Henfield, Gloucestershire
| Henfield | |
|---|---|
 Bitterwell Lake |
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 Henfield
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| Henfield shown within Gloucestershire | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRISTOL |
| Postcode district | BS36 |
| Dialling code | 0117 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
Henfield is a hamlet in South Gloucestershire, England between Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh, adjoining the hamlet of Ram Hill immediately to the north.
Henfield is a small hamlet that has seen considerable land use change over the recent centuries moving from a traditional agricultural landscape to an active coal mining area by the beginning of the nineteenth century. The noise and pollution associated with mining and railway operations would have been constant. Population would have increased at that time supported by the introduction of new miner's cottages by the Coalpit Heath Colliery Company. The closure of New Engine Pit, the remaining mine, before the end of the nineteenth century represented change but with railway sidings and engine shed at New Engine and the movement of labour to the nearby Parkfield and Frog Lane Pits, the industrial nature of the area was maintained to well into the twentieth century.
The closure of the Frog Lane Pit at Coalpit Heath in 1949 represented a step change in the area and Henfield reverted to its agricultural roots, a quiet clustered hamlet surrounded by pastoral agricultural land. There were new additions at that time with the introduction of Henfield Village Hall and a little ribbon development along the convergent minor roads. The area was peaceful in the 1950s and early 1960s with little in the way of noise and light pollution. The construction of the M4 Motorway to the south of the hamlet in the late 1960s began to change the character of the area and with the expansion of Bristol and Yate, Henfield has lost its tranquillity and adopted a new role as a commuter satellite to the main urban areas. At the same time the character of the landscape has changed with dairy farming being replaced by new uses in particular "horsiculture" and the manicured landscape of the Kendleshire Golf Course.
However, with a rich heritage and reminders of its links with the past, such as Bitterwell Lake, the hamlet retains an important sense of community.
Henfield is situated near the centre of the North Bristol Coal Field, this area at one time having been a prolific coal mining community. Coal had been mined in this area since the fourteenth century and most likely even earlier. However it was Sir Samuel Astry, Lord of the Manor of Westerleigh c1680 who started mining on a grander scale and his descendants, or their business partners, continued to be connected with the Coalpit Heath Colliery Company.
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Wikipedia