page_title: Bear Flat
section_title: Buildings and Services
hierarchical_section_title: Bear Flat / Buildings and Services
caption_attribution_description: English: The Bear, a pub in Bear Flat, Bath, in 2010. It is well known for the "statue" of a polar bear above the frontage.
context_page_description: Bear Flat is a neighbourhood within the city of Bath, Somerset, England, to the south of the city centre and to the west of Beechen Cliff. It forms the southern part of the Widcombe and Lyncombe electoral ward. The Wellsway road to Shepton Mallet, runs through Bear Flat, forming part of the ancient British Roman Fosse Way. This was originally the main pilgrimage route from Bath and its abbey, to the nearby ecclesiastical centres of Wells and Glastonbury.
  Bath is a hilly city and the term 'Flat' may be derived from the way the district is defined by a short plateau at the top of the steep Wells Road and Holloway routes out of the city centre, which forms the local business district. 'Bear' has nothing to do with the animal but is believed to be a contraction of an Anglo-Saxon name 'Berewick' - 'Bere' meaning Barley and 'Wick' being a settlement - a settlement near a barley field. Such a field would have been part of Barrack Farm, which was located in the area but demolished in the 19th century to make way for housing. Physical evidence of the former farm exists at the top of the Wellsway at Odd Down with a pair of houses known as Barrack Farm Cottages.
context_section_description: The Georgians built at either end of Bear Flat: at Devonshire Buildings to the south, and Beechen Cliff to the north. The main estate of Poets' Corner is a late Victorian and Edwardian district of large terraced houses and forms a part of the wider City of Bath conservation area. Poets' Corner comprises four avenues (Shakespeare, Milton, Kipling and Longfellow), which all lead directly perpendicular from the Wellsway) with Chaucer Road running through the estate parallel to Wellsway. Other 'Poet' locations include Byron Road and Shelley Road. Other streets include Devonshire Place, Attewell Place (formerly Cross's Yard) and Greenway Court.
  The area at the top of the hill where the Wells Road meets Holloway and becomes the Wellsway has been a local commercial centre for some time.  Before the Second World War it included various shops including a bank and a chemist. During the Second World War, Bear Flat was targeted in the 'Baedeker' raids on the city of Bath, and damage was done to the area near the junction of the Wellsway and Holloway. Images can be seen at The Bath Blitz Memorial Site.  Some of the modern shops are in premises that have been rebuilt since the war.
  Bear Flat still has a range of shops, including a small Co-operative supermarket, Andrews estate agents, a branch of Carphone Warehouse, Majestic Wine,  Da Vinci's delicatessen, and various other businesses including a chemist, hairdresser, barber, florist and a charity shop.
  Rolfeys Antique shop closed in 2019 
  For people who wish to eat in Bear Flat there is a cafe, a fish and chip shop, a Tandoori restaurant, Menu Gordon Jones, whose owner/chef has gained both local and national accolades, Da Vinci also provides coffee and lunch. There are also two public houses; The Bear which comprises a restaurant and now provides accommodation and the more traditional Devonshire Arms, which also serves food, has numerous sporting attractions including a traditional skittle alley and provides venue space. The Bear pub was formerly a brewery and public house but was severely damaged by a bomb in the Second World War and subsequently demolished - the current pub is post-war and features a large polar bear on its front roof which has become the emblem for the Bear Flat Association.
  The Beechen Cliff Methodist Church, built in 1905, is located at the bottom of Shakespeare Avenue, with Bruton Community Hall, the home of the monthly Bear Flat Community Market and the Bear Flat Pre-school located at the rear in Bruton Avenue. There are a number of bed and breakfast businesses attracted by the convenient access to the city centre, together with a double glazing showroom and building company on the east side of the Wellsway.
caption: The Bear pub in 2010
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