Westfield, Somerset
| Westfield | |
|---|---|
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Fosseway shops in Westfield |
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 Westfield
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| Westfield shown within Somerset | |
| Population | 5,854 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST6854 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | RADSTOCK |
| Postcode district | BA3 |
| Dialling code | 01761 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Westfield is a settlement lying on the Fosse Way between and Midsomer Norton in Somerset, England. In 2011 it was raised to the status of a civil parish.
It is 10.5 miles (16.9 km) south-west of Bath, 12 miles (19 km) north-east of Wells, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Frome, and 17 miles (27 km) south-east of Bristol.
Its geographical location on the A367 from Bath has resulted in it being an important base for services for the population centres of the old Somerset Coalfield area, for which it hosts the police and fire stations, the local further education college. For many years it hosted the annual winter carnival, until in 2014 the carnival route was changed to include Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Westfield.
The Fosse Way Roman road originally ran through this area, between what is now Radstock and Midsomer Norton. Westfield is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. By the early nineteenth century Westfield still consisted mostly of rural land and coal mining works, with little residential development. It was with the building of large numbers of terraced miners' cottages along the Fosse Way in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that the area developed into a more populous area in its own right, with Westfield starting to appear on maps and being recognized as a settlement. Modern housing estates were developed on land on both sides of the Fosse Way in the 1970s.
For many years, Westfield hosted the Midsomer Norton carnival every November, the only unofficial carnival on the Somerset circuit. The route was moved to Westfield when traffic improvements to Midsomer Norton High Street made the original route prohibitive for the large vehicles. However, in 2014, a new route was established travelling through Midsomer Norton, and Westfield.
Westfield is the site of the 2011 Somerset hot air balloon crash in which two hot-air balloonists who had been attempting to make a high-altitude ascent were killed when their balloon crashed at the Prattens Bowls Club.
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Wikipedia