A Heritage Tour of Weston-super-Mare

Worlebury Camp hillfort

Worlebury Camp is a large Iron Age hillfort on Worlebury Hill. Earth and stone banks and ditches surround the steep hilltop, for further protection. Finds from the Neolithic period and Bronze Age suggest that this was already an important place centuries before it was built. 

 Read why Worlebury Camp is a Scheduled Monument  and find out more in our  archaeological survey report .

Town Quarry

The Town Quarry, established before 1815, provided stone for roads as well as buildings. Despite its proximity to the fashionable houses of the hillside, and frequent complaints about the dangers of exploding charges, the Town Quarry remained active until 1953. Today, the Weston Civic Society has a visitor centre and café here.

Atlantic Road

In 1859-61 the architect Henry Lloyd designed Holy Trinity church and the two impressive Atlantic Terraces on either side. By 1884 St Peter’s Preparatory School for boys occupied the three easternmost houses of Atlantic Terrace East. It was taken over by St Faith’s School for girls by 1914 and the inscription ‘St Faith’s School’ can be seen on a carved plaque on the eastern end of the building.

Marine Lake

The Marine Lake provides access to a body of seawater for bathing, regardless of the tide. Following a number of unsuccessful schemes, by 1929 a barrage had been constructed between Knightstone Island and the shoreline near the southern end of Claremont Crescent to enclose Glentworth Bay.  

Knightstone Island

The first bathhouse and pool on Knightstone Island were constructed in 1820. Within a few years a causeway linked it to the mainland and the bathhouse, now offices, was built in 1832. On 13 May 1902, a new swimming pool, pavilion and opera house opened. The buildings are now flats, cafes and a spa. Several are Grade II listed (read why the  pavilion and opera house , the  former bath house  and the  swimming baths  are listed).

Leeves' Cottage

Leeves’ Cottage is a rare survivor of Weston’s early history. In about 1791, the Revd William Leeves, Rector of Wrington and a composer, built a cottage overlooking the sea. When he died in 1828 the cottage was sold to a retired East India merchant, Mr Clements. It was later used as a dairy and today is The Old Thatched Cottage Restaurant.  Read why the cottage is Grade II listed . 

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent, like Oriel Terrace, was developed in 1847. Henry Davies built it on a strip of church land that he had bought from Archdeacon Law. Its name, form and materials were clearly inspired by the architecture of Bath, which supplied Weston-super-Mare with many of its visitors.  Read why the Crescent is Grade II listed .

Parish Church of St John the Baptist

Because of its poor state of repair, the medieval parish church was pulled down in 1824. A new church opened the following year. The chancel was rebuilt and enlarged in 1837; in 1844 the north aisle was added and in 1853 a new porch was built. The local architect Hans Price directed repairs and improvements in 1871–2. The organ chamber was added in 1883 and three years later the vestry was enlarged. In about 1888 the porch was heightened and in 1890, Price & Wooler added the south aisle and new windows.  Read why the parish church is Grade II listed . Discover other works by Weston’s leading architect using the  self-guided Hans Price walk (PDF)  . 

Oriel Terrace

Henry Davies developed Oriel Terrace in 1847 from a design by James Wilson of Bath. Faced in Bath stone, these developments contained grand houses and soon provided lodgings for Weston’s wealthier visitors.  Read why Oriel Terrace is Grade II listed .

School of Science and Art

Although a school of art was founded in 1878 and the site acquired in 1885, work on a permanent building was delayed due to funding problems. The first part, designed by Price & Wooler, was built in 1892–3 and opened on 14 January 1893. The School was completed in 1899–1900 when its fine front was added, featuring faience panels and carvings by J P Steele of Kingsdown, Bristol. A plaque on this building commemorates Hans Price, the leading Victorian architect in Weston, and his impact on the town.  Read why the former school building is Grade II listed . Discover other works by Weston’s leading architect using the  self-guided Hans Price walk (PDF)  . 

Landemann Circus

Landemann Circus was part of the Grove Town development by the Smyth Pigott family, who were lords of the manor and major landowners. It was named after Robert Landemann Jones (c 1816–1903), the agent of the estate, and built between about 1865 and 1900. Several of the large villas, such as Lewisham House (now Eastern House), were used at some time as private schools. 

Library and Museum

The Free Library and Museum on the Boulevard was a belated celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The foundation stone was laid on 1 August 1899 and Sir Edward Fry opened the new building on 3 September 1900. Hans Price, in collaboration with Wilde & Fry, designed the Renaissance-style building and extended it in 1932. Price designed many of the buildings along Waterloo Street and The Boulevard.  Read why the library building is Grade II listed . Discover other works by Weston’s leading architect using the  self-guided Hans Price walk (PDF)  . 

Weston Museum

Originally built for the local Gas Company, this long, two-storied, classical building by Price & Jane is now the Weston Museum. The town’s first gasworks was built in 1841 on land near the future Emmanuel Church. In 1856 a new, larger gasworks was created on Drove Road, about half a mile further inland. In 1912 the Gas Company completed this large block of offices and stores in Burlington Street.  Read why the Museum is Grade II listed . 

Royal Hotel

Weston’s first hotel was built between 1807 and 1810 on the site of an old farmhouse that apparently burned down in 1805. The northern section was added in 1849.  Read why the Royal Hotel is Grade II listed .

Winter Gardens

In 1922 Weston Urban District Council bought Rogers’ Field, the still undeveloped plot between the High Street and the seafront beside the Royal Hotel. Having lost a lawsuit with the Council, local businessman Henry Butt offered to meet the cost of acquiring the land, as a goodwill gesture. The Italian Gardens were completed in August 1925, incorporating nine statues from Beddington House, Croydon, of which four remain, and on 14 July 1927 the pavilion was officially opened, providing the town with a larger ballroom. 

