Brent Knoll
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brent Knoll | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Prominence | 137 m (449 ft) |
| Coordinates | 51°15′14″N 2°56′46″W / 51.254°N 2.946°W |
| Geography | |
  Brent Knoll Somerset, England | |
| OS grid | ST33995102 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 182 |
Brent Knoll is a 137-metre-high (449 ft) hill on the Somerset Levels, in Somerset, England. It is located roughly halfway between Weston-super-Mare and Bridgwater, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from the Bristol Channel coast at Burnham-on-Sea. At the foot of the hill are two villages East Brent and Brent Knoll, which takes its name from the hill but was previously called South Brent. The hill's size and isolated position on the levels mean that it dominates the landscape and can be seen for many miles, and its prominence is emphasised to travellers because the Bristol to Taunton railway line, M5 motorway, A370 and A38 roads all pass within a mile or less from its base.
The word 'knoll' usually means a small hill or hill-top. The origin of the name Brent is unclear. The name may derive from the word "brant" meaning "steep" in Old English,[1] although other suggestions have been put forward,[2] such as from a word meaning burnt in Old English, suggesting that the settlement was at some time burnt by the Danes.[3] Another proposal is that the name comes from a Celtic term meaning "high place".[4] The modern Cornish word for "hill" being "Bre". Another possibility is that the name of Brent simply derives from the local river, the Brent, which gives its name to a Somerset hundred.[3][5]
Geology
An isolated hill, Brent Knoll is an example of denudation – waters of the Bristol Channel eroded surrounding features leaving just the Blue Lias rocks from the Jurassic period capped with Midford Sands of the Bridport Formation.[6]
Travel
Brent Knoll used to have a railway station but it closed in 1971.
