Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, 9 miles (14 km) southern west of Bath, and 8 miles (13 km) north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath as well as North East Somerset and also had a population of 5,620 according to the 2011 Census. Considering that 2011 Radstock has actually been a town council in its very own right. Radstock has been settled given that the Iron Age, and also its relevance expanded after the construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman road. The development of the town happened after 1763, when coal was discovered in the area. Large numbers of mines opened up throughout the 19th century including several owned by the Waldegrave family, who had been Lords of the Estate since the English Civil War. Admiral Lord Radstock, sibling of George, 4th Earl Waldegrave, took the town's name as his title when developed a Baron. The spoil lot of Writhlington colliery is now the Writhlington Site of Special Scientific Interest, which includes 3,000 tons of Upper Carboniferous spoil where more than 1,400 insect fossil samplings have been recouped. The complicated geology and narrow seams made coal extraction tough. Tonnage boosted throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 different collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 loads per year. Nevertheless, due to neighborhood geological difficulties and manpower scarcities outcome declined as well as the variety of pits reduced from 30 at the beginning of the 20th century to 14 by the mid-thirties; the last 2 pits, Kilmersdon and Writhlington, closed in September 1973. The Great Western Railway and also the Somerset and Dorset Railway both established stations and also marshalling lawns in the town. The last passenger train solutions to Radstock enclosed 1966. Manufacturing markets such as printing, binding and also packaging supply some regional employment. In recent years, Radstock has increasingly become a traveler community for the close-by cities of Bath and Bristol. Radstock is home to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a former market hall, and has a range of exhibits which provide an understanding right into north-east Somerset life given that the 19th century. A lot of the displays connect to regional geology as well as the now obsolete Somerset coalfield and also geology. The town is additionally house to Writhlington School, well-known for its Orchid collection, and also a range of academic, religious as well as cultural structures as well as showing off clubs.