W H Smith

This is a purpose-built W H Smith store of the late 1920s with a former reading room above. It was designed by their in-house shopfitting department under Frank C Bayliss. The front has lead reliefs symbolizing Bath, Somerset, Taunton and Bristol, and a quotation from Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: ‘Come and take choice of all my library, And so beguile thy sorrow’.  Read why this W H Smith is Grade II listed .

Grand Pier

After many years of discussions, work finally began on the Grand Pier on 7 November 1903 and the pavilion and its first stage opened on 11 June 1904. Designed by Peter Munroe, the pier was built by Mayoh and Haley of London. In January 1930 a fire destroyed the Pavilion and a new one was constructed in 1932–3, followed by a cafe and ballroom in 1935. On 28 July 2008 the Pavilion caught fire and was destroyed. A new building containing a range of attractions and facilities opened on 23 October 2010.  Read why the Grand Pier is Grade II listed .

Former Transatlantic Cable Terminal

The Commercial Cable Company constructed a purpose-built cable office in 1889–90 to re-transmit signals, which were weak after having crossed the Atlantic via the company’s under-sea cables. The building, designed by Sydney J Wilde, linked directly to London by landlines. This three-bay long building has decorative roundels depicting the company logo, which was the route of the cable across the Atlantic and the initials of the Mackay Bennett Company. In 1962 the office closed and it is now a bar and restaurant.

Odeon Cinema

The Odeon Cinema opened on 25 May 1935, replacing the smaller Electric Premier Cinema on this prominent corner site. It had 1,174 seats in the stalls and 633 in the balcony. Designed by the Nottingham architect T Cecil Howitt (1889–1968), it was built by C Bryant & Son Ltd of Birmingham and had a Compton organ with an illuminated console. In 1973 it was divided into three cinemas and by 2001 a fourth cinema had been created.  Read why the Odeon is Grade II listed .

Emmanuel Church

Emmanuel was Weston’s first Victorian Anglican church, founded due to the exertions of the rector, Archdeacon Henry Law. Richard Parsley, a local landowner and developer, donated the site. The foundation stone was laid on 9 March 1846 by Law, who had also contributed financially to the funding appeal, as had the Dowager Queen Adelaide. The completed church cost £3,200; funded entirely out of donations it was consecrated on 15 October 1847. The architects Manners & Gill designed a Perpendicular Gothic church with a large west tower.  Read why the church is Grade II listed . 

Town Hall

Weston’s Improvement Commissioners, an early form of local government, were set up in 1842. They planned to build a permanent town hall and a design competition was held in 1856. James Wilson of Bath designed the new building, inaugurated on 3 March 1859. Hans Price enlarged and remodelled it in 1897, at a cost of about £5,000, to include new offices and a council chamber for the recently created Urban District Council. A new committee room was added in 1909 and the Town Hall was again extended to the north in 1927.  Read why the Town Hall is Grade II listed . Discover other works by Weston’s leading architect using the  self-guided Hans Price walk (PDF)  . 

Magistrates' Court

A new combined Magistrates’ Court and Police Station opened on 18 September 1934 and this building contained three courtrooms on the first floor. Behind the courthouse were four police houses but they were demolished in 1969 to make way for a new, separate purpose-built Police Station at the rear of the 1934 building. The Police Station was demolished in 2019.  Read why the Magistrates’ Court is Grade II listed . 

Victoria Methodist Church and Whitecross House

Local architects Fry, Paterson & Jones designed this simplified Gothic style church, built in 1935–6 to replace a church of 1899–1900 designed by W J Morley of Bradford, which burnt down in 1935. Behind the church is the former Whitecross House, the historic centre of Richard Parsley’s Whitecross Estate and farmstead, which is shown on the 1838 tithe map and was described in 1840 as ‘newly erected’. 

Railway Station and Signal Box

The small, stone-built signal box beside Weston’s current railway station dates from 1866. It relates to the town’s previous station and branch line and is said to be the oldest surviving signal box on the British rail system. Francis Fox designed the present station in 1875–6 but there were significant delays in construction and the station only finally opened to passengers on 1 March 1884. Read why the  railway station  and the  signal box  are Grade II listed.

Board School

With a main block for boys and girls and a detached infants’ school, this was the first school to be built by the School Board established in 1893 and opened on 30 July 1897. Clearly intended to be a statement about the importance of education, it cost over £10,000. These school buildings in the Flemish Renaissance style are among Hans Price’s best-known buildings.  Read why the School is Grade II listed . Discover other works by Weston’s leading architect using the  self-guided Hans Price walk (PDF)  . 

Grand Atlantic Hotel

In 1859 the College, a private boys’ school, moved into grand new premises in Beach Road. When the school moved out in 1889, the building was enlarged by John S Whittington of Manchester and reopened as the Grand Atlantic Hotel on 13 July 1889. The earlier school structure is still recognisable in the centre of the hotel.  

Ellenborough Park and Crescent

Ellenborough Park is a large garden with villas to the north and south and Ellenborough Crescent dating from 1855 at its eastern end. Henry Davies was the developer and W B Moffat of London designed both the crescent and the park. The name was a tribute to Edward Law (1790–1871), first Earl of Ellenborough, a politician and Governor-General of India, whose cousin was Archdeacon Henry Law, Rector of Weston.  Read why The Crescent is Grade II listed .

Corpus Christi, Roman Catholic Church

This was the second purpose-built Roman Catholic church in Weston. The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1928 and it opened on 6 June 1929. Designed by John Bevan of Bristol, it cost £16,000, a surprisingly large sum for an inter-war church. The church is in the Byzantine-basilican style, with an impressive brick interior. It has fine stained-glass windows by the Harry Clarke Studios of Dublin and capitals carved by G Hillman of Weston.