However, with a rich heritage and reminders of its links with the past, such as Bitterwell Lake, the hamlet retains an important sense of community.

However it was Sir Samuel Astry, Lord of the Manor of Westerleigh c1680 who started mining on a grander scale and his descendants, or their business partners, continued to be connected with the Coalpit Heath Colliery Company.

4. c. xciii) of 19 June 1828, parliament authorised the construction of a horse-drawn railway from Ram Hill to the River Avon in Bristol.

These early railways provided cheap and easy transport from the mines of Coalpit Heath to the wharves on the Avon at Keynsham and Bristol.

[4][5][6] The railways were colloquially referred to as the dramway and in recent times this has been formalised by usage on signs indicating the footpath facilities, and on Ordnance Survey mapping.

It was acquired by the Parish Council in 1930, once owned by the Coalpit Heath Colliery Company.The company used it to soak the pit props for the mine.

[7] The lake is over 3 acres in extent and at the time of purchase was surrounded by numerous stone and tiled buildings and two detached cottages with gardens.

[3] Sluices regulated water in the lake and within living memory the overflow went to The Clamp, another reservoir pond that had been constructed near the Serridge Pit.

In the 1930s Bitterwell Lake received wide coverage in the newspapers that it was the home of Tarzan who lived in a tree-house and climbed like a monkey.

An example is provided by The Mercury, in Hobart, Tasmania, that reported on 10 October 1934 that in the woods around Bitterwell Lake, near Bristol, is a man aged 20, who lives in the tree tops wearing only a leopard skin.

"[10] Nowadays Bitterwell Lake is solely used for fishing but at the same time represents an important local amenity for the surrounding area.

[11] Within the South Gloucestershire Landscape Character Assessment SPD the hamlet of Henfield is within an area defined as: Westerleigh Vale and Oldland Ridge – The Study indicates that Ram Hill and Henfield, a colliery settlement, are small dispersed/linear and clustered hamlets respectively, consisting of a mix of, Pennant sandstone with more recent render and brick buildings, focused around a convergence of minor roads and lanes.

The small scale settlement at Ram Hill and Henfield is largely well integrated within the framework of hedgerow trees and woodland.

modern large farm buildings and storage compounds, can detract from this, visually eroding the rural character and resulting in removal or fragmentation of hedgerows.

In places the recreational pressure for "horsiculture" with the associated infrastructure of stables, access tracks, exercise areas, jumps and floodlighting.

[12] Frome Valley – The Study indicates that the Kendleshire Golf Course retains most of the hedgerows and tree structure amongst fairways and greens.

Henfield Youth AFC was a football club based in the hamlet that was formed in 1960 by a group of local youngsters and their friends.

The club unfortunately folded in 1972 after losing the use of their ground which was situated on agricultural land adjoining the Village Hall and old Railway Line.

For a number of years this area, which was donated to Westerleigh Parish Council by Jo Newman, was used for organised small-sided football matches.

Henfield Youth AFC at one time ran two sides and a considerable number of players passed through the club's ranks over the 12-year period.

Designed by Adrian Stiff, the courses were set into the rolling Frome valley with plenty of water and an exciting combination of holes from the forgiving to the challenging.