Lockdown 2.0 Diaries: BS24 – Puxton, Hewish and Locking

What links a church in the centre of Bristol that was bombed during the Second World War and has remained a shell ever since, with a medieval church on the north Somerset Levels?

The answer is that both Temple Church on Victoria Street and Holy Saviour’s Church in Puxton have noticeably leaning towers.

Standing on the edge of an earthwork that could date back as early as the 10th century, St Saviour’s has a Saxo-Norman nave to the south, with fine oak box pews probably early 18th century, and an oak reading desk and pulpit that are Jacobean.

In my short time in the village on Friday afternoon, I counted two cars, two cyclists and two horse riders.

A company in Puxton with a proud history dating back decades rather than centuries is Protect Signs, who since 1968 have been one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of traffic safety and signing products.

The coronavirus pandemic has seen business boom for Protect, with new signs now being made for social distancing, face coverings, hand washing and more; as well as selling ‘sneeze screens’ for shops and workstation partitions for offices.

Protect Signs in Puxton was founded in 1968 – photo: Martin Booth

Close to Protect, another Puxton-based firm is Simpson’s Marquee Hire, for who business has unfortunately been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Between Puxton and Hewish is Trethowan’s Dairy, who continue to sell their wares across the world from this corner of Somerset.

Trethowan’s moved to Puxton Court Farm from Wales in 2014, with one of their cheeses produced from here, Pitchfork Cheddar, awarded Best Mature Traditional Cheddar and Best Extra Mature cheddar at the World Cheese Awards 2019; also coming fourth overall and being named Britain’s best cheese.

Until a few years ago, the family firm had a stall in St Nick’s Market (what is now Woky Ko) and they continue to support the Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital charity.

Puxton Park’s farm shop and butchers remain open – photo: Martin Booth

Sharing an address of Cowslip Lane with Trethowan’s is Puxton Park, which remains closed during lockdown but still has its farm shop and butchers open.

Christmas orders are being taken at the butchers, with a Christmas grotto and breakfast with Santa still being advertised despite the coming of Tier 3.

If you have driven down the Bristol Road through Hewish, you will recognise Indian restaurant Flavour, previously Chinese restaurant the Golden Phoenix and once the Palmers Elm pub.

Today, Flavour might not be able to seat any diners in their restaurant but it remains open for delivery and collections.

Flavour Indian restaurant in Hewish used to be the Palmers Elm pub – photo: Martin Booth

Just a few hundred yards away from Flavour is Mayfield Farm, where Crossman’s cider is produced – photo: Martin Booth

It does not take long at all to go from the cheese and cider-producing Somerset countryside to the Junction 21 Enterprise Area – which might start close to junction 21 of the M5 but covers a vast swathe of land

The Enterprise Area aims to provide more than 2m sq ft of commercial space, 10,000 jobs and 6,000 new homes by 2026, with some £90m invested into the area so far through a mixture of public and private investment from the likes of Persimmon Homes, Homes England and North Somerset Council.

Close to the Helicopter Museum – like Puxton Park remaining resolutely shut, and having to furlough all its paid staff – is one example of the astonishing building work taking place.

On Friday afternoon, lines were being painted on The Runway, the name of the new road heading to Haywood Village on the site of the former Weston Airfield – with new secondary school Winterstoke Hundred Academy close to a new hotel, a new pub, a new nursery and pre-school, and a new drive-through Starbucks next to a new Budgens and a new Greggs.

Winterstoke Hundred Academy is on Beaufighter Road, named after the Bristol Beaufighter airplane – photo: Martin Booth

On the road into Locking, a noticeboard displays the minutes of the most recent parish council meeting, which when gathering over Zoom on November 5 approved solar street lights for the playing field car park and to make the parish council’s website more secure.

One councillor is Elfan ap Rees, the former North Somerset Council deputy leader, who was suspended by the Conservative Party in May (but later reinstated and cleared of racism) after tweeting that slaves “had a better life than staying in Africa” in response to A House Through Time featuring a house in Redcliffe.

In Locking, there has been a church on the site of St Augustine’s since around 1230 – a spring chicken compared with Holy Saviour’s in Puxton – with the medieval church tower here dating from 1380.

April 2019 saw celebrations to mark the restoration of the historic church tower and bells – photo: Martin Booth

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: New vision for bombed-out church