Neither this town nor its near neighbour, Midsomer Norton, is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but the area is believed to have been settled since the Iron Age. Both towns were, at one time, associated with coal mining. Radstock has been awarded conservation area status, as one of the best preserved former coal-mining towns in England. The Radstock Museum has various exhibits and reconstructions of life in the North Somerset coalfield.
The whole area has a rich industrial heritage due to its past as an important coalfield. Many of the nearby villages, such as Camerton and Paulton, once had their own collieries. The terraced miner’s cottages and grassed over spoil heaps can still be seen throughout the area.
Radstock Memorial Park is a pleasant green space on either side of a brook. There are two routes for cyclists and walkers around the town; these are the Greenway and the Colliers Way. The path follows the route of former railway lines and quiet country lanes.
Nearby Midsomer Valleys nestle between the lovely old city of Bath and the Mendip Hills. These villages and valleys boast a few fictional links, particularly to some well-loved nursery rhymes. Jack and Jill are believed to have fallen down a hill in the pretty village of Kilmersdon. In 1999 a medieval well shaft was discovered and is now marked with a plaque – perhaps this is the well down which the pussy fell in “Ding, Dong, Bell”.
Not too far away, the village of Mells is where “Little Jack Horner” was said to have been the steward to the Bishop of Glastonbury during the reign of Henry VIII. This is a particularly picturesque village, dotted with thatched cottages. The 15th century Talbot Inn is of interest to the visitor. Each spring the village holds a Daffodil Weekend.
Holcombe is a village which lost most its inhabitants to the Black Death in 1348. The survivors founded the present day village up the hill. This is the village most associated with “Ring O Ring O Roses”, a rhyme said to describe the effects of the plague. The father of Scott of the Antarctic is buried in the old churchyard of this village.
