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The village of Bathampton
lies on the south bank of the River Avon, two miles east of
Bath.
A toll bridge links Bathampton
to Batheaston on the north bank of the river.
Earliest records date the settlement
to the Domesday Book of 1086 but recent excavations reveal
human occupation in the area as far back as the Iron Age.
The Kennett and Avon Canal was
cut through the village in 1810 and the Great Western Railway
in 1839/40. Today the scenic canal is an important tourist
attraction.
A steep slope leading up from
the village to Bathampton Down was once heavily quarried for
stone.
Bathampton's claim to fame is
that the modelling clay 'Plasticine' was manufactured
here from 1900 to 1983. William Harbutt, the founder
of the company, also lived in Bathampton.
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Bathampton
