Radstock has been settled since the Iron Age, and its importance grew after the construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman road.

Large numbers of mines opened during the 19th century, including several owned by the Waldegrave family, who had been Lords of the Manor since the Civil War.

Admiral Lord Radstock, brother of George, fourth Earl Waldegrave, took the town's name as his title when created a Baron.

Tonnage increased throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 tons per annum.

The town is also home to Writhlington School, famous for its Orchid collection, and a range of educational, religious and cultural buildings and sporting clubs.

As a result, the town was known as Stoche at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, meaning the stockade by the Roman road, from the Old English stoc.

[3] The rad part of the name is believed to relate to red; the soil locally is reddish marl.

[6] It then became a central point for railway development, with large coal depots, wash houses, workshops and a gas works.

As part of the development of the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, an 8-mile (13 km) line from Radstock to Frome was built to carry the coal.

More recently Radstock has become a commuter town for the nearby cities of Bath and Bristol, leading to traffic problems at peak hours.

[20] Tonnage increased throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and annual production was 1.25 million tons per annum.

[21] However, due to local geological difficulties and manpower shortages,[22] decline soon took hold and the number of pits reduced from 30 at the beginning of the 20th century to 14 by the mid-thirties, 12 at nationalisation to create National Coal Board on 1 January 1947, 5 by 1959 and none after 1973.

[26] The Hercynian orogeny caused shock waves in the rock as the Mendip Hills were pushed up, forcing the coal measures to break along fractures or faults.

Along the Radstock Slide Fault the distance between the broken ends of a coal seam can be as much as 1,500 feet (457 m).

The modern landscape has a less maintained and "rougher" character and texture than neighbouring agricultural areas.

The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F) with seasonal and diurnal variations, but because of the modifying effect of the sea, the range is less than in most other parts of the United Kingdom.

The southwest of England enjoys a favoured location, particularly in summer, when the Azores High extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK.

November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August having the lightest.

[6] It then became a central point for railway development with large coal depots, warehouses, workshops and a gas works.

As part of the development of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway an 8-mile (13 km) line from Radstock to Frome was built to carry the coal.

Today the nearest railway station is Bath Spa which is easily accessible via regular direct bus routes.

Radstock is situated on the A367 between Bath and Shepton Mallet, and on the A362 between Farrington Gurney and Frome, very close to the A37.

In 2001 a local practice of landscape architects, New Leaf Studio were commissioned by Bath & North East Somerset Council to develop proposals for the land.

[34] The first phase of the park, the Memorial gardens were then built for the Norton Radstock Town Council in 2005 to New leaf Studio's designs incorporating a new sculptural base for the old mine wheel by artist Sebastien Boyesen.

The planting employs a naturalistic style with broad drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses providing colour through a long season, extending through the winter with dry stems and seed heads.

The museum has a range of exhibits which offer an insight into north-east Somerset life since the 19th century.

The local free newspaper, the Midsomer Norton, Radstock & District Journal, has its offices in the town.

[43] The other local weekly paper is the Somerset Guardian, which is part of the Daily Mail and General Trust.

A temporary building of thin wooden beams and asbestos blocks was erected in 1913,[50] and dedicated to St Hugh.