Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, 9 miles (14 km) southern west of Bath, as well as 8 miles (13 kilometres) north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath as well as 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 very own right. Radstock has actually been settled considering that the Iron Age, and its significance expanded after the construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman road. The growth of the community happened after 1763, when coal was found in the location. Great deals of mines opened up during the 19th century consisting of numerous owned by the Waldegrave family, that had actually been Lords of the Estate since the English Civil War. Admiral Lord Radstock, brother of George, fourth Earl Waldegrave, took the community's name as his title when created a Baron. The spoil load of Writhlington colliery is currently the Writhlington Site of Special Scientific Interest, which includes 3,000 lots of Upper Carboniferous spoil where greater than 1,400 insect fossil samplings have been recovered. The complex geology as well as slim seams made coal extraction tough. Tonnage enhanced throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and also annual production was 1,250,000 lots per year. Nevertheless, as a result of local geological troubles and workforce scarcities outcome declined as well as the number of pits lowered from 30 at the beginning of the 20th century to 14 by the mid-thirties; the last two pits, Kilmersdon and also Writhlington, closed in September 1973. The Great Western Railway and the Somerset and Dorset Railway both established stations and also mustering yards in the town. The last passenger train solutions to Radstock closed in 1966. Production sectors such as printing, binding as well as packaging offer some regional employment. Over the last few years, Radstock has progressively come to be a commuter town for the nearby cities of Bath and also Bristol. Radstock is residence to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a former market hall, and has a series of exhibitions which provide an insight into north-east Somerset life considering that the 19th century. A lot of the exhibits connect to neighborhood geology and also the currently obsolete Somerset coalfield and geology. The community is likewise home to Writhlington School, renowned for its Orchid collection, as well as a series of instructional, spiritual as well as social structures and also showing off clubs.