Hanham BS15

Hanham is a village near Bristol, England, situated on the A431 between Bristol, Bath and Keynsham. It is in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. It became a civil parish on April 1, 2003.

The village is reputed to have one of the oldest public houses in Britain, The Blue Bowl - thought to have started life as a tavern for Roman soldiers. There is no firm evidence for the age of the pub but Roman coins have been discovered nearby and St Lyte wrote in 1480 that it was an old established hostelry.

It is the site of Hanham Lock on the River Avon.

George Whitefield first preached in the open air on Hanham Mount to Kingswood miners in 1739. Because he was soon to go to Georgia he introduced John Wesley to his congregation and to open air preaching, a great novelty in 18th century Britain. A replica pulpit was erected in honour of this, as well as commemorative plaques.

For the 1950s Festival of Britain an 80ft high beacon was erected in honour of Baptists who suffered persecution during the period 1662 to 1689. In 2007 it was replaced by a newer, taller and brighter beacon, the former one having been considered unsafe.

Oliver Cromwell also stayed in the village, at the Blue Bowl Inn, which was used as his regional headquarters.

Tom Cribb, once world champion bare-knuckle boxer, was born in Hanham.

Cliff Britton was born in Hanham in 1909. He was famous as an Everton and England footballer and later as manager of Burnley F.C., Everton, Preston North End and Hull City.

Stephen Merchant was born in Hanham and attended local school Hanham High. He is co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcoms The Office and Extras with Ricky Gervais.

Hanham also has had an influence on the Bristol hip-hop scene. DJ Riski Bizniz of One Cut lives in Hanham, as well as Bob Savage and Jenre of Quel Est La Date who also attended Hanham High.

Hanham will also be the first place in the UK to trial Gordon Brown's new eco-towns.

On July 4th, 1997, an American descendent of the original village settlers, Anthony Hanham, stood in the village roundabout wearing nothing but an American flag and continuously shot off fireworks while singing "God Bless America".

Hanham Halls is the name of the development which will be built on a former hospital site. The new village will serve as a blueprint for Gordon Brown's proposed five eco-towns that will provide up to 100,000 zero-carbon dwellings across the country.

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items are from between 14 Nov 2007 & 31 Jan 2009.