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Hallen, Gloucestershire

Hallen
Moorhouse Lane, Hallen - geograph.org.uk - 118457.jpg
Hallen showing Haw Wood. The M5 is on the right
Hallen is located in Gloucestershire
Hallen
Hallen
Hallen shown within Gloucestershire
OS grid reference ST551800
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS10
Dialling code 0117
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°31′00″N 2°39′00″W / 51.5167°N 2.65°W / 51.5167; -2.65Coordinates: 51°31′00″N 2°39′00″W / 51.5167°N 2.65°W / 51.5167; -2.65

Hallen is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, just north of the Bristol city boundary. It is southwest of Easter Compton, northeast of Avonmouth and northwest of Henbury. The village lies at the edge of the Severn floodplain, sandwiched between the M49 and M5 motorways. The word Hallen is old Saxon meaning the village or place of salt or is from the Welsh for salt, 'halen'.

For administrative purposes Hallen is a ward in the civil parish of Almondsbury, although it is some 5 miles from the village of Almondsbury. Historically it was in the large parish of Henbury, and was transferred to Almondsbury in 1935 when most of Henbury was absorbed into Bristol.

The Henbury Loop railway line passes the village to the south. When the line was opened in 1910 the village was served by Hallen Halt station, but the halt closed in 1915. The loop construction made a railway embankment along one side of the village. It was during the excavation that a natural water spring was blocked. This destroyed the watercress fields that used to be a major income for the village.

A large underground petroleum storage facility was built into the hillside behind the village during World War II, to provide protection from German bombing. The facility is still in use today.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hallen was a popular stop off point for travellers making their way from the South West to the Aust ferry, which would cross the River Severn to Wales. There were three inns in the village, one with its own brewery. The brewery structure is still visible today attached to the last remaining pub, The King William IV.

However, Hallen also had a dark past. It was placed where public hangings took place for poor condemned wretches and suspected homosexuals from Bristol. The field on the West side of the village was called the Gastons. It was at this place the last public hanging took place.


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