Oldbury-on-Severn
Encyclopedia
Oldbury-on-Severn is a small village near the mouth of the River Severn
in South Gloucestershire
. It is home to the nearby Oldbury nuclear power station
, a Magnox
power station
which opened in 1967 and is due to cease operation in 2011.
The area has been considered for nuclear 'new build' totalling some 3000MWe of capacity - either two or three PWRs. This would be more than the river flow could provide cooling for and so natural-draught cooling towers with a possible height of 200m have been postulated as necessary (- the existing station is 54m high).
Village attractions include a footpath near the river, two pubs known as the Anchor Inn and The Ship Inn plus the village hall and two churches. It is also the home of Thornbury Sailing Club.
The parish church is dedicated to St Arilda
, a local saint and martyr
whose origins may lie in the fourth or fifth century. The church is on a small hill (35m asl at ST609919) and is an excellent viewpoint, and, for river travellers, waymark.
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
in South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
. It is home to the nearby Oldbury nuclear power station
Oldbury nuclear power station
Oldbury nuclear power station is a nuclear power station located on the south bank of the River Severn close to the village of Oldbury-on-Severn in South Gloucestershire, England. It is operated by Magnox North Limited, on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority...
, a Magnox
Magnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
power station
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
which opened in 1967 and is due to cease operation in 2011.
The area has been considered for nuclear 'new build' totalling some 3000MWe of capacity - either two or three PWRs. This would be more than the river flow could provide cooling for and so natural-draught cooling towers with a possible height of 200m have been postulated as necessary (- the existing station is 54m high).
Village attractions include a footpath near the river, two pubs known as the Anchor Inn and The Ship Inn plus the village hall and two churches. It is also the home of Thornbury Sailing Club.
The parish church is dedicated to St Arilda
Arilda
Saint Arilda a little-known female saint from Oldbury-on-Severn in the English county of Gloucestershire. She probably lived in the 5th or 6th century and may have been of either Anglo-Saxon or Welsh origin....
, a local saint and martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
whose origins may lie in the fourth or fifth century. The church is on a small hill (35m asl at ST609919) and is an excellent viewpoint, and, for river travellers, waymark.