Chipping Sodbury

An electoral ward in the same name (not Sodbury) exists. This ward starts in the north at Chipping Sodbury Golf Course and stretches south to Dodington. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,834. In 1931 the parish of Chipping Sodbury had a population of 973. On 1 April 1946 the parish was abolished to form Sodbury. ==Transport==

East of the town is the Chipping Sodbury Tunnel, a railway tunnel under the Cotswolds 2 miles 924 yards (4.06 km) long, which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1902. The tunnel is notorious for flooding in wet weather, often leading to disruption of services on the main railway line to and from South Wales. Chipping Sodbury had a station from 1903 to 1961. Yate station, on the Bristol to Birmingham main line, closed in January 1965 but reopened in May 1989. The WESTlink on-demand bus serves the town. ==Cultural activities==

Chipping Sodbury hosts a twice yearly Mop Fair, usually the last weekends of March and September. The town holds a Festival Week in early June, including a "Big Lunch" where the main road is closed and residents bring picnics to eat on the street. A Big Lunch is also held in December to combat loneliness amongst elderly people at Christmas. There is a farmers' market twice a month, on the second and fourth Saturdays. A Victorian Day is held on the first Saturday in December. The event starts with school choirs performing in the street, followed by the arrival of Father Christmas with snow guaranteed (from a blower). The streets are lined with stalls from local charities and organisations and old time amusements, including a Ferris wheel, Helter Skelter and two children's rides. Choirs sing, bands play, the stalls bring a market feel, and a Hog Roast is held. The town celebrated its 800th anniversary in August 2018 with a weekend of medieval activities including another Big Lunch. A time capsule was buried containing photographs of local businesses and poems written by local schoolchildren. The capsule is to be dug up on the town's 900th anniversary in August 2118. The town is served by a community radio station, Thornbury Radio (previously Gloss FM) which broadcasts on DAB and FM as well as online. Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, which was remodelled in 1858, is a significant events venue in the town. The Town Cross (Market Cross) sits on top of the War Memorial (1919) with a medieval socket base and shaft. The cross (topknot) is 20ᵗʰC. ==Education==

Chipping Sodbury has two government funded primary schools and a secondary school. Chipping Sodbury School, the secondary school, caters for children aged 11 to 18 and describes itself as a 'Specialist Technology School'. The School shares a sixth form, named Cotswold Edge, with both Brimsham Green School and Yate International Academy. Subjects taken by students are split between the three locations. The School obtained a 'Requires Improvement' status from Ofsted in 2018. St John's Mead Primary School is named after the parish church, St. John's Chipping Sodbury. The other primary school is Raysfield Infants and Junior schools. Also within the parish boundary is Old Sodbury Primary School. Dodington Parish Hall, which is situated next to Raysfield Junior and Infant Schools, is also the home of Raysfield Preschool. ==Toponymy ==

The town's name is recorded in Old English (in the dative case) as Soppanbyrig = "Soppa's fort". "Chipping" (from Old English cēping) means that a market was held there. ==Notable people==

Edward Jenner, pioneer of vaccination in the 18th century, started his medical training in Sodbury, apprenticed to an Apothecary George Hardwicke (in Melbourne House, Horse St.). His observation of people catching cowpox and then not catching smallpox. was later in life when he was a practising physician, in Berkeley. RC "Jack" Russell: former England cricket wicketkeeper and artist owns an art gallery in the town. Chris Sawyer: creator of the RollerCoaster Tycoon, Transport Tycoon games and Chris Sawyer's Locomotion. Sir James Dyson, inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, lives at Dodington Park just outside Chipping Sodbury. J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, was born in 1965 at the Chipping Sodbury Maternity Hospital (later the Chipping Sodbury Memorial Day Centre), on Station Road, Yate. Until the age of four, she lived with her parents in Sundridge Park, Yate. ==References==