Limpley Stoke

Limpley Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, in the Avon Valley, between Bath and Freshford. The village is below the A36 road.

The civil parish, which had a population of 637 in 2001, also includes the hamlet of Waterhouse, and the outskirts of the Somerset village of Midford. The 18th century country house at Waterhouse used to be a residential home for the elderly. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

In 1885 Messrs E G Browne and J C Margetson acquired a cloth mill, known as Avon Mill, on the banks of the River Avon at Limpley Stoke. The previous owners of the mill had originally been timber merchants, but had later diversified into the production of rubber goods. By 1890 the business had transferred to premises in Melksham in Wiltshire and later became Avon Rubber.

The village has two public houses, one of which, The Hop Pole, which dates from the 17th century, was used in the filming of The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins.

Transport

Limpley Stoke railway station, on the Wessex Main Line, is closed and is now privately owned. It was the junction station for the former branch line to Camerton, Somerset, on which The Titfield Thunderbolt was filmed.

The disused Somerset Coal Canal joined the Kennet and Avon Canal at the Dundas Aqueduct in the village. The final section was restored during the 1980s, and is used for...
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