Chipping Sodbury

Chipping Sodbury is a market town in the county of South Gloucestershire, south-west England, founded in the 12th century by William Crassus (or le Gros). The villages of Old Sodbury and Little Sodbury are nearby. At the 2001 census the population of Chipping Sodbury was 5,066, but in the last decade the town has become part of a much larger built-up area due to the rapid expansion of nearby Yate. At the census the combined population of Yate and Chipping Sodbury was 26,855.

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 Chipping Sodbury 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 railway station from 1903 to 1961. Yate station, on the Bristol to Birmingham main line, originally closed in January 1965 but reopened in May 1989.

Cultural activities
Chipping Sodbury hosts a twice yearly Mop Fair, usually the last weekends of March and September. The town also holds a Festival Week in early June. There is a farmers' market twice a month, on the second & fourth Saturdays.

A Victorian Evening is held on the first Friday in December. The event starts in the afternoon when school choirs perform in the street. The evenings events begin with the arrival of Father Christmas when snow is guaranteed. 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, and stalls bring a market feel. A Hog Roast is held.

The town is served by a community radio station, GLOSS FM which broadcasts 365 days a year on its webcasts and twice a year on 87.7 MHz FM.

Education
Chipping Sodbury has two primary schools and a secondary school. St John' Mead Primary School is named after the church in the High Street. The other is Raysfield Infants and Junior schools. In 2008 the pass rate for Chipping Sodbury School (the secondary school) was 70% of 5 GCSEs A* to C.

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.

Notable people
Edward Jenner, in the 18th century, started his medical training in Sodbury, observing people catching cowpox and then not catching smallpox.

RC "Jack" Russell: former England cricket wicket keeper and artist.

Chris Sawyer: creator of the Rollercoaster Tycoon and Transport Tycoon games and Chris Sawyer's Locomotion.

Dr Alfred Grace, brother of legendary England cricketer W. G. Grace, was a resident of Chipping Sodbury in the late 19th century. He captained Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club, as did his son Alfie (W.G. played some of his early cricket for the club).

Sir James Dyson, inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, lives at Dodington Park just outside Chipping Sodbury.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, was born in Chipping Sodbury maternity hospital, and lived on Horse Street for the first few years of her life.