration, leisure and it is the most southern city in mainland Great Britain. People from Truro are known as Truronians, Truro grew as a centre of trade from its port and then as a stannary town for the tin mining industry. The citys cathedral was completed in 1910, places of interest include the Royal Cornwall Museum, the Hall for Cornwall and Cornwalls Courts of Justice. The origin of Truros name is debated and it is said to be derived from the Cornish tri-veru meaning three rivers, but references such as the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names reject this theory. The tru part might mean three, though this is doubtful, an expert on Cornish place-names, Oliver Padel, in his book A Popular Dictionary of Cornish Place-names, wrote that the three rivers meaning is possible. Alternatively the name may derive from *tre-uro or similar, i. e. the settlement on the river *uro, the earliest records and archaeological findings of a permanent settlement in the Truro area originate from Norman times. The town grew in the shadow of the castle and was awarded borough status to further economic activity, the castle has long since gone. Richard de Lucy fought in Cornwall under Count Alan of Brittany after leaving Falaise late in 1138, the small adulterine castle at Truro, Cornwall, later known as “Castellum de Guelon” was probably built by him between 1139-1140. He styled himself Richard de Lucy, de Trivereu, the castle later passed to Reginald FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of Henry I, when he was invested by King Stephen as the first Earl of Cornwall. Reginald married Mabel FitzRichard, daughter of William FitzRichard, a landholder in Cornwall. The 75-foot diameter castle was in ruins by 1270 and the motte levelled in 1840 and it is today the site of the Crown Court. Reginald FitzRoy confirmed c1170 in a charter to the burgesses of Truro the privileges which had been granted by Richard de Lucy, Richard held ten Knights Fees in Cornwall prior to 1135 and at his death a third of his considerable total holding remained in Cornwall. The Black Death arrived, and with it a trade recession, resulting in an exodus of the population. Trade gradually returned and the town became prosperous during the Tudor period, self-governance was awarded in 1589 when a new charter was granted by Elizabeth I, which gave Truro an elected mayor and control over the port of Falmouth. During the Civil War in the 17th century, Truro raised a force to fight for the king. Defeat by the Parliamentary troops came in 1646 and the mint was moved to Exeter, later in the century Falmouth was awarded its own charter giving it rights to its harbour, starting a long rivalry between the two towns. The dispute was settled in 1709 with control of the River Fal divided between Truro and Falmouth, Truro prospered greatly during the 18th and 19th centuries
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Wadebridge
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Wadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel 5 miles upstream from Padstow, the permanent population is 6,222, increasing to 7,900 at the 2011 census. There are two wards in the town. The bridge was important during the English Civil War. Since then, it has been widened twice and refurbished in 1991, Wadebridge was served by a railway station between 1834 and 1967, part of the line now forms the Camel Trail, a recreational route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The town used to be a traffic bottleneck on the A39 road until it was bypassed in 1991. The town has a school where several notable sports-people were educated. The Royal Cornwall Show is an agricultural show held at the nearby Royal Cornwall Showground every June. The initial settlement of Wade came about due to a ford in the River Camel, the early crossing had a chapel on each side of the river, Kings chapel on the north side and St Michaels on the south side. People would pray for a crossing at one of the chapels before wading across at low tide. In 1312 a licence was granted for a market at Wade, Wade was now known as Wadebridge. The bridge was a position in the English Civil War as in 1646 Oliver Cromwell came with 500 Dragoons and 1,000 horsemen to take the bridge. When the bridge was first completed tolls were charged for its maintenance, in 1853 it was widened from 3 to 5 metres. A second widening took place in 1952 and then in 1963 it was again widened taking it to 12 metres, in 1994 the bridge underwent a refurbishment to change the stone in the pavement and to create a cycle track. The line was intended to carry sand from the Camel Estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser and it was opened on 30 September 1834 with the locomotive Camel pulling a train load of 400 passengers. When the company ordered its second locomotive it came with a name plate already affixed and it had been named the Elephant as the makers had failed to realise that the first engine had been named after the river and not an animal. The last passenger train left Wadebridge railway station in 1967 following railway cutbacks, the railway has been transformed into the Camel Trail, and the Bodmin and Wenford Railway heritage railway runs on part of the route. Timber was also imported from the Baltic, while stone from inland was sent to destination throughout England and this commodity, brought up from Padstow in barges, had previously been taken as far as Michaelstow and Blisland
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Torpoint
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Torpoint is a civil parish and town on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the estuary of the River Tamar. Torpoint has a population of 8,457, decreasing to 8,364 at the 2011 census, two electoral wards also exist. Their combined populations at the same census were 7,717 In the Cornish language Torpoint is called Penntorr. Torpoint is linked to Plymouth by the Torpoint Ferry, the three vessels that operate the service are chain ferries – that is, they are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on fixed chains which lie across the bed of the river. The journey takes about seven minutes and it is said that Torpoints name is derived from Tar Point, a name given because of the initial industry on the west bank of the Hamoaze. However this is actually a given by workers, Torpoint meaning rocky headland. Torpoint is a planned town. The grid-based design for the town was commissioned by Reginald Pole Carew in the Parish of Antony in 1774. His family continue to have an influence in the area, having become the Carew Poles in the twentieth century. Due to the presence of Devonport Dockyard, the town grew as Dockyard workers settled there, the establishment of the Royal Navys main training facility, HMS Raleigh also increased the population of Torpoint. See Category, People from Torpoint John Langdon Down was born in Torpoint in 1828 and he was called back on a number of occasions to help his father in his local business until his fathers death in 1853. Educational institutions in Torpoint include, Torpoint Infant School — a medium-large infant school, carbeile Junior School — a large primary school. Torpoint Community College, The Humanities College for South East Cornwall — the only college in south east Cornwall. Torpoint has a Non-League football club Torpoint Athletic F. C. who play at The Mill, Torpoint is twinned with Benodet in Brittany, France. Torpoint website Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Torpoint
42.
Ashburton, Devon
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Ashburton is a small town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, adjacent to the A38. It was formerly important as a town, and remains the largest town within the National Park, with a population of around 3,800. Ashburton has five pubs within the centre of town, and two restaurants, the town is also part of the electoral ward named Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, the population of which at the 2011 census was 7,718. The name is recorded in the Domesday Book as Essebretone, Ashburton was then the main town of the Parish of Ashburton, in Teignbridge Hundred. During the English Civil War, Ashburton was a refuge for Royalist troops fleeing after their defeat by General Fairfax at nearby Bovey Tracey. The town was the terminus of the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway that opened on 1 May 1872, Ashburton railway station closed to passengers in November 1958 although goods traffic on the line continued until 7 September 1962. Ashburton used to be famous for a known as Ashburton Pop, possibly a type of champagne. Ashburton Carnival is one of the oldest, possibly the oldest, written records date it back to 1891, but it is believed to have been started in the mid-1880s to raise funds for a new hospital. Ashburton Golf Club was founded in 1910, the club continued into the 1920s. Ashmoor Hockey Club was formed in 2003 and plays at South Dartmoor Community College, Ashburton was the first place to elect a candidate of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party to public office. The candidate was Alan Hope, a publican, who was elected unopposed to Ashburton Town Council in 1989. He subsequently became Deputy Mayor and later Mayor of Ashburton, the town is one of a few to still annually appoint a Portreeve or port warden. Others are Laugharne, Beccles, Callington, Cheevel, and Yeovil, the parish church of St Andrew is a fine building of the 15th century with a tall tower and two aisles. The 15th-century church tower includes sculptures by Herbert Read, who carved the oak reredos. One window has stained glass designed by C. E. Kempe, St Lawrence Chapel is a Grade ll* Listed Building in St Lawrence Lane in the centre of the town. Originally a chantry chapel and then a school for over 600 years, St Lawrence Chapel is now an important heritage, cultural and community centre. Saint Gudula Well and Cross in Old Totnes Road is probably named after St Gulval, the Rippon Tor Rifle Range lies within five miles of Ashburton. Creedy, Sandford Official town website Ashburton, Devon at DMOZ Devon Local Studies - Ashburton community page Ashburton in the Domesday Book official Chapel website
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Axminster
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Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England, some 28 miles from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, at the 2001 census, it had a population of 5,626, increasing to 5,761 at the 2011 census. The town contains two wards the total sum of both wards being a population of 7,110. The market is held every Thursday. Axminster gave its name to a type of carpet, an Axminster-type power loom is capable of weaving high quality carpets with many varying colours and patterns. While Axminster carpets are made in the town by Axminster Carpets Ltd, the town dates back to the Celtic times of around 300 BC. It lies on two major Roman roads, the Fosse Way from Lincoln to Seaton, and the Dorchester to Exeter road, there was a Roman fort on the crossroads at Woodbury Farm, just south of the present town. Axminster appears on the Peutinger Map, one of only 15 British towns on that Roman era map, Axminster was recorded in the late 9th century as Ascanmynster and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Aixeministra. The name means monastery or large church by the River Axe and is a mixture of languages, the history of the town is very much linked to the carpet industry, started by Thomas Whitty at Court House near the church in 1755. The completion of the early hand tufted carpets was marked by a peal of bells from the church as it took a great amount of time. In 1210, a charter was granted to the town included the right to hold a weekly cattle market which took place in the market square until it was moved to Trinity Square in 1834. It then moved in October 1912 to a site off South Street where it was held for 94 years and it finally closed in 2006 in the aftermath of the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak. A building on the site continued to be used for a general auction until all the buildings were demolished and replaced by a housing development. The town was on the route from London to Exeter. In 1760 a coaching inn named The George Hotel was opened on the corner of Lyme Street, over 16 coaches a day would stop at the hotel in its heyday for refreshments and to change horses, the building still stands but it is currently unoccupied. Part of the parish of Axminster had historically been an exclave of Dorset until the Counties Act 1844, Axminster railway station was opened on 19 July 1860, with the London and South Western Railway offering direct services between Central Station in Exeter and Yeovil. The station building was designed by the LSWRs architect Sir William Tite in mock gothic style, in 1903, the branch line from Axminster to Lyme Regis was opened. This branch line was closed with the Beeching cuts, in the 1960s, one engine has been preserved on the Bluebell Line, in Sussex, while the station was dismantled and reconstructed at New Alresford, on the Watercress Line, in Hampshire
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Barnstaple
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Barnstaple /ˈbɑːrnstəbəl/ or /ˈbɑːrnstəpəl/ is the main town of North Devon, England, and possibly the oldest borough in the United Kingdom. It is a former river-port, located at the lowest crossing-point of the River Taw, from the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool, since the merchants claimed that the town had been declared a free borough in Saxon times. This brought great wealth to Barnstaple, whose town centre still preserves a medieval layout, later the town became an importer of Irish wool, but its harbour silted up, and it developed other industries, such as shipbuilding, foundries and sawmills. Its Victorian market survives, with its glass and timber roof on iron columns. Barnstaple railway station is the terminus of a line from Exeter. Since 1974, Barnstaple has been a civil parish governed by town council, the parish itself had a population of 24,033 and including the satellite settlements known as the Barnstaple Town Area, it is 53,514. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete, but is retained by an American county, Barnstaple was formerly referred to as Barum, from a contraction of the Latin form of the name in Latin documents such as the episcopal registers of the Diocese of Exeter. Barum was mentioned by Shakespeare, and the name was revived and popularised in Victorian times, the name Barum is retained in the names of a football team, brewery, and of several local businesses. The former Brannam Pottery works which was sited in Litchdon Street was known for its trademark Barum etched on the base of its products, the earliest settlement in the area was probably at Pilton on the bank of the River Yeo, now a northern suburb of the present town. Barnstaple had its own mint before the Norman Conquest, the large feudal barony of Barnstaple had its caput at Barnstaple Castle. It was granted by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Montbray, the barony escheated to the crown in 1095 after Montbray had rebelled against King William II. William re-granted the barony to Juhel de Totnes, formerly feudal baron of Totnes, in about 1107, Juhel, who had already founded Totnes Priory, founded Barnstaple Priory, of the Cluniac order, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. After Juhels son died without children, the barony was split into two, passing through the de Braose and Tracy families, before being reunited under Henry de Tracy. It then passed through other families, before ending up in the ownership of Margaret Beaufort. See Feudal barony of Barnstaple for full details, in the 1340s the merchants of the town claimed that the rights of a free borough had been granted to them by King Athelstan in a lost charter. Although this was challenged from time to time by subsequent lords of the manor, the towns wealth in the Middle Ages was founded on its being a staple port licensed to export wool. It had a merchant guild, known as the Guild of St. Nicholas. In the early 14th century it was the third richest town in Devon, behind Exeter and Plymouth and its wool trade was further aided by the towns port, from which in 1588 five ships were contributed to the force sent to fight the Spanish Armada
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Bideford
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Bideford /ˈbɪdᵻfərd/ is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the town of the Torridge local government district. In ancient records Bideford is recorded as Bedeford, Byddyfrod, Bedyford, Bydeford, Bytheford and Biddeford, the Welsh bydd y ffordd means this is the way or this is the road. Hubba the Dane was said to have attacked Devon in the area around Bideford near Northam or near Kenwith Castle, There were then 30 villagers,8 smallholders and 14 slaves in Bideford. According to the account by the Continuator of Wace and others, in his youth Brictric declined the advances of Matilda. The Exon Domesday notes that Bideford and nearby Littleham were held at fee farm from the king by Gotshelm, gotshelms 28 manors descended to the Honour of Gloucester, as did most of Brictrics. Thus Brictrics fiefdom became the barony of Gloucester. The Grenville family held Bideford for many centuries under the overlordship of the barons of Gloucester, which barony was soon absorbed into the Crown. He obtained from FitzHamon the lordship of Neath, Glamorgan, in which he built Neath Castle, Richard de Grenville was one of three known sons of Hamo Dapifer Sheriff of Kent, an Anglo-Norman royal official under both King William the Conqueror and his son King William Rufus. He is by tradition the founder and ancestor of the prominent Westcountry Grenville family of Stowe in the parish of Kilkhampton in Cornwall and of Bideford in Devon. However, according to Round no proof exists that Richard I de Grenville ever held the manor of Bideford and it was however certainly one of the constituent manors of the Honour of Gloucester granted by King William Rufus to Robert FitzHamon. Roberts familial relationship, if any, to Richard is unknown, a charter was granted in 1272 to Richard V de Grenville by King Henry III, which created the towns first council. In ancient records Bideford was recorded as a borough but has returned members to Parliament during the reigns of Edward I. The Grenville family were for many centuries lords of the manor of Bideford, the monument with an effigy of Sir Thomas Grenville exists in St Marys Church. His great-great-grandson Sir Richard Grenville, the captain of the Revenge, was born in the manor house in Bideford. He built himself a new mansion on the quayside in 1585, the family had another seat at Stow House, Kilkhampton, near Bude in Cornwall. In 1575 he created the Port of Bideford, Grenville brought a Native American Wynganditoian from Roanoke Island with him after returning from a voyage to America in 1586. Grenville named this Native American tribesman, Raleigh after his cousin Sir Walter Raleigh, Raleigh converted to Christianity and was baptised at Saint Mary the Virgins Church on 27 March 1588, but died from influenza during his residence in Grenvilles house on 2 April 1589
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Brixham
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Brixham /ˈbrɪksəm/ is a small fishing town and civil parish in the district of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay. At the time of the 2011 census it had a population of 16,693 and it is thought that the name Brixham came from Briocs village. Brioc was an old English or Brythonic personal name and -ham is an ancient term for home derived from Old English, the town is hilly and built around the harbour which remains in use as a dock for fishing trawlers. It has a focal tourist attraction in the replica of Sir Francis Drakes ship Golden Hind that is moored there. In summer the Cowtown carnival is held, a reminder of when Brixham was two communities with only a marshy lane to connect them. Cowtown was the area on top of the hill where the farmers lived, while a mile away in the harbour was Fishtown where the seamen lived. Cowtown, the St Marys Square area, is on the road leaving Brixham to the south west, in the direction of Kingswear, the town holds a yearly pirate event which competes for the title of most pirates in one place and this draws visitors from far and wide. Although there is evidence of Ice age inhabitants here, and probable trading in the Bronze Age and it is possible that Saxon settlement originated by sea from Hampshire in the 6th century, or overland around the year 800. Brixham was called Briseham in the Domesday Book, Brixham was part of the former Haytor Hundred. The population was 3,671 in 1801 and 8,092 in 1901, in 1334, the towns value was assessed at one pound, twelve shillings and eightpence, by 1524, the valuation had risen to £24 and sixteen shillings. It is recorded as a borough from 1536, and a market is recorded from 1822, William de Whithurst, a distinguished Crown official and judge in Ireland, became parish priest of Brixham in 1350. Many local people still have Dutch surnames, being descendants of soldiers in that army. A road leading from the harbour up a hill, to where the Dutch made their camp, is still called Overgang. The coffin house reflects Brixham humour, it is coffin-shaped and when a father was asked for the hand in marriage of his daughter, he said he would see her in a coffin, amazed by this, the father gave his blessing. The street names reflect the towns history, pump Street is where the village pump stood. Monksbridge was a built by the monks of Totnes Priory. Lichfield Drive was the route that the dead were taken for burial at St Mary’s churchyard, salutation Mews, near the church, dates from when England was Catholic, and the salutation was to the Virgin Mary
