Dundry is a village and civil parish, situated on Dundry Hill in the northern part of the Mendip Hills, between Bristol and the Chew Valley Lake, in the English county of Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Maiden Head and East Dundry. The parish had a 2011 population of 829. The village lies on the route of the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath. It is a popular destination for the people of Bristol as it is known for its panoramic views of the city.
History
According to Robinson the name means 'The hill that is dry' from the Old Englishdun and dryge. An alternative derivation is from a Celtic name, meaning fort of refuge. The parish was part of the hundred of Chew. Dundry is notable for its stone: the yellow ooliticlimestone from local quarries such as Dundry Main Road South Quarry and the Dundry Downs is found even at Cardiff Castle, a fort originally built by the Romans to defend against Anglo-Saxon invasions. The stone was much used in medieval Bristol: an outstanding example being St Mary Redcliffe, an Anglican church in central Bristol. A large cube of stone still stands in the churchyard: the cube is much considered to be an early advertisement for Dundry stone. The neighbouring village of Chew Magna has in its graveyard an early 19th-century limestone round-topped stone which bears the inscription to William Fowler "shot by an Highwayman on Dundry Hill 14 June 1814 aged 32 years".
Second World War
Being so close to Bristol, Dundry caught many of the 77 air raids for which Bristol had:
919 tons of high-explosive bombs and myriad incendiary bombs
1299 persons killed
81,830 houses destroyed.
Many bombs and anti-aircraft shells landed in Dundry. The diary of Doris Ogilvie of East Dundry records that:
24 November 1940: Christening of William Duncan at St James Presbyterian Church, The Barton, Bristol.... Church completely burned out that night.... This evening a tremendous air raid began about 6pm – ended about midnight – Bristol was demolished in parts and fires started over a tremendously wide area . Glare in the sky reflected on hillside opposite the house. Shrapnel fell around the house, but vibration from bombs felt very little here – nearest ones fell North Wick, top fields near Knights, Bishopsworth etc. Next day roads partly closed for time bombs. L in Bristol and returned with tales of devastation and the amazingly good organisation and firefighting services.
27 November 1940: The Dundry Parish Hall – 86 people sheltered this week who were driven out of Bristol from demolished houses, flooding etc.
Night of 3 January 1941"Lawrie ' on duty at the wireless station in Dundry ' all night. This night there was a bad raid on Bristol. A good many bombs dropped around Russell's and Knight's farms: they sound like flocks of starlings coming down. Bad damage done to Bristol. One fell in Russell's bull pen and exploded."
On 17 January "Preparations for incendiary bombs going on. Small bags of sand and buckets of water to be at every corner of the house — most awkward, but adds a spice to life."
On 2 February "Lawrie continues his trenching in the kitchen garden"
On 12 April "Discovered a neat shell cap buried in the lawn, so now we have one like everyone else. This night Lawrie was on fire watch duty from 1 a.m. on. I was alone with D who slept in a basket under the kitchen table. The decoy over the hill, a mile away caught HEsthat night: we only felt vibrations."
Summer 1942 "All this summer has been unnaturally quiet. Only two bad nights when Bath was blasted and set on fire in May."
During World War II members of the Dundry Home Guard had many draughty nights on the top of the church, on Maes Knoll, and at the wireless complex watching out for air raids and possible troop landings by parachute and glider. Captain Knight of Walnut Farm, East Dundry served in the First World War and was in charge of the Dundry Home Guard. Fire watchers turned out to watch for fires whenever there were bombing raids. Just south of Rattledown Farm in East Dundry, there was a bonfires-lit, dummy-town decoy area attempting to deflect bombing from Bristol. In 1941, there was a Home Guard exercise for Dundry and neighbouring villages including Winford, Bishopsworth, Leigh Woods and Norton Malreward.
1968 storm
On 10 July 1968 a storm deluged the parish and neighbouring areas— of rain was measured in Chew Stoke, and local streams such as Winford Brook were swollen by rain running off the slopes of Dundry Hill.
In the 1940s and 1950s the Ball family of Dundry ran the "Dundry Pioneer" bus service from Dundry Chapel via Dundry Church and the Hairpin Corner into Prince Street in central Bristol with Bedford buses. After the Dundry Pioneer, Bristol buses route 80, renumbered 373 in 1983, served Dundry.
