Weston-super-Mare is an English seaside resort town in North Somerset, population 71,758 (2001 Census). It is situated on the Bristol Channel approximately 18 miles (28 km) south west of Bristol. The town has spread along the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury Hill and Brean Down. It is well known for its sandy beaches, although at low tide the sea can be over a mile from the beach front. Weston-super-Mare is the most populous civil parish in England. The town's motto is "Ever Forward". It is twinned with Hildesheim, Germany. Etymology Weston comes from the Anglo-Saxon for the west tun or settlement.

The descriptive part of its name is unusual because it is in medieval Latin and was first recorded by an unknown medieval church clerk, presumably to distinguish it from other Westons in the area. It is a popular myth that the description was a later Victorian invention. It means literally "on sea". It is pronounced mair rather than mahrey, however. History Early in the nineteenth century, Weston was a small windswept village of about 30 houses, located behind a line of sand dunes fronting the sea. The Pigott family of Brockley, who were the local Lords of the Manor, had a summer residence at Grove House. Weston owes its growth and prosperity to the Victorian era boom in seaside holidays. Construction of the first hotel in the village started in 1808, it was called the Royal Hotel. Along with nearby Burnham-on-Sea, Weston benefited from proximity to Bristol, Bath and South Wales.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his family lived in Weston, at Swiss Villa (eastern corner of Alexandra Parade and Swiss Road), for a number of months whilst he was supervising the construction of the Bristol and Exeter Railway in the area. With the opening of the railway, thousands of visitors came to the town from Bristol, the Midlands and further afield, on works outings and Bank Holidays. Also, many mining families came across the Bristol Channel from South Wales by paddle steamer. To cater for them, Birnbeck Pier was completed in 1867, offering in its heyday amusement arcades, tea rooms, funfair rides and a photographic studio. However, it now stands in a derelict state and is in danger of collapsing into the sea. It is still possible for visitors to marvel at the structure from behind the barbed wire. It was designed by Eugenius Birch with ironwork by the Isia Foundry of Newport, Monmouthshire. It is a grade II* listed building. Large areas of land were released for development from the 1850s onwards. Large detached villas, for the middle classes, were built on the southern slopes of Worlebury Hill. Semi-detached and terraced housing were built on the low 'moorland', behind the sea front. Many of these houses have now been turned into bedsits by their owners. In 1885 the first transatlantic telegraph cable of the Commercial Cable Company was brought ashore and the company started a long association with the town, ending in 1962. A second railway, the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway, opened on December 1, 1897, connecting Weston to Clevedon. The terminus station was at Ashcombe Road. The railway was extended to Portishead on Aug 7, 1907. The railway closed on May 18, 1940.

Local traders, unhappy that visitors were not coming as far as the centre of the town, began the construction of a new pier closer to the main streets. Opened in 1904, and known as the Grand Pier, it was originally planned to be 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[2] It still stands in truncated form today, although amusements and cafes have replaced the original music-hall theatre it supported, with the present building dating from 1933. Further development occurred after World War I, with the Winter Gardens and Pavilion (1927), the Open Air Pool and an airfield all dating from the inter-war period. Art Deco influences can be seen in much of the town's architecture from this period. During World War II many evacuees were accommodated in the town. Weston suffered several bombing raids, damaging parts of the town centre, particularly Orchard Street and Boulevard. War industries, such as aircraft and pump manufacture, were dispersed to the town.

Many US troops were billeted in Weston. They and their equipment vanished practically overnight, with the run-up to D-Day. Residential areas include the Oldmixon, Coronation, and Bournville estates, which exhibit many fine examples of post war and late twentieth century architecture. Newer housing has since been built towards the east of the town in North Worle and Locking Castle, locations nearer to the M5 motorway. Geography The mainly flat landscape of Weston is dominated by Worlebury Hill which borders the entire northern edge of the town, and Bleadon Hill which together with the River Axe at Uphill form its southern border.

The beach lies on the western edge of the town. The upper part is sandy but, as the sea retreats a long way with the tide exposing mud flats, the town is sometimes unkindly known as "Weston-super-Mud". The tidal range in this part of the Severn Estuary is great, since the beach and mud flats are on a gentle slope. Consequently it is only at the part of the tide cycle where high tide is in the early morning and late afternoon that the sea comes well up the beach. Many day visitors see little of the sea because of this and also must be confused to see a long pier with little or no water under it. Attempting to reach the sea at these times is inadvisable as the sand gives way to mud which is very deep and has cost several people their lives over the years. Driving on the beach (which is permitted in certain areas) catches people out as they drive too close to the sea and break through the sand to the underlying mud and are then stuck. The tidal rise and fall is among the largest in the world, although not as great as the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay in Canada. In the Severn Estuary it can be as great as 13 m (42 feet), and this tidal movement contributes to the deposition of natural mud in bays such as Weston. Chemically the channel is reasonably clean. Industry Since the 1970s Weston has suffered a large decline in popularity, like virtually all British seaside resorts. The advent of cheap foreign holidays and the break-up of large industries like mining contributed, as working communities became less likely to holiday together. The town had become a centre of industries such as helicopter production. Road transport links were improved with the M5 motorway running close by, and the town now supports several light industries and distribution depots, and functions partly as a dormitory town for Bristol. Philip Harris Ltd moved their production unit to the town in the 1970s to join their biological supplies division, which moved from Sheffield in 1965. Some biological supplies work still continues under different owners. It is worth noting, though, that the two largest employers are the luminaries of the local council and the academicians of Weston College.

Government and politics Made an urban district in 1894, Weston-super-Mare became a municipal borough in 1937. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was merged into the Woodspring district of the County of Avon, and became a Charter Trustees town. When Avon was split up in 1996, it became the administrative headquarters of North Somerset, one of the successor authorities. Weston-super-Mare regained a town council in 2000, becoming a civil parish.