Uphill
"UPHILL, a parish in the hundred of Winterstoke, county Somerset, 2 miles W.
of Weston-super-Mare, its post town, and 7 N.W. of Axbridge. The village is
situated on Uphill Bay, in the Bristol Channel, at the mouth of the river
Axe. The soil consists of loam and clay, with a subsoil of clay. Building
stone is quarried. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bath and
Wells, value £300. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was erected in
1843; a memorial window has been inserted to the poet Bowles. The old
church stands on the summit of a hill a little to the S. of the village.
There are a parochial school for both sexes, and a Sunday-school. Uphill
House and Uphill Castle are the principal residences. T. T. Knyfton, Esq.,
is lord of the manor."
From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003
Parish Church: St Nicholas.
- The church of St. Nicholas: Alone on a hill above the Roman port of Axium
this Norman
church has a central tower, chancel, unroofed nave and a north porch sheltering a
Norman
doorway. The stiff climb to it is well rewarded, not least by the view over the
marshes
and the Bristol Channel. (1m S of Weston-Super-Mare off A370 - ST 316 584)
(Information from Penny Mercer).
- The port of Uphill was never known as Axium. This was a title, for a Roman Villa
located on Bleadon Hill, given by the 19th Century excavating team and derived
from the nearby river Ax or Axe as it is known today. Uphill port has been known
by a number of names all phonetically similar to Uphill e.g. Opopill, Orpophilla etc.
The Old Church of St. Nicholas dates from 1080 and was preceded by two Saxon Churches
and a Celtic Church from around 380-400. It was reputed to have been used by Alfred the Great
whilst he was based at Brent Knoll and he apparently built a small fleet
of vessels in The Pill to take on the Dane invaders at sea. The village has a
website with historical and current information relating to the village.
(Information from Ted Warren).
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