Radstock is a town 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 as well as had a population of 5,620 according to the 2011 Census. Since 2011 Radstock has actually been a community council in its very own right. Radstock has actually been settled because the Iron Age, and also its significance expanded after the building and construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman roadway. The development of the town occurred after 1763, when coal was uncovered in the location. Multitudes of mines opened throughout the 19th century including several owned by the Waldegrave family, who had actually been Lords of the Estate because the English Civil War. Admiral Lord Radstock, brother of George, 4th 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 tons of Upper Carboniferous spoil from which greater than 1,400 insect fossil specimens have been recovered. The complicated geology as well as narrow joints made coal removal hard. Tonnage boosted throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 loads per annum. Nonetheless, as a result of neighborhood geological troubles and also workforce lacks result decreased and the variety of pits decreased from 30 at the beginning of the 20th century to 14 by the mid-thirties; the last two pits, Kilmersdon as well as Writhlington, closed in September 1973. The Great Western Railway and the Somerset and Dorset Railway both established stations as well as mustering backyards in the community. The last passenger train services to Radstock closed in 1966. Manufacturing sectors such as printing, binding as well as product packaging give some neighborhood employment. Recently, Radstock has significantly become a commuter community for the neighboring cities of Bath and also Bristol. Radstock is home to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a previous market hall, and also has a range of exhibits which supply an understanding right into north-east Somerset life given that the 19th century. Most of the exhibits connect to regional geology as well as the currently obsolete Somerset coalfield and also geology. The town is also home to Writhlington School, well-known for its Orchid collection, and a range of educational, religious and cultural structures as well as showing off clubs.