Radstock is a community in Somerset, England, 9 miles (14 kilometres) south west of Bath, as well as 8 miles (13 km) north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset as well as had a population of 5,620 according to the 2011 Census. Because 2011 Radstock has been a community council in its own right. Radstock has actually been resolved since the Iron Age, and also its value grew after the building and construction of the Fosse Way, a Roman road. The development of the community occurred after 1763, when coal was uncovered in the location. Multitudes of mines opened up throughout the 19th century consisting of a number of owned by the Waldegrave family members, that had been Lords of the Estate given that the English Civil War. Admiral Lord Radstock, bro of George, 4th Earl Waldegrave, took the town's name as his title when produced a Baron. The spoil lot of Writhlington colliery is now the Writhlington Site of Special Scientific Interest, which includes 3,000 tons of Upper Carboniferous spoil from which more than 1,400 insect fossil specimens have been recouped. The complicated geology and also slim seams made coal extraction tough. Tonnage enhanced throughout the 19th century, reaching a peak around 1901, when there were 79 different collieries and also annual production was 1,250,000 heaps per annum. However, as a result of local geological troubles as well as workforce shortages outcome declined as well as the number of pits reduced from 30 at the start of the 20th century to 14 by the mid-thirties; the last 2 pits, Kilmersdon and also Writhlington, closed in September 1973. The Great Western Railway and the Somerset and Dorset Railway both established stations and also mustering lawns in the community. The last passenger train services to Radstock closed in 1966. Manufacturing markets such as printing, binding and packaging offer some local employment. In recent times, Radstock has increasingly come to be a traveler community for the close-by cities of Bath and also Bristol. Radstock is house to the Radstock Museum which is housed in a previous market hall, and has a variety of displays which provide an understanding into north-east Somerset life considering that the 19th century. A number of the displays relate to regional geology and the now obsolete Somerset coalfield as well as geology. The town is also residence to Writhlington School, popular for its Orchid collection, and a variety of academic, religious and cultural buildings and also showing off clubs.