Visit Pucklechurch Places

Welcome to Visit Pucklechurch Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Pucklechurch

  

Pucklechurch Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Pucklechurch

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Pucklechurch history

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The land of Pucklechurch is relatively prominent in elevation compared to surrounding areas. It was selected in the Bronze Age as the site of a tumulus at Shortwood Hill.

Saxon royal villa or palace

Pucklechurch royal villa or palace was one of only a few in the Kingdom of Wessex. Adjoined on the west by a very large hunting forest, Kingswood, which was larger than today’s settlement of the same name. The palace became prominent in the two centuries before the Norman Conquest.

Domesday Book

The Domesday Book records these hides as belonging to St. Mary’s church, which was in Glastonbury Abbey’s grounds. There are sixty acres of meadow and woodland half a league long and a half broad. It was worth £20, now £30 per year.

Held by the Bishop of Bath & Wells and construction of the existing church

The large and fertile manor of Pucklechurch was held by the Bishop of Bath & Wells from 1275, who received it from Glastonbury Abbey. The church building largely dates to the 13th and 14th centuries, from the time when it was under the Bishop’s patronage.

Farmed to Denys family

The Bishop of Bath and Wells farmed the manor of Pucklechurch to Sir Gilbert Denys (d.1422) to save his see from the administrative burden of collecting all the rents in exchange for an annual one-off payment of £40. Denys held the farm until his death in 1422, although records are not available to confirm this. The manor was granted to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Coal mining

Parkfield Colliery operated near Pucklechurch from 1851 to 1936. Bristol Archives hold documents detailing the leases and sale of the coal mining rights by Mary and Elizabeth Dennis.

World War II and RAF Pucklechurch

During World War II the No.11 Balloon Centre, a barrage balloon depot, was built here. This protected against the Blitz which, as anticipated by the British, included Nazi Germany targeting the docks of Bristol from various approaches near the village. After the war this became a non-flying Royal Air Force station called RAF Pucklechurch until 1959.

Prison

The Pucklechurch Remand Centre was built on the site of the RAF in 1962 and expanded in 1978. It was destroyed in a riot in 1990 and became Ashfield Young Offender Institution in 1999. In 2013 the Ministry for Justice announced it will become a closed adult prison dealing with sex offenders.

Pucklechurch landmarks

Two of the central buildings, Moat House and The Grey House, are Grade II* listed. 15 monuments by the church are also listed.

Pucklechurch geography / climate

The village forms a large eastern cluster of development on a raised area of land in the parish, the northern half of which has 14 listed buildings. It is centrally well-preserved with overall a range of housing in styles of architecture and date – including, increasingly, that of the “red brick” style.

You can visit Pucklechurch places with Walkfo Pucklechurch to hear history at Pucklechurch’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Pucklechurch has 18 places to visit in our interactive Pucklechurch map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Pucklechurch, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Pucklechurch places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Pucklechurch & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 18 audio facts unique to Pucklechurch places in an interactive Pucklechurch map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Pucklechurch Places Map
18 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Pucklechurch historic spots	Pucklechurch tourist destinations	Pucklechurch plaques	Pucklechurch geographic features
Walkfo Pucklechurch tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Pucklechurch

  

Best Pucklechurch places to visit

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Pucklechurch has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Pucklechurch’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Pucklechurch’s information audio spots:

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in South West England . It comprises multiple suburban areas to the north and east of Bristol as well as a large rural hinterland . It was created in 1996 from the northern section of the county of Avon, which was abolished at that time .

HM Prison Ashfield HM Prison Ashfield (formerly Pucklechurch Remand Centre) is an adult male sex offenders prison in Gloucestershire. It was the first private prison in the UK to house young offenders. The prison is operated by Serco.

Visit Pucklechurch plaques