Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, 9 miles (14 km) south west of Bath, and also 8 miles (13 km) north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset and had a population of 5,620 according to the 2011 Census. Considering that 2011 Radstock has actually been a town council in its own right. Radstock has been cleared up considering that the Iron Age, and its importance grew after the building and construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman roadway. The development of the community took place after 1763, when coal was discovered in the area. Multitudes of mines opened throughout the 19th century including several owned by the Waldegrave household, who had actually been Lords of the Estate considering that 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 stack of Writhlington colliery is currently the Writhlington Site of Special Scientific Interest, which includes 3,000 lots of Upper Carboniferous ruin where greater than 1,400 insect fossil specimens have been recovered. The facility geology and narrow joints made coal extraction difficult. Tonnage enhanced throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 heaps per year. Nevertheless, as a result of neighborhood geological problems as well as workforce lacks output decreased as well as the variety of pits lowered from 30 at the start 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 developed terminals as well as mustering yards in the town. The last passenger train services to Radstock closed in 1966. Manufacturing markets such as printing, binding and also product packaging supply some local work. In recent times, Radstock has significantly become a traveler town for the close-by cities of Bath and Bristol. Radstock is residence to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a previous market hall, and also has a range of displays which provide an insight into north-east Somerset life given that the 19th century. A lot of the displays connect to regional geology and also the now disused Somerset coalfield and also geology. The town is additionally house to Writhlington School, well-known for its Orchid collection, and also a range of instructional, religious and also cultural buildings as well as sporting clubs.