Nailsea

The name of the town may be derived from the Old English for Naegl's island, although it has also been suggested it was spelt Naylsey in 1657. The parish of Nailsea was part of the Portbury Hundred. Little is known of the area occupied by Nailsea before the coal mining industry began, although it was used as a quarry in Roman times from which pennant sandstone was extracted. The Romans otherwise ignored Nailsea from 40 to 400 AD, but left a small villa near Jacklands Bridge. Nailsea's early economy relied on coal mining, which began as early as the 16th century. The earliest recorded date for coal mining in Nailsea was 1507 when coal was being transported to light fires at Yatton. By the…