Although part of Weston Super Mare, Uphill manages to maintain its own very distinctive village identity. This has happened as a result of the beach road running out of Weston Super Mare acts like a natural barrier and separates Uphill from the rest of the town.
Uphill also has quite a history as in the eighteen hundreds local quarrying uncovered a small cave. This cave contained basic flint tools and butchered animal bones which highlighted that the area had been inhabited as far back as 40,000 years ago.
Next came the Romans to make their mark in history!
Although no real proof exists to prove the theory, historians believe that as a result of its costal position uphill was used to ship lead from their mines within the Mendip hills.
Mediaeval monks
It was the educated monks of Glastonbury who actually began to alter the panorama around uphill by constructing drainage ditches and flood defences. This transformation also converted the river axe into a particularly important business transport route.
Due to this extensive and ongoing drainage of the marsh much land was reclaimed for agricultural purposes. In the 18th century imported Welsh sheep became regionally farmed.
Here are a number of more details about Uphill.
1592
Documentation from the era highlights that Bristol retailers seized the cargo of fish and oil from a French merchant ship which was pressured to dock in Uphill.
Sixteen eighty five
The Duke of Monmouth used Uphill as a staging post for the riot of them same year.
The steel mills in the north of England were at the heart of the industrial revolution had an insatiable appetitive for lime and uphill had a lime kiln near the modern boat yard, the produce of which was shipped by sea up the Bristol Channel.
Uphills most prominent landmark is the old church which sits on the top of the hill overlooking the modern village.
It is construct on the location of an even earlier Saxon church although the current building was constructed shortly after the 1066 conquest of the Normans.
In 1864 it ceased to be a place of worship when a more modern church was built in a flatter and more accessible place in Uphill village.
Uphill has two pubs with an attention-grabbing history. Both the ship and the dolphin are well-liked modern-day village pubs. What makes them completely different from other pubs is the truth that they were frequented by smugglers.
With skilful use of lanterns placed of the hillside on darker nights they would guide boats ladened with contraband into Uphill for unloading.
However, they did not always get it right as in one well documented occasion a smuggler laden with French brandy failed to raise his anchor early enough and when the sun came up he discovered himself marooned in the mud surrounded by the embracing proof of his trade.
Another fact that makes Uphill an important place in the area is that the tip of the village is the location of Weston Super Mare’s hospital which is the biggest hospital this side of Bristol 17 miles to the north.
The village can boast an exquisite sandy beach which overlooks Brean down, it’s own small harbour and shipyard for smaller boats.
You can discover more information by visiting uphill or more about Weston Super Mare at Weston Super Mare local pages
