Weston-super-Mare

51º21N 2º59W, pop (2002e) 73 400. Resort town in N Somerset, SW England, UK; located 28 km/17 mi SW of Bristol, on the Bristol Channel; flourished as a seaside resort in 19th-c; birthplace of John Cleese and John Polkinghorne; railway; plastics, engineering; Grand Pier (1904), Winter Gardens and Pavilion (1927).

Weston-super-Mare is an English seaside resort town in North Somerset, population 71,758 (2001 Census). The town has spread along the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury Hill and Brean Down. It is well known for its sandy beaches, although at low tide the sea can be over a mile from the beachfront, and a substantial trek across the mud is necessary in order to reach the "sea". Driving on the beach catches people out as they drive too close to the sea and break through the sand to the underlying mud and are then stuck.

Weston comes from the Anglo-Saxon for the west tun or settlement. The descriptive part of its name is unusual because it is in medieval Latin and was first recorded by an unknown medieval church clerk, presumably to distinguish it from other Westons in the area.

Early in the nineteenth century, Weston was a small windswept village of about 30 houses, located behind a line of sand dunes fronting the sea. Along with nearby Burnham-on-Sea, Weston benefited from proximity to Bristol, Bath and South Wales.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his family lived in Weston, at Swiss Villa (eastern corner of Alexandra Parade and Swiss Road), for a number of months whilst he was supervising the construction of the Bristol & With the opening of the railway, thousands of visitors came to the town from Bristol, The Midlands and further afield, on works outings and Bank Holidays.

Large areas of land were released for development from the 1850s onwards.

In 1885 the first transatlantic telegraph cable of the Commercial Cable Company was brought ashore and the company started a long association with the town, ending in 1962.

Local traders, unhappy that visitors were not coming as far as the centre of the town, began the construction of a new pier closer to the main streets. Art Deco influences can be seen in much of the town's architecture from this period.

During World War II many evacuees were accommodated in the town. Weston suffered several bombing raids, damaging parts of the town centre, particularly Orchard Street and Boulevard. War industries, such as aircraft and pump manufacture, were dispersed to the town.

Since the 1970s Weston has suffered a large decline in popularity, like virtually all British seaside resorts. The town had become a centre of industries such as helicopter production. Road transport links were improved with the M5 motorway running close by, and the town now supports several light industries and distribution depots, and functions partly as a dormitory town for Bristol. Philip Harris Ltd moved their production unit to the town in the 1970s to join their biological supplies division, which moved from Sheffield in 1965. It is worth noting, though, that the two largest employers are the luminaries of the local council and the academicians of Weston College.

The tourist traffic has never completely vanished and Weston nowadays could be considered to be weathering hard times moderately well. There is also a derelict pier to the north of the town, a derelict theatre, swimming pool and sauna on Knightstone Island, although this island is now under development as a luxury housing complex with many of the existing buildings being retained due to their listed status.

The town as a whole has expanded its size considerably and at one time in the eighties was the fastest growing municipality in Europe. Building continues apace, though notably the fashionable South side of town towards Bleadon has avoided this.

A large "carrot" shaped sculpture has been installed in the town centre recently, supposedly to symbolise man's harmony with the sea. There has been some controversy in the town over whether this modern sculpture incorporating a bus shelter enhanced the town or was a waste of money.

The T4 on the beach music event is a recent addition, where well known bands and singers perform up to three of their hits, all aspects bar the vocals being mimed.

Residential areas include Oldmixon and the Bourneville estate, which exhibit many fine examples of post war and late twentieth century architecture. Antisocial behaviour on this estate and on the Bovril, as it is locally known, is generally ignored by the town fathers.

Made an urban district in 1894, Weston-super-Mare became a municipal borough in 1937. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was merged into the Woodspring district of the County of Avon, and became a Charter Trustees town. Weston-super-Mare regained a town council in 2000, becoming a civil parish. Local political life languishes, though, and public opinion is represented by the serried trivialities of the Weston Mercury, based on the Boulevard.

Well-known former residents of the town include author,politician and supporter of women's rights Jeffrey Archer, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, actor John Cleese, actress Mandy Miller, author Roald Dahl, journalist Jill Dando, actor Rupert Graves. Arthur Stanley Eddington, one of the foremost astrophysicists of the early twentieth century grew up in the town.

In the Little Britain television series, the character Vicky Pollard claims to have seen the pop group the Blazin' Squad in Weston-super-Mare.

The town's motto is "Ever Forward".

The upper part of the beach is sandy but, as the sea retreats a long way with the tide exposing mud flats, the town is sometimes unkindly known as "Weston-super-Mud". Consequently it is only at the part of the tide cycle where high tide is in the early morning and late afternoon that the sea comes well up the beach.

The tidal rise and fall is often said to be the second largest in the world after the Bay of Fundy in Canada and can be as great as 13 m (42 feet). (Ungava Bay has recently been found to have a tidal range greater than the Severn.) This tidal movement contributes to the deposition of mud from the River Severn in bays such as the one at Weston.

An anouncement is expected to be made in January 2007 in which the town's mayor will announce his ambitions for the town's continued space exploration program. Blueprints have been leaked from the town hall revealing plans for what appears to be the first moonbase.

The town's local football team is Weston Super Mare Football Club.

For all its rusticity, and kitsch, though, the town is not without its charm, particularly early on a summer's morning, before the grockles show up to vomit on the Promenade.