Lower Almondsbury - conservation area - South Gloucestershire ...

WHAT THE LAW SAYS 

The legislation controlling Conservation Areas is found 

in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation 

Areas) Act 1990. 

The important points to remember are: 

New development must accord with the area’s special 

identity and visual qualities. 

A high standard of design for new development or 

extensions to existing buildings is expected, in 

regard to matters such as scale, proportion, 

materials and colour. 

The demolition, in whole or part, of unlisted 

buildings in Conservation Areas, requires special 

consent. 

LOWER 

ALMONDSBURY 

CONSERVATION 

AREA 

Special care should be taken to ensure that views 

into and out of the Conservation Area remain 

unspoilt. 

Advertisement displays are subject to strict control. 

Anyone wishing to fell top, lop, etc. a tree within a 

Conservation Area must give the Local Planning 

Authority six weeks advance notice in writing. 

GRANTS 

In certain approved cases, grants for enhancement or 

repairs in the Conservation Area may be available 

through the District Council or other sources. 

For further information please contact: 

Senior Conservation Officer 

South Gloucestershire Council 

Department of Planning, Transportation & 

Environmental Services, 

Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood, 

South Gloucestershire BD15 2TR 

Tel: 01454 868686 11/96

LOWER ALMONDSBURY CONSERVATION AREA 

North 

POLICY 

OBJECTIVES FOR 

ENHANCEMENT 

The following objectives are set out in the 

Rural Areas Local Plan:- 

To preserve individual buildings, groups of 

buildings, walls, open areas, natural features 

and trees and to retain the essential 

interrelationships upon which the character of 

the Conservation Area depends. 

Development should preserve or enhance the 

existing character of Conservation Areas. 

Large scale or comprehensive development 

schemes will not normally be permitted. The 

emphasis will be on the selective renewal of 

individual buildings. 

Conservation Area 

Designated 30th.July 1975 

Listed Buildings 

Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permission of the 

Controller H.M.Stationery Office. Crown Copyright Reserved. 

South Gloucestershire Council Licence No. 100023410/05 

Leaflet produced by South Gloucestershire Council 

Printed on Environment friendly Paper

CHARACTER 

The village of Lower Almondsbury nestles below 

the steep wooded Almondsbury Hill which shelters 

and largely obscures the village from above.This 

landscape feature provides an attractive backcloth 

to the village and contributes significantly to 

Almondsbury’s character. The woodland is 

protected by a Tree Preservation Order. The top of 

this hill provides a superb vantage point with views 

across the Severn where both bridges are clearly 

visible. 

SETTING 

The village of Almondsbury is situated 7 miles 

north of Bristol, near the M4/M5 Almondsbury 

Interchange, the first four-level motorway crossing 

in Britain. Almondsbury lies within the Bristol & Bath 

Green Belt. The village falls into two distinct parts 

divided by the A38, with modern ribbon 

development to the east and the old nucleus of 

Lower Almondsbury clustering beneath the steep 

and wooded Almondsbury Hill. 

If one enters the village via Sundays Hill or Hollow 

Road the steep and wooded descent is attractive 

and enclosed, gradually opening up by The Forge. 

St Marys Church dominates the village from its 

position at the foot of the escarpment and its 

splendid spire rises up revealing its position from 

the ridge.The small but picturesque village green 

with pump in the foreground of the church 

provides a typical village scene, enhanced by 

cottages of local stone nearby.Almondsbury 

village is rich in variety and style, with stone walls 

lining the narrow roads which are especially 

attractive in the spring and summer being covered 

in overhanging vegetation and blooms. 

St Mary’s and beyond 

Spectacular views across the Severn Estuary are 

afforded on the descent from new to old 

Almondsbury.

HISTORY 

Almondsbury was originally, as its name implies, 

the ‘Bury’ or camp of Alomond, a Saxon chieftain. 

The steep limestone scarp would have provided 

an excellent defensive site and signs of 

entrenchment can still be seen. Almondsbury Hill 

is a vantage point affording superb views across 

the Severn Valley to the Welsh Hills beyond. 

The original manor house was at Court Farm 

(grade II listed) in Almondsbury village but Chester 

chose the splendid hilltop position half a mile to 

the south with a magnificent view over the Bristol 

Channel for construction. A 15th century 

octagonal tower on this site was retained and 

incorporated into the house. Unfortunately, all that 

remains of the original house is the tower, reduced 

in size and incorporated into a modern dwelling. 

Old Pound 

Court Farm 

Medieval Almondsbury lay on the main route 

between Bristol and Gloucester and a market was 

established in 1285. For centuries, Almondsbury 

was a close-knit agricultural community under the 

patronage of its great manor houses of Knole 

Park, Over Court and Gaunts Earthcott. The 

Manor of Almondsbury belonged to St Augustine’s 

Abbey in Bristol until the dissolution and was 

granted to Sir Arthur d’Arcy in 1553. It was sold to 

Thomas Chester in 1569 and his heir, William 

Chester built Knole Park as a family seat. 

Over Court, an Elizabethan Manor house 2 miles 

south west of Almondsbury, built about the same 

time as Knole Park on the site of a 14th century 

house has also sadly been demolished, again to 

be replaced by new housing development. 

The church of St Mary (grade I listed) is said to 

have been consecrated by four bishops in 1148. In 

the mid-13th century there was considerable 

rebuilding when the chancel, crossing and 

transept were reconstructed. The church was 

heavily restored in the 19th century and the most 

notable features are its Norman north porch and 

font and its elegant, distinctive diagonally 

patterned lead spire, one of only three in the 

country

Lower Almondsbury - conservation area - South Gloucestershire ...

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