{{Short description|Market town in Gloucestershire, England}} {{Use British English|date=September 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{infobox UK place | country = England | official_name = Chipping Sodbury | population = 5,500 | population_ref = (2021 Census)<ref name="bua2011">{{cite web |title=SODBURY |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southwestengland/admin/south_gloucestershire/E04012633__sodbury/ |website=City population |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> | coordinates = {{coord|51.538|-2.394|display=inline,title}} |civil_parish = Sodbury | unitary_england = South Gloucestershire | lieutenancy_england = Gloucestershire | region = South West England | constituency_westminster = Thornbury and Yate | post_town = BRISTOL | postcode_district = BS37 | postcode_area = BS | dial_code = 01454 | os_grid_reference = ST726822 |static_image_name = chipping.sodbury.street.arp.750pix.jpg |static_image_caption = The wide main street of Chipping Sodbury. Cars are parked where market stalls would once have been. }} '''Chipping Sodbury''' is a market town in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Bristol and directly east of Yate. The town was founded in the 12th century by William le Gros. It is the main settlement in the civil parish of '''Sodbury''', which also includes the village of Old Sodbury.
At the 2011 census the population of Chipping Sodbury was 5,045, but the town has since become part of a larger built-up area due to the rapid expansion of nearby neighbouring town, Yate. The two towns are contiguous with one another.
==Governance== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/chipping-sodbury-e05002050#sthash.sXjBcbRA.dpbs|title=Ward population 2011|access-date=19 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170214/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/chipping-sodbury-e05002050#sthash.sXjBcbRA.dpbs|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1931 the parish of Chipping Sodbury had a population of 973.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10391325/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Chipping Sodbury AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=8 December 2022}}</ref> On 1 April 1946 the parish was abolished to form Sodbury.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10391325|title=Relationships and changes Chipping Sodbury AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=8 December 2022}}</ref>
==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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Butt |first=R.V.J. |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |year=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |location=Yeovil |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |id=R508 |page=60 }}</ref> 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.
[[File:Town Hall, Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire 2019 (geograph 6315659) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Chipping Sodbury Town Hall]] thumb|left|Late 14th century Medieval Town Cross and War Memorial.
==Cultural activities== Chipping Sodbury hosts a twice yearly Mop Fair, usually the last weekends of March and September.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mop Fair |url=https://www.sodburytowncouncil.gov.uk/mop-fair/ |publisher=Sodbury Town Council |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326191856/http://www.sodburytowncouncil.gov.uk/mop-fair |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chipping Sodbury Festival |url=https://chippingsodburyfestival.com/ |publisher=Chipping Sodbury Festival |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204130436/http://www.chippingsodburyfestival.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chipping Sodbury Victorian Day |url=https://mysodbury.co.uk/sodbury/chipping-sodbury-victorian-day |publisher=My Sodbury |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=14 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514093124/http://www.mysodbury.co.uk/sodbury/chipping-sodbury-victorian-day |url-status=live }}</ref> 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, [https://www.thornbury.radio/ 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.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Town Hall |num= 1129244|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref> The Town Cross (Market Cross) sits on top of the War Memorial (1919) with a medieval socket base and shaft. The cross (topknot) is 20<sup>th</sup>C.
==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'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chipping Sodbury School – Home Page |url=http://www.chippingsodburyschool.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115160413/http://richard.blacker@chippingsodburyschool.com/ |archive-date=15 January 2018 |access-date=5 February 2018 |website=chippingsodburyschool.com}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chipping Sodbury School – Ofsted Inspection Report 2018 |url=http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913130530/https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report |archive-date=13 September 2018 |access-date=5 February 2018 |website=Ofsted}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ekwall|first=Eilert|author-link=Eilert Ekwall|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names|year=1960|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-869103-7|page=105}}</ref> thumb|The main street of Chipping Sodbury (2017)
==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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Womack |first1=Alexandra |title=Edward Jenner's home recognised in new Chipping Sodbury heritage trail launched by Mark Horton |url=https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/10432887.edward-jenners-home-recognised-in-new-chipping-sodbury-heritage-trail-launched-by-mark-horton/ |access-date=24 August 2020 |work=Gazette |date=21 May 2013 |archive-date=24 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824120702/https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/10432887.edward-jenners-home-recognised-in-new-chipping-sodbury-heritage-trail-launched-by-mark-horton/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>http://www.jackrussell.co.uk/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019202902/http://www.jackrussell.co.uk/ |date=19 October 2013 }} Retrieved September 2013</ref>
Chris Sawyer: creator of the ''RollerCoaster Tycoon'', Transport Tycoon games and Chris Sawyer's Locomotion.<ref>{{cite web |author=Retro Gamer |date=2015 |title=In the Chair with Chris Sawyer |url=https://www.tt-ms.de/presse/retrogamer_138_p9297.pdf |website=Transport Tycoon Main Station |location=England |publisher=Retro Gamer |access-date=8 September 2025}}</ref>
Sir James Dyson, inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, lives at Dodington Park just outside Chipping Sodbury.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hellen |first1=Nicholas |last2=Boswell |first2=Josh |date=2014-12-28 |title=Dyson bags a bigger estate than the Queen|work=The Sunday Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/dyson-bags-a-bigger-estate-than-the-queen-ttg6js3zrfl |url-status=live |access-date=2019-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029171639/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dyson-bags-a-bigger-estate-than-the-queen-ttg6js3zrfl |archive-date=29 October 2019 |issn=0956-1382}}</ref>
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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GJgbW9c9mpwC&dq=rowling+%22chipping+sodbury%22+yate&pg=PA11 Connie Ann Kirk, ''J.K. Rowling: A Biography'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, pp.11–12]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LEnHs53G0j0C&dq=%22station+road%22+yate+hospital&pg=PA110 C. D. Miller, ''Harry Potter Places: Snitch-Seeking in Southern England and Wales, Book 3'', First Edition Design Pub., 2012, pp.110–113]</ref><ref>[http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/9909520.Concerns_raised_about_future_of_former_cottage_hospital_site/ Lynne Hutchinson, ''Concerns raised about future of former Chipping Sodbury cottage hospital site'', Gazette Series, 6 September 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404155030/http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/9909520.Concerns_raised_about_future_of_former_cottage_hospital_site/ |date=4 April 2014 }}. Retrieved 6 April 2013</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} * David Verey, ''Gloucestershire: the Vale and the Forest of Dean'', The Buildings of England edited by Nikolaus Pevsner, 2nd ed. (1976) {{ISBN|0-14-071041-8}}, pp. 155–157
==External links== *[https://gx.mister.red/#12/51.53836/-2.385 map of UK (GB) Wayside & Town Crosses centred on Chipping Sodbury] *[https://jennermuseum.com/phipps-cottage Phipps' Cottage in Berkeley purchased by Jenner for the father of James Phipps, the first vaccination recipient. (from the Jenner Museum)] {{Commons category}} {{Wikivoyage}}
{{South Gloucestershire}} {{Gloucestershire}} {{authority control}}
Category:Market towns in Gloucestershire Category:Towns in Gloucestershire Category:Former civil parishes in Gloucestershire Category:South Gloucestershire District