Parish Boundaries

Two centuries ago village life revolved around a Parish Church as people enjoyed Festivals of Christmas and Easter, and were part of a choir or bell ringers. The vicar with church-wardens had a duty of care for all persons within the civil parish. However those far from church got less involved so went unnoticed when domestic crises arose.

Colliers in hamlets of Adam's Land and Brockeridge were the other side of the hill from St Peter's in Frampton Cotterell, while those at Coalpit Heath, Nibley and Henfield were distant from 'St James the Great' at Westerleigh. They worked before dawn till after dusk, living in great poverty, and with their children uneducated there seemed to be no escape. Then during the 1800s reformers set about providing education and social benefit. Four chapels with Sunday Schools were built, followed by school buildings at Brockeridge, The Manor and the National School.

The Church of England Authorities responded in 1845 by creating a new Parish of Coalpit Heath by Order in Council. This ecclesiastical boundary encompassed homes within the neglected mining community and was superimposed upon civil parishes of Frampton Cotterell and Westerleigh. William Butterfield, an eminent Victorian architect, was engaged to design and build St Saviour's Parish Church. The Parish of Coalpit Heath does not administer council tax, highways, planning and recreation, which remains in domain of the civil parishes. However people ask the priest of the Parish where they live to call banns for a wedding, to baptise babies, or conduct a funeral.

The boundary between Frampton Cotterell and Westerleigh Parishes lies along a water course which takes overflow from flooded mines and discharges it into the Frome near Damson's Bridge and this underground channel or adit exists a few metres west of Badminton Road. The Village map shows the church boundary traversing Park Lane, South View and Frampton End Road, so all homes between this and Badminton Road are in Coalpit Heath ecclesiastical parish but Frampton Cotterell civil parish.