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 as well as North East Somerset as well as had a population of 5,620 according to the 2011 Census. Given that 2011 Radstock has been a community council in its own right. Radstock has actually been settled considering that the Iron Age, and its significance expanded after the building and construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman roadway. The growth of the community took place after 1763, when coal was uncovered in the area. Lots of mines opened throughout the 19th century consisting of numerous possessed by the Waldegrave family, who had been Lords of the Estate because the English Civil War. Admiral Lord Radstock, brother of George, fourth Earl Waldegrave, took the town's name as his title when developed a Baron. The spoil lot of Writhlington colliery is currently the Writhlington Site of Special Scientific Interest, that includes 3,000 tons of Upper Carboniferous spoil where more than 1,400 insect fossil samplings have been recouped. The complex geology as well as narrow joints made coal removal tough. Tonnage increased throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 separate collieries and annual production was 1,250,000 tons per year. However, due to neighborhood geological problems and also manpower lacks outcome declined and also the number of pits lowered 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 as well as the Somerset and Dorset Railway both established terminals and aligning backyards in the community. The last passenger train services to Radstock enclosed 1966. Production industries such as printing, binding and packaging supply some neighborhood employment. In the last few years, Radstock has significantly become a traveler town for the neighboring cities of Bath as well as Bristol. Radstock is residence to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a previous market hall, and has a series of exhibitions which provide an insight right into north-east Somerset life considering that the 19th century. A lot of the exhibits associate with regional geology as well as the now obsolete Somerset coalfield and also geology. The community is additionally residence to Writhlington School, famous for its Orchid collection, and also a variety of academic, religious and social structures as well as sporting clubs.