Norton Radstock is the former name of the small conurbation covering Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Westfield, in the Englishceremonial county of Somerset. It was formerly a large civil parish in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, south west of Bath, and the same distance north west of Frome. It had a population of 21,325 according to the 2001 census. The term Norton Radstock is not recognised by local residents, neither does it appear on any road map. It consisted of the towns of Midsomer Norton and Radstock and the parish of Westfield. The parish was north of the Mendip Hills. It included the smaller settlements of Clandown, Westfield and Haydon. Following a Governance Review in 2010, it was abolished in 2011 and replaced by three smaller councils. Norton Radstock was twinned with Ambarès-et-Lagrave in France from September 1982. Clandown was formerly a mining village, on the Somerset coalfield, but the last pits in the area closed in the late 1960s. The village's roots date back to Celtic times, where it was given the name 'Clandown' which means meeting place. The village changed hands many times from Celts to Romans to Saxons and so on. Clandown's Church of the Holy Trinity is a small church in quasi-perpendicular style, dating from 1847-49. It was built for the Rev. Charles Otway Mayne of Midsomer Norton by the architect G. P. Manners. It is a Grade II listed building. The church was converted to apartments some years ago. As well as the church, there were two chapels and three public houses. One of the chapels has been demolished and the other has been converted to apartments. Two pubs have been demolished. A school was opened in 1861 and closed in 2006. The nearby Bowlditch Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Governance
The parish was created in 1974 as a successor to the Norton-Radstock urban district which had been created in 1933 by the merger of Midsomer Norton and Radstock urban districts, along with part of Frome Rural District. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it became a successor parish to the urban district. The council was replaced in 2011 by separate town councils for Midsomer Norton and Radstock, and a parish council for Westfield. Norton Radstock was governed by the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset and by Norton Radstock Town Council, which elected 14 councillors across the four wards of Midsomer Norton North, Midsomer Norton Redfield, Radstock and Westfield. It was part of the North East Somerset, which elects a Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
