Radstock is a community in Somerset, England, 9 miles (14 km) south west of Bath, as well as 8 miles (13 kilometres) north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and also North East Somerset and had a population of 5,620 according to the 2011 Census. Considering that 2011 Radstock has been a community council in its own right. Radstock has actually been cleared up given that the Iron Age, as well as its relevance expanded after the building of the Fosse Way, a Roman roadway. The development of the town occurred after 1763, when coal was found in the area. Large numbers of mines opened throughout the 19th century consisting of a number of had by the Waldegrave family members, who had been Lords of the Estate since the English Civil War. Admiral Lord Radstock, bro of George, 4th Earl Waldegrave, took the town's name as his title when created a Baron. The spoil heap of Writhlington colliery is currently the Writhlington Site of Special Scientific Interest, which includes 3,000 lots of Upper Carboniferous ruin from which more than 1,400 insect fossil samplings have actually been recuperated. The facility geology and narrow joints made coal extraction tough. Tonnage increased throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 different collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 tons per year. Nonetheless, because of local geological problems and manpower shortages outcome declined and the number of pits decreased from 30 at the start of the 20th century to 14 by the mid-thirties; the last 2 pits, Kilmersdon and also Writhlington, closed in September 1973. The Great Western Railway as well as the Somerset and Dorset Railway both established stations and also mustering lawns in the community. The last passenger train services to Radstock closed in 1966. Manufacturing markets such as printing, binding and packaging supply some neighborhood work. In the last few years, Radstock has progressively come to be a commuter community for the nearby cities of Bath and Bristol. Radstock is house to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a previous market hall, as well as has a variety of exhibits which offer an insight right into north-east Somerset life since the 19th century. A lot of the exhibits associate with local geology and the now obsolete Somerset coalfield as well as geology. The town is additionally residence to Writhlington School, well-known for its Orchid collection, and also a series of instructional, religious as well as social structures and also sporting clubs